ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007719/1

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धम्मो मंगलमुक्किट्ठं, अहिंसा संजमो तवो। देवा वि तं नमसंति, जस्स धम्मे सया मणो ।।
ERNATIO
STUDY
"That which is non-violence, self restraint and austerity is Dharma (Spiritual Values).
It is by virtue of spiritual values that supreme spiritual beneficence results. To him whose mind is (absorbed) in spiritual values even gods pay homage." Saman Psidium-82
TH
INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL
FOR JAIN STUDIES
2011
STUDY NOTES
V.4.0
Parasparograho Jivanam
April 25 - July 19, 2011
The academic of Jain Philosophy, History, Culture & Society:
(Integrated within the American University System)
Implemented by International School for Jain Studies
www.jainstudies.org

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Preface
I am pleased to present this updated Version V.4.0 of collection of papers / articles / essays termed as 'Study Notes' and prepared under the auspices of The International School for Jain Studies. The distinguished scholars, who are the experts in their field of activity, are the faculty members of the school during the last six years have contributed to these notes. This version has several improvements over the previous version in the form of:
• Editing for language, format, diacritical marks, sequencing • Addition of seven new papers to version V.3.0
Deletion of five old papers from V.3.0. • Update papers for references and details. The entire academic program of the school is designed to give a comprehensive experience of all aspects of religion, philosophy-cosmology-metaphysics-psychology and ethics along with papers on Jain history, culture, preceptors, and evolution of different sects, rituals, art and paintings, pilgrimages and their importance. Based on the feedback received from the visiting scholars attending the school since its inception in 2005, this syllabus is being continuously updated. The curriculum designed keeps the needs of learned scholars from countries like USA, Canada, Russia, UK, Europe, Japan, China, Korea, Thailand and Cuba etc. attending the summer school in mind as well as while preparing these notes. References for further research are provided at the end of each paper.
These essays reflect upon the Jain wisdom rather to say the essence of Jain way of life. Jains claim their religion to be eternal with its first ford-maker (trtha kara) Lord din tha and the most recent Lord Mah vra showing the path to attain liberation / salvation. Jain religion had been revived from time to time by a series of 24 ford-makers / omniscient lords.
I hope this collection of essays will succeed in its aim and give the message of Jain spiritual prowess, Jain way of life, its practical approach to non-violence, vegetarianism, international cooperation (parasaparopagraho jv nm), Live and let live to all the living beings (kliste u j vesu day drbh vam) and friendship with all (satveşumaitri).
This note will be incomplete without expressing my heartfelt thanks to the authors and faculty members of the school who have on a voluntary basis taken the time to prepare and present these papers. I thank Mr. Sushil Jana, Ms. Chanchal Jain at ISJS India and authors of the new papers for their untiring work in incorporating changes and making it available in its present form. Lastly, I thank you, the visiting scholars from overseas to the school, as you are the sole aim for which these papers are compiled. Kindly do provide your valuable suggestions to make these papers worth your and future attending scholar's time.
Shugan Chand Jain
New Delhi April 17th 2011

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DIACRITICAL MARKS
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Curriculum for ISSJS
Orientation day program
Registration, collection of dues and documentation Facilitation, socialization, Indian and Jain customs Rules & regulations to be observed while attending the ISSJS programs; Hand book Facilities provided to all attending participants including books etc Jain salutations, mantra, signs
Academic program
1.0
History, culture, literature, arts, festivals, rituals History
eu o
Pre Mahavira: Time cycles, eternity, 1st to 23rd tirthankaras. Mahavira: His life, society and reforms / teachings Post Mahavira: schism, sects and sub sects. Important personalities (monks and laity) Social Consciousness & Sociology
1.2
Culture
sudo
Equality of all living beings, casteless society, not birth but your deeds determine your status Four fold congregation, importance to those who practice path of purification also Fine auspicious beings Importance of food and basic personal habits Festivals, rituals, pilgrimage
-
Arts, sculpture, paintings, temple architecture, iconography
Sudov -
Images, idols Caves and stone engravings Paintings Architecture Samosarana (holy congregation of the tirthankaras) Pilgrim places
1.4
Literature
Soooo
Historical development, classification of literature Canonical literature (agamas) of both sects Philosophical literature, commentaries Story literature and world history (Puranas) Poems, plays, short stories.
Liturgy
Mantras

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1.5
Contribution of Jain (acaryas) preceptors' scholars and laity
Acaryas Scholars Laity Recent (20 h century) scholars, acaryas and laity
1.6
Religious activities
Daily: essential duties (Avashyakas), worships (pujas), etc Festivals: Concept, types, celebration (Paryusana, Diwali, Mahavira Jayanti, Akshay Tritiya, fortnightly and four monthly) Pilgrimage: Concept, types, Important pilgrimage places (Sammed Shikhar, Palitana, Shravanbelgol and others)
1.0
Ontology and Metaphysics
2.1
Ontology
Nature of reality (ODP), special aspects compared to other religions Concept of substance (dravya), definiton and types; astikayas (existents) Concept of soul, its nature, types, existences Matter (pudgala), concept, types, nature etc
Metaphysics
Seven verities (tattvas), entities (padarthas). Concept and discussions on the path of purification Spiritual awakening (Samyak Darshana) Causality (five samvayas, Purushartha)
so
3
Cosmology
a.
oo
Structure of cosmos and its description Units of measurement of time, space, weight Mathematics in Jainism
3.0
karma doctrine
3.1
Concept
Karma (physics and physical), karma particles (varganas), four properties of karmas (prakrti, stithi, anubhag and pradesa). Nature of karma: eight types and grouping as obscuring and non-obscuring, Role in our life.
Bondage
a.
Nature and causes of bondages and their prevention. Ten states of karmas and their import in our practice of religion.

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3.3
Mysticism
a.
Stages of spiritual purification (gunasthanas) and their discussions Salvation /Liberation i.e. beyond gunasthanas.
b.
4.0
Epistemology
4.1
Origin and growth of Theory of knowledge
4.2
Types of knowledge and its acquisition
Acquired and direct knowledge,
Rational and perverted knowledge, Fivefold, Akalanka's classification Pramana and Naya doctrine, Niksepa
Multiplicity of viewpoints (Anekanta)
Metaphysical discussion Application in life (social, business, medical, governance etc) Expression: Conditional Dialectic (Syadavada), Seven fold expression (Saptbhangi)
4.4
Enhancement of Knowledge
5.0
Ethics
5.1
Concept, (Five types of conduct). Importance of ahinsa, aparigraha and self restraint (sanyama)
5.2
Basic code of conduct
a.
Purity of food (basic virtues) Seven abstinences Essential duties
o
Conduct of the monks & Nuns
oo o
Concept Major Vows, attitudes of restraint, carefulness Afflictions and their conquest
Conduct of laity /householders
oooo
Concept, classification of householders Minor vows, enhancing vows, teaching vows Stages of development (Pratimas) Discussions of minor vows Self restraints
5.5
Ten fold virtuous practices (Daslakshan Dharma)

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5.6
a.
b.
C.
5.7
6.0
a.
b.
C.
d.
e.
Ox-Eco
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
m.
n.
0.
p.
q.
r.
S.
7.0
a.
b.
C.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
J.
C.
D.
Penance
Concept, types and sub types
Detailed discussions: internal and external
Meditation
Art of die-ing: sallekhna /santhara. Peaceful death.
Special Topics
Non Violence: social and ecological
Non possession: Social (limiting and sharing possessions, conservation) Democracy, Tolerance
Vegetarianism
Discipline, self restraint, forgiveness
Family and society
Jain Yoga
Euthanasia
Jain principles for economics, management, health
Role of women, women ascetics
Medical treatment /healing
Education
Religion & Morality Gandhi and Jainism Human Rights, Law Comparative religions Modern day issues
Social organizations
Aura (Leshya)
Scriptures
Uttaradhyayana
Ratna Karanada Shravakachara
Saman Suttam
Acharanga
Samayasara
Bhagwati
Tattvartha Sutra
Pancastikaya
Bhagavati Aradhana
Dasvaikalika
Social interactions (visiting Jain institutions, householders, monks, nuns, etc.
Pilgrimages, rituals etc. actual observation.
Lal Mandir
Ahinsa Sthal
Dadabari
Sanskriti Hastinapur
vi

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SCHEME OF CONTENTS
S.No Ref. No
A 1.1
Title Uniqueness and relevance of Jainism Historical Background of Jainism
Page No
1-7 8 - 15
1.1.a
Author Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Shugan C. Jain Prof. Maruti Nandan P. Tiwari Al. Shrut Sagar Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Sulekh C.Jain
16 - 28
1.1.b 1.1.b
29 - 32 33 - 38 39 - 52
1.1.C
7. 8. 9.
53 - 58 59 - 65 66 - 74
1.1.0 1.1.C 1.1.d 1.1.d 1.1.d 1.2.c
Landmarks of Jaina Iconology Bhagav na Mah v ra and his divine sermon Teachings of Mah vra Jain dispora (JAINISM IN NORTH AMERICA) Evolution of Sthanaky si and Ter pantha sect Jaina painting Social Consciousness, its initiation, rejuvenation and adoption in Jainism Towards a sociology of the Jain Community Methods of Mah vra for Social Changes Supreme Auspicious beings i.e. Punchpermeshthi, namokar mantra Jain Festivals (Parva & Jain Pilgrimages (Teerth Yatra) Jain Sculpture Jaina Art and Architecture Tirthas of Bundelkhand Temples of Rankarpura and Dilwara
Dr. Kamini Gogri Dr. Kamla Giri Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Prakash C. Jain Dr. K. C. Sogani Br. Hem C Jain
10. 11.
75-83 84-92
12.
93 - 98
13.
1.2.e
14. 15. 16. 17.
1.3.a 1.3.d 1.3.f 1.3.f
99 - 105 106 - 108 109 - 114 115 - 121 122 - 130 131 - 140
18.
Some Aspects of Jain Literature
1.4 1.4.b 1.4.f 1.5 1.5 1.5
19. 20. 21.1 22. 23.
141 - 143 144 - 147 148 - 153
Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. R. G. Majumdar Dr J.K. Upadhye Dr. Shugan C Jain Dr. Kamini Gogri Dr. Prem Suman Jain Dr. K.C. Sogani Dr Shugan C Jain Dr. K.C. Sogani Dr. Bhag Chand Jain Dr Kamini Gogri Dr. Bhag Chand Jain Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Shugan C. Jain
154 - 157
158 - 165
24.
1.5.a
166 - 172
25. 26.
Mah vra Prakrta and Agamas Mantras and prayer Influential Jain Acarya (Author Monks) Jain Acarya from South India and Their contributions Jain thinkers Acarya Kundakunda and his literature Jain worship (puja) Spiritual development activities of Jains (k tikrma) Kmv i Parva. Festival of seeking and giving forgiveness Concept of soul/self (atma) in Jain philosophy Matter (pudgala) and Types Spiritual Awakening: Devotion and meditation Jain Perspective
1.6.a 1.6.0
173 - 178 179 - 181
27.
1.6.b
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
182 – 184
2.1.C
185 - 193
29.
2.1.d
Dr. Veer Sagar Jain Prof. M.R. Gelra Dr. K.C. Sogani
194 - 198
30.
2.2.a
199 - 205
Vij

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31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
58.
59.
60.
61.
2.2.a
2.2.a
2.2.b
2.2.b
3.1
3.3
3.3
4.0
4.2.b
4.2.b
47.
5.4
48.
5.4
49.
5.5
50. 5.6.c
51.
5.7
52.
5.7
53.
6.0
54.
6.0.a
55. 6.0.a
56. 6.0.b
57.
6.0.e
65.
4.3
4.3.a
4.3.c
4.4
5.2.a
5.3
Idealism And Realism In Western And Indian Philosophies
Seven Varities (Seven Tattvas) in Jainism Reality (Sat) and Concept of Dravya in Jaina philosophy
Samyagdar ana: Right Belief
Karma Doctrine of Jainism
Gasth na Stages of Spiritual Development
Omniscience
62.
6.0.k
63.
6.0.k
64. 6.0.k
Knowledge Jn na
The concept of Naya in Jainism
Ni caya (transcendental) and Vyavah ra (practical) Naya
Anek nta Syat - Saptabhangi
Anekanta, metaphysical considerations SY DV DA Conditional Dialectic Expression of Anek nta
Spiritual purification and enhancement of knowledge
Jain Diet
raman c ra The Code of Conduct of the Jaina Monk
Sm yika: Practicing Equanimity / Periodic Contemplation
r vak c ra (Ethics of the Householder) Das Lak a a Dharma/ Ten Commandments/ Ten virtues
Meditation (Dhy na)
Sallekhan (as per Jain holy text)
Sam dhimara a (Sa thr / Sallekhan) Global Relevance of Jainism COMPREHENSIVE CONCEPT OF AHI S AND IT'S APPLICATION IN REAL LIFE Ahi s / Non violence
Aparigrahav da Doctrine of non-possession Discipline, Jain Theory & Concept of Freedom
6.0.g Yoga in Jain Tradition
Relavance of Sallekhan today society and Euthanasia
6.0.h
6.0.j
Women Ascetics in Jaina Tradition
6.0.j❘ Gender discussions in Jainism and its texts
Healing in Jainism
Bio medical ethics in Jainism
Bio Ethical Issues
6.0.k Applications of Jain Ethics in Daily Issues
viii
Dr. Sohan Raj Tater 206-211
Dr. Anekant Jain
212223
Dr. Veersagar Jain Dr. Sushma Singhivi Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. K. C. Sogani
Br. Hem Chand Jain Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Anekant Jain
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. Kusum Jain
Dr. K.C. Sogani
Dr. K.C. Sogani
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. D.N. Bhargava
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. K. C. Sogani
Dr. Shikhar C Jain
Dr. Sushma Singhvi Dr. D. N. Bhargava Justice N. K. Jain Dr. N. P. Jain
Dr. D.R. Mehta
Dr. Shugan C. Jain Dr. Kalpana Jain
Dr. M.Katarnikar
Dr. Priyadarshan Jain
SORS OF JAN
Dr. D. S. Baya
Dr. K. Majumdar
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Dr. D.K. Bobra
Dr. Meenal
Katarnikar Prof. Dayanand Bhargava
224 233
234 241 242 253
254 261
262269 270-287 288 - 292
293 297
298 301
302-307
308-310
311320
321 326
327-336
337-341
342354
355363
364 366 367-369
370373 374-380
381-389
390-396
397402
403 413
414422
423 432
433 435 436-441
442448 449456
457-459
460 464

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66.
6.0.m
Dr. K.C. Sogani
465 - 469 470 - 476
67.
68.
6.0.p 6.0.p 6.0.r
Religion and morality (ethics) Jain Doctrine and ethics in Jainism, religious harmony Jain Theism and Gunanuvada A Century of Boarding Houses Under Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha Leshya and Its Transformation Uttar dhyayana Stra
Dr. Shugan C. Jain Chuck Sapienza Padmaja. A. Patil
477 - 484
69. 70. 71.
6.0.5
485 - 490 491 - 503 504 - 513
7.0.a
72.
514 - 520
73
521 - 525 526-529
Prof. Viney Jain Dr. Priyadarshana Jain Prof. Bhagchandra Jain Dr. D. N. Bhargava Dr. S.C.Jain Dr. Priyadarshana Jain Dr. V.S.Jain Dr. Anekant Jain Smt. Manjusha Sethi
74. 75. 76. 77.
530 - 538
7.0.b Ratna Kara dar vak c ra 7.0.C Sama a Sutta 7.0.
d crga 7.0.f Bhagvat Suttra 7.0.9 | Tattv rtha S tra 7.0.h Pac stik ya 7.0.1 Bhagavat rdhan
Faculty - 2011
539-544 545 - 548
78. 79.
549 - 552 553 - 556

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A
Uniqueness and Relevance of Jainism Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
Who is a Jain? Technically the term Jain is derived from Jina, a perfect human being who has conquered the world (cycle of transmigration of soul in birth-death-birth cycle and associated pains) and attained pure soul state. He attains liberation by conquering his sensual pleasures, expectations and invokes the true nature of his soul that is infinite knowledge, bliss and energy to enjoy these forever. A Jain is the one who follows the way of life and path of spiritual purification as propagated by him. Thus we see Jain doctrine is based on the concept of realizing the full potential of one's soul to achieve lasting peace in this and future lives. Jain doctrine talks of non-violence, self-restraint and austerities / penance to achieve these objectives both in our existence in this world and at spiritual purification levels.
We shall have a brief look at Jainism from community, social, economic, education angles and then proceed to see its philosophy and how it can perhaps guide our quest for unfolding secrets of knowledge about our universe, and us and contribute to the betterment of life of all.
Statistics:
Lord Mah vra rejuvenated the ancient principles of Jainism in Eastern India some 2600 years ago. Today Jains are mostly in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. Jains have also migrated to USA, UK and other countries in search of new wealth and opportunities.
Jains are generally very religious, peace loving, non-violent community who value education and hard work to achieve their material and spiritual objectives. As per the recent census of Government of India GOI, more than 98% Jains are literate with more than 50% at least graduates. Thus, we see them in professions like medicine, law, engineering, IT and management while the others are in trade and business. Dean Deepak Jain of Kellog Univ., Ajit Jain CEO of Buffet group, Navin Jain the IT entrepreneur in USA, The Palanpurias in Antwerp controlling the diamond trade, Oswals, Patnis, Walchands, Adanis, Lalbhais, SP Jain etc. are just a few names who speak of Jains and their achievements. Even though they are less than 0.5% of total population of India, it is estimated that they contribute more than 5% of the GDP.
On the social front, they have set up more than 4800 schools and colleges in India, several thousands hospitals and dispensaries, research institutes, orphanages and homes for elderly and destitute. These figures dispel the notion that Jains are mostly self-centered and do not concern about the society and its welfare.
Jains have always contributed significantly towards the arts, culture and other similar activities. rava abelgola, Dilwara temple, Ranakpur, Jaisalmer, Sonj ki Nasi in Ajmer, Deogarh, Gopachal in Gwalior, Ellor caves, Elephanta caves in Orisa etc are shining examples of a disproportionately high number of temples and pilgrimage places built and visited by Jains. Lal Mandir, opposite Red Fort in Delhi is another example of Jains being in the forefront of Indian religions. Now, tma Vallabh Sm raka in North Delhi, Ahi s Sthala in South Delhi and over 500 temples and sth nakas in Delhi alone, are the newest additions in the contribution of Jains in art and places of worship. Similarly the amount of Pr krat and Sanskrit literature of Jains available from the start of 1st century BC is a shining example of the literally nature and contribution of Jains.
Antiquity:
Jainism is an independent religion belonging to the rama ika tradition in India. Buddhism also belongs to this tradition. Jains claim their religion to be eternal. Their texts describe their first tiratha kara/ fordmaker (achiever and propagator of the Jain path of spiritual purification) of the present time cycle, Rṣabha Deva to have existed several millennia ago. References of v trasana, v rtyas, munis and Rṣabha Deva in Vedas and Aristanemi in Mah bh rata take Jainism way back. Similarly excavations from Mohanjod ro and Gujarat show signs of nude Jain idols in padm sana establish that Jainism existed more than 4000 years ago. Historically it exists from the time of Lord
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Prasn tha (2900 years ago) and reestablished by Lord Mah vra around 2600 years ago. More research is needed to establish antiquity of Jainism.
However from the present day religious rituals of Jains, we get a feeling that other religions in India, due to their political patronage and following by masses have affected Jain rituals. Similarly we see Jainism affected the rituals of other Indian religions in introducing idol worship, eliminate animal or human sacrifice etc. Philosophically, however, Jains contributed a lot to Indian philosophies and religions by way of its doctrine of non-violence and path of spiritual purification. Thus we see Jains do assimilate with the society fairly easily.
Salient features of Jainism:
God is neither the creator, nor destroyer or administrator of the universe. The universe is eternal; it existed from times immeorial, and will exist forever. Its existence is governed by a number of universal laws. Only its form and contents go through a process of change continuously. All events in this universe occur due to a collection of five co-factors, namely nature (svabh va), predetermined associations, time, past karmas and efforts. The reality i.e. sat' as per Jains is 'existent' (asti). They further define existence as substance /dravya. Dravya is further classified as J va or sentient / living beings and aj va or insentient / non-living beings. Primary characteristic of reality/substance is 'permanence with change or with origination / destruction and permanence. It means permanence and change (parim nitya) or eternal - non-eternal (nity nitya) and Arthkriyakaritva (power to produce activity). Origination and destruction are the nature / functions of substance itself. However the changing substance does not leave its own nature of permanence. Substances are further classified as sentient / living being / J va and insentient/ nonliving beings / aj va. J va is further subdivided as mukta / liberated and sa sr/empirical. Empirical souls are further classified in many ways and the most common classification is sth vara / stationery i.e. living beings, which cannot move on their own, and tras / mobile i.e. living beings, which can move as per their objectives. Aj va are subdivided as matter (p dgala), the only concrete substance; dharma / principle of motion; adharma / principle of rest;
k sa / space and k la / time that are supportive and non-concrete. J va and matter are the only active substance types while the other four are supportive and supports actions and interactions of j va and matter. Empirical souls and matter interact with each other. Their interaction is called sa s ra or the world. Jains describe these interactions and states as tattvas, seven in number. The first two are j va and aj va, which are the main actors; the next two i.e. influx and bondage show the interactions between them and called sa s ra or engagement for pleasure and pain. This is called pravrti or engagement and Jains talk of moral ethics to minimize demerit and maximize merit during this engagement. Causes for sa s ra are delusion, inadvertence, laziness, passions and activities of mind/body and speech. The next two i.e. stoppage and dissociation of soul from matter are the nivștti or the state of detachment and spiritual purification to attain the last stage called mokṣa or liberation of the soul from sa s ra or bondage. Bondage is further classified as auspicious for meritorious results and inauspicious for de-meritorious results. Pure soul is with infinite intuition, knowledge, bliss and energy while empirical soul has only traces of these due to karmic veil on it. Similarly there are other totally opposite characteristics of the two concerning size, shape, movement etc. Doctrine of karma is perhaps one of the most important contributions of Jain. All our acts and events in life are based on a cause-effect relation i.e. as you sow so shall you reap. Karmas, subtle matter particles, are like the seeds of our activities to yield result at appropriate time. Their bondage is the cause of sa s ra and the empirical soul is called mukta / pure soul when it frees itself from karmic bondage. The holy Jain texts provide
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extremely detailed analysis of causes of bondages, types and nature, duration and path to destroy bondage of karmas with soul.
The four cardinal principles of Jain way of life are:
1. Ahis or non violence in conduct 2. Aparigraha or Non-possession in life and society 3. Anek nta or multiplicity of view points in thoughts 4. Sy dv da or Conditional dialectic in speech.
The entire moral and spiritual ethical postulates of Jain are based on Ahis Ahi s parmo dharma, Live and let live are the hallmark of Jains. c ra ga defines and describes the philosophy of Ahi s beautifully while Pūrusārtha Siddhi Upāya by Amrta Candra proves that all the ethical tenets of Jainism are derived from Ahi s. Ahis is defined as an activity (of mind or body or speech); that causes pain to self or others; or encourage others to perform such activities; or support or praises such activities of others. We see here the emphasis on self also as all our violent activities cause pain to self ultimately even though we perform these activities for pleasure or to cause pain to others. Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest practitioner of Ahis of our times and achieved independence for India using Ahi sas his weapon. In fact he used the concept of Ahis to achieve social transformation rather than spiritual purification. Indian constitution recognizes Ahis and Jainism appropriately
Aparigraha is described basically as 'absence of a feeling of mine'. First eight verses of Strkrt ga describe the concept of Aparigraha and its importance in achieving the ultimate objective in life i.e. liberation. Aprigraha is the feeling of possession / attachment / bondage, expectation, desire etc. An analysis of our own life will show that; first we spend our entire life in amassing material wealth; then in protecting it from leaving us before we realize such wealth is of no use and cannot give happiness. Similarly we do everything for our family even to extent of living for them and see ultimately how the very family is unable to give us happiness. In earlier times we know how Jains used to share their wealth in building temples / dharama Is, serving the monks, setting up educational and health services institutions and secretly support the needy members of the community. Aparigraha means work hard to earn merit, but do not develop attachment to the results / benefits accrues, share it with others. Recently we heard how the second richest man in the world Warren Buffet donated more than half of his wealth, some Rs 1500000 million to charities and described it as giving back to the society what the society gave to him. Feeling of a custodian rather than the owner is what is important in attaining happiness.
Anek nta is based on the principle that truth is infinite and it is not possible for us, who are not omniscient, to know it completely. We always know a part of it as per our requirements or objectives while there are many more aspects to it than known to us. Therefore we should not insist on our viewpoint as the only and complete truth. Examples of 40 persons photographing a large banyan tree or the seven blind men trying to define an elephant explain the concept of Anek nta. The principle of Anek nta is based on the doctrine that our knowledge is relative, opposite of what we know also exists, knowledge of others is also true from a particular view point i.e. reconciliation. Even if we know the entire truth we cannot express it completely at the same time. Therefore Jains talk of Sv dv da, a method of speaking the partial truth without negating the existence of more features or facts. The entire judicial system, if analyzed will be seen based on the doctrine of Anek nta. Similarly the fundamental principles of democracy i.e. existence of opposition is based on Anek nta. Basis of all terrorism / violence in the world is the insistence of one's view as the only truth and other as not so.
Science in Jainsim: It is amazing to see how Lord Mah vra could visualize the structure of the universe from micro to macro levels without the aid of any modern day instruments. Some examples are given below will prove this:
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Periodic table in science show the number of basic elements found to date to be 102 (now gone up to 118). The table also shows some blank positions and the possibility of more basic elements existent but not found till now. Jains talk of a possibility of 4(8/2 touch)*5(colors)*5(taste) *2 (odors) = 200 possible elements in which parm Scan combine to give different elements. Water should be boiled and strained before drinking. Absence of this shows over 4000 persons dying everyday by taking impure water. Mah vra's principle of satj vanik ya talks of air / water / fire / earth and plant bodied living beings and the living beings with moving bodies. It is extremely useful to analyze and propagate basis and essentiality of environmental protection practices. Concept of parms being the smallest indivisible part of matter of Jains as established by Bohr in his atomic theory. Matter emits light (Sir CV Raman), Sound is matter (Galileo and Newton) and plants have life (JC Bose) are the principles, which have been accepted by scientific research so far. Detailed description of matter as skandha, parm ns is indeed getting established by scientific research now. Similarly we find a number of other concerns proved by science about the constituents of universe.
The properties of matter such as ability of many atoms to co-exist in the same space point, conversion of matter into energy etc as given in Jain texts have been proved by scientific discoveries.
Similarly there are a number of significant factors concerning cosmos, matter besides the soul which are based on actual experiences of omniscient lords and can be verified by scientific experiments if enough effort is made in a systematic manner.
In the present time cycle, Jains talk of 24 t rtha karas or the Jinas who attained perfection and also guided others to do so. di N tha/Rsabha Deva is the first and Mah vra is the last i.e. 24th tratha kara.
Other considerations Jains talk of a classless society with every human being, be they male or female, having the potential to achieve perfection and liberation. The level of knowledge of an individual is inversely proportional to the thickness of the karmic veil on his soul.
Path of purification: Jains believe in the theory of reincarnation or the transmigration of empirical soul. This transmigration is determined by the karmas or the activities of the individual soul and every soul has the capability to come out of the cycle of transmigration and attain liberation or moksa i.e. an everlasting state of bliss and infinite knowledge.
Right faith-knowledge-conduct when practiced together is the path to attain liberation. Right belief means the belief in the existence and attributes of soul and other types of substances. Right belief causes spiritual awakening in the person. Knowledge is right if it is without any doubts or oppositions or indecisiveness. Right conduct is the ethical practices as per the Jain code of conduct for monks. Let us look at each a little in details.
A spiritually awakened person can be identified with the five characteristics i.e. Calmness & tranquility ( ama and pra ama); aspiration after freedom (Sa vega): Absence of hankering (nirvega): Compassion (an kamp ) and Belief in existence of soul (astikeya). The eight limbs of right belief are: Freedom from doubt (Ni a kita); Freedom from anticipation (Nik kşita); Freedom from disgust (Nirvicikits ); Freedom from delusive notions (Am dhadrsti); Protecting (Upag han). Promoting stability (Sthithikara a): Illuminating or enhancing the Jaina ideology (Prabh van ) and disinterested affection (V tsalya). The first four limbs are formulated in a negative sense so as to point out the negative tendencies or views in the person. The last four are stated in a positive manner designating new attributes to a new social nature or practice of the individual towards others. There are four
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attitudes (bh vn s) which occupy the person with right belief namely friendship, compassion, equanimity and appreciation (pramoda).
Right knowledge is the true knowledge, which is free from doubt, opposition or hankering about the substances, their attributes and modes. Jains consider knowledge and soul to be concomitant and coexistent, as knowledge cannot exist anywhere else but in the soul. Classification of substances based on sentient and insentient shows this fact. Just knowledge is the nature of pure soul while empirical soul has this pure knowledge capability veiled / obscured by the matter karmas bonded with it. Example of sun shining and giving full or partial light depending on the absence or quantum presence between sun and earth explains this concept. Empirical soul therefore needs the assistance of other media, such as sensual organs; light etc to cognize objects while pure soul can cognize all objects with no restraints of space, time, size etc. Knowledge is right or valid if the owner of knowledge is with belief /attitude. Knowledge is of five types, namely mind base, verbal testimony (both are indirect as they are acquired by the soul with the aid of five senses and mind), clairvoyance and telepathy (both direct by soul but only of concrete objects) and omniscience or knowledge without any constraints.
The source of knowledge can be either the soul of the inquirer himself or through the sermons / lectures of others. The methods of acquiring knowledge are Pram a, Naya, Anek nta and Sy dv da.
Right conduct is the practice to give up undesirable activities of mind, body and soul and to perform activities conducive to attain the ultimate objective i.e. liberation/mokṣa. Thus conduct is right only when the practitioner has both right belief and right knowledge. C ritra or conduct is refraining from what is harmful and engagement in what is beneficial. Mah v ra has bifurcated the practice of conduct in two categories namely, r vakas / laity who are not able to devote 100% of their time on the path of purification but wish to practice it partially and rama a monks i.e. those who are committee 100% to the practice of the path of spiritual purification.
The great Jinas have described c ritra from practical point of view to consist of 5 vows (vratas), 5 Attitudes of carefulness (samitis) and 3 Attitudes of restraint (guptis). Vows are Non violence, Truthfulness, Non-stealing, Celibacy and Non-possession. Samitis / attitude of carefulness, are not to cause pain to anyone while walking (ry ), gentle and beneficial talks (bh $), carefulness in receiving alms (Aiş a), Receiving and keeping things for religious purposes carefully (d na Nikṣepa) and attending to the calls of nature in unfrequented places (utsarga). Guptis are attitudes of restraining or controlling the activities of mind (mano), speech (vacana) and body (k ya). Right conduct is divided in two categories namely r vak c ra for householders and rama c ra for ascetics.
For a lay person, a schedule of basic virtues and six essential (va yakas) duties to be performed daily are given so that the practitioner while performing worldly duties keeps the basic Jain principles in mind and avoid harmful activities.
The progress of spiritual purification is indicated as a collection of 14 stages or gasth nas showing primarily the status of deluding (Mohan ya) karma up to 12th stage and then of non obscuring karmas in 13th stages and total absence of all karmas in the 14th stage. A beautiful part of this mysticism of Jains is that even from the 11th stage, the mendicant can fall down to first stage if he is not practicing annihilation of karmas from the beginning.
Another peculiarity of Jain conduct is to celebrate death as a festival as it is an event when the soul leaves the old body to take up a new body (depending on its karmas and state at the time of death). Five types of death are discussed with the highest one being of an omniscient, which after leaving his present body does not take any new body and hence gets out of the transmigration cycle.
As with any old religion, over a period of time, certain amount of laxity in ethical practices crept in Jainism as well, giving rise to different sects. These improvisations keep the religion live while the practicing principles, i.e. to perform daily essentials or adherence to vows get adjusted to suit the
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changing times and environment. Basically there are two main sects Digambaras and vet mbaras with further subdivisions in each.
Jain Arts and Pilgrimages
Jains have contributed significantly to the construction of idols in different poses and materials, including carving in the hills and caves; temples with intricate art work to the vast temple like Ranakpura. It can be said that the oldest temples and idols in India are found belonging to Jains. Dilwr temple at Abu, Bahubali monolith at rava abelgola and temples and idols in Madhya Prade a, especially at Deogarha, Khajur ho and Gw lior; Ellora in Maharashtra; Elephant caves at Udaygiri-Khandgiri are worth visiting. Similarly Jains have built a large number of pilgrim places associated with the attainment of salvation by trtha karas or other siddh s; places where some divine activity tool place or the places where the other four auspicious events (kaly akas) of the trtha karas took place etc. There are a number of them, which are frequented by Jains as a part of their spiritual and religious activity.
Modern Social Issues and Relevance of Jain Principles
The recent economic theory of consumerism, i.e. increase demand for goods and services bring economic prosperity. This has lead to rampant indulgence in using natural resources (hydrocarbons extraction, deforestation) and discharging effluents in air, water to cause environmental imbalance and a threat to our very existence. Along with this growing demand for material wealth, we see use of unfair means to amass wealth (threatening, killing, aids) and greater unhappiness in people. We see rapidly increasing life style diseases like hypertension, diabetes, hearing impairment, air pollution related diseases like asthma etc. No doubt everybody wants a comfortable life but we have to be careful so that the ecological balance is not disturbed and life style diseases minimized. Fundamental principles of satj vanik ya, Ahi s, aparigraha, anek nta and sa yam do provide solutions to these problems as discussed briefly.
Ecology
Mahavira was the first to talk of six types of living beings namely air bodied, water bodied, fire bodied, earth bodied, plant based and moving living beings. Thus He talks of life in all these vital life support elements. c ra ga talks in details about all these and equates soul in them to that of ours. Then He talks of non-violence as the fundamental doctrine to achieve liberation and eternal happiness. If we practice Ahi s towards these environmental elements and do not kill the living beings without any purpose, along with self-restraint by limiting our needs, we can expect the environment to rejuvenate itself and stay healthy.
Vegetarianism
Eating meat or animal products cause us to kill living beings, thereby causing pain to them and enhancing our bondages. On the practical front, it has now been proved that vegetarian diet is healthier (physical, mental) and results in a peaceful attitude and freedom from deadly diseases. On economic front vegetarian diet is more economical as (more agriculture products and land is required to feed and fatten meat yielding animals than to produce cereals for human beings. We also know that our planet does not have enough resources to satisfy the meet eating habits of all. We see that vegetarian diet is becoming fast a diet by choice by millions all over the world.
Terrorism
Violence begets violence. Nobody can win lasting peace by use of force. The Chinese president while visiting US presented the book 'How to win war without fighting by Lao Tse'. In our own time, we have seen Mahatma Gandhi using Ahi s, aparigraha and anek nta win freedom for India. To end terrorism, we have to first become self reliant and confident having faith in our belief in equality of all so that we can defend ourselves in all situations, understand the view points of all and use education, dialogue to resolve differences using the technique of give and take. Ahi s and Anek nta (existence of opposing forces, reconciliation) will bring us closer to solving this problem.
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Aids
Jains propagate 'prevention is better than cure'. The five vows, especially celibacy as described in Jain texts and exercise of self-restraint to arouse or be aroused for sexual gratification can only solve this problem. We need to educate ourselves with the associated problems and the danger it causes to us, our future offspring and how we can prevent it by self-discipline / control to solve this problem greatly. Of course once inflicted, medical treatment is needed to treat it.
Conclusion:
We see that Jain philosophy talks primarily of improving first the self, in worldly and spiritual matters, rather than make others improve first. Tulsi has beautifully described in one sentence 'By improving yourself, the family improves, by improving the family, the community improves, by improving the community the state and then the country and finally the world improves'. So Jains place the individual at the center of all activities to achieve the worldly and spiritual goals. For the Jain community, I feel we have to learn from history and see that excessive display of prosperity, feeling of well being and not sharing our wealth and way of life with others have to be given up as they are very important for our survival. The example of a fruit laden mango tree bending down so that the people can enjoy its fruits and the shade teaches us how to prosper and share. Similarly, we have to find non-violent means to protect ourselves from the so-called religious fanatics.
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1.1
Historical Background of Jainism Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Preamble
There are many beliefs about the origin of species and the world itself. Some believe in its being created by God, others talk of Big Bang doctrine and still some say that it is an eternal entity with changes taking place in it continuously. S trakṛt ga, the 2nd canonical text of Jains which has sermons of Mah vra, in its 1st chapter section three, talk of different views / philosophies (seven) about the creation of the universe. It refutes all of them and says that the universe is eternal; it was, is and will be there forever. Only its contents and components keep on changing. This is based on the Jain doctrine of reality, which says that reality is existent and with origin-decay-permanence. Even modern scientists and logicians support this claim and say that the universe is eternal with changes taking place continuously. Some events, when change is drastic, are considered as either creation or catastrophic (pralaya). Another interesting concept of Jains i.e. of time (called K la) is extremely important to appreciate the history of mankind and culture. This doctrine is shown in Annexe III.
Dr Jyoti Prasada Jain, a noted expert on Indian history in his book 'Bharatiya etihāsa eka drşti or Indian History, a view' has very clearly analyzed the history of India since almost 20000 years with special reference to Jainism. This book has been used extensively for this lesson.
VERSAC
Jainism is perhaps one of the oldest religions of India. Unfortunately even the ancient history of India itself is not well documented to establish the antiquity of Jainism. To establish antiquity of India and Jainism, we have two alternate methods namely:
Conclusions as established by modern research and archeological methods and Tradition and old texts.
We shall use the recent studies and archeological surveys conducted to understand the origin and history of Jainism by reviewing the growth as well as development of various traditions (rama a, Vedic etc) in India and elsewhere.
Geographically India extended from the present Afghanistan in the north to Indonesia / Malaysia in the east. (Annexe I) Over the period of time, due to various reasons, a number of its parts kept on separating themselves from it to leave India as it is known today (Annexe II). Concerning development of civilization, it is said that perhaps the oldest civilization of the world existed in India. To understand this, India is divided in three parts namely:
The mountainous ranges in the north extending from Tibet in east and Afghanistan in the west.
The south surrounded by the three oceans.
In between the plains separated by Vindhy hills, the upper part called Madhya De a and the lower part below Vindhy s in the south.
1.1 Development of Indian Civilization
1.1.1 Anthropological and Archeological Studies
From anthropological studies, it becomes clear that the earliest human civilization in ancient times, especially in India, saw the clear formation of three distinct cultures as well follows.
A. Neo-Stone age 15000-8000BC:
The third r as per Jains is called Bhogabhumi
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⚫ The area i.e. the upper plains of Ganges and Yamuna extending from V r nasi to Magadha was lush with vegetation, favourable climate supporting vegetarian diet, non-violent nature and indulgence in intellectual and spiritual pursuits. The people in this area worshipped idols,
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believed in reincarnation and soul and paid obeisance to great philosophers and learned people. They were called as M navas and started calling themselves as Aryans also. Rsabha Deva, the first trtha kara of Jains was born in this community. This was the end of Stone Age and the beginning of Neo-stone age or work ethic based collective living (town) period. The second grouping was prospering in the area adjoining north, south mountainous ranges in north and south areas. These people were extremely good in art, craft, and trade but were very backward in spiritual matters. They were called Dravids or Vidhy dharas, and they considered M navas as their spiritual gurus. There were mixing of the M navas and Dravids though marriages etc. Vidhy dharas benefited from the knowledge of M navas and M navas got benefited from the skills of Vidhy dharas. The third grouping was an offshoot of M navas who got rehabilitated in the hills of Northern and Western India. They were basically nomads and relied on agriculture and animal breding. They wondered towards north to Hindukush, Iran and western Asia onto Europe. They are the Indo-Iranians.
Rşabha Deva, son of 13th Manu or Kulkara N bhi was born in Ayodhy (belonging to M navas grouping) to establish the work and knowledge based culture in India. Hastin pura to Ayodhy was the area where he reigned supreme and established this culture. Besides the worldly activities like agriculture, trade, services and governance; he propagated the doctrines of non-violence, charity, self-study, devotion to teacher and the omniscient lords. His son emperor Bharat established the unified India and named the country as Bharat. His children and brothers were the ancestors of Dravid and Kuru dynasties, which ruled over India for centuries.
B. Metal age 8000 - 2000 BC: 4th time Ara as per Jains called the Karmabhumi. During this period, the Indian civilization made strides in business, agriculture, movement of goods and people between the above four divisions of the country. Mohanjod ro (Nandur civilization) and Sindhu valley civilizations were showing prosperity and building of towns, cities with facilities similar to now. Fourth tratha kara of Jains Sambhava N tha's sign horse appear to be similar to the famous horses of Sindh while 9th tratha kara Puspa Danta's sign turtle is similar to makar or turtle the name of Mohanjod ro are indicative of the existence and prosperity of Jainism during this period. Excavations from these places also show a number of idols and carving reflecting nude yogi in deep meditation representing Jains and total absence of havanakunda, the essential component of Vedic yajñas. This civilization was expert in using metals like copper etc, establishing cities, agriculture, making cloth and trading etc. and is considered as forerunner of Sumeri, Pharos and other west Asian civilizations
C.Rm yana - Mah bh rat - till Mah v ra era. 1550 - 500BC End of 4th r. Nothing can be said with certainty about the place of origin of Aryans but it appears they were from India and an offshoot of the M navas from the hills and moved towards west Asia. Animal sacrifice, recitation of mantras, polygamy for both sexes etc were their traditions. Study of Jain texts reveal that after 10th t rtha kara Sital N tha, Br hamins started separating from rama as to set up their Vedic cult. Language and script of Vedas are greatly influenced by Ardha M gadhi and Br hmi of
rama a. Slowly Vedics started prospering and moved towards Punjab with western U.P. as their center and forcing the other dynasties and cults towards Takşil and Sindhu River while retaining southern India
This was period where Vedic religion was at its peak and Jain/ rama as were existing and popular in several parts. R ma tried to bring reconciliation amongst the two and is popular in both traditions with Munisuvrta, the Jain trtha kara bring co-existent during his time. The most sacred and philosophical treatise of Hindus called Ast dhayi having questions by Lord R ma and answers by his gr Va ista and the description of the court of Janaka (father of St ) all resemble closely the Jain philosophical thoughts. Padamapr a, story of R ma is a sacred book of Jains having the life of Rma. Similarly krs a was also popular with both Jains and Vedics as he also tried to bring reconciliation amongst them. His cousin Nemi N tha is the 22nd tratha kara of Jains. He was born in
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Shauripur near Mathura and later on the Y davs migrated to Gujarat (Dwarka was their capital). All the Pandavas and even Balrama and Krs a were his disciples and practiced penance in different parts of Gujarat. Vedics were busy in yajñas and sacrifices to achieve their worldly objectives while Jains were busy in pursuing right conduct to achieve liberation. This was also the period when emphasis was shifting to knowledge over rituals and saw emergence of famous Hindu epics like Rm ya a, Mahābhārata and Upanişads and the practice of giving up (nivratti) and development of mysticism over engagement (pravritti) of Vedics. Thus the period after Mah bh rat saw the rejuvenation of
rama as and decline of Vedic cult. Nemi N tha attained liberation from mount Girn ra in Distt K thiav da Gujar t.
P rsva N tha, 23rd tratha kara of Jains and son of the N ga dynasty king of Vr asi was born in 877BC in Vrasi. He renounced the world at the age of 30 and after penance attained omniscience. After this he roamed all over India to rejuvenate Jainism and made it popular till southern parts of India. He attained liberation at the age of 100 from Sammeda ikhar, which is now named after him. Ahiksetra in Distt Bareily of UP had been an important place of penance of P rsva N tha. Families of both Mah vra amd Buddha were his followers. About 300 years after him, Mah vra was born in Bihar and Jainism, as we know today is his teachings and path of spiritual purification. He tried and succeeded to a large extent to divert the Br hma as to Jain fold again and was extremely popular with the kings of Magadh and that area. Mah vra is a historical person and his period and thoughts are well documented.
Historians like Furlong, Charpentier, have established existence of Jain monks (called V rtyas or C syaps) in central Asia and Greece. The name Caspian see is assigned to these Jain monks and a number of temples, believed to belong to Jains, are being discovered in this area and Europe. Words like Jimanosophist, Jimnet i, Oret i (from rtiya) and Verit i, which are representative of Jains, are found in Geek literature. Recently there was a news item telling discovery of over 400 temples in Europe which appear to belong to Jain culture. Further we find that Greek philosophers like Pythagoras and others were vegetarians and practiced non-violence and other ethical postulates of Jains.
1.1.2 Historical Studies. Mah v ra till now. Beginning of the 5th r
1. Mah v ra Mah vra was born in the year 610BC to Siddh rtha (a district chieftain of Vaishali (prosperous democratic district in the present state of Bihar) having royal lineage as most of his paternal and maternal aunts were the queens of different kings in that area. He became the 24th tratha kara of Jains. His family practiced the religion of Prova N tha. Mah vra renounced the world at the age of 30 and attained omniscience at the age of 42 and Nirva at the age of 72. He preached his philosophy for 30 years after attaining omniscience. A number of modern historians believe him to be the founder of Jainism but he was the 24th trtha kara and a rejuvenator of Jainism (earlier called by different names such as Arhat, Niggantha, un t dharma, V rtya etc.) Jainism was at its pinnacle during his time and adopted as a state religion by almost all kings from Kalinga (Orrisa) to Magadh (Bihar) and Ujjaini (MP). More than 500,000 people joined his creed when Buddha, and more than 5 other rama ika sects and 350 other sects were trying hard to establish themselves. His time saw a lot of philosophical discussions, spiritual sermons, rituals with sacrifices, extravagant consumption and display of wealth and women slavery. Mah vra tried to eliminate all the social ills and emphasized austerities, penance, non-violence, self-restraint and multiplicity of viewpoints as the founding principles to attain lasting peace and happiness. A number of learned Br hma a scholars joined his creed. He was followed by a number of omniscient with Jambu Sv mi (about 65 years of Mah vra's Nirva) being the last one who made Mathur his place of penance and salvation.
II. Mah v ra - 300BC After Jambu Sv mi's Nirva, the era of rutakevalis started with Bhadrab hu being the last one who died in 365BC. During this period the salient features were as follows:
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•
Kings of Magadha, the Nanda dynasty, the Maurya dynasty (Candragupta Maurya, Bindusara, Ashok and Samprati), Kharvel of Kalinga and Orissa patronized Jainism. So Jainism prospered as Candragupta and his son Bindusara were Jains and became Jain ascetics in their later life. Jainism was at its pinnacle during this period. Stories abound that king Nandivardhan (424BC) won the war against Kalinga and took away the idol of its most respected Lord Adinath to his capital, which was later, won and brought by Kh rvela. However the feminine of 12.5 years during 365-352 in entire Magadh did havoc to Jainism as a large number of Jain monks went to South with Bhadra B hu while SthulaBhadra and others stayed back in P tliputra. SthulaBhadra changed some of the Jain ethical practices of monks to face the famine. This period also saw Jainism assuming a pan India presence. Jainism became very popular in south as Nemin tha, 22nd tratha kara, is said to have traveled there and established it. Similarly Prsvan tha also is supposed to have traveled southwards from Vrasi. The fact that Bhadrab hu and over 7000 monks chose to go there also support existence of a number of Jains there. Also history of south is not well documented till later periods even though we find that Jainism being the most favoured and popular religion of that area till now mentioned in literature available. Signs of fissure and separation of Jains in two sects belonging to Sthulabahdra in east and Bhadra B hu in the south started. We also see Emperor Asoka patronizing Buddhism more than Jainism even though his grand father and father were Jains and practiced asceticism in their old age. Shifting of the Jain center from P tliputra to Ujjaini, Mathur and Vallabhi in east, north and west respectively and Sravanbelgola in south. Emperor Samprati and son of Emperor Asoka is said to have shifted his capital to Ujjaini affecting this shift of Jainism from P tliputra to Ujjaini. Starting of the writing of Jain canons as the monks were becoming weaker in their memory at P tliputra and later at Mathur but not completed. Jain kings become weaker and Vedic kings started to gain power. Perhaps division in Jain creed, non-availability of strong religious teachers and infighting in the ruling families are some of the causes for this situation.
•
•
TIL 300BC - 200AD This is the period which saw decline of Maurya dynasty and rise of four dynasties namely Kh rvela (Jain) in North-East i.e. Kalinga; North-south path - Andhra; North West with Seleucus of Greece as the king and others in Deep South. Kh rvela developed Udaygiri and Khandgiri caves near Bhubaneshwar, with Jain inscriptions, temples and place of stay for Jain monks. He defeated most of the attacks by kings from other parts and extended his empire till Mathur and Ujjaini, which became important Jain centers. Jainism was also becoming popular in south due to the presence of a large number of monks there. It is said that Jain monks were seen in Greece (taken by Alexander the great at the specific request of his religious teacher Aristotle) and Rome during this period and even a tomb of Jain monk still exists in Greece. Thus during Alexander's time Jainism moved out of India also to western and central Asia and on to Greece and Rome. Alexander met nude Jain monks in Gandhar, Taksila, Punjab and Sindh.
This period also became a period when the division of Jain into Digambara and vetambara sects was formalized in spite of efforts by a number of monks in Mathur and got formalized in 1st century AD. Due to the intense criticism of Jain philosophy by other Indian philosophers, Jain c ryas started writing scriptures in both traditional as well as logical (iv rya, Kunda Kunda, Um Sv mi, Kumar Svāmi, Bhūtabali and Pūşpadant etc wrote almost all Digambara canons) from 1st century BC till 5th century AD from south India. Skandila tried unsuccessfully to complete vet mbara canons which were later on recompiled in their present version in 5th century AD by Deardhagani. During these period Vedic scholars like Patanjali, Valmiki etc started writing their texts and Buddhist philosophers compiled P li Tripitakas. In Lucknow museum we find a number of Jain idols carrying marks of 1st century BC to 1st century AD. Similar idols and other carvings can be seen in Mathura museum also.
Vikramaditya and his successors ruled Ujjaini from 50BC to 50AD and promoted Jainism, Kank li-Til in Mathur was set up with a large number of inscriptions, idols of Jains, which are even available in
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museums of Mathur and Patn but Kank li-Til has become deserted now. Jainism prospered in south India during this period and thereafter as will be seen with their influence in present day Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Kural, the book of moral ethics of Tamils was written by Kunda kunda in Tamil. Kannada, the language of Digambara Jain texts was adopted as the language of Karnataka state from that time onwards.
IV. 200AD - 1700AD This period saw the end of Jain rulers, even though most of the kings gave respect to Jain Cryas and scholars. This is the period when scholars and monks of all philosophies in India were writing their holy scripts, texts as well as building temples, idols, pieces of art and trying to argue with each other about the supremacy of their own philosophy and refuting the others. During this period we also saw emergence of devotion (bhakti), religious rituals, use of tantras and mantras for winning over worldly afflictions. The vet mbaras made Gujarat as their centre with Vallabhi as an important centre of monks to write their canons, which were completed in 5th century AD by Dev rdhagani.
During 4th-6th centuries AD, Gupta dynasties ruled most of north Indian states. All three religions i.e. Vaisa ava (mixed breed of Vedic and Jains). Jains and Buddhist religions prospered with royal families generally practicing Vaisa ava religion. This is the time during which temple and idols, famous art centers like Devgarh, Mathura of Jains were built and created as well as a number of Jain temples renovated. Jain ascetics used to wander freely from Bengal to Punjab. Pujyap da, Dev rdhagani, Haribhadra are important Jain pontiffs of this period with Jain cult strongly bifurcated in two with further divisions in each sect also. Gop cala in Gwalior and a number of places like Draunagiri, Ah ra, Kundalpura, and Gw lior in Madhya Pradesa saw emergence of Jain centers and Jain temples in large numbers. It appears Bundelkhand became active Jain areas with royal patronage extended.
In southern India, dynasties like Kadamba, C lukya, Cols, Hoyesalas, Ganga and R strakuta etc. Karnataka, due to the arrival of BhadraB hu at rava abelgola during 3rd century BC became the centre of Jain philosophy. In Tamil N du we find dynastie like Pandya Cola and Pallavas who were very favourably inclined to Jainsim. They made Madurai (called Mathura of the south) as the Jain center. Magnificent idols like Gomatte wara atrava abelgola and other places were erected in Karnataka. Area adjoining Māhārāstra and Karnataka even today has the largest Jain community and temples. In fact Kannada and Māhārāstri became the languages of Jain canons during this period. We see emergence of a number of Jain logicians like Akalanka, Manikya Nandi, Hemcandra and Yasovijayji writing a number of important Jain texts during this period
Jainism started prospering in South India, Rajasthan and Gujarat and in north around Mathura. Crya Ratna Prabh Suri came to Osia in Rajasthan in first century AD and converted 125,000 people to Jainism (known as Oswals, one of the richest Jain communities in Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat). Similarly Jainism started gaining royal patronage in south (Tamil Nadu, Karnataka primarily), certain parts of Maharastra (Sholapur-Belgaum area), Gujarat (Vallabhi, Ahmedabad), Central India (Malwa, Bundelkhand) and north (Mathura). Other Indian philosophers started criticizing Jain philosophy vehemently. Jain monks started writing scriptures (from 2nd century BC to 6th century AD). iv rya, Bhūtabali and Püspadant, Kunda kunda, Umā Sv ti and Samantabhadra all in south during 2nd - 3rd century AD etc. wrote logical and spiritual Jain texts considered almost as canons by Digambar Jains. Skandila started and then Devardhagani (2nd and 3rd councils in Mathura and Vallabhi respectively in 3rd and 5th century AD) completed vet mbara canons. Um Sv ti's Tattvarthas tra is venerated by all Jains as a very sacred Jain religious text.
From 6th century AD till 8th century AD, Pujya Pada, Siddha Sena, Akalanka wrote commentaries and Jain logic logics. Haribhadra in Gujarat aimed at bringing reconciliation between Jain and other Indian religions by writing a large corpus of important Jain texts. Jain poets and philosophers like Banrasi Dass, Rajmal Pandey and Hindus like Tulsi Das and Surdas flourished during their regime. It is said that Digambar munis in the beginning were asked to wear clothes to go to royal courts for discussions and delivering sermons.
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•
From 7th century AD onwards till 13th century AD building temples, idols, and pieces of art gained momentum by Jains. Devgarh, Gwalior etc in central, Srava abelgola in south, Jaisalmer and Nakoda, Phalodi and Abu's Dilwara in Rajasthan emerged as important Jain centers of art and temples. Idols like Gomatteswara at Srava abelgola and other places came up in Karnataka. Shilanka wrote commentaries on vet mbara canons. Jinasena and his pupil Gunabhadra wrote book on Universal History most revered by Digambar Jains. Hemcandra (12th century AD) became the royal holy teacher of King Vastupal of Patan Gujarat (he built a number of important and huge Jain temples all over Gujarat) and wrote important Jain texts on logic, yoga and language. From 11th century onwards, devotion (bhakti), religious rituals, use of tantras and mantras for winning over worldly afflictions emerged as popular Jain practices. Mantunga wrote Bhaktambara stotra, a very popular devotional hymn in praise of Lord Adi Nath, the 1st fordmaker. We see greater impact of Hindu religious practices on Jains who started making idols of serving gods (yaksa) and goddesses (yaksini) of fordmakers and protectors places (Bhaumias, Bhairava, Kshetrapals) for obtaining divine patronage for worldly comforts and worshipping them. From 11th century onwards, invasions and rule by Muslim kings saw large-scale destruction of Jain and Hindu temples primarily. Remains near important Muslim shrines and tombs (Qutab Minar, Ajmer Dargah Shariff etc. just few examples) still show existence of Jain temples there. However Emperor Akbar and his son Jahangir were sympathetic towards Jains and Hindu religions. Jain poets and philosophers like Banrasi Dass, Rajmal Pandey and Hindus like Tulsi Das and Surdas flourished during their regime. It is said that Digambar munis in the beginning were asked to wear clothes to go to royal courts for discussions and delivering sermons. The four renouncers popularly known as Dadagurus namely Jin Dutt Suri (AD1075- 1154). Manidhari Jinacahndra Suri (1140-1166), Jin Kushal Suri (1280-1332) and Jin Chandra Suri (1538-1613) became very popular in Rajasthan for converting a number of other castes to Jains and having divine powers to protect their followers from natural and human inflicted difficulties. A number of Jain reformers like Lok nshah in Gujarat (founder of Sth nakav si
vet mbara sect), Bhikkhu in Rajasthan (founder of Terapanth, as a sub-sect of Sth nakav si laid strict practice of non-violence for monks and abolishing special places for stay of monks) emerged. Ban rasi D sa criticized excessive use of material offerings in Digambara worship and set up Terapanth in Digambaras. Householders like Todar Mal and Daulat Ram wrote texts and treatise on Jain canons. Dhyanat Rai wrote devotional songs to worship (like Hindu tradition and poets like Kabir) fordmakers and seek patronage from their divine powers. Yasovijay wrote a number of commentaries on earlier Jain commentaries and doctrinal issues. Britain ruled India from 18th century till 1947AD. Western culture started creeping in India. Indian religions, culture, arts and history were also revived. British encouraged education. Finally it appears that Mahatma Gandhi was greatly influenced by his Jain mother and religious teacher Sri Rai Chand (a Jain laity who almost practiced monk's life in Gujarat). He adopted non-violence and truth as his weapons to bring independence to the country from the British rule. During this period, we saw Jain newspapers in different languages being published. Religious bodies like Digambara Jain Mah s bha, vet mbara conference and Young Jains Association were formed and prospered. Jains stared setting up their own schools and colleges and teach religion along with other subjects. Other socially useful institutions like orphanages, widow rehabilitation centers, improvement of facilities at pilgrim places, hospitals and dispensaries etc were established. Shanti Sagar revived Digambara Jain monk tradition in 20th century AD. Kanji swami, a convert from Sthankavasi to Digambara tradition is another reformer of the present times who opposed conduct of Digambara monks and emphasized the absolute viewpoint of pure soul. All through this period, Rajasthan was a little different and not so affected by Muslim rule. Therefore Jainism kept on flourishing there and we see large-scale construction of temples, monks and writing of literature there. Bhamashah, defense and prime minister of Rana Pratap was a respected Jain and he was so respected that his many generations got royal patronage. They built a number of temples in Udaipur and western Rajasthan. During the period 16th to 18th centuries, there was so much turmoil, that the question of religion and culture is inconsequential. Indiscipline, unruly people, violence, infighting were the order of the time. However areas like Bundelkhand, Rajasthan Gujarat, Agra and to some
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extent Delhi in the north, Kanataka and adjacent Māhārāstra and Gujarat in south and west continued to see Jainism exist and to some extent prosper.
V. 1700AD - Now India had rulers from England who plundered the wealth of India first and then ruled the country. Further the moral and ethical standards saw their lowest point during this period. However they did established a well administered government, education, legal, cultural and transport systems in the country. They treated all religions as equal and tried to inculcate a feeling of belonging to the country. As a result we see emergence of intelligentsia like R m Mohan Roy, Day Nand, Vivek nand, Iswarchand Vidhy s gar, Tagore, Gokhale, Srimad R ichandji and last but the least Mahatma Gandhi. Indian religions, culture, arts and history took a turn for development also as the British encouraged education substantially. Old customs (widow remarriage, satiprath, untouchables etc.) were being openly discussed and movements started to eliminate them from the society. Finally Mahatma Gandhi adopted the five a uvratas of Jains, especially non violence and truth as his weapons to bring independence to the country from the British rule.
During this period, we saw publication of Jain newspapers in different languages. Religious bodies like Digambar Jain Mah s bha, vet mbara conference and Young Jains Association were formed and prospered. Jains stared setting up their own schools and colleges and teach religion along with other subjects. Other socially useful institutions like orphanages, widow rehabilitation centers, improvement of facilities at pilgrim places, hospitals and dispensaries etc were established. Ac rya nti S gar ji was the first Digambar Jain c ryas of 20th century and since then this tradition has become quite popular with over 300 Digambar Jain monks countrywide now.
From the demography and philosophy of Jains, we see them concentrated in big cities of India where economic progress was easier to achieve. The latest census of India conducted in 2006-7 show Jains as a small minority of 4.8 million persons living primarily in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi (including adjoining western Uttara Pradesh and Haryana). Further, this small minority is most literate (more than 98 percent and economically prosperous). Similarly we see a number of Jains (almost 100000) migrating to USA, Canada, Europe and other parts of the world to test their academic and business acumen. Most of them are now well established.
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Annexure !
Blhavat Varsha (India) Brkstair.Sund spople-cances) (Arfor teenior Hinayyan aolthan)
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1.1. a
Landmarks of Jaina Iconography
Prof. Maruti Nandan P. Tiwari
The study of Jaina art has drawn considerable interest of the scholars both from India and abroad for over a hundred years. It may be noted that Jainism remained a popular religion throughout, having the support of all the ruling dynasties and the masses, and above all from the business class. There are ample inscriptional evidences found at Kankali Tila, Mathura, Osian, Khajuraho, Deogarh, Jalore, Delvada and at several other places which frequently refer to the shrethin, sarthavaha, gandhika, svarnakara, vardhakin, lauhakarmaka, navika, nartaka, vesyas and different gosthis of traders making significant contributions to Jainism, including the erection of temples and carving of images.
A figure on some of the seals from Mohenjodaro and a male torso from Harrapa (the earliest Indian Civilization, known as Indus Valley Civilization, C. BCE 2300-1750) remind of jina images on account of their nudity and posture. They are similar to the more emphatically exhibited kayotsarga-mudra' in the Lohanipur torso. Nevertheless, nothing can be said with certainly until the Indus Valley script is deciphered. Apart from this lone doubtful instance, no literary or archaeological evidence regarding any Jaina image prior to Mah vra has ever surfaced. Mah vra is said to have never visited any Jain temple or worshipped any Jaina images. In this connection, it would be relevant to make a reference to the Jivantasvamin Mah vra image, which is said to have been carved in the lifetime of Mah vra [c. BCE 6th cent.], hence the name Jivantasvami. According to the legend, a sandalwood image of Mah vra was carved in his lifetime, during the period of his tapas in his palace, about a year prior to his renunciation as a prince. This image is said to be adorned with mukuta and other ornaments befitting royalty. Just like the Bodhisattva is the stage before reaching Buddhahood, likewise Jivantasvami images came to the notice of the scholars. Scholars have so far accepted this literary theory and conceded that the Jivantasvami image was carved in the lifetime of Mah vra. To reinforce his views further, he took the help of two Jivantasvami images of the early Maitraka period discovered from Akota in Gujarat. These images exhibit Jivantasvami standing in the kayotsarga - mudra and wearing imperial dress and ornaments, and one of them bears the world Jivantasvami in the pedestal inscription.
However, there is no mention of Jivantasvami images in the Kalpas tra and other early literary works like the Paumachariya of Vimala Suri [CE 473]. The earliest references to these images are found in the later commentaries of the Agamas (c.mid 6th century CE] and in other works which mention the existence of the Jivantasvami images at Kosala, Ujjain, Dasapura [Mandasaur). Vidisa, Puri and Vitabhayapattana." The Trisasti-salaka-purusacharita (CE 1169-1172] of Hemachandra deals at length with the legend and the iconographic features of the Jivantasvami images (parva 10, sarga 11]. It mentions that Kumarapala Chaulukya commissioned excavations at Vitabhayapattana and unearthed a Jivantasvami image. According to Hemachandra, the first and original image made by Vidyunmalideva was installed at Vidisa. However, there is no mention of these figures in any of the Digambara literary works, and as a consequence no such figures have been encountered from their sites. Probably this absence was due to the representation of the Jivantasvamiwith dress and ornaments.
Since there is no literary and archaeological record of these images prior to the 5th - 6th century CE, hence, the contemporary tradition of Jivantasvami image having being carved during the lifetime of Mah vra is not acceptable. The available evidences point at the prevalence of such a belief in the later Gupta period. It may be observed here in passing that the early concept of Jivantasvami Mah vra was further broadened between the 10th and 15th centuries CE, by the depiction of some other Jinas as Jivantasvamis. The fact is further supported by later literary references in the Prabandhakosha of Rajashekhar (CE 1348] and the Kalpapradipa or Vividhatirthakalpa of Jinaprabha Suri (CE 1350]. The former text refers to the Jivantasvami Santinatha image. Several other inscribed Jivantasvami images, namely, Rishabhanatha, Sitalanatha [CE 1449], Chandraprabha (CE 1465] and Sumatinatha (CE 1444) from western India have also been found. It may be concluded that the concept of Jivantasvami was further widened to cater to the needs and aspiration of the devotees, by transmitting the massage of observance of austerity and the renunciation of a passionate life along with all the worldly obligations. In a few examples from Osian [Jodhpur, Rajasthan, 11th century CE].
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the figures of yakshas and yakshis have also been added to Jivantasvami, apparently suggestive of the innovation on the part of the artist.
The earliest known Jina image is preserved in the Patna Museum; it comes from Lohanipur [Patna, Bihar] and is dated back to the 3rd century BCE. As the figure is nude and stands in the kyotsarga mudra, [pls. 3,7] this suggests rigorous austerity, confined only to the Jinas. Another from Lohanipur is assignable to the Sunga period or slightly later. A terracotta Jina icon of the 3rd century BCE has also been reported from Ayodhya. In this connection, the references to the 'Kalinga Jina' in the Hathigumpha inscription, and the Lohanipur and Ayodhya Jina figures, the antiquity of the Jina image may be pushed back to the 3rd century BCE.
The two other earlier images of Parshvanatha, dated differently by scholars from the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, are in the collection of the Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay, and the Patna Museum." These figures standing in the kayotsarga mudra are sky-clad, with a five and seven snake's canopy respectively.
Mathura was a stronghold of Jainism from about 100 BCE to CE 1177. The early [100 BCE to the Kushan period] Jaina sculptures from Mathura are of special iconographic significance, because they exhibit certain formative stage in the development of Jaina iconography. The vast amount of vestiges include the ayagapatas [tables of homage], independent Jina images, Pratimasarvatabhadrika, Sarasvati [CE 132], Naigamesi and also narrative scenes from the lives of Rishabhanatha and Mah vra.12 Among these, only ayagapatas of the 2nd - 1st century BCE merit special attention, since they represent the transitional phase of Jain iconography in which the worship of auspicious symbols, together with the Jinas in human form, was in vogue. One such example of the 1st century BCE bearing the figure of Parshvanatha, seated in dhyana-mudra [seated cross-legged], is in the collections of the State Museum, Lucknow [acc. no. J253]. The rendering of the Jinasin the dhyana - mudra and the representation of the Srivatsa in the center of the chest appear for the first time in the Sunga Kushan sculptures of Mathura. [Pls.1, 2] These sky-clad Kushan Jaina images imply full concurrence with Agamic tradition of Sachelaka [draped] and Achelaka [sky-clad], but they, however, do not suggests any sectarian affiliation with the Digambaras. They rather represent the undifferentiated proto-Svetambara and Digambara sects.
The Gupta period was a milestone in the development of the Jaina iconography, during which the most significant iconographic features were introduced, such as the distinguishing cognizances and the yaksha-yakshi figures. The Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira is the earlist text which lucidly gives details of such features [58.65].
The earliest Svetambara Jaina images, known from Akota [Vadodara, Gujarat], were also carved in the Maitrak-Gupta period13 and their glorious history continued in the Post-Gupta period. Jaina literature and art thrived most vigorously during the 10th and 13th centuries CE. This era witnessed the construction of a large number of Jaina temples with exquisite sculpture carvings. Gujarat and Rajasthan were the strongholds of the Svetambara sect, while the vestiges yielded by other regions are affiliated mainly to the Digambara and Yapaniya sects. Of the Svetambara sites, the most prolific exponents can be seen at the Osian Mah v ra temple and five Jaina [devakulikas, c. CE 10th - 13th century] and Delvada [Sirohi, Rajasthan- Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi [c.CE 1031 1250]. Of the Digambara sites, Khajuraho [Chhatarpur, M.P., Parsvanatha, Adinatha and Ghantai temples, c. CE 950 -11th century], Deogarh [Lalitpur, U.P., Santinatha and several temple and profuse Jaina icons of c. CE 860 13th 14th century], Ellora [Aurangabad, Maharashtra, five Jaina caves nos. 30-34, c. CE 9th 10th century], Khandagiri [Puri, Orissa - c. CE 11th 12th century], Humcha [Shimoga, Karnataka] and Sravanabelgola [Hassan, Karnataka - c. CE 10th 13th century], call for special
attention.
The core of the Jaina pantheon, also the visual manifestations representing the concentration of thoughts and myths into figurative and pictorial art, are 24 Jinas or Tirthankars. The Jainas further developed their pantheon by assimilating and transforming different Brahmanical legendary characters and deities in there are from. In embracing Brahmanical deities, Jainas never compromised
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with their basic tenets of maditation and bodily abandonment, best represented by the Vitaragi Jinas, who were free from passions and desires and who could neither favour nor frown at anybody. It is for this reason that the Jinas were never shown as safety-bestowing or boon-conferring deities, as was the case with Buddha, Shiva, Vishnu, Ganesha and others. Religion can thrive only with the active support of the masses, and this fact was very much in the minds of Jaina acharyas. The majority of the worshippers aspire for worldly and materialistic possessions from deities they worship, which however could not be obtained from the worship of the Vitaragi Jinas. Thus, several other deities were conceived and incorporated in the Jaina pantheon to cater to the needs of the common worshippers, by the induction of the Shasanadevatas or the yakshas and yakshis, joining two Jinas on the two flanks as guardian deities, [Jinashasanaraksakarakaya-Acharadinakaras]. They bestow on their believers their desired wishes and boons. The Harivamsa Purana [CE 783, 66.43-45] speaks of the relevance of the adoration of the Shasanadevatas, who are capable of pacifying the malefic powers of the grahas, rogas, bhutas, pishachas and rakshasas. The socio-religious and psychological requirements, thus, paved the way for the assimilation and mutual understanding between the Brahmanical and Jaina religions.
The Parshvanatha Jaina temple at Khajuraho [c.CE 950-70], containing all around its façade the figures of Brahmanical deities like Shiva, Vishnu, Rama, Bramha, Balarama, Kama, Agni and Kubera, along with their respective shaktis in alingana-pose, is a remarkable exponent of coherence and mutuality between the two religions. Such figures in alinganapose are indeed a violation of the accepted norms of the Jaina tradition, and were actually carved under the influence of Brahmanical sculptures at Khajuraho. There are three sculptures showing amorous couples14 on the north and south shikharas and also on the garbha-griha façade of the Parshvanath temple.
Such instances of erotic figures in a Jaina context, datable between 10th - 12th century CE, are also known from Deogarh [Dooeway, temple 18], the Santinatha temple at Narlai [Pali, Rajasthan] 15 the Ajitanatha temple at Taranga and the Neminatha temple at Kumbharia. The presence of erotic figures at Jaina sites is a gross violation of the Jaina beliefs, which does not even conceive of any Jaina God in alingana- pose with his Shakti, and hence was probably the impact of Tantric influence during the early medieval times[c. Ce 7th - 10th century]. However, the Jaina Harivamsa Purana [CE 783] points out to the construction of a Jina temple by Sresthi Kamadatta, who, for the sake of attracting people, had figures of Kamadeva and Rati16 installed in the temple. It also alludes to the worship of Rati and Kamadeva along with the Jina images."7
It may be noted here that Tantric influential was accepted in Jainism but with certain restraints. Overt eroticism was never so pronounced in Jaina literature and sculpture manifestation, as is the case of Brahmanical and Buddhist religions, as evident from their sculptures, carved Khajuraho, Konark, Bhubanesver and many other places.
The Jinas also find representation on some of the Brahmanical temples at Khajuraho [Kandariya Mahadeva and Vishvanatha temples- 11th century CE], Osian [Surya and Harihara temples - 8th - 9th century CE] and Bhubaneshvar [Mukteshvara temple - 10th century CE]. Of all the deities borrowed from the Brahmanical culture, Rama and Krishna, the two great epical characters, undoubtedly occupy the most exalted position in the Jaina worship and Jaina religious art; they were incorporated in their work in about 1st-2nd century CE. The rendering of Krishna and Balarama begins as early as the Kushan period. These were associated with the 22nd Jina Aristanemi or Neminatha, as his cousins, as illuminated by the images of Neminatha from Mathura, belonging to the early Kushan period, e.g. the seated figure of Neminatha is flanked by the figures of four-armed Balarama and Krishna - Vasudeva [State Museum, Lucknow, acc. no. J47]. Balarama holds a musala and a hala, while Krishna bears a mace. Another image of the later Kushan period shows Krishna with a mace and chakra, explaining distinctly the process of adoption and transformation of Brahmanical deities in Jaina worship. Subsequent illustrations of such images are known from Bateshvara [Agra, U.P.] and Deogarh [temple no. 2, Lalitpur, U.P.]. Owing to the explained kinship of the two, Krishna and Balaram were also carved in different narrative panels at Kumbharia and Vimala Vasahi [11th - 12th century CE] showing the life of Neminatha. These scenes project the water sports and trial of strength between Neminatha and Krishna [Vimala Vasahi ceiling of cell no. 10].
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According to the Jaina belief, and also in visual expression, Neminatha has been portrayed as victor in a trial of strength with Krishna, which was intended at establishing the superiority of Jainism. The second circular band of the Vimala Vasahi relief demonstrates the strength of Neminatha in the Ayudhasala [armory] of Krishna. In the scene, Krishna is shown sitting on a throne as Neminatha enters, and both are greeting each other with folded hands. Ahead is engraved the scene of trial between the two, wherein the outstretched hand of Krishna is shown bent to suggest Neminatha's victory over Krishna.
F
Vimala Vasahi and Luna Vasahi [c. CE1150-1250] exhibit some very interesting renderings of Krishna lila and other Vaishnava themes including Kaliyadamana [Vimala Vasahi cell 33], [pl.4] Krishna playing Holi [sprinkling coloured water on each other] with Kanakshringakosha [as found in Harsha charita] with gopas and gopikas, the episode of Bali and Vamana, samudra-manthana and vivid carvings pertaining to Krishna's birth and his bala-lilas.18 The scene of Holi, carved on the ceiling of the bhramika [corridor] at the devakulika 41 of the Vimala Vasahi [c. CE 1150], is a singular such instance in plastic art. It becomes all the more important in view of its Jaina context on one hand, and its total absence from the plastic art at Brahmanical sites on the other hand. The ceiling accommodates nine figures of gopas and gopikas with Krishna, the later in the center playing Holi in a joyful mood, with two kanaka-shringa-koshas [cowhorn-shaped golden sprinklers] in his hands. [PI.5] Krishna is dressed in a small kirita-mukuta and a long flowing uttariya [pitambar]. All other figures are leaning towards Krishna in rhythmic postures. The Luna Vasahi [CE 1250] contains depictions of Krishna's birth [janma], under close vigil, his bala-lila and the killing of demons by him.
The second ceiling [no. 49] of Vimala Vasahi exhibits a remarkable figure of a 16 armed sthauna Narasimbha [man- lion incarnation of Vishnu] killing the demon Hiranyakashyapu. The entire representation is so effective and dynamic that it makes the work, undoubtedly, one of the best illustrations of Narasimbha in Indian Art.
Apart from these epical characters, several other deities were assimilated directly in Jaina worship with identical iconographic features. The concept and the names of such deities are found in the early Jaina works datable between c.3rd and 7th century CE, but their detailed iconographic features are enunciated mainly in the works assignable between c. 8th and 14th century CE. [PI.8] The list of such deities comprises Ganesha [Jaina devakulikas at Osian, Khandagiri cave, and Neminatha temple at Kumbharia, c. 11th - 12th century CE], Ksetrapala [Deogarh and Khajuraho], Lakshmi, Saraswati [Mathura, Deogarh, Khajuraho, Pallu, Vimal Vasahi, Lunavasahi, Kumbharia, Humcha Kushan, to 12th century CE]. Other than these examples, Ashta-dikpalas [sometimes their number being 10, including Nagaraja Dharanendra and Brahma], navagrahas, Ashtavasus [carved on the Jaina temples of Khajuraho], 64 yoginis [enunciated in the Acharadinakara of 1412], Indra and several other deities were also included. In concurrence with the Brahmanical tradition, the Ashtadikpalas and the Navagrahas are carved on almost all the Jaina temples. Navagrahas are carved on the pedestals of the Jina images also. Ganesha, as bestower of success, was incorporated in to the Jaina pantheon during the early medieval times. According to the Acharadinakara of Vardhamana Suri [CE 1412], Ganesha is even adored by the gods in order to fulfill their worldly desires. On the basis of the available instances, Ganesha is shown mounting a rat and carrying a lotus goad, tusk, axe, spear and modaka or modakpatra;" the bearing of Brahmanical Sarasvati, their proximity being ascertained by the presence of the vahana [swan or peacock], manuscripts, vina, rosary, water vessel, goad and noose. In one of the images carved in the ceiling of Vimala Vasahi [CE 1150], Sarasvati is joined by the figures of S tradhara Loyana and Kela, the chief architect and sculptures of the temple. Thus, Sarasvati is visualized here as the Goddess of fine arts as well.
A few Jaina deities who were borrowed from other cultures have some changes either in the names or iconographic features or both to suit the requirements of the Jaina creed. The Brahmashanti and Kaparddi Yakshas are the foremost among such deities who occupied an important position in the visual representations at Shvetambara Jaina temples in western India, namely, Dilvada and Kumbharia. They are identical to Brahma and Shiva. In some cases, the influence of Garuda, Kumara yakshas, Kali and Mahakali yakshis is also seen. The Shasana-devatas of Rishabhanatha, the first Jina, are Gomukha [bull face and parashu in hand] and Chakreshvari [riding a garuda and carrying
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disc, mace, conch), apparently representing Shiva and Vaishnavi.20 In one of the ceilings of the Santinatha temple at Kumbharia the figure of Chakreshvari is labelled as 'Vaishnavi'.
The figures of Saptamatrikas, who find no mention in Jaina works, were also carved, as found in some instances from Mathura, Gyaraspur, Vimalvasahi and Khandagiri. These figures are usually carved in the parikara of Ambika images [Mathura Museum), while at Khandagiri [Navamuni Gumpha - 11th century CE] they are carved with the Jinas as yakshis, albeit with the features of Indrani, Kaumari and other Matrikas. Some figures of several such unidentified deities, mainly the female ones, at the prolific Jaina sites Vimala Vasahi, Luna Vasahi and Kumbharia have been discovered. Most of the deities in such cases show the influence of the Brahmanical Goddesses. Vimala Vasahi alone has 16 such goddesses, mounted on a bull and either holding a trishula or a sarpa, or a trishula in both the hands, which has a distinct Shaivite stamp. To suggest his rigorous tapas, Bahubali has not only been shown in the kayotsarga-mudra but also with creepers entwining him, as exemplified by the finds from Deogarh, Khajuraho, Bilhari, Ellora, Shravanbelgola [CE 983], Karkal (CE 1432) Venur (CE 1604], as in the museum of India and united Kindom and in some paintings. The long span of time during which he was absorbed in tapas ans in deep trance has been represented by snakes, lizards and scorpions either near him or creeping over his body. The posture of Bahubali is symbolic of perfect self-control, while his nudity implies total renunciation. The profound austerities formed by Bahubali inspired both the Svetambara and the Digambara Jainas to worship him, specially the Digambaras. As a result, Bahubali became a powerful symbol and also a materialistic image, evocative of the ethos of self-sacrifice and ahimsa, as preached by the Jinas. It is further believed that Bahubali was perhaps the first to propound the policy of no war, preferring a duel to a battle between the armies. The entwining creepers and the figures of scorpions, lizards and snakes on the body of Bahubali perhaps also are symbolic the intimate relationship between man and nature and their rhythmic coexistence. Gradually, the popularity of Bahubali worship reached to such heights in the Digambara sect that a cult around him almost formed. The invariable features of the Jina images like the astapratiharyas and the shashana devatas were also associated with him to project his project his status, equaling him to the Jinas.
References: 1. Epigraphia Indica, Vol. I, II [for inscriptions), VI, XXI, XXIX, Vol. II, Inscriptions V, XVI,
XVIII, XXXIX, New Delhi, pp. 237-40; - P.C. Nahar: Jaina Inscriptions, _Vol. I, Calcutta,
1918, pp. 192-94, 233 [inscription 898): 2. J. Marshall: Mohenjo Daro and the Indus Civilization, Vol. I, London 1931, pl. 12, figs.
13, 14, 18, 19, 22, p. 45, pl. 10 - R.P. Chanda: Sindh Five Thousand Years Ago, Modern
Review, Vol. LII, No. 2, August, 1932, pp. 151-60. 3. U.P. Shah: Beginning of Jaina Iconography, Bulletin Museums and Archaeology in U.P.
No. 9, Laucknow, June, 1972, p. 2. 4. For details consult: U.P. Shah: A Unique Jaina Image of Jivantasvami, Journal Oriental
Institute, Vol. I No. 1, Baroda, Sept., 1951 (1952), pp. 72-79; - U.P. Shah: Side Lights on the Life-time Sandal-Wood Image of Mah vra_Journal Oriental
Institute_Vol. I, No. 4 Baroda, June 1952, pp. 358-68; M.N. Tiwari: Jivantasvami Images - A Study in Concept and Iconography, Proceedings
Indian History Congress - 54h Session_[1993], Delhi, 1984, pp. 847-56. 5. U.P. Shah: Akota Bronzes, Bombay, 1959, pp. 26-28, pl. pa & b, 12a 6. J.C. Jain: Life in Ancient India as Depicted in Jaina Canons,_Bombay, 1947, pp. 252,
300, 325. The earliest literary references are found in the Vasudevahundi_(c. 610CE]. 7. Trisastisalakapurusa-charitra: 10.11. 379-80. 8. K.P. Jayaswal: Jaina Image of Maurya Period, Journal Bihar, Orrisa Research Society,
Vol. XXIII, Pt. 1. Patna, 1937, pp. 130-32. 9. The Ayodhya excavation has yielded a terracotta figure of c. 3rd century BCE that is taken to
be the earliest Jaina terracotta figure so far unearthed in India; 10. D.C. Sircar: Select Inscriptions Vol, 1 Calcutta, 1965, pp. 213-21. 11. U.P. Shah: Studies in Jaina Art. Varanasi 1955, pp. 8-9
-H.K. Prasad: Jaina Bronzes in the Patna Museum, Mah v ra Jain Vidyalaya Golden Jubilee Volume _Bombay 1968, pp. 275-80. -The image in the Patna Museum is procured from Chausa in Bhojpur district of Bihar
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12. These narrative panels of the Kushan period are on display in the state museum, Lucknow [acc.no. J626, J354].
સધ
13. M.N. Tiwari: Jaina Pratimavijnana_[Hindi] Varanasi 1981, pp. 49-52.
14. L.K. Tripathi: The Erotic Sculptures of Khajuraho and their Probable Explanation, Bharati, Varanasi, No. 3, 1959-60, pp. 82-104,
-M.N. Tiwari: Khajuraho ka Jain Puratattva_[Hindi], Khajuraho, 1987.
15. There are about 50 erotic couples showing in some cases shaven-headed Jaina munis with elongated ears that are engaged in different sexual activities.
16. Atraiva Kamadevasya Ratescha Pratimamvyadhat/Jinagare Samastsyah Prajayah Kautukaya sah / Harivamsa Pirana: 29.2
17. Harivamsa Purana: 29.1-10.
18. M.N. Tiwari & K. Giri: Vaisnava Themes in Dilwara Jaina Temples, Vajpeya [Prof. K.D. Bajpai Felicitation Volume], [ED.] A.M. Shastri et al., New Delhi, 1987, pp. 195-202.
19. M.N. Tiwari & K. Giri: Images of Ganeswa in Jainism, Ganesh Studies of an Asian God. [ED] R.I. Brown, New york, 1991, pp. 101-14;
- M.N. Tiwari & K. Giri: Sarasvati in Jaina Tantric Worship, Archaeology and Art - Krishnadeva Felicitation Volume [ED]C.R.P. Sinha, Pt. II, Delhi, 1990, pp. 311-25. 20. U.P. Shah: Jaina Rupamandan_Delhi, 1987;
- M.N. Tiwari: op.cit, 198.
21. Bahubali, also known as Gommateshvara in the Southern Jaina Customs, was the second son of Jina Rishabha born to his second queen Sunanda. His stepbrother Bharata became Chakravarti, Succeeding his father. According to law of disc- weapon [charka], Bharata had the need to subdue Bahubali and his 98 brothers. Except Bahubali, all his brothers surrendered their domains and became recluses. A fierce duel took place between Bharata and Bahubali for trial of strength, in which the latter almost emerged as a victor. As at the final moment of his triumph, he was enlightened about the futility of worldly possessions; he consequently renounced the world for attaining omniscience and hence salvation from the cycle of existences. As an ascetic, he performed very rigorous austerities by standing in the kayotsarga posture for a whole year and then attained kevala-jnana.
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885
Plate 1. U.P.J. 11th century CE, State Museum, Lucknow.
Ferle Jura Maitinarha. Una
104

