Prernani Parab

The book "Prernani Parab" (The Holy Reservoir of Inspiration) by Muni Shri Chandraprabhsagarji, compiled and edited by Jasubhai Dani, is a collection of inspirational thoughts and sayings designed to uplift and guide the reader.

The book originated from the spiritual discourses of Muni Shri Chandraprabhsagarji during his Chaturmas (a four-month retreat) in Mumbai in 2010. His daily morning lectures, focused on the "Dharmaratna Prakaran" (Chapter on the Jewel of Dharma), were previously published as "Dharmaratna ana Ajwala". Alongside these lectures, Muni Shri would provide a concise, inspiring thought for the day, which was beautifully written on a board by Shri Girdharbhai Mayar. These daily thoughts resonated deeply with the audience, who would gather to copy them down.

Recognizing the profound impact these thoughts had, the editor, Jasubhai Dani, compiled fifty-two of them for this book, intending to make them accessible to a wider audience for reading, contemplation, and meditation. The editor expresses his joy and gratitude in compiling these "pearls of wisdom" that were once on the verge of being forgotten.

The book's publisher, Shri Jivan Mani Sadvachanamala Trust, presents this as a gift to its fifth-year subscribers. The foreword highlights that life's journey is often marked by a pursuit of higher goals, yet simultaneously beset by anxieties, illnesses, and troubles. In this context, the "sweet waters of Prernani Parab" are presented as a source of encouragement, preventing one from becoming disheartened and propelling them forward.

The book is structured as a collection of short, impactful passages, each offering a profound insight into various aspects of life, spirituality, and Jain philosophy. Some of the key themes and messages conveyed through these thoughts include:

