Namo Namo Namo a Jain Mantra

[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 mantra 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 have 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.