Namo Namo Namo Namo

[Pheena]

Namo arihantanam namo namo

Namo siddhanam namo namo

Namo uvajjhayanam namo namo

Namo loye savva sahunam namo namo

Aeso panch nammukaro

Savva pavappanasano

Mangalam cha savvesam padhamam havai mangalam

Arihante saranam pavajjhami

Siddhe saranam pavajjhami

Sahu saranam pavajjhami

Namo arihantanam namo namo

Namo siddhanam namo namo

Namo uvajjhayanam namo namo

Om, shantih, shantih, shantih….

Now my effort at translation: "I go to the feet of, I bow down to, the arihantas…." Arihanta is the name

in Jainism, as arhat is in Buddhism, for one who has achieved the ultimate but cares nothing about

anybody else. He has come home and turned his back on the world. He does not create a religion, he does

not even preach, he does not even declare. Of course he has to be remembered first. The first

remembrance is for all those who have known and remained silent. The first respect is not for words, but

for silence. Not for serving others, but for the sheer achievement of one's self. It does not matter whether

one serves others or not; that is secondary, not primary. The primary is that one has achieved one's self,

and it is so difficult in this world to know one's self….

The Jainas call the person arihanta who has attained to himself and is so drowned, so drunk in the

beautitude of his realization that he has forgotten the whole world. The word 'arihanta' literally means

"one who has killed the enemy"—and the enemy is the ego. The first part of the mantra means, "I touch

the feet of the one who has attained himself."

The second part is: Namo siddhanam namo namo. This mantr

a is in Prakrit, not Sanskrit. Prakrit is the

language of the Jainas; it is more ancient than Sanskrit. The very word 'sanskrit' means refined. You can

understand by the word 'refined' there must have been something before it, otherwise what are you going

to refine? 'Prakrit' means unrefined, natural, raw, and the Jainas are correct when they say their language

is the most ancient in the world. Their religion too is the most ancient.

The Hindu scripture Rigveda mentions the first master of the Jainas, Adinatha. That certainly means it is

far more ancient than Rigveda. Rigveda is the oldest book in the world, and it talks about the Jaina

tirthankara, Adinatha, with such respect that one thing is certain, that he could not have been a

contemporary of the people writing Rigveda.…

The mantra is in Prakrit, raw and unrefined. The second line is: "Namo siddhanam namo namo—" I touch the feet of the one who has become his being." So, what is the difference between the first and the

second?

The arihanta never looks back, never bothers about any kind of service, Christian or otherwise. The

siddha, once in a while holds out his hand to drowning humanity, but only once in a while, not always. It

is not a necessity, it is not compulsory, it is his choice; he may or he may not.

Hence the third: "Namo uvajjhayanam namo namo…" I touch the feet of the masters, the uvajjhaya."

They have achieved the same, but they face the world, they serve the world. They are in the world and not of it…but still in it.

The fourth: "Namo loye savva sahunam namo namo…" I touch the feet of the teachers." You know the subtle difference between a master and a teacher. The master has known, and imparts what he has

known. The teacher has received from one who has known, and delivers it intact to the world, but he

himself has not known.

The composers of this mantra are really beautiful; they even touch the feet of those who h

ave not known

themselves, but at least are carrying the message of the masters to the masses.

Number five is one of the most significant sentences I have ever come across in my whole life. It is

strange that it was given to me by my grandmother when I was a small child. When I explain it to you,

you too will see the beauty of it. Only she was capable of giving it to me. I don't know anybody else who

had the guts to really proclaim it, although all Jainas repeat it in their temples. But to repeat is one thing;

to impart it to one you love is totally another.

"I touch the feet of all those who have known themselves"…without any distinction, whether they are

Hindus, Jainas, Buddhists, Christians, Mohammedans. The mantra says, "I touch the feet of all those who

have known themselves." This is the only mantra, as far as I know, which is absolutely nonsectarian.

