Aparigraha - Non-possessiveness🔗

Understand, when Mahāvīra says drop your desires and don't possess – aparigraha - live in non-possessiveness, if you don't practice it and directly start arguing, 'How can I live without possessing things? It is life negative, it is not possible,' you will create all words. But if you really understand Mahāvīra and start living in non-possessiveness, if you clear your inner space and make yourself a non-possessive being, suddenly you will see so much of inner space is available.

You will take many risks, because as long as a person thinks that the wealth he is having is too valuable to lose, as long as he possesses, he will never take any step in life, he will not allow the flow happening in his life.

Understand, currency means that which is flowing, it will stay only with people who are allowing it to flow; if you stop the flow, it will stink.

The teachings of these great Masters should be applied in life, then you will see the results are totally different and surprising. You can't imagine the followers of the Master who is teaching non-possessiveness are the richest people! The reason is, when you really understand and create enough inner space, you will have enough courage and energy to take risks.

I tell you, maybe rarely one or two may fail in business, but constantly if you are thinking about it and if you are possessive of a few things which you are having, you are not going to take any risk, you will not allow life to flow. So you will never expand. And to tell you honestly, any desire you have, if you are possessing something, if you are holding something, if you think that that is the most important thing in your life, be very clear, you are holding something smaller than your capacity.

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J A I N S U T R A S D I S C O U R S E 2

Responsibility to Become Enlightened

One important thing, if you are enjoying the wealth created by the Jain forefathers, be very clear, it is your responsibility to become enlightened, because that wealth is created by the technology which is created by an enlightened being. If you are enjoying the wealth which is created by Jain forefathers you are bound to work towards enlightenment - it is your responsibility to keep that science alive on the planet earth.

See, the other day, in one of our ashramites' meeting, I was telling the ashramites, 'As long as you run this whole organization with the ideology, with the Truth, this will flourish. Even if I am not in the body, I will see that you all flourish and things happen beautifully. But the moment I see that the Truth or the spiritual ideology is not protected, I will be the first person to destroy this organization.'

I told very clearly, all the disciples were shocked; they said, 'What is this Swamiji? You are saying you will destroy the whole organization!' I said, 'Yes, for the spiritual ideology only the whole organization is getting created, this whole infrastructure is getting created. If the spiritual ideology is not maintained, you are not worthy of and you don't have the right to use that infrastructure.'

One more thing, Mahāvīra tried a great mystical thing: he tried to create a society in which the souls which want to get liberated take birth with the full opportunity to get enlightened, where all the possibility for enlightenment is available. Enlightenment is the priority for that society, so that any soul which wants to get liberation can choose this community to take birth.

Be very clear, if you have chosen a Jain father or mother, whether you believe it or not, you had a deep thirst for enlightenment. Of course, once you assume the body, you forget it, that is the difficulty. When you assume the body, you forget, because your inner space is filled with different objects.

Surrender the 'I' and 'mine'

And the next line, beautiful line, this five-fold salutation destroys all sins. Naturally, when you respect the great Masters, the idea to respect their teachings also starts going in you and those teachings will naturally destroy all the sins, engrams in your life. Understand, sins does not mean the acts which you committed. It is engrams which you carry, samskaras which you carry. When you bow down, when you offer the 'I' and 'mine' to arihantas, simply the samskaras which you carry will be destroyed.

Patanjali says beautifully, 'You don't have to create a canal to get water, just remove the obstruction.' Just remove the obstruction, the water will flow towards you. So you don't have to achieve enlightenment, just remove the obstructions which you are having, the 'I' and 'mine', and you will have enlightenment. It will simply happen in you. You are only stopping it.

The 'I' and mine is the blockage, surrender it at the feet of arihantas. One more thing, when the arihanta is alive, it is difficult to surrender. You will be afraid that he may take your 'I' and 'mine' away. It is very difficult to surrender when a Master is living.

Let me tell you a small story:

A blind man was trying to find a stick for walking. He was searching for something to hold on to; somehow by mistake he got a frozen snake. He was staying in the Himalayas; in the cold a snake had frozen. He thought that was a stick and he started using it for walking.

