Om means completeness. It is a symbolic word meaning infinite, the perfect, and the eternal. The very sound is complete, representing the wholeness of all things. Upon attaining absolute knowledge or omniscience, the body of the Arihanta emanates Om (called the Divine Sound - Divya Dhwani). It is an involuntary, spontaneous, and melodious sound that all humans, animals, and heavenly beings can understand as a sermon, in their own language. Om sounds like Aum, which is the seat of the five benedictions (salutations of supreme beings) and is made up of five sounds and letters: a, a, ä, u, and m

Jai Jinendra literally means, “May the religion established by the Jina prevail in our hearts”. As we greet others we say, “Jai Jinendra” because we see an image of a Jina, destroyer of all inner enemies, in them. Recognizing this, we bow down with respect to their Soul. Every Soul is capable of becoming a Jina, the destroyer of inner enemies; anger, greed, ego, and deceit. Jina is also known as Arihanta or Tirthankar. We consider them as Jain Gods. A Jinälaya, Deräsar, or Mandir is a place of worship where a person experiences immense peace and serenity. The images of Tirthankars and the temple’s environment promote introspection and bring home the feeling that God resides within one’s own heart. Therefore, each person can follow a path of purification of the inner self devoid of anger, greed, ego, deceit, and attachment from their lives.

The word Hrim is a seed mantra. It is called Hrimkär mantra. It is a mystical symbol representing the invisible sound, infinity, and divine energy of the 24 Tirthankars. While meditating on Hrim, one can experience the sublimating energy of Tirthankars. The word ARHAM is a mantra representing all vowel and consonant sounds used in the Sanskrut alphabet. The first vowel in the Sanskrut alphabet is “a” and the last consonant is “h.” Therefore, while meditating on this mantra, one focuses on the silent sound of the universe The Swastika is considered an auspicious and a pious symbol. The red arms of the swastika represent the four possible states (gatis) of rebirth: human, heaven, hell, and animal. These four states are represented clockwise starting from the upper left corner on the Swastika. Our aim should be liberation from these four states of rebirth. The three green dots above the swastika represent the three jewels of Jainism – Samyak Darshan, Samyak Jnän and Samyak Chäritra. This represents the Jain path of liberation. At the very top there is a small yellow crescent called Siddhashilä, a place for liberated souls. The yellow dot above the crescent represents a Siddha or a liberated soul. In order to achieve this stage, a soul must destroy all attached karmas. Every living being should strive for this state of Liberation or Moksha.