The other four parts are not different from the fifth, they are all contained in it, but it has a vastness

which those others do not have. The fifth line must be written on all the temples, all the churches,

irrespective of to whom they belong, because it says, "I touch the feet of all those who have known it." It

does not say "who have known God." Even the "it" can be dropped: I am only putting "it" in the

translation. The original simply means "touching the feet of those who have known"—no "it." I am

putting "it" in just to fulfill the demands of your language; otherwise someone is bound to ask, "Known?

Known what? What is the object of knowledge?" There is no object of knowledge; there is nothing to

know, only the knower.

This mantra was the only religious thing, if you can call it religious, given to me by my grandmother, and

that too, not by my grandfather but by my grandmother…because one night I asked her. One night she

said, "You look awake. Can't you sleep? Are you planning tomorrow's mischief?"

I said, "No, but somehow a question is arising in me. Everybody

has a religion, and when people ask me,

'To what religion do you belong?' I shrug my shoulders. Now, certainly shrugging your shoulders is not a

religion, so I want to ask you, what should I say?"

She said, "I myself don't belong to any religion, but I love this mantra, and this is all I can give you—not

because it is traditionally Jaina, but only because I have known its beauty. I have repeated it millions of

times and always I have found tremendous peace…just the feeling of touching the feet of all those who

have known. I can give you this mantra; more than that is not possible for me."

Now I can say that woman was really great, because as far as religion is concerned, everybody is lying:

Christians, Jews, Jainas, Mohammedans—everybody is lying. They all talk of God, heaven and hell,

angels and all kinds of nonsense, without knowing anything at all. She was great, not because she knew

but because she was unable to lie to a child. Nobody should lie—to a child at least it is unforgivable.

Children have been exploited for centuries just because they are willing to trust. You can lie to them very

easily and they will trust you. If you are a father, a mother, they will think you are bound to be true.

That's how the whole of humanity lives in corruption, in a thick mud, very slippery, a thick mud of lies

told to children for centuries.

If we can do just one thing, a simple thing: not lie to children, and to confess to them our ignorance, then

we will be religious, and we will put them on the path of religion. Children are only innocence; leave

them not your so-called knowledge. But you yourself must first be innocent, unlying, true, even if it

shatters your ego—and it will shatter. It is bound to shatter.

My grandfather never told me to go to the temple, to follow him. I used to follow him many times, but he

would say, "Go away. If you want to go to the temple, go alone. Don't follow me."

He was not a hard man, but

on this point he was absolutely hard. I asked him again and again, "Can you

give me something of your experience?" And he would always avoid it….

"Namo arihantanam namo namo

Namo siddhanam namo namo

Namo uvajjhayanam namo namo

Namo loye savva sahunam namo namo

Om, shantih, shantih, shantih…."

What does it mean? It means "Om"—the ultimate sound of soundlessness. And he disappeared like a

dewdrop in the first rays of the sun.

There is only peace, peace, peace…. I am entering into it now….

Namo arihantanam namo namo….

I go to the feet of those who have known.

I go to the feet of those who have achieved.

I go to the feet of all who are masters.

I go to the feet of all the teachers.

I go to the feet of all who have ever known,

Unconditionally.

Om, shantih, shantih, shantih.

[ms514]

Sat Sri Akal:

eik jainee oujharr paae dhhurahu khuaaeiaa ||

Some are Jains, wasting their time in the wilderness; by their pre-ordained destiny, they are ruined.

thin mukh naahee naam n theerathh nhaaeiaa ||

The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is not on their lips; they do not bathe at sacred shrines of pilgrimage.

hathhee sir khohaae n bhadh karaaeiaa ||

They pull out their hair with their hands, instead of shaving.

kuchil rehehi dhin raath sabadh n bhaaeiaa ||

They remain unclean day and night; they do not love the Word of the Shabad.

thin jaath n path n karam janam gavaaeiaa ||

They have no status, no honor, and no good karma. They waste away their lives in vain.

man joot(h)ai vaejaath joot(h)aa khaaeiaa ||

Their minds are false and impure; that which they eat is impure and defiled.

bin sabadhai aachaar n kin hee paaeiaa ||

Without the Shabad, no one achieves a lifestyle of good conduct.

guramukh oua(n)kaar sach samaaeiaa ||16||

The Gurmukh is absorbed in the True Lord God, the Universal Creator. ||16||

Guru Amar Daas Ji, Raag Malaar, 1285.