An enlightened Master saw this and told him, 'Hey, drop that. In one hour when the sun comes up, the snake will come back to life and it will bite you. You will be killed, please drop the snake. You are not carrying a stick, you are carrying a snake.'

The blind man said, 'No, no, I know it is a stick, you take care of your work, leave me.' The Master said, 'No, no, you are carrying a snake, leave it.' Then the man started shouting, 'I think you don't have a stick, that's why you are asking me to drop mine. The moment I drop it, you will pick up this stick!'

But the Master felt it wasHis responsibility to protect the blind man fromHis ignorance. So he forced him to drop the stick even though the blind man beat the Master with the same snake.

Understand, in the same way when an arihanta says drop 'I' and 'mine', you may think, 'He doesn't have what I have. That is why he is asking me to drop it so that he may pick it up when I drop. If I drop my 'I' and 'mine' he might take it away!' No.

The arihanta is not asking you to drop for himself. And now we don't even have that problem, because we have only the presence of Mahāvīra. So understand, sincerely offer yourself at the feet of these great Masters. You will see the conscious transformation starts from this moment. From this moment, whatever samskaras, sins you have will be washed away, will be destroyed.

Understand, the best thing you can ever do in your life is dropping your 'I' and 'mine' at the feet of enlightened beings. The sutra says the best thing which can happen to your life is dropping the 'I' and 'mine' at the feet of arihantas.

So now maybe we will take a few minutes, integrate the whole being and offer the whole thing at the feet of the great enlightened Masters, arihantas, siddhas, acharyas, upadhyayas and sādhus. Let us do it with full sincerity.

Understand, do not think, 'I chanted this mantra lakhs of times, what is going to happen now? I know this mantra.' No. Now do it with intensity. Tell the Masters, 'Please use this body, radiate in this body. I have abused this body enough. I abused whatever I have, 'I' and 'mine', it is time you all take charge of this, and let you all use this. Let me offer the 'I' and 'mine' at your disposal, at your feet. Let you all fill this body and mind, whatever I have, 'I' and 'mine'.'

Invite the Most Auspicious

Please let us sincerely offer ourselves at their feet. You will see this destroys all samskaras. The ultimate thing, the best thing which can happen to a human being, which can happen to you, will happen this moment. It says, manglananch savvesim, padhamam havei mangalam - the most auspicious amongst all auspicious things. The best thing which can happen to your being will happen the moment you bow down and you surrender the 'I' and 'mine' at the feet of these great Masters.

Let us take a few moments, a few minutes. Close your eyes. If you know this mantra you can repeat or at least offer yourself with intense devotion. First feel connected to these great Masters, all the twenty-four tirthankaras and arihantas, siddhas, acharyas, upadhyayas, sādhus. First feel deeply connected towards all of them for bringing the science of enlightenment to the planet earth and keeping it alive for so many thousands of years through which we are enriching our life, our inner space.

Namo arihantanam Namo siddhanam Namo ayariyanam Namo uvajjhayanam Namo loe savva-sahunam

Eso panch namokaro Savva-pavappanasano Manglananch savvesim Padhamam havei mangalam

I bow in reverence to arihantas I bow in reverence to siddhas I bow in reverence to acharyas I bow in reverence to upadhyayas I bow in reverence to all sādhus

This five fold salutation Destroys all sins And amongst all auspicious things This is the most auspicious one

Carry this one feeling, this one Truth with you now. Just try to retain this attitude that you offered everything at the feet of the great Masters. Just next twenty four hours try to be in the same inner space. Try to retain the same consciousness. Try to retain this same mood for the next twenty four hours till you come back for the next sutra, the next words from these great Masters.

You will see all these sutras do a great alchemy in your being and transform you and lets you all achieve. Let us pray to the great Masters to bless us all to achieve the same eternal bliss, the same higher consciousness. Let us all achieve and radiate the eternal bliss, nithyananda. Thank you.