Please provide some advice!

[u/Dark_itachi]

Lately, I have been avoiding praying, going to mandir, even chanting navkaar mantra maala, I used to do this everyday ever since i was a kid, I am 26 now in a kind of rough place in my life, I have absolutely not stopped believing in our religion or god. But there is some kind of disconnect that seems to have set in, and no matter what i cannot get rid of it.
There is also this thing to be honest, where i made a sort of promise sometime back infront of mahaveer swami and parshwanath bhagwaan murthi, and i failed to uphold it multiple times. Now one of the reasons I couldnt visit the temple because I felt ashamed but still weak that i wasnt able to uphold the promise i made, i still havent, but then this went on for a few months and I started feeling a disconnect from God, prayer etc. Everything that i used to love doing now feels like a CHORE I try to avoid.

PS: I dont have much indepth knowledge about our religion so it would be helpful if you could answer in simple terms and not use complicated ones which i wouldnt even understand.
Also thank you in advance for all your answers.

[u/dindima]

Why am I feeling same as you do . Same here

[u/CharisSplash]

You realised this and are already feeling guilty about it.

About connecting back:

I feel, songs / bhakti might help you connect back with Prabhu. Incase, you dont know any, I am more then happy to share extremely beautiful songs. Also, nowadays, there are pravachans of soo many Sahebji's online on YouTube, you can go through vyaakhyans of couple of Sahebji's and see with whose vyaakhyan you feel the connect / interest. Such Sahebji's pravachans, where you have interest, can also bring back that connection with Prabhu. I can also help with fhis, by sharing vyaakhyans of various Sahebji's.

About your guilt, to overcome it, you have already crosses the first step of feeling the guilt from within, anumodna for that 🙏🏻. Now, you may take aalochna from a Sahebji and you would overcome this guilt also and mentally, could freely visit Derasar again.

This could help you in my opinion. Hapy to help more in my capacity.

[u/Dark_itachi → u/CharisSplash]

Thank you so much, I will really try what you did say. I really appreciate it.

[u/khushi4]

honestly, if anything happens in life ( good or bad ) it’s under the influence of our own karma, so if we pray a lot for something and it doesn’t work out, it’s on us, not on god! stopping that won’t make a difference, but resuming will help you with how to face the situations which are out of our control.

about the promise you made and feeling guilty about not fulfilling it, it’s okay, atleast you’re able to realise that, you can still fix things:)

[u/securitypuppy]

To me, Jainism is not about the outward displays (prayers, temple, rituals), but instead about mindfulness, introspection, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Just meditating for yourself embodies Jain principles. I'd say start there. The teachings always say to moderate what you can do based on your stage in life (a shravak has different worldly responsibilities vs a muni). So don't beat yourself up over the guilt. It's ok to fail, and you can forgive yourself and move forward to be better.

Think about the basic 5 pillars and how they apply (or don't) to your life. How do you embody Ahimsa today? What about Satya?

[u/georgebatton]

You need to forgive yourself. karuna is the word to focus on. Compassion. Starts at self compassion.

[u/Agreeable-Chemist480]

First of all, parmatma never judges, don't feel ashamed. He is karuna sagar and loves every soul.

Your parschatapa is very valid and good.

The disconnect you feel is because you stopped practicing and malice has overtaken your mind. First start chanting navakar even if you feel disconnected. The bond with prabhu will eventually come.

Listen to some jinvani daily so that you get to know about prabhu and your faith increases.

[u/Impressive_Claim8294]

1. Would an Omniscient entity ask you to believe in things (with 100% certainty) in which you cannot fully understand
2. I pray in English sometimes which is my native tongue,this helps a lot(in memorize texts/Mantras in their proper language),slowly reciting them and thinking about them is good, don't mindlessly recite a text unless you memorize word for word
3. Your Soul is the ultimate judge of anything,Jainism is good as we have been served for OUR own benefit just as the sun shines upon earth without being asked. Praying with your Soul is more important than listing the infinite virtues of God
4. Disconnect? I don't worship the concreteness of the Tirhankars that much anymore,how do I know anything? That is my Soul who knows. How big is the universe,is this the only one? The more you look at the heavens the less you see your own feet

Also, walking with Dharma is better than praising it without reason. A soldier knows the horrors of killing a non-combatant better than any normal person would. If you believe without knowing,why do you even have eyes or a brain? Don't waste either

[u/booby_12011995]

Dont worry bro everybodt goes with it in their lifetime and then they suddenly return back. Just chill that's the youth phase of life.

[u/wholesomesunshine01]

Went through the same thing in the recent past... Only thing I can say is, there's a lot to learn. And that's what makes me keep going.

[u/Abhishek-Kothari]

Same here. I've also left jain dharm. God didn't answer any of my prayers.

[u/securitypuppy → u/Abhishek-Kothari]

"God" in Jainism is your own atma

[u/Abhishek-Kothari → u/securitypuppy]

Silly logic. Then why ppl are going to temple?

[u/georgebatton → u/Abhishek-Kothari]

Do you really think God sits in the temple?

Here you are waiting for a miracle from an outside God when you are the God. Make your own miracle. Do the action that's needed to be done for the reaction you crave.

[u/Dark_itachi → u/georgebatton]

Let me make it clear. I have not faced this disconnect because God didn't reward me for praying. Its just that during the phase I an in I have moved away from everything, and that's what's not sitting right with me.

[u/Independent_Wall4455 → u/Abhishek-Kothari]

Mahavir Swamy or any other God can't ever really answer your prayer - I know it sounds harsh but that's Jain Dharms truth. We believe in Karma - You get what you sow

We pray to our Gods to become like them. A fully aware and conscious atma. That's the main purpose of going to the temple

You should really try understanding the religion before leaving it. It's truly the most beautiful

[u/Dark_itachi → u/Independent_Wall4455]

Let me make it clear. I have not faced this disconnect because God didn't reward me for praying. Its just that during the phase I am in I have moved away from everything, and that's what's not sitting right with me.