PATH OF RELIGION.

Today religion is repeatedly faced with the question : Why is it not being effective? A man went to a hermit and asked him, "Why is religion so ineffective these days?" The Hermit asked :"How far is the King's palace from here?" The man answered :"Two hundred miles." "Do you know it ?" "Yes I do" "Have you actually got here?" "How could I? I am right here. I can't get there unless I go there." At this point the hermit said : "Now you've got the answer to your question. You know the Kings palace but you can't get there unless you proceed in the right direction. The same is true of religion also. People do know what religion is but unless they act accordingly to its precepts - unless they advance towards it - religion will have no effect on them." Acharya Mahapragya Ji There is an analogous story of great significance. A disciplewent to his guru and said : "Gurudev ! Since times immemorial people have beentrying to know why religion proves ineffective. The same question is troubling my mind today."The Guru knew the trends of the times. He said, "My son, go andbring a pitcher full of liquor." The disciple was amazed to hear the word liquor. He wonderedwhat sort of demand it was. The guru and liquor! He was nonplussed.The Guru repeated himself :"Whats the matter? Go and bring apitcher full of liquor."The disciple went away and returned with a pitcher brimmingover with liquor. Placing it before the guru he said : "I've obeyed your order."The Guru remarked : "Drink all of it." The disciple was amazed. The Guru said :Be careful. You have to take the liquor without swallowing it, you have to spitthe liquor out." The disciple began the exercise. He would take a mouthful ofliquor and would at once spit it out. It did not take long for the pitcher to beempty. He went to the guru and informed him : "Gurudev, the pitcher is empty.""Did you get drunk or not?" the Guru asked him. "Not in the least guru." "Yousay you have emptied a whole pitcher of liquor and not got drunk." "Gurudev howcould I get drunk when not a drop went down my throat?" The guru said : "Youhave yourself answered the question asked earlier to you." " Don't understandyou." "Look. People practicing a religion never internalize it. They do itsuperficially. In a manner of speaking they never take it down to their throatsbut just spit it out. How then can religion have any impact on them? How can itintoxicate them?"

NUMEROLOGY

Numerology deals with the prediction of the future with the help of numbers. It caters to the basic desire of almost all human beings to take a peek into the future. Numerology deals with the practical application of the elementary laws of mathematics to the material existence of man. Essentially, numerology deals with the nine major planets — Sun, Moon, Jupiter, Uranus, Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn and Mars and their characteristic features. Each one of these nine planets is assigned numbers ranging from 1 to 9, depending on which planet vibrates to which number. These nine planets influence the human life in a substantial way. The planetary positions at the time of a person's birth ascertains the personality of that individual. A primary and a secondary planet govern each individual at the time of birth. Hence, after birth, the individual starts radiating the vibrations of that number or planet by which he is governed. All the characteristics of this individual, ranging from his thinking, reasoning, emotions, philosophy, desires, aversions, health, career, etc. are all dominated by these numbers or their corresponding planets. When this number is in harmony with the number of any other person, he will experience a harmonious relationship with that person. According to the numerological philosophy, only a name and number rule a person. He will encounter opportunities and difficulties in life according to the influence of numbers in his lives. In numerology there are no universally lucky or unlucky numbers, like the proverbially lucky number "7" or the black number "13."