Admin Note: Jee, please try to paste the full gurbani (ie gurmukhi) so that the sttm tags can be used. -2

[V]

pauVI ]

pourree ||

Pauree:

ieik jYnI auJV pwie Durhu KuAwieAw ]

eik jainee oujharr paae dhhurahu khuaaeiaa ||

Some are Jains, wasting their time in the wilderness; by their pre-ordained destiny, they are ruined.

iqn muiK nwhI nwmu n qIriQ n@wieAw ]

thin mukh naahee naam n theerathh nhaaeiaa ||

The Naam, the Name of the Lord, is not on their lips; they do not bathe at sacred shrines of pilgrimage.

hQI isr Kohwie n Bdu krwieAw ]

hathhee sir khohaae n bhadh karaaeiaa ||

They pull out their hair with their hands, instead of shaving.

[color=0

80088]kuicl rhih idn rwiq sbdu n BwieAw ][/color][/color]

kuchil rehehi dhin raath sabadh n bhaaeiaa ||

They remain unclean day and night; they do not love the Word of the Shabad.

iqn jwiq n piq n krmu jnmu gvwieAw ]

thin jaath n path n karam janam gavaaeiaa ||

They have no status, no honor, and no good karma. They waste away their lives in vain.

min jUTY vyjwiq jUTw KwieAw ]

man joot(h)ai vaejaath joot(h)aa khaaeiaa ||

Their minds are false and impure; that which they eat is impure and defiled.

ibnu sbdY Awcwru n ikn hI pwieAw ]

bin sabadhai aachaar n kin hee paaeiaa ||

Without the Shabad, no one achieves a lifestyle of good conduct.

gurmuiK EAMkwir sic smwieAw ]16]

guramukh oua(n)kaar sach samaaeiaa ||16||

The Gurmukh is absorbed in the True Lord God, the Universal Creator. ||16||

This Shabad is by Guru Amar Daas Ji in Raag Malaar on Pannaa 1285

http://www.sikhitothemax.com/Page.asp?Sour...D=4650&Format=2

[Pheena]

Did either of you actually tried to read the post or did u read the word Jain and ran to sikitothemax?

The Post is beautifull and the message is universal, it has nothing to do with those who are wasting their times in the wilderness. Those that lost the message are lost, those who pull their hair one by one have lost the message. The quote you guys posted is beautifull, but it does not apply to the quote i posted. The practitioners of the practice are lost.

I could've removed the word Jain from the post, then what would you have done? Would the message be lost? The mantra has nothing to do with Religion.

[ms514]

Sat Sri Akal:

Really...then where, praytell, is this text from? If it is indeed referenced from the Jain texts, them perhaps you should have a read at the Akaranga Sutra, which is the primary text of the Jains and dictations of Mahavir himself, founder of the Jains and see what their founder himself had to say.

[ramnik]

Pheena ji very beautiful,

BUT

did u know, the main reason why the jain/buddhist methods are questionable because they can work the opposite way on a person.

1.their methods in getting one with waheguroo give a lot of emphasis to the self.

2. Seva and company of satsangat is very very important in sikhism but emphasis of soltitude is predominant in budhism

3. Sikhism teaches ,keeping quiet (vraths as they are called, one is required to keep silence and speak to nobody) keeping fasts are all wastes.

all these methods have the danger of strenghthening up the ego.

