Navkar
Mantra in Jainism
namokar mantra efficacy
Significance
of Navkar mantra in Jainism is beyond comprehension. One single mantra encompasses
such a phenomenal degree of spirituality
that the serious follower of this mantra is bound to reap the benefits accrued.
The Navkar mantra
in Jainism is endowed with blessings from all the gods that ever
be! Whoever chants the Navkar mantra in right earnestness after
learning the real meaning of various terminology in Navkar mantra...
reaps the benefits galore!
Most people
across the world indulge in chanting various mantras without ever
understanding the meaning of the mantra. This is also the case with
Navkar mantra. Chanting of a mantra (rather Navkar mantra) is not
a ritual. Blessed are those who have been gifted with all the five
senses. The ability to pray to God
is definitely a blessing in disguise.
Routinely chanting the Navkar mantra repeatedly never yields the desired results.
The efficacy of a mantra can only be felt by chanting the mantra after learning
of its hidden meaning. Once we comprehend the hidden meaning behind the mantra...
the efficacy of the mantra is not only doubled or tripled but the results are
multiplied manifold. I
shall now narrate the significance of the Navkar mantra (it is sincerely requested
that whoever reads this message may chant the Navkar mantra only once if there
is a limitation of time). But every time the Navkar mantra is chanted... we must
feel the reverberations of the mantra in actual life long after the chanting has
stopped. Unless
and until we feel the effects of the Navkar mantra chanted... there is no point
in carrying out a ritual daily! Going to the Jain temple daily and chanting the
Navkar mantra three, nine or 81 times is simply immaterial until and unless we
understand the significance of the words spoken!
Truly speaking, Navkar mantra encompasses within itself everything that is desired
of a true
prayer.
The first prayer of the Navkar mantra starts with "Namo Arihantanam"
which means that our first prayer must be addressed to Arihanta... the stage when
a human
being manifests the end of spirituality. Becoming an Arihanta means
one has reached the stage of Nirvikalpa
Samadhi... the stage on the path
of spirituality when one becomes enlightened
after having gained Kaivalya
Jnana. (One gains omniscience forever!) The
stage of Arihanta is one step before becoming a Siddha Purusha (liberated soul).
Gaining
enlightenment and finally salvation
is the requisite of a Siddha Purusha. Every Siddha Purusha leaves the mankind
forever after having gained salvation moksha
in Hinduism.
It is the final point of liberation for our Atman
the soul
within. For a Siddha Purusha there is no life after reaching the stage of salvation
moksha.
The cycle of life... having come to an end... the Siddha Purusha enters the domain
of god (Vaikuntha in Hinduism)! The Vaikuntha in Hinduism is a point of no return.
Having reached the kingdom
of God... every purified atman soul can again manifest life only in
the next creation
of the cosmos... never before! (That shall occur only after the dissolution
of the present Cosmos)
Then why it is that the stage of Siddha Purusha being higher we address our first
prayer to Arihanta (the omniscient).
Here I shall narrate a small incidence related to the life
of Lord Mahavira...
It so happened that after having gained Kaivalya Jnana... Lord Mahavira was not
able to deliver his sermon to the masses. Days, months and years passed by and
there was no relief! The whole humanity was suffering seeing the plight of Lord
Mahavira. The
simple reason why Lord Mahavira was not able to deliver the sermon was that none
with the capability of King Arjuna (who was competent enough to decipher the
messages of Lord Krishna) was available for Lord Mahavira. In the absence
of a competent recipient the purpose
of Lord Mahavira having gained enlightenment became immaterial to the masses. Lord
Mahavira needed one who could understand the meaning of his sermons. He waited
badly and by the grace of God
almighty... one by the name of Gautama Gani arrived on the scene. Gautama
Gani was the one and only one in the times of Lord Mahavira who was competent
enough to decipher what was being said. He was truly an Arihanta of his age.
The voice of a Siddha Purusha can only be deciphered by an Arihanta. There is
no ambiguity about it. Bhagavad
Gita... the most sacred document of Hinduism confirms this fact. This
is the prime reason why sacred documents like Bhagavad
Gita cannot be easily understood by most seekers of spirituality.
To
understand the doctrine of Bhagavad
Gita put forward by Lord Krishna...
we need an Arihanta of our age who shall be able to decipher what is being said
and would be able to explain to the masses the hidden inner
meaning. Now,
as the messages from the Siddha Purusha cannot be deciphered by the common masses
directly, we address our first prayer to Arihanta... the omniscient one who has
reached the stage of Kaivalya Jnana. It is Arihanta and Arihanta alone who first
delivers the messages of the masters to the masses.
The second prayer of the Navkar mantra "Namo Siddhanam"
is addressed to a Siddha Purusha... the one who having gained enlightenment
has almost made it mandatory for self to pass on the wisdom learnt
to the masses. A Siddha Purusha is one who having reached the end
of cosmic journey explains to the masses the journey he has traveled...
the means and the ways!
A
Siddha Purusha is one who is able to clearly explain the path from the first manifestation
as an amoeba to the last... the 8.4 millionth manifestation! A Siddha Purusha
is a direct representative of God Almighty on Mother Earth. He has completed the
earthly abode. He is the only one competent to explain the intricacies of the
path towards God. A
Siddha Purusha can guide one on the path of true spirituality. How a normal human
being reaches the highest manifest stage in life... the complete path can only
be narrated by a Siddha Purusha. Reaching the stage of a Siddha Purusha is the
end goal of life itself. This was what God intended for all living beings to be
when he formed the entire Cosmos.
