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 isa great importance of prayerinthe Jain philosophy. Jainsprayforall livingbeingseverywhere.
Theypray for everyone’swelfareandattainingsoul freedom.Theyhave one dayinthe yearwhere
people askone anotherforforgiveness. It’sa special dayof forgivenessinJainism.There isapractice
for controllingthe 5sensesandeventhe mindwhichisseenasfallinginthe same category.
There isa practice for Jainmunisor saintsto reduce theirdietandsleep. Duringsuchtimes,theyeat
once duringthe day. That includesnothavingwater. The munishave manyrestrictions.Theywalk
everywhere.Theydon’ttouchanykindof currency.There isa restrictionwithbeingwiththe opposite
gender.(Laughing) Theycan’twalktoGermany.
Jainmunisremove all theirhairtwice ayear withtheirhands.AroundMarch, theyremove theirhair,
beardand mustache.Throughthis,theygetpractice inincreasingtheirtolerance andseeinghow much
theycan bear.
There isa 5000-year-oldconnectionbetweenthe JainsandGermany. Anancientcopyof The
Kalpashatru,whichisa Jaintextonforgiveness,isthere.HermanJacobprintedthe 1rsteditionabout
150 yearsago.All of the Jainscripturesare inBerlinUniversityandare hand-written.The Jainsgive great
importance tothese textsthoughtheyare thousandsof yearsold.Theyare not available anywhere else
inthe world.
The symbol AshtaMangal whichpeople know asthe swastikaisgivengreatimportance inJainism
thoughit isbannedinGermany.The Jainphilosophyhasasolutiontoeveryprobleminlife.To
demonstrate this, people canaska questionand they cananswerit.So please ask.
1. (A personaskeda questionrelatedtoalow immune system).The Jainmunisaskedforthe
person’sname andbirthdate.The persondidn’tknow herexactbirthdate.Everyafternoonat3
pm, the personshould situnderthe sunanddo deepbreathingwithafocuson the base chakra.
2. There wasa personwhoexpressedtheyhadlittlemoney,lessfriends,nojobanda blocked
throat and navel chakraand how to overcome this. He wasrecommendedasandalwood
powderwhichthe guruswouldcharge or energize throughtheirmethods.Thispowderwasto
be appliedonthe crownfor 90 days.The sandalwoodpowderwastobe chargedwith60 to 80
powers.

2. 3. Someone askedhowtohelpwitha poor stomachtemporarily.Theysaidtoaska doctoras it
was a temporarymatterwhichcan easilybe resolved. Theywere lateradvisedinthe sessionto
avoideatingwheatfor3 days.
4. Somebodysaidtheyfindithardto maintaintheirspiritualstate.Theygetaffectedbyother
people’smoodseasilysohowcanthisbe remedied? Thispersonwastoldnottonap between
1-4 pm.Between1-4pm, the personshouldalsoapplysterilizedcottonintheirrightnostril.This
solutionisconsideredsuitable for those withanoveractivesuryanadi orsun channel (read:the
rightside of your body).Thistechnique shouldhelpinbalancingthe person.Trythisfor12
monthsand thenresume asnormal.
Observationbythe UdayRatan Saagarji:
You can pray for everyone’swell-being.E.g.,there couldbe 3countersbut people choose toline upin
one counter.I wouldchoose tobe in the line upwhere there’saprayer extendedto the people liningup
that they mayall be inpeace.
(A prayerdemois then done of the versesShubhMangal Ho. The meaningroughlytranslatesthatmay
everyone’sbodyandmindbe inwellnessandmayall livingbeingsbe inwellnessateverymoment.May
the sky,earth andeveryparticle of itreigninwellness.Everythingwe doisforgood.Prayersare made
for God andeveryone’sprosperity.Anexplanation thenfollows abouthow all the statues of the Jain
gurusare in a meditative pose).
5. Thiswas inresponse todisturbingexperiencesapersonwashavingwhenshe wasmeditating
and somethingdidn’t sitrightwithher.Itwas as thoughthe feelingsorthoughtsdidn’tfeel like
hersand the disturbance startedfromthere. She wasadvisedasfollows. Inanew place where
yousit formeditation,prayforthe salvationof anypresidingspiritsorenergeticentities.