Pheenaji please forgive me if i have said something wrong and correct me, i am still a fool

[Rattan]

How can you close your hearts on god's love..thank you pheena for sharing..

[ms514]

Sat Sri Akal:

And it never hurts to offer a more complete and balanced picture of the article in question. From the exerpt presented, you would think that Jainism is this extremely enlightened religion and be perplexed as to why Guru Sahib would outright denounce the Jains. A reading of their texts explains quite well why Guru Sahib made the statements they did. The Gurbani verses would seem very corase and against the accepting nature of Sikhism, until you actually read the Jain texts, which state these activities (and many others) as acceptable and holy.

Forgive me if the Gurbani verses seem to rub your efforts the wrong way, but Gurbani is what it is and Jainism is what it is.

[Pheena]

Sat Sri Akal:

And it never hurts to offer a more complete and balanced picture of the article in question.  From the exerpt presented, you would think that Jainism is this extremely enlightened religion and be perplexed as to why Guru Sahib would outright denounce the Jains.  A reading of their texts explains quite well why Guru Sahib made the statements they did.  The Gurbani verses would seem very corase and against the accepting nature of Sikhism, until you actually read the Jain texts, which state these activities (and many others) as acceptable and holy.

Forgive me if the Gurbani verses seem to rub your efforts the wrong way, but Gurbani is what it is and Jainism is what it is.

You have missed the point veer (perhaps as did I) and i lack the ability to share it with you.

If i had removed the Word Jain, would the Message of the Paragraph be any different? Let me repeat what i said before the Mantra has nothing to do with Religion, Read the translation of the Mantra, and you will see for yourself. What you see is the word Jain and reject the post because of that word. If that word was not there, id seriously doubt you would've posted that quote. What the eyes of this ego sees is not the word jain, but the message that is spoken by the Mantra. How can you read it and not see the universality of the message. The Mantra in

no way express domination of Jains. All it does is say i bow to the feet of those who have attained. It does not say only Jains or only Sikhs, or only HIndus.

The Quote from Guru Granth Sahib does not rub my efforts the wrong way. It only awakens me to the misunderstanding that is being caused by this post. The Mantra shows that all religions have Some if not all common universal acceptence and this Mantra expressed is very well. What the Ego of man had done to the message of their Prohpets/Guru is a different subjct and that is what the Quote you posted refers to. The second to Last line in the Quote you posted refers to Shabad meaning Guru, those who are without Guru cannot attain salvation. They wander in the Wilderness thinking they can attain, but without the Guru one cannot attain. I am no way in a disagreement about that, but what does that have to do with my post? The whole Quote i posted talks about bowing to those Gurus/Masters/Teacher..!!!

I am not pro or anti jains, i simply found this Mantra to be beautifull and decided to share it, if you do not wish to read the post because it is a Jain mantra, then that is your free will.

Waheguru.

[Pheena]

Pheena ji very beautiful,

      BUT

did u know, the main reason why the jain/buddhist methods are questionable because they can work the opposite way on a person.

1.their methods in getting one with waheguroo give a lot of emphasis to  the self.

2. Seva and company of satsangat is very very important in sikhism but emphasis of soltitude is predominant in budhism

3. Sikhism teaches ,keeping quiet (vraths as they are called, one is required to keep silence and speak to nobody) keeping fasts are all wastes.

all these methods have the danger of strenghthening up the ego.

Pheenaji please forgive me if i have said something wrong and correct me, i am still a fool

You are 100% correct veer ji.

Why does Nanak say "by the guru's grace"? Is not man's own labor enough? It is necessary to understand this very subtle point, because Nanak stresses the guru a great deal. Later Nanak says that without the guru God cannot be attained. What is the reason for this? If God is omnipresent why can't I meet Him directly? What is the need to bring in the guru?

