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Pancha-parameshthis
Siddhas,
arhats, acharyas, upadhyayas
and sadhus are called pancha - parameshthis or the five
supreme ones, to whom the Jainas pray and bow many times every day with
the following invocation (mantra) :-
Namo arahantanam, namo siddhanam, namo ayarianam, namo
uvajjhayanam, namo loye sabba-sahunam.
“Salutation to the arhats, to the
siddhas,
to the acharyas, to the upadhyayas and to all the sadhus
of the world”.
With the above invocation repeated millions of times every
day the Jainas bow with hands folded in anjali (worship) in the
four cardinal directions, east, south, west and north. The main import of
such a prayer is three-fold: -
(1) Worship is given to
all human souls worthy of it, in whatever clime they may be,
(2) worship
is impersonal. It is the aggregate of the qualities that is worshipped
rather than
any individual,
(3) The arhat, “the living embodiment
of the highest goal of Jainism”, is mentioned first and then the siddha
who is disembodies and consequently cannot be appealed to or approached by
humanity. As the siddha
is without body the Jainas feel that they can never pray to the siddha
alone and preeminently. A siddha has, infinite attributes of which
8 are generally mentioned and these the Jainas recite, telling their
beads. By this they do not worship or salute the siddha but tell their
beads “ only with the object of stirring up their spiritual ambition and
in order to remind themselves of the qualities a siddha must
possess, in the hope that some day they too may reach their desired goal,
and in perfect bliss in the state of mrvana, doing nothing for ever
and ever.” Chanting the pancha-namaskara –mantra 108 times and
telling the beads purify the soul.
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The Jainas include Aum (Om) also in their incantation and interpret it as
consisting of the following five sounds, standing for the five superme
ones (Pancha-parameshthins): a, a, a, u and m; a stands for arhat;
a stands for asarira, i.e., “disembodied”, i.e., siddha ; a
stand for acharya ; u stand for upadhyaya ; and m stand
for muni, i.e., saint who is the saddu. |
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Images and sculptures containing figures of these five supreme
ones (pancha-parameshthins) can be seen in Jaina temples. They are
invariably in the shape of chakras standing on padmasanas. A very
interesting specimen of this symbolic worship is found in the temple at
Tiruparuttikunram. The whole is in the form of a chakra, which is
supported by a crouching lion and two rearing yalis in turn
standing on a padmasana attached to a rectangular bhadrasana.
The chakra can compare well with the Hindu chakra, which is
associated with Vishnu. Within the chakra is placed an eight-petalled
lotus (astadala-padma), each petal bearing a seated figure or some
article. The figures are those of the five supreme ones (arhat, siddha,
acharya, upadhyaya and sadhu) while the articles are a dharmachakra
or the wheel of the law, a wooden rest supporting the Jaina
scripture called sruta or sruta-jnana and a temple (Jina-alaya).
In the centre of the lotus where one would expect the seed-vessel of the
lotus, is the seated figure of the Tirthankara in all his glory, attended
by chamaras, triple-parasol, halo and the like. This chakra is
symbolical of the worship of Navadeuatas or the “nine deities,”
they being the five panchaparameshthins and dharmachakra, sruta, chaitya and chaityalya. The
panchaparameshthins occupy the centre and the four cardinal
points of the lotus while the latter four go in the petals alternately in
the following order ; preceding clockwise dharmachakra first, then sruta, then chaitya (an idol) and lastly chaityalaya
or temple.
The evolution of souls is based on three fundamental
principles, viz., that man is not perfect, but can improve and can achieve
perfection, that man’s personality is dual, material and spiritual, and
that by his spiritual nature man can must control his material nature. The
second of the principles is in striking contrast with the Hindu Advaitic doctrine of Brahman, or one soul, which is in all and is all.
When the material nature is entirely subjugated the soul is said to have
been liberated or to have attained perfection. In its perfection-condition
the soul “enjoys its true and eternal character, whereof the
characteristic is the four infinities-infinite perception of faith,
infinite knowledge, infinite power and infinite bliss.” And such a soul
is called a Siddha.
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