Living Jain: Newsletter ~ June 2007
Living Jain Newsletter
Issue 2 | 177 Subscribers | 12 Countries | June 2007
Welcome to the 41 new subscribers to Living Jain since last month.
Your Dose Of Inspiration As You Steadily Walk Along The Jain Path To Freedom
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Contents
Part 1: Welcome!
Part 2: Your Inspired Comments
Part 3: Feature Article
Part 4: About Living Jain
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PART 1: WELCOME!
Jai Jinendra, and welcome to the second issue of the Living Jain newsletter.
Below you will get a glimpse of some of the inspired comments from the previous month, as well as a featured piece by Manish Modi on how Bhagwan Mahavir was not a man in a hurry, an article previously published in the Times of India.
Thank you for your support by signing up, reading our daily inspirational quote emails, posting up comments on the website to the quotes that inspire you, contributing your own quotes and personal commentary, and of course recommending this site to your friends and those you care about the most.
With warmth,
Sol
Sol Shah
Living Jain
http://www.livingjain.com
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PART 2: YOUR INSPIRED COMMENTS
Throughout the month of May, we have been receiving comments inspired by the Living Jain quotes. Here’s a selection…
Jitu’s comment on 4th May: “When a person is living, we call him Mr X and when this Mr X dies and his body is still in front of us, we say Mr X WAS a real good man, he helped so many people, etc., etc., which means he is not there any more!!! Then who is this in front of us??…” Read the full comment by Jitu at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/04/28/inspiration-for-freedom-28-apr-2007/
Manish’s comment on 4th May: “How do you define all these requirements and qualities? Certainly we always underestimate our own potential. Every human being has the same capacity and capability.Its how best to use these qualities. God has given us a powerful brain. Use it and…” Read the full comment by Manish H Shah at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/04/inspiration-for-freedom-04-may-2007/
Somchand’s comment on 9th May: “Path showing and encouraging. Yes I will try to climb again.” Read the quote about Incy Wincy Spider that inspired this comment. http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/09/inspiration-for-freedom-09-may-2007/
Shilun’s comment on 15th May: “What is life really about? Is it about the car you drive or the name of the company your work for? No… its about the effect we have on others? My understanding of Jainism is that form my life experience. Personally, the value of life for me is…” Read the full comment by Shilun Shah at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/15/inspiration-for-freedom-15-may-2007/
Amee’s comment on 17th May:”I loved this quote because for me seeing a smile makes me feel good what ever the weather, and its…” Read the full comment by Amee at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/17/inspiration-for-freedom-17-may-2007/
Sonal’s comment on 22nd May: “This quote reminds me of the Anekantvad session at the YJ retreat, which touched upon truth being relative to the perspective. So, similarly, what one deems as…” Read the full comment by Sonal Shah at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/22/inspiration-for-freedom-22-may-2007/
Madhusudan’s comment on 29th May: “When there is no more to add or no more to take away then the thing becomes complete and therefore perfect.” Read the full comment by Madhusudan Shah at http://livingjain.com/quotes/2007/05/29/inspiration-for-freedom-29-may-2007/
In our eyes, the most popular quotes are the ones that provoke and inspire you enough to visit the website and leave a comment. In the coming month, if there’s a quote you particularly like, I invite you to get onto the Living Jain website at http://www.livingjain.com and share your inspired thoughts.
Alternatively, if you wish to contribute a quote with or without commentary, submit it at http://livingjain.com/quotes/contribute/
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PART 3: FEATURE ARTICLE
Mahavir Was In No Hurry
The nature of reality is dynamic. Hence, omniscience is dynamic. It is never pre-determined.
Two things influence reality: Free will and determinism.
However, if we were to believe that determinism alone is the final verdict, then we would be niyativadis, not Jains. Mahavir’s opponent Makkhali Gosalaka championed niyativada or determinism. Not Mahavir.
Similarly, we should not believe that only free will determines all events. There is an element of free will and an element of determinism. Our past karmas determine our prarabdha, or fate.
Our present karmas determine our purusartha, or focused efforts, towards a specific goal.
We can do nothing about our prarabdha. We should accept it as it comes, with equanimity. If we are experiencing the results of positive past karmas, we should keep our feet firmly on the ground and remember that karmas are external to the soul. Their effect is only temporary. When we experience pleasure or pain, it is only fleeting. Only the bliss attained by the yogi who is free from all temporal bonds is real bliss. Because this bliss is constant, irreversible and permanent.
Temporal happiness is momentary and fleeting.
Mahavir believed in purusartha. He did not sit at home and wait for the “right day” to come. He did not get a sudden flash of insight. Mahavir’s life was smooth and controlled. Every aspect of his life was studied, well thought out and controlled. He attained liberation through sustained purusartha in the face of great adversity.
