Patrank – 213

Salutations! Salutations! To The Eternal

This world is bewildered by the agony of physical, mental and circumstantial suffering. It is as pitiful as one who runs to fetch water from a mirage desiring to quench its thirst. Because of ignorance, forgetting the nature of the Self, it has acquired dreadful cycles of birth and death. At every moment it experiences immeasurable suffering, diseases, fear of death, misery of separation etc. For a world with such insecurities, an Enlightened One alone is a shelter. Except for the words of the Enlightened, no one can annihilate that suffering and thirst; that is certain. Therefore, again and again, I meditate upon the Lotus Feet of that Enlightened One.

The world is full of miseries. Anyone experiencing even the slightest comfort, is because of the grace of an Enlightened Being; without any kind of merits (shubh karma), comfort cannot be attained; and even that merit (shubh karma) is not known by anyone without being instructed by the Enlightened One; after a long period of time, that merit (shubh karma) acquired through instruction, prevails in compliance with the customs; therefore, it appears as if that has been acquired from scriptures etc., but an Enlightened One alone is its root; so I understand that the cause of every state of well-being, from an iota of comfort to the state of complete fulfilment, is solely an Enlightened One. In spite of having such tremendous capabilities, He has no desires, no excitement, no sense of ‘my’ness, no pride, no vanity. Such an Enlightened One, wonderment personified, I extol again and again.

The one who has suzerainty over the Lord of three worlds and yet behaves in such a mysterious way that it is extremely difficult for a common man to recognise, such an Enlightened One, I sing the glory of, again and again.

To remain totally detached, even for a moment, is more difficult than conquering all the three worlds. The One who lives with such detachment at all times, seeing the inner state of such Enlightened Ones, I bow down in supreme wonderment.

Oh Lord! I believe that liberation is possible even in this era. As expounded in Jain scriptures, if there is no liberation in this era, then in this regard uphold that exposition and instead of giving me liberation, bless me with the opportunity of meditating upon the Lotus Feet of the Enlightened One and living in His close proximity.

Oh Eternal Being! I do not think that there is any difference between You and an Enlightened Being; more than You, an Enlightened One is more special to me; because You too are reliant on Him; and without understanding the Enlightened One I was unable to understand You, and it is this incomprehensibility of Yours that generates love for the Enlightened One in me. Because even though You are reliant on Him, He has no arrogance, and is simpler even than You, so now tell me what to do?

Oh Lord! You do not have to feel offended that I extol an Enlightened One more than You; the whole world sings Your glory; so if I extol Him, in that where does He expect any glorifications, and where do you get offended?

You ask that the Enlightened Ones know the past, present and future, and yet do not reveal it? In this regard, it appears that it is the wish of the Lord that except for certain spiritual matters, the Wise do not disclose other things about the past, present and future; and this also seems to be the inner-desire of the Wise. The One who has no kind of expectations whatsoever, for such a Wise One because there remains nothing to be done, He performs only what arises as destiny.

I do not possess that kind of knowledge by which all three times, the past, present and future are known in totality, nor am I particularly focused on that knowledge; my love is for devotion to the True Self and detachment from the world.

That alone is a humble exposition.

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