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Plate 2. Back of the sculpture in pl. 1.

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Plate 3. Upasarga of Parsvanatha, Cave 32, Ellora, 9th Century.

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Plate 4. Kaliyadamana, ceiling, in front of Devakulika-29,
Vimal Vasahi (Mt.Abu), Rajasthan, c.1150.

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Plate 5. Krishura Playing Holi with Cina Crepikes, Ceiling, interior, of Der kataka-29, Vimala Vasahi Mt. Abu). Rajasthan, c. 150.

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WUUD
Plate 6. Ambike with 23 Yakshis in Parikara. Satna, M.P. 11th century: Allahabad Museum

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Plate 7. Detail of pl. 3.

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1.1.b
Bhagav na Mah v ra and his divine sermon
Al. Shrut Sagar
Jina or Jinendra are those spiritual victors/ conquerors who have conquered completely enemies in the form of all types of ills /evils of this world thereby attaining complete control over their sensual inclinations / tendencies. They are called tiratha karas or ford-makers as they practice and then propagate the path of spiritual purification/religion, its conduct and guide others in its practice. The conduct of the tiratha karas is through self effort in observing austerities and self restraint to attain spiritual beneficiation and uplift. Therefore they are called rama as. As they annihilate all types of bondages (knots of delusions), they are also called Nirgra thas. Those twenty four rama a tiratha karas, starting with abha to the last one Mah v ra, practiced, experienced and then preached their supreme path of spiritual purification (popularly known as Jainism or Jain dharma) for the benefit of all to achieve peace and happiness
sarvasattv n n hit ya sarvasattv n n sukh ya'. The twenty fourth tiratha kara and preacher of Jainism of this epoch, Bhagav na Mah v ra blessed this world and its inhabitants by his birth in Kundapura near Vai li (the seat of holy Videha in Bihar).
Birth of Vardham na
Mah v ra, venerated by all, was born 2606 years ago for the benefit of the entire world in Kundapura, a town in holy Videhade a modern day Bihar) of India (Bh rata), considered to be the most desirable place to live by all. Kundapura was inhabited near Vai 1 (present day Vas ha), the capital of Videha. At that time Vai 1 was a prosperous, beautiful, independent and democratically governed state. Siddh rtha of Licchavi-J tra lineage ruled Kundapura. He was adept in law and justice and was loved and very popular with his subjects. His governance was based on the principles of non-violence and democracy. Siddh rtha was one of the nine Licchavis reigning different districts at that time. He was highly respected by all other Licchavis and he also showed great respect to all others. The deep mutual respect, love, affection and fraternity between the different Licchavi clans have been lucidly described in Buddhist ancient and holy text 'D ghanik ya-a akatha' as 'whenever a Licchavi became sick, all other Licchavis will visit him to assist his family. Whenever there was a family function in one Licchavi's household, all others will join him. Whenever any saint visited one of the Licchavi household, all other Licchavis will go there, join the welcome ceremonies and so on. All these make one conclude the supreme effectiveness of the subtle non-violence practiced by King Siddh rtha. All other kings, who were not practicing Jains, observed, supported and respected non-violence thereby, presented the ideal brotherhood and equality to all.
Influenced by the qualities of love, affection, unity and respect enjoyed by Siddh rtha, Ce aka, the influential king of Vai 1 (prosperous, beautiful, and independent and democratically governed capital of Videha and centre of Licchavi clans), got his beautiful and virtuous daughter Tri al married to him. Tri al was Ce aka's dearest daughter and accordingly also named her as Priy k ri . Tri al was also endowed with religious conduct and noble character.
Therefore the fortunate couple i.e. Siddh rtha and Tri al had the unthinkable good fortune of giving birth to venerated Mah v ra. Mah v ra was born on the auspicious thirteenth day of waxing moon fortnight of the month Caita. Siddh rtha and his family celebrated the birth of Mah v ra with lot of gaiety. The poor were given lot of food grains etc and the wishes of everyone were fulfilled. Musicians played on different types of musical instruments adding to the glamour of birth celebrations. All family members, friendly kings and clan chieftains and the commoners sent their good wishes to Siddh rtha. Overall there was an atmosphere of auspicious celebrations. Due to the enhanced prosperity, peace prevailing at the time of his birth, Mah v ra was given the name Vardham na.
Mah v ra was endowed with super natural knowledge since birth and demonstrated superior intuition and knowledge in his childhood. He used to resolve the toughest intellectual inquisitions of others to the extent that monks Sanjay and Vijay got their inquisitiveness resolved just by seeing Mah v ra. With these experiences, the same monks gave him the name Sanmati. Since then the people started calling him Sanmati. Thus Vardham na became known by another name Sanmati. He was extra ordinarily brave also. He was not scared of even the most deadly inflictions and circumstances. So the people started called him as V ra and Ativ ra also.
Developing detachment by Mah v ra
In this way Mah v ra progressed slowly and steadily from childhood to adolescence to a young man of 30 years of age. Now his parents made proposals for his marriage. But Mah v ra was not only Mah v ra by name but in deed also. He was greatly pained by seeing the sufferings of commoners. Hence his heart was always brimming with detachment from the worldly pleasures. He thought the country is experiencing degradation of religious pursuits and conduct. People are committing inauspicious acts under the garb of religion.'
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Such conditions of ignorance and inauspicious activities stirred his heart immensely. He became filled with compassion and thought 'If such condition of unreligious and violent acts continued for longer time, then this land of non-violence and spiritual teachers will become hell. The man will become a devil. This land of India which was made holy and a place of pride due to the practice and preaching by great spiritual leaders like Bhagav na abha Deva, R ma and Nemin tha will become an irrecoverable place of violence. Hence it is not possible for me to stay in the house and practice non-violence completely.' Therefore he decided to renounce his home for ever.
His parents Siddh rtha and Tri al and all family members were startled to know these views of Mah v ra. However seeing his firm decision to renounce the home, they did not consider it right to stop him from adopting a path of supreme beneficence for himself and the world. So reluctantly they permitted him to adopt his chosen path.
Initiation of Mah v ra as nirgra tha ascetic
Prince Mah v ra renounced all the comforts of royal palatial life and accepted the vows of the nirgra tha skyclad (Digambara) and acela (as a teacher and not as a disciple) ascetic and left for seclusion of the forests, caves and other lonely places. He started to meditate on his self and practice Ahi s (non-violence) rigorously to win over desire, anger, attachment, aversion, delusions and wrong notions, deceit and jealousy etc which he considered as the deterrents/enemies of the soul by not letting it enjoy its own nature. Slowly he started achieving his objectives. The external/ physical austerities observed by him were primarily to invoke and enhance the potency of the internal attributes of pure soul, such as knowledge, bliss etc. He used to endure all afflictions befalling on him bravely and happily. This way he continued his penance observing silence for twelve years and ultimately cleansed his soul of the k rmika impurities completely. Ultimately he attained the state of Arhat i.e. freedom from vagaries of life (j vanmutta). Arhat is the highest attainable state for pure soul in the world. It is this state of Arhat which makes one the venerated one and desired by all and sundry.
Divine sermons of Bhagav na Mah v ra
In this way Mah v ra established Ahi s completely in his self and as per his own pre-set objective. He developed equanimity towards all living beings. He had none as enemy or friend. Even animals which have mutual animosity like snake and mongoose, lion and cow used to come in his congregation together and forgot their animosity. The environment was full of peace and tranquility. Influenced by Mah v ra's divine aura, people started coming by themselves to him. Mah v ra used to deliver sermons on Ahi s at opportune and appropriate times and places. Ahi s parmo dharma i.e. non violence is the supreme spiritual virtue and violence is inauspicious were the focal points of his sermons. He explained innumerable benefits of non violence. In this way he preached effectively the doctrine of Ahi s for thirty years.
The main metaphysical doctrines propounded by Mah v ra in his sermons are as follows:
1.
Omniscient and omniscience (sarvaj avada or supreme-soul).
Whereas other religions propagate that the man is always a servant or follower of a supreme entity called God, Jainism, as propagated by Mah v ra, says that every soul can, by its own engagements and efforts independently, achieve the status of the omniscient God completely. Like a child of six years age starts learning A, B and C etc and every year graduating to higher standards /classes and becomes BA, MA and PhD thereby enhancing his knowledge acquired till the age of 6 manifolds; similarly the empirical soul by purifying itself of k rmika impurities and veils over itself by its own efforts can become a mah tm and ultimately a param tm or omniscient God. By eliminating some of the flaws and k rmika veils, one attains the status of mah tm and by completing eliminating the flaws and k rmika veils one attains the status of param tm. Hence in Jainism a fully beneficiated soul with its virtues / qualities is param tm or the omniscient God.
2.
i.
ii.
The three jewels of religion. Ratnatraya or the trio of jewels.
How can one become param tm ? The answer to this question has been fully explained in Jainism. One who adopts and practices the trio of right belief-knowledge and conduct (samyak dar ana-j na-c ritra) completely eliminates all the pains of this world and ultimately becomes param tm.
Right belief samyak dar ana: Right belief is to have firm belief in right (without flaws) deities or param tm, right scriptures, right and holy teachers (mah tm or s dhus) without any pride and prejudices.
Right knowledge / samyak j na (gyan): Right knowledge is the knowledge of the realities 'tattvas' which is neither less nor more and is free from doubts, contradictions and hankering.
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Right conduct/samyak c ritra: Not to commit violence, not to speak the untruth, not to take other's things without their permission, to observe celibacy and non possessiveness partially is the right conduct for householders. For the nirgra tha ascetics and monks these are to be observed completely and all the times.
Doctrine of Ahi s *Live and let live' is the sum and substance of the doctrine of Ahi s as propagated by Mah v ra. Any supreme soul or supreme B hma who wishes to enjoy the state of bliss must worship and practice the doctrine of Ahi s. He should look and consider everybody else like himself and practice Ahi s. One cannot invoke the spiritual values and qualities until he lives the life of an Ahi saka (practitioner of the doctrine of nonviolence i.e. be a non-violent person) as he continues to experience pain and discomfort till then. Every living being becomes the friend of an Ahi saka. By giving up the animosity, even the mutually opposing by nature animals learn to live peaceful with an Ahi saka person. Anger, aversion, greed, pride etc are all modes of his. These cannot come anywhere closer to an Ahi saka. Ahi saka is never scared or afraid of any eventuality and he faces fearlessly all events and their consequences. He never practices cowardice. Ahis is the virtue of and practiced by the braves and not by the cowards. Bravery implies spiritual strength and not just physical strength. Thus the degree of strength and being non-violent is directly proportional to the spiritual strength of an individual.
Ahis of the householders /common man: A householder abstains from one type of his (violence) i.e. intentional his out of the four types namely his committed as intentional (sa kalp ), ordinary life style ( rambh ), normal performance of professional activities (udhyog and during self defense (virodhi). He thus does not give up the three types of his completely. This does not imply that he is not careful even while committing these three types of violence. He tries to minimize these types of violence also and just commits barely essential violence for being existent. His conduct will always be moral and just. This is in fact the right conduct for the householders as all other activities of his are its derivatives only.
ii. Ahi s of the monks / ascetics: Ahi s of the monks emerges from abstinence of all types of his . There
are no options or short cuts in the practice of Ahi s for him. To make his life pure like gold, he endures peacefully all types of afflictions and conflicts. He neither gets angry from those who insult him nor becomes happy from those who praise him. He maintains equanimity towards all. He keeps himself fully alert and conscious. He protects himself from sinful and pleasurable tendencies / attitudes. He is careful while walking and keeps his sight on the ground and direction of walking thereby protecting all types of living beings. He will always speak the truth but sweetly so as not to hurt others. He will not speak unnecessarily. In brief all his activities shall be performed maintaining an attitude of carefulness and based on practicing Ahi s so that he can realize the supreme soul status i.e. to realize Ahi s bh tn jagati vidita B hamparama ' as depicted by crya Samantabhadra. Thus a monk by observing and practicing Ahis completely and unconditionally: imparting peace to all living beings, breaking his association with the k rmika and other material impurities becomes submerged in Ahi s and realizes his supreme soul status (paramb hma) i.e. the state of eternal bliss.
Doctrine of equanimity lequality; S myav da. Mah v ra preached the doctrine of equanimity i.e. all living beings are equal and we should treat everybody else on this basis of equality /equanimity. To abstain from developing unfair attachment and aversion towards others; to abstain from cruelty towards others; to earn one's livelihood by fair and just means, not to usurp the rights of others; not to cause loss of employment of others and finally to consider that everybody, like me wants to lead an independent and happy life thereby practicing 'vasudhaiva ku umbakam' i.e. to extend brotherly feelings to all, to help others in times of difficulties and calamities, to keep just quantities of essential material possessions for oneself and let others also do the same and to abstain from the lust to hoard or to exploit others are the ultimate aims and teachings of the doctrine of equanimity. If everybody in this world practices this doctrine of equanimity of Mah v ra, then this world can become a place of peace, tranquility and happiness.
Conditional dialectic and multiplicity of viewpoints i.e. Sy dv da and Anek ntav da. We can establish the validity of all entities and events using the doctrines of Sy dv da and Anek ntav da. Since each entity is itself with many facets, its validity as existent can only be established using these doctrines. Sy dv da enables us to visualize (and not overlook) each and every aspect of the existent thereby making our cognition right and just. This leads us to eliminate all biases and uni-polar views of realities /existents and establish the valid and mutual tolerance and respect (samanvaya) towards other's viewpoints. Purpose of Sy dv da is to generate the valid cognition of the existents and to organize the same properly in
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6.0
the scheme of all existents; to view the existent from all angles and not just one; to abstain from rigidity of viewpoint, prejudices, pre established concepts; to cognize the entity from different angles and to consider the entity from primary and secondary considerations. The meaning of the word Sy t in Sy dv da is from some angle or viewpoint and not from all angles /viewpoints. For example a person called Deva Dutt has many relationships existing in him like he is a father of some, son of some, and uncle of others and so on. In this way Sy dv da resolves all conflicts of different attributes of an entity and establishes its valid cognition.
Doctrine of karma i.e. Karmav da.
Karma is insentient i.e. matter and its association with the soul is from beginning-less time. The soul is dependent and experiences pains and pleasures only due to its association with karmas. This k rmika bondage is the cause of soul's transmigration in different destinies called the world. It attains modes of higher status some times while at others it becomes of lower status; becomes foolish, intelligent, poor, rich, physically impaired or strong. Due to its association with auspicious or inauspicious karmas, it wears robes of different actors on this stage of the world; gets born and die in different modes. These are the results of the activities of karmas only. Doctrine of karma teaches us that we, through our own efforts, can achieve the highest and the lowest status of our own self.
In this way Mah v ra's doctrine is based on sound scientific and metaphysical concepts. His doctrines of Ahi s and Sy dv da which are popular also demonstrate the essentiality for their practice. These doctrines are detailed in the holy texts of Jainism.
In the end, He attained nirv a at the age of 72, in the early hours of the last day of waning moon (am vasy) in the month of K rtika from the centre of P v puri in Bihar.
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1.1.b
Teachings of M hav ra
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Preamble: M hav ra (599 - 527 BCE) is the latest and 24h Tirthankara of Jains. He was born in Distt Vaishali in the present state of Bihar India. His parents were the followers of P r va, the 23rd t rtha kara of Jains who attained emancipation some 250 years earlier. The current religion and philosophy of Jains is based on M hav ra's sermons, teachings and the way he lived His life. It is important to understand the state of affairs in India and abroad during his lifetime so that we can appreciate his teachings better.
He was born in the ruler caste (ksatriya) to the chief of the Distt Vaishal in Bihari, a prosperous district run by democratically elected rulers. There were more than 350 different philosophical preachers at that time in India alone'. Animal sacrifice (bali) and yajñas (long strenuous worship of God, with sacrifices of animals and even human beings) to achieve worldly comforts were the popular rituals. Socially: slavery and trading of women, excessive accumulation and consumption of wealth by few, use of corporeal and other types of punishments to rectify the ill behaviors of people and casteism were widely practiced.
Internationally, it was approximately the period when Lao-Tse and Confucius in China, Buddha in India, Zarastru in Persia, Pythagoras and later Pluto and Aristotle in Greece were preaching their doctrines and philosophies as well. According to Jains, M havra was born almost at the end of the 4 time period of the present epoch and lived just up to the beginning of 5h time period of increasing pains and decreasing happiness.
2.0 Doctrines of M hav ra Who am I? From where have I come? And where shall I go after death? These are the questions we keep on asking ourselves. M havra experimented in his life to find the right answers to these questions and after strenuous penance of 12.5 years; he found the answers and started preaching the same for the good of mankind. Thus His teachings emphasize study of the self and then to improve its status to that of supreme or pure self and enjoy its nature of eternal bliss and infinite knowledge. Even though his teachings are for spiritual beneficence, yet they are equally beneficial to improve our worldly existence as well. Wellknown Jain preceptor of 2nd century AD Samantabhadra, described his doctrine as 'Sarvodaya tirtha or for the enlightment of all living beings'.
His metaphysical doctrine talks of all existents being real and they are accompanied by the trio of orgination-destruction-permanence simultaneopusly. Further the existents are divided in two categories namely living beings (Jva) with consciousness and non living beings (aj va) without consciousness. Living beings are classified in six categories, based on the type of body and number of sense organs they have. Air, water, fire, earth and plantation are having one sense organ namely touch are classified as of stationery class sth vara) and the rest are classified tras or which can move and are with two to five senses organs and mind. (Living being or soul) never dies; it changes body it owns on death i.e. gets new body by shedding the old one depending upon its karmas. Eternal happiness (BLISS) and infinite knowledge is the nature of all living beings. Matter (pudgala) is the main non living being which is conceptual as cognition of the world by us is due to its existence. Time (k la), Spacae (k a), principels of motion and rest are the other non conceptual non living beings.
Loka or cosmos is eternal from time perspective (i.e. was, is and will always be there); it is of limited size and definite shape and surrounded by Aloka or trans-cosmic, has not been created by anyone and cannot be destroyedby anyone but transforms continuously; and is inhabited by all types of beings.
2.1 Non violence, restraint, Self effort / penance or austerity
Dhammo ma galamukkittha ,ahis sa jamo tavo; Dev vi ta nama sa ti, jassa dhamme say ma o.?
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That which is non-violence, self-restraint and austerity is Dharma (spiritual values). It is by virtue of spiritual values that supreme spiritual beneficence results. To him whose mind is (absorbed) in spiritual values, even gods pay homage.
The above verse in essence sums up his philosophy of life. Dharma is the essence of life and those who are constantly absorbed in it are even worshipped by gods. Jain literature describes dharma as the nature of a being (vastu svabh va). We shall discuss these three most constituents of dharma each briefly here.
a. Non-violence / ahi s. Jainism is often described as the religion of non-violence. All its ethics, philosophy and way of life are based on being non violent. Ahis paramo dharma sums it all and this aphorism is generally associated with Jain religion and translated as 'Live and let live the concept of Jain non-violence.
He defined his as giving pain (to one's own self or others) or asking others to do so or admiring those who do so by mind or speech or body singly or by all of them). Absence of his is Ahi si
In Acaranaga, M havra says. All the worthy men of the past, the present and the future say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus, that all breathing, existing, living and sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence or abused nor tormented' We can see that most of the issues related to terrorism, ecology, slavery etc could be solved to a large extent if we understand and implement this concept of Ahis. Thus this definition of Ahis and of living beings earlier, M hav ra's doctrine becomes universal in nature i.e. of beneficence to all.
Noted c rya Amrta Candra in Purus rthasidhiup ya analyzes and explains the entire gamut of Jain ethics as derivatives of non-violence. The example of the person who wants to throw fire on others to burn them has to first burn his hand. Besides he makes an enemy in the other persons who wish to take revenge all the time. For food, the concept of Ahis (extreme type of vegetarianism for monks) is explained beautifully in the following verse (g th )
Jah dumassa puffesu, bhamaro viyai rasa Na ya puffa kil mei, so ya pi ei appaya,
(Like the bumblebee, who takes the nectar from different flowers in different gardens without hurting or causing damage to the flower; so should the saint take his food from householders)?
b. Self-restraint / sa yama. Self-restraint in Jainism primarily means to gain control over one's senses or be indifferent to sensual pleasures or experiences. Another word used abundantly in Jain literature for self restraint is equanimity (samat ) which means, Not getting disturbed by either pleasant or unpleasant sensual experiences' as pleasure and pain are the two sides of the same coin. Philosophically it means to become introvert and concentrate over your self ( tm ), be detached from all external objects (including your body). The five major vows for ascetics coupled with five attitudes of restraint (samitis) and three attitudes of control (guptis) and their simpler version of five minor vows (a uvrata), four gu avrats (multipliers of vows) and three iks vratas (teaching major vows) constitute the code of conduct for Jains which all are based on non violence and self restraint. Examples of the problems associated with each type of sense organ; e.g. elephant is trapped because of his uncontrolled lust for sex, fish for her taste, mosquito for the light etc. show the importance of self-restraint. Self-restraint enhances the will power and the effectiveness of the individual in focusing on his objective to achieve excellence. To move up the ladder of spiritual purification or worldly pursuits, it is an essential act.
c. Penance / austerities or tapa: To make effort in controlling / suppressing or destroying the passion tainted tendencies of sense organs as per the capabilities of the individual is penance. Penance should not cause tension or distraction in the practitioner; rather it should help the practitioner meditate more on the self. We
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thus see that Jains do not accept physical hardships like burning your body by exposing to sun or taking a holy dip in the river to wash sins etc as penance. Penance is classified in two groups namely external (i.e. those which are physical) and internal or psychic. Both are considered essential and one without the other is considered inadequate. In fact, the internal penance is the key but without observing external types of penance, the practitioner has little chance of successfully performing internal penance e.g. wise people (Cankya etc) say that students should not overeat so that they can concentrate on their studies. It is also a part of self-restraint. Penance causes dissociation of karmas like the fire burns a matter object. Penance in Jain philosophy is considered to be very harsh, specially the externa by othersl. Fasting, gaining self-control etc is so tough to others that even Buddha called his path as Madhayama m rga or the middle path between Jains and Vedanti s.
प्र
2.2. Non possession (aparigraha) /Giving up / Detachment. Elimination of bondage The word parigraha means pari (from all four sides) + graha (bind) i.e. the things or objects which bind us (soul) from all sides. Jains call it as infatuation (m rchh) or attachment / attraction. Tattvartha S tra says 'm rchh parigrahah i.e. the infatuation or attachment or a feeling of mine (and not me) in other objects (besides the soul) is possession. Mahavira in S trakrat ga calls bondage (bandha) as parigraha and cause of all our ills. Possession is described as of two types namely internal (4 passions namely anger, pride, greed and deceit and 9 secondary passions) and external. External are further classified as living beings (family, servants, animals etc.) and non-living beings (wealth, houses, cloths, ornaments etc.). Ascetics are asked to give up all types of possessions and become aparigrahi or nirgrantha while for laity, who are involved in worldly pursuits, the order is to limit their possessions according to needs without developing attachment with them.5
Apollonius Tyaneaus (Greek traveler 1st century CE) beautifully describes Jains as follows:
'In India, I found a race of mortals living upon the Earth, but not adhering to it; inhabiting cities, but not being fixed to them; possessing everything, but possessed by nothing.'
Spiritually speaking, it means that all bondages of soul, i.e. karmas of all types are to be eliminated so that the soul just becomes pure soul and enjoy its true nature i.e. bliss and knowledge (jn n nanda).
2.3 Multiplicity of viewpoints / Non absolutism / Anek nta
'Calam na caliye means the one who started moving has actually moved i.e. starting and partial completion of an activity takes place at the same moment. Utpadavyayadhrauvyayuktamsat i.e. reality consists of origination, decay and permanence simultaneously."
The above S tras form the foundation of the doctrine of Anek nta, the most important doctrine to enhance our understanding of the reality. They also depict the existence of pairs of opposite attributes co-existing e.g. origination and decay existing together, relativity i.e. origination and decay are related and not independent/absolute. An example will explain the concept of Anek nta.
There is a big tree and there are hundred cameramen, who are taking picture of the tree from different angles. We will find that no two pictures of the tree are exactly alike even though they all represent the same tree. Therefore to say that any one picture represents the whole tree is wrong while to say that it is also a part of the tree and related to other pictures is the correct one. So is the truth/ reality and our understanding of the same depends on the angle from which we look at it. M hav ra also used at least four viewpoints, namely space, time, substance and mode to answer any question put to Him (Ref Bhagavati, the fifth canonical limb of Jains). The three main principles of Anek nta are:
a. Co-existence:
Anything or anybody existent must have pairs of opposite attributes. Without the opposite, naming and characterization is impossible. The animate and the inanimate are two extremes, yet they coexist (the body is inanimate and the soul is animate). Similarly the speak-able and unspeakable,
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permanent and impermanent, the similar and dissimilar, the co-existence of one and many and the identical and different co-exist in any object. Jains describe there doctrine as of bheda abheda i.e. identity in difference. Similarly the government (treasury benches) and the opposition co-exist in any form of government.
b. Relativity: If we see our own world, we see we are related to each other as brother/ sister / father / mother / son / daughter / friend, coworker / neighbor etc. etc. We see hardly anybody who exists just on his own. Similarly we find that night follows day, Monday follows Sunday, smaller than or hotter than etc statements indicating relativity of existence. Anek nta, as indicated above also propagates relativity of even opposites co-existing. This principle is very important in our life as it makes us accept views and existence of others even though they are opposed to our own. 'Parasparograho jv n i.e. living beings originate, develop and exist with the co-operation of other living beings is the important doctrine of Jains.
c. Reconciliation: It is the quest for unity between two apparently different characteristics of a substance. Characteristics, which differ, are not altogether different. Only using the two viewpoints namely absolute and practical and not just one, one can bring about reconciliation. Insistence on just one viewpoint as the complete truth is the basis of all conflicts. Thus the feeling 'I alone exist' disappears and gives rise to 'we exist'. Thus to establish the whole truth about an entity (which has almost infinite attributes) is not possible for individuals like us: only an omniscient can know them all. However for him, it is impossible to express it simultaneously. Therefore Jains established Sy dav da, the conditional dialectic, as the method of expressing the whole truth sequentially by emphasizing that the sentence being spoken does not represent the whole truth i.e. it represents only the partial truth.
3.0. Worldly M hav ra classified his followers in two categories, namely:
rama as or monks / ascetics who wish to lead a totally detached life and work 100 percent of their time for the attainment of omniscience and emancipation.
r vakas or householders who wish to carry on their worldly pursuits keping his teachings in mind and practice; slowly move towards the ideal of leading a monk's life at some time in future.
For r vakas, he asked them to observe 5 mini vows (a uvratas), six essential duties and avoidance of basic sins from their life. Further he says that we should practice the vows according to our capacity and inclination so that we can practice them comfortably and gradually enhance their severity. Further he talked of practice with confessing one's nonimplementation of vows and start all over again (chedopasth niya conduct). The main sermons for common man was to atleast keep his thoughts pure and knowingly not commit any sin.
The prayer, widely known as Meri Bh van (My prayer) by Jugal Kishore Mukht ra, recited by most of the Jains on regular basis sums up the practice of M hav ra's teachings by common men/women.
4.0 Relevance today As said in the preamble, the state of affairs of the world is similar to what was in M hav ra's time except that the knowledge level of material world and the scientific discoveries have given even common men the benefit of prosperity also. Today we are more materialistic in our outlook and feel that accumulation and consumption of wealth is the only way to gain happiness. No doubt material wealth is essential to lead a comfortable life but it is not the all-encompassing cause of happiness. There is a famous saying," If life were thing money can buy, the poor won't live and the rich won't die'. We are seeing that material prosperity generates problems of ecology imbalance, economic
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inequalities, enhanced tension / stress and other so called lifestyle health problems, terrorism, aids and even the fear of extinction of the human race itself. Experience also shows that these problems cannot be effectively solved by materialist outlook only. On the other hand we have seen above that M hav ra's teachings can assist us in minimizing, if not eliminating, the ill effects of most of these problems. Mahatma Gandhi used M hav ra's teachings effectively in leading his own life as well as solving the problems of the country as a whole. He took the five mini vows for his personal improvement and used the nonviolent path of passive resistance (saty graha or holding on the truth) path to resolve social and national problems. A testament to this is enshrined in the constitution of India as given below:
Vardhamana Mahavir, the 24th Tirthankara in a meditative posture, another illustration from the Calligraphed edition of the Constitution of India, Jainism is another stream of spiritual renaissance which seeks to refine and sublimate man's conduct and emphasises
Non-violence, as the means to achieve it. This became a potent weapon in the hands of Mahatma Gandhi in his political struggle against the British Empire.
Jain philosophy as known today is all based on M hav ra's teaching. The entire program of the summer school has been designed around his teachings and their use to address today's problems. Hence you will find details of this paper in different lectures of the program.
Quotations for disciples and laity for day to day life
.1/9. Do not get angry when disciplined
. 1/9. Do not keep company of bad people. Do not indulge in making fun (cutting jokes) or associated activities. N puttho v gare kinci puttho v n liyan vaye. 1/14. Do not speak unless asked for. And do not tell lie when asked to speak.
1/14. Suppress (or destroy) anger App danto suh hoe. 1/15. He who gains full control over himself Su dhammassadullah . 3/8. It is very difficult to get (hear) religious sermons. Sohi ujjuyabh uyassat. 3/12. He is sacred /holy who is simple.
4/6. Time is very cruel and the body very fragile. . 7/20. An act performed never goes without results.
vahehiya. It is better that I suppress or destroy my ills (sins) through self-restraint and penance. It is not good that others do so to me through discipline or giving pain.
5. Summary We can conclude and summarize M hav ra's teachings in the four lines as follows:
•
in conduct Aparigraha in life
in thoughts