Swamiji’sauraiswide soa lotof spiritswill come forsoul freedomsoprayfor themandsit for
meditation.Lightawickfueledbyclarifiedbutter(ghee) fromacow andsit withitfor 15
minuteswiththe eyesfocusedonthe flame andthentipyourheadoverto the ground to empty
yourself.(Note:while gheeisapowerful diminisherof thoughtsandintroducesamore vibrant
ambiance,thisisnotto suggestthat people can’ttryother fuelsforflamesora candle either.
One may nothave ready accessto ghee everywhere inthe world.Ortheymaynothave a
cultural practice for lightingaclayor metal lamp).
6. Thispersonwas feelingdissatisfiedandhada weaklunarchannel (readleftside of the body).
Thispersonwasadvisedtoeat and swallow one small cupof parboiledrice withnosaltas the
firstthinginthe morning.For half an hourafterthat, don’ttake anythingandthenyou can eat
your breakfast.Also,keepawetclothdippedinnormal wateronyourbellyandkeepiton the
abdomenfor20 minutesideallyaroundnighttime.There isnotime restrictionabouthowlong
to do thisforand thispersoncouldcontinue thispractice for3 months.
7. Thispersonhad an issue withthe throatandsacral chakras. She felta minorthroatinfectionand
had vocal chord issues.The personwasadvisedtochantOm AimNamahaor the AimSaraswati
Beej Mantra at 4:30 a.m.or imagine GoddessSaraswati wearingyellow coloredclothing atthat
time.

3. 8. The personwas feelingunfocused,prone toburstsof angerand havingstomach issues.The
same solutionwasprescribedasinquestion4.
9. The personhere wasaskingaboutwhatto do as she feltherself lookingforlove andfeeling
insecure andemotional andstrugglingwithbeingoutsidethe ashramineverydaylivingformost
people.The advice firstgivenwasthat perhapsthe personshouldjustthencontinue servingthe
ashram.Was itpossible forthispersontogetemployedfortakingcare of the Germanashram?
If not, the solutionof question4wasprescribed.
10. Thispersonwasexperiencingbackissuesdue tonerve compression.Itwaslike havingthe
feelingof havingpinsandneedlespokedintoyou.The solutionproposedwastosurrenderto
the powersthat be and to notworry forthe future andjustletgo and live inthe present.
11. Someone askedaquestionrelatingtoSwamiji diagnosingpeople withahot liver.If someoneis
havinga hot liver,howcantheycool it? The solutionwastoeat a half cup cookedparboiledrice
withoutchewingit.
12. Someone withanupsetstomachwasadvisedtonot eatwheatfor3 days.
13. Thiswas not a problemrelatedquestionbutrathera questionrelatingtoanexample of what
the gurus learnedfromSwamiji personally.The PalitanamissionheadguruUdayRatan Saagarji
wentonto describe hisexperiencewithmeeting Swamijiinthe Palitanatemple.Forthe first
time, he gotto experiencethe vibrationsof the temple area afterlearningSamarpan
meditation.Swamijitoldthe delegationof Jaingurusthere thatSaintAdinathinfusedenergy
intothe statue to helpclearthe navel chakra or energycentre of anyone whowalkedintopray
there.Swamiji theorizedthatSaintAdinathmayhave done sowiththe intentiontohelppeople
feel satiatedintheirlivesasthismayhave beenthe needof the hourat that time. (The
opennessorclosednessof the navel chakraisco-relatedwithhow satisfiedorunsatisfieda
personmaybe).
Guru Uday Ratan Saagarji thensang a hymnbasedon the Hindi song‘Pal Pal Dil ke Paas’in a
beautiful voiceforall of usto recountthe memoryof havingsungitespeciallyforSwamiji onthe
fifthdaywhile beinginan8-daysessionwithhiminthe Dandi ashram.The hymnwas hiswayof
sharingwhatSwamiji meanttohim. Guru Uday Ratan Saagarji wasthe first Jainmonkto come
to the Dandi ashram amongstthe Jaingurus. He thenlaterbrought inmanymore Jainmonks.
It was hispure wishthatwe all visitthe Palitanatemple atleastonce.Palitanaisa6-hour
journeybyroad fromNavsari.
14. The Jainguruswere askedabouta particularfast theydo.In thiscase,theymentionedatype of
fastingwhichtheydofor 57 dayswhere theyonlyeatboiledgrainsinthe morningandhave
warm waterduringthe day.