Simandhar-swami

2 Shree Simandhar Swami
twenty-four Tirthankaras of the past, do they not?
The Enlightened Ones have said that the twenty-four
Tirthankaras are tirthankaras of the past. They had become
Tirthankaras in the past and are no longer here. Therefore one
should look for a living Tirthankar. One makes progress in the
worldly life by worshipping the Tirthankaras of the past, but
one does not gain any benefit towards liberation. Liberation is
only attained through the ones who are living and present.
Who Do We Bow to in ‘Namo Arihantanam’?
With what understanding do people of today recite the
Navkar Mantra? When I ask them who the arihants are, they
tell me that all the past twenty-four tirthankaras are the
arihants. So then I ask them, “If the twenty-four tirthankaras
are the arihants, then who are the siddhas?” These tirthankaras
were arihants at one time, but have now become siddhas. So
who is the arihant now? When people say, “Namo
Arihantanam,” who do they believe is the arihant?
The twenty-four tirthankaras were indeed arihants when
they were living, but they have now attained nirvana (the ultimate
liberation of an enlightened being), they have attained the final
moksha and have now become siddhas and consequently they
fall in the category of siddhanum. People still continue to think
of them as arihants. They do not know that these tirthankaras
have become siddhas. This is how everything has been moving
along in the wrong direction, and that is why the Navkar Mantra
does not give any rewards. I tell them that Simandhar Swami
is the arihant today. Only those who are currently present and
living can be called ‘arihants’.
Upon their departure, Lord Mahavir, the last of the twentyfour
tirthankaras, had said that since the cycle of twenty-four
tirthankaras was ending on Earth, there would be no more