He attained moksha through extreme self-discipline, severe asceticism and a firm belief that he was the master of his own destiny. No extraneous factors were going to determine his life. He took on prarabdha and won with the help of his perfect purusartha.
He lived his truth. He practiced his beliefs and remained engrossed in his own soul. His conduct, and his teachings showed the path of liberation to all of us. His life is his message.
He was clear in his mind that he could not be a saviour of all humankind. He could be the catalyst in their liberation. But each soul is the master of its own fate.
Mahavir held the supreme belief that the soul is eternal and different, distinct and separate from its mortal toil.
Mahavir believed that karmas can be shed only through appropriate conduct.
Mahavir was not a philosopher. He did not voice lofty impractical thoughts or champion ideals sitting in the comfort of his drawing room.
He lived his truth. His conduct reflected his philosophy.
He realised that each soul is a unique, separate and distinct entity. Through deep introspection, he found out the inner workings of reality for himself.
After attaining omniscience, he shared his thoughts with those who were willing to learn from him. He did not go anywhere, nor did he seek an audience. If there were people keen to seek his guidance, he did not address them personally. He did not advise them on worldly matters. He did not indulge in predictions, nor dispense miracles, etc. His life was a study in equanimity and calm.
He was not a man in a hurry. His decisions were well thought out, his message was clear:
Harm no one and no one will harm you. Realise the nature of reality.
Learn bheda jñana, the art of distinguishing between the permanent and the temporary, between the soul and the non-soul.
Realise that one substance cannot do more than become a catalyst for another substance’s modifications. Ultimately, each substance’s modifications rely on its own dharma, or true nature.
Do not run after temporal pleasures. Your stay in this world is fleeting. An orderly life is the base for spiritual development.
Karmas are subtle particulate matter omnipresent in the Universe. These karmas that get attracted to the soul that is full of anger, pride, deceit and avarice; passions and ambitions.
All vicissitudes in life are due to this unholy bondage of cetana dravya, the soul, with acetana pudgala dravya, i.e.. karmas.
The true nature of the soul is supreme, uninterrupted and permanent bliss. The soul is the Atman, the I, the Ego, the Self. It is supreme, indestructible, immutable. It is timeless, ageless, passionless and capable of supreme happiness.
Lasting separation of the soul from the karmic matter that impedes it, is concomitant with Moksha. It is freedom. Freedom from the cycle of rebirths, from sin, sorrow and death.
This true nature can only be realised by cleansing the soul of the karmas, by separation of the self from the non-self.
This can be attained through the four spiritual disciplines of faith, knowledge, conduct and penance.
Hence, the whole purpose of dharma, is to rid the soul of its karmic bondage.
Mahavir espoused the cause of Ahimsa, but his understanding of Ahimsa was far more sophisticated than conventional thinking. He understood Himsa as any psychic state of the soul other than supreme bliss, supreme tranquilness. Hence, he saw the presence of raga and dvesa, attachment and aversion, in the soul as the root cause of all Himsa.
Hence, the teleology behind the Jain code of conduct for ascetics is to rid the soul of all feelings of raga and dvesa, by ridding the feeling of mineness for external objects.
For the soul, the soul itself is its own. Everything else is external. The soul is complete, final, perfect bliss is its intrinsic nature. It is the end of its own journey.
-by Manish Modi
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Manish Modi, 37, is the great-grandson of renowned scholar and foremost Hindi litterateur Pandit Nathuramji Premi , founder of the prestigious Hindi Granth Ratnakar Karyalay publication series; publisher of the Manikacandra Jain Granthamala and a leading scholar of classical India.
Manish runs the business founded by his great-grandfather in 1912. Manish is proud to be Indian and would like to propagate India, Indian values and especially Jainism in his lifetime through distributing Jain scriptures and other relevant literature and promoting the study thereof. He has been brought up in a profoundly literary and religious atmosphere and takes a very ethical and non-sectarian approach to Jainism.
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PART 4: ABOUT LIVING JAIN
Each morning when you open your email, there is so much content that battles for a share of your mind. Strangers trying to sell you trash, friends forwarding you hoax warning messages, tonnes of spam hitting your inbox, and the occasional important work-related email!
Decide NOW to let the first words you and your friends read each morning inspire you to launch your day from a place of peace. Embrace life and take the steady path towards universal love, appreciation of your immediate environment, compassion towards all living beings, and the balance to attend to anything that comes your way.
Read more about the people behind Living Jain and where our quotes come from at http://www.livingjain.com/quotes/about/
If you benefit from the daily emails, enable your friends to get value by receiving daily inspirational emails too. You can recommend Living Jain to them at http://www.livingjain.com/daily/recommend/
