Anushthan Jain Muni (Saints) Workshop for Overseas Meditators at Samarpan Ashram Dandi 2020

During the annual 45 day period known as anushthan where Swami Shivkrupanand or Swamiji goes into seclusion, we had the pleasure of meeting with Jain saints Uday Ratan Saagarji and Gunvallabh Saagarji. The session took place in the Samarpan Ashram in Dandi, India. The session was directed towards meditators from overseas where the Jain gurus spoke about Jain practices and gave solutions for different problems people had. We also learned about how Swamiji's Jain guru workshop series got their start. The gurus were residing in the ashram as special guests and were great mentors to many around them. The Jain gurus connect highly with Swamiji's teachings as they see much overlap with their scriptures.

1. Notes from Overseas Jain Muni Workshop at Samarpan Dandi Ashram Library
During Anushthan 2020
by Guru Udayratan Saagarji and Gunvallabh Saagarji from Palitana Temple
(Apologies if there are any incorrections or inaccuracy in note-taking. Special Thanks to Sheetal
Dattani for organizing and translating from Gujarati to English and the Ashram management for
helping organize this and most of all, to the gurus for helping everyone).
There is a great importance of prayer in the Jain philosophy. Jains pray for all living beings everywhere.
They pray for everyone’s welfare and attaining soul freedom. They have one day in the year where
people ask one another for forgiveness. It’s a special day of forgiveness in Jainism. There is a practice
for controlling the 5 senses and even the mind which is seen as falling in the same category.
There is a practice for Jain munis or saints to reduce their diet and sleep. During such times, they eat
once during the day. That includes not having water. The munis have many restrictions. They walk
everywhere. They don’t touch any kind of currency. There is a restriction with being with the opposite
gender. (Laughing) They can’t walk to Germany.
Jain munis remove all their hair twice a year with their hands. Around March, they remove their hair,
beard and mustache. Through this, they get practice in increasing their tolerance and seeing how much
they can bear.
There is a 5000-year-old connection between the Jains and Germany. An ancient copy of The
Kalpashatru, which is a Jain text on forgiveness, is there. Herman Jacob printed the 1rst edition about
150 years ago. All of the Jain scriptures are in Berlin University and are hand-written. The Jains give great
importance to these texts though they are thousands of years old. They are not available anywhere else
in the world.
The symbol Ashta Mangal which people know as the swastika is given great importance in Jainism
though it is banned in Germany. The Jain philosophy has a solution to every problem in life. To
demonstrate this, people can ask a question and they can answer it. So please ask.

1. (A person asked a question related to a low immune system). The Jain munis asked for the
person’s name and birthdate. The person didn’t know her exact birthdate. Every afternoon at 3
pm, the person should sit under the sun and do deep breathing with a focus on the base chakra.

2. There was a person who expressed they had little money, less friends, no job and a blocked
throat and navel chakra and how to overcome this. He was recommended a sandalwood
powder which the gurus would charge or energize through their methods. This powder was to
be applied on the crown for 90 days. The sandalwood powder was to be charged with 60 to 80
powers.

2. 3. Someone asked how to help with a poor stomach temporarily. They said to ask a doctor as it
was a temporary matter which can easily be resolved. They were later advised in the session to
avoid eating wheat for 3 days.

