trimantra - Jain Library

Trimantra 7 8 Trimantrawe ask them, ‘are these two the same?’ They say yes. Then ifyou ask them who is the arihant, they will say that the twentyfourtirthankaras are the arihants. But really the twenty-fourtirthakars are all now called siddha because they have alreadyachieved liberation. Are you calling a siddha an arihant? Whomdo you call an arihant?Questioner: The twenty-four tirthankaras have becomesiddha!Dadashri: Then should you not question why they callthe one who is siddha an arihant? The level of the siddha is adifferent level altogether. The twenty-four tirthankaras are nolonger arihants; they do not have a physical body! Thismisunderstanding is precisely why there is so much confusion.Right now Lord Simandhar Swami is the arihant. Do you knowwhy I say that? Are all the twenty-four tirthankaras, arihants orsiddhas? Is their status that of siddha or arihant?Questioner: At this moment they are in the Siddha Loka– the location of all liberated souls.Dadashri: Are they siddha? Are you hundred percentsure of this?Questioner: Yes, one hundred percent!Dadashri: Then they fall in the category of siddha. Sothen who is in the arihant category? Arihant means they have tobe currently living. People refer to the twenty-four tirthankarasas arihant, but if you think about it, they have actually acquiredthe state of siddha. So when we say ‘Namo Siddhanam’ weare paying obeisance to them. But that leaves the category ofthe arihant vacant. So the mantra of Navkar remains incomplete,and by being incomplete, it does not give result. There has tobe a living and present tirthankar. The current living tirthankaris Simandhar Swami; it is through His name that your work forliberation will have to be carried out, only then can the Navkarmantra be complete. If a collector has been promoted to aGovernor, would it not be disrespectful to continue addressinghim as a collector?Questioner: Yes it would.Dadashri: In the same token if you believe the twentyfourtirthankaras to be arihants, then you are incurring a bigloss. It is very detrimental. It does not harm the vitarag Lords;it has no effect on them, but it is very damaging for you.Reaches Only the Current Living TirthankarNeither Lord Mahavir nor the rest of the twenty-threetirthankaras can help you attain liberation now. They have alreadybecome liberated. When we say ‘Namo Arihantanam’, thatmantra reaches the arihants, wherever they may in the universe,just like the mail that always reaches its destination. It will notreach Lord Mahavir. Presently people believe that when theysay ‘Namo Arihantanam’, it reaches Lord Mahavir. The Twentyfourtirthankaras of the past are now in the fully liberated stateas the siddhas. They are in the category of ‘Namo Siddhanam’.Only the currently present tirthankaras are referred to as arihants.This Can Also Be Understood Through the IntellectQuestioner: Today I came to understand that when wesay ‘Namo Arihantanam,’ it refers to only Simandhar Swami;he is the arihant Lord.Dadashri: What can be done when things are so jumbledup? As an attorney, what do you think of it all?Questioner: I understand it completely Dada. Not froman attorney’s perspective only but I accept it completely as astaunch practicing Jain. Based on what you explain, a Jain whohas a thorough understanding would readily accept that only thepresently living can be called an arihant, a tirthankar. That isprecisely why the arihants have been placed before the siddhain the mantra.