ARIHANTA🔗

(While commenting on the great enlightened Master - Mahavir Jain's - Jain Sutras)

Mahavir starts: namo arihantanam, I bow in reverence to arihantas who achieved the highest truths. Not only who achieve, who radiate the truths so much that others who go near them are also inspired to achieve!

Understand an important truth: arihanta does not mean a person who teaches, no! It is a person who inspires. You can't reproduce enlightenment by teaching. If you can, long before we would have started selling it. We would have created stores, www.enlightenment.com and advertised: please visit our website to get enlightened! We would have created enlightenment guaranteed shops. No! Fortunately or unfortunately you can't create enlightenment in a being by teaching. Only by inspiring you can create enlightenment. You can reproduce enlightenment only by inspiring.

Arihanta is the person who is radiating the truth so powerfully, so strongly. His presence is so intense that anybody who comes near him, even if they spend a few minutes around him, are inspired. The fire is ignited, transmission of the light happens. They feel: this is the best state to live in. This is the best space to exist. This is the best thing which can happen to me in my life. Understand: if you go near an enlightened being, even if you have spent two to three minutes, suddenly you will feel this is the best thing which can happen to you.

Arihanta is a person not only who has become enlightened, but who radiates it as well. Just through his very presence, you will feel God. He will become a fantasy in you. He will inspire you so much. He will occupy your inner space so much that either you start working towards achieving that state or you feel: I am not able to. Even if you feel I am not able to that's okay. At least you have taken the first step. You have started. Understand: respect towards an enlightened being is the first step towards enlightenment. It means that you want that state. You will not respect anything unless you agree with that ideology. Unless you have a little bit of attachment, feeling towards that ideology, a subtle feeling that you should also have the same, unless you get that, you will not have respect for that.

If you are respecting somebody beautiful, handsome, be very clear you have a subtle desire to be in that state, to have that quality. In the same way, if you respect a rich guy, there is a subtle desire to have wealth. Anything you respect automatically enters in your inner space. When you say I bow in reverence to enlightened beings, you give respect to enlightenment. Here you are not bowing down to someone who will help you when you are in fear. No. You are not bowing down to a king. You are not bowing down to a rich guy who will give you money. No. You are not bowing down to a person who will give you logic or philosophy - words. You are bowing down to a person who inspires, who puts the seed of enlightenment in you, who helps you to achieve enlightenment. Arihanta is such.

There is a beautiful commentary which says: when you sit in front of an arihanta, the ultimate conscious being, without your knowledge, without even your conscious understanding, your whole being is integrated towards that one goal, enlightenment.

Paramahamsa

Paramahamsa