Aradhna Shibir is a spiritual retreat where a true seeker of liberation can focus his/her mind solely on progressing on the path to self-realisation. Under the refuge of our Enlightened Master, Param Pujya Bhaishree and his team of Brahmnishths, seekers from all over the world gather at Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram, Sayla. Participants follow a daily regime observing solitude and silence for seven days. The regime is designed in such a way that it gives seekers quality time to immerse in meditation, introspection, contemplation and spiritual discourse. In this fast paced life such a meditation retreat is like an oasis where one can find peace and quiet. It is indeed a unique opportunity to center oneself and rediscover yourself.
Param Pujya Bhaishree’s Discourse
Param Pujya Bhaishree’s subject for the December 2019 Aradhna Shibir was ‘Samyaktva naa sadsath bol’ (67 Statements of Samyaktva) written by the great Upadhyay Shri Yashovijayji Maharaj. Samyaktva means Samyak Darshan (self realisation) as well as faith in True God, True Guru and True Dharma. Pujya Bhaishree said that this work has been studied numerous times, and Param Pujya Bapuji has also shared it; it is an incredibly important topic to understand, reflect and contemplate upon.
The 67 statements of Samyaktva are divided into 12 topics as follows:
1. The four types of faith in the teachings of the equanimously detached God and the Enlightened Master:
a. Having faith in the 9 tattvas.
b. Increasing samta bhaav (equanimity) by serving enlightened saints, devout monks and spirituality-seeking souls.
c. To distance self from those who have fallen astray from the right path to Liberation.
d. Not keeping company with those who are extremely worldly.
Having faith in these tenets aids us in achieving our foremost target; Samyak Darshan (Self-realisation).
2. Interest in Dharma by listening to it, receiving joy from listening to it and in serving the Enlightened Master and seekers of liberation.
3. 10 types of ‘vinay’ dharma. The seed of dharma needs to be nourished so that it can grow into a tree. This seed can be nurtured by giving respect and devotion to the following ten:-
i. Arihant Bhagvan
ii. Siddh Bhagvan
iii. Idol of Bhagvan
iv. Aagams (spiritual scriptures) which are the works of Bhagvan written by the Gandhars
v. True Religion
vi. Sadhu
vii. Aacharya
viii. Upadhyay
ix. Spiritual Discourse
x. Complete faith in the teachings of Jineshwar Bhagwan and not doubting it at all.
4. Purification of the 3 yogs: mind, body and speech
Desire, ego, anger, deceit, likes, dislikes, delusion and ignorance are impurities of the mind.
Harsh, sarcastic, quarrelsome and false words are impurities of the speech.
To hurt someone, beat them, stealing, gambling are impurities of the body.
With the help of introspection and contemplation upon the wisdom imparted by the Enlightened Master, we can redirect our impure inclinations thereby increasing purity of the mind, body and speech.
5. Five faults that block our progress on the true path:
i. Having doubt in Jineshwar Bhagvan’s teachings
ii. Pursuing religion to acquire wealth, power, good birth or other worldly desires.
iii. Having doubts about receiving the fruit of hard work on the spiritual path.
iv. False belief that worldly pleasures will give us happiness. This strengthens our false perception of reality (mithyatva).
v. Keeping company of those who pursue worldly desires.
6. Eight ways in which we can propagate Jain Dharm:
a. Understanding and spreading the teachings of Bhagvan throughout the world.
b. By giving discourses.
c. Through debates in courts.
d. Using astrology.
e. By performing great penance and not going against the tenets of Jineshwar Bhagvan.
f. By using mantras.
g. By using siddhis that one has acquired.
h. Through poetry.
7. Five ornaments of devotion towards God and the path laid down by Him:
i. All rituals should be performed with a devoted and focused mind.
ii. To do seva-puja-bhakti of Tirthankar Bhagvan and have devotional love towards enlightened saints.
iii. To have devotion towards Sadguru and follow the Master’s instructions diligently.
iv. To not to get swayed by mithyatva into following the wrong path.
v. Appreciate the Jin Shashan.
8. Five virtues that pave the path to self-realisation:
Sham – Containment of anger and other negative passions (kashay) and the ability to quieten the impure inclinations (vrutti) that arise.
Samveg – To harbour no form of desire for anything, except for Liberation.
Nirved - The realisation that this world is seething with suffering and deep longing to end the Soul’s endless transmigration.
Shraddha - Complete faith in True God, True Guru and True Faith.
Anukampaa - Compassion towards the less fortunate; kindness towards all souls and inner compassion for Self (for the Soul has been trapped in the web of ignorance and delusion).
These five virtues are the foundation for reaching Moksh. Param Krupalu Dev has defined these virtues in letter number 135.
9) Six yatnaa - jaynaa or diligence in following the True Dharma and not being misled by false faiths. Param Pujya Bhaishree explained this through the story of a prince called Sangram Sur. Though he was initially cruel, loving to hunt and kill animals, when he heard the bodh of a monk, he repented and gave up hunting. He took the vows of a shravak and followed them diligently. His faith was unshakeable and so great was his love for religion that even Indra praised him in his court as Sangram Sur did not waver from True Faith even at times of crisis.
10) Aagaar is when an ‘exception’ in following the Dharma is allowed. This is when a person undertakes an action against dharma because they are under duress and it is the result of an external force, and against their own personal wishes.