4. Somebody said they find it hard to maintain their spiritual state. They get affected by other
people’s moods easily so how can this be remedied? This person was told not to nap between
1-4 pm. Between 1-4 pm, the person should also apply sterilized cotton in their right nostril. This
solution is considered suitable for those with an overactive surya nadi or sun channel (read: the
right side of your body). This technique should help in balancing the person. Try this for 12
months and then resume as normal.
Observation by the Uday Ratan Saagarji:
You can pray for everyone’s well-being. E.g., there could be 3 counters but people choose to line up in
one counter. I would choose to be in the line up where there’s a prayer extended to the people lining up
that they may all be in peace.
(A prayer demo is then done of the verses Shubh Mangal Ho. The meaning roughly translates that may
everyone’s body and mind be in wellness and may all living beings be in wellness at every moment. May
the sky, earth and every particle of it reign in wellness. Everything we do is for good. Prayers are made
for God and everyone’s prosperity. An explanation then follows about how all the statues of the Jain
gurus are in a meditative pose).
5. This was in response to disturbing experiences a person was having when she was meditating
and something didn’t sit right with her. It was as though the feelings or thoughts didn’t feel like
hers and the disturbance started from there. She was advised as follows. In a new place where
you sit for meditation, pray for the salvation of any presiding spirits or energetic entities.
Swamiji’s aura is wide so a lot of spirits will come for soul freedom so pray for them and sit for
meditation. Light a wick fueled by clarified butter (ghee) from a cow and sit with it for 15
minutes with the eyes focused on the flame and then tip your head over to the ground to empty
yourself. (Note: while ghee is a powerful diminisher of thoughts and introduces a more vibrant
ambiance, this is not to suggest that people can’t try other fuels for flames or a candle either.
One may not have ready access to ghee everywhere in the world. Or they may not have a
cultural practice for lighting a clay or metal lamp).

6. This person was feeling dissatisfied and had a weak lunar channel (read left side of the body).
This person was advised to eat and swallow one small cup of parboiled rice with no salt as the
first thing in the morning. For half an hour after that, don’t take anything and then you can eat
your breakfast. Also, keep a wet cloth dipped in normal water on your belly and keep it on the
abdomen for 20 minutes ideally around nighttime. There is no time restriction about how long
to do this for and this person could continue this practice for 3 months.

7. This person had an issue with the throat and sacral chakras. She felt a minor throat infection and
had vocal chord issues. The person was advised to chant Om Aim Namaha or the Aim Saraswati
Beej Mantra at 4:30 a.m. or imagine Goddess Saraswati wearing yellow colored clothing at that
time.

3. 8. The person was feeling unfocused, prone to bursts of anger and having stomach issues. The
same solution was prescribed as in question 4.

9. The person here was asking about what to do as she felt herself looking for love and feeling
insecure and emotional and struggling with being outside the ashram in everyday living for most
people. The advice first given was that perhaps the person should just then continue serving the
ashram. Was it possible for this person to get employed for taking care of the German ashram?
If not, the solution of question 4 was prescribed.

10. This person was experiencing back issues due to nerve compression. It was like having the
feeling of having pins and needles poked into you. The solution proposed was to surrender to
the powers that be and to not worry for the future and just let go and live in the present.

11. Someone asked a question relating to Swamiji diagnosing people with a hot liver. If someone is
having a hot liver, how can they cool it? The solution was to eat a half cup cooked parboiled rice
without chewing it.

12. Someone with an upset stomach was advised to not eat wheat for 3 days.

13. This was not a problem related question but rather a question relating to an example of what
the gurus learned from Swamiji personally. The Palitana mission head guru Uday Ratan Saagarji
went on to describe his experience with meeting Swamiji in the Palitana temple. For the first
time, he got to experience the vibrations of the temple area after learning Samarpan
meditation. Swamiji told the delegation of Jain gurus there that Saint Adinath infused energy
into the statue to help clear the navel chakra or energy centre of anyone who walked in to pray
there. Swamiji theorized that Saint Adinath may have done so with the intention to help people
feel satiated in their lives as this may have been the need of the hour at that time. (The
openness or closedness of the navel chakra is co-related with how satisfied or unsatisfied a
person may be).

Guru Uday Ratan Saagarji then sang a hymn based on the Hindi song ‘Pal Pal Dil ke Paas’ in a
beautiful voice for all of us to recount the memory of having sung it especially for Swamiji on the
fifth day while being in an 8-day session with him in the Dandi ashram. The hymn was his way of
sharing what Swamiji meant to him. Guru Uday Ratan Saagarji was the first Jain monk to come
to the Dandi ashram amongst the Jain gurus. He then later brought in many more Jain monks.
It was his pure wish that we all visit the Palitana temple atleast once. Palitana is a 6-hour
journey by road from Navsari.

14. The Jain gurus were asked about a particular fast they do. In this case, they mentioned a type of
fasting which they do for 57 days where they only eat boiled grains in the morning and have
warm water during the day.