Page 27 - Shilanyas2

Guruji made Siddhachalam an ashram for all who believed in ahimsa, regardless of sect or

faith. He also made it a protected land for animals, birds and nature. That tradition continues. In the winter of 2010, Siddhachalam fed more than 25,000 pounds of corn and made available warm drinking water to deer and other animals. It maintains several bird feed stations. All animals, including wild animals, have unimpeded access and protected living in Siddhachalam’s 120-acres of picturesque land. For Guruji, Siddhachalam belonged to all, not just humans.

Nestled amidst rolling fields, lush forests, natural springs and ponds, Siddhachalam today comprises temples, residence for visiting monks and nuns, library, cabins for temporary stay for worshippers, congregation hall, community dining hall, nature and meditation trails, and play grounds.

Siddhachalam reflects Guruji’s grand vision in many ways. The main temple (picture at beginning of this article), for instance, has unornamented and magnificent marble idols of Lord Adinath, Lord Parasvnath, Lord Mahavira, Lord Chandraprabhu, and Lord Shantinath on one altar. Yet, two of the idols are in the Digambar Jain tradition and three in the Shwetambar Jain tradition. The temple is thoughtfully made to draw even those who reject idol worship.

Ever since a child, as a protégé of Chotelalji Maharaj, a Jain monk, Guruji experimented with the Namokar Mantra. 4 He found in it immeasurable powers to cure, heal and protect. That started in him a life-long quest to realize the secrets behind the Namokar Mantra. That quest reached fruition at Siddhachalam.

In the Song of the Soul, a book he wrote on the Namokar Mantra while at Siddhachalam, Guruji writes: “…The Namokar Mantra is my goal and my life. It is my love and my destiny. Through it, I can serve and guide along the path of non-violence.” 5 He adds: “There is a deep, secret science to the combination of sounds [in the Namokar Mantra]. Specific syllables are seeds for the awakening of latent powers. Only the person who has actually experienced this level of reality, can fully understand the science of letters [matrika vidya]. Thus, the Namokar Mantra is a treasured gift of humanity of inestimable worth for the purification, upliftment and spiritual evolution of everyone.” 6

“The Namokar Mantra,” Guruji writes in the Song of the Soul, “is the essence of the gospel of the Tirthankars…They have taught the complete knowledge of the esoteric science of letters describing the special powers of each vowel and consonant. Subsequently, the Tirthankars’ chief disciples, known as Ganadharas, have used this precious knowledge to actually form a mantra by combining letters and their sounds and powers for the most beneficial effect…For every era, the Namokar Mantra has taken a different form, but its essence has remained the same. As only a Ganadhar is qualified to combine sounds as taught by the Tirthankar, no one else can change the form of the mantra without distorting it.” 7