We must pay our obeisance to a Siddha Purusha for he has reached the highest pinnacle
of life. And it is why after an Arihanta we pay our respects to a Siddha Purusha.
The third prayer of the Navkar mantra "Namo Ayriyanam" is addressed
to all Acharyas
(spiritual teachers) existing on Mother Earth. Unless and until these Acharyas
are able to grasp the meaning of words stated by an Arihanta... the common masses
again would not be able to decipher what was being said! Every
Arihanta has a large following of spiritual teachers (Acharyas) who finally disseminate
the spiritual
wisdom to the masses. The Acharyas act as the principals of the spiritual
schools of thought. And in these spiritual monasteries they teach the essence
of spiritual wisdom to the serious seekers of spirituality (not the masses).
An Acharya in present times can be compared to the owner or a principal of a school
or college. Unless and until Acharyas have hermitages (ashrams) spread all over
the earthly abode... the messages from the Siddha Purusha to the masses would
not be possible. Acharyas are the prominent link between the teachers and the
Arihantas.
The
fourth prayer of the Navkar mantra "Namo Uvajjhayanam" is addressed
to Upadhyaya (spiritual teachers). Amongst
the most serious seekers of spirituality... those who are earnest in their approach
(the Upadhyayas) become the patron pupils of the saints and the hermitages (ashrams).
It is this pupil (the grass root level spiritual teacher) who finally passes on
the messages of the spiritual
masters to the masses.
The role of the Upadhyaya (spiritual teacher) is the foremost of all. It is he
who finally passes on the messages of the spiritual masters to the masses.
Imagine
a situation when there are hundreds of Lord Mahaviras but no Arihantas or Acharyas
to follow. How would the messages of the Siddha Purusha reach the masses? In the
chain of events... the role of Arihantas, Acharyas and finally Upadhyayas is never
insignificant. Everyone has got to play their own role! One cannot do without
the other. For
the common masses to follow the dictates of an Arihanta is difficult not impossible.
The Upadhyayas (spiritual teachers) travel to far-flung areas of the globe to
disseminate the worldly wisdom gained from an Arihanta through an Acharya.
Practically for an Arihanta to disseminate the spiritual wisdom to the masses
in its entirety is out of question. A team of thousands of Upadhyayas is able
to accomplish such a task. And hence we pay our respects to these Upadhyayas who
bring message of goodwill and peace to the community.
The fifth prayer of the Navkar mantra "Namo Loe Savva-sahunam" is addressed
to people who are Sadhu (godly) in nature. One who is neither a Siddha Purusha,
nor an Arihanta, nor an Acharya or an Upadhyaya is covered under the fifth prayer. All
God-fearing people are also required to be respected and prayed to seek their
blessings! This is a very important and a fundamental part of the whole prayer...
the Navkar mantra itself. After having sought the blessings of all Siddha Purusha,
Arihantas, Acharyas and Upadhyayas... we also need to seek the blessings of those
favored pupils of God without which the Navkar mantra itself would lose its efficacy.
While living in the physical present world... we normally find many God-fearing
people who outwardly appear not to be very religious or spiritual in nature but
these blessed sons
and daughters of God are the ones who make the society worth living.
It is these sons of the soil who have given our present society its meaning.
These
worldly wise people are covered in the fifth prayer. By seeking thus we are simply
negating the onset of negative karma
if any in our life. Praying to all and seeking the blessings of all... one definitely
can vouch with certainty that nothing negative would befall us. I
shall explain the value of offering our prayers to the fifth category for the
following reason-
We have all read the story of a Princess who prickled her thumb in childhood and
fell asleep for a full hundred years. She was destined to have died the moment
her thumb got prickled but a kind fairy blessed the child that she would not die
(by pricking of her thumb)... rather at the end of hundred years she would be
brought back to life if a passing prince kisses her.
Why
at all this happened? Was this not the result of ignorance or we might say indifference
on the part of the parents of the Princess who had forgotten to invite an old
wicked fairy during the family celebrations at the time of birth of the Princess.
This wicked fairy had indeed put a curse on the Princess that when she reaches
a particular age... she would prickle her thumb with a spindle that would lead
to her death.
We must always fear the unknown! Why not all of us of offer our prayers to each
and every godly soul existing on Mother Earth lest we may be cursed by one for
uncountable reasons. By seeking the blessings of those souls whom we even do not
know... absolves us of all the impurities that may strike us at any moment of
time in life. Navkar
Mantra: the mother of all mantras, meaning of navkar mantra. Namokar mahamantra!In
a nutshell, the Navkar mantra encompasses prayer to all the Siddha Purusha, Arihantas,
Acharyas, Upadhyayas and the balance who are closer to God than us. The Navkar
mantra is a complete prayer in itself. Those who chant the Navkar mantra in true
earnestness definitely get benefited on every account. Navkar
mantra must become a daily practice with us. By chanting the Navkar mantra...
there is nothing to lose! It is gains all the time! We
must also remember that chanting of any mantra and for that matter the Navkar
mantra is not the sole propriety of the Jain community. Any individual can chant
this mantra to advantage. We need to have the requisite faith in the Navkar mantra
of Jainism.
Essay
by: Vijay
Kumar "Atma Jnani"
Vijay
Kumar... The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains the efficacy and meaning of
Navkar Mantra- All five prayers individually explained. For more details on navkar
mantra visit - navkar
mantra. Send
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