Krishnamurti says there is no need of a guru at all. This

idea appeals to the intellect and to reasoning. What need to introduce the guru since I am born of God, as is the guru? Mind does not approve of the guru; so a congregation of egoists revolve around Krishnamurti. What he says is perfectly correct, that there is no need of a guru -- provided you are capable of annihilating your ego yourself.  But it is as difficult to drop the ego yourself as it is to lift oneself up by your bootstraps. It is just like a dog trying to catch his tail.

The quicker he turns, the further his trail swishes away. If, however, a person is competent enough, then Krishnamurti is absolutely right that no guru is necessary.  But here lie all the complications. No sooner have you somehow conquered your ego then you will say, "I have dropped my ego," and there you introduce a new form of ego even more dangerous than the old. The guru is needed so that this new ego is not born. Even as you say, "By the grace of the guru," you can convey by your behavior: "See how humble I am! No one can be more humble!" And now these new paths are etched out by the ego. Till yesterday you were proud of your wealth; today you are proud of its renunciation and your humility. The rope is burned but the twists remain. How is this arrogance to be destroyed? -- hence Nanak's emphasis on the guru.

There is no difficulty in attaining God directly, because He is present right in front of you. Wherever you go, there He is. But the one difficulty is that you stand within yourself, and how will you remove this interfering you? Hence, "THE GURU'S GRACE." The seeker may labor but the attainment will always be by the guru's grace. This concept of the guru's grace will not allow your ego to form. It will destroy the old ego and prevent the new from forming; otherwise, you rid yourself of one ailment and contract another.

There is a very old saying in India that during the sat yuga, the age of truth, the guru was not needed much, but in kali yuga, the age of darkness, which began about five years ago, the guru will be a necessity. What is the reason? The Sat Yuga was the period when people were very alert, full of awareness. In the Kali Yuga people are insensitive, slumbering, almost unconscious.

Therefore the religions of Buddha or Mahavira born in the Sat Yuga, are not of as much use in today's world as the religion of Nanak. Nanak's religion is the newest, though it too is now five hundred years old. We need another new religion, because those who heard Mahavira and Buddha were relatively more alert than us; they were also wiser, simpler and more artless. And even further back, the people who listened to Krishna were even more aware and alert.

As we move backward we find more innocence... just as when a person recounts his life backwards, he arrives at the period of his childhood. In infancy he is simple and innocent; in youth he begins to become complicated. It is difficult to conquer an old man filled with wisdom. He knows nothing and yet he feels he knows everything. He has been thrown about by life. Through his suffering he feels he is very experienced; he has gathered trash and he thinks he has collected diamonds.

The child is simple, innocent; he is the symbol of Sat Yuga. The old man is highly complicated, and his insensitivity increases day by day as death is drawing near -- he is the symbol of Kali Yuga. The child's consciousness is very fresh because the fountain of life is very close to him. He is like a wave just arisen from God. The old man is dirty, weighted down by dust, and about to fall back into God. The child is a fresh bud; the old man is a withered flower whose life breath is just about spent.

Kali Yuga means that period where the end is near. Life is

now old. In Kali Yuga you cannot, under any circumstances, do without the guru because you will be constantly filled with ego. When each little thing that you do fills you with ego, how will you not be filled with arrogance when you do your spiritual practice? If you build a small house and pride yourself on it, fill your treasure chest and your conceit will know no bounds; and when you start on the quest for the supreme treasure your self-importance and vanity will be unfathomable.

Notice the contemptuous look of the man who goes to the temple or to the mosque towards those who do not. His eyes tell you: You sinners will rot and burn in hellfire! Look at me! I pray every day and I am saved." He recites, "Ram, Ram," and thinks the gates of heaven are open for him and all others will go to hell.

The greater your insensitivity, the more somnolent you are, the greater your need for a guru.

Understand that. If you are fast asleep, how can you awaken yourself? Someone else will have to shake you. Even then the chances are that you will roll over and fall back asleep again.