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Jain philosophy as we know today is all based on M hav ra's teachings. The entire program of the summer school has been designed around His teachings and their use to address today's problems.
References
1. Strakrat ga talks of more than 350 philosophies prevailing at that time.*
Samana sutam -82 3. Dasavaik lika S tra:* 4. The first a ga of the 12th a gas, known as Acr ga (chapter 1), beautifully explains these
questions. * Svetambara canonical literature 5. Rattankarandr vak c ra by Samanta Bhadra and its commentaries 6. Tattv rathas tra by Um Sv ti and its commentaries by P jya P da and Akala ka. 7. Bhagawati, the fifth a ga and first S tra.* Svetambara canonical literature 8. Uttradhyana * Svetambara canonical literature 9. Other references used. Kund Kund's Samayas ra, Pa castik ya, Pravacanas ra, Sila P huda,
Pur șrthasidhup ya by Amratacandra, Mah prajña's literature on Anek nta.
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1.1.c
Jainism in North America (Past, Present and Future) Dr. Sulekh C. Jain
"Jainism - India's, and possibly the world's oldest religion - is a quiet, overwhelmingly serious way of life, a cultural insistence on compassion, a sociology of aesthetics that has dramatically changed the world, and will continue to affect change." Dr. Michael Tobias
SORS OF JAN
100 years ago at the first Parliament of world's Religions in Chicago, a Jain leader, a scholar, and the only Jain on North American soils, Mr. V.R. Gandhi said, "I come from India, the mother of religions. I represent Jainism, a faith older than Buddhism, similar to its ethics, but different from it in its philosophy and professed by several millions of India's most peaceful and law abiding citizens." Mr. Gandhi then gave a short no-nonsense, highly condensed and technical account of the ethnics and history of the Jains, their books, teachings, and practices. From this humble beginning, a Jain Diaspora appeared not only in North America, but also in Britain, East Africa, Malaysia, and Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and in such other places as Australia and New Zealand. It is probably the first time that about 100,000 Jains are settled outside India today.
This is an exciting period for us Jains in North America. Now about 50,000 Jains live in U.S.A and Canada. Since 1965, we have established a strong infrastructure that we all can be proud of. Now there is a Jain organization or a group in practically every major city in North America. Twelve years ago we created a national organization or a group in (Federation of Jain Associations in North America, JAINA), which now represents nearly all the Jains. More than twenty places of worship with Jain deities have been established. Several new Jain temples are being constructed or being designed. Suitable, appropriate, easy to read and understand educational and Pooja materials have been made available and several more are in progress. Quite a few videos and audios are now available; a couple of libraries (especially JAINA library in Lubbock, Texas) are ready to serve the needs of the community.
We now celebrate our holy festivals on a very regular basis. Many of our rituals, places of worship and publications are non-sectarian. JAINA conventions and other such functions have become gathering places for all Jains to meet debate and discuss issues. Participation in inter faith movements, visits and availability of Jain scholars, publication of several Jain Magazines (e.g. Jain Digest, Jain Study Circular and Jinamanjiri, etc.) and start or beginning of Jain studies at several universities in U.S.A and Canada are bringing new awareness within the Jain community. Other examples of Jain community's forward and progressive march are celebration of Paryushan and Das Laxana Parvas on a grand scale, many long tapasyas (fasts), Chaturmas, donations for charities, youth camps and seminars, Ahimsa Day celebrations, movements in ecology and environment, youth essay competition, Directory of Jains in North America and start of an electronic bulletin board on Jain news and education.
The Federation of JAINA is a unique institution and does not have many parallels in the Jain world. JAINA is not an organization of individuals, but rather, an association of associations. During its twelve years of existence, it has strived to unite all Jains as Jains (in spite of our diversity of religious beliefs, traditions, customs, languages and regional origins).
The theme of the 7th JAINA convention is "JAINISM: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE." In the North American context, I have so far touched upon our PAST and Present. So, what about our Future?
This is an issue that the entire Jain community, all the Jain Centers and JAINA have to discuss, debate, decide and plan. This Convention will provide such a platform.
Winds of change are everywhere. Nations are changing. Yesterday's enemies are today's friends and partners. Yet, in spite of this, there is so much violence and hatred throughout the globe. In these times, Jainism has much to offer to the world. To quote Dr. Micheal Tobias, "Jainism is a momentous example to all of us that there can, and does exist a successful, ecologically responsible way of life which is abundantly and unconditionally non violent in thought, action and deed. For millennia, Jain
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logic has worked out a more complete picture of human experience that encompasses our capacity for compassion."
Since Jainism now is a worldwide/global religion, its practices, philosophies and beliefs can be and should be part of that local and global solution that we daily see in the destruction of environment, violence, killings and exploitation around us. Question is what and how Jains should determine their role, place and responsibilities. This Convention is one such place to debate these issues.
Jains are a fairly accomplished community. We have a rich heritage, our people are educated and affluent, believe in and practice Anekantvad (multiplicity of truth) and our monks and scholars are very learned and practice what they preach. Such a well disciplined and organized community can be great source of strength and a catalyst for change. The Jains in North America must now start interacting with other non-Jains groups, organizations, associations.
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1.1.c contd.
Jain Radiance on the Western Horizon
Dr. Noel King & Dr. Surendra Singhvi
In this paper we attempt to sketch what became known (and what) to well-educated, non-specialist Western readers and hearers concerning the Jain religion, ideas and ways of life, from the time when Mr. Virchand Raghavaji Gandhi addressed the Chicago Parliament of the world Religions in 1893 to the present. We also take a look at the century before that event and then we seek to peer into the hundred years ahead of us.
Definitions: "Jainism" is a hybrid word, which implies it is something like "Protestantism" or "Marxism". This can be inaccurate and misleading. It can but does not always, necessarily, include what we mean by the Jain Dharma, the Jain Faith, doctrines and way of life. It can include the life of the Jains as a community or group. It can include their thinking, writings, behaviour, their art, drama, sculpture, spirituality, and much else. Often we use it to mean only one of these things. It is best left in the large and loose sense, demanding that readers be alert and uses their critical powers to work with us towards more accurate meaning and understanding. We also wish at the beginning to make it clear that since Jainism basically and ultimately represents the primordial reasoning religion of all humanity, we do not wish to imply its principles were utterly unknown in the west before the arrival of Jain people. Certainly a number of Native Americans had found their way to being victorious over themselves and living at peace and harmony with one another and with nature. A good deal of literary information about Jainism had already reached North America and was known to a number of well - read scholars, businesspersons, missionaries and ministers of religion.
Perhaps we should define this group of knowledgeable once more. They lived in the West" as mysterious and undefined as "The East", "The Orient" "The lands of the setting sun" to translate the German phrase. To tell our story we must include to some extent Europe, chiefly Britain, France and Germany, though Italy and indeed Russia played a part. "The uttermost part of the West" as the early Christian mothers and fathers spoke of it, was Spain. "The west" meant to early Americans anything west of the Mississippi. May we use it as another bucket - word to mean the Occident (from European Russia to California?) Also as time went on many users of English in India must be included. The knower we are speaking of were highly educated people using academic English. A good number were able to read German and French, and manage some classical Greek and academic Latin. It looks as if by the 1870's a book published by a top class academic Press in England was available in Germany, France and New England within a year and reciprocally from U.S.A. to Britain, France and Germany. Even in the early nineteenth century material published in India filtered back into Britain fairly quickly if it had government or issionary relevance. It also reached New England remarkably quickly if it were connected with the American Mission in Bombay and Gujarat. The whole process has yet to be carefully researched; at this stage what we say about this inter-communication must remain somewhat speculative.
[01] The World's Parliament of Religions So we start our history with Shri Virchand R. Gandhi and take his coming to Chicago in 1883 as the beginning of our era. We will then go back into the century before V.R.G. and then come to the century after. The great Columbian Exhibition of 1892 met with much trumpeting of material achievement, much talk of the conquest of the west and the domination of nature. A hundred years later we shudder at the brash, suicidal shortsightedness and headless, needless cruelty and destruction. Anyhow, one good thing came out of it all, almost a tailpiece, an afterthought. A follower of Sweden Borg, a Presbyterian and a Unitarian minister, then other Christians including the Roman Catholics and Orthodoxes came together to plan, a parliament of religions. Members of other religions were invited to meet on equal terms of welcome. To World's Parliament of Religions has been acclaimed as equal to if not greater than Ashoka's Council at Pataliputra, Constantine's at Nicaea or Akbar's meetings at Fatehpur Sikri. At its seventeen days of plenary meetings, contemporaries gave the palm to Swami Vivekananda. Admiration for his attainment does not prevent our acclamation of an unflamboyant personality, soberly presenting a faith based on reason and self-conquest. This was the faithful achievement of Mr. V.R. Gandhi.
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[02] Mr. Virchand Gandhi's Role The reporter of his first words introduces him as "a lawyer of Bombay and one of the chief exponents of Jain religion". Mr. Gandhi said: "I come from India, the mother of religions. I represent Jainism, a faith older then Buddhism, similar to it in ethics, but different from it in its psychology and professed by 1,500,000 of India's most peaceful and law-abiding citizens". He added that at this point he only wanted to offer thanks on behalf of this community and Muni Atma Ram Ji, whom he especially represents. This kind of meeting "has been the dream of Atma Ram Ji's life". He is commissioned of that grand idea, of convening a Parliament of Religions. Again in his main speech Mr. Gandhi reiterates that he speaks "simply as the mouthpiece of muni Atmaramji, the learned high priest of the Jain community in India." (Of course the muni himself was not able to travel except on foot). He then gave a short no-non-sense, highly condensed and technical account of the ethnics and history of the Jains, their books teachings and practices. Another by him was to refute a speaker who had "cast reflections upon the chastity of the women who serve in the temples of India." He said that he did not want to allow free scope to an un-Christian spirit which seemed to interpose from time to time." "I am glad that no one has dared to attack the religion I represent. It is as well they should not. But every attack has been directed to the abuses existing in our society. These abuses are not from religion but in spite of religion."
He then spoke of westerners who went to India to convert, when they failed "they return to pass a whole life in abusing the Hindu". He then easily showed that the charge about immoral priestesses was nonsense. He recalls how to Greek historian stated "No Hindu was ever known to tell an untruth, no Hindu women to be unchaste". He refers to the refusal of the Hindu to criticize the character of Jesus. Similarly Akbar refused to do to the Bible what the Portuguese had done to the Quran. We may note Mr. Gandhi's use of the word "Hindu" in these speeches. He uses it in its generic and geographical sense as a person who follows a certain type of culture and originates in certain area. He includes himself in this generic sense and it would almost seem Akbar as well, though that may be forcing the meaning. At the same time he insists his own religion is Jainism and it has not been attacked by the remarks on Hindu temple practice. It is important to note that Mr. Gandhi, who is not a monk, represents Jainism but points out that he stands there on behalf of his muni and his community. Mr. Gandhi's closeness of thought to his muni can be traced in considerable detail in a book of questions and answers prepared by Mahamuni Shrimat Vijanandsuri - the official name of Muni Atmaramji - for use at the parliament. It is a most valuable compendium of Jain doctrine of that day and age in logical and clear terms, refusing to believe in a creator God but accepting the working of powers in the Universe somewhat like the laws of science as interpreted in keeping with the idea of relativity.
[03] Mr. Virchand Gandhi's other Work in the West Mr. Gandhi was a great success in the Parliament and he stayed on away in the United States. A paper by him dating from this time is to be founded. The Arena of 1895. It is entitled: Christian Missions in India." He, since the Parliament, has spent on institutions and found "much that is commendable except its religion". He has failed to find spirituality, brother hood and "love to those creatures dependent upon man." He notices that remarks on the work of missions aroused hostile comment. Yet if Christianity has done so badly in America, why waste effort and money overseas. Mr. Gandhi especially admires American secular free universal education and opines that if India really had a system where children could get a free education without having to abandon its culture, religion, and caste then results in development, prosperity international trade would be rapid. If he came back today and spoke to a Chicago and grandmother in the central valley of California it would break his heart to learn of the traditional Mexican catholic children bring forced to abandon their faith, "class", and language to obtain free" Education geared to well-off Anglo secular middle-class. We still need Jain "crusaders" like Gandhi, let us hope we can use such well and with as much dignity as India did in her years of "modernization agony a hundred years ago. The connection between the comings of the missionaries, the Imperial government and the break-up of India Traditional society with the introduction alcohol, oppressive taxation without representation and irresponsible economic politics are brilliantly set side by Gandhi. It is not difficult to imagine what a success Mr. Gandhi was as a lawyer
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He captured the hearts and minds of many and a permanent work was started. It is possible to grasp the overall scope of his teaching, the integration of his religion with his plans for education, social reform, politics, science and true happiness, by reading a book by his English disciple Herbert Warren It would be a labour of love for some young Jain historian of the born-in-America generation to visit the places in U.S.A. and U.K. where he spoke and collect and analyse his teaching and its implications. In the meantime we have to be grateful to a Mr. Bhagu F. Karbhad of Bombay for a helpful look which collects some of the speeches and gives an outline of his life available and popular style (vulgarisation in the best sense of the French wed) story of the life of this heroic and tragic figure is required. Probably the American Jain community will not make of him a Martin Luther King or a Cesar Chavez or a Sardar Mewar Singh but he was a great person of his own kind and of his own day and deserves our admiration and appropriate emulation.
[04] A Biography of Mr. Virchand Gandhi For fuller details of his work in U.S.A. and England and his speeches we must again refer to Mr. Bhagu F. Karbhari. In a brief sketch of "his short but useful career" (pages IV-XIV) we are informed Mr. Gandhi was born on 25 August 1864 near Bhavnagar. His father was a very orthodox Jain jeweller. His parents took him to Bhavnagar for an English education. The nature of this is not specified but judging from Mr. Gandhi's style and remarks it was presumably presided over by Christian missionaries. He got into Elphinstone College, Bombay University, and obtained his BA in 1884. He was soon asked to become Secretary, to the Jain Association of India He negotiated with the help of the influential Colonel Watson and Lord Rely, the Governor, a settlement of the claims of the Thakur Sahib of Palitana who had been taxing pilgrims to Satranjay Mountain. Later: he signed articles to study law with the Government lawyers, even so he found time to go to Bengal and by a High Court appeal to shut down a factory based on animal slaughter which a European had located on a holy hill. He was the obvious choice to go to Chicago and so "he spent some time at the feet of His Holiness Muni Shri Atmaramji." His visit to Chicago is described and then his successful and triumphant stay at other places in U.S.A. He went to England and met his old friend Lord Reay, addressed the Royal Asiatic Society, a very distinguished and ancient group of scholars and retired British civil and military servants of India. He returned home in 1895 and set off for the west again in 1896. It is reported that his wife accompanied him this time. He had another successful U.S. and U.K. tour, revisited India for a few weeks to gather evidence for a Jain community case before the Seer of State and collect his son Mohanlal. He won that case and was called to the English Bar in 1901. He returned home in August 1901 and died soon afterwards, aged a mere 37.
[05] Earlier Western Knowledge of Jainism Having said a little about the achievement of Mr. Virchand Raghavaji Gandhi in the west between 1893 and his untimely early death in 1901 we must turn back to consider some of the factors which helped Mr. Gandhi's listeners and readers to understand and respond to the message of Jains. At any time in the nineteenth century, many westerners well versed in European culture would have read and wondered at the stories brought back from ancient India by the Greeks. According to these there were in that far-offland naked philosophers who gave themselves to the solitary, homeless, possessionless life. They could not be coerced - even by Alexander himself. They observed strict continence, ate little and willingly gave themselves to death. The stories are in rather a muddle but if one knows something about Jainism one can recognise specifically Jain features among these holy people, even down to those who received their alms only in their hands and not in bowls. To this day few scholars versed in Indian lore and the western classical languages have bothered to go over these accounts with the care and detail they deserve. Similarly we know that the early Christian fathers and mothers of the Church such as Clement of Alexandria, Jerome of Bethlehem and Ambrose of Milan knew of and were perhaps influenced by Indian ascetics.
In addition, a number of features in early Christian Egyptian monasticism would appear to go back to Indian influences. These could include the teaching of people of Jain background, not only laity, who could use the winds to sail from Kutch to Egypt. Munis could have walked naked and dependent on sins if they chose the seasons and route carefully. Others have suggested that the Jains may have influenced the medieval Cathans. This is indeed quite possible, though the connecting link may be the overlap of Mani's teachings (Mani being considered as the original source of Cathanism) with Jainism. Mani himself would probably have met Jain people.
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Travelers' tales began to filter back to Europe and Britain also from medieval Arab sources. The western scholars' usual cursory glance through say Al Biruni and Ibn Battuta impresses one with Indian mathematicians, technicians and scientists who were not overcommunicative. Would you befriend a scholar working for Mahmud of Ghazni or Muhammad Tuqluk? One also glimpses naked holy persons and self-immolations depicted without distinct and fine details. The Indian rope-trick and sati stories were already abroad. Coming to early Portuguese, Dutch and British times in eastern waters, the early nineteenth century scholar in U.K. or U.S.A. read of a group who had bird hospitals, immensely beautiful temples full of white-clad pilgrims on the hills and holy persons who starved themselves to death when they felt their lifework was done.?
[06] The Century before Mr. V.R. Gandhi at Chicago, 1790-1874
But the real beginnings come with the Orientalists and "Anglo-Indian" scholars and missionaries of the 1790's to 1824's working in Calcutta, Bombay as well as up-country in India and back in Britain. Their work soon very quickly became known in France, Germany and in the U.S.A., especially in the Boston area, which, apart even from its Harvard Indological scholars, had close mercantile and missionary connections with India. For example, it is likely that Colebro's very early state, it's specifically about the jams published in London in 1807 was, we may suppose, available in New England very soon after publication. Early material has often not yet got on to in-line computeroperated catalogues, dates are sometimes hard to discover without retrieving the copy itself. However, as nuggets of this kind of research which has yet to be carried out with care and detail, we may mention two books from the 1840's, which were in our belief obtainable rapidly in the Boston area for missionary purposes soon after their first publication.
The first example of Indian work reaching U.S. early is a book printed and published bar the American Mission Press in Bombay in the 1840s. It is known that this Press sent copies of its work year by year back to the sending body to indicate what was being achieved and that the books they sent were made available for consultation and general use. Its title page speaks for itself.
Historical researches on the origins and principles of the Bauddha and Jaina religions, embracing the leading tenets of their system as found prevailing in various countries. Illustrated by a descriptive account of the sculpture in the caves of the western India with translations of the inscriptions from those of Kanari, Karh, Ajanta, Ellora, Nasa' k etc which indicate their convexion (sic) with the coins and topes of the Punjab and Afghanistan. By James Bird esq M.R-A.S, F.R.G.S. Bombay. Printed at the American Mission Press. T. Liraham, Printer, 1847.
The book is beautifully printed, a joy to see and handle. The colour-tutted lithographs are works of art. There is deep respect as well as orientalist curiosity in such phrases as one describing a colossal image of a Tirthankara which begins "Affords cannot well convey an idea of this magnificent sculpture", or one is describing the Jain ascetic people: "Tom Riltin's object is to obtain a state of perfect apathy or quiescence through the practice of abstraction and mortification." One wishes there were more on Jainism, but it is obvious that for this writer, like most indologists and scholars both ancient and modern, Big Brother Hinduism and Big Sister Buddhism are in the front while Jainism is a little out of focus. As Stevenson who translated the Nasik inscription in this volume, remarks in his book mentioned below: "the waning light of Buddhism (in India) permitted its (Jainism's) fainter radiance to reappear on the Western horizon. "12
Another example is Reverend J. Stevenson's translation of two Jain works published in 1847 which was per haps available a year or less later in Boston. The texts translated are the Kalpa S tra and Nava Tatra.13 It was studied by generations of missionaries in Britain and U.S.A. preparing to go to Gujarat, Bombay or other areas of India where they would meet Jains. The texts are most carefully chosen and take the reader near to the heart of Jainism less than five of the days of the vitally important Retreat of the Rainy Season are devoted to the Kalpa. It tells quite fully the story of the great twenty-fourth Tirthankara and more briefly of four others of them. The S tra also includes a summary of rules for monks. The translator was deeply conversant with the work of Bhodrabahu and at least four commentators. His respect for these Indian teachers and the subject and the earliness of his date excuse his conclusions and his misunderstandings of a number of words, ideas and phrases.
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The second part of the book deals with what the translator calls one of the most popular philosophical tracts of the Jains. In the third part the writer grapples with linguistic problems to do with the ancient languages of Jainism. Probably this was out of date as it was written but it indicates the scientific interest and activities of a number of the missionaries. The Stevenson family continued this tradition of service for some generation. The Jain community in London honoured the Stevenson who propagated appropriate technology ideas in Gujarat, which deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi and went to a lot of trouble to invite Mrs Helen Newbegin, a daughter of the Stevenson family and a missionary in her day, now king retired, to attend in person. 15 The Dr. Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson mentioned below married into the family.
The story of the discovery" of Jainism by western scholars is like the discovery by Columbus when he had lost his way of something already there to which westerners afterwards gave a name. It is an epic of achievement and anyone with a chivalrous outlook must admire the heroic deeds accomplished. At the same time we must acknowledge the local indigenous scholars who gave those western scholars their information. In the earliest days scholars and observers like Colebrook and Buchanan acknowledged their help. In the middle period Dr. Margaret Sinclair Stevenson speaks with affection of the women and "pandits" and instructors who taught her so much with generous patience. At the end of the period Schubring rejoices in the company of his Jain colleagues and at joining in community events.
Another point to bear in mind is dial learning about Jainism between 1793 and the present is like trying to knit a moving and changing target. "Jainism" is a living corpus, an organic, growing, changing adapting being with an eked program of self-understanding. The local scholars all became affected by European and American intellectual and social history. As an example one can cite the Reformation and Luther's turning front an ancient flowing tradition to the authority of a carefully defined, now printed book. Another example is the effects on European and thence Indian religious thinking as a result of the European power struggles and wars of religion, not only in Germany 16181648 or Britain from around 1640-1688 and onwards but between Religion and Philosophy and Religion and Science. In addition there was the relentless destruction in British India of the old social, economic, industrial, and ecological structures. As Jains studied with foreign scholars, they came not only to be informants but they produced their own traditions of origin and development as well as books and editions and critical texts. Lively academic discussions in North Indian, Maharashtrian, the Kannada, Gujarati and the languages of Tamilnadu arose.
[07] The Development of International Jain Studies, 1870-1914 The story of the development of international Jain studies especially textually has been told elsewhere or can be assumed from annotated bibliographies, which are readily available. It is rewarding to see how this study developed and how India, Germany, France, Britain communicated with each other and with U.S.A. and Canada. Direct communication between India and North America before the end of World War II seem to have been at times slow after the great schools of Indology were built up at places like Harvard or individuals like Professor Maurice Bloomfield and Professor William Norman Brown did their work. We shall return to that later, but at this juncture to enflesh a little the bare bores of the account of the work of the Germans let us glance briefly at two thumbnail biographies. Georg Buehler (2837-1848) was an outstanding German scholar in a brilliant generation. He taught at Elphinstone College, Bombay, from 1863 to when his health broke down in 1878. He served actively in giving general education advice to the government of India and in getting the Join grantha bandkhanas (places where books were safeguarded) to begin to open up their store of manuscript riches. (Since 1947 these have been augmented by displaced works from Pakistan)
This kind of work produced superb collections of Jain manuscripts in London, Berlin, Leipzig and Strassburg. Goerg proved the antiquity of the Jain ascetic lines of spiritual and teaching descant from inscriptions and egged on a reluctant and ill-Financed Government Archaeological service to find more inscriptions. In this he may (alas) with all good will have caused many an inscription, for instance at Muttra, to be irretrievably detached from its archaeological accompaniments and strata. He was drowned in an accident in Lake Constance. It is said that the Guru parampara of those great German
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scholars lasted on to Walther Schubring and to Professor Colette Caillat of Paris who is still active in Jain studies.
Dr. Herman Jacobi (1850-1937) was the scholar who conclusively proved Jainism's true place and seniority to Buddhism. He travelled in years 1873 and 1913-1914 to India. He had the distinction to write two volumes in Max Mueller's famous fifty volume Oxford University Press series, Sacred Books of the East, which were soon installed in every decent library from Oxford, to Harvard, to Tokyo. His two volumes were devoted to Jain S tras.19 Though better tuitions and translations of the texts have appeared, they continue to give western non-specialist readers a very good, readily available, introduction to the attitude, couteata method and approach of a great part of Jain literature and admiringly respectful introductions by Jacobi himself. Together with Jacobi's excellent article in the Hastings Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Mrs Margaret Sinclair Stevenson's articles therein and her Heart of Jainism then have remained the basic and main fin of English-reading readers sew knowledge of Jainism world-wide down to the and of the 1980's.20
[08] Some Notable American Scholars of Jain Studies
In Dr. Singhvi's previously cited article the work of three American or American-related scholars was described. The following is to add a few details. Maurice Bloomfield who was probably of Jewish background was born in Austria and moved to Milwaukee at the age of four. He studied at Chicago, Furman University (South Carolina) and Yale. He carne as a Fellow to the young John Hopkins University where Lanman, the doyen of Sanskrit studies in the U.S.A., was founding a school of Sanskrit. Bloomfield took his Ph.D. in 1879 and went off to Berlin (not India) and Leipzig for more study. He became Professor of Sanskrit at John Hopkins in 1881. He became one of the leading scholars of Indology and its related philology. Somewhat late in his career he began his work in Jain Maharashtri and Jainology and did not publish in this subject till near his death. However, his Life and stories of the Jaina Savior Parsavanatha is to this day well worth careful study.21
William Norman Brown (189219'75) was born in Baltimore and studied mainly at John Hopkins. He taught at Jammu and studied at Varanasi. He became deeply interested in Indian art, made many Indian friends and kept up close links with India. His publications include works in Jain miniatures and manuscript illustrations.
Heinrich Zimmer, whose main career had been in Germany, gave courses of lectures at Columbia University in New York City in 1942 and 1943 on the Philosophies of India, naturally including Jain teachings. He died-before they were finalized in writing for publication. They were edited and put through press by Joseph Campbell who achieved national television fame as a mythologist. Jain mythology and philosophy came before the American general public both through Campbell's references to it on TV and through Zimmer's philosophies of India which appeared in the prestigious Bollingen Series as volume XXVI.22 Although Jainism is unfortunately omitted in some of our main series and compendiums of and introductions to World Religions, Campbell gave excellent coverage to the important Jain teachings in his Oriental mythology: The Masks of God (1962).
It is not American chauvinism which causes us to mention especially the work of Kendall W Folkert, one of our most promising Jainologists, who was killed as a young man on field-work in a motor accident outside Ahmednagar. He asked many critical questions of his' predecessors in the' best "revisionist" style. He asks why scholars have so focused on canonizing texts when Jains really do not have a narrow authoritative canon such as sixteenth and later century Europeans imagined Christians had. He questioned how any philologist sitting in Europe or America can think he understands what he is studying. One must meet the people, see the monuments, not only the inscriptions, attend the ceremonies, exegete the rituals.23 His article in the Penguin Handbook of Living Religions is one of the best Encyclopaedia is articles of its size ever written.
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[09] World-wide Studies in Jainism 1914-1983 Inevitably the age of Germanic leadership which started in the 18Ws was brought to weakening by World War I and then by Hitler's regime of 1933 to 1945. It has partially recovered as has also the strong accompaniment given by the French. Indian work especially by the great Oriental and Jain Institutes on the texts remained impressive though the writers and the books themselves -give hints of the problems of brilliant academic achievement being sore let and hindered_ by lack of resources and a certain creeping lassitude and carelessness among clerical and book production workers which was partially generated by the colonial experience and its aftermath. Although the Jains did a great deal to develop colleges and places of higher learning, they did not endow many chairs of Jainology in them. After Independence a quantity revolution took place in the Indian Universities. A small number of new Departments specializing in Jainology and Jain related languages have come into being and a grounding was laid for the work which is presently appearing.
This period in Jainology is also sometimes criticized for failing (with notable exceptions) to pay attention to other aspects of Jainism outside the fixation on texts and philology. In the matter of community and anthropological study of the Jain community in those days is a book acclaimed as unique though it has glaring weaknesses. This is Dr. Margaret Sinclair Stevenson's Heart of Jainism.23 Because of its publisher and the strength of its field research, style and its connection with Christianity and women it has been till recently the best known and most read text in the west. Dr. Margaret Sinclair Stevenson is writing in a missionary series. On its first page she quotes in Latin Augustine's. Confessions "Thou hast made us for thyself and our heart is restless till it find rest in thee." She, one of the most brilliant British women of her age, is living in and giving herself to far away Gujarat. In the early 1900's even the inhabitants did not find Gujarat the happiest and most comfortable place on earth. It is charitable to try to detach, allow for and overlook, her Christian prejudices. Since a number of the people around us -in-U.S.A. are Christian it has to be remembered that some Christians fanatically believe everyone else is wrong, others realize (like the Jains) that there is a certain relativity depending on where you are going, who you are, etc. Dr Stevenson had partially moved towards the second pole as she shows in her manifest love and admiration for Jains. especially the women. Her work will be truly consummated when an American Jain woman scholar of brilliance who has studied Hebrew, Greek, Latin and German, writes a magnum opus on Christianity, especially its spirituality and its women.
In a number of ways Vilas Adinath Sangrave's Jaina Community a Social Survey, carries on the study of the Jain community.26 But as we shall indicate it was to be much later and in a different form that this work is carried ahead. Recently at Vishva Jaina Bharati, Ladnun, Rajastan, "a deemed University;" a whole phalanx of Jain terming and life has been pin-pointed under the title "Life-Sciences." We shall say more of this later. In the 1950's and 1960's, one part of this sector of learning was made better known to western readers by R. Williams' Jaina Yoga. It is inevitably basically a technical discussion of medieval texts but gives us a reminder of Jain ideas of physiology, psychology and holistic approach to health.
Time and space fail us to annotate many other works which in the 1950's to the 1984's were more or less readily but randomly available to a well educated reader with access to University libraries in Britain, Europe and America. Moving along rapidly and from random personal reading in those days it is possible to recall Dayanand Bhargava's Jaina Ethics, Nathmal Tatia's Studies in Jams Philosophy and Mohan Lal Mehta's Jaina Philosophy. Balwant Nevaskar's Capitalists without Capitalism, the Jains and Quakers of the West. The book is a welcome foreshadowing of the many fructifying comparative studies which we hope will appear as time goes on. Similarly for lack of space we trust leave to another time comment on the mass of material on Jainism which would be available to readers of standard western academic periodicals regularly browsed through by historians, "Orient lists", scholars of Comparative Religion and men and women of letters generally
The heroic age of the Orient lists, Ideologists and Indo-Germanic philologists reached its heights and fulfillment in the work of a Jawaharlal Nehru of Jainology who was master of what the west had "discovered" as well as a natural heir to the "native" tradition. Dr Padmanabha S. Jaini's The Jaina Path of Purification has rightly been hailed as one of the best studies in the religions of South Asia in
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this century and certainly the best on Jainism.30 More recently, he has published a tightly and meticulously argued analysis of ancient Jain discussions about whether only the totally unclothed can reach the goal, whereas most agree it is indecorous for a woman to appear before mixed groups unclothed. Even long ago and even among male ascetics who are well known throughout world history for their suspicion of womanhood, the Jain community has had strong groups of those who insisted on women's absolute and universal rights.31
Two of the greatest revolutions in the history of human thought in the recent past in the west have been con cerned with the status of women and with the place of human spirituality in the universe. In 1985 there appeared a volume of over 600 pages entity La voie Jaina, histoire, spirituality, vie des ascetes pelerines de l'Inde by N. Shanta with a Presentation by Professor Raimundo Panikkar. 32 It is based on long and careful study of the texts but above all on the best field-work since Dr. (Mrs.) Sinclair Stevenson's. Moreover, it is a field-work of total immersion. Although internal evidence would lead us to suppose the writer is a French Catholic woman renunciant and everlasting pilgrim hilt her Christianity shines through chiefly in her constant admiration and love for the spirituality of another group which has seniority and much to teach. As a woman her knowledge and understanding of the supreme sisterhood of her Jain friends is also ever apparent. It is an outstanding book which in its own way will never be surpassed. It was published by a distinguished but small Paris firm and received little publicity and great difficulty is being experienced in publishing an English translation.
[10] Some Developments in Indian Studies of Jainism
More difficult, if not impossible, for outsiders mainly resident in the West to follow, but of the greatest importance for revisionists and onward-going thinking during the last decades are the lively discourse and debate on Jain studies going on in India. At the beginning of the period in 1954 Dr. B.J. Sandesara reporting as President of the Prakrit and Jainism section of the All India Oriental Conference seemed at first to be somewhat pessimistic. He described how Sanskrit still has the strongest pull over Prakrit for the best students, as Buddhism and Hinduism have over Jainism. 33 However, he points out that new Institutions are coming up in Bihar and Gujarat. A Cultural Index of the Jain canon is now well under way. He says it is time to take up Dr. Bloomfield's call male years ago for more work in Jain Sanskrit: The provision of Hindu I ex ice for Prakrit words is being well met. In the matter of publishing texts from the Grantha-Bhandaras, the re-discovery of Indological works dealing with all kinds of subjects is still going on. Hindi work on very many aspects of Jam literary activity is appearing and more is on j its way. Hindi translations of German master works are becoming available. Dr. Sandesra also gives detail of many works on Jain material originally written in Sanskrit on drama, lexicography, astrology, mathematics and much else. He passes on to learned works appearing in Gujarati on Jain topics. After speaking of work in Kannada, he turns to cynic publications on Jam art and architecture both ancient and modern and speaks of Jain philosophy, culture and history and comes on to non-violence and Religion, He concludes with bibliographies and catalogues. One can only say this is a staggering output during a two year period when you come to thistle how small in proportion to the total the Jain population of India is. (Some say it is about half of one percent.) This activity has not abated but increased geometrically.
To say a little more about only the discourse in Hindi (while acutely aware of Gujarati and hearing something of the work going on in the languages of Rajastan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamilnadu), the availability of texts is prodigious. Manuscripts from the old storage houses including those overtaken by Partition are continuing to be catalogued edited and collated. The whole attitude of the modern fundamentalist western approach to authorized, canonical texts must give place to something nearer to real life. Here the urgent need of Christianity to be aware of and use its interdependence with other religions is underlined. Beside commentaries and text editions, various helps to study and aids to understanding exist in Hindi and no doubt in other Indian languages, which we sorely lack in English. Jainendra Jaina's Dictionary, comes immediately to mind.34 The community must decide, now English has reached the status of a world sacred language, if it is worthwhile to do translations or to wait for a new generation of Jain scholars with English as a first language and computerize as a second to produce or duplicate them.
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In India as well as among those living abroad, the Diaspora, the nature of the relationship of the Jain dharma to the "Hindu" and the Buddhist is also being thought out now by non-violent people less and less in terms of the earlier western religious denominations fighting one another and competing but of people living and working together and sharing a culture. In a living corpus or body separate systems co-exist and impermeable partitions are rare. The British Oriental fists' paradigm for the History of Indian Religions has been overturned by archaeology amongst other things. The missionaries and Orientalists first net male pandits who extolled Sanskrit and "Brahmanism." Now Hindi speakers at Conferences such as that held in New Delhi in February 1992 by the Rishabdev Foundation are asking whether the snaring of features with the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Vedas is a purely one way traffic, merely borrowing and nee-working by Jams of "Hindu" themes. The naked mendicants who wander in and out of literature, the iconography of Moenjodaro and Harappa, may have something fundamental to tell us about Jain antiquity. The claim in this speculation is not proprietary: there is no cry of "Jainism was there," or Hum Hindu nahin hai but rather a call to realize the fluidity and inter-dependence of Indian religion with elements which afterwards we recognize as specific, pointing to certain primordially of Jain features. As we begin to catch a glimmer of the basic religiousness of humanity and through humanity of the universe, it is possible that we see in Jainism. With its non-violence and joyful co-dependence an abiding and unchanging element in our universe which may take the place of "nature red in tooth and claw" and "man rampant on a field of pollution." The Jain Declaration on Nature presented to the Duke of Edinburgh grows out of a world-wide, not just a US/UK earth.
[11] Developments in the Last Decades This last ten years has also seen the fuller emergence into self-consciousness of the worldwide Jain Diaspora, that is people of Jain descent domiciled overseas. The jet; de-regulation of air traffic and modern telecommunication have done for us in the world what the old colonial railways and telegraphs did for our great grand-grandfathers inside India. On one side the jet has made it easy for us to go to India and receive the ministrations and benefits of being with monks and nuns. Some significant and successful efforts have been made to bringing those ministrations to us in the west. Of these we shall say something below. But the quintessential characteristics of the monks and nuns who do not use mechanical transport and indeed of being possession less to the point of having not even a cloth, cannot be abandoned or lost: of their very nature these have significance for the totality of planet. Their strict retention calls not only for us to discover ways of retaining them in modern conditions but demands we should think out who the "laity" and "the house-holds" are and strength who they are and what they can do. It is they who are the mainstream and back-. Bone of Jainism in the west. A houses holder is a person in his or her own right, not just a deficient monk or nun.
These last decades have seen new developments of the continuation and perfecting of earlier efforts. Many educated westerners using the library and book-seller services so readily available to them have been able to become aware of some of the cultural achievement of the Jams in every age in its many-faceted genius and prolific ability. "Coffee table" picture books in color photography dealing with Jain sculpture, for instance at Belgola, Mount Abu, Khujaraho and flora, are available and are being followed up by well-produced and striking videos and films.
The Jain teachings on cosmology and its related mythology has a long and fascinating history full of the well known Jam proclivity for mathematics and immense microscopic detail, is ably summed up by Collette Caillat and Ravi Kumar. For an introduction to the understanding of Jain statues, murtis (idols) and decorative art, most of the large University libraries are able to provide Jyotindra Jain and Eberhard Fisher's Jaina Iconography."
The anthropological and sociological and community study of the Jains has in recent years been carried forward by excellent joint works with participants including both Indian and foreign scholars. It is interesting to note that increasing cognizance is being given to the Jain diasphora.9 In the U.S.A. as part of the Harvard Pluralism Project supervised by Professor Diane Eck, contact was made with first Sulekh Jain of the Jaina Society of North America and a number of papers on the Jain side of the research have been prepared by Holly Seeley including such topics as family issues, centers, organizations and temples, authority and transmission. We can look forward to many healthy
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contributions from North America in this side of our study as well as in the older now "classified" fields.
Much could be said about the importance for us all of Jain science, especially Health and Life Sciences, but at this juncture we browse and just refer the reader to K. V. Mardia: The Scientific Foundations of Jainism, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass 1990.
[12] Migration of Jams To Britain And North America In The 1960s With a few notable exceptions we have so far told a story of books and scholars. In the 1960's because of certain social and economic factors in India, an opening up of Commonwealth immigration into Britain and the removal of iniquitous and unfair measures against Asia into the immigration legislation of the U.S.A. and Canada, a slow and steady migration of Jains to Britain and North America took place till today and there is a sizable Diaspora. The need to provide pastoral ministry for these folk and teaching especially for their children has been acute. Also the need to teach inquiring Canadians and Americans who are not of Indian descent has been gradually recognized.
This is entirely because of their own needs and request. It becomes obvious to anyone who knows conditions in the west and gains some knowledge of Jainism that the Jains have valuable things to say about questions very much on the minds of sensitive people. These include a facing up to bad deeds done in the past and some practical hints on how to begin to make reparation and the overcoming of the bad karmas produced. Here the treatment of the environment, the Native Americans, women, Blacks and Hispanic Americans (among other things) comes to mind. A way of life built on war, violence, neglect of the family and the inner life of the individual and society also ask questions where Jainism may help us towards answers. This is not to imply a proselytization Mission but recognition of the duties of being privileged to know something which appears to be hidden from others, a sharing of truth but without coercion, bribery or the use of force, something done and lived out, humbly and with love. Work towards these aims has been begun and carried forward by a number of organizations and people.
[13] Organized Jainism in North America (1960-1993) To help to meet the needs of the Jain community as well as of the larger general community in India, Britain and North America a number of organizations have come into being.
First Jain Center in New York
There has been a lot of organized Jain activities in North America since the 1960s. The first Jain center was established in 1966 in New York City by the late Professor Narendra Sethi, Professor Dulichand Jain, Dr. Mahendra Pandya and Dr. Surendra Singhvi. The membership consisted of about 20 families and it used to celebrate major Jain festivals at Columbia University. Today the center has more than 500 members and has its own temple. Since 1966 about 60 Jain organizations have been established in North America.
Jain Meditation International Center
Gurudev Chitrabhanu came to the U.S. in 1971 and established the Jain Meditation International Center in New York City in 1975. Gurudev lectures on Jainism and has published numerous books as well as prepared video-audio cassettes on Jainism. One of his disciples, Dr. Balbhada of Toronto, has become a pure vegetarian and also lectures on Jainism.
Jain Center of Boston
The center was established in 1973. It has published the third edition of the directory of Jains in North America in 1992. The center has been sponsoring an annual Jain essay competition for youths since 1980. The top three youths in three age groups are given prizes and their essays are published in the Jain Study Circular (discussed later).
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Siddhachalam
Acharya Sushil Muni came to the U.S. and Canada in 1975 along with a few monks. In 1983 he established an ashram at Siddhachalam in Blairstown, New Jersey. This 108 acres of hilltop property is located near the Pocono mountains and provides the ideal peaceful environment for the practice and study of the science of Arhurn Yoga. Siddhachalam is a resident community of monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen. It is the headquarters for the International Mahavir Jain Mission, the World Fellowship of Religions and Kundalini Science Center, all founded by Sushil Muni. A newly built temple, inaugurated in 1992 housed deities of various Tirtha karas. In cooperation with the Federation of JAINA, a chair in Jainology will be established in 1993 at Columbia University, NYC.
Jain Study Circle
The circle was established in 1987 to propagate the fundamental principles of Jainism through publication of the quarterly Jain Study Circular and other literature, and organization of study groups and seminars. Prior to 1987, the Circular was published by the Jon Center of Boston. The first issue of it was published in 1980. It is distributed to about 5000 families at no cost. Dr. Dulichand Jain is the editor of the magazine.
Federation of JAINA
The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) was founded 1981, running 4 Jain centers. Being an umbrella organization, its objective is to provide a form to foster fellowship and unity among numerous Jain associations and to take up religious causes and issues" that will benefit its member associations. The Federation has been publishing a quarterly Jain Digest since 1985 and distributing to about 5500 families at no cost. The editor-in-chief is Dr. Grinder Jain of Athens, Ohio. It organizes a biennial convention in July and the 7th convention will be organized in Pittsburgh in 1993. Two Jain libraries have been established in Lubbock, Texas (under the leadership of Dr. Prom Gada) with about 5000 books and journals, and in Toronto with more than 500 books. Young Jains of America, a national organization, has been founded under the leadership of Dr. Urmila Talsania to encourage Jain youth to participate in the religious activities.
The Federation sponsors scholars, monks, nuns, Bhattaraks, shramans and shramanis from India to lecture in North America. Dr: Nathmal Tatia of Ladnun, India was a visiting professor at Harvard University and taught courses on Jainology during 1990-91. There are a lot of other activities sponsored by JAINA such as publication of Jain literature, a youth exchange program between the U.K. and North America, contacts with Jains in other countries and promotion through news media. Dr. Sulekh Jain is the President of the Federation (1989-93) and has devoted a lot of his time to achieving the objectives.
Bramhi Society
Bramhi Society was established in 1989 by a group of twelve individuals from the U.S. and Canada to make a contribution in a contemporary environment to the study and promotion of Jain reflection in the West. It has begun the publication of Jinamanjari, a semiannual journal, with the first issue in October, 1990. Mr. S.A.B. Kumar of Toronto is the founder and editor-in-chief of the journal.
These organizations and associations are important indeed, but at the same time the onus falls squarely upon ordinary Jain men and women who live the life of the American way - "the laity." In Christian parlance "laity" means those not ordained priests, or deacon or minister. Strictly speaking; Christian monks and nuns are laity. Accurate use in Jain terms yields a very different meaning. In Jain terms it means those not monks or nuns. But Jainism consists of an intimate symbiosis (dwelling together, inter-living as well as living with) of four orders, namely, female and male renouncers, women and men. In the American situation the onus of being Jain and bringing Jain truth to the world around inevitably falls on the later two. Similarly the matter of keeping up the symbiosis with the ascetics is largely their task. Ordinary Jain people in North America and Britain do not understand their own importance as propagators of Jain principles and in history. They are pioneers. Recently
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one of the authors wrote to a number of Jain organizations asking for back copies of the material they published and other historical material. Most did not reply. The Secretary of one organization wrote back to say "Our publications consist only of opinions on religious questions, letters and questions of readers and some notices of members comings and goings and of meetings. We have no historical material to send". But that is exactly the kind of thing of which grass-roots, floor-level history consists. People in 2060 will be asking "Where were those Jains of 1960-1990? Whence and why did they come? What did they find here, how did they with such slender resources soon start providing jobs for others? What slid the principles of religion teach them in factory, shop, college, home lab and office? Did they learn it from their parents, fellows, monks, nuns or books?" Hundreds of other good questions come to mind.
[14] Conclusion
This leads on to our conclusion. The world of today is in desperate need of at least four teachings to which the Jains have unflinchingly witnessed: Co-dependence as part of an organically interrelated universe, positive non-violence in all its aspects, that there are various paths to the truth and the importance of the feminine. No one can teach these better than Jain householders dwelling in the modern cosmopolitan world. The educational task of the Association is enormous. One of the writers had the privilege to remark half-joking to Acharyaji Muniji Tulsi: "When people of non Indian descent have these principles put before them in terms they can understand and mate, you will have thousands upon thousands wanting to join you. How will you deal with such an influx?" He accepted the laughter in the remark and replied: "Our aim has never been to increase the numbers of our community but to help every human to discover what it is to be truly human."
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1.1.c
Evol
Evolution of Sth nakav si and Ter pantha Sect
Dr. Kamini Gogri
1.0 Introduction After the 12th century in India, provincial languages started prospering and there were many saints and monks spreading true religious spirit through their poetry to the masses against the empty ritualism of the mediaeval times. Moreover the religious literature up to mediaeval times was in the classical languages - either Sanskrit or Prakrit which no longer remained the languages of the masses. In Hinduism the religion of rituals and sacrifices limited to the higher castes was being replaced by the temple worship and devotion for which all persons including women, untouchables were qualified. In the Jaina religion also a simple householder like Lonk ha from Gujarat and a monk like crya Bhikṣu from Rajasthan attempted at reformation through their writings in provincial languages - medieval Gujarati and Rajasthani respectively. However both of them were opposed to the current of temple worship and bhakti popular in Jainism. There have been reformers in Jaina religion during the Islamic and the British rule. The need for reform arose when there was a spiritual decay within the Jaina society itself. .... the solidarity of Jaina social organization had always stemmed not from the political power of the monks but from the great moral authority they possessed. In falling away from his proper role as a living example of the Jaina ideal (the dedicated ascetic earnestly seeking moksa). a monk forfeited this authority." Fortunately some individuals became aware of the gravity of the situation and to bring about needed reform!
"Jains have traditionally prided themselves on the austere life-styles of their mendicants. But with the acquisition of great riches by the community, the monks fell increasingly into a temple-centered existence, living under rather luxurious conditions and devoting themselves more to the external trappings of religion than to the practice stressed by Mah v ra.?
It is to be noted that emperor Samprati (2nd century B.C.) in order to popularize Jainism used iconography as a means to spread and expand Jainism. Consequently temple building grew, and with it arise a host of rituals. The ritualistic aspect was further popularized by Ancalagaccha, a Swet mbara sub-sect of 10th century A. D. This trend continued till Lonk ha (15th century A.D.) who wrote against temple building and idol-worship.
2.0 LONK HA He is regarded as a crusader against idol-worship. The Sth nakav si sect owes its allegiance to Lonk ha. It even celebrates a day to commemorate him. There are controversies about his life and matters relating to the date of birth, death, marriage, about his knowledge of scriptures, etc. Regarding the life history of Lonk, there are controversies. Muni Jň nasundarji in his book has quoted different authors to locate the exact date and the year of birth and death of Lonk, his family background, his education, his profession, because there are controversies regarding his life, as there is no unanimity between the authors who have located various events about his life. This also tries to prove the importance of Lonk and the reform he has brought about.
One of the versions is as follows: Lonk was born in V.S. 1482 in Ahmedabad. His father Hemashah and mother Ganga were vanik by caste and were very devout Jainas. Hemashah was intelligent and attained a high position in court of King Muhammad Shah. Lonk imbibed many virtues including extra ordinary memory powers from childhood. Due to his skill and deep knowledge of jewels he was appointed as a treasurer by the king. Sheth Odhavji, an eminent personality from Sirohi was attracted by his ability and sharp intelligence and married his daughter Sudarsana to him. They had a son who was named Purnacandra.
When Lonk came to know about Kutubshah killing his father Mohammad Shah for the sake of kingdom, Lonk felt utterly disgusted and understood the futility of worldly affairs. Hence he resigned from the post.
At home he continued with his personal business of jewelers, along with his writings. He also engrossed himself in the study of various religious scriptures. During this time Muni Jn nji happened
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to visit his house for food. On entering the house he saw Lonka's beautiful hand writings. This made muni to ask Lonk whether he would copy the dilapidated copies of the agamas. Lonk was really waiting for an opportunity to read the agamas; at that time agamas were unavailable to the laity. Da avaik lika was the first gama he received from the muni to copy.
While copying them he started realizing the seriousness of religion. The principles of nonviolence, restraint and austerities, as mentioned in the scriptues and the perverse conduct of the monks sparked in him the seeds of rebel. He started making two copies of the agamas, one for the muni and other for himself. In this way he acquired 32 agamas. When Muniji came to know of Lonk making another copy he stopped giving him the other scriptures. Lonk started reading gamas, which he had with him. On understanding the purity of religion and the perverseness that idol worship is not found in agamas he set to reform the religion. Through discussions with many people he attracted a group of them, a few of which became his followers.
According to the second version, Lonk was a poor person from Limbdi in Saurashtra. He was orphaned at the age of ten. The name of his father was Hemashah and mother was Ganga. Coming to Ahmedabad he met muni Jñ nji under whom he started studying Jain religion. Muni also obtained a job for him in a temple where Lonk worked as an accountant. Lonk had once a quarrel with the monks of that temple concerning the accounts. This behaviour of the monks shocked him. He, therefore, went out of the temple and started condemning those monks for their violent behaviour and for not having any day (compassion). It so happened, that his Muslim friend, who was passing by, appreciated his act and even provoked him against idol worship. Lonk started preaching his views on day and non-violence. He got some followers and his sect came to be known as Day gaccha or lonk gaccha.
Which ever of the two versions is true, the fact remains that he has written in the medieval Gujarati language and criticized the popular trends of idol worship and temple building and criticized the prevalent raman c ra.
2.1 Literature
Lonka's literature made available by Dalsukha Malvania consists of two parts - 58 bolas giving his views on what he considers to be true religion and 54 bolas appended to the main work criticizing the popular trends followed by the community during his time in the name of religion. Lonk in his bola 17 quotes from Da avaik lika S tra, Adhy ya first a statement describing the true Jain religion as enunciated by the trtha karas
"Spirituality is the highest wealth, Non-violence, restraint and penance; even the gods revere a mind always set on a spiritual Path.3
By quoting this statement Lonk wants to emphasis that the true religion as preached by the trtha karas consists of ahi s, samyama and tapa. Roughly speaking the appended 54-bolas question practices of religion, which in his opinion go against these three basic principles of Jain religion? Therefore these bolas can be classified into three groups (i) commenting on temple building and idol worship, and all conduct related to it which goes against the principle of ahi s, (2) The practice of the monks which goes against the principle of self restraint (sa yama) and (3) the austerities practised during his time which were not sanctioned by and found in the scriptures (agamas).
It can be said on the basis of this classification that he is pointing out those practices which go against the cardinal principles. Thus, his fifty four bolas can be classified into these three groups, which go against ahi s, sa yama and tapa. 1) the bolas which comment on the temple building etc they raise the issue of nonviolence, 2) issues related to rama cara which goes against the principle of sa yama and 3) issues related to austerities which go against the principle of tapa as found in gamas.
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Similar classification of the original 58 bolas of Lonk had been done by Dalsukha Malvania in the following way. The first group discusses views on His. (violence) on the basis of samyaktva and mithy tva. The second group discusses the views on idol- worship. The third group discusses the authenticity of the commentary literature. Lonk has based his views mainly, or perhaps exclusively on the scriptural authority. This is clear from the quotations he gives in support of his views. He not only quotes from authoritative books like the Jain scriptures and the various Niryuktis, Crnis, Tik s and Bh syas, etc. but also raises the questions and doubts about the interpretations of the scriptures. He questions the additions and the concessions made by the interpreters to the pure religion preached by trtha karas in order to safeguard the institutionalized religion and the interest of the
c ryas. The fact that he has not mentioned Tattv rtha s tra is understandable in the view of the fact that even now Tattv rtha s tra is not much known to the laity among vet mbaras. But the fact that he questions or doubts some of the interpretations of gamas given by Niryuktis shows that he wants to understand pure religion as found, preached, propounded in gamas which is regarded as the original pure teaching of the trtha karas, Kevalis and ruta- Kevalis and which is not a matter of pure intellectual scholarship. Thus it is clear that Lonk is interested in discovering pure religion by removing various impurities and dogmas added to it through ages.
Lonk in each of his 54 appended dictums (bolas) mentions in one phrase one current practice and asks "where is it found written in the tradition"? He devotes his 58 dictums (bolas) for quoting from various scriptures to highlight what is true religion and thereby arguing that the prevalent practices go against the true religion as found in the scriptures and hence not acceptable. The scriptures, which Lonk has quoted, are cr ga s tra, its vritti and niryukti, Strakrtga, Samav y ga, Da avaik lika Stra, Uttar dhyayana tra, its c r i and vritti, Bhagavati s tra, Anuyogadv ra, Vip ka S tra, Ni ithac ri, va yaka Niryukti etc.
2.2 Legacy Lonk as seen earlier denied all forms of external ways of worship involving violence, attempted to refine the conduct of the monks. He got some followers who were convinced with his ideas and denounced the idol and its worship completely
Lonk had propounded his views in V.S. 1508 (A.D. 1451). When he started preaching his views, and in V.S. 1533 (A.D. 1476) one person from Sirohi by the name of Bh na who self - initiated in lonk mat (sect of lonk ) because of Lakhamshi; who was convinced of Lonk 's views.
Establishment of Sth nakav si Sect: Lavaji took initiation in the order of Varj nga Guru of lonk gaccha and was known as Dundhiya because he was staying in Dhunda (Broken house). Vijayananda Suri in his book "Samyaktva Salyosharna" mentions that Lavaji, his disciple Somji, his disciple Kanji and his disciple Dharmad sa stayed in broken house therefore known as Dhundhiya. A Manuscript of L.D. Institute says Bhana Rishi in V.S. 1687 had a fight with his guru (A.D. 1630) and separated from him and was known as dhundhiya.
There are accounts, which say that hundred years after Lonk , Lonk gaccha started worshipping idols etc. Three munis Lavaji, Dharmad sa and Dharma Sinha left that sect because they wanted to carry on the path of Lonk as he had propounded. They were known as Dundhias and later as sth nakav sis because they stayed in Sth nakas. Lonk gaccha is on the verge of extinction. Some of them have assimilated into either image worship sect and some others have assimilated in the Sth nakav si Sect. Sth nakav si sect is further sub-divided into many sub-sects.
Sth nakav si sect spread to Rajasthan also. There in the later half of the 17th century we have another reformer Acārya Bhiksu who not only agrees with Lonkā on the elements of violence but also visualizes that temple building is a costly affair, which is a perverse view. Section two discusses the reforms of Bhikṣu who established the Ter pantha sect.
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3.0 Acārya Bhiksu Bhikhanii was born in A.D. 1726. His father's name was Shah Baluji and mother's name was Dipabai. He became a Sth nakav si muni in A.D. 1751 and founded Ter pantha sect in A.D. 1760. He died in A.D. 1803
In his early days as a householder, he paid reverence to idol-worshipping sect, but after some time, he left them complaining that they led a degenerated life in contravention to monastic rules. Leaving them, Bhikhana began to pay homage to the Sth nakav si ascetics. The Sth nakav sis of Marwar held c rya Raghun thji who was the head of the Sth nakay si Sangha in high esteem. According to a story current among the people of Marwar, Raghun thji told Bhikhanji, that the aspirant should be fully qualified to receive Dik$ and that he was not versed in Jaina scriptures in order to grasp the spirit of lord Mah vra's teachings and he should pursue religious studies for some time before his request for ordination could be granted. It was not a regular and systematic study of the scripts on repeatedly requesting, Raghun thji took pity and admitted him in the samgha. He observed the conduct of the monks in the observance of certain monastic rules and found fault with their food habits. Taking courage, he criticized Raghun thji and the monks for their loose conduct. He even began to publicly criticize them for their laxity in conduct.
Raghun thji initiated Bhikhanji. He remained with his guru for about eight years but Bhikhanji found that the monks were not living their lives according to the code and were not preaching the principles of Jainism correctly. He discussed the matter with Raghun thji seriously, but the latter did not pay proper attention and due consideration to the request of Bhikhanji. He put forward the excuse that as it was the Duşama K la and Pancama ra. It is impossible to lead life of a true monk. Bhikhanji, unsatisfied with the answer, left his Guru, in the town of Bagdi in Marwar State (Rajasthan).
Agreeing with Lonk, who protested against the religious practice of offering worship to the images, Bhikṣu contented that the c ryas of the Middle Ages wrote commentaries in which they interpolated the principles of image worship and devotional religion as a means of self purification on the path of salvation. The cryas also interpolated in the commentaries their own views on benevolence emphasizing the worth of charity and social service as indispensable acts for the accumulation of punya or merit leading to a higher spiritual life. Bhikhana asserted that charity and social service are not helpful to the path of freedom.
3.1 Literature Unlike Lonkā, Bhiksu has lot of literary work to his credit. His works are also available to us. He has written a treatise on nine tattvas, a poem on anuka p on day, d na, ahis, on the conduct of the monks etc.
Bhikhanji in his book,"Cr-ri-copp yi" has strongly criticized the food habits of Sth nakav si monks. According to him, many of them, especially the senior monks consumed excessive quantities of food ignoring the needs of other monks who were junior to them. The monks, who distributed food, discriminated between the recipients. Bhikhanji's primary charge against the monks was that they ate excessive food and undertook fasts with the single objective of enjoying delicious food, which they got from laymen.
V.G. Nair, a critique of Bhiksu, in his book "Jainism and Ter panthism" says "Bhikhanji's allegation goes to show that he was not probably given sufficient quantity of food to appease his hunger either because of the less quantity of alms which the sadhus could collect from lay devotees in consequences of the food famine that prevailed in Marwar or it may be that Bhikhanji was deprived of a portion of his legitimate share in punishment for his reactionary views on Jainism and his outburst against the sa gha. It seems that the problem of discriminated food distribution among the sadhus was the primary cause of his revolt and departure from the sth naka."
Muni Nathamal (presently known as C rya Mah prajña) in his book c rya Bhiksu: The Man and His Philosophy writes "neither Raghun thji nor Bhikşu ever imagined that the Jain tradition would add a new sect to it. It was not a matter of any debate between the teacher and the taught. Bhikşu had
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only one thing in mind; he was getting restless to bring about rectitude in conduct. This was his only aim that actuated him to get separated from the c rya." 5
Bhiksu established the Ter pantha sect and ascended to the Ter pantha seat as the first crya of its samgha in 1760 A.D. At a conventional ceremony, he reinitiated himself as an ascetic in the tradition of t rtha karas who had never received ordination from a Guru for their entry from a home life to a homeless life of renunciation and penance. He was the initiator of a new philosophy in the history of Jainism. He was his own preceptor. He formulated his own concepts on some of the fundamental doctrines of Jainism. At the inauguration of the Ter pantha the number of monks who attended the gathering was thirteen. A passerby saw them and gave them a name "Ter " which means thirteen. Actually the number thirteen represents, 5 mah vratas (major vows), 5 samitis (carefulness) and 3 guptis (restraints), which according to Bhikṣu are the true religion to be followed, and he did not mind the name "Ter pantha".
Bhiksu preached what he thought right in accordance with the scriptural knowledge he could acquire in Rajasthani language, as he did not know Sanskrta and Prāksta. He asserted that man's labor of love for his liberation had been vainly lost in giving charity and rendering service to suffering life. He claimed that in the spirit of lord Mah v ra's teaching, charity was irreligious. As a critique of his contemporary situation Bhiksu writes, that asceticism is on decline in the following way:
Monks of today stay at the houses built especially for them, make people purchase books, papers and habitation. They are absorbed in vilifying others. They make householders promise that they would initiate them alone not by anybody else. They purchase disciples and they do not transcribe books. They send messages with householders; they keep more clothes than prescribed or permitted. They take delicious diet in violation of the rules. They go to public feast for alms. They are eager to have disciples - both male and female. They are concerned not with the life of a monk but only with continuation of their sect They try by hook or crook to prevent people from going to other monks. They sow the seeds of fraction in their families.
In the "Hundis", one of 181 "bolas" and another of 306, ācārya Bhiksu have presented a full account of the loose conduct among sadhus.
In Bhiksu's time the following beliefs and practices were current. Even the garb or semblance of lord Mah vra was to be saluted. It was believed that this particular time i.e. pancama k la is not conducive for spiritual upliftment and therefore the rules prescribed were relaxed tremendously. There was a growing belief in "mixed religion" where one and the same act is regarded as sinful and meritorious. For example, the act of temple building involves violence of one sensed souls at the same time it leads it leads to the religious merit.
No discrimination was made between worldly pity and donation from spiritual compassion and donation, to take food prepared for him, to use articles purchased for a monk, to take food everyday from the same house. Not to inspect clothes and utensils so as to avoid any injury to insects', to initiate a householder without permission from his guardians to keep clothes and utensils beyond measure to make householders prepare copies for their personal use.Bhikṣu wrote 1st lekha patra in V.S.1832 from the point of view of the campaign for purity in conduct. c rya Mah prajna mentions the following main points:
"Many people say that there can be no religion without killing creatures. They hold that there is no sin if one's thought is pure. But how can the thoughts of those who intentionally kill be pure? He said that where there is pity, there could be no religion without killing creatures. Violence is man's weakness, and that there can be no religion without violence is completely ominous. It is no religion to preserve a creature by killing another. Religion is to exhort the irreligious to adopt religious ways. To nourish creatures by killing others is the worldly way those who sense religion they are an ignorant lot.
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Many people say that if creatures are killed with a sense of pity the result is both religion and sin. But sin does not lead to religion and religion does not lead to sin. There cannot be both in the
same sense.
Sinful and religious actions are necessarily different.
It is sinful to indulge in avrata, to get it done and also support it.
It is religion to observe Vratas, to make others observe them and to support them.
Right attitude regards worldly and spiritual ways as different.
To desire an unrestrained person to die is aversion.
⚫ It is religion to desire an unrestrained person to lead a temperate life." "
Religion means renunciation, not the enjoyment of carnal sins.
Religion means the change of heart, not the use of force. To desire an unrestrained person to live is attachment.
Bhiksu has firstly objected to the image worship not only because it involves violence but also for an additional reason that it involves use of money for performing the various rituals. The construction of temples and performing ceremonies cost money and labor. Charity cannot be rendered without money. Rendering of charity to help other needy persons and save them from hunger is not only impracticable but also senseless. V.G Nair points out, "The miserable economic conditions, droughts, famines and the other social disabilities which stood as obstacles to lead a normal life gave the fill up to the teachings of Bhikhanji among a certain class of society" 7
The belief that in the Pañcama k la, religion is difficult to follow provides an escape to the four-fold community for not following true religious path (i.e. only outward means without inner essence). This was severely condemned by Bhiksu. It so happened that in a particular village the laity refused to worship the Jaina monks; Raghunathji sent Bhiksu to that place to settle the matter. On reaching there the people complained about the laxity in the behaviour of those monks. Somehow managing to convince those people to listen to those monks, Bhiksu returned to his guru with a disheartened feeling. On raising the issue, his guru replied that due to the Pañcama k la, it is difficult to follow conduct. This made Bhiksu strikingly think on the true nature of religion, because he found that this way of escapism is a deteriorating mark of religion. Such a heavy and a deep-rooted psychological understanding of time create a major stumbling block even today in the minds of the four-fold community. It is so because of a blind belief that omniscient has seen and propounded that time is going to deteriorate and liberation is impossible during this time in this Bharat Ksetra of this Jambu region. But on the other hand it even mentions that merit acquired here would lead to next birth in Mah videha Ksetra (a place conducive for liberation always) and hence lead to liberation.
1.
2.
3.2 Legacy
Along with Bhiksu twelve other monks left the order of Raghunathji. For five years Bhiksu had to suffer the hard blow of the people of Rajasthan with complete restraint. Yet a small number of the society was convinced by his teachings. The important c rya in his sect was Jay c rya. He was the third head. He initiated the study of Sanskrta.
c rya Tulsi was the ninth head of this sect. He was the initiator of the A uvrata movement for the purification of society. He inaugurated it in A.D. 1948. Its objective is the development of human character, the more rearmament of the people and the reformation of modern society in India. This movement has universal outlook for human welfare. c rya Mah prajna who is the present c rya of the Ter pantha sect succeeds him. He is the director of Jaina Vi wa Bh rati a deemed university in Ladnun-Rajasthan. The aim is to spread academic modern knowledge and impart spirituality through A uvrata movement on the basis of ethico-social grounds.
References:
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
P.S.Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification, p. 306
Ibid
Tr. K.C. Lalwani, Da avaik lika S tra, 1.1
V.G.Nair, Jainism and Terapanthism,p. 22
Tr. N. Sahal c rya Bhiksu: The Man and His Philosophy, p.29
Ibid, p. 14.15
V.G. Nair, op.cit p.37
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1.1.c
Jaina Painting Prof. Kamal Giri
Jains contributed very significantly in the field of Indian miniature paintings. The paintings are known by several names such as Jaina Painting, Gujarati Painting, Western Indian Painting and Apabhra a Painting. For the early history of Jaina Painting we have to depend on the wall paintings from Ellora where the earliest Jaina paintings may be seen on the walls of the caves. The Ra trakuta rulers embellished the Jaina cave of Indra Sabh at Ellor with painted murals. The scenes in the Indra Sabh illustrate the Jain texts and patterns including floral, animal and bird designs of 9th and 10th century A.D.
Jains appear to have practised the miniature paintings before the 10th century, although no traces of it have been found prior to the early 11th century A.D. Its existence in the 8th and 9th centuries can be inferred from descriptive passages in contemporary literature, which furnish valuable insights into the style of painting as well as themes portrayed during that period.
In the 10th century, miniature painting makes their appearance in manuscripts illustrations. Probably the tradition was derived from pata paintings and not too different from it. This art form manifests itself in the wooden book - covers and palm-leaf manuscripts of the Jains as well as Buddhists.
Illustrated manuscripts of Jains are found from the 11th century A.D. These manuscripts were stored in the precincts of the temples or Jaina Bha d ras (libraries of manuscripts) and protected with care. As a result, a large number of them survived. The credit for preserving the Jaina manuscripts in a large measure, however, goes to Jaina Sanghas, individual Jaina monks, bankers and merchants at various places in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka etc.
Jain manuscript painting was widely spread in western India. There were a number of religious establishments in Gujarat and Rajasthan where manuscripts could be copied and illustrated. Gujarat was perhaps the most important centre for illustrated manuscripts with centres like Pātana, Ahmedabad, Vadnagar, and Champ ner etc. M nd in Malwa was another big Jain centre in the medieval period for Jain manuscripts. Jains produced some remarkable documents in the 11th and 12th centuries. They have an unbroken tradition of painting from A.D. 1050 to 1750. It continued thereafter but its expression, emptied of content, lacks vivacity.
The distinguishing features of the Jain painting are its linear energy and taut angular outlines of the face. In the earlier paintings, reflections in line and washes of colour along with the outlines suggested plasticity. Gradually, these became mere conventions, used without understanding, and then they disappear altogether. The quite insistence on a cursive line and a limited palette of a few basic colours imparts a flat two-dimensional quality to the later paintings.
Jain paintings could be roughly divided into three periods - palm-leaf period, paper period and late period. In the first two periods, Jain painting retained its distinguishing characteristics such as angularity in drawing, protuberance of the further eyes etc., but in the third period, which begins in the 17th century, these characteristics are lost under the Mughal influence and western Indian School merges in the general trend of Indian art.
Before the advent of paper in India, palm-leaf and birch bark (bhujapatra) were extensively used as writing materials. In the palm-leaf Jain manuscripts, the leaves were divided into two or three panels for writing, the division depending on the size of the leaves. On both the sides of the panels, generally one and half inch margins were left and in the central margin a button strung on a string kept the leaves in position. The margins in order to break monotony of blankness were framed with decorative designs - such as friezes of elephants or swans and various floral motifs. If the manuscripts were to be illustrated, after the work of scriber was over, the panels were left on different leaves, and were handed over to the artists to complete their work. The rich and costly
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effect was enhanced by a lavish use of gold and ultramarine, and by writing the text in silver ink on a black or red background, or even in gold on a red ground.
The illustrated palm leaf Jain manuscripts may be divided into two groups on stylistic grounds. The first group comprises the manuscripts executed between A.D. 1060 to roughly A.D. 1350, while the second group comprises the manuscripts illustrated between A.D. 1350 to A.D. 1400 or A.D. 1450 when paper practically displaced the palm-leaf.
The beginning of the Jain miniature painting survives in the form of illustrated palm-leaf manuscripts and wooden book-covers belonging to the 11th 12th century A.D. These early documents represent a widespread tradition of Jain painting of coherent and cogent expression - and register various phases of its development.
Of the palm-leaf manuscripts, executed during the A.D. 1050 to A.D. 1350, only a few are illustrated. These illustrated manuscripts are the copies of canonical texts and contain only a few miniatures. The illustrations occur in the introductory or the concluding folios of the manuscripts. The miniatures, in the shape of square panels are usually placed in the centre of the main column and occasionally in case of long folios, appear in the side columns as well.
The compositions in the illustrated manuscripts are simple, set on a brick or purplish red or blue background. Yellow, white and green complete the palette. The line is strong, even coarse, and energy and movement are conveyed by the stance of the figures and the disposition of the draperies. By the end of the 13th century, the general stylistic conventions were more or less settled which continued in the subsequent centuries. The line becomes thin and wiry, absolutely certain within the range of expressiveness it sets for itself. The figures are seen either full-face or in almost full profile, the further eye being allowed to project right beyond the cheek. Architectural and rudimentary landscape backgrounds make an appearance. The introduction of paper allowed a larger field for painting and more ambitious compositions and the miniatures began to be framed in rich illumination.
The earliest dated illustrated manuscript of the Jain style is of Ogh Niryukti, on the rules of conduct for Jain monks, from Jaisalmer and Daśavaikālikaṭīkā dated v.s. 1117 (A.D. 1060). One of the palm leaf examples of the Ogh niryukti carries beautiful drawings of an auspicious vase (kala a), Lakṣm - the goddess of wealth, and K madeva, the god of love.
The subject of the palm-leaf manuscripts, executed between A.D. 1050 to roughly A.D. 1350, was confined to the representation of the Trtha karas, gods and goddesses, monks, nuns, male and female patrons etc. and the appeal of these figures is more or less iconographic. In full accordance with the simplicity of the subjects, the attitudes and poses are also limited and strictly conventional. The Jinas seated with their legs crossed and shown in full view. The miniatures in the introductory folios serve as invocations and usually feature Trtha karas, the goddess Sarasvat or another divinity. Sometimes, they portray religious preceptor at whose suggestion perhaps the manuscript was commissioned. The miniature, however, bear no relationship to the text, they neither illustrate it nor elucidate it. Their presence had a purely magical value that served to augment the mystical truths expounded in the text as well as to protect it. These miniatures played an esoteric rather than aesthetic role in the manuscript. The Digambara Şatkhand gama (scripture of six works) of 1112 is the earliest illustrated manuscript to show a preaching scene, a Jina, the goddess Cakre var and some decorative motifs. Mahāvīracarita dated 1183, and the tenth canto of Triṣastiśalākāpuruşacarita dated 1237 also depict the figure of Jina, monks and lay people. The Nemin thacarita of 1241 depicts the Jina Nemin tha, the goddess Ambik, and laywoman. Similarly the Kalpas tra-K lak c rya Kath dated 1278, also bears paintings of iconic interest only. Most of the illustrations are not related to the text.
Jain miniature paintings continue to progress along established lines until the end of 13th century. At this time, a new development occurs when the narrative content of the texts begins to receive attention. The pictorial narration of legends such as battle of Bharata and B hubal or disputation between the two monks Kumudcandra (a Digambara monk) and the vet mbara monk V dideva
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which took place at Patan in the time of Jayasi ha Siddhar ja (1094 - 1144) of Gujarat. Similarly, Jinanathas ri (1122 - 54) is also represented on book covers. The ancient Indian narrative tradition is used in these paintings. However, the palmleaf manuscripts seldom show such representations. The illustrations of narrative nature moreover, construct a progressive narrative by compressing two or three episodes in the same miniature and showing the person involved in those episodes as many times. Perspective of these innovations and the format of the paintings remained the same. The scheme of illustrations continued to be conservative. In the treatment of human figures stylistic changes are discernible. The angular rendering is exaggerated further and the protrusion of the farther eye becomes pronounced. The washes of colour along outlines have lost their meaning and become more clichés.
Towards the end of 13th century a new approach becomes visible in the manuscripts such as Sub hu-Kath, the story of Trtha kara Prva and other tales. Sub hu-Kath is the earliest manuscript to establish a relationship between illustration and text. The Sub hu-Kath and the manuscript depicting the story of P r van tha have a number of illustrations that was very rare in the earlier manuscripts. Also, the compositions became more complex. They are no longer confined to iconic representations of divinities. They include descriptive details of landscape or architecture to indicate the locale of the scene that is being depicted. In outdoor scenes hills and trees indicate the landscape and in indoors pavilion is shown with furnishings and objects of everyday use. By the end of the 13th century the drawing takes a pure linear form and is carefully executed. The paintings show lively figures in small size and minimum use of pigments. The man is idealized; with a large chest and narrow waist, and the woman have well-rounded breasts, small waists and well-curved hips. The figures are seen either in full face or profile, the farther eye projecting beyond the cheek, with pointed noses and small chins. Architecture is very much simplified and landscape finds little space. The art reveals no interest in anatomy but a deep understanding of emotion, and especially the language of gesture - movements of the hand, the fingers and stances of the body. There is an extensive use of foliage decoration. Plants are generally treated in a conventional manner, especially the mango and the palm. Also a number of animals and birds are represented. The men wear a waist cloth or dhot reaching down to the ankles, with a short scarf thrown across the shoulders, leaving upper half of the body uncovered; and their headgear either a kind of cap or mukuta. The women wear long gaily-coloured printed scarves over skirts consisting of a wrapped piece of cloth of a different colour. Full blossom and narrow wasted, they wear closely fitting cols, reaching to just above the navel, and their sleeves cover the arms to the elbow. They are profusely bejewelled, with earrings, necklaces and bangles and their long hair is braided, and tied with black tassels adorned with jewellery and flowers. Water with wavy lines, clouds with bold curves, richly coloured textiles, furniture like swings, stools and bedsteads with ornate lathe-turned legs are some of the features of these miniatures. The colours applied in these miniatures are simple like brick red, yellow, blue, green and black
At the end of 14th century, the political disintegration of the Delhi Sultanate into smaller Muslim and Hindu kingdoms, the art received great impetus. With the formation of smaller kingdoms - Muslim as well as Hindu, new centres of art were established. Scholars, musicians, artists and architects were extended encouragement by the rulers of these smaller kingdoms. As a result 15th century witnessed the efflorescence of regional idioms of artistic expression, new style emerged and existing forms received fresh vitality. In the Hindu kingdom of Gw lior, the Digambara Jains commissioned copies of their religious texts as well as in states like Gujarat and Delhi, governed by Muslim rulers, the Jain merchants and bankers considered it expedient to be less overt in their religious expression. They choose to pour their piety and wealth into unobtrusive works or art, commissioning copies of canonical literature. The vet mbara Jain community in Gujarat patronised this art form extensively. Their religious texts, transcribed during the 15th century in Gujarat, were kept carefully and protected and hence survived.
In A.D. 1350 and 1550, the style of Jain painting split into two stylistic idioms - one of which was localised in Gujarat and Rajasthan and the other in Delhi and Gw lior. In Gujarat and Rajasthan there had been no significant transformations in line, form or colour. Around the middle of the 14th century the region projected a new awareness of stylistic form in paintings within the framework style of Jain
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painting. The line now becomes smooth and flowing; it includes a wide spectrum of colours accentuated by touches of gold and silver. However, no example of painting tradition survive from Delhi before and during the 15th century except a vet mbara Jaina text of K Ik c rya-Kath painted on paper at Delhi in A.D. 1366 and the di-Pur a executed in A.D. 1404 for the Digambara Jains.' The western variant is refined in the execution and the broad spectrum of its palette is enriched with costly colours like gold and silver, lapis-lazuli and carmine. An unprecedented richness was provided to the manuscripts. Decorative patterns drawn from architecture, textiles, carpets, figures of dancers and musicians, devotees and monks, wrestlers, bird and animals, flower creepers etc. fill the border decoration of the manuscripts. Under the impetus of new movement the painters of Gujarat were evolving a new style in which Persian classics played an important part. The Persian classics were painted. In such illustrations Indian artists had simplified the Persian elements and tried to synthesise the Indian and Persian elements. In this period the stories such as Laur-Canda and Mṛgāvati etc. were being illustrated in the Jain style. The illustrator shows a greater understanding of the landscape and of the social environment in such examples.
न
In the second half of the 15th century Vais avas also adopted the Western Indian technique for illustrating some of their books such as the Gt govinda and B lagop lastuti. However, these manuscripts show liveliness, a sense of movement and an emotional understanding that is different from Jain paintings, so hardbound by the stereotyped tradition. The convention of the farther protruding eye never appears; the uttariya, instead of being draped softly over the head and around the body, is painted to stand out stiffly behind the figure. In the Gt govinda manuscript of 1610, the female dancers are in paj m s and wearing a coat with pointed ends showing the Jain style gradually breaking away from its conventions and absorbing new methods and ideas. The B lagop lastut of 17th century shows further changes. This new movement in art was not confined to Gujarat, Malwa and Rajasthan only. The movement had spread as far as Uttar Pradesh and has affected the progress of painting in that part as evidenced by the illustrations of the Kalpa-S tra painted at Jaunpur in A.D. 1465. Besides texts like the Kalpa-S tra, K laka-Kath that was transcribed together in one manuscript, the Jains had already started illustrating several kath s (stories, legends, myths). The illustrated versions of Kalpa-S tra2 and the K Ik c rya-Kath 3 were executed for lay votaries of the vet mbara sect in areas distinct from Gujarat and Rajasthan.
In 15th century the intrinsic beauty of the Jain miniatures begins to fade. There is a perceptible decline in execution the line loses its verve, the rendering becomes markedly angular and the protruding farther eye becomes very pronounced. The miniatures strike as being reduced to formulae, repeated over and over again with little variation. The polychromatic palette is now narrowed down to two basic colours red and gold. For gold the gold-leaf was used instead of gold paint. The painter began to work covering the entire area of miniature with a thin sheet of goldenleaf, then proceeded to outline the human figures and other motifs in black ink. After the completion of drawing the ground area is painted in red and the figures and the motifs were treated as negative spaces in the compositions. The whole painting was enlivened with a few accently in other colours. Occasionally, the folios of the manuscript were adorned with decorative designs such as floral and geometrical motifs in the margins and the panels above and below the text.
Around the middle of the 15th century, blue-ultramarine as well as lapis-lazuli superseded red as the favoured colour in Jain miniatures. The folios of the manuscripts were embellished with intricate scrollwork. In 15th century there was progressively increasing activity to enrich the manuscripts with border decorations. The border decorations become more complex, depicting flowering creepers, birds and animals, geometrical designs and other interesting subjects like dancers, musicians, wrestlers, foreign soldiers and animal trainers etc. Most of these scenes may be seen in the manuscript of the Dev s no P òo Kalpa-S tra and K lak c rya-Kath. In the closing years of the 15th century, the art of Jains began to take new directions. The farther eye had gradually lost its organic hold and it had become merely a decorative feature. The style of painting in Western India deteriorating in terms of line and compositional values and became dull and fatigued, although it maintain blue and gold palette.
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Between A.D. 1350 to 1550, Indian miniature painting also found articulation in another pictorial mode - the Caurapancik style that presents a sharp contrast to the exoteric and iconographic preoccupations that characterise the style of Jain painting. The Jain tradition employed both the style of Jain painting as well as the Caurapancik style for illustrating its religious texts (The Caurapancik, containing fifty verses, is a Sanskrit lyric written in the 11th century by a poet named Bilha a). Many verses of the lyric was illustrated by the painters in a peculiar style related to Jain painting with local peculiarities as well as influenced by the current idiom of the Mughal ateliers. The Caurapancik style of painting evolved during the latter part of the 16th century.
One of the important developments during the period was the extensive use of the paper as a carrier of illustrated manuscripts. The introduction of paper for writing and painting allowed more room for painting and more elaborate composition than the palm-leaf. The paper manuscripts adhered to the system followed in palm-leaf manuscripts in aspects such as the division of the folio into two columns with narrow vertical margins, the writing of the text in lines across the folio, and the placement of page numbers. Similarly, the practice of marking string holes was threaded together. Later, during the 15th century, when the potential of the new material was realised and fully grasped, the conventional forms of manuscript presentation changed. During the 15th century the folios of the manuscript became shorter and broader without abandoning the poth format. The string hole performed a decorative function and page numbers now indicated in the lower right hand corner of the folio. The paper manuscripts were protected between two wooden boards in the beginning with string but afterwards without string. The practice of using wooden pātalis has been replaced by the use of hard cardboards, often decorated with painted or printed cloth pasted on them. During the latter half of the 15th century, a number of Jain manuscripts were illustrated, the text being written in gold and silver ink on a red or black background. Wealthy bankers and merchants ordered such works.
In 16th century Jain painting made further strides. In this period Malwa and places in Uttar Pradesh became important centres of painting. There were two phases going on in art - one classical and the other folk. M du became an important centre of the classical phase. It may be further noted that even though the traditional Jain features continue, the general tendency is towards the elimination of the farther eye.
In the 16th century, however, the Digambaras had also developed their individual mode of expression. First they patronised the prevailing Jain painting style though their emphasis on movement was quite different from the static poses of the figures in the vet mbara manuscripts. The area near about Delhi became a centre for illustrating Digambara Jain manuscripts. The Mah pura, dated A.D. 1540 painted at Palam shows a different approach to painting where the farther eye is eliminated but in composition, in colours scheme and in the representation of human figures the legacy of the old tradition is present. The illustrations have been ambitiously extended through the lines are weak. The figures are not confined to covering the entire folio. Regional elements can be seen in the costumes and other decorative details. The legacy of the old tradition was not only shown in Jain paintings of the Hindu illustrated manuscripts like G tagovinda and Blagop lastut. The ra yaka Parva of the Mah bh rata displays the same characteristic. The painting in Uttar Pradesh was not confined to religious texts alone. The works of the poets in Avadh such as Laur-Candā, Mrgāvata became favourite subjects of the Jain painting.
The Jain patrons invited such artists from Mughal capital cities to execute the Jain manuscripts. The manuscript Ya odhara-carita is one of the examples, which mentions in its colophon that the scribe hailed from the neighbouring town of Ajmer. Similarly the painters were also engaged. Such artists transported their style wherever they worked with little bearing of the place of execution.
Among the documents, which exemplify the various sub-styles of the Gujarat style is a manuscript of poet Haidhu's composition the Ya odhara - carita. It was painted at Ahmedabad in A.D. 1712 and the artists of this manuscript based their paintings on prototype. They copied the compositional formulae from the prototype but were free to use their own style as well as to select colours. The
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Upade am la, dated A.D. 1708, to another manuscript from Gujarat school. The style of its miniatures is quite charming specially its landscape.
In A.D. 1606, near Amer, a copy of the di Pura was painted but could not be completed. The illustrations of the manuscript show folksy expression, which can be traced to the Caurpancika style. In the manuscript the methodology in illustrating the scenes differs from the practice followed in the foregoing periods when the painter after completing one miniature proceeds to next. In completion of the painting there are stages - the master artist first wrote the captions on the folios, thereafter the artist - draughtsman drew the figures and at the third stage the colours were applied to the composition. At the last the finishing touches were added. In this way in the completion of any illustration a group of artist or family was required.
In Gujarat towards the closing decades of 16th century the developments and departures from the earlier style are most noticeable in the delineation of the human figures, which have shed the farther eye and are now shown without the characteristic angular body distortions. Wide range of colours was used including some unusual and novel hues such as lilac and dull green. Costly gold and silver were not employed. Certain stylistic devices, such as the red ground and the ornamental designs, which serve to fill in vacant areas of the composition, linger on from the preceding period - though in different form - and can be identified as stylistic components of the school of Gujarat.
In 17th century the popular religious Jain and other themes in Western India were well known. Different Jain stories became popular with the illustrations, which are generally of folk variety. There was a large demand for illustrating manuscripts from the Jains of Gujarat and therefore painters started working at many centres to satisfy the ever-growing demands. There were several centres in Gujarat such at Pātan, Cambay, Swat, Vadnagar, Idar, Jamnagar, Bhuj, Matar, Ahmedabad etc. indicating a flourishing state of painting in Gujarat. Painters of Gujarat played an important part in the Mughal atelier of Akbar. In the courts of Akbar and Jahangir a number of artists worked for the art of books. The pupils of these painters spread out in search of their livelihood to Gujarat and Rajasthan. Several of them worked outside the courts for the patrons and nobles blending the style of Mughal court with indigenous traits. In this style, however, with older traditions both in colour and landscape indebted to the Mughal style through the figure drawing, costumes and to some extent the landscape. The paintings and manuscripts were painted in the Popular Mughal style.
Towards the end of 17th century miniature painting in Gujarat loses its integrated character. It fragments into various sub-styles, which are held together by certain general characteristics, such as animated puppet like figures, flower strewn backgrounds, dull colours and monotonous compositions.
In early 18th century Jain paintings reflect two types of pictorial expression one is a Rajasthani idiom - crude and folksy and the other idiom appears to be a local regional style. In Rajasthan Jaina painting followed a similar course to that of Gujarat. In Amer and its vicinity during A.D. 1590 - 1610, two idioms were at work - one rooted in the style of Jain painting - the northern version of it - and the other direct extension of the Caurapancik style. Both these styles are represented in the illustrated texts of the Digambara Jains.
References
1.
The di Pur a describes the cosmic cycle, the life of the first Trtha kara din tha, his ten former births and the life of Bharata, the first cakravartin and son of din tha. The former births of din th have been described in di Pur a through numerous tales and episodes. The di Pura included the various rites and consecrations in their proper order, which an individual must undergo before attaining omniscience and enlightenment. The text of the di Pura also has descriptions to form a government and defines the procedure of a legal system in the institution. The Kalpa-s tra is the most ancient as well as the most revered book of the cvet mbara Jainas. The Kalpa-s tra indicate a treatise concerned with the foregoing conduct that is followed by the ordained during the rainy season from the day of the full moon in the month
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of Āsādha (June-July) and K rttika (October November). For Jaina monks, nuns and acolytes, the rainy season is a period of rest during which they settle down in one place. They utilise this time for spiritual cleansing which includes fasting, meditation, the reading of scriptures and preaching. The spiritual activities include the recitations of the Kalpa-s tra, which attests to the special importance of Kalpa-s tra among the religious texts. The Kalpas tra written in prose, is the S tra of 1200 lokas. It consists of three parts - the Jina carita (lives of Jinas), the Sthaviravali (succession of pontiffs) and the S dhu-Sam cr (rules for monks at the Pary sa a season). The Jina-carita contains the details of the lives of the 24 Jinas. The second part Sthaviravali consists of the names of the leaders, who founded the numerous sub-sects of the Jainas. The third and last part, the S dhu-Sam cr prescribes the code of conduct for monks and nuns, in detail, during the rainy season. Around the fifth century A.D. the custom of reciting the Kalpa-s tra to large congregations became popular which has continued till today.
3. Klk c rya - Kath is the vat mbara legend of monk Klaka, a great Jain teacher who
sought the help of the Sahis who ruled across Shad in north-west frontier) to punish the wicked ruler of Ujjain. According to the events narrated in the K Ik c rya - Kath under monk K laka's authority the date of the Paryusa a festival was pre-pone for a day. Thus the Kik c rya - Kath closely associated with the Paryusa a festival and with the Kalpa-s tra text, which is ritually read during the period. The K k c rya-Kath is generally treated as an integral part of Kalpa-s tra. It is considered to be the ninth lecture of the Kalpa-s tra. During the 13th century, Kalpa-s tra and the Kik c rya-Kath were transcribed as a hyphenated text. From A.D. 1250-1550 a large number of Kalpa-s tra and K lk c rya-Kath were embellished with illustrations and preserved in Jain-Bhand ras of the vat mbara Jains. According to the text k laka was a son of king Vajrasi ha and queen Surasundar in the land of Bhāratavarşa. Once prince Kālaka riding his horse reached at the place where monk Gu kara was preaching Jain philosophy. The prince joined the audience and inspired a deep longing for spiritual peace by the monks' sermon. On his return to the palace, prince K laka expressed his desire to his parents to be initiated into the Jain monastic order. With the permission of his parents monk K laka acquired spiritual perfection and in course of time, succeeded his master, monk Gu kara, as the head of the group of monks.
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1.1.d
Social Consciousness, its initiation, rejuvenation and adoption in Jainism
Dr. Shugan C Jain
1.1 Social consciousness": Social consciousness is consciousness shared within a society*. It can also be defined as social awareness; to be aware of the problems that different societies and communities** face on a day-to-day basis; to be conscious of the difficulties and hardships of society. Some people define social consciousness as a society's consciousness of itself. Others argue against this definition, saying that society does not have a mind of its own, and therefore is not conscious: rather, the people that make up society are individually conscious. Social consciousness is similar to collective consciousness. In Jain philosophy consciousness is said to manifest as dar ana (intuition or awareness) and j na (knowledge)
Many studies have been done to examine the roots of social consciousness. It is believed to arise as a response to social injustice experienced by the individual or in the lives of others around the individual. There are three levels of social consciousness*** namely acquired, awakened, and expanded. Social consciousness brings moral implications. Often, people with an awakened social consciousness become socially active. A socially conscious person tends to be empathetic towards others regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, disability, class, or sexual identity.
# This section is based on articles from Wikipedia
* A society is a body of individuals that is outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, comprising also possible characters or conditions such as national, cultural identity and solidarity etc. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture and institutions.. Like other communities or groups, a society allows its individual members to achieve needs or wishes that they could not fulfil separately by themselves without the existence of solidarity. A society may be a particular ethnic group, such as the Saxons, a nation state like Bhutan, a broader cultural group, such as an Asian Society. The word society may also refer to an organized voluntary association of people for religious, benevolent, cultural, scientific, political, patriotic, or other purposes.
** Community: Traditionally a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. The word is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common values and social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household. The word can also refer to the national community or global community with the advent of internet technology.
***Acquired: A subject with an acquired social consciousness derives his or her viewpoint from the mainstream culture. This individual avoids identifying himself or herself with a marginalized culture. This individual generally is either not aware of or does not acknowledge the way that differences among people affect the way that they are treated within society. The individual is not fully active in society. The person with an acquired social consciousness does not question mainstream viewpoints, and acts accordingly, without confrontation. Awakened: A subject with an awakened social consciousness explores alternatives to the dominant cultural viewpoint this person might identify with a marginalized group, but the mainstream culture is central to his or her questioning or exploration. The subject recognizes and challenges social injustice. The person actively resists power and authority. The focus of discontent and action is often over the right to be visible, to have choice, or to be self determining. Expanded: A subject with an expanded social consciousness strongly identifies with their marginalized group. This person views status as a continuously changing social construct, thus viewing responses as a lifelong process. This individual has an understanding of the complexity of the social hierarchy, and acts carefully after weighing both sides.
In the context of Jainism, work by Late Prof Vilas A Sanghave (retired professor sociology at Shivaji University Kolhapur) was of pioneering nature. Michael Carrithers and Caroline Humphery in their book *Assembly of Listeners Jains in Society' (based on papers presented at the conference on 'Jains in society' held at Cambridge in June 1985) lists five criterions for considering Jains as a community in their position paper. We shall discuss social consciousness in Jainism keeping these in mind. There are also a number of other studies by John Cort (Jains in the world), Paul Dundas (The Jains), James Laidlaw (Riches and renunciation) etc studying specific segments of Jain communities in Jaipur, Patan and Ahmedabad.
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1.2 Jainism The word Jain is derived from the word jina (spiritual conqueror). Jina is a perfect human being who has attained pure soul state associated with the four primary qualities namely infinite perception-knowledge-energy and bliss. He is an ordinary human being at the time of birth but through his strenuous spiritual purification efforts, he attains this state. Followers of the path shown by Jina are called Jains.
Reality: The definitive word for reality is 'sat' or existent. Each existent is with origination decay and permanence simultaneously. Thus reality is said to be persistence with change. Existents are characterised by dravya (substance) and the realms of substances are classi
es are classified as j va (living beings with consciousness) and non living beings (aj va or without consciousness). There are infinite j vas in this cosmos. Each j va has the potential to attain Jina status through his strenuous spiritual purification efforts. However all living beings help (cooperate) with each other. Further j vas are broadly divided as pure soul (siddha) and empirical souls (defiled souls or sa s rjva). Empirical souls go through innumerable varieties of existences grouped in four categories namely hell, heaven, human and sub-human.
Cosmos' and its contents are neither created by any one nor can they be destroyed by anyone. They change form continuously as per the definition of reality in Jainism. Thus the entire time period from beginningless point to eternity is into time cycles called rs. Each r or epoch has two parts namely period of rising happiness (utsarpi ) and period of decreasing happiness (avasarpi ). Each r has a series of twenty four ford makers (t rtha karas) over different time periods who rejuvenate the religion so that the living beings can move forward to attain their worldly and spiritual objectives.
Religion is defined in a number of ways by different preceptors namely
Nature of an entity is its religion, that which removes the worldly pains of the living beings and leads
them to the state of bliss is religion". • Supreme forgiveness, modesty, straightforwardness, purity, truthfulness, self restraint, austerity,
renunciation, non attachment and celibacy constitute religion Non violence is the supreme spiritual virtue" Conduct is religion 13
The cardinal principles of Jain way of life are:
Non violence for thought ahi s ); Non possession (Aparigraha): Multiplicity of viewpoints (Anek nta); Responsibility for your actions and the results thereof (karma doctrine)
1.3 Social consciousness in Jainism, a view The general perception in the academic community is that Jainism is the religion of asceticism i.e. withdrawal from the world (renunciation or nivstti) to lead an ascetic life to attain liberation. This remark is perhaps based on the great emphasis placed on code of conduct for the ascetics in Jain canons and scriptures prior to first century AD. Also the story literature (purāņas) of Jains, which is very vast, has the distinctive feature of evolving the entire story around one person (hero) and traces his/her life in many births till he/she achieves the ultimate objective of becoming an ascetic and liberation thereafter. This may also develop a feeling of greater emphasis being put on renunciation rather than engagement in the world. In the Svetāmbar Jain canons, only the seventh limb i.e. Upāsakadaśānga gives life sketches of ten lay persons during Mahāvira's time.
However from 2nd century AD, the Jain holy literature emphasizing the conduct for laity and known as Śrāvakācāras started getting written by Jain preceptors which emphasized not only the ultimate liberation of the individual laity but also the rules of social conduct for them as they remain tied to the world. Perhaps Samantbhadra (2nd to 6th century AD)' a noted Jain preceptor and scholar from Southern India, was the first one to compose the text popularly known as Rattan Karanda Sravakācāra detailing the worldly and spiritual ethics of Jain laity.
Somdev Suri (Yaśastilakācampu in 943-960 AD), another important Jain scholar and preceptor, describes dharma for śrāvakas as of two basically different types namely laukika (worldly) and pārlaukika (other worldly or beyond the world). The pārlaukika dharma is the true path of liberation or the Jain samaya as he calls it which every Jain indeed should know and follow. Laukika dharma on the other hand consists of social norms, customs, laws, rules, institutions in which Jains live amongst themselves and others provided they do not undermine or distort the performance of pārlaukika dharma. We thus see the concept of mulagunas (basic virtues) six essential duties (āvasyakas), five anuvratas (with self imposed limits of observance by laity), three enhancing vows (guņavratas) and four teaching vows (Śikṣāvratas) coupled with eleven stages of spiritual development
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(pratimās) for laity leading him ultimately to ascetic life and liberation dovetailing laukika dharma with pārlaukika.
The pārlaukika dharma is called Mokşamarga and consists of right belief-knowledge and conduct practiced together's. The essential and the first requirement of attaining liberation is right belief. It is of two types namely with attachment and without attachment. The first type is characterized by serenity (praśama), incessant fear of the miseries of transgression (samvega), compassion (anukampā) and existence of soul (āstikya) etc. Right belief has eight limbs. **
+ Dvau hi dharamau grhasthānām, laukikah, pārlaikikah! Lokaśrayo bhavedadyah parah syadagamasrayah, (Upasakadhyaayana of Yasastilakācampu, kalpa 34 verse 476, Mukund Lad Somadevsuri and the question of Jain identity)
++ Limbs of right belief:
⚫
Relating to individual's improvement:
State of doubtlessness (Ni amkita); State of no desire (except for creative or spiritual attainments) Nik mksita; Freedom from superstitions (Amudhadṛsti); Develops virtuous dispositions (Upag hana). Relating to his social interactions:
Not to hate a meritorious being (Nirvicikits );Develop positive condition of loving others (V tsalya); To re-establish the fallen on the right path (Sthitikarana); to propagate ethical-spiritual values (Prabh van)
So a right believer of Jain metaphysics will demonstrate the above characteristics in his personal and social interactions. The social characteristics are very important as they reflect how Jains interact with the society they live even though the doctrine suggests that one is responsible for his condition and emphasize self improvement.
The story of the two sons of first Jain tirthankara Adinath, namely Bharat, the monarch and Bahubali, the ascetic is an excellent example to show the practice and impact of both laukika (worldly) and pārlaukika (other worldly or beyond the world). Bahubali, the ascetic achieves liberation faster while Bharat, the emperor also achieves liberation but at a much later date while practicing his monarch-hood keeping the pārluakika dharma always in his mind and actions.
All t rtha karas organized their followers in a fourfold congregation, namely ascetics (rama as) male and female and laity (r vakas) male and female. The ascetics are required to follow p rlaukika dharma and guide the laity while the laity follows laukika dharma primarily but keep on progressing towards ascetic life ultimately.
There is a difference between the śramaņa's path and the śrāvaka's. The śramaņa's path is the path of nivṛtti, of withdrawal from the world, of giving up. He is directly on the path of liberation. Yet there is a place for virtuous śrāvaka, even if his path is more circuitous. He follows the dharma of pravṛtti, or doing or action or engagement with the affairs of the world. This fits in well with the Jain notion of aņuvratas which are the diluted versions of mahāvratas for the muni. His path, too, if he follows the Jain doctrine /samaya faithfully, would ultimately lead him to liberation. This is also supported by the Anekanta doctrine of Jains which talks of looking at the reality from many view points and at least from the two viewpoints namely transcendental (eternal view or niscaya) and practical (present / practical or vyavahāra) views. The karma doctrine of Jains is also an important contributor to the Jain identity as it imposes on Jains the doctrine of work /effort to achieve their laukika and pārlaukika objectives rather than pray for some divine grace for everything and hold the destiny and divine grace as responsible for all their successes and failures.
From the discussions above, we can say that the Jain identity even though lays greater emphasis on spiritual mysticism and its path of spiritual purification based on the practice of non violence, non possessions etc completely till liberation is achieved; yet the social interactions of the laity are also derived from the same also. The path to liberation is said to be right belief-knowledge-conduct practiced together till all karmika bondages are annihilated from the defiled soul. This emphasis at times may lead to a separate identity of being Jain and a feeling of superiority (or purer as their souls are less defiled by karmika impurities) over non-Jains. Translated into practical implications we can say practice of ahinsă (like straining the water before use for drinking, not eating at night etc as primary Jain differentiators), aparigraha (possessiveness on the one hand and the feeling of donating /dāna or giving up and limiting consumption on the other) anekānta (existence of opposites, tolerance, co-existence etc) can be the core differentiators of Jain identity. As we have seen earlier the social
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consciousness can also be the collectivization of the consciousness of the individuals who make the society. Thus Jainism puts self improvement as the core value for its followers. Therefore, there can be differences in different Jain groups based on the religious practices followed at times totally appearing to be influenced by the dominating religion of the region), economic and other engagements of the individuals as well as their own inclinations to pursue the Jain doctrine or prescribed code of conduct. This leads to differences of practicing Jainism or leading their life as members of the immediate community /society they live in, say amongst Jains of different sects, of different regions of India and now overseas Jains, without undermining the pārlaukika religion /Jain samaya and keeping the same in mind to test the validity of their actions /behaviour.
It will be interesting to note that all Jain t rtha karas*** were ordinary persons when born (as against reincarnation of God in other religions); lived the life as ordinary persons even though born in rich families, has clairvoyant knowledge even at the time of birth and created an impact on society they lived in before accepting renunciation and attain omniscience and t rtha kara status ultimately. Similarly the later preceptors also made significant efforts to bring in newer interpretations of Jain doctrine for laity to keep them focussed on their prlaukika dharma while practising laukika dharma and be good social citizens. In this paper we shall study the first and latest (24) t rtha karas, some preceptors of 2nd to 12th century and modern preceptors and religious leaders (laity) to see how they readjusted the social consciousness of Jains to meet the social needs of their times.
2. din th/ abha 17 The end of third r of the avasarpi period known as (Happy-Unhappy) was approaching resulting in decreasing potency of the wish fulfilling tress (kalpavraksa) which provided all the necessities of human beings without their making any effort. The twins born to parents who lived as brother sister and became husband wife later on was also approaching an end. They started of thinking and trying to live as tribes with occasional fights erupting between them and others. Further there were some signs of development of mental faculties amongst them, becoming inquisitive about the changes taking place. In the modern technological time we can roughly describe this as the stone-age. In philosophical terms we say the end of the period of enjoyment (bhoga) was approaching. People used to live carefree lives and no work to do. They were grouped as kulas and the chief of the kula was called kulakara. There are fourteen famous kulakaras of whom N bhi Raj was the ruling kulkara at that time.
+++ Trtha karas (fordmakers. Ref Jain Sidd nta abda Ko a Vol2, pages 371– A person who destroys all k mika impurities (cause of transmigration) himself and leads others to attain the same status is known as t rtha kara. Every time cycle has twenty four t rtha karas. Generally they are born as human beings to become t rtha kara from their previous life as heavenly being of superior status. From birth they are possessed of clairvoyance knowledge and show extraordinary characteristics in their life prior to renunciation and then after attaining the trio of omniscience, flawless (absence of all types of flaws like hunger, thirst, pains of any kind etc) and delivering sermon of spiritual beneficence to others. They show exemplary capabilities to resolve social problems in their life prior to renunciation and then until they attain omniscience. After omniscience they show the path of liberation only.
Time wise, the fourth r , i.e. beginning of the period of effort (karmayuga) and end of era of enjoyment (bhoga yuga) is the period during which the twenty four t rtha karas are born. In the present time cycle Lord din this the first t rtha karas and Lord Mah vira is the 24 t rtha karas
abha was born to N bhi and his wife Meru Devi. There was overall happiness and peace prevailing at the time of his birth. abha started displaying exemplary qualities since early children and became an object of adoration by all while growing to be a young boy / man. As he was born with superior qualities like clairvoyant knowledge, charming and strong body etc, N bhi started directing the persons who came for problem resolution to abha. abha used to solve their problems fast and to their satisfaction. When abha became an adult, his father married him to two beautiful and virtuous girls named Sunand and Sumangal . Sumangal (or Ya aswati as per dipur na and Digambar Jain's story literature) gave birth to Bharat (who became the first sovereign emperor) and ninety eight more sons plus daughter Br hmi while Sunand gave birth to B hubali and daughter Sundari. abha is referred as Praj pati (lord or leader of the masses).
He is credited as the forerunner of modern day society, establishing work culture, form of governance, social systems and ultimately renounced all his worldly longings in favour of his sons to attain omniscience and
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become the first t rtha kara establishing the four fold congregation and teaching his followers how to attain liberation. While designing the society, its norms and constituents, he had the welfare of all as the topmost concern in his mind. Being the first in all walks of life he is called as din th also. Listed below are some of the innovative social reforms he is credited with.
2.1 Establishing a social order He explained to all the people who came to him for guidance that their physical endurances as well as of the wish fulfilling tress are decreasing. So you have to change your lifestyle and think of living in houses (rather than forests) collectively so that you can help each other and face the problems united. Concepts of family, coexistence, co-operation, tolerance, brotherhood /fraternity etc were extremely importance for survival. The first locality (which became his capital city also) established was called Vinita which later on became popular as Ayodhy. He then made different groupings of such primary localities as villages and then their classification as towns / cities and grouping them as states (collection of towns) with separating and defending boundaries and chiefs of each grouping to administer them. Thus the role of a king, council of ministers, security systems, heads of villages / towns and cities were established for administration.
Work culture and division of the society into sub groups (castes): The days of enjoyment without work and just because of nature's bounty or divine grace are over. He said that from now onwards you have to work to get your food, shelter, protection etc. He asked the people to choose anyone of the six types of work namely asi, masi, krşi, vidhyā, vāņijya and Silpa These six types of works were grouped as Kşatriya, Brāhmaṇa, Vaisya and Sudra varnas (castes). The grouping as Brāhmaṇas is credited to his son Bharat, the first emperor /monarch. He also established the rules of work, of staying within their limits and not to cause problems to others.
asi is to serve with arms i.e. defence /police forces; masi is to serve by writing and maintaining accounts; kşşi is to till the land and grow food; vidhyā is acquire textual knowledge and impart that to others; vānijya is trade /commerce and silpa is use of physical capabilities like serving others, arts and crafts etc. (Adi Purāņa 16/363)
Institution of family: To avoid conflicts concerning rights and duties, inheritance and sex related and other marriage issues, he established the concept of brother, sister, husband and wife, parents etc. He told that marriage between a boy and girl of the same parents cannot take place and thus bringing an end to the era of twins and assigning the right for living together and transfer of inheritance etc.
He established the penal code consisting of four classes namely: oral punishment i.e. reprimand in angry tone; detention is town for a specified time period, detention in a jail for a definite time and lastly to impart physical punishment like beating/making the offender physically hurt.
He was thus called Pr japati and his coronation as the first king took place.
2.0 Education and training of his subjects:
abha knew that the people have to be taught for making the changes introduced by him effective and hence established the importance of education and training. Accordingly he taught his eldest son Bharat seventy two arts, his second son Bāhubali martial arts and other similar arts, his eldest daughter Brāhmi eighteen scripts and to younger daughter Sundari the mathematics. Both the daughters were also taught the arts of music, dance, make up etc. Similarly he taught other arts and crafts to his other ninety eight sons. His children, then, started teaching their skills to others' thereby spreading the knowledge, skills etc to the common people. This way he institutionalized the imparting of education and skills to masses.
Through these education programmes, the people came to know of the use of fire to cook etc, making pots, tools and implements for farming, defence etc, making cloth, skills of barbers, eating the food after proper treatment of food (like cleaning, peeling the skins, cooking etc) to stay healthy.
3.0
Self improvement and realization
After bringing a social order and seeing his subjects happily settled as a society and enjoy prosperity, he realized that such prosperity will cause further problems of greed, discontent and associated pains. Being endowed with clairvoyant knowledge, he knew of his past lives and associated pains and pleasures of transmigration. He now started looking at his own self realization as the highest goal. He therefore renounced his kingship after anointing his eldest son Bharat as the king of major part of his kingdom, Bahubali as king of a different part of
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his kingdom and giving small pieces of land to his other ninety eight sons and distributing remaining wealth to all the people who came to him for seeking his blessings.
For himself, he gave up everything including his family, clothes and all worldly possessions. He even pulled all his hair to develop detachment from his own body (as a mark of a feeling of other even to his soul, the real self). He accepted the vows of total non violence, self restraint and complete meditation on his self to realize its true nature. He left for the forests nearby for meditating on his self. He established a number of important concepts during his ascetic life and prior to his becoming an omniscient, namely
Worldly happiness is temporary and there is something beyond, known as eternal happiness /bliss to be achieved. Concept of d na /charity. As an ascetic, he went without food for six months as no one knew how and what to offer him for food when he went out on his begging rounds till renika of Hastin pur who through his past life knew. After observing proper rituals of inviting abha for food, he offered him sugarcane juice in his folded palms. This day is celebrated as Ak ayatrty and is the forerunner of the institution of charity. Essentiality of the concept of non possession: By giving up every worldly possession and not staying at one place so that he does develop attachment to the place and its people. Practice of detachment, non violence, self restraint, austerities and meditation all through his ascetic life.
After attaining omniscience, he then started preaching the Mok am rga, setting up the four fold congregation so that others could also attain the liberation from the pains of transmigration and achieve bliss.
Thus he established social order and consciousness keeping the welfare one and all in mind based on engagement with the worldly life as laity and keeping in mind the ultimate objective of attaining bliss and freedom from transmigration of soul in various existences.
3. Mahāvira's social engineeering The time period from the 14 to 224 t rtha karas is considered to be a period when people were simple and followed the leader's commands. However with the approach of the end of the fourth ārā, the tendencies of the people stated getting tainted with passions. So Mahāvira, the present residing deity of Jains, who was born towards the end of the 4" ārā and attained liberation some 2535 years ago, realized these social changes and initiated certain actions to rejuvenate the social and spiritual consciousness amongst his followers.
The present presiding deity of Jains is Mahāvira, who attained moksa some 2535 years ago. Even though he hailed from a rich family, yet he gave up all his worldly wealth to activate divine knowledge associated with his soul and free himself from the cycle of birth-death-birth. Some of the examples of his actions / sermons with social overtones are discussed below.
Metaphysical His definition of reality as endowed with permanence, origination and destruction i.e. persistence with change or being and becoming was remarkable in bringing various monist thinkers together and eliminate or minimize the violence indulged in by followers of different faiths. He thus declared both materialistic and mental things as everlasting existents.
3.2 Socio-ethical method He affected tremendous social change through the promulgation of the socio-ethical values of ahi s, Aparigraha and Anekanta.
Ahi s : In c ranga he says 'None of the living beings ought to be killed or deprived of life ought to be ruled or enslaved or possessed or put to unrest'. Further in Pra navy karan he designates social ahi s as kindness, compassion, security, love, friendship, fearlessness and so on. Social ahi s of Mah vira begins with the awareness of the existence of others and their right to exist like one's own. He says that all living beings, like you, do not wish to have pain nor do they wish to die resulting in the current Jain slogan 'Live and let live'. Paraspargrahojiv n ma'or living beings cooperate with each other is another Jain slogan reflecting this doctrine of social ahi s of Mah vira.
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Aparigraha: Mah vira knew that the root cause of all ills associated with economic inequalities is disproportionate possession of wealth by few individuals. Thus he gave religious cum social overtones to non possession and asked his householder disciples to limit their possessions and consumption and share the rest (surplus) with others; while monks were asked to be free of any type of possessions (external or internal).
Anek nta: Mah vira realized that differences in opinions / viewpoints amongst different people emanate from their intellectual capabilities. These affect the social harmony more than economic or social inequalities. He thus said that differences in viewpoints emanate from the differences in the nature of things. These different aspects of things are to be understood as different aspects of the TRUTH giving rise to his doctrine of Nayav da or
Anek nta.
3.3
Uplift of women / according them and downtrodden freedom for religious pursuits His acceptance of food from a slave and destitute woman and making her the head of her nun community plus creating a separate community of nuns to practice religious activities was revolutionary in giving women the right to study and freedom to practice religion which was till then denied to them. This act greatly enhanced the prestige of women in the society and diverted the oppressed widows from the ills like self burning (sati prath) on husband's pyre or leading an oppressed life.
Similarly he declared that all living beings are equal rejecting the prevailing thinking of four fold societies into warriors, br hmanas, traders and udras by birth. He said one becomes great by his acts and not by birth. He opened his creed to all classes of not only human beings but all living beings. Samantabhadra rightly described his doctrine as Sarvodaya i.e. enlightenment of all.
3.4
Others
• Mah vira propagated the doctrine of Karma to hold the individuals responsible for their acts and the results thereof rather than someone else up above.
He used Pr krat language or the language of commoners and women, to deliver his sermons so as to make them accessible to the masses and not just a few learned scholars.
•
He extended the four fold vows (i.e. ahi s, satya, acaurya and aparigraha) to five fold i.e. bifurcate aparigraha into aparigraha and brhamcarya. He realized the importance of stressing celibacy as the men and women were becoming more prone to sexual attractions and indulgences.
4.
Making vegetarian and simple food in minimal quantities for sustenance as essential for spiritual and social uplift. Thus he rejected animal sacrifice or wanton killing of animals or destroying environment for physical pleasures or likes.
Jain preceptors and significant laity upto 18th centuries AD
Sixty four years after Mah vira's nirv na, existence of Jinas stopped. The era of preceptors / c ryas started. They tried to retain the teachings of Mah vira, document them and add new interpretations of social overtones so that the laity can practice them and perform their day to day worldly duties. Naturally differences in the interpretations of the holy texts started showing differences by different c ryas resulting in bifurcation of the creed and associated schism.
In the tradition of the first t rtha kara Adinath, emperor Candragupta (In the fourth century BC, first emperor of historical India and grandfather of Emperor Asoka) renounced his empire and accepted Jain muni life under the guidance of Bhadrab hu. Later he became an c rya as Bhadrab hu's.
The period starting 2nd century AD marked the beginning of writing the code of conduct for laity, known as śr vak c ras. Samantabhadra was the pioneering c rya who wrote Rattan Karanda Śr vak c ra, the code of duct for laity along with practical limitations and flaws of the vows prescribed for the laity. (109 verses organized in four chapters) along with explaining the three jewels (right belief, right knowledge and right conduct for the laity). Somadevasuri wrote Up sak dhyayana and Yaśastik campu defining lukika and p rlaukika dharmas of householders with a life story of Yasasvi. Afterwards more than sixty such texts were written by different preceptors indicating minor changes here and there. As dhara wrote conduct for munis and laity. Thus the whole period saw interpretation and adoption of the Jain canons to maintain harmony with the dominating religion/s of the time but keeping the fundamental tenets of Jainism in mind.
Simultaneously a number of preceptors also started writing story literature of various t rtha karas, 63 luminary persons to describe social interactions and adopting local non Jain customs in Jain religious and social rituals.
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Adipur na by Jinasena (818-867AD) is a sort of guide for all rituals for Jains not documented so far by adopting the Vedic rituals prevailing in South India at that time. Mntunga (Bhakt mbara stotra) and other c ryas started composing devotional poetry for t rtha karas and Jain puj s for use in the temple rights as the devotion and bhakti were becoming the popular forms of being religious. Haribhadra tried to bring reconciliatory approach amongst Jain concepts and Vedic explanations. He wrote a number of texts on Anek nta, different philosophies and their reconciliatory approaches etc. Other notable c ryas who worked closely with the rulers /influential persons in not only ensuring continued practice of Jainism by their followers but also strengthening Jain identity are Ratna Prabh, four D d gurus and Hem Candra.
During this period, there were a number of exemplary Jain laity who contributed their might through their conduct and use of their influence, their contributions to Jain art /literature and support to c ryas to preserve and enhance the social consciousness as per Jainism. Notable amongst them are C munda Ri (960AD), Bh m $ ha (Prime minister of Mah r n Prat p).
5.
Twentieth century and onwards
In the late nineteenth century, Srimad Rajcandra, a Svetāmbar laity practiced Jain Mokşamārga as a householder and became the spiritual teacher of Mahatma Gandhi. He emphasized strict practice of Jain code of conduct by laity. Gandhi practiced the five minor vows of laity to achieve social objectives and led the country to freedom from the British Empire.
Towards the beginning of twentieth century we saw emergence of śāntiSāgar as the first Digambara monk after centuries. He started the institution of Digambar monks and today there are several hundred in vogue. A number of these monks have started studying seriously and are contributing scholarly works while a number of them have started indulging in excessive rituals, temple building and erecting Jina idols to attract the laity and be popular.
Kanji Swami, a Svetāmbar monk studied Kunda Kunda extensively and became a detached householder in Digambar sect and emphasized mysticism of Kunda Kunda. MahaPrajna brought scientific temper in Jain canonical literature and made Preksā meditation for treating physical ailments. Celanā (ācārya nun) started undertaking large social work projects. Jain research and education institutions started mushrooming to write old canons and their commentaries and new explanations.
Notable changes which took place in India are its independence, spread of science and technology and widespread movement of educated people (including Jains) to cities in India and as the general feeling to advanced countries of the west. These changes brought the need for more and wider dispersal of canonical literature to educated Jains drifting away of Jains (of retaining Jain identity amongst the community elders), from its root values under the influence of western culture and other academicians all over the world. New urban Jain communities started getting come into vogue which were primarily temple centric or profession centric or at times caste centric, being formed due to displacement of people to exploit their economic potential and be seen in the world as a distinct community/identity.
Jain householders started forming various social and trade organizations (Jain Milan, Jain Social groups, JAINA, JITO and other smaller trade and location oriented organizations like Yong Jains of America and its brnaches like Young Jains of India, Jain doctors forum, Jain Professionals and so on). A number of weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines began being published. Temple building and rehabilitation and organizing group pujās under the auspices of a monk, became a major source of creating Jain identity. Some Jain started institutions to educate common people, provide medical services (hospitals and dispensaries), rehabilitate the disables etc.
We thus see that the social conscious in Jainism is manifesting consciously in various forms but never leaving its focus of a mix of laukika and pārlaukika dharma based on its Ahinsă, Aparigraha and Anekānta doctrine. The Jain identity of being different is well recognized and getting visible more and more. This is evident by using the word Jain before every social or professional or religious organization to bring together the cause of the profession/business and enhance the religious values simultaneously. Specific sociological studies are to be encouraged to go deeper in the subject to confirm the basic factors which contribute to the social consciousness emanating from Jainism and its individual followers i.e. individual Jain and present the ongoing trend of new manifestations of social consciousness of Jains. Jain acārya of twentieth century Tulsi has rightly said 'when an
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individual improves, the family will improve; when the family improves, the community will improve; when the community improves, the city-state-country and the world will improve'
Conclusion
As defined earlier, we see how social consciousness evolve around the central theme 'self realization (nature of self being knowledge and bliss) as enunciated by the t rtha karas and updated by the preceptors of Jains from time to time. Each individual forms a core group, which may be called as community which merges with regional and national bodies called societies with the basic Jain doctrine. Since individuals form the building blocks, we find small communities being very local and governed by the needs, society around them and the guiding Jain doctrine. At times these communities may look very different from each other but when the question of integration comes, they unite together to give a society consciousness and identity.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. 15.
16.
17.
18.
http://www.angelfirecom/md2/timewrap/consciousness.html
http://www.bopsecrets.org/cf/socialcponsciousness1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Consciousness
Tattv rthasutra by Um Sw ti 1.8, 1.9
Five criterion are i. common culture, belief, practice and some interests; ii. Significantly different from surrounding communities; be conscious of an identity; iv. Effective collectively in social, political and /or economic life; v. able to reproduce itself.
Sat dravya lak a ama, utp davyayadhrauvya yukta sat, guna pary yabaddha dravya TS V. 29,30,38 Parasparopgraho jiv nama TS V.21
"The world is boundless and eternal, it exists from eternity and does not perish' 1.4.6 SutraKrt nga Dhammo vatthu sah vo khamadi bhavo ya ---K rtikeyan prek by Sv mi K m ra g th 478.
De ay mi samicina dharma karmanirvaha am Rattana Karanda Sravakacara by Samantbhadra verse
2
Tattvartha Sutra by Uma Swati IX.6, also K rtikeyan prek by Sv mi K m rag th 478
Dasavaikalika 1, dhammo ma gala mukkhittama----
Critta khalu dhammo--- Pravacanas ra by Kunda Kunda verse 8
Jain siddhanta Sabdakosa by Jainendra Varni Vol IV page 326
Samyagdar anjn nc ritr nimoksam rga Tatty rathsutra by Um sw ti 1.1
Assembly of Listeners by Michael Carrithers & Caroline Humphrey Page24; Ya atilak campu by Somdev suri as narrated by Mukund Lath Jain identity
References are drawn from dipur na vol 1 (chapters 16 to 21) by Ac JinaSena published by Bhartiya Jnanaptha with Hindi translation by PannaLal Sastri; Jain Saga (English translation of Tri ati laka Puru a c ritra by Ac Hem Candrasuriswarji by Ms Helen Johnson and edited by Muni Samvegashvijay)) and Jain Dharma k Maulika Itih sa by Ac. Hastimal ji published by Samyakjnana Pracaraka mandal Jaipur.
Methods of Mah vira for Social transformation by K.C.Sogani as published in study Notes of ISJS & Involvement of Jainism in social works by Shugan C Jain.
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1.1.d
TOWARDS SOCIOLOGY OF THE JAINA COMMUNITY
Dr. Prakash C. Jain
1.0 Introduction Although much research has been done on the literary, religious and philosophical aspects of Jainism, sociological/anthropological research of the Jaina community as well as Jainism continues to remain in incipiency. This paper argues for the Sociology of the Jaina Community by suggesting a few areas of research that deserve priority. These areas are demographic structure, social structure, social change and social stratification, and the Jainas in Diaspora, to name only a few.
Since the time of Mah vra, people of different var as and j tis, from many areas, have accepted the Jaina religion, making the Jaina society heterogeneous. Thus, the Jainas are a community, or rather a grouping of communities, as well as followers of a religion, and as they originated from different background, they organized themselves into differing groups known as j ti to facilitate smooth functioning of the society.
1.1 Jainas in India The Jainas are one of the oldest religious communities of India. Although the origin of Jainism is lost in antiquity, it was revived by Lord Mah v ra during the sixth century B.C. Jainism as well as Buddhism belongs to the rama a tradition, a tradition that is distinct from the Vedic tradition and is considered even older and indigenous. As a social movement Jainism was opposed to caste system, secondary status of women, and dominance of priestly class {namely Brahmins), ritual sacrifices, slavery and monarchical basis of polity. In ancient India Jainism was a force to reckon with and had a considerable influence on the various North Indian kingdoms and parts of Mysore and Tamil Nadu .in south India.
1.2 Demographic Trends The Jainas have always been a minority community in India. The current population of Jainas is estimated around 4.4 million. They are heavily concentrated in the western half of India, particularly Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Western Uttar Pradesh. About 200,000 Jains are in Diaspora, particularly in East Africa, North America and the U.K. Since the 1881 Census the Jains never constituted more than half a percent of the total population of India. About 80% of the Jaina population is vet mbaras and the rest Digambaras. Close to 75% of them live in urban areas. Other demographic features include very high level of literacy, the lowest infant mortality rate and medium level of sex ratio (946 females per 1,000 males in 1991) compared to 925 for Hindus and 994 for Christians. Since 1981 the Jaina population has been growing very slowly. The decadal growth rate during 1981-91 was only 4.42% compared to 23.17% for the previous decade. Although the decadal growth rate of the Jaina population during 1991-2001 periods was 26.0%, it was more due to ethnic revivalism among the Jainas than due to the fertility factor
1.3 Minority Status Presently the Jainas as an affluent minority face two major problems. One of these relate to seeking and maintaining its separate ethnic/religious identity. The 2001 census figures pertaining to the Jainas suggest that ethnic revivalism has been taking place among the Jainas. Thus compared to the 1991 census figures where the Jainas registered only 4% decadal growth rate, in the 2001 census their growth rate was about 26%. This only suggests that more and more of them preferred to be returned as "Jainas" rather than "Hindus".
Efforts are also being made to seek legal recognition to their minority status. The Jainas have been demanding minority status at the national level for the past few years with representations in the Central Government, National Minority Commission and State Legislatures. The Supreme Court of India had directed the Central Government to take a final decision in this regard by 28th November 2004. In response to the affidavit filed by the Central Government the Supreme Court had also given the ruling that under section 30 of the Constitution of India, the decision about according minority status on the grounds of language or religion can be taken by the respective State Governments and not by the Central Government. Five states namely, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Tamil Nadu have already granted minority status to the Jaina community at state level.
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The second problem with which the Jainas have to come to terms is their slow growth rate which had come down to as low as about 4% in the 1991 census and was expected to come down further. Unfortunately, the 2001 census data with over 26% decadal growth rate do not confirm this trend. It is widely believed that this high growth rate of Jains in the 2001 census was due to ethnic revivalism and not due to any change in their fertility behavior. Therefore only the next census report would be able to confirm the slow growth rate trend decisively. Logically, the affluent minorities of the world such as the Jews and the Parsees share the predicament of demographic stagnation and decline in the long run and the Jains appear to follow the same trend.
1.4 Economic Status
The relative affluence among the Jainas has been noted by a number of scholars (Weber 1958; Hardiman 1996; Stevenson 1915). This is so due to the fact that they are mainly engaged in trade, commerce, and professional occupations. Thus according to the 2001 Census, only 18.3% of the Jain population is engaged in "working class" jobs (11.7% cultivators, 3.3% agricultural laborers, 3.3% household industry workers); the rest, that is, 81.7% are in "other" occupations. Not surprisingly, the Jainas have varyingly been described by various scholars as "the Jews of India", "the middlemen minority", "the marginal trading community", "the capitalist without capitalism", etc. Two contradictory explanations can be offered in this regard. One is the Weberian in terms of the Protestant ethic thesis. Weber maintains that there is "a positive relationship between Jainism and economic motivation". Weber seems to suggest that although Jainism is spiritualized in the direction of "World renunciation", some features of inner worldly asceticism are also present in it. These are reflected in such virtues as thriftiness, self-discipline, frugality, abstention, economy of time etc, which eventually promotes savings and accumulation of wealth. The other is the Marxist explanation in which the historicallyevolved predominantly petty bourgeois class position of the Jainas vis-a-vis the dependant, impoverished mass of the Indian peasantry and its exploitation by the former can account for the prosperity of the Jainas. Unfortunately hardly any work has been done along these lines although both the perspectives offer a number of hypotheses for systematic studies.
1.5 Social Organization
In spite of being a small community, contestations and confrontations have not been lacking among the Jainas. Thus the Digambara sect displays individualistic prophet-derived and sect-like character in contrast to the vet mbaras Jainism that shows the group-bound, priest-derived and Church-like ambience. Although Jainism does not sanction caste system, for more than a millennium the Jainas have been divided into a number of sects and sub-sects and castes and sub-castes. However, the caste system is not as rigid as among the Hindus. The caste system among the Jainas has been transmuted into competitive endogamous status groups.
Social organization of Jainism has also been characterized by the duality of ethic or dual value system (e.g., ascetics and householders, individualism and families, absolutism and relativism, in-group and out-group etc.) and its integration into a single continuum. This duality can be seen at many levels of Jaina philosophy, religion and social life which perhaps helps them in adjusting with the majority community on the one hand and in maintaining their own separate identity on the other. Segmental orientation characterized by out-group conflict is another feature of the Jaina community that obtained over the centuries in order to maintain its distinct religious identity. Although essentially a patriarchal religion, ironically women play an important role in the social reproduction of the Jaina community and its constituent institutions.
Jainas sense of tolerance and peaceful co-existence with other communities can be related to their epistemological doctrine of relative pluralism (nayavada) and which states the manifoldness (anek nta) of reality and knowledge. It states that reality can be comprehended from a number of standpoints, which have been classified into seven types known as saptabhangi naya (sevenfold standpoints). This doctrine is known as sy dav da (doctrine of "may be"). In short, the doctrines of anek nta and sy dav da constitute the distinguishing features of Jainism. These doctrines are very well reflected in the Jainas' definition and perception of social reality. Not surprisingly, in relation to the wider Hindu society the attitude of the Jainas has been characterized by "unobtrusiveness" and even assimilation.
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1.6 Historiography There is considerable amount of literature on the Jaina philosophy, religion and literature. The social anthropological and sociological studies on the Jaina community, however, continue to remain scarce Max Weber's Religion of India (1958) contained only half-a-chapter on Jainism entitled "Heterodox Soteriology of the Cultured Professional Monks" which provides significant sociological insight into the structure and functioning of the Jaina community and religion. However, his work remained virtually unknown to the world until its translation into English in 1950s, meanwhile in the early 1950s an Indian sociologist V. A. Sangave had published a major work on the Jainas that was mainly based on scriptural material and a preliminary sociological Survey (1980). Not surprisingly, Weber does not figure in this work.
No sociological/anthropological work on the Jainas was done for more than a decade when Nevaskar (1971) published his book on a comparative study of the Jainas and the Quakers using some of the propositions of the Weberian Protestant Ethic thesis. Again after a considerable gap of time, some scholars at Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard universities began to publish research papers and books based on their fieldwork in India, particularly in Gujarat and Rajasthan. A cursory look at this literature published since the late 1980s suggests that much of it is concerned with the Jain religious themes such as renunciation, worship, rituals and the role of mendicants in the community (Banks 1992; Carrithers 1989; Carrithers and Humphrey 1991; cort 1991: Dundas 1992; Folkert 1993; Humphrey and Laidlaw 1994; Laidlaw 1995). These developments have inspired some Indian scholars to undertake anthropological/sociological studies of the Jain community (Jain 2004; Jain 1999). Nevertheless, the Jainas remain one of the least researched communities in India.
2.0 Max Weberian Theses Max Weber was the first sociologist to have sociologically studied the major religions of India. These studies are contained in his book "The Religion of India" (1958). Max Weber maintains that the Jains are an exclusive merchant sect (sick) and that there is apparently "a positive relationship between Jainism and economic motivation which is otherwise quite foreign in Hinduism". Weber seems to suggest that although Jainism is spiritualized in the direction of world renunciation, some features of inner worldly asceticism are also present in it. To begin with, it can be observed that the twin doctrines of "predestination" and the "calling" implied in Protestantism are only indirectly present in Jainism but they must be understood in the light of Karma, and not in relation to God. Many aspects of rational conduct promoting savings such as thriftiness, selfdiscipline, frugality and abstention as part of this worldly asceticism, however, are directly present in Jainism.
In Jainism salvation does not depend upon the grace of God, for as an "atheist" religion, it denies the existence of God as the creator of the universe. Instead, it places singular emphasis on individualism in the sense that every soul can attain perfection - its true dharma (nature), i.e., perfect wisdom, unlimited perception, infinite power and unbounded happiness, etc. What hinders it from doing so is its increasing bondage with karmic matter. In Jainism Karmas function automatically; one is responsible for one's thoughts, words and acts. No one, not even the God, can intervene in this routine. In order to stop the influx of karmas one is required to have right faith, right knowledge and right conduct - the three gems of the commandment of Jaina asceticism. It is not sufficient to stop the influence of bad karmas and destroy the accumulated ones, it is also necessary to earn good karmas. Therefore, a Jaina must always be on his guard, apprehensive of sin. According to R. Williams, the author of Jaina Yoga, a Jaina "works hard, conforms to conventions, obeys constituted authority, leads a frugal and unostentatious life and carefully calculates the consequences of every step he takes".
This strong religious and ethical foundation offers a well-rounded commercial ethic. Limitation of desire and self-discipline are important qualities for a successful businessman in the long run. One of the five basic vows for a layman, the self- prescribed limitation of possession (parigraha parim na vrata) is perhaps directly responsible for cultivating these qualities. S. Stevenson in her book "The Heart of Jainism" writes "the Jaina has shrewdly realized that the true way of increasing our wealth is by curbing our desires, when we remember that the Jaina creed has forced its holders to become a
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commercial people, we can see the special value this vow of limitation might have, if it were really lived up to."
More direct attempt at savings of time as well as money by the Jainas can be seen in the absence of expensive rituals among them that, by way of comparison, are absolutely essential for traditional Hindus. The death ceremony is a case in point. Among the Jainas the mortal remains of the dead are not necessarily taken to the confluence of the sacred rivers or to the places of pilgrimage; instead they are consigned to a local river, lake, and pond or even in the bushes. According to sociologist V. A. Sangave, "Jains neither perform r dha ceremony nor give d na or gifts to Brahmins (1980: 345). The pindad na or the custom of offering rice balls to the dead has no sanction in Jainism, and the custom of giving death feasts is also on the decline".
Perhaps the Jainas were also the first among those who adopted short marriage ceremonies (instead of the traditional ones lasting for several days) and group marriages for the poorer sections of their community. At the individual level the prescribed simple way of life, particularly abstinence from intoxicants, meat, honey, etc. further helped in having considerable savings. Thus to quote Weber: "As with the Puritans, the strict methodical nature of their prescribed way of life was favorable to accumulation of wealth".
3.0 Conceptual Framework Any sociological study of the Jainas, or for that mater, any other minority community in India cannot be studied in isolation. Socio-economic developments, changes in the value system, social structural changes, demographic changes, and community's role in politics -- all or any of these aspects about the Jainas can be studied only in the wider context of the Indian society, and that too in a historical perspective
The Indian Society of the past two hundred years or so can be conceptualized not in terms of caste, tribe or peasantry but in terms of a socio-economic formation that can be termed as "dependent peripheral capitalism". This "neo-Marxist" conceptualization" of the Indian society presupposes the articulation of various modes of production in the manner that capitalism always distorted and dominated the other modes of production, multiplicity of classes corresponding to the various modes of production, relative autonomy of the superstructure and the interventionist role of the state. The notion of class fractions or class segments and corresponding economic interests are also an important element in this model of peripheral capitalist socio-economic formation.
In this model the Jainas can be conceptualized not as a trading community but as segments of the trading and commercial petty bourgeoisie whose class interest and class behavior easily explains their relatively high level of economic prosperity. A very high degree of individualism, dual value system, Protestant ethic-like elements present in Jaina religion, high level of urbanization and literacy, and progressive occupational specialization over the centuries as traders, money-lenders, bankers etc.all tended to add to the prosperity and relative modernization of the Jain community. This prosperity is also reflected in the emerging demographic trends among the Jains, whereby the birth rate has registered a sharp decline in the 1991 census of India.
4.0 Jains in diaspora Diaspora generally refers to any migrant population group settled abroad but maintaining close links with its homeland. Modern organized diasporas constitute trans-state triadic networks involving ethnic diasporas, their host countries and homelands, and as such they have significant ramifications for international relations, international politics and other activities. The ties diasporic communities maintain through visits, marriages, remittances, and trade networks, transfer of technology and skills and political lobbying for the homeland are some other aspects of diasporic activities. Like the Jews, Chinese and other major World Diasporas, the Indian Diaspora too provide an interesting case study of all these activities.
The modern Indian Diaspora is about two hundred years old; largely a creation of British Colonialism in India and some other countries of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the West Indies. This is evident by the
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fact that the vast majority of Indians migrated only to the British colonies (two major exceptions being Surinam and the Re-Union Island). Whereas the expanding capitalist plantation economies in the overseas British Colonies created a great demand for labor and other manpower groups, in India a combination of the following factors led to the exodus of Indians abroad: A decline of the handicraft industry, an increase in land revenue, famines in the second half of the nineteenth century, mass illiteracy and sluggish and enclavist industrialization.
Historically, five distinctive patterns of Indian emigration can be identified: 1. indentured labour emigration, 2. kangani/maistry labour emigration, 3. "passage" or "free" emigration of trading castes and classes, 4. "brain drain" type emigration and 5. Manpower migration to West Asia/Middle East. Since the Jainas are not known to have migrated abroad as labourers, in this presentation we are mainly concerned with the last three forms of emigration. In other words, the Jainas emigrated mostly in relation to trade, business or commerce or as professionals and semi-professionals. As "passage" or free migrants they migrated to South Africa, Eastern African countries (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) and Fiji and Hong Kong. In the post-independence period Jains also migrated to Britain, Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand and to many European countries. In recent times, they have also been migrating to oil rich Persian Gulf countries. The various Jaina diasporic communities in different parts of the world are briefly described in the following pages.
4.1 West Asia "The ancient Jaina canonical text - the S trakrt ga makes reference to the Jainas influence on the Persian King Karusha and the prince Aradak of ancient Persia in circa 558 B.C., i.e. over 2,500 years ago". A medieval text Jagaducarita narrates the life and work of a Jaina merchant Jagadu who owned ships and had maintained a trade post at Ormuz and carried out trade with Persia. Whether such ancient and medieval period migration of Jainas led to the formation of significant diasporic communities is not known. What is known with some certainty is the fact that as early as in 1549 Ormuz had a small colony of the Jainas and Hindus who were described "as complete vegetarians and worshippers of cows". Historical records of the Jaina rulers from southwestern coastal regions of India show that they not only established a sea-route but also transshipped their commodities. These Jaina officers and merchants thus made large gifts of precious stones and Jaina images to their temples back in their country, and these precious gifts are now vaulted at the Jaina matha in Moodbidri, an important Jaina town from historic times to the present, situated at about thirty miles the Arabian sea coast" (Kumar 1996: 49).
A very small number of Jainas have also been migrating to the West Asian countries, particularly to countries and territories in the Persian Gulf/ Red Sea region since the second half of the nineteenth century when the region came under the British influence and/or administration and economic opportunities were made available in pearl financing and general trade. Aden, Muscat and Dubai were particularly important in this regard. Subsequent to oil-price hike during the 1970s the Jainas have been migrating in significant numbers to the Gulf countries. In the United Arab Emirates alone some five to eight hundred families/individuals were reported to have been living. Due to restrictions on non-Islamic religions in these countries, there are no organized religious activities in most Gulf countries. Besides the Gulf countries, a small number of Jainas have also migrated to Yemen, Sudan and Ethiopia.
International trade in gems and diamonds has led some Jainas to settle in Israel as well as Belgium, South Africa, the U.K. and the U.S.A. "Jaina diamond traders have won major export awards both in India and Israel. Jaina scholars are welcomed in these places and these unique niche business communities are actively involved in philanthropic work" (Shah 1998).
4.2 East Africa Although India's trade relations with East Africa go back to antiquity, the sizeable Indian and particularly the Jaina diaspora could emerge only after the consolidation of British colonial rule in East Africa. Thus a beginning was made in 1899 when two Jainas migrated to settle in Mombasa. Their descendents can still be found in, Kenya (Shah 1977: 371). The Jains as a community in East Africa grew slowly during the inter-war period, and rather rapidly after the Second World War. In 1930
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there were about 2,000 Jains in East Africa: about 1,000 in Nairobi, 500 in Mombasa, 100 in Dar-esSalaam, and the rest elsewhere. By the late 1940s their total number was estimated at 7,400: 6,000 in Kenya, 1,000 in Tanzania and 400 in Uganda (Mangat 1969: 142). "In 1963 the total for East Africa was estimated at 32,000, with a possible 25,000 in Kenya (including 8,000 in Nairobi and 4,000 in Mombasa). The group in Uganda was rather small with a few families in Kampala and some scattered in the smaller townships. In Tanganyika, as well as scattered settlers, there were an estimated 850 Jainas in Dar-es-Salaam and 850 in Zanzibar" (Shah 1977: 372).
Almost all the Jainas in East Africa have been Shwetambars originating from Western India, particularly Saurashtra, Gujarat, Kutch and Maharashtra. These can be further divided into two main groups: (1) the Visa Oswals, also known as Halari Jains; and (2) the Kutchi Jains. "In Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika, the majority of Jains were Visa oswals, and it was only in Zanzibar that approximately half of the community were Kutchi Jains and the other half Sth nakav sis" (Shah 1977: 372). A great majority of Jainas had been Dukanwalas or traders, settled in urban areas. With the advancement in education in the East African countries in due course of time some of their descendents also diversified into other vocations.
4.3
U. K.
Very few Jainas immigrated into England either from India or East Africa until the mid-1960s. Since the late 1960s a number of Jains began to migrate to the U. K. individually under the Commonwealth Immigrants Quota System. About the same time Jainas from East Africa also began to settle in England, particularly following the introduction of the Voucher System by the British Government. The policy of Africanization followed by the newly independent East African states and the expulsion of Asians from Uganda in 1972 was the major push factors for the Jainas as well to get out of East Africa. By the mid-1970s there were at least 20,000 Jains in Britain: 5,000 from India and 15,000 (as "twice migrants") from East Africa (Shah 1977: 371).
By the mid-1990s there were 30,000 Jainas in the U. K.: 25,000 in London, 1,000 in Leicester, 500 in Manchester and 500 in Birmingham. Jainas' socio-cultural and religious needs were looked after by about thirty associations. Of these the following three were the most important: Jaina Samaj Europe, the Oswal Association of the United Kingdom and the Navnat Vanik Association (U.K.).
"The Jaina Samaj Europe has established a Jaina Centre in the city of Leicester. This centre is a major symbol of Jaina unity, the first centre of its kind to embody co-operation among Jaina groups by including in one building a Svet mbaras temple, a Digambara temple, a Guru Gautama mandira, a Sth nakav sis up sraya and a Srimad R jacandra mandira. Its fine Jaina architecture, including elaborate interior and exterior carvings, has made it a major tourist attraction and place of pilgrimage for Jainas. The Jaina Sam ja in Europe has published books and a journal on Jainism. Jainas are seeking to widen their activities through the creation of 'inter-faith' links such as the Jaina-Christian Association, the Jain-Jewish Association and the Leicestershire Ahimsa Society for the Care of Nature" (Shah 1998: 80).
A Jaina Academy was founded in 1991 which has been offering an undergraduate course in Jaina philosophy and religion from De Montfort University in Leicester. The Academy is also associated with an educational and research center at Bombay University. Presently, the Jaina population in the U.K. is estimated at around 50,000.
4.4
U.S.A.
Sri Virchand R. Gandhi is credited as the first Jaina visitor to North America when he attended the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1893. The next Jaina to have visited the U.S. was Barrister Champatrai Jain. He addressed the World Fellowship of Faiths in Chicago on 30th August 1933. A third name often mentioned in this context is that of Sri J.L.Jaini of the World Jain Mission of Aliganj, Etah, India, who had traveled to the U.S., the U.K., Germany and some other countries.
Until 1950s there was no Jaina diasporic community worth the name in the U.S. From 1960s onwards a large number of professionals, academics and students began to settle in North America. In the mid-1960s the Jain population in the U.S. was estimated at about 20,000; a majority of them being
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Gujaratis "A statistical profile of the Jaina community given in the 1986 Directory of Jainas shows that the majority of the respondents were either engineers (33.1%) or in the medical field (19.8%); even though Jainas are known as businessmen in India, a small percentage (12.1%) are self-employed in the United States" (Williams 1988: 64). By 1990s the population of Jainas in the U.S. had increased to about 50,000 and presently it is estimated at 100,000. Most Jainas in the U.S. live in nine states. These are in order of population density) New York, California, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and Massachusetts.
By the mid-1990s there were 55 Jaina socio-cultural associations/societies/centers in the U.S. catering to a wide variety of community needs. Today their number has gone well over 110. To further co-ordinate the activities of these associations the Federation of Jain Associations in North America was formed in 1981 "which had more than 6,000 participants in their ninth biannual convention in 1997" (Shah 1998: 82).
4.5 Canada In the case of Canada it is difficult to say who migrated first to Canada and when. In all probability the first Jainas must have migrated to Canada after India's independence, particularly from the 1950s onwards. Since then a large number of Jainas have migrated to Canada first under the Quota system and subsequently under the Point system. These were joined by a small number of East African Jaina refugees who were expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin Dada in 1972. In the early 1990s the Jaina population of Canada was estimated at about 10,000 (Kumar 1996). According to the same source all Canadian provinces except Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, Yukon and North West Territories, had Jain residents. Ontario was the host to the majority of Jains followed by Quebec and British Columbia. This trend of geographical distribution still holds good. As in the U.S., in Canada too a majority of Jains reside in urban and industrial centers and happen to be professionals.
Tables - Statistics & References
Table 1: Variations in the number of Jains since 1891
Census
Number of Jains (in 000s)
Decadal percent change in the number of Jains
Percentage of total population
0.49 0.51 0.47 0.41
0.39
1881 1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981* 1991** 2001
1,222 1,417 1,334 1,248 1,177 1,251 1,440 1,618 2,027 2,605 3,193 3,352 4,225
0.37 0.37 0.45
15.94 -5.83 -6.47 -5.26 6.28 15.81 11.67 25.17 28.48 23.17 4.42 26.0
0.46
0.47 0.48 0.40 0.40
(2)
*Excluding Assam where, census was not held in 1981 owing to disturbed conditions. ** Excluding Jammu & Kashmir where 1991 census was not held. Sources: (1) Kingsley Davis, Population of India & Pakistan, Russell & Russell, New York, 1951, pp. 178-179
Census of India, 1961, Paper No. 1 of 1963, Religion, R.G. Office, New Delhi, 1963, pp. ii-viii.
Census of Indian, 1971, Paper No. 2 of 1972, Religion, R. G. Office, New Delhi, 1972, pp.2-5 (4) Census of India, 1981, Paper No. 4 of 1984, Household Population by Religion of Head of Household,
RG, Office, New Delhi, 1984, p. 26 (figures amended as per Errata issued subsequently by this office) Census of India, 1991, Paper No, 1 of 1995, Religion, R.G. Office, New Delhi, 1995. Census of India 2001, First Report of Religion Data. R.G. Office, New Delhi, 2005.
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Table 2: Total population-Jains, 1961-2001 (India, States and Union territories)
1961
| 1971 1981
1991
2001
2,027281 1,427
48,754
29,595 409,417 122, 108 17,598
19
14
263
778
India/States/Union territories India Jammu & Kashmir Himachal Pradesh Punjab Chandigharh Uttaranchal Haryana Delhi Rajasthan Uttar Pradesh Bihar Sikkim Arunachal Pradesh Nagaland Manipur Mizoram Tripura Meghalaya Assam West Bengal Jharkhand Orissa Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh Gujarat Daman & Diu Dadra & Nagar Haveli Maharashtra Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Goa Lakshadweep Kerala Tamil Nadu Pondicherry Andman & Nicobar Islands
2,604,6 3,206,038 3,352,706 1,150 1,576 626 1,046
1,206 21,383 27,049 20,763 1,016 1,889 1,531
7,870 31,173 35,482 35,296 50,51373,917 94,672 513,548 624,317 562,806 | 124,728 141,549 168,389 25,185 27,613 | 11,332
108 40 39 42 627
1,153 1,202 1,408 975 1,337
11 375 297 301 268 542 445 12,917
20,645 32,203 38,663 34,355
11,717 6,521 6,642 6,302 $$ $$ 43,213 345,211 444,960 447,111 451,578 467,768 491,331 223 140 212 303 372 529 703,664 939,392 965840@ 16,108 18,642 26,564 218,862 297,974 326,114 333 462
4,225,053 2,518 1,408 39,276 2,592 9,294 57,167 155,122 650,493 207,111 16,085 183 216 2,093 1,461 179 477 772 23,957 55,223 16,301 9,154 56,103 545,446 525,305 268 864 1,31,843 41,846 412,659 820
195
*
**
9,468 26,940
$$$
$$$
$$$
2,295 $$ 247,927 409,754
120 485,672 9,012 174,366 68
487
2,967 28,350 76
3,336 3,605 41,097 49,564 237 277
3,641 66,900 470
4,528 83,359
952
14
17
23
The Census 2001 Population figures for India and Manipur exclude those of Mao Maram, Paomata and Pural sub-divisions of Senapati district of Manipur. In 1991 figures for Uttranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh have been recasted as per the Jurisdiction in 2001 census. All religious communities include 'Religion not stated Population figures for 1961 are as per Social and Culture Tables' part-II-C (). Census of India 1971, 1981 as per 'Religion - Paper 2 of 1972, Census of India 1971, 1981 as per 'Household population by religion of head of household -paper 4 of 1984, Census of India 1981 and 1991 as per 'Religion - Part IV-B (i) Census of India 1991 - No Census conducted, **. Included under Punjab, ***. Included under Assam, $- Included under Uttar Pradesh, $$-Included under Madhya Pradesh $$$- Included under Bihar, +. Included under Goa. + +- India figures for 1971 excludes population of Sikkim that is 209,
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843 as per 'Household population by Religion of Head of the Household, Paper 3 of 1985, Series 19, Sikkim
REFERENCES
Banks, Marcus. 1992. Organising Jainism in India and England. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Carrithers, Michael. 1989. "Naked Ascetics in Southern Digambar Jainism", Man (N.S.), Carrithers, Michael & Caroline Humphrey (Eds) 1991 the Assembly of Listeners: Jains in Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Cort, John E. 1991. "The Swetamber Murtipujak Jain Mendicant", Man, 26(4): 651-71. Cort, John E. 2004. "Jains, Caste and Hierarchy in North Gujarat", Contributions to Indian Sociology (n.s.), 38 (1&2): 73-112. Dundas, Paul. 1992. The Jains. Routledge, London & New York Folkert, K.W. 1993. Scripture and Community: Collected Essays on the Jains. Scholars Press, Atlanta. Humphrey, Caroline and James Laidlaw 1994.Archetypal Actions of Ritual: A Theory Illustrated by the Jain Rite of Worship. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Jain, Prakash C. 2004. "Notes on Religion and Social Organization among the Jains in India", Gandhian Perspective, 12(3): 86-104. Jain, Prakash C. 1989. "Migration and Settlement of Indians Abroad", Sociological Bulletin, 38(1): 156-70 Jain, R. K. 1999. The Universe as Audience: Metaphor and Community Among the Jains of North India. Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla Kumar, Bhuvanendra. 1996. Jainism in North America. Ontario, Canada. Laidlaw, James. 1995. Riches and Renunciation: Religion, Economy and Society Among the Jains. Clarendon Press, Oxford. Mangat, J. S. 1969. A History of Asians in East Africa. Oxford University Press, London, Nevaskar, Balwant. 1971. Capitalist without Capitalism: Jains of India and the Quakers of the West. Greenwood Publishing Corporation, Westport Sangave, V.A. 1980. Jain Community: A Social Survey. Popular Prakashan, Bombay. Shah Natubhai. 1998. Jainism: The World of Conquerors, Vol II. Sussex Academic Press, Blighton. Shah Sneh. 1977. "Who Are the Jains?" New Community, 7:369-75. Stevenson, Sinclair. 1915. The Heart of Jainism. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Weber, Max. 1848. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Scribner, NY Weber, Max. 1958. The Religion of India. Free Press of Glencoe, New York. Williams. R. 1963. Jaina Yoga: A Study of the Medieval Sravakacharas. Oxford University Press, London.
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1.1.d
Methods used by Mah v ra for Social Change Prof. Kamal Chand Sogani
In the cultural history of mankind, Mah vra is one of those few towering personalities who fought for individual liberty and revolted against the economic exploitation and social oppression of man. He introduced vigorous innovations in the then existing social law and order. Mah vra regarded the individual and his social responsibility as the key to the progress of both individual and society. Mah vra did not confine himself to individual uplift, but he dedicated himself to the development of a new creative social order for the healthiest orientation of the individual. Thus in the philosophy of Mah v ra, both individual and society, 'I' and 'Thou' are properly reconciled.
Methods conducive to new creative social order for bringing about social change in Samyaka (right) direction:
1. Metaphysical Method:
For the reflective person Mah vra propounded that our conduct and behaviour are conditioned by our metaphysical speculation. The incentive to social change emerges from a deep and sound metaphysical theory, which requires proper application of logic to experience. Samantabhadra (2nd A.D.) an ardent follower of Mah vra argues that the conceptions of bondage and liberation, Punya and P pa, heaven and hell, pleasure and pain and the like lose all their relevance and significance, if we exclusively recognize either permanence or momentary-ness as constituting the nature of substance. The affirmation that the momentary disintegration of all things renders impossible the financial transactions, the fact of memory, and the commonplace relations of the husband and the wife, the teacher and the taught and the like also indicates the subservience of ethical problems to the nature of being.2
Mah v ra differs from all absolutists in their approach to unfold the inner nature of reality. He weaves the fabric and structure of reality on the authority of indubitable experience and is not swayed in the least by the fascinations of a priori logic. Owing to this deep-rooted abhorrence of the abstract way of philosophising, Mah vra evaluates what is given in experience, and consequently advocates change to be as much ontologically real as permanence. Both are separable but only in logical thought. Being implies becoming and vice versa. Inconsistent as it may appear at the inception, there is no doubt that experience enforces it and logic confirms it. This conception of reality reminds us of the Greek philosopher Parmenides who regarded 'Being' as the sole reality to wholly exclude all becoming, as also of Heraclitus, for whom, permanence being an illusion, 'Becoming' or perpetual change constitutes the very life of the universe. It also makes us reminiscent of the Buddhistic philosophy of universal flux and of the unchanging, static, permanent absolute of Ved nta. But all these point of the one sided evaluation of experience. It may be said that "if the Upanisadic thinkers found the immutable reality behind the world of phenomena and plurality, and the Buddha denounced everything as fleeting and sorrowful and pointed to the futility of all speculation, Mah v ra adhered to the common experience, found no contradiction between permanence and change, and was free from all absolutism."
In consonance with the perspective adopted by Mah vra in the metaphysical speculation, substance is that which is characterized by simultaneous origination, destruction and persistence.* Permanence signifies persistence of substance along with attributes, and change refers to fluctuating modes along with the emergence of the new modes and the disappearance of the old ones at one and the same time. To illustrate, gold as a substance exists with its modifications and qualities. Now after making an ornament, gold as a substance is existent along with its attributes and what changes is the mode.
Thus nature of substance may now oblige us to think that things both material and mental are everlastingly existent. Such a view of things cannot even pretend to conceive without falling into inconsistency the intervention of any eternal and self-subsistent maker, either personal or impersonal, for bringing into existence the diverse things of the world.
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It may be noted here that origination and destruction are applicable to Pary yas (modifications) and persistence to qualities along with substance. Hence permanence is not the denial of change, but includes it as its necessary aspect. The notion of Pary ya is the contribution of Mah vra to metaphysical thinking.
2. Socio-Ethical Method: Effective social changes were made by Mah vra through the promulgation of the socioethical values of Ahis , Aparigraha and Anek nta these three are the consequences of Mah v ra's devotedness to the cause of social reconstruction,
(a) Ahi s
In an unprecedented way Mah vra clarified Ahi s. In the arga he says, "none of the living beings ought to be killed or deprived of life, ought to be ordered or ruled, ought to be enslaved or possessed, ought to be distressed or afflicted and ought to be put to unrest or disquiet. (savve p
a ha tav, a ajj vetavva, a ajj vetaw, a parighettav, a parit veyavv, a uddveyavy ) The sociopolitical organisations and the capitalistic set up can easily derive inspiration from this ethico-social statement. Thus the y ro(crga) conclusively pronounces that after understanding the importance of kindness to beingsthe enlightened person should preach, disseminate and applaud it at all places in East-West and North-South directions. (daya logassa j itta pia padi a , d hina udia ikkhe vihae kitte vedavi) The Pra navy kara a S tra designates Social Ahis as kindness (day ), security (raks), salutariness (kall a), fearlessness (abhaya), non-killer (am dha), and so on.
The cr ga gives us certain arguments to renounce his.
(1) Socio-political argument against hi S: The crga condemns his by saying that its operation is without any stop, cessation and discontinuance and it goes on increasing to the extent possible with the political consequence that the race of armaments becomes unarrestable and continues to grow without any check. In contradistinction to this it eulogizes Ahis by saying that its observance is total and not piecemeal, with the result that the armament race discontinues and comes to a stop. (atthi satha pare a para ,natthi asattha pare a para )
(2) Psychological Argument against his:
After comprehending and beholding the significance of peacefulness of beings, one should renounce his, in as much as his causes suffering to beings and human suffering caused by theft, hoarding, falsehood, slavery, economic exploitation, social operation, curtailment of legitimate freedoms and the like is a great mental disturbance is dreadful and is associated with unbearable pain and affliction. Since life is dear to all beings, pleasures are desirable, pain is undesirable for them and beings ought not to be killed, ruled, possessed, distressed & so on. ij itt padilehitt patteya pari iv a savvesip a ass ta a pariirva mahaubhaya dukka Savve p suhast dukkhaparikut . Savvesi jivita piya)
It cannot be gainsaid that human beings are engaged in actions and these actions are directed to different ends and some purposes. The crga expresses unpleasant surprise when it finds that there are human beings who are prone to realize ends and purposes through his , such as killing, ruling, and possessing, distressing and disquieting beings. They not only commit his, but also they provoke others to commit his and appreciate those who commit his. The crga further tells us that these types of perverted actions defile human personality and thwart its proper development. (imassa ceva j viyassa pariva dana puya ej ti-mara a-moya ya dukkha parigh ta heu se sayameva pudavi sattha -udeyasattha -aga isattha -va essattisattha -v yusttha-task yasathan sam ra bhati, a hiny puthvisattan (di) sam ra bhaveti, a e v puthvisattha (di) sam ra bhate sama j ti. Ta se ahitae....) 10
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We may thus conclude that the criterion of perverted action is his, whereas the criterion of right action or ethico-social action is Ahi s. It is of capital importance to note that when our energies are directed to hi saka (destructive) ends social development is obstructed and when our energies are directed to Ahi saka (constructive) ends social development sets in.
It will not be possible to talk of Ahis without a world of living beings. Social Ahi s begins with the awareness of the 'other'. Like one's own existence, it recognizes the existence of other beings. In fact, to negate the existence of other beings is tantamount to negating one's own existence. Since one's own existence cannot be negated, the existence of other beings also cannot be negated. Thus there exists the universe of beings in general and that of human beings in particular.
The Jaina gama classifies living beings (J vas) into five kinds, namely, one-sensed to fivesensed beings." The minimum number of Pr as possessed by the empirical self is four (one sense, one Bala, life-limit and breathing), and the maximum number is ten (five senses, three Balas, life-limit, and breathing). The lowest in the grade of existence are the one-sensed J va which posses only the sense of touch and they have only the Bala of body, and besides they hold life-limit and breathing. These one-sensed J va admit of five-fold classification, namely, the earth-bodied (Pţthiv k yika), water-bodied (Jalak yika), firebodied (Agnik yika) air-bodied (V yuk yika) and lastly, vegetablebodied (Vanaspatik yika) souls
The two sensed J va posses six Pr as, i.e., in addition to the four Pr as of one-sensed souls, they have two Pr as more; namely, the sense of taste, and the Bala of speech; the three-sensed souls have the sense of smell additionally, the four-sensed souls have the sense of colour besides the above; and lastly, the five-sensed souls which are mindless are endowed with the sense of hearing in addition; and those with mind possess all the ten Pras. Thus the number of Pras possessed by the one-sensed to five-sensed souls is four, six, seven, eight, nine and ten respectively. This classification of J vas into five kinds is used for the measurement of the degree of Ahis. The more the senses one has, the more the evolved consciousness. As for example, two-sensed beings are more evolved than the one-sensed beings, five sensed beings are more evolved than the one, two, three and four-sensed beings. Thus Ahis will be directly proportionate to the Ahis of the beings (J vas) classified
Now for the progress and development of these beings, Ahi sought to be the basic value guiding the behaviour of human beings. For a healthy living, it represents and includes all the values directed to the 'other' without over-emphasizing the values directed to one's own self. Thus it is the pervasive principle of all the values. Posit Ahis and all the values are posited. Negate Ahis and all the values are negated. Ahis purifies our action in relation to the self and other beings. This purification consists in our refraining from certain actions and also in our performing certain actions by keeping in view the existence of human and sub-human beings.
It may be asked what is in us on account of which, we consciously lead a life of values based on Ahi s? The answer is: it is Karu , which makes one move in the direction of adopting Ahi svalues. It may be noted that the degree of Karu in a person is directly proportionate to the development of sensibility in him. The greatness of a person lies in the expression of sensibility beyond ordinary limits. This should be borne in mind that the emotional life of a person plays a decisive role in the development of healthy personality and Karuis at the core of healthy personality and Karu is at the core of healthy emotions. Attachment and aversion bind the human personality to mundane-existence, but Karu liberates the individual from Karmic enslavement. Dhaval , the celebrated commentary on the Satkha d gama, remarkably pronounces that Karu is the nature of soul.19 To make it clear, just as infinite knowledge is the nature of soul, so also is Karu This implies that Karu is potentially present in every being although its full manifestation takes place in the life of the Arhat, the perfect being. Infinite Karu goes with infinite knowledge. Finite Karu goes with finite knowledge.
Thus if Karu which is operative on the perception of the sufferings of the human and sub-human beings plunges into action in order to remove the sufferings of these beings, we regard that action as
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Sev. Truly speaking, all Ahi s-values are meant for the removal of varied sufferings in which the human and sub-human beings are involved. Sufferings may be physical and mental, individual and social, moral and spiritual. To alleviate, nay, to uproot these diverse sufferings is Sev. In fact, the performance of Karu is the verification of our holding Ahi s-values. It is understandable that physical, mental and economic sufferings block all types of progress of the individual and make his life miserable. There are individuals who are deeply moved by these sufferings and consequently they dedicate themselves to putting an end to these sufferings. Thus their Karu results in Sev . Thus Ahi s , Karu and Sev are interrelated and are conducive both to individual and social progress.
It is significant to point out that Mah v ra's social mind exhorted that Ahis consists in recognising the dignity of man irrespective of caste, colour and creed. Man is man and should be recognised as such without any hesitation. The dignity of man is sacred and it is our duty to honour this dignity. Every individual, whether man or woman, should enjoy religious freedom without any distinction. A non-violent society cannot subscribe to class exploitation and social oppression of man. Mah vra bestowed social prestige upon the downtrodden individuals. This led to the development of selfrespect in them. Thus he showed that no man or woman should be deprived of availing himself of the opportunities of advancement. This Ahi site spirit of Mah vra extended itself even to the lowest scale of life and he promulgated that life as such is basically identical. Hence no living being should be hurt, enslaved and excited.
(b) Aparigraha:
Mah vra was well aware of the fact that economic inequality and the hoarding of essential commodities very much disturb social life and living. These acts lead to the exploitation and enslavement of man. Owing to this, life in society is endangered. Consequently, Mah vra pronounced that the remedy for the ill of economic inequality is Aparigraha. All the means of illegitimate Parigraha bring about social hatred, bitterness, and exploitation. The method of Aparigraha tells us that one should keep with one self that which is necessary for one's living and the rest should be returned to society for its well-being. Limits of wealth, essential commodities, all these are indispensable for the development of healthy social life. In a way wealth is the basis of our social structure and if its flow is obstructed because of its accumulation in few hands, large segments of society will remain undeveloped. The hoarding of essential commodities creates a situation of social scarcity, which perils social life. In order to resist such inhuman tendency, Mah vra incessantly endeavoured to establish the social value of Aparigraha.
(c) Anek nta:
It should be borne in mind that along with human and economic inequality, differences in outlook create a situation of conflict in society. The result is that constructive tendencies in man suffer a great deal. If we take things in the right perspective we shall find that differences in outlook appear as a result of the use of creative faculties inherent in man. If this fact is not adhered to, these differences become the cause of conflict between man and man, the consequence of which is that social unity is disrupted. Mah vra by his deep insight could see the waste of social energy on account of the wrong understanding of the nature of things. Consequently, he preached that differences in outlook are in fact differences in the nature of things. These different aspects of things are to be understood as the different aspects of truth. In fact, difference in outlook should be treated as difference in standpoints. By this, dissension disappears and social solidarity sets in. Mah vra's doctrine of standpoints can be called Nayav da, which is a corollary of Anek ntav da, the doctrine of multiple aspects of truth. By virtue of the promulgation of this social value, man started thinking that along with his own standpoint; the standpoint of the other is also significant. This gave rise to social tolerance and broad-mindedness, which is a key to social adjustment and progress. This led to the conclusion that truth cannot be monopolised and every man in society, can subscribe to the discovery of a new aspect of truth. Thus Anek nta is the dynamic principle of social life, by virtue of which life is saved from being stagnant.
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3.0 Method of According Religious Freedom to Women and Downtrodden People Mah vra gave complete religious freedom to women. They were allowed to accept the life of asceticism like men. Mah vra himself initiated Candan into the ascetic order. In the Sagha of Mah v ra 36000 S dhv s were following religious observances. "The followers of Jaina religion have been divided into four categories, viz., S dhus, S dhvs r vak s and r vik S. S dhv s are female ascetics who follow the five great vows in a very strict manner. This shows that complete freedom was given to women to enter the ascetic order. Female sex was no bar to the practice of asceticism. The Jaina c ryas were extremely sympathetic in their attitude to women and admitted them freely into their order, no matter whether the candidates for admission were royal consorts, members of the aristocracy, and women belonging to the common run of society.
Religious freedom given to women enhanced their prestige in society. They were imparted education like men. As the full religious freedom was allowed to females, widows could devote their time for their spiritual uplift and thus carve a respectable position for them in their family and in the minds of people in general.
Mah vra based the fourfold division of society on activities and not on birth. He accorded full freedom to one and all including women and downtrodden people to perform religious practices and admitted them into the order of ascetics. Thus "the doors of Jainism were thrown open to all and equal opportunity was given to everybody to practice religion according to his capacity. Those who followed religion as house-holders were known asr vak s and r vik s and those who observed it fully by leaving their houses were called as S dhus and S dhv s."16 The Uttar dhyayana says that Harikesa who was born in a family of untouchables attained saintly character owing to the performance of austerities. Good conduct and not caste is the object of reverence. Merit is the basis of caste and the pride of caste destroys right living.
It is significant to point out that Mah v ra's social mind exhorted that Ahis consists in recognizing the dignity of man irrespective of caste, colour and creed. Man is man and should be recognized as such without any hesitation. The dignity of man is sacred and it is our duty to honour this dignity. Every individual, whether man or woman, should enjoy religious freedom without any distinction. A non-violent society cannot subscribe to class exploitation and social oppression of man. Mah vra bestowed social prestige upon the downtrodden individuals. This led to the development of selfrespect in them. Thus he showed that no man or woman should be deprived of availing himself of the opportunities of socio-spiritual advancement. 18
4.0 Method to propound the Philosophy of fighting Defensive Wars and of Vegetarianism
The term his may be defined as the committing of injury to the Dravya-Pras and the Bh vaPr as through the operation of intense-passion-infected Yoga (activity of mind, body, and speech).19 Suicide, homicide and killing of any other life whatsoever aptly sum up the nature of his , in as much as these villainous actions are rendered conceivable only when the Dravya - Pr as and the Bh va - Pras pertaining to oneself and to others are injured. The minimum number of DravyaPras has been considered to be four and the maximum has been known to be ten; and the Bh vaPras are the very attributes of J vas. The amount of injury will thus be commensurate with the number of Pr as injured at a particular time and occasion.
His is of two kinds, namely, intentional and non-intentional The intentional perpetrator of his engages himself in the commitment of the acts of his by his own mind, speech and action; provokes others to commit them; and endorses such acts of others. Besides, his that is unavoidably committed by defending oneself from one's foes is denominated as non-intentional defensive his. This leads us to the philosophy of fighting defensive wars.?
Now the householder is incapable of turning away completely from his; hence he should keep himself away from the deliberate commission of his of the two-sensed to five-sensed beings22 The commitment of his in adopting defensive contrivances cannot be counteracted by him. Thus he has to commit intentional injury to one-sensed J vas, namely, the vegetable-bodied, the fire-bodied
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etc; and non-intentional injury in fighting defensive wars. Even in the realm of one-sensed Jvas and in the realm of fighting defensive wars he is required to confine his operations in such a way as may affect the life and existence of a very limited number of J vas.23 In these two provinces the point to be noted is that of alleviating the amount of injury that is apt to be caused and not that of total relinquishment which is not possible without jeopardizing the survival of man. The hard fact to be noted is that man is subject to his by the very condition of his existence. Yet instead of aggravating the natural weight of his by falling foul upon one another and by our cruel treatment of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we should endeavour to alleviate this general curse, to the extent to which we are capable of doing, by conforming ourselves to the sacred injunctions enjoined by Jaina spiritual teachers. Vegetarianism is therefore prescribed. It limits us to the unavoidable injury caused to only one-sensed-J vas. This is the philosophy of vegetarianism propounded by Jainism.
5.0 Method of Propagating the Doctrine of Karma
Mah vra ascribed responsibility to an individual for the actions that he does in society. For establishing this he propagated the doctrine of Karma. Individuals differ from one another in respect of cognition, conation and affection etc. What is the cause of this difference? How to account for these perceptible distinctions among individuals? The answer of Mah vra is that it is the beginningless material subtle principle known as Karma that is responsible for the cause of differences in individuals. This Karma has been exercising its limiting and crippling influence on individuals from the beginningless past. This material subtle principle is known as Dravya-karma, and its psychical counterpart in terms of Raga (Attachment) and Dvesa (Aversion) is called Bhāva-Karma.
It is no doubt true that Karmas bind the self to mundane existence. Now the question that arises is this: How the self is bound by Karmas? What are the causes that create Karmic bondage in individuals? The answer of Mah vra is that it is action (mental, bodily and vocal) polluted by passion that causes empirical bondage to individuals.24The passion-free actions do not bring about any mundane bondage whatsoever. When there are no passions, there is no bondage (Bandha). It is the passion that mars the socio-spiritual career of an individual.
6.0 Method of emphasizing Individual Liberty along-with Social Responsibility
Mah v ra fought for individual liberty in the context of social life. He revolted against the economic exploitation and social oppression of man and introduced vigorous innovations in the then existing social law and order. In a way, he was a social anarchist. In this way, Mahavira regarded individual and his social responsibility as the key to the progress of both the individual and society. He seems to be aware of the fact that the emphasis on merely individual progress without taking note of social responsibilities is derogatory both to the individual and society. Mah vra was neither merely individualistic nor merely socialistic. In his attitude both individual and society are properly reconciled. If individual liberty is to be sought, social responsibilities cannot be dispensed with.
The history of social thought reveals that with the advancement of knowledge social beliefs of a particular age are replaced by new beliefs. Many religious superstitions, social paths of life and other forms of follies and falsities are derogatory to individual progress; therefore they are condemned in every age of history. But the change is met with great resistance. The reason for this is that the individuals look at change with doubt and uncertainty. Besides love for conventionality and vested interests run counter to the acceptance of novelties in thought. All these obstacles mar individual dynamism. The individual who is a slave to customary beliefs, however false they have been declared to be, cannot develop his own personality and his actions are just like machines. Mah vra, therefore, preaches that an individual should be free from follies (Am dhat s).25 It is only through such individuals that society progresses and a scientific outlook gains ground. Such individuals are forward looking, and are free from the pressures of narrow traditionalism. They are always openminded and are ever eager to learn from history and experience.
It is no doubt true that cognitive and conative clarities are essential to individual progress. If man's mind is prejudiced and his actions are stereotyped and wrongly directed, nothing worthwhile can be
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achieved. In order that an individual becomes an embodiment of noble thought and actions, virtuous dispositions are, to be cultivated. This prepares the individual to do certain kinds of actions in certain kinds of situations. This is not just to think or feel in certain ways. There may be individuals who can think clearly and express good emotions whenever the situation calls for, but they may not act virtuously when required to do so. Consequently, Mah vra preached that an individual should develop virtuous dispositions of honesty, gratitude, Ahis, forgiveness, modesty, straightforwardness etc. This individual characteristic is known as upaguhana.2It cannot be gainsaid that noble thoughts can be translated into action through the medium of character. Mere thought is important to bring about any individual transformation. It is only virtues in addition to thought that can effect transformation in the life of an individual and transmute existing state of affairs.
Mah v ra, no doubt, greatly emphasized the development of the individuals, in as much as he was convinced of the fact, that there is nothing over and above the good of the individual men, women and children who comprise the world. But he did not lose sight of the fact that the individual develops not in isolation but among other individuals. Proper adjustment of 'l' and 'thou,' leads to the healthy development of both 'I' and 'thou'. 'Thou' may represent social and political institutions. Social and political institutions must exist for the good of the individuals. All individuals should live together in such a way that each individual may be able to acquire as much good as possible. Thus every individual, therefore, shall have certain responsibilities towards one another. This is the same as saying that an individual has certain social responsibilities. Therefore, social and individual morality is equally necessary to a good world.
Mah vra unequivocally says that the other is like our own. This does not mean that there are no individual differences. Rather it means that individual should be allowed freedom to develop his own individualities. There should not be any distinction between man and man on the basis of religion, race and nationality. To create differences between one individual and the other on these factors is derogatory, therefore, should be condemned ruthlessly. Consequently, Mah vra exhorted us not to hate individuals on these accounts (Nirvicikits). These are irrelevant inequalities.
These negative conditions of not hating others is not sufficient, but the positive condition of loving them (v tsalya) is very much necessary.28 To love is to see that equal opportunities of education, earning and the like are received by every individual without any distinction, of race, religion, sex and nationality. In his own times, Mah vra fought for the equality of all men, and he revered individual dignity. Where there is love there is no exploitation. To treat other individuals as mere means is decried and denied. Where there is V tsalya, all our dealings with others will be inspired by reverence; the role of force and domination will be minimised.
It is likely that individuals may deviate from the path of righteousness. In dealing with persons they may become as selfish as not to allow others their due share of liberty, they may become very possessive. Pride of power use of force, and exploitation of the weak may look to them normal ways of life. Creative impulses in man may suffer owing to their destructive attitude. When individuals behave fanatically with one another, the real good will be served if they are (convinced) to deal with others rationally. To establish them in the good life is 'Sthitikara a'. 'This is very much necessary in a society where the rule of creative impulses is to be established.
Lastly, the good ways of life, of thinking and doing things should be made widely known to people at large, so that they may feel obliged to mould their lives in that pattern. For this psychological methods of transmitting knowledge are to be followed in all earnestness. The scientific techniques of radio, television and the like are to be utilized for propagating good ways of life. If the researches in the laboratories are not taken to and utilized in the fields, they will serve no significant purpose. They will be like doing things in seclusion. Similarly, if the findings in the human laboratory in the realm of values are not taken to human beings in general, things will deteriorate and conditions will not change. Mah vra, therefore, says to propagate values of life (Prabh van ).30
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7.0 Method of Using Common Man's Language
It is incontrovertible that the 6th Century B.C. witnessed the rise of the 24th Tirtha kara, Mah vra who played a dominant role in shaping the cultural history of India. He revolted against the socioreligious exploitation and oppression of man and introduced vigorous innovations in the then existing social law and order. In fact, he serves as an illustration both of spiritual realization and social reconstruction.
After attaining omniscience (Kevalajn na), Mah vra remained silent and did not deliver, according to Digambara tradition, any sermon for sixty-six days. At the advent of a renowned Vedic scholar, named Indrabh ti Gautama in the Samavasara a (religious assembly) Mah vra delivered his first sermon at the Vipulācala Mountain outside the city of Rājagrha, the capital of Magadha, on Saturday the 1st July 557 B.C. This day is celebrated as the Vira'asana day and Mah v ra designated Indrabh ti Gautama as the first Ga adhara (chief disciple). Along with Indrabh ti Gautama his five hundred pupils joined the order of Mah vra. Gradually Mah vra initiated more Vedic scholars into the ascetic order. It is of capital importance to note that Mah vra made use of Pr krta for his discourses, as a result of which the Ga adharas prepared the whole canonical literature in Pr krta.
Now the question is why did Mah vra deliver his first sermon only at the advent of a Vedic scholar? My interpretation of the event is: Vedic scholar is a Prākrta scholar, since the Vedas have been composed in loka Bhāsā (language of the masses) of that period. Pt. Kisoridasa Vajapaye tells us that the language of the Vedas is the first form of Prākta, though this underwent change in form in course of time and became the second stage of Prākta at the time of Mahāvīra. This second stage was prevalent in a very large area and Mah vra's discourses were meant for all without any distinction of caste and creed, classes and masses, so he chose Prākta for his deliverances.
It will not be out of place to mention that Mah vra was desirous of making the values of life accessible to the masses of the people, so he adopted Prākta for the propagation of ethico-spiritual ways of life and living. Now it is intelligible that Mah vra's Sojourn in the Arhat state of life inspired him to preach in the universal language used by the masses of people, though Vedic language and the classical Sa skrta preceded him. This may be styled language renascence, which supported the uplift of the masses. The neglect of the common man ended with this attitude of Mah vra.
From what has been said above it may be rightly inferred that the Second Stage of Pr krta originating form the First Stage of Pr krta of the pre-vedic times was used by Mah vra for his deliverances and Ga adharas prepared the gamic literature from it. This means that the Prākta language which is the representative of the common man's aspirations is denied the respectful position in society at large. Its revival is very much important for making intelligible the cultural history of India. Without it India will be misunderstood and the increasing significance of the common man in the present day democracy will not find its basis in ancient history of India.
References
1.
pta-mms of Samantabhadra, 40-41 (Ganesh Varn D. Jaina Sansth na, V ranasi). Yuktyanu sana, of Samantabhadra, 8-15 (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). Yuktyanu sana, of Samantabhadra, 16-17 Studies in Jaina Philosophy, by Nathamal Tatia, Page 18 (P r van tha Vidyrama, Varanasi). Pa C stik ya of Kimdakunda, 10, (R jacandra A rama, g sa)
6.
or ga s tra, 132, ( gama Prak ana Samiti, Beawer) cr ga s tra, 196, ( gama Prakana Samiti, Beawer) Pra navy kara a S tra, 6.1.3, Pages 683-684, (Jaina Vishva Bh rati, Ladnun, under the title "Angasutt ni" (3)). cr ga s tra, 129, ( gama Prakana Samiti, Beawer)
8.
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9.
Ibid. 49, 78.
10. Ibid. 13,24,35,43, 51, 38.
11. Pa c stik ya of Kundakunda, 112-117, (R jacandra rama, g sa)
12. Sarv rthasiddhi of P jyap da, H-14/288, (Bharat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi).
13. Jain Community - A Social Survey by Vilas A. Sangava. P. 169-170 (Popular Prakashan, Bombay).
Ibid. P. 65,
Ibid. P. 66.
14.
15.
16.
Ethical Doctrines in Jainism by Dr. K.C. Sogani, P. 273.
17. Dhaval, Book 13, P. 361, 362 (Jivar ja Garantham | Shol pura)
18.
Indian Cultural and Jainism by Dr. K.C. Sogani, P. 23-24.
19. Puru rthasidhyup ya of Amrtacandra (R jacandra rama, g sa).43.
20.
Jainadar anas ra by pt. Chainsukhadasa, Page 63, (Sadbodha Grantham I, Jaipur).
21.
22.
23.
24.
Ibid. P. 63.
Puru rthasidhyup ya of Amrtacandra (R jacandra rama, g sa).75.
Ibid. 77.
R jav rtika of Akala ka, VI. 2/4, 5, (Bharatiya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi).
25.
Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). 122 26. K rttikeyanuprek, (R jacandra A rama, Ag sa).417 Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra (R jacandra
rama, g sa). 26.
27. Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra (R jacandra rama, g sa). 27. 28.
Ratnakaranda ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi).13. 29. Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra (R jacandra rama, g sa).29. 30. Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra (R jacandra rama, g sa). 28. K rttikeyanuprek (R jacandra rama, g sa).421-422
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1.2.c
Five Supreme Auspicious Beings (Panca Parameşthis)
& Namok ra Mah ma tra
Br. Hem Chand Jain
1.0 Introduction Jainas refute the existence of a God as a creator, benefactor or destroyer. The goal of all religious actions is to free the soul from all the impurities (karmas as per Jains) that are attached to it so as to establish itself in its true, pure and blissful state. All those many precepts, vows, mortifications, observances and rites prescribed by the trtha karas (fordmakers or rejuvenators of gthe creed) to the believers serve to attain this goal. It is true that they apply only to an individual, are meant for an individual and are to be realized as such by an individual.
Such a person who has conquered the world i.e. freed himself from the obscuring karmas and attained omniscience and later from cycle of birth-death-birth and associated pains and ultimately salvation, to whom even the gods approach with reverence, is alone worthy to be worshipped. He is totally detached from the world. He alone can guide all living beings about the path to salvation. The one who has him constantly before his eyes, the one who is committed forever in achieving this eternal state of bliss and knowledge is also promoted and elevated and as such he would thereby approach slowly but surely the blissful state and may hope finally to be identical to him.
Jains rever those who have attained perfect state of their souls for their virtues and also those who are completely and all the time following the path prescribed by them to attain this perfect state of bliss and knowledge.
1.1 Prayer, Hymn, Ma tra Prayer is the simplest form of devotion, which is most commonly used in Christianity and in other religions. In prayer the believer converses with the object of worship; he dedicates his worship to Him, he praises Him and shows his love and devotion, bares his sufferings to Him and hopes to get fulfilment of all sorts of wishes. On the other hand, a Jain (who does not believe in a Trtha kara as a world- ruling God) performs prayers and worship Trtha karas, siddhas and other auspicious beings for being their ideals and attributes so that they can also become like them. Their worship constitutes reciting the attributes of perfect beings to accrue these themselves.
1.2 Jain benediction: Namask ra/ Namok ra/Navak ra Mah mantra
amo Arihantam, amo Siddh am, amo y riyam, amo Uvajjh ya am, amo Loye Savva S hu am.
This is Namask ra Mantra (benedictory incantation for salutation to five auspicious beings). This is in Pr krta' language and is extremely blissful. Its Sa skrta version is as follows:
Namo Arhadbhyah, Namah Siddhebhyah, Namah c ryebhyah, Namah Up dhy yebhyah , Namo Loke sarva S dhubhyah
It's Meaning: Obeisance to Ariha tas (embodied pure soul and omniscient), obeisance to siddha (Omniscient and liberated soul without body), obeisance to cryas (Chief preceptors of the congregation of ascetics/monks), obeisance to all Up dhay yas (ascetics-teachers) obeisance to all S dhus (ascetics-monks) found in the universe. Thus, in this Ma tra the 'Namask ra, (salutation Zobeisance) is offered to five categories of supreme auspicious souls. Hence this is called 'Namask ra Mantra
In Jainism, highest consideration is given to all forms of moral / ethical and spiritual practices to free the soul of all matter bondages (karmas primarily) so that the pure soul, devoid of any bondage with
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foreign matter can enjoy its nature of infinite knowledge and bliss for ever. In this mantra, we see that obeisance is paid to those who have achieved this status of pure soul (both as with a human body (Arihanta) and the other without a human body and just soul state 'siddha') as well as to those who are hundred percent committed and practicing the Jain code of spiritual purification to attain the pure soul state.
Now, we ponder over the distinguishing characteristics of these five auspicious beings as per "Niyamas ra' of Kunda- Kunda.
2.0 Arihanta (omniscient with human body):
Gha gh dikamma rahid , Kevala adi paramga sahid, Cauttisa-adisayajutt, Arihat erisa ho ti.
Niyams ra-71
Meaning: Arihantas are those living beings who are entirely free from all the four types of obscuring karmas (Gh ti-karmas, i.e. Knowledge obscuring, perception obscuring, deluding & obstructive karmas) and possess the highest attributes i.e. omniscience, infinite perception, infinite power and infinite bliss. They are crowned with thirty four extra ordinary glories called 'Ati ayas' for a total (including internal and external) of 46 glories. The omniscience and infinitei-perception in Arihantas & Siddhas are found as co-existent and simultaneous and not sequential i.e. not one after the other.
Arihantas are thus living human beings, who as a result of intensive practice of spiritual path of purification and penance have removed the four obscuring karmas completely from their soul and have attained omniscience. They then deliver sermons, based on their experience for our benefit so that we can also practice the path shown by them and attain the omniscience. Todaramal in his monumental work 'Moksa Mrga Prak aka' has written the characteristics of 'Arihantas' (adorable worship Lords) as under:
2.1 Characteristics of Ariha tas First we ponder over the characteristics of Arihantas. He (the true believer) who having renounced the house holder's life and accepted monk's conduct (ascetic life), has destroyed the four gh ti karmas (obscuring Karmas) through immersion in one's own soul's intrinsic nature and in him are manifested the highest attributes of four-infinites (ananta catustaya). Through infinite knowledge (ananta jn na) omniscient know directly all substances (6 types of dravyas) simultaneously together with their infinite attributes and modifications: through infinite perception-ananta dar ana (omniperception) perceives all these substances in general undifferentiatedly through infinite energy 'Ananat Virya'. He always holds such potency (of knowing & seeing). Through infinite bliss (Anant Sukha) he experiences supreme bliss. Further, who has attained the state of perfect serenity and peace by freeing oneself from all sorts of impure dispositions like attachment aversion etc. and has achieved the state of supreme or pure soul state by becoming free from hunger, thirst, birth-death and all sorts of physical maladies thereby turning his body into a supernatural 'Param-Aud rika' body.
He has no weapons or clothing, is devoid of censurable signs and symptoms of sex feeling, anger etc., foul dispositions and emotions and by whose sermons the 'Dharma- Tirtha' (true religious path) prevails in the universe by means of which the mundane beings attain the welfare of the self; and who is found possessing different glories (Ati ayas) and greatnesses which are cause for worldly people to believe in his being supreme soul. He is adored by the Ga adharas (the principal disciples of a fordmaker) etc. for their own spiritual benefit; thus become adorable in all respects. To these i.e. Ariha tas, I (Todarmal) offer my salutations.
3.0
Siddhas (The liberated non-corporal pure souls):
atthattha Kammaba dh, Attha Mah gu a Sama id Param. Loyaggathid icch Siddh te eris ho ti
Niyams ra-72
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Meaning: Those great souls i.e. Arihantas who have destroyed the bondages of all the eight types of karmas (4 Gh ti+4 Agh ti ) thereby become possessed of the eight great attributes, stay at the summit of the universe forever i.e. free from the trasnsmigratory cycle) and are the most exalted and indestructible supreme perfect souls and called 'siddhas' (disembodied omniscient). Due to the destruction of the bondage of all 8 karmas Siddha possesses infinite attributes. In 'Mokşa Mrga prak aka' Todarmal Ji has described their characteristics as under:
3.1 Characteristics Of Siddhas (Non- corporal Liberated Souls) Now, we meditate on the characteristics of Siddhas' (liberated disembodied omniscient). He (the true believer who having renounced the householder's life by following the monk's conduct has attained the four infinities (infinite knowledge- perception bliss and energy). after destruction of four 'gh ti Karmas' (obscuring Karmas and then destroying, after lapse of some time, the four 'Agh ti Karmas' (obscuring karmas) also; he leaves his supernatural body, reaches the summit of the universe by virtue of its upward motion-nature. There he attained the perfect liberated state by getting release from the association of all foreign substances with his soul and its soul retains the shape of last human body it owned.
Since all types of karmas i.e. counter effect producing impurities; Nokarmas (body etc.) and Bh vakarmas (psychic impure dispositions like attachment- aversion etc.) got destroyed by such a soul; all spiritual attributes like right belief- knowledge-conduct etc. get fully manifested in their natural states in his soul. Similarly such a soul with bliss as its nature continues to enjoy it forever. They also become the efficient cause for the capable souls (Bhavya Jivas) attain the discriminative knowledge of the self-substance, non-self substances and of alien impure dispositions (evolved in the absence of Karmas) and hence the true nature of pure soul and bliss state also. They the 'Siddhas' serve as images who have become "Krtkrtya" (attained the supreme state attainable) and hence continue to dwell in such a perfect blissful) state infinitely. I salute to such accomplished 'Siddhas'.
4.0
C ryas: (The chief of the congregation of monks)
Pa C C ra- samagg ; Pa cidaya da tidappa iddala Dhr gaga bhr, yariy eris hoti.
Niyams ra-73
Meaning: Those saints who are possessed of five kinds of conduct, who are firm in their determination, who have restrained the inclinations of the five senses form of elephant and who are profound in virtues are called the ( c ryas) head of the order of the saints. Crya monks are possessed of 36 basic virtues called Mulag as".
4.1 Characteristics of Cryas: Todarmal Ji in his 'Moksa Mrga Prak aka' has written the characteristics of crya monk as under:
He (that monk) who has become the leader of a congregation of monks by acquiring the chief rank by virtue of excellence in right belief, right knowledge and right conduct and who chiefly remains engrossed in "Nirvikalpa Swaroopacarana" (contemplation of steady pure state of self) and when he has compassionate feeling due to rise of slight mild attachment, preaches sermons to only those
Jivas' who pray for and are curious for religion, he administers "Diks (renunciation vow) to those who want to accept asceticism and purifies by the process of expiation those (monks) who admit their faults. I bow to such an ascetic chief monk crya who admonishes such kind of spiritual conduct.
Besides 28 Mulag as enjoyed by a Digambara Jaina monk or 27 for vet mbara monks, crya the chief monk observes 36 Mulag as and they are as follows:
Dharma (10) Characteristics of passionless conduct or religion (supreme forbearance, modesty, straight forwardness, contentment, truth, self-restrain, austerity, renunciation, detachment or possession-lessness and supreme celibacy)
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Tapa - Penance: External (6) and Internal (6)
External Fasting, reduced diet - (not stomach full), restricted beginning for food, avoidance of full meals abstaining tasty articles of food, lonely habitation away from the haunts of men, mortification of body. Internal Expiation for negligence, reverence to holy personages, serving and attending upon holy saints, studying scriptures, giving up attachment with body, meditation
Conduct (5): Related to faith, knowledge, conduct, penance and energy.) Controls (3) of mind, speech and body Essentials (6): Observing Equanimity, Eulogy, salutation, studying with interest, repentance for transgressions, chanting Namok ra Mantra.
5.0 The up dhy ya Monks (Practicing Teachers)
Raya attay Sa jutt Ji akahida Payattha Desay Sur. ikka kha BhavSahid uvajjh y eris ho ti.
Niyams ra-74
Meaning: Those saints who are possessed of three jewels, i.e., right faith, right knowledge, right conduct and are undated preachers of the Tattvas' (substances, realities) as enunciated by the omniscient /Jina/ Tirtha karas' and are possessed of the spirit of selflessness (desire-less-ness), are called the teacher monks (preceptors). The up dhy ya monks possess the knowledge of 11 A gas and 14 P rvas (i.e., Knowledge of the whole of scriptures) and hence they are said to be having 25 Mulag as.
5.1 Characteristics of up dhy ya Monks: Todarmal Ji in Moksa Mrga Prak aka has written the characteristics of 'up dhy yas' as under:
The Jaina monk who, having attained the knowledge of various Jaina -' stras' (scriptures) has been installed as the authority of teaching and preaching in the congregation of the monks and who by knowing the purposeful meaning of all the stras' (the sacred books of Jainas) meditates upon the nature of the self (soul). If sometimes, due to rise of slight mild- passion his attaining (upayoga) does not remain engrossed in the self then he himself reads the stras' and teaches other religious minded people. I bow to such an 'up dhy ya monk who teaches 'Bhavya J vas' (capable to attain liberation)
6. The 'S dhu' Monks: (Jaina Monks)
V v ra vippamukk cauvvihr ha say ratt. igga th immoh S hu ederis ho ti
Niyams ra-75
Meaning: Those who are free from all worldly occupations; are always deeply absorbed in four kinds of observances ( r dhan s), i.e., faith, knowledge, conduct and penance, types of contemplations, and are absolutely possession-less and delusion less i.e., totally detached from worldly affairs, are called to be the true Jaina monks. The 'S dhus' have 28 basic rites (Mulag as), which are enumerated as per below:
Mah vratas (5): Five great vows of non-injury, truth, non-stealing, celibacy and nonpossessiveness.
Samitis (5): Atiudes of carefulness in walking, talking, taking food, keeping & lifting of book, water pot called Kamandalu or Picchi (Peacock - feathers broom) and in elimination of excreta etc.
Indriya- vijay (5): (Conquering of five senses)
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va yakas (6): Six essential duties - Equanimity, obeisance to and Eulogy of omniscient, study of scripture, repentance with confession for transgression in observing rites, chanting Namok ra-Mantra by giving up attachment to body.
Other compulsory activities (7): Sleeping on ground on one hand side, not cleaning the teeth, not-bathing, taking meal standing in hallowed palms, taking meal only once in day hours, living naked- unclothed and pulling put hairs of head, chin & moustache. These are for Digambara monks. For vet mbara monks, there are some deviations in dress, food habits etc. Thus are the 28 rituals (Mulag as.) of a Digambara Jaina monk.
In Mokşa M rga Prak aka Todarmal Ji has written the characteristics of a Jaina monk as under:
6.1 Characteristics of S dhus: - (Ascetic/ monk)
'Excepting the preceding above mentioned two types of rank- holders' monks i.e. c rya and up dhy ya, the rest are all those monks who holds monk's rank and are engrossed in attaining the nature of the soul. They do not let their 'upayoga' (attention) engrossed in other substances by treating them neither agreeable nor disagreeable. Thus they try to tranquillize the 'upayoga' and externally observe religious penances, rituals etc. as being instrumental causes. Sometimes they engage themselves in the acts of invocation, obeisance and such other activities worthy of him. Such are the true Jaina monks who incessantly make efforts for the realization of the self /soul; I bow to all such ascetic monks.
6.2 General Characteristics of Jaina Monks:
He (the true believer), who after becoming dispassionate and indifferent to worldly pleasures, relinquished all kinds of possessions and attachments and accepted' uddhopayoga' i.e. his own self to be the self soul only. He never feels I-ness in other objects and believes that sentiency is only one's own. He never feels mine-ness in alien dispositions and whatever other substances and their characteristics appear in knowledge; does not have attachment-aversion feelings in them by treating them as agreeable or disagreeable; understands that the body undergoes different changes, various instrumental causes get associated eternally; but in those situations he does not feel happy or unhappy at all. External (bodily) activity suitable to his spiritual status takes place in natural course, he does not involve himself in it forcibly and he does not allow his "upayoga" (attention) to deviate or ramble too much. He rather holds deviation-less (stable) condition by becoming stoical and dispassionate. And occasionally, due to rise of mild passion," uddhopayoga" gets disturbed; but knowing such inclination also to be relinquish-able wishes to uproot it.
Due to the absence of the rise of intense passions there exists no 'a ubhopayoga' (inauspicious thought activity) of indulging in violence etc. Having attained such an internal-state of self; he has accepted the Digambara posture (totally possession less naked state) of serenity, has become free from the acts of decorating the body etc. lives in forest, caves etc.; follows without any fault "28 basic virtues (Mulag as) endures 22 types of Pariṣahas (afflictions), adores 12 kinds of 'Tapas' (penances), sometimes becomes motionless like an idol by holding the meditation-posture; sometimes engages himself in external pious activities such as study of scriptures etc.; sometimes attentively engages one self in taking food and making movement etc. which are in accordance to Muni-Dharma (monk's religion).
Such is the state of a Jain monk and this applies to all Jaina monks - c ryas, up dhy yas & S dhus. I bow to all of them.
7.0 The importance of 'Namok ra-Ma tra'.
The following four lines have almost become an integral part of the ma tra. They describe the benefits to be accrued by reciting this mantra.
Eso Pa ca namokk ro, savve p papapn sa o.
Ma gal a a ance savvesin padhama havai ma galam.
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Meaning: This Namok ra Ma tra, where in the solution is offered to five supreme souls, do annihilate all sins and misdeeds (of the person who chants it regularly), it bestows well-being-ness whence chanting beings. It is the first benediction among all sorts of benedictions on this earth.
8.0 Conclusion:
Ariha tas etc. are called 'Panca Parameșthis (the five utmost auspicious and beneficial supreme souls) because that which is utmost beneficial supreme is named as 'Parameṣtha' The 'Pañca' (five) who are 'Paramestha' are thus collectively known / named as "Pañca Parameşthis'. All these are benefactors to all of us.
Salutation is offered with the object of getting our purpose accomplished and because the purpose of sermons etc. is accomplished chiefly from Ariha tas, therefore, the salutation is offered first to them.
This purpose of happiness is accomplished by the invocation, prayer Ariha tas etc.? c rya Kunda Kunda in Pravacanas ra verse 181 explains this as follows:
Suha Pari mo pu am asuho pavam ti Bhanid manyesu. Pari mo a gado Dukkhakkhay k ra am samaye
Meaning: The auspicious disposition towards other non-self things is termed 'virtue' (Punya) and the inauspicious as vice (P pa) because in both the cases the thought / disposition is found attached / engrossed in non-self things but soul's that thought / disposition which is not engrossed in other nonself things and remains engrossed in self - soul only is called pure disposition; i.e.; the disposition are of 3 kinds - inauspicious, auspicious and pure.
//81//
"The instant in the form of intense passion are inauspicious (cruel), in the form of mildpassion are auspicious (ingenuous) and passionless are pure. The destroyer of our natural character of the form of passionless discriminative knowledge is the 'jn n var iya' etc. gh ti karmas; there intense bondage occurs by cruel instincts and feeble bondage by ingenuous instincts and if the ingenuous instincts are strong then the intense bondage that had occurred in the past also gets feeble. No bondage is caused by pure passionless dispositions, rather only "Nirjar "- (dissociation) of those karmas takes place. The dispositions of invocations to 'Arihantas' etc. are assuredly of the nature of feeble passions, therefore, are the means of destroying all sorts of passions, therefore, are the cause of pure dispositions. So by such instincts the self-obscuring gh ti-karmas become feeble and the passionless discriminative knowledge gets naturally evolved. Thus our purpose is accomplished by 'Arihantas' etc.
Also looking at the image of 'Arihantas' or pondering over their nature or listening to their preaching or beings closer to them or following the path according to their preaching instantly reduce the delusion attachment etc. by becoming instrumental causes and give rise to discriminative - knowledge of Jva (soul), Aj va (non-soul) etc. So in this way also Arihantas etc. accomplish the purpose of passionless discriminative-knowledge.
By constant occupation with the Arihantas, his mind finally assumes their qualities. Thus, according to the Jaina-theory, the worship of the rtha karas has no objective goal, but only a subjective one; the rtha karas themselves do not need any adoration because they are elevated above everything that is mundane, and a believer does not get any mercy through them because they do not pay any attention to the activity in the world in their blissful perfection; but the Jina- cult is beneficial and necessary for salvation because the one who accomplishes it, turns a new leaf in his life and is redeemed on account of it.
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Trtha karas are the most prominent among the 5 Parmeṣths or the supreme beings of Jainism. Siddhas or the Perfect beings that have become absolutely free from this transmigratoy world are the next. c ryas or the leaders of the congregation, Up dhy yas or the teachers and Munis or the ascetics are also given their due respect in the cult.
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1.2.e
Jain Festivals (Parva) & Pilgrimage (T rtha y tra) Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
Both festivals and pilgrimages are the events / activities which provide us an opportunity to break the monotony of routine daily life and do things differently so that we get refreshed and move forward in life with greater enthusiasm. Jain philosophy being highly spiritual: emphasizes these events to expedite the purification of soul and attain bliss ultimately. Hence its festivals and pilgrimage aim to give its followers a deeper insight into the path of spiritual purification. To encourage the laities in observing these events as per the Jain sacred literature, its c ryas have enumerated umpteen benefits like social, cultural, religious and philosophical accrued by the practitioner as a result. Nemicandra Bha dari Upade asidha ta Ratnamala (verse 26) says:
So jayai je a vihi sa vaccharac um sidha supaw i da dhay aj yai jasa mah p u dhammamai
SORS OF JAN
Hail those great monks and c ryas who have established the celebration of festivals like sa vat iri, aştanika, da lakṣa a etc due to which even the down trodden and condemned people become religious.
We shall now briefly review these two important aspects of Jain rituals here.
A. Festivals
Festivals are normally associated with celebration i.e. of merry making/ exchanging gifts and having agood time. Once a festival is over we are again engrossed in the rudimentries of our worldly existence. Every community has its own festivals and ways of celebrating them. Festivals are an integral part of human life in all societies in general and Jains in particular. Most of the communities think of acquiring new worldly objects, cleaning and decorating their dwellings, enjoying sumptuous foods, merry making etc to celebrate festivals. When we observe festivals of a community, we can learn about its culture, its make up, objectives and principles propagated.
For Jains, festivals have a different connotation. In as much as they are celebrations, yet the main objective is long term accomplishment of Bliss and not just momentary pleasures. Since Jain philosophy aims at attaining the ultimate i.e. state of BLISS and eternal existence in that state; its festivals aim at taking its followers away from the worldly pleasures and bring them back to the path of spiritual purification for moving forward in its journey to attain BLISS.
Thus the distinguishing characteristic of Jain festivals is to consider them as occasions / events in our life which break the monotony of our daily routine life and invigorate us with new energy and thinking so that we can enjoy life and prepare ourselves to achieve our long-term objectives. If we analyze our life sans festivals, we shall find that life is boring and without charm. The festivals e are thus the occasions when we get away from the ordinary and do extra-ordinary things like take stock of our life, and learn new things or do, undertake activities for long term forward movement of our life. Festivals are thus catalysts to provide a new direction, a new inspiration and look into life and world at large.
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The underlined theme of Jain thinking is, 'We have been going through millions of transmigratory (birth-death- birth) cycles since beginning-less time and will continue to do so until we understand the nature of soul and give a turn to our knowledge and way of life to attain the pure soul state.' Thus festivals for Jains are the opportunities to enhance their spiritual beliefs by shedding wrong beliefs (mithy tva), learning more about their religious practices and enhancing their conduct to be closer to the stated right conduct in the scriptures. True celebration of festivals for Jains implies enhancing self-control (sa yama), giving up sensual pleasures, knowing and experiencing more about pure soul.
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1.0 Peculiarities of Jain festivals
Jain religion is emphasizes spiritual purification to attain its pure state. Thus they aim at selfimprovement. Accordingly its festivals have the following peculiarities:
a. Spiritual purification It is the primary objective of Jain festivals. Therefore they try to minimize the four passions (anger, deceit, pride and greed) by adopting the three jewels i.e. right belief-knowledge and conduct. They practice nonviolence, non-stealing, speaking truth, non-possession and celibacy. Fasting, meditation, prolonged worshipping in the temples, reading holy texts and listening to the religious discourses by monks and scholars, donating money, food etc, giving up some normal foods or bad habits to attain greater self control and visiting holy places and people are some of the activities undertaken for enhancing spiritual purification.
b. Preaching right conduct Self control, equanimity are the two principles taught by and practiced by Jains during festivals as against merry making and enjoying worldly pleasures by others. Association with monks, temples, pious laity and performing religious rituals enforce right conduct in us. Giving up, rather than acquiring more worldly wealth is the hallmark of Jain festivals. Similarly by being simple and renouncing worldly comforts, we develop equanimity with others and eliminate the discrimination between rich and poor etc.
C. Experiencing own nature and detachment We experience pain in our life all the time due to failures in our mission, separations, sickness etc. We try to find ways and means to minimize these pains. Festivals are the important occasions whereby we are exposed to such experiences and lessons from auspicious beings (pamca parmaestis) who have either attained BLISS or are seriously aspiring to have it. Jainism believes in duality of existence i.e. living and nonliving beings. Living beings in pure state are endowed with infinite vision-cognitionbliss and energy so that they can experience these forever. Pain is due to the association of pure soul (living being) with non-living beings (karmas). Hence we learn the science of detachment of karmas from soul to attain pure soul status and experience our own nature as indicated by its four attributes infinite attributes.
d. Others Festivals also provide an opportunity for the community to know each other, take up community projects and understand each other better. Similarly celebrations of festivals provide a platform to all to present their knowledge, artistic skills, wealth, social acquaintances and commaradiere and other attributes for the good cause of all and contribute to the propagation of Jain philosophy and culture. For example when we go to a celebration, we have no other occupation on our mind but to enhance our religious, cultural and social knowledge and skills.
2.0 Types of festivals There are two types of festivals namely:
Eternal (nitya): i.e. those festivals that are being observed since time immerial or forever. They have no beginning. They can be also further sub-classified as those being observed annually / quarterly / fortnightly or daily. Event oriented (naimittika) i.e. those festivals, which are associated with some event. These events are normally the five life stages (kaly akas i.e. conception, birth, renunciation, attaining omniscience and attaining salvation) of 24 t rtha karas i.e. spiritual preachers of Jainism; significant events like removing the obstacles experienced by monks or religious people; creation of Holy Scriptures or building a new temple etc. These are mostly annual festivals.
Out of the 24 t rtha karas, only the birth and moksa or salvation days of Bhagav na Mah vra are celebrated as major festivals. We shall now look at some examples of both types of festivals of Jains.
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Some c ryas have also classified festivals as auspicious and inauspicious. Most of the festivals we talk here fall in the category of auspicious only.
2.1.1 Eternal: Paryusa a / Dasa Laksa a This is the most important (often called as mah parva) of all Jains. Literally it means getting rid of or controlling / suppressing passions (anger, deceit, greed and pride) and sensual pleasures. All sects of Jains celebrate this festival with greatest enthusiasm, even though their timings and the reasons are slightly different. These occur three times a year i.e. after every four months (why?) but the one in the Hindi month of Bh dra (August-September) is the one considered most auspicious and celebrated with all vigor and activities. These days i.e. eight for vet mbara and ten for Digambara are the most potent days for religious activities and spiritual purifications
vet mbara Jains believe that the end of third time period (period of enjoyment and no work) and beginning of fourth time period (period of less enjoyment and some work) starts as the power of the wish fulfilling-trees (kalpa) was diminishing. On the eighth day of the Hindu month Aşādha (declining fortnight) they saw simultaneously the red sun going down in the west and the full moon rising in the east. They got scared and went to their king (kulakara) who explained to them the meaning through the sermon of putting effort to get their wishes satisfied. The next day was taken as the first day of the new time period i.e. 4 h time period of the declining epoch i.e. dawn of karmayuga.
Digambaras on the other hand consider the end of declining epoch (avasarpi i) and beginning of utsarpi i epoch. The first ten days of this transition see the end of fierce rains of fire etc and the beginning of normal rains of water, milk etc. The earth has vegetation growing and the remaining 72 couples (human beings) hiding in the caves come out and start inhabiting the earth again, i.e. they heave a sign of relief and start leading normal lives. They celebrate this event for ten days to commemorate the beginning of human settlement in comfort.
Since Jains believe in continuous cycles avasarpi i and utsarpi i epochs; we say that they are eternal i.e. had been, are being and will always be celebrated.
vet mbara Jains celebrate this parva from 12h day of the dark fortnight of Bh dra till fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bh dra month and call this festival as Samavatsiri. Digmabara Jains celebrate it as Dasa Laksa a from 5lh day of the bright fortnight of Bh dra till 14th day of the same fortnight. They have one chapter of Tatty rathas tra taught to them every day. Also there are lectures on ten dharmas/ commandments, one each day by scholars or monks. The Jains keep fasts, from half day to the entire period depending on their willpower and capacity, go to the temples and perform puj listen to the sermons from monks etc. There are plays, story telling and other religious activities. On the last day, invariably every Jain donates hefty amounts of money for religious cause of their choice. Digambara Jains take out processions on the last day and have community lunch etc. A day after the last day is celebrated as the Day of Forgiveness when every one seeks forgiveness from one and all for the pains or miseries caused by them.
2.1.2 Eternal: Astnik Digambara Jains celebrate this festival every year for eight days in the months of K rtika, Ph Iguna and $ dha i.e. after every four months, from the eighth day to fourteenth day of the bright fortnight. It is said that angels with the right vision leave their kingdoms and go to Nandi wara Island having 52 natural Jain temples and 5616 Jain idols to perform worship of siddhas. Human beings cannot go to Nandi wara Island and hence build a replica of Nandi wara Island in the temple and perform mass puj of the siddhas for eight days to earn good karmas and hence good luck. vet mbara Jains also celebrate it accordingly.
2.1.3 Others There are other eternal celebrations, like glh and 14th day of every fortnight for Digambara Jains; for
vet mbara Jains 2 and 10h day when they keep fasts and spend the day in the temples. These occasions are known as Proşadhopav sa. Similarly every day in the early morning and late evening,
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Jains do perform puj or s m yika to start and end the day properly. If we study these festivals deeply, we shall see their relevance to the karma theory and the ethical postulates of Jains.
2.2.1 Event oriented: Akşaya trity
It is an annual festival celebrated on the third day of the bright fortnight of the month of Bai kha. Bhagav na din tha, the first trtha kara of Jains did not take any food for the first six months (?) of his monk hood, as no body knew how to offer food to the monks. It is said that he reached Hastin pura where King reyansa, through the remembrances of his earlier lives, knew how to offer the food and hence offered sugarcane juice properly to din tha. He accepted it and then taught the laity the manner and the importance of giving food to the monks in particular and CHARITY in general. Since then this day is celebrated as a festival, especially at Hastin pura. Lot of Jains keep extended fasts prior to this day, then go with their family to Hastin pura and let the new members of the family offer them sugarcane juice so that the tradition of offering food to the elders in the family
continues.
ruta pancami
2.2.2 Event oriented: After the emancipation of Lord Mahavira, the Jain canonical knowledge in the form of twelve limbs was getting lost due to the declining memory and laxity of conduct of the monks. So c rya Dharsena, around 1st century BC, while meditating at mount Girn ra in Gujarat and having partial knowledge of the most difficult and detailed twelfth limb, called Driştiv da or Jain philosophy, felt that this knowledge may even get either lost or distorted after his death. So he called two most intelligent monks from South India, taught them all the knowledge he had and asked them to compile it in the form of a book so that it could be available to everybody in unchanged form. These two monks, known as Puspa Dant and Bhootbali completed this canonical text, known as Satkhand gama of Digambara Jains, on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of the month Jyestha. Since then this day is celebrated as ruta pancami by Digambara Jains.
2.2.2 Event oriented: Diwali
This is the festival, known as festival of lights and all communities in India celebrate it. Indians celebrate Diwali like Christmas is by Christian. However we find little mention of this festival in Hindu literature even though they say that Lord R ma, after defeating King R va a of Lanka and completing fourteen years of exile returned to Ayodhy. The people in Ayodhy celebrate his return by lighting their homes etc.
The Jain canonical literature and religious stories narrate this festival at great length. On this day, i.e. the last day of the dark fortnight of the month K rtika, Lord Mah v ra attained Nirv a and his principal disciple Indrabhuti Gautam attained omniscience. For Jains, festivals have a different connotation. In as much as they are celebrations, yet the main objective is long term accomplishment of Bliss and not just momentary pleasures. Jains consider Mokşa or Nirv a as the supreme wealth to be attained. Accordingly on that night Jains saw the town P v puri (in modern Bihar) lit by the divine light. Since then they burn earthen lamps (as the divine light is gone) and perform puj of the two states i.e. ultimate wealth Nirv a and ultimate knowledge omniscience. Over the period of time, Hindus replaced these virtues by their own goddesses Laksmi for wealth and Ganesa for knowledge.
Jains start the day by going to the temple, worshipping Lord Mah vra and offer laddus, perform puj at home or their business establishment, offer gifts to their family members and business associates and start new books of accounts etc. They decorate their home; make a special place for puj where photo or replica of Lord Mah vira and his religious conference (samo ara a) is made using toys, statues of kings, animals and the holy pedestal. They also lighten up their homes and establishments as a mark of their happiness.
2.2.3 Mah v ra Jayanti
13th day of The Hindu month Caitra bright fortnight is the day celebrated as the birthday of Lord Mah vra. The day starts with group puj of Lord Mah vra, followed by exchange of pleasantries, community lunch etc. A procession of Lord Mah vra's idol is taken with pomp and show through the streets to spread his message of non-violence, holding seminars on the life and teachings of Lord
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Mah vra later on. Similarly 11th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of S vana, the day when Lord Mah v ra's first religious congregation and delivery of sermons omniscience took place, is celebrated as Vra sana day i.e. the day when his teachings started benefiting the human beings.
2.2.4 Event oriented: Raks bandhana The story goes that King of Ujjain had four principal ministers who were strong critics of Jainism. They had to accompany the king to pay obeisance to a group of Jain s dhus visiting Ujjain. The s dhus were observing silence. So the four ministers started debating various Jain tenets with the s dhus who did not respond at all to their questions. To take revenge of their insult, they went at night with their swords to kill the s dhus. When they started to kill the s dhus, through divine grace, they were frozen to a standstill position. In the morning when the king went there, he felt highly insulted and threw all the four ministers out of his kingdom. All the four went to Hastin pura. There they got appointed to different important places by the king. One day, the king became happy with their work and gave them a boon of being the king for seven days. By chance, the same crya with 700 s dhus visited Hastin pura. On knowing this, the ministers organized a major yajña where human beings had to be sacrificed. Knowing this, one of the s dhus who had special divine powers, disguised him as a dwarf Hindu monk went to the ministers and asked for donations of three steps of land for worship. Seeing the small size of the monk, they granted his wish. So in first step the dwarf monk covered the entire country and was about to take the second step: when the ministers were shocked and begged forgiveness from the dwarf monk. So the fire put around the seven hundred s dhus was set aside and they were saved of their life. From that day onwards, this day is celebrated as Raks bandhanahe day when sisters primarily tie a thread around the fist of their brothers and seek a promise that they will protects them in times o difficulty.
2.2.5 Event oriented: Death or mtu mahotsava Jain literature is abundant with details as to how a laity should die. Death is described as a special event when the soul sheds its old cloths (body) and acquires the new body as per the karmas it has accumulated. Hence the emphasis is on developing full detachment with all worldly things, including family and body, concentrate on the self and the virtues of pure soul so that the soul peacefully leaves the old body and acquires a good body for further purification. We shall review this separately as a full paper in details but the main activity is welcome death with open arms and voluntarily and happily shed the old body contemplating on pure soul status.
3.0 Conclusions We thus see that Jains celebrate their festivals primarily for the purification of their souls from the k rmika bondage. They do so by prolonged worships, keeping fasts, giving up some of their daily non essential habits, donating part of their wealth for the benefit of others and acquiring more knowledge from the their holy teachers and s dhus. However, today due to the social pressures and celebration of festivals by masses belonging to other religions/ faiths, the method of celebrating festivals by Jains is also changing. In all these we clearly see the importance being given to others than to one's own benefit i.e. to be seen by others as good.
References
Jain dharma ka saral paricaya by Balbhadra, Kund Kund Gyanpeeth Indore. Jain parva by Dr Ashok Jain, JVBI Ladnun Harivan apura a by Jina Sena, Bhartiya Gyanpeeth New Delhi.
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B. Pilgrimage As Jain philosophy emphasizes purity of thought and soul, so from absolute viewpoint t rtha is defined as the efficient cause for achieving emancipation i.e. elimination of the birth-deathbirth cycle called sa s ra. Thus activities and characteristics such as ten virtues (dasa laksa a), 12 types of austerities, self-restraint, and right-faith-knowledge-conduct are called trtha. However, from practical viewpoint, places where the five auspicious events (pa ca kaly akas) of the twenty-four trtha karas or any special event in their life or of the other monks who attained omniscience are called t rthas. In this paper we shall talk of t rtha places as trthas as this is the common meaning assigned by laity. Going to these places is called pilgrimage and spending time there and is an extremely important activity in a Jain's life. Pilgrimage differs from festivals in the sense that festivals are celebrated in the city of your normal residence for a short time while for pilgrimage, one has to leave his /her home and family and go a religious palce for longer periods of time.
As seen above, by definition, trtha is a holy place. It signifies purity, simplicity, holiness, knowledge and bliss all put together. When we go there we start feeling these attributes also. In fact the idea of going there and starting the pilgrimage itself gives a feeling of renouncing the world and enjoying the eternal benevolence of holy people. This is the whole purpose of going on a pilgrimage. Jains go to trtha quite often, especially the middle aged and the elders and stay there for extended periods of time to acquire more religious knowledge, practicing rituals and giving up worldly activities. In a way we can say that pilgrimage is like going on a vacation but with the objective of feeling and being holy and peaceful and cleanse the soul as against just the physical rejuvenation in vacations. Pilgrimage provides us the opportunity to devote full time for spiritual purposes and hence enables us to advance in our path of spiritual purification.
Broadly, a t rtha can be of any one of the four categories:
• •
Place of attaining emancipation, Nirva. Siddha kşetra Place where some divine or other religious event happened. Atiśaya kşetra. Place where any of the five auspicious events of t rthankars took place. Kaly Place of art/ architecture. Kalā kşetra.
aka kşetra.
Let us briefly review each:
Siddha kşetra: There is very limited number of such places in India. Sammeda ikhar or P ras N tha in the state of Jh rkhanda is the place from where twenty out of twenty four trthankaras have attained Nirva. Thus it is the holiest one and is frequented by almost all Jains at least once in their lifetime. Then there are P v puri (Mah vra), Camp puri (V sapujya) in Bihr, Giran ra (Nemi N tha) in Gujar ta and Mount Kaila a (now in Tibet) fordi N tha that belong to this class. There are other places identified also where other omniscient attained Nirva (mostly in the states of Mahārāstra, Gujarāta, Bih r and Madhya Prade a).
Kaly aka kşetra. There is a limited number of such places again. Ayodhy with maximum number of kaly akas (first five t rthankaras). Hastin pura with four kaly akas of three t rthankaras, both in UP and P lit na in Gujar ta are important places. There are many others such places primarily in UP, Bih ra, Madhya Prade a and nearby states.
Atiśaya kşetra Almost all other trthas numbering approximately 200 fall in this category. They are spread throughout the country. Due to some auspicious event happened earlier people start believing in divine powers in such places and visit them primarily to have their worldly needs fulfilled. SriMah vraji and Tij r in R jasth na are most visited ones. They are mostly in R jasth na, Mahārāştra, Gujarāta, Bihāra and Madhya Pradeśa and Karnātaka.
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Kalā kşetra. These are the places where important Jain art and architecture, idols are found. Devagarh and Gw lior fort, Elephant cave, Ajant Ellorcaves, Sravanbelgol, Mount Abu Dilawr temple, Ranakapura and many caves and temples in southern India are famous places for their Jain art. Jains when they visit such places, normally undertake a walking trip to different temples at the place visited, performs worships, attend religious sermons, practice vows and study holy texts
Other t rtha: Now days a number of cryas have started building centers of worships (temple complexes). institutes of learning for Jainism and call them as trtha. Further we find new constructions at different places as a result of finding Jain idols there (which were worshipped earlier but buried due to political or other invasions). At such places temple complexes are built and categorized as Ati aya kşetra.
References
JAINISM by Kurt Titze and the map attached. Jain Sidhanta Sabda Kosa by Jainndra Varni vol 2 pages 363. Dicovery of Videha and Airavat by J.D.Jain Jaipur CD
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1.3.a
Jaina Sculpture Dr. R. G. Majumdar
For the believer in the Jaina faith from the beginning of its inception, the root term "Jina" signifies the paradox of a king who has conquered the world by renouncing every strand of material possession and power. This idea is visually manifested in the incarnate form of the trtha kara meditating in the padm sana or the k yotsarga positions.
Jaina art in general and more specifically, Jaina sculpture comprise the process of iconographic embodiment of a faith rooted in myth and history across two and a half millennia. It is the iconic figure of Mah v ra and some of the trtha karas preceding him in their states of meditation, along with attendant deities and emblems within a contingent cosmology, that constitute Jaina art in a wide range of forms-miniature paintings, relief and monolithic sculpture, temple architecture in the form of singular edifices or an entire temple-city.
In Jaina Art and Architecture (1974), A. Ghosh has divided Jaina iconography generally into three periods between 300 B.C. and 1000 A.D. He has also drawn the basic premise, that Jaina art in all its complexity and variety forms an integral part of the fund of India's total cultural heritage and thus cannot be seen in isolation. Jaina sculpture - like Buddhist and to an extent Hindu sculpture - constitute the artistic representation of a faith expressed through stone, wood, ivory, terracotta, metals of various kinds. The content and form of this dynamic faith in a unique artistic symbiosis, is the concern of this paper.
The Greeks during the same period of civilization as Mah v ra's and Buddha's, namely the sixth century B.C. onwards, were also keenly interested in the literary and artistic representation of their essential truths. Aristotle used the term "mimesis" or imitation in his discussions on classical tragedy: Plato used it in his discourses on poetry in the Republic. The use of the word "mimesis" was in connection with the ritualistic worshipping of Dionysus: it was from the original impulse of enacting the passion of his life, death, dismemberment and resurrection that tragic drama evolved as a vital art form in Periclean Greece. It was similar with Greek sculpture, which like dythrambic poetry began on a religious basis - portraying Apollo, Venus, Poseidon, et al- and then gradually adopting secular, literary and political attributes in tune with a maturing civilization.
Jain (and Buddhist) art and sculpture, however, began and sustained the singular representation of the Jaina / Buddhist faith identified with their respective iconic paradigms - primarily figures like Mah v ra and Buddha in a historical setting along with a mythological repertoire of divine, semi-divine and mutable icons like Yakshas, Yakshi, Bodhisattvas, humans, animals, birds and trees.
The result of such an artistic evolution through the media of sculpture and painting gave rise to a complex and heterogeneous iconography that sought to modify images / icons from much earlier religious and cultural contexts associated with pre-Aryan, Aryan and other civilizations, including the Harappan civilization of Mohen-jo-Daro. It is also interesting to note the uncanny similarity between Jaina and early Greek sculptures of kouroi. The Jaina kayotsarga pose finds almost a parallel in the portrayals of the Apollos of Tenea (6th cent B.C.) and of Kouros (600 B.C.), except for their slightly extended left feet.
For the purposes of sculpture and painting the most popular of the twenty for named Tirthankaras in the Jaina canon that have featured down the ages, have been four- abhan tha, Nemin tha, Prashn tha and Mah v ra. The Kalpas tra delineates mainly the lives of these four saints of whom only the last two earn a proper place in the chronicles of history leading up to the threshold of the 6th century before the birth of Christ.
At the heart of Jaina iconography, as mentioned earlier is the figure of the archetypal Jaina trtha kara, Mah vra, depicted universally in two basic postures: (a) the standing, k yotsarga or khadg sma position in which the arms hang loosely by the sides reaching down to the knees, palms curved inwards, body completely relaxed, the eyes focused on the nose in the nasagri d şti, in deep
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meditation. The purpose of this meditation is to "to make an end to sinful acts." In Hemachandra's verse the ideal perception of the kayotsarga pose is portrayed: "At dead of night he stands in the k yotsarga outside the city wall and the bullocks taking him for a post rub their flanks against his body:"(b) the second posture is the sitting, lotus-like padm sana position that corresponds with one of Buddha's meditative positions. The Buddha has a third, reclining and position in his state of nirvana.
The basic core of Jaina iconography, the figure of the trtha kara, is supplemented by four layers of images that identify the icon concerned:
1. Symbols of two types: (i). Characteristic attributes: abhan tha's flowing locks of hair,
Para n tha's seven-hooded snake; (ii) emblems of cognizance: bull for abhan tha, kalasa for Mallin tha, conchshell for Nemin tha, lion for Mah vra, etc. Emblems common to all are the Srivatsa mark on the chest, the unisa on the top of the head - both being a post-8th
century A.D. development in Jaina Sculpture. 2. The trtha kara icon is also identified by a pair of Yaksa and Yaksi, superhuman attendants or
sana devat s, who seem to belong, as Ananda Coomeraswamy observes in his book on Yakşas to "an older stratum of ideas than that which is developed in the Vedas." It is not surprising therefore to discover through the medium of sculpture (and ritual) Yakshas and Yaksis like Kubera and Ambika, acquire a stark individuality of their own beyond their
honourable affiliations. 3. Miscellaneous gods adopted from the Hindu pantheon-Indra, Shiva, Vishnu, Saraswati, etc. 4. Panca Maha Kalyanaka: the five archetypal events in the phenomenal life of Mah v ra. These
events serve as universal Jaina paradigms of consciousness and knowledge, described in the KalpaS tra and depicted vividly in miniature paintings and sculptures. Almost every aspect of Jaina iconography, art and ritual is in some form or other connected with these five events.
The first event, the garbha kaly naka was the conception of the embryo of Mah vra in the womb of Devananda, wife of the Bhahmin sabhadatta; and the transfer of this embryo (according to
vetambara scripts) to the womb of Trisala, a Magadhan princess with the mediation of the goat headed deity Harinegamesin. Both women saw in succession the fourteen auspicious dreams on the eve of their conception', which also form the subject of artistic renditions in paint and stone. The second event the janma kalay nka constitutes Mah vra's birth in the phenomenal world; dik a kalay nka, the renunciation; kevala jn na, knowledge, enlightenment; and finally nirvana kalay nka, the event of final liberation. These five events are celebrated in the Kalpas tra, an excellent source of Jaina iconography from the vetambara perspective; and are also recounted in Hemachandra's Mah v rasvamicaritra.
The fourteen-dream motifs are often shown in relief carving in wood on the lintel over the door of the Jina shrine in the Jaina households. Harinegamesin is shown seated or standing in sculpture, alone or surrounded by children. In the relief panels in Chandragupta Basti in Karnataka, Indra is shown purifying Mah vra after his birth, attended by four bulls. The enlightenment stage is usually represented by the 'samavasara a', the preaching hall of the Jina, in the symbolic structure of the caumukha, four images back to back on a square pedestal, signifying the same tirthankara preaching in four directions of the world. Mah v ra's nirva is normally depicted in the dhyana mudr, with the symbol of the crescent moon resting on mountain peaks figuring on his throne.
The KalpaS tra of Bhadrab hu delineates at length the lives of only the four tirthankaras mentioned earlier, a preference that becomes evident in the paintings and sculptures in museums in India and around the world. Others like B hubali, the Mahavidyas, the Yaksas and Yaksis, and the ga adharas, also find find a place in the domain of sculpture and graphic representations. According to Svetambara belief, Mallin tha the 19th Tirthankara was a woman with the earthen vessel or kalasa as her emblem. Subsequent traditions attributed multiple facets to each trtha kara -a special body colour, a pair of attendant daemons, ga adharas, an emblem of cognizance and also a special vriksa or tree.
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Jaina sculpture from the earliest stages also subscribes strictly to the conventional Indian tradition of artistic execution to the minutest degree.Sacred images were created strictly in a hierarchical order of images that called for a corresponding system of scales known as Tala. There were ten talas, starting with the highest unit of ten, dasatala, concerning divinities of the top order, and continuing with the human (astatala) and the lower forms (ektala) of life and images. The dasatala images were divided into three parts-uttam, madhyam and adham. Mah v ra, along with Buddha, Bramha, Visnu and Maheshwara, belonged to the prestigious top-club category, the uttam dasatala. These were the images of the supremely realized souls who in their omniscience merited an appropriate artistic representation. The sculptured image of divinity demanded special attention to four main anatomical features: the entire body, face, eyes and nose-reflecting fulfillment, beauty, joyousness, elegance and serenity. The purpose of such an artistic composition of beauty would be to create a sense of awe and veneration in the beholder.
The silpa texts prescribe in detail the measurements and nature for any image-in which the body is positioned perfectly straight with the arms by the sides in a natural way, the feet placed side by side with body weight equally distributed. The height of the body from crown to feet is divided into 124 parts, each part being known as dehangulam or viral, which in turn is divided in 8 parts, each known as yavai. The sculptor uses the established tala norms as well as his own prowess to create the perfect configuration of the features of the face and body of the divinity concerned, taking recourse to nature as well at every turn to enhance the beauty of his subject. The eyebrow can be shaped like a crescent moon and can be elegant and smooth as the arch of a bow: his eyes may parallel the lines of a kayal fish or a spearhead or the shy glance of a doe; his nose can be shaped like a flower gracefully ending with a deep fold. The upper lip should have an edge and three curves, the lower lip shaped like a half moon. The ear resembles a conch in shape.
The exception to Jaina iconography while being "in perfect correspondence with it, is the figure of Bahubali or Gommateshwara. He is no tirthankara in the conventional sense and yet all Jainas revere him as the unique son of the first tirthankara abhan tha. He too renounced the world to find himself. He is one of the most visible of icons within the dynamic repertoire of Jaina sculptures. The colossal statue of Bahubali in Sarvanbelgola, Karnataka, stands 21 m. high on top of a hill, carved out of a single boulder of granite a thousand years ago.
Jaina art, and specifically Jaina sculpture relates the microcosm of the Tirthankara icon at its center to the glorious macrocosm of the faith at large among the laity at the circumference. This phenomena is symbolized in myriad ways: the sculptured magnificence of the Udaygiri, Khandagiri, Ajanta, Ellora and Badami caves; the temples of Mt.Abu, Ranakpur and Khajuraho; the victory pillar in Chitor temple cities like that of Palitana in Saurashtra. All this and more, symbolically comprise the Jaina 'universe' that Mah vra chose to address in the state of his supreme knowledge, his kevala jñana. Such a 'universe' in all its multiplicity as well as unity, is the subject of Jaina art and sculpture. "The main achievements of this age" observes Jose Pereira in Monolithic Jinas, "are noniconographical."
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1.3.d
Jaina architecture (Vatthu-vijja' or vastu) Dr. J. K. Upadhye
1.0 Introduction
Three fundamental needs of human life are food, clothing and shelter. In today's session, I am inclined to utilize this opportunity to discuss the last basic requirement of our's i.e. shelter (I prefer to call it residence here). Spiritual texts have mentioned residence as the source of attachment. Attachment provides the impetus for the improvement of energy. According to Jain thinkers, there are two types of conduct:
1. Attached to home 2. Detached from home.
The first category is of our concern as it brings out the relevance of architecture i.e. V stu stra. To overcome the difficulties of life, householders need a house of their own and a housewife is indispensable. No householder is complete without his wife. A householder's life is steered by activity. Activity is of two types:
1. Sinful
2.
Holy / sacred
No institute has ever been opened for the teaching of sinful activities. Because of the accumulation of the previous activities, people engage themselves into sinful activities. No preaching is required for this. On the contrary, the tendency of acquiring knowledge is a sacred activity as it generates the great virtues like compassion, sympathy, beneficence for others, brotherhood, etc. These virtues are always present in the conscience of the person engaged in sacred activities. By leading a householder's life, one gets energy, peace and piousness. Therefore it is essential that any residence must have pious resources, superior art examples and, above all, non-violent behaviour should be its foundation.
1.1 The Relevance of Architecture
Architecture means "the art of house construction". In Prakrit Language it is known as 'Vatthu-vijja' and in English it is called 'Architectonics'. Religion, astrology, rituals, etc. combined to relate v stu to spirituality. Due to this, V stu stra spread like a code of conduct. With it, the belief of society is associated. So V stu stra is more a thing of present although it belongs to the past.
The history of Indian architecture is considered to begin from Mohanjod ro and Harapp civilization. Before this period, it was the age of huts and a cottage made up of bamboo, wood and leaves. In this life, too, was civilization. But the appropriate source for the study of this civilization has always been absent. And consequently the knowledge of architecture of these periods, too, remains insufficient and unsatisfactory.
Architecture is also a type of fine art. The study of craft enhances aesthetic sense along with fulfilling the requirements. As the pinnacle of human emotions is music, similarly the extended and vivid meaning of craft is the construction of house. To give a unanimous definition or explanation of craft is as difficult as that of art. Architecture is also a type of fine art. The study of craft enhances aesthetic sense along with fulfilling the requirements. As the pinnacle of human emotions is music, similarly the extended and vivid meaning of craft is the construction of house. To give a unanimous definition or explanation of craft is as difficult as that of art.
Professor Mulkaraj Anand defines craft as, "craft is that one constructs form the available resources on the lofty foundations of imaginations. Such a craft is to be considered matchless whose art and imagination affects human lives". This definition increases the responsibility of the artist. To present an organized pattern of the pictures on mental canvas is art, as it is accepted by the critics. In such a case, artist is not just a craftsman; rather he is seen as an able philosopher and the expert of art. For example, to witness the greatness of ruins of great monuments with an artist is an unbelievable experience. In such a situation one witnesses truth in those ruins. Afterwards, a mental base is
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formed. It indicates that in the development of human civilization, the role of artist has remained to be on a high pedestal. The history of Indian architecture is considered to begin from Mohenjodaro and Harappa civilization. Before this period, it was the age of huts and cottages made up of bamboo, wood and leave. In this life, too, was civilization. But the appropriate source for the study of this civilization has always been absent. And consequently the knowledge of architecture of these periods, too, remains insufficient and unsatisfactory.
The attraction towards architecture has constantly increased from past to the present. The present day skyscrapers, vast dams, etc. are constructed according to the prevalent norms of the past. It seems that on these ancient doctrines of architecture large-scale constructions couldn't materialize in the past as compared to the present day scenario,
Today V stu stra has developed as the science of architecture, which is an independent field of study. In many Universities autonomous departments and colleges have been established for its study. Scientific facilities and industrial requirements have developed a very advanced form of V stu stra. Today the miraculous effects of this learning or knowledge are awaited in a normal manner. This alone is the proof of the importance of V stu stra. In the period of in ga, V st stra was, no doubt, at its pinnacle. Not only this, one also sees the artistic two-way i.e. symbiotic relationship between Indian and Babylonian civilizations. From the remains of Maurya and
u ga period, a rich tradition of architecture is seen. If we consider Mansar to be a text of Gupta period, then we could say that during this period not only architecture, but also literature flourished. Great poets like Kalinga and Harsh have mentioned fine art in their literary works. In such a case, the relevance of V st stra ought to be accepted.
1.2 Architects in Jaina Belief: Lord Rsabhadeva's son Bharata was a world conqueror. He was the first of the twelve emperors of Jaina tradition. An emperor had fourteen jewels of which seven were living and other seven nonlivings. The names of the non-living jewels are chakra (a divine circular weapon possessed by the emperor), parasol, sword, rod, gem, kakini i.e. a unit of measurement, and amour. The living ones are the chief person of the house, Commander-in-chief of army, chief of elephant forces, chief of horses' forces, architect, priest and jewel of women.
The fifth jewel among the living ones is an architect who performs the role of present day engineers in the construction of Jaina-temples, houses, cities or towns, attic, garden, etc. according to the desire and taste of emperors. This has been discussed in detail in the middle of Mah pur na by Jinasena. M ghnandi has depicted this in the first chapter of stras ra Sammucaya.
In ancient India significant development has taken place in V stu or architecture. In Jaina Canons one finds mention of an expert to analyze architecture. These analyzers use to travel from one place to another for the purpose of town-constructions. The ritualistic description of towns, houses, palaces, royal pathways, etc. in Padmapur a reveals the contemporary greatness of architecture during this period. It is to be mentioned that even non-Jaina texts provide a vivid description of the word 'V stu'.
Dr Prasanna Kumar writes in V stu Encyclopedia refers to the multidimensional fame of V stu with appropriate examples of a palace, auditorium, court, school and colour etc. Architecture implies villages, towns, forts, ports, residence, etc. and at the same time it could be said to be the companion of Iconography as well. Texts like Artha stra, Agnipur a and Garudapur a confirm this meaning of architecture. By Y na i.e. ship or aircraft that served as a vehicle for deities, we come to know about pulsation or vibration, palanquin and chariot.
1.3 Residential Architecture: Jaina texts give comprehensive accounts of residential houses. The main entrance should be in the east, the kitchen in the southeast corner, the bedroom in the south, the lavatory in the southwest, the dining room in the west, the treasury in the north and the room for performing rituals in the
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north-east. In case the house does not face east, the direction, whatever it be, should be taken to be the east as to maintain this order.
A window or even a small hole in the rear wall may not be made at all. The window may be built at a height so that it comes not lower than the one in the wall of the neighbouring house. In multi-storyed buildings a door having two doors above it and a column having a door above it are not advisable. The courtyard may not be planned with three or five corners. Cattle may be kept in a separate room outside the house.
There is another type of classification of houses specifically meant for kings. It is the king only who is allowed to have a circular house, if he so likes. The house of a learned person should be built in (dhvaja) flag ya (dimension), that of an industrialist and a politician in (simha) lion ya, of a businessman in (vrsabha) bull ya, of the third and fourth class people in (gaja) elephant ya. The caves of the monks and the cottage of saints should be built in (dhvanksa) crow ya. The fuel stations are to be made in (dhumra) smoke ya; the house for the security guards should be in ( w na) dog ya; the house for transportation should be in (khara) donkey ya. From the eight ya that we have discussed just now, four are considered to be auspicious and other four inauspicious. Dhvaja ya is considered symbolic of benefit, simha ya as symbol of power, vísabha as symbol of peace and gaja ya of prosperity.
There can be four gates in four directions in (dhvaja) Flag ya, in (simha) Lion ya there can be three gates except in the west direction; in bull ya the gate should be in east direction and in gaja
ya doors should be in east and south directions. The house of those people who deal with fire such as the ironsmith would be in dhumra (smoke) ya: people who are uncultured (mlechha) should build their house in dog ya and the house of that of the prostitute should be in donkey ya.
Nail in the centre of the frame of the main entrance, pillar over the door, two doors over one door in multi-storyed buildings, etc. are considered inauspicious and for that matter should be removed. Other's architectural articles such as stones from temple, well and cremation ground and wood items from the palaces, etc. should not be brought to one's own house.
While painting the walls of one's house, pictures of vultures, crows, pigeons, and monkeys and of war should not be painted, as they are all disturbing and inauspicious.
Except in the case of Royal palaces, the painting of wild animals like lion and elephant and of wild birds for the purpose of adornment is not advisable. These may show inauspicious results.
Sleeping Position: One must not sleep keeping his legs towards images of gods, idols of gurus, treasury, etc. Also one must not sleep keeping his head towards the north direction and without clothes or naked. While getting up in the morning one should touch his right arm to the bed, which enhances good health. One must always take hot food with the right hand, cold drinks with the left hand and should sleep on his left side. These are indicators of a disease-free life. After taking meals one should walk down at least 100 steps and warm his hands with heat. These formulae prevent hundred diseases.
Mansion construction: High mansions were built for wealthy and prosperous people. There is even a mention of sevenstoried mansions. The tops of these mansions seemed to touch the sky and in their white glory, they looked as if they were laughing and since they were studded with gems, they presented very peculiar pictures at times. The pillars, platforms, attics, floors and basements of mansions have been mentioned. The city of Rajgriha was known for its stone and brick mansions. The mansion of Bharat Cakravarty was famous for its i amahal. Winter house constructed by Vardhaka Ratna was free from any influence of heat, cold and rains. In Bhumigrha, there is a mention of trap doors, tunnels and lac houses. Jatugrha is known for being constructed on pillars and having an almost inaccessible entrance.
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In the ancient days, architecture was a fully developed art and the professions of mason and carpenter were main professions of the day. Masons and carpenters used to work for houses, mansions, palaces, basements, ponds and temples. Kokkas carpenter of was a skillful sculptor and he made a mechanical pigeon by using his sculpture skills. On the request of Kalinga king, he constructed a mansion of seven storeys. Bricks, clay, sugar, sand stone, etc. were needed for construction work. Brick houses were painted generally with lime. Houses were made out of stone too.
The Mandapa i.e. auditorium made for Draupadi's Swayamvara (an ancient tradition of choosing a bridegroom by a bride) was erected on hundreds of pillars and it looked beautiful due to many pockets. The floors of the bath chambers of kings were studded with stones, Pearls and gems
There was a tradition of constructing Catul mansions in the older days. Sanghad sa Gani has mentioned about Catul mansions.
A block of four houses or a quadrangle surrounded by four mansions on all four sides is called a Catu | Sanghadasa has also mentioned Sarvatobhadra palaces. Anything that has gates on all four sides is called Sarvatobhadra. Sarvatobhadra really hints towards the sculpture charisma of ancient v stu knowledge. In first century B.C., Var hmihir has given the method of building Sarvatobhadra in Brihadsamhita. Buildings which have no gates in the direction of west and which have platforms in four directions built in circumambulatory manner are called Nandy vartya.
In the second Javanika of Karpurmanjari the description of the ornamentation of the heroine expressed in the dialogue between the King and far seeing is actually done in terms of sculpture science. In the first act of Mudrar k asa, when C nakya himself expresses the wish for a place to sit in front of his disciple, then the disciple directs to him to a chamber consisting of Vetr sana (shape of lower world). Similarly, we find hints towards several points of sculpture science and the art of V stu in the incidents of reference to Nanda Bhavana, Rajbhavana-dv ra, Kanakatorana, Sugangapras da and Kusumpura etc.
Establishment of Towns: Form the ancient times, the construction of towns has remained important in architecture. The terminology of architecture has been used in ancient texts like Rm yana, Mah bh rata, J takas, Yugpura, My mata, Manasara, Samar ngas tradh ra etc. For architecture and the construction of houses there used to be architects or engineers. 'Architect' is mentioned even in non-Jaina texts like Manasara, M y mata, Samar ngas tradh ra and many others.
According to the critiqued Jaina texts, towns are fifty-four kms wide and extend from East to West whereas in length they are 72 Kms. extending from South to North. Their entrance is towards East direction. In these towns 1,000 crossroads, 12,000 lanes, big and small 1,000 doors, 500-planked doors and 200 ornamented or decorated doors are seen. In Padmapura it is mentioned that because of these towns being whitewashed with lime, they appeared to be like a row of palaces. In Jaina texts, the prosperity of towns is mentioned. According to Padmapura, during the reign of emperor Bharata, towns were full of great resources as that of heavens. There in the Southern range of Vijayardha Mountain matchless towns, consisting of different sorts of countries and towns, narrow like Matamb i.e. an area of 500 villages and having the expanse of areas surrounded by mountains, rivers and villages are present. The soil of this region is like the soil of the land worthy of worldly enjoyment. Sweet juices, milk, ghee (butter) and other rasas i.e. sweet juices constantly flow from its fountains. At this place heaps of grain appear like mountains. Never ever the granary is empty. Wells and gardens have the smell endowed with luminosity. Paths are comfortable and devoid of any thorn or dust. The drinking pots or the water tanks are under the shade of green and huge trees and are full of sweet juices.
Architectonics has been mentioned in Samar ngas tradh ra, elaborately in various texts of Jaina tradition. In Ya astilaka, a text of 10th century, by Somadevasuri various objects related to architecture are mentioned. Various types of attired or dome-shaped Jaina temples, palaces, kings'
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courts, residence of kings, stadium, recreation gardens, fountains, elephant's training centre, military houses, and places to enjoy the first rain of the season, etc. are described elaborately in various contexts.
From the remains of Maurya and unga period (3rd century B.C. to 2nd century A.D.), a rich tradition of architects is seen. If we consider M nsara to be a text of Gupta period, then we could say that during this period not only architecture, but also literature flourished. Great poets like Kalinga and Har a have mentioned fine art in their literary works. In such a case, the relevance of V stu stra ought to be accepted.
Though no written proof of these great works of architecture is available, yet one couldn't deny the great examples of Indian Architecture, like Ajanta and Ellora, Jogimasa, Siddhanvad, Chanvad and many others. The flow of V stu stra tradition followed the flow of time energy. Due to this, great changes took place in the method and tools of architecture. It is well known that any tradition survives only if its true followers are present. So is the case with the great tradition of Indian architecture.
Theatre: According to RajprasniyaS tra's description, the theatre there was built upon several pillars and it was adorned by Vedik (platform). Torana (ornaments of gates) and Putthik s (Puppets). It was embellished with beautiful sapphire gems and pictures of bulls of keen desires, etc. There were many golden and gem-embellished stupas and then tops or summits were decorated with colorful bells and flags. There were mechanically operated couples of Vidhy dhara (learned kings) and the theatre was kept clean and tidy by constant scrubbing and smearing.
Conclusion: In one of his philosophical couplet Saint Kabir says that in order to have a healthy body one must take his meals with right hand, must drink water with left hand and also must sleep on left side.
The upliftment or downfall of human beings is determined by their good or bad deeds respectively. Avoiding bad habits, householders should build their house according to the doctrines of V stu stra so that they attain peace in life, fame in society and infinite prosperity.
According to the great thinkers, and as I have mentioned in the beginning, the true companion of a householder is his wife. Also the life of a couple is considered successful only when they have worthy children. A Flawless house is needed not only for householders who desire long-lived parents and to have the fortune of husband-wife symbiotic relationship, children, vehicles, land, servants, etc. but also for saints these rules of V stu stra apply. For the accomplishment of their meditation, hermits should build their caves, Matha, Schools of religious teachings, etc. according to the norms of V stu stra. Any building constructed according to Vstu stra provides dharma, prosperity, fulfillment of desires and, above all salvation.
One should understand that V stu stra is the acquisition of knowledge of construction. Buildings like temples, residences of kings and his subjects, etc. devoid of the rules of V stu stra are considered inauspicious. To live in such a house is not auspicious. Jaina temples are the places to provide shelter for human beings. This place, which is possessed by those great persons who have conquered their senses, enhances dharma, wealth, fulfillment of desires and liberation. These four endeavours of a worthy man are attained by the positive effects of such a place. Such a place fulfils our desires. Temples, Mandapas, houses, shops and basements constructed against the norms of Vastushastra give opposite results, like death, loss of children and mental agony. Therefore, it becomes essential to follow the doctrines of V stu stra in the construction of houses and other buildings.
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Bibliography Ghosh, Amlananda. Jain Art and Architecture, New Delhi: Bhartiya Jnanpith, 1974. Jain, C.R. The Householder's Dharma, Meerut: Veer Nirvan Bharati, 1975. Jain, Gokulchand. Yashashtilak Ka Sanskritik Adhyayan. Amritsar: Sohanlal Jain Dharma Pracharak Samithi. Jain, J.P. Religion and Culture of the Jains, New Delhi: Bhartiya Jnanpith, 1999. Jinasena, Acharya. Adipuran, New Delhi: Bhartiya Jnanpith, 1998. Kantisagarji, Muni. Khandaharon Ka Vaibhav. Kashi: Bhartiya Jnanpith, 1953. Khoj Ki Pagdandiyan. Kashi: Bhartiya Jnanpith, 1953. Pheru, Thakkar. Vathusar Payarana. Jaipur: Jain Vividh Granthmala, 1963
Chart No.2: Dimensions (Ayas) of a House
Formula for the measurement of a house is as follows:
Length & Width = Area. &
9+ 8 = Remainder (1-8).
Different dimensions are named on the basis of the remainder. The names of the different dimensions with their corresponding remainders are as follows:
Remainder
Dimension in English
Dimension in Hindi
One
Flag
Dhvaja
Two
Smoke
Dhoomra
Three
Lion
Simha
Four
Dog
Swan
Five
Bull
Vrishabh
Six
Donkey
Khara
Seven
Elephant
Gaj
Eight
Crow
Dhvanksh
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1.3.f
Pilgrim Places Of Bundelkhand To Be Visited
Dr. Shugan C Jain
Tourist map of MADHYA PRADESH
Morena Ranthambore Chambal Swalior
!
Sonagiri..dia
Chanderi
Chhatarpur
Tikamgarh Deogarh
Khajuraho
Panna
Sagar
jabalpur
Mandu
Bagh Caves Maheshwar imkareshwat
Satpura. Pashmarhi
O
State Capital State Boundray District Headquarter Tourist Place Historical Place Religious Place National Park Wildlife Sanctuary Aerodrome
(G-1 Map of Madhyapradesh)
Map of central India shows the part of central India which abounds in sites of Jaina art and worship. Only some of the sites of interest to us for this pilgrimage are shown here. They belong to the area called Bundelkhand (primarily Madhya Pradesh with parts of Uttar Pradesh). Here we shall talk about the three places namely Gwalior and Deogarh for their art and Sonagiri for its religious and temples complex. Stories abound about Jain monks, rulers and others exercising influence and prospering in this area from 3rd century BC beginning with rule of emperor Ashok. Jain texts also talk of 8th Tirathankar Chandra Prabhu visiting Sonagiri seventeen times and subsequently thousands of their monks attaining salvation from there (Nanga and Ananga being the main ones).
From Jaina art perspective, the same begins at Mathura shortly before and under the Kushan dynasty (c 100-250). Also the same got a new phase during Gupta dynasty (c 320-500AD). In subsequent development this Jaina art spread to other places as well. Jaina art in central India regained its former glory at a somewhat later date with Gwalior (700-800AD) and Deogarh (850-1150AD) becoming Jain centres of art. These two places represent a new phase which is, on the whole, typical of central India and which can be called a regional style.
Gwalior Gwalior is a modern city about 100KM from Agra, 150 Kms from Mathura on the Agra. Jhansi Road. It was the seat of Scindia dynasty and the ex rulers who still continue to be members of Indian parliament. The treeless fort-rock of Gwalior rises abruptly from the plain on all sides. It can boast of a number of exquisite Jaina sculptures. Some of them are rock cut and facing narrow ledges in the vertical walls of the solid rock. Others are free standing (not rock cut) and have survived; they are kept mostly in the new built archeological museum. Even though Gwalior and the fort are predominantly Hindu places (Teli ka Mandir (750- 800AD) and Caturbhuja temple (876AD), still we also find a dilapidated Jain temple (1108AD) inside the fort. However there was a revival of Jaina art in 15th century under predecessors of Man Singh Tomar (1486-1516AD) The rock sculptures of

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Gwalior are unsurpassed in northern India for their large number and colossal size but from the artistic view they are stereotype.
Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh)
Deogarh (Uttar Pradesh) is a small village situated about 40KM from Lalitpur and 200 KM from Gwalior. The name suggests a fortification which encompasses temples. There are many places in India by this name for this reason. Deogarh is known both for Gupta temple (500-550AD) and group of Jain temples in the eastern part of the fort (850-1150A). Deogarh temples and idols are important due to their stylistic and iconographic variety. The sheer number of images is impressive and more than 400 deserve description. The material used at Deogarh is sandstone, often of a warm brick red colour.
Sonagir/Swarngiri (Golden Hill)
Sonagir or Swarngiri (golden hill) is a Jain temple village with more than 120 Jain temples on the hill and plains around the hill. It is considered to be the second most important pilgrim place of Digambar Jains (after Sammetsikhar) due to the large number of temples, several hundred monks attaining salvation and the 8th Tirthankar Chandra Prabhu visiting the place seventeen times along with its location on the main rail and road link. There are several annual festivals, the most notable being around Holi festival in Feb-March when several thousand Jains gather for prayers and pilgrim. The temple architecture, especially the domes (shikhars) are noteworthy as belonging to different styles and periods (1300AD onwards).
Gwalior:
We can group the images at Gopachal in five sub groups as follows.
1. Urvahi group:
There are twenty two idols in standing postures on the way to the fort from Urvahi Gate. On five idols we find engravings to show the year 1440-1453. Idol number 20 of Lord AdiNath is the tallest, being 57 feet high and 5 feet wide at the feet (G-4). Idol number 22 of Lord Neminath in sitting posture measures 30 feet high and we cannot find such a tall idol in sitting posture anywhere in India. In 1527, the Urvahi Jinas were mutilated by the Mughal emperor Babar, a fact which he records in his memoirs.
2. South-west group:
This group is located on rock outside Urvahi gate and under Khematal. There are five idols. Idol number G1 depicts a small child, husband and wife (poibly servants) and idol of lord Mahavir with his mother Trishla in sleeping posture and eight feet long are the important ones (G-5).
3. North-west group (G2):
Near Toda gate, there are three idols of Lord AdiNath having inscription of the year 1400AD and the names of the sculptor and the bhattarak who made these idols.
4. North-east group:
This group consists of small idols having inscription of the year 1355AD. These are located in a cave above Ganesh Gaur.
5. South-east group
·
(G3): These are considered to be the most important. Immediately after leaving the Phoolbagh gate under the Gangola Tal and spread over a kilometer and mostly cut in the rocks. There are 20 idols which are 20 to 30 feet tall and another group of same number measuring 10-15 feet tall. Some idols have inscription of year 1403AD on them.
Besides tirathankars we also find a number of idols of yaksh and yakshinis. We also find a number of idols moved to the Gujarimal museum and other places for safe keeping. We shall also visit the Golden temple in Gwalior, famous for its intricate art work in gold.
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(G-2 North-west group idols)
(G-3 South-east group idols)
(G-4 Lord AdiNath is the tallest, being 57 feet high and 5 feet wide)

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(G-5 lord Mahavir with his mother Trishla in sleeping posture)
SORS OF JAN
Sonagir or Swarngiri
A small hill, called Sonagir, or the golden hill, is the central part of the place with more than 76 temples atop, mostly painted in white lime and having saffron Jain flag atop each (S1) making this place look distinct, pious and sends religious fervor to visiting Jain pilgrim. The domes of most of the temples on the hill (except main and a few others) are like half sphere and perhaps influenced by the Muslim architecture. The entire walk is approximately 3 km with the main temple (S2) having the large idol in standing position of Chandraprabhu, the 8th Jain tirathankars. The idol is supposed to be miraculous as ailing sick parts of the body (especially eyes) by sheer looking at the idol get cured. Perhaps this is the only temple where the twenty two afflictions (parisahas) of Jain monk are pictorially described on the walls. On the hill we also find a replica of religious congregation (samosaran) of the Jina and a newly built Nandishwar temple. The top of the hill with the main temple (no 54) has a large platform which provides a pleasing view of the green fields and water bodies all around and had been acclaimed as a very serene place encouraging meditation by previous scholars of ISSJS. On the foot of the hill, there are more than 25 temples and large number of dormitories to stay. The latest addition is the Kund Kund Nagar having very good lodging, boarding and meditation facilities with Jain scholars available most of the time for religious discourses.
(S-1 Temples with Flags)

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(S-2 main temple of Sonaagiri)
भगवान चन्द्रप्रभु (S-3 Moolnayak Candaprabhu)

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Deogarh The Jaina temples of Deogarh boast of a great number of images, virtually the greatest concentration of Jaina image in the whole of India.
The great ShantiNath (height of the figure 3.73mt.) in temple no. 12 at Deogarh; organization of image divinities and there are also image of Jaina monks. The image (idols) is built before 862. This temple consists of a quadrangular structure which is crowned by a tall tower (shikhara). The circumambulatory passage of temple no.12 is jammed with colossal Jina images and the sanctum (sanctum plus vestibule) houses, besides the great Shantinatha image fore standing image of the Jaina goddess Ambika. If we allot the elements which surround the great Shantinath to three vertical zones, we can read the upper portion without difficulty. The vertical zone to the left has from top to bottom, a male garland bearer, a rosette two Ashoka trees an elephant with small figures a garland bearing couple, fore figures standing for planets, and the capital of the pillar.
An image of jina is housed in the narrow sanctum of temple no. 15. The unconventional element repeats basically the motifs (standard motifs) of the top area as seen in ill D2 (garland bearers etc.). The motif of the lion throne is amplified by the addition of a cushion and two blankets left and to the right of the throne. The carving of the composition is delicate and some decorated surfaces such as the halo with its flower design must be viewed up close to be properly appreciated. Unfortunately, this image is among the pieces which have been altered in the course of the more recent operations.
Reference:- Jainism page no. 110
(D-1 Candaprabhu )

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(D-2 Unnamed Jina in Deogarh temple no. 15)
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1.3.f
The Holy Temple of Ranakapura and Abu Dr. Kamini Gogri
All Photos by Thomas Dix
1.0 Introduction
On a curve of the boulder-strewn Maghai River in Rajasthan, in a tiny enclave formed by the forested Ar valli hills, lies the sacred site of R nakapura. In the 15th century several temples were built there and a bustling township overlooking the valley occupied the western slopes of the hills. Of the glory of those days, little remains today. The town has disappeared without a trace- the memory of its existence being occasionally conjured up by a vessel, or a gold coin discovered by wandering goatherds. One of the surviving fanes, set slightly apart from the rest, is the Sun temple built by illustrious R nakumbha, the Hindu ruler of powerful Rajput kingdom of Mewar. Three of the other temples belong to the Jainas. Of them all, the most impressive is the 'Dha
(the first lord of this aeon). It is also known as Trailokyadipaka Pr s da-the temple of the light of the three worlds.
The builder of
family that bore the title of sanghapati (one who borne the costs of the pilgrimage of others). The name shah indicates that he amassed his wealth as a banker or as a merchant. According to Jaina tradition, he gained the confidence of the king and was appointed minister. At the age of 32, however, greatly influenced by the sermons of the monk r Somasundara suruji, he retired from the world to practice celibacy. In a dream he saw a marvelous heavenly vehicle, nalinigulm vim na (lotus flight), which impressed him so much that he suggested, the temple and township.
, facing the four cardinal directions). The latter concept was important for him in order to have it like Raj vihara temple of King Kum rp la. Finally in Depaka, an architect from a neighboring village, he found the man to bring this project to fruition. The temple is said to have been begun in 1377 or 1387, depending on the source consulted. Tradition has it that the main structure of the temple was finall Somasundersuriji.

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1.2 Ground Plan of the din tha Temple The din tha temple has been conceived of as a catur-mukha-pr s da, i.e. the idol faces all four cardinal directions. This necessitates a cell (grabha grha, No. 1 in the plan) with four doorways. The entire ground plan, which is almost a square, derives from this basic conception.
The sanctum is surrounded by halls, known either as the sabh mandapas (assembly halls) or rangamandapas (dance halls, No. 2 in plan). The one on the western side, in the axis of the main entrance, has been given prominence due to its size. As a result, this cell has been placed a little to the east; this accounts for the ground plan not being a perfect square. The central area of the temple is in the form of a crucifix and is encircled by an open rectangular courtyard (No.3).
Along the axis from the sanctum to the assembly halls, there are other halls which are three - storyed: the meghan da mandapas (No. 4 in the plan), followed by the bal na mandapas (portal halls, No.5 in the plan), which provide access to the temple.
On the one hand, the ground plan evolves from the central sanctuary in the four cardinal directions through a series of halls. On the other hand, there are spaces arranged around the square cella in the shape of perfect squares. Thus, the sanctum and the sabh mandapas are enclosed by a courtyard which is surrounded by a space formed by three halls on each side (the meghan da mandapas, flanked by two halls, No.6 in the plan). This in turn is bound by eighty devakulikas (subsidiary shrines) screened by a colonnade. In between these are the portals which, on the north and south side, are each flanked by two highly extended shrines (No. 8 in the plan).
In the din tha temple, Depaka succeeded in harmoniously reconciling the differing conceptions. The shrine is first and foremost a catur-mukha temple in which trtha kara, through his quadruple image, conquers the four cardinal directions and hence the cosmos. Depaka was thus able to emulate the famous model of king Kumarapala, namely, the Raj Vih ra in Siddhapura. At the same time the basic conception of a Jaina temple, symbolizing the Samavasarana (the pavilion from which a trtha kara delivers his sermon) is also realized. The four cardinal directions, together with the centre, add up to the holy figure five which represents the cosmos. This mode of counting is common all over Asia and is, therefore, self explanatory.
The four shrines at the corners, which border on the courtyard, give the monument the appearance of a panc ratha (five shrine temple). This is a form which is popular in Hindu temples too. Since these shrines have been arranged in such manner that they are located between the cardinal directions, they in turn produce the concept of the figure nine (centre of the world, cardinal directions and the directions in between). This is a very important basic, representing a mandala (cosmogram as the ground plan of the world). The ingenuity of the architect can be seen in the manner in which he combines the figures five and nine with one another.
Together with the extended shrines (No. 8 in the plan), the temple is surrounded by a total of eighty four devakulikas (No. 9 in the plan). It has the appearance of a classical vih ra (a temple based on the ground plan of a monastery), a common structure amongst the Jainas. The figure eighty-four is representative of the twenty-four trtha karas of the past, present and future, respectively., plus the so-called twelve eternal trtha karas, of whom four each stand for one aeon respectively. In comparison with the simplicity of the exterior, the interior is distinguished by a baroquelike ornateness.
Apart from the purely ornamental and floral motifs, the Jainas also used the entire repertoire of Hindu iconography: deities, celestial musicians, danseuses, ga as (pot bellied dwarfs), elephants and maithunas (lovers) as well as stories from the great epics of the Rm yana and Mah bh rata. The eight dikp las (guardians of the cardinal points) are placed on top of the pillars and the domes are typically adorned with the sixteen Jaina goddesses of Knowledge also with celestial musicians and danseuses.
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If one enters the temple from the western side and looks upwards in the bal na mandapa (the portal hall), one sees the kicaka - a figure having one head and five bodies. This represents the five elements of which the material world is composed.
The portraits of the founder and of the architect are carved on the pillars of the western meghan da mandapa (three storyed hall No. 4 in the plan). These portraits are almost inconspicuous; in the midst of the embellishment, together with figures of female musicians an
paying him eternal obeisance.
In the meghan da mandapa on the northern side, there is a large marble elephant dating back to 1687. On the back of the elephant is mounted the mahout and besides him Marudevi, mother of
din tha. She is said to have come to hear the sermon of her son. Legend has it that on catching sight of him, while still some distance away, she achieved moksa. She would thus be the first person to have escaped the cycle of birth in this current epoch of decline and end.
In the meghan da mandapa on the southern side, there are magnificent carvings on the ceiling. There is a motif of n gadamana, a intertwined n ginis (female serpents).
In the bal na mandapa on the southern side, there are two reliefs measuring approximately a meter each. The reliefs face each other and apparently complement each other.
The Jambudvipa, the circular continent of the middle world in the centers of which stands the world mountain Meru, is represented on the eastern side. It is surrounded by mountains on which are located the abodes of the gods, and stylized forests. The entrances represented on the four sides are of special importance.
Facing this is the relief of the Nandiswara dvipa, the eight island continent. In this case too, four groups, consisting of thirteen mountains each, with temples atop them, surround the centre and form the figure fifty-two, which the Jainas regard as holy.
On the southern side of the temple there is a splendid relief of Prva, the twenty-third ford maker. He is seen standing flanked by two Jainas and two female serpents carrying fans. His head is protected by a one thousand-headed serpent hood. The whole scene is framed by serpent gods and goddesses with human bodies, their serpent tails knotted together. The two fan carrying serpents are also joined together.
E
ERSTE

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1.3.f
contd.
The Holy Temples of Dilwr (Mt. bu)
Dr. Kamini Gogri
Photos by Thomas Dix 1.0 Introduction The Dilwr temple complex at Mount bu is located in the south-west of Rajasthan, close to the border of Gujarat. It is one of the most important shrines of the Jainas. The name bu is derived from Arbud cala (Arbud 's hill) and alludes to the genesis of the mountain. The Jaina temples of Dilwr are located a few kilometers away from the city, in a valley.
1.1 The Vimala Vasahi or the Vimala ha Temple: (D-4) At the beginning of the second millennium, the Solanki dynasty of Gujarat ruled over the west coast of northern India. The Parm ras of Mt. Abu were the tribute paying vassals of the Solankis. One of the Solanki ministers, Vimala, an underling of King Bhima Deva was dispatched to the city of Candravati to quell the rebellion in a princely state. At the end of his mission he asked a Jaina monk how he could atone for the bloodshed. The monk informed him that willful killing could not be atoned for. However, he could earn good virtue by constructing a temple at Mt. bu.
Legend has it that the Brahmins were loathing to parting with the land on which the Vimala Vasahi temple stands. Vimala's tutelary goddess, Ambik , then appeared to him in a dream and showed him the place where an ancient din tha statue lay buried. This he placed before the Brahmins as evidence that the Jainas had also been worshipping there since ancient times. Even then the Hindus relinquished possession of the property only after a fantastic sum had been paid for it; Vimala had to cover the 1,024 square meter area in pieces of gold.
The construction began in 1031 A.D. The shrine masons guild of Badnagara in Gujarat was responsible for drawing up the plan; their architect, Kirtidhara, took 14 years to complete this marvel with the help of 1200 laborers and 1500 stone masons.
While entering the embellished door of Vimala Vasahi, we get the glimpse of the grandeur of sculptured marble, exquisite and exuberant carvings of ceilings, domes, pillars and arches of the temple dream-like far beyond any one's expectations. It has a sanctum, a Gudha Mandapa, Navacoki, rang mandapa and a

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screened by double arcade of pillars. Cell numbers are marked and the name of the idol installed in it is also written.
One of the descendent of Vimala named Prithvip la carried out certain constructions and repairs in 1147-49 A.D. and to commemorate the glory of his family erected a 'Hasti- la' in front of the temple.
1.1.1 Ranga Mandapa:
A grand hall supported by 12 decorated pillars and nicely carved arches with a central dome in the most exquisite design, luxuriant in ornamentation a punctilious Details having 11 concentric rings of elephants, horsemen, ducks, swans, etc. and groups of ornamental sculpted panels is simply mind boggling covering every niche of the marble. On the pillars are placed the female figures playing musical instruments and above are 16 Vidhy devis - the goddesses of knowledge- each one having her own symbol. The adorned motifs and ornamental frame works are noticeable. It represents the height of artistic achievements and religious fervor.
गुंबज में लटकते सूरजमुखी फूल

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मंदिर के शताधिक गुंबजों में से एक
XI
पाषाणों में खिलते फूल : एक गुंबज
(D-1-2-3)

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1.1.2 Navacowki:
It comprises of nine rectangular ceilings, each one containing beautifully carved designs supported on the ornate pillars. There are two big niches containing sculptures of din tha' on both sides.
KU
1.1.3 Gudha Mandapa:
Inside the profusely decorated doorway, is installed principle deity- lord Adinatha. There are two standing images of white marble of lord Pr van tha in meditation.
1.1.4 Hasti la:
This was constructed by Prithvip la, a descendant of Vimala in 1147-49A.D. In front of the entrance door, equestrian statue of Vimala originally carved of white marble is seen. The whole sculpture was mutilated and was later on repaired by plaster of Paris. Inside, ten marble sculptures of standing statues of elephants, arranged in three rows, beautifully carved, well-modeled and adorned were installed but were destroyed by the Muslim army in 1311.
2.1 Lu a Vasahi:
The temple is situated a little above the Vimala temple. This temple was constructed by two brothers, Tejap la and Vastup la, who have gone down in Indian architectural history as the greatest builders of the time. They were the ministers of the King Vira Dhaval
Popular legend has it that the brothers buried their money under tree when on a pilgrimage, because of the instability the country. When they dug it out, they discovered more money than had been concealed by them. They were full of consternation. Tejap la's wife, Anupama Devi came to their rescue, suggesting they view the entire incident as an omen and construct from their wealth temples in atrunjaya and Giranara. Later, as ministers they resolved to constructed a temple in Mt. bu in memory of their deceased brother, Luniga and dedicated it also to the 22nd trtha kara, Nemin tha.
The Lu a Vasahi temple was constructed in 1231 A.D. by the architect Sobhanadeva. (D-1-2-3)
2.1.1 The Ground Plan of Tejapala Temple:
The shrine measures 52 X 28.5m, is a close approximation of its model, although it faces west and is the exact reverse of the Vimala temple- yet, the sequence of the structural parts is the same as in the latter.
Consequently, a description highlighting the differences between the two temples will suffice here. The T-shaped temple stands in a courtyard. This is surrounded by 52- devakulikas screened by a double row of colonnades. Only in the north and south does a cell project a little out of the closed ground plan. At the back there are no shrines, only an enclosed hall with very old j li work, i.e., a latticed wall with ornamental tracery.
The roof of the sanctum is such a flat phamsana (pyramidal roof) that it barely projects above the complex. In front of the sanctum is the gudha mandapa which does not have any supporting pillars and a columned hall, the navacowki. The eight pillars of the ranga mandapa are connected to each other with scalloped arches and form an octagon made of toranas. The dome, too, is a marvel of polished precision and its keystone is proportionately larger as compared to that of the Vimala's temple.
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(D-4 Ceiling of the Vimala Vasahi)
विमल वसही मंदिर का अन्तर्दर्शन
THIS, T

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स्तम्भों में अनुपम कला (D-5-6)
SOME OF JAN
The above note is a compilation from the following sources: Thomas Dix and Lothar Clermont, Jainism and the temples of Mt.Abu and Ranakpur

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1.4
Some Aspects of Jaina Narrative Literature
Dr. Prem Suman Jain
1.0 Introduction Jainas have developed a rich literary activity at all the times. The majority of Jaina writers belong to the spiritual class; they are either monks who take advantage of the four months of monsoon (caturm sa) during which they are not allowed to wander and must take up on their literary activity, or those who have settled down at a place. The character and the content of Jaina- literature shows the predominance of the clerical element among the authors, and this, incidentally, agrees fully with the Indian literature in general. These works are mainly theological and philosophical treatises, legends of saints, didactic works and laudations of the Tirtha karas. The basic religious feature also emerges strongly in works having mundane contents, in books of science and poetry and works of narrative literature.
2.0 Tradition of Jaina Literature According to the Jaina tradition, the teachings of the religion were recorded in the period of the first Tirtha kara Rsabha himself; the Holy Scriptures always existed in the times in which the churches of the individual Tirtha kara prospered. It is true that they were forgotten in the intervals (in between the periods of a few Tirtha karas), during which the doctrine disappeared, but they were proclaimed again anew by every prophet. According to a tradition of the orthodox people which is propagated today, the holy scriptures from the period of all the Tirtha karas should essentially agree with one another (as also the life stories of the Tirtha karas in their important points), and only the names are supposed to vary in them.
Like the teachings of his predecessors, Mah vra's teachings also have been recorded in certain works. His disciples, the Ga adharas, brought them down to the posterity in 12 A gas of which the last consists of the so-called 14 "Prvas" ("earlier" works). According to one tradition, apostles are said to have brought the contents of the lectures of the Master at first in the 14 P rvas in a text-form and then worked them out into the A gas. The canon consisting of these and other works was faithfully preserved by the leaders of the community among the first followers of Mah vra. However, the parts of the canon fell into confusion with the time.
A council was called in around 300 B.C in Pataliputra, according to the tradition of vet mbaras, to put together the canon anew. It was found in it that the last of the great Holy Scriptures, the socalled 12th A ga, which comprised of the 14 works called Prva, were not any more in an authentic tradition. In spite of efforts this could not be saved. But the remaining holy works were preserved and they finally edited in the council of Valabh Gujarat) in the year after Mah v ra under the leadership of Devarddhi and first time put down in script (till then, all the holy "scriptures" are said to have been committed only orally from teacher to pupil). The canon of vet mbaras of today is according to their opinion, the corpus of work, which was fixed at time.
Digambaras agree with vet mbaras that Bhadrad hu is considered to be the last teacher with knowledge of 14 P rvas. But according to them, the genuine canon is also forgotten. Subsequently the people who knew were few and finally only a fragmentary portion was written down by Puspadanta and Bhutabali, in the year 683 after Mah v ra. Since then, all knowledge about the doctrine proclaimed by Mah vra could not any more be derived from the Agas, but only from the works whose contents rest indirectly upon the lost canon.
While thus vet mbaras boast to possess even today the genuine canon, albeit in incomplete form, Digambaras are of view that the canon is lost once for all and that the holy scriptures of vet mbaras are not genuine; a collection of books written in a later period serve them as a guiding principle of their faith. They can be regarded as a "secondary canon" in view of the authority they enjoy.
2.1 The meaning of Jaina gama The preaching of nirgranthas (niggantha pavayana). Lord Mah vra and his disciples are called gama. gama is also known as S tra, grantha, sana, jň na, v can, upade a, or pravacana.
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According to vet mbara Jainas, the total number of authentic gamas is now deemed to be 45. They are:
a. Eleven
gas:
1. y ra ga 2. Suyagad ga, 3. Thga, 4. Samav y ga, 5. Viy hapa atti, 6. Ny y yaddhmmakah o 7. Uvasagadas o, 8. Antagadadas o 9. Anuttarovav iya, 10. Panhavagaanaim, 11. Viv gasuyam
b. The Twelve Up gas (supplementry writings)
1. Ovav iya, 2. Ryapasenaijja, 3. Jiv bhigama, 4. Pannava 5. S ryapa tti, 6. Jambuddiva pa tti 7. Canda patti, 8. Niry valiyao, 9. Kappavadimsiy o, 10. Puphiyo, 11. Pupphaculi o 12. Vanhidas o.
C. The Ten Prakr akas Those sacred treaties which have been accomplished on various topics of Jainism by learned seers.
d. The Six Chedasutta: The Chedas tras contain the most ancient summaries of discipline to be observed by monks and nuns. Cheda means shortening, and the seniority was to be shortened of a monk or nun by way of punishment if a violation of a vow was committed. They are:
1. Nisiha, 2. Mah nisiha, 3. Vavah ra, 4. y radas o 5. Kappa 6. Pañcakappa.
e. Individual texts:
1. Nandi 2. Anuogady ra
f. The four Mulas tras:
1. Uttarajjayana, 2. vassaya, 3. Dasavey liya 4. Pindanijjutti
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2.2 The commentary literature
The commentary literature of Jaina gamas consists of four parts:
1. Nijjutti,
2. Bhāṣya,
3. Cunni, 4. Tik.
3.0 Digambara's Canonical Literature
Today a series of works, which are, regarded as authoritative accounts of the doctrine take among Digambaras the position of the lost old canon. These works are distinguished in four groups depending upon the subjects like history, cosmography, philosophy and ethics they deal with. They are as follows:
3.1 Four Anuyogas (expositions):
a. Pratham nuyoga, (world history)
b. Cara nuyoga, (ethics and rituals)
c. Kara nuyoga (cosmography)
d. Dravy nuyoga. (Philosophy)
3.2. The Drṣtiv da (the 12th anga)
This Text consists of parikarma, s tra, p rvagata, anuyoga and culik. c ryas Puspadanta and Bh tabali (1st or 2nd century AD) composed the Satakhand gama Text on the basis of few Purvas contained in the Dṛṣtiv da.
The Kaş yap huda another old Text which is based on the 5th P rva of the Dṛstiv da composed by crya Gu adhara (2nd or 3rd century AD). The Drṣtiv da had been called an excellent sacred text. According to vet mbara Jainas this anga is completely lost.
crya Dharasena (between 86-156 AD) practicing penance at Girnar imparted them the knowledge of the P rvas to Acāryas Puspadanta and Bhutabali. They composed the in Sauraseni Pr krta.
From the 2nd to the 6th century AD a number of important commentaries were written on Chakkhand gama the Satkhand gama, which unfortunately are not available. The most important available commentary is the Dhaval (completed in 816 AD) by c rya V rasena.
crya Gu adhara, a contemporary of Dharasena (between 86-156 AD), was author of this Text. Yativṛṣabha (before 5th century AD) composed C r i on this text. c rya Vrasena started writing the commentary called Jaya Dhaval on this text but died and his renowned pupil Jinasena completed this commentary in 837 AD.
4.1 Prominent Digambara c ryas and their works.
1 Acāryas Puspadanta and The Satakhand gama. In the eighth century c rya Vrasena wrote a Bh tabali:
tik on it called Dhaval
The Kaş yap huda
Pañc stik ya, Pravacanas ra, Samayas ra, Niyamas ra, Aṣṭap huda, Bhaktisa graha and twelve Anupekh s.
2
crya Gu adhara:
3 c rya Kundakunda:
4 Acarya Yativrsabha:
5 Acarya Vattakera:
6 c rya ivakoti:
7 Sw mi K rtikeya:
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The Tiloyapannatti
The Mul c ra
The Bhagavati r dhan
The K rtikeyanuprek
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c rya Devasena:
Tattvas ra,
Dar anas ra,
and
c rya Nemicandra:
Nayacakra, rdhan s ra, Bh vasa graha. Gommatas ra, Trilokas ra, Dravyasa graha. Vas nandir vak c ra
Labdhis ra,
Ksapa as ra,
and
10
c rya Vas nandi:
4.2 Prominent vet mbara c ryas and their works
1
c rya Sayyambhava: The Dasavaiy liyya 2 Devardhigani
The Nandis tra K am rama a: c rya Siddhasena: Sanmatitarka. Both the Digambaras and the vet mbara regard him as
their own c rya. c rya Bhadrab hu: The Author of ten Niryuktis 5 Jinabhadragani: The J takalpa and the viseśy va aka bhāsya
c rya Jinad sa The writer of eight Cris Mahattara: c rya Haribhadra: Commentaries on the va yaka, Dasavaik lika, Nandi, Anuyogadv ra,
and Prajn pana. Other works include S vagadhamma and the
Yogas ra, the Samar iccakah and the Dhurt khy na. c rya Hemacandra: abd nu sana, Dravy srayak vya, Yoga stra, Pram amimamsa, etc 9 c rya Um sw ti: Tattv rth dhigama S tra. Both the Digambaras and the vet mbaras
regard him as their own c rya. 10 Up dhy yaya ovijaya: Anek nta vyavastha, tarkabhāṣā, Nayarahasya etc.
8
5.0 Prākrta Narrative Literatures The canon is extremely rich in stories and legends of various types. The reports on the prophets, apostles and saints it contains offer a rich material to the later generations for their literary creations. These legends possesses the unique power of interpreting like for us of consoling us and sustaining us. These legends in chaste, lucid and simple languages cooperate with the benign tendencies in human nature and society and well in their efficacious in making man wiser better and happier. They are again and again treated in countless works in poetic beauty. There are numerous biographies of Rsabha, Santinātha, Aristanemi, Pārsva, Mahāvīra and other Tirtha karas which mostly deal with popular theme in the usual schematic way; and they strive to get for the theme new angles only by additions of new episodes, of stories from the earlier births of the hero and his followers.
But the hagiography of Jainas did not restrict itself from the olden times to describing the life and work of the in founders of religion and those persons who were connected with them, either as devotees or as adversaries, but it included a great number of other legendary personalities in the sphere of their observations. 12 world-rulers and 27 heroes are the main personalities of the traditional world- history besides 24 Tirtha karas. These add up to sixty 1 k purusas. Along with these who appear to be particularly special for Jainas, they also consider heroes known to Hindus, like Bharata, Sagara, R ma, Lakşma a, R va a, as also Balar ma, krs a and Jar sandha.
Jainas have more or less strongly changed the stories of these men and other persons from the epics Rm ya a and Mah bh rata for their purpose; the heroes in these are obviously all pious Jainas and think and act as such. The great number they have come down to us speaks for the strong persons for Jaina reworking and, as we must often say, for distortion of the Br hma ic legends.
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The following are some of the works:
1 Vasudevahi di: and Dharmad saga i
2 Samar iccakah Haribhadra
3 Kuvalayam I kah :
Uddyotanasuri
Sanghad sagai Apart from the stories of R ma and Krs a in this work; it also contains tales on various themes, some of which are secular.
by
5 Kum rap lapatibodha: Somaprabhasuri
4 Kah raya ako a: by Devabhadrasuri Composed in 1101 AD in Barauch. In contains 50 stories in (Gu acandra)
all.
c rya This is a rich work in Prākṛta narrative literature, composed around the eighth century in Chittor.
by Composed in Jalore in 779 AD. It is written in both prose and verse. It is also called campu poetry in Prākṛta.
2.
5.1 Tradition of Comparative Study of Religions
1. Vivid information on the religions and sects of ancient India
2. The saints of different schools of thought like- Caraka, P nduranga, Gautama, Aviruddha etc.
by Composed this work in 1184 AD and it contains a description of the life of king Kum rap la of Gujarat.
3. Different religious leaders and their ideologies are found even in one text.
4. Dhurt khy na reviewed a few of mythical beliefs of his time [7th C. A.D.]
5. A meeting of different religious leaders called by the King to test the merits and demerits of their convictions in 8th C. A.D.
6. Dharma Parik was a narrative of the tradition of Comparative Study of Religions
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5.2 Symbolic Jaina Narratives- Le y Tree
1. There are six kinds of Le y s namely: Krs a (black), Nila (blue), Kapota (dove-grey), Teja (yellow), Padma (pink) and ukla (white). The Lesya is the functioning of yoga, or the activities of thought, word and body as tinged by the Kasayas.
crya Nemicandra has given a very illuminating example of the different thought-paints occasioned by the activities of the mind.
3. This example of Le ya tree tells us that the first traveller is obviously the morally worst and the last one is the best, the first three, (worst, worse and bad) being designated inauspicious and the last three (good, better and best) the auspicious ones. The set signifies wanton cruelty, gross negligence, rashness, lack of self-control, wickedness and violence and the second set represent the gentlemanly qualities, human behavior, abstinence from sins and evil deeds, self-control and the like.
5.3 The allegorical Jaina works
1. In Uttar dhyanaS tra there is the parable of three merchants. Three merchants set out on their travels, each with his capital. One of them gained there much, the second returned with his capital, and the third merchant came home after having lost his capital. When this applied to Dharma, the capital is human life; the gain is heaven; through the loss of that capital, man must be born as a denizen of hell or a brute animal (VII.14-16).
2. The parable of Five grains of rice [pady] in The N ya-dhammakah o. Sudharma explains the parable of Five grains of rice [pady] to Jambu that these four women represent the monks some of whom do not keep the five great vows at all, others neglect them. The better ones them conscientiously, but the best of whom are not content with observing them, but propagate them also.
5.4 Madhubimdū dṛṣtanta in Jaina literature
1. The parable generally known as Madhubi d dṛst nta in Jaina literature and "Man in the Well" in world literature. The parable is intended to remove the infatuation of persons destined to be liberated. Its meaning stands thus; the man stands for the soul; the
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wandering in the forest for the wandering in the four grades of Sa s ra: the wild elephant is the death; and the demoness, the old age. The Vata tree stands for liberation; the well, the human existence; the cobras, the four passions. The clump of reeds stands for the period of one's life, age; the two rats, the white and dark for nights. The honey-bees are the various diseases; the boa-constrictor is the hell; and drops of honey stand for monetary sensepleasures. The most superb model of allegorical exposition is the Upamiti-bhavaprapancakath, in Sanskrit, of Siddharsi [906 A.D.) The entire range of Jaina doctrines in this pattern of the allegory has been presented by Siddharsi. Prof. H. L. Jain concluded his remark that-'after reading this, one is reminded of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. This allegory in English also aims, like Siddharsi's composition, for the spiritual betterment of the worldly soul.
5.5 Types and Characteristics of Jaina Stories In fact the narrators have themselves described in their works the varied types of the stories. It leads us to note that there are many forms of the Jaina tales from the point of the view of subject, character, style, language and so on.
5.5.1 From the point of view of subject matter the Jaina stories have been classified under the following heads: [a] Dharmakath
These stories give prominence to ritualistic practices, charity, worship,
virtue of self-restraint etc. [b] Arthakath
Stories of the traders [c] K makath
Romantic love stories [d] Misrakath
Mixture of the above mentioned Dharma, Artha and K makath s. [e] There are three types of Divine, Human and Mixed of both.
stories [f] Super Human stories Most of the Jaina stories belong to this category.
5.5.2 The relationship of these stories with world literature. 1. The stories like Madhubidu drst nta (The parable of the honey-drop), 2. The story of Agadadatta 3. The story of Sodasa, the story of Prasannacandra and Valkalacirin, the story of five rice-grains
etc. 4. The story of Sukum lasw mi 5. The story of Ya odhara
6.0 Pr krta Language and Literature The Jaina literature is written in many languages and dialects. Indo-Aryan languages have, as it is well-known, three stages of development. They are:
1. The old Indian or Sanskrit. 2. The middle Indian or Pr krta and Apabhra 3. The new Indian or Bhāsā
a
Jainas have made use of the languages of all the three stages; however, the oldest Jaina works are not written in Sanskrit, as one would expect in the old Indian Sankrit, but in Prākrta.
6.1 Special features of Prākta Language The heritage of Prākta is a valuable treasure of India.
1. Since it developed out of the language of the common people and since it continued to
be used by them, this language of the common people is called Prāksta.
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2. Mah vra and Buddha used Prākrta in their teaching for the enlistment of the culture of
the people. 3. It earned the status of state language during A oka's time, and fame continued for
hundreds of years. 4. It was adopted as a powerful medium of communication in the society as almost all the
characters in the major Indian dramas speak in Prāksta. 5. In their writings Indian literary critics have also preserved hundreds of Prākrta verses in
the form of quotations, because of their simplicity and sweetness. 6. Thus Prākrta language has been the preserver of Indian culture.
6.2 Prākta Poetry Literature
1. G th saptsati:
This is the first available collection of stray verse in Prākta literature. It is a compilation
of 700 verses of poets and poetesses of that time. 2. Vajj laggam:
The other work of stray Prākta verses is the Vajj laggam. In this work the poet Jayavallabha collected the 795 beautiful verses of several poets and divided them into 96 groups (vajja) on the basis of their subject matter.
6.3 Sanskrit and Apabhra a Literature. The Jaina Literature in other Languages Jainas have been able to enrich their literature in different languages like Pr krta, Apabhra Hindi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati and others
a
1. Sanskrit Jaina Literature The Jaina Saint-poets opened new vistas and newer dimensions in almost all the areas of poetic activities e.g. the Pur nas, the Mah k vyas, the laghu Carita K vyas, the messages poems, the poetic prose and the poetics, Campus the panegyrics and allegorical compositions.
1. The dipur 2. The Ya a tilaka Campu 3. Jivanddh raCampu 4. Upamitibhava prapancakath
c rya Jinasena
c rya Somadeva Haricandra Siddharsi
2. Apabhra a Literature
1. Special value for the North Indian languages
It is of special value for the study of New Indo-Aryan, especially many of our North Indian languages of today. The regional languages such as Sindhi, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Rajasthani, Bihari, Udiya, Bengali, Asami and the like have grown from the soil of Apabhra a language and literature. Popularized by Jaina authors Apabhra a, which enjoyed the credit of being the national language of Northern India for a very long time, has been nourished by Jaina authors. From the 6th Cent. A. D. to 15" Cent. A. D. the cultivators Apabhra a language were Jainas. Prominent writers of Apabhra a Svayambhu (8th Cent. A.D.) and Puspadanta (10h Cent. A.D.) are the prominent writers of Apabhra a literature. It is of great importance to note that they selected R ma and Krs a for composing the Prabandha-K vya in Apabhra a literature Joindu, Muni Ramasimgha, Devasena etc. are the prominent ethicospiritual writers who have been recognized as the precursors of Kabir, Tulsi and other mastic poetsaints of India.
6.4 Literature of South Indian Languages
1. Ratnatraya of the Kannada literature are: Mah kavi Pampa, Ponna and Ranna. 2. Many Purs and K vyas are written by Jaina authors in kannada.
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3. In Tamil many of the major K vyas and minor K vyas have been written by Jaina
authors. Works like the Silappadikaram, Jivaka Cint mani etc. are of great eminence. 4. The great Kural is looked upon as the Veda in Tamil country. There are some grounds
for the claim that the author was Jaina by persuasion.
7.0 Jaina Works on Scientific Subjects There are innumerable secular writings in Prāksta and other languages on Grammar, Meter, lexicography, mathematics, astrology and music, and other subjects as well.
1. 2. 3.
The Suryapannatti, the fifth text of Up nga, deals with astronomy. The Candapannatti, the seventh text of Up nga describes astrology of Indian tradition. The Viv hapadala is another Prākta work which deals with wedding astrology. The Tiloyapannatti, Gommatas ra and other many Prākrta texts are considered essential for the history of Indian mathematics. The Paiyalacchinamamala is reprehensive work of lexicography. The PrakriPaingalam and Ala k radappana are closely related with Indian poetics. Angavijj written by an unknown author or authors. It is work of importance for reconstructing India's history of the first four centuries after Christ. It is an encyclopedic work for highlighting the cultural materials it contains.
Thakkura Pheru wrote six scientific works: Vastus ra on architecture and iconography, Jyotişas ra on astrology and astronomy, Ratnaparik on gemology, Ga itas ra on arithmetic, Dh tutpatti on metallurgy and perfumery trade, and Dravyaparik an essay on money-exchange.
7.
8.
8.0 Cultural Significance of Jaina Literature Jaina literature presents a realistic picture of socio-economic life of ancient Indian people. It is important also for having a study of contemporary society and culture.
1. There are descriptions of several quizzes and question-answers in different
contexts. 2. Social service was popular in different forms. Like
V pi
Public welfare centre Vanakhanda contained a bunch of trees for shade Chitrasabh picture-gallery for entertainment Mahanasasala a centre for getting free food Tigicchiyasala Medical aid centre Ala k ra-Sabh Saloon and make-up room An tha Ma dapa An orphanage Udh rattha Free boarding facility for the by passers. Siva-Ma dapa welfare centre for the needy people
3. A variety of textiles and ornaments mentioned in Jaina literature:
1. Rallaya-Kambala- it was prepared by the wool of Rallaka sheep of Kashmir 2. Jaddara-Jadara - Chadara in Persian - A kind of Bed sheet
4. Economic Life and Voyage:
Enough material about Local-trade, foreign business, sea-travels, agriculture productions different artistic skills etc. is available in Jaina literature. There are some technical terms of ancient trade, like:
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i.
ii.
9.0 Prākṛta Poetry
iii.
iv.
So attho jo hatthe
Tam mittam jo nirantanam vasane Tam ruvam jattha gu a
Tam dhammam jattha vinn am
ii.
V.
vi.
vii.
Lava a samo natthi raso Vinn am samo bandhavo natthi Dhammo samo natthi nihi
Koho samo verio natthi
iii.
Local trader's Association
Desiya-Vaniya-meli Adattiya
a broker
deciding the cost of goods by signs of hands
Specialist in weather
Dinna-hatta-Sanna Panjara Purisa Sijjhau-Jatta Potavaniya
wish you a happy voyage sea-merchant and
Naulagga
Money bag or purse
5. New Geographical places identified from Jaina literature
1. Kundungadwipa, Candradwipa and Tar dwipa
2.
draka De a is identified with Andaman Island.
i.
iv.
V.
9.1 QUIZZES FOR ENTERTAINMENT
One hero asked his wife: Please answer these four questions only by one word.
What is rare in the desert
That is real wealth what one has in the hand
That is real friend, who stay with you even in bad days
That is real beauty where there are qualities
That is real Religion which associated with rationalism or new invention G th sattasai, 3.5
There is no taste like salt
There is no friend like wisdom
There is no treasure like religion
And there is no enemy like anger. Vajj laggam, 90.1
iii. desire
ii. Who is called the gem of K ta the family
Kam
What does P rvati Devi Haram
What makes a young man K t haram
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Water
iv. satisfied
What is that one word?
His intelligent wife replied: That word is: Kt haram
9.2 Depiction of Fine Arts in Jaina Literature
i.
The Jaina literature provides a variety of material regarding education, arts and sciences. The story of Meghakum ra counts seventy-two varieties of arts.
The story of king Prade i is more significant. It describes thirty two kinds of dramas. In the commentaries their forms have been discussed.
presents valuable material on painting. Picture-galleries are
Wife
Lord ankara
The lips of the beloved
The Nayadhammakah mentioned in many texts.
Most of the technical terms of paintings and fine arts can be explained through this literature. Carving golden image of Malli referred in Nayadhammakah is the glowing example of sculpture.
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vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
ii.
iii.
iv.
10.0 Illustrated Manuscripts and Jaina Paintings
i.
The Jaina contribution in this field is of great significance, especially of the mural paintings at Sittannavasal, Armamlai and Tirumalai