The six types of external forces that can be exerted are:
by a king
by society
by someone who is stronger or more powerful
by a Celestial Being
by a Guru or parents
to save one's own life so that Samyak Darshan can be pursued as losing a precious human birth would be a great waste.
Pujya Bhaishree gave the example of Kartik Shreshthi who had to serve food to Taapas Muni against his wishes on the order of the king. Pujya Bhaishree then commented here that we have to decide whether it is an aagaar or not when we fail to do our aagnaas (spiritual regime as instructed by the Mentor). If we are unable to do them, there needs to be a legitimate reason for it to be an aagaar.
11) Importance of Samyak Darshan
Pujya Yashovijay Maharaj has given six examples to highlight the great significance of Samyak Darshan. These examples are to be contemplated upon with a pure mind:
a) Samyaktva is like the roots which hold Dharma upright like a tree.
b) Samyaktva is like the gate without which one cannot enter the city of Dharma.
c) Samyaktva is like the foundations of the palace of Dharma.
d) Samyaktva is like a treasure box in which the jewels of Dharma are kept.
e) Samyaktva is like the support of the land without which the world of Dharma cannot exist.
f) Samyaktva is like a bowl in which the nectar of Dharma can be safely held without spilling.
12) Six affirmations: Param Krupalu Dev has written about these, in letter 493, to Prabhushree Laghuraj Swami, and to Pujya Saubhagbhai in ‘Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra’. The 6 affirmations are:
a) the soul exists.
b) the soul cannot be destroyed and exists forever.
c) the soul is the doer.
d) the soul bears the fruits of its karmas.
e) Moksha exists.
f) Means to Moksha exists.
Param Pujya Bhaishree used stories to further explain these points so that seekers of all spiritual levels could understand it.
Meditation
Meditation in Kalyan Hall is a superlative experience. One can immediately feel a blanket of peace, quiet and tranquility envelope you as soon as you step into the Hall. It gives a sense of well-being and also a sense of emotional elevation.
One on One Guidance
Each participant of the meditation retreat received the privileged opportunity to have personal one on one guidance by Brahmnishths (self-realised Souls). It is a very important part of the shibir as we get direct and immediate feedback on how our sadhna is going on. The Brahmnishths help and encourage us. They check if what we are doing is right or wrong and lovingly and gently guide us if we are making any mistakes.
Brahmnishth Rasikbhai’s Discourse
Brahmnishth Rasikbhai Shah's topic for the shibir was ‘Mumukshu / Sadhak naa antakaran maa’ (Inside the heart of a true seeker of liberation).
Rasikbhai addressed what a spiritual seeker should ‘know’, ‘imbibe’ and ‘discard’ in order to progress on the path of self-realisation.
Five types of happiness:
All of us desire happiness yet it somehow seems to evade us. We must first understand what is happiness. There are five types of happiness. The first three are worldly whilst the other two are derived from spiritual practice.
1. Sensual pleasures
2. Seeing someone in pain or discomfort.
3. By seeing the results of our saadhanaa.
4. The happiness one feels when s/he experiences the ‘Self’ as distinct from the body.
5. When this (point 4) experience increases and becomes richer and fuller.
In order to reach the fourth, and progressively the fifth state of happiness, there are things which we need to discard and things which we need to imbibe.
Obstacles on the path
We need to discard the obstacles in our path, and so we need to know what these obstacles are. They are:
1 Emotional dependency on the objects and people we consider "ours".
2. Sacrilege (ashaatnaa) towards the teachings of the True God, True Guru and True path to Liberation. Ashaatnaa also means the misuse of objects and offensive behaviour.
3. Disrespectful behaviour towards people and objects.
4. Ego is the most dangerous obstacle on the path to Samyak Darshan. It prevents saadhaks from developing detachment and increases the strength of moh (delusion) on us.
5. Ambition for worldly recognition.
In order to counteract the effects of these obstacles, we need to cultivate certain virtues.
The 5 virtues which help in increasing our sense of detachment and thus help us win over our worldly likes and dislikes are:
1. Feeling immense joy and oneness in listening to the Guru's words.
2. Harboring positive and good thoughts and feelings towards all. When we perform all actions under the guidance of a True Guru and attribute all actions to him, only good thoughts prevail in the mind. This removes any negative feelings towards other saadhaks which in turn helps us to see only the good in them. This helps cultivate pramod bhavana - the feeling of appreciation towards all.
3. Selfless service - When we see only positive things in the people around us, it arouses feelings of servitude and creates a sense of giving service to Guru, monks and other fellow seekers.
4. Correct understanding of the true path.
5. Surrendering oneself completely to the True Guru, True God and True Faith.
Rasikbhai's swadhyay elaborated the points made by Pujya Bhaishree in his swadhyays. He enumerated many points where we struggle and the reasons why our progress is slow sometimes. These are thoughts and actions which we do daily, sometimes even without knowing it. All the above depends upon our level of awareness and we should maintain a keen guard on our thoughts all the time.
Conclusion
Reiterating the importance of Samyak Darshan in all the swadhyays, Param Pujya Bhaishree stressed,
“Samyak Darshan is the grand doorway to Liberation. Since we have all the tools to get to Samyak Darshan, so why shouldn't we do it NOW!!”
Participants felt immense gratitude and love towards Param Pujya Bhaishree and all the Brahmnishths for holding their hand and painstakingly yet selflessly guiding them throughout the seven winter days in Sayla.