• The Importance of Good Company: Comparing a dewdrop's transformation on a lotus petal to a person's elevated state through the company of saints and noble individuals, contrasted with the destructive influence of the wicked.
• The Value of Dharma (Righteousness): Emphasizing that just as roots are essential for a tree's existence, Dharma is the life-giver for human life.
• Truth as the Sun: Illustrating that truth, like sunlight, illuminates itself and doesn't need announcements.
• Contentment vs. Desire: Highlighting the antithetical nature of desire and contentment, urging the reader to choose contentment.
• Finding Joy in Adversity: Suggesting that even the darkest clouds have a silver lining, and there is a positive aspect to living a virtuous life while awaiting better days.
• The Balance of Tap (Austerity) and Bhakti (Devotion): Explaining that inner strength and resilience are achieved through external austerity and internal devotion.
• The Scent of Character: Comparing good character to the fragrance of a perfume, which benefits both the possessor and those around them.
• The Choice Between a Crow and a Swan: Encouraging the reader to emulate the swan's ability to see virtue in others, rather than the crow's tendency to criticize.
• The Power of Divine Speech: Drawing a parallel between cleaning the house on festive occasions and purifying the mind and heart with the divine word on religious days.
• The Temple's Spire: Illustrating how a temple's height keeps human vision elevated and focused on the sky, encouraging a similar aspiration in life.
• The Pride of an Elephant: Advising humans to recognize their true purpose and not chase worldly possessions like a tail-wagging elephant, but to embrace their inner spiritual wealth.
• The Religion Bank: Presenting virtues like charity, chastity, austerity, and devotion as deposits in an eternal and safe spiritual bank.
• The Prayer of the Scale: Sharing an anecdote where a merchant's unwavering honesty with his scale earned him divine favor during a drought, emphasizing the power of sincere dedication (Sadhana).
• Purity of Mind: Explaining that a clear mind reflects the divine, just as clear water reflects the sun.
• The Sage's Merit: Drawing a parallel between the eye's inability to see its own speck and the mind's difficulty in contemplating the father (a metaphor for divinity), highlighting the need for guidance from the wise.
• The Ant's Desire: Describing the ant's persistent return to the sugar water despite drowning, as a metaphor for human beings' tendency to relapse into desires after experiencing suffering.
• The Weather of Equanimity: Explaining that just as solidified water (ice) is unaffected by stones, equanimity makes the mind resilient to disturbances.
• The Beauty of Cultivation: Comparing the transformation of grain through fire to the soul's perfection through knowledge and action.
• The Mind's Peculiarity: Pointing out the human tendency to undervalue what one has and yearn for what one lacks.
• Self-Knowledge: Stating that once the soul is separated from karma through right knowledge, it is no longer affected by it.
• The Light of Knowledge: Asserting that self-knowledge, like sunlight, reveals the truth of things and guides one towards what to embrace and what to renounce.
• The Lamp of Life: Stressing the importance of restraint (sanyam) as the oil that keeps the lamp of life burning.
• The Right Vessel for Dharma: Using the analogy of lioness's milk requiring a golden vessel to illustrate that Dharma can only be preserved in a disciplined individual.
• Inner Radiance: Comparing gold mixed with dirt to the soul entangled with karma, and the skilled artisan's purification to the guidance of a spiritual teacher that reveals the soul's inner divine color.
• The Color of Company: Explaining how iron turns into gold through contact with a philosopher's stone, suggesting that even the wicked can become good through good company.
• The Three Forts: Stating that to reach the soul's pure state, one must overcome the three fortresses of mind, speech, and body's negative impulses.
• Chastity and Good Conduct: Highlighting that vows are only meaningful when adorned with chastity and good conduct, just as zero has no value without the digit one.
• Testing of Gems: Asserting that only a gemologist can determine a gem's value, and only those with right perception can understand the worth of human life.
• The Shield of Restraint: Citing Lord Mahavir's teaching that one should withdraw their senses like a tortoise into its shell, using restraint as a shield against temptations.
• The Austerity of the Mind: Comparing the hardening of a clay pot in fire to the strengthening of the mind through austerity and tolerance.
• The Aspirations of the Virtuous: Encouraging perseverance in spiritual practice, like a washerman's dedication to find a single grain of gold, to attain a ray of self-illumination.
• Dispelling Ignorance: Stating that bringing light is the only way to dispel darkness, and bringing knowledge is the only way to overcome ignorance.
• Meeting the Divine: Questioning whether the joy of meeting God compares to the joy of meeting a friend, suggesting that a true spiritual connection brings such delight.
• Hearing with the Ears or the Mind: Differentiating between ordinary hearing and profound listening that resonates within the mind, asking the reader which type of hearing they practice.
• Pearls of the Soul Seeker: Comparing a pearl diver's risky quest to the soul seeker's deep exploration to find the pearls of right perception, knowledge, and conduct.
• Rare Individuals: Noting the rarity of those who use their speech wisely, just as finding those who help the fallen is rare.
• The Kasturi of Happiness: Illustrating that happiness, like the musk deer's kasturi, is found within the self, not in external objects, and a true guru can reveal this truth.
• The Joy of Freedom: Challenging the reader to define freedom, asking if they are free from senses, desires, negative emotions, and thoughts, and emphasizing that true freedom leads to true joy.
• The Lamp and the Chimney: Describing the soul as the lamp and the mind as the chimney, stating that the lamp shines brightly only when the chimney is clean and pure.
• The Company of Sadhus: Suggesting that even polluted water can become pure through contact with the Ganga, implying that negative individuals can become virtuous through the company of saints.
• Clarity of Goal: Asserting that great individuals, like archers, take action only when their target is clearly defined.
• Right Perception: Using the analogy of a fly being attracted to sugar over alum to illustrate the importance of choosing truth over falsehood.
• Spreading Light: Contrasting those who chase worldly possessions with those who are passionate about truth, restraint, and meditation, recognizing the latter as those who illuminate the world.
• Self and All: Emphasizing that individuals are part of society and should live in unity, stating that self-centeredness leads to darkness, while a feeling of oneness brings eternal light.
• The Support of Precepts: Comparing the usefulness of money in a bank to the value of teachings heard from a guru during life's difficult times.
• Humanity and Dharma: Stating that a valuable diamond shines in a gold ring, implying that inner dharma is best displayed in a humane person.
• Experiencing the Soul: Explaining that merely chanting the word "soul" does not bring spiritual knowledge; it is through experiencing the soul that one attains supreme bliss.
• The Barrier of Restraint: Highlighting the immense loss caused by a small breach in a dam and questioning who will mourn the crumbling of societal restraint and good conduct.

The book concludes with "Vishwamangal ni Sanghprarthana" (The Sangha Prayer for Universal Welfare), a prayer composed by Muni Shri Chandraprabhsagarji, which was recited daily during his discourses and cherished by his listeners. The prayer expresses a deep desire for universal well-being, peace, and the cultivation of virtues like friendship, compassion, and spiritual aspiration.

In essence, "Prernani Parab" serves as a spiritual reservoir, offering timely wisdom and guidance to navigate life's complexities with purpose, virtue, and inner peace, rooted in Jain principles.