SHREE ACHARYA BHIKSHU THE FOUNDER OF TERAPANTH

In the middle of the 18th Century, Acharya Bhikshu led a reformist movement in a society griped in fundamentalist religious beliefs and blind faith. A philosopher, writer, poet and social reformer, the Jain leader wrote 38,000 "shlokas", now compiled in two volumes as "Bhikshu Granth Ratnakar". His "Nav Padarth Sadbhav", which advocated a society free from exploitation, is regarded as a significant philosophical composition that deals exhaustively with the nine gems of Jain philosophy. Acharya Bhikshu was a staunch spiritual practitioner as well as a deep philosopher. He was a revolutionary thinker in the fields of dharma.His views on dharma in brief are summed up as follows. There arebasically two kinds of dharma : 1. Laukika Dharma — Concerningwordly or mundane field. 2. Lokottara Dharma — Concerning spiritualupliftment or leading to Moksha (salvation). Those activities whichnourish self-restraint and encourage the observance of the vows of abstinenceare lokottara dharma and those which are only of social benefit butencourage the sensual indulgence or leading to bondage of inauspicious karma fall under "laukika dharma." Social duty and lokottara dharma are not identical. Duty is adjudged according to social norms and values,whereas lokottara dharma is based on spiritual principles. Duty isconcerned with social utility and may get changed with time, place andcircumstances, but lokottara dharma is the ultimate source of freedom from all bondage and hence, it is eternal. Wherever there is a scope ofdevelopment of self-restraint, detachment from worldly things and purity ofinner consciousness, there exists the lokottara dharma; wherever there is lack of self-restraint, augmentation of attachment with the worldly thingsand absence of purity of the inner consciousness, there is no place forlokottara dharma. Swamiji was an ideal of tolerance, non-violence, generosity and equality and at every instance of his life he strived to stand against what was immoral and wrong in society fearlessly. The life of Bikhshu sets out an example for human to follow of a life of the positive human traits. We hope that this presentation of the life of swamiji will be an inspiration to all to lead a life of simplicity and self discipline.

STRUCTURE OF JAIN UNIVERSE AND TIME CYCLES.

According to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created, nor will it ever cease to exist. Therefore, it is shaswat (eternal) from that point of view. It has no beginning or end, but time is cyclical with progressive and regressive spirituality phases. In other words, within the universe itself there will be constant changes, movements and modifications in line with the macro phases of the time cycles. Jain text claims that the universe consists of infinite amount of Jiva (life force or souls), and infinite amount of Ajiva (lifeless objects). The shape of the Universe as described in Jainism is shown alongside. At the very top end of the universe is the residence of the liberated souls that reached the siddha status. This supreme abode is above a crescent like boundary. Below this arch is the Deva Loka (Heaven), where all devas, powerful souls enjoying the positive karmic effects, reside. According to Jainism, there are sixteen heavens in total. The enjoyment in heaven is time limited and eventually the soul has to be reborn after its positive karmic effect is exhausted. Similarly, beneath the "waist" like area are the Narka Loka (Hells). There are seven hells, each for a varying degree of suffering a soul has to go through as consequences of its negative karmic effects. From the first to the seventh hell, the degree of suffering increases and light reaching it decreases (with no light in the seventh hell). The ray of hope is that the suffering in hell is also time limited and the soul will be reborn somewhere else in the universe after its negative karmic effects are exhausted. Human, animal, insect, plant and microscopic life forms reside on the middle part of the universe. Ultimate liberation is possible only from this region of the universe. In Jainism, time is divided into Utsarpinis (Progressive Time Cycle) and Avsarpinis (Regressive Time Cycle). An Utsarpini and an Avsarpini constitute one Time Cycle (Kalchakra). Every Utsarpini and Avsarpini is divided into six unequal periods known as Aras or eras. During the Utsarpini half cycle, humanity develops from its worst to its best: ethics, progress, happiness, strength, health, and religion each start the cycle at their worst, before eventually completing the cycle at their best and starting the process again. During the Avsarpini half-cycle, these human experiences deteriorate from the best to the worst. Jains believe we are currently in the fifth Ara of the Avsarpini phase. During the first and last two Aras, the knowledge and practice of dharma lapse among humanity and then reappear through the teachings of enlightened humans, those who have reached liberation from their karma, during the third and fourth Aras. Traditionally, in our universe and in this time cycle, Rishabh (ऋषभ) is regarded as the first to realize the truth. Mahavira (Vardhamana) was the last (24th) Tirthankara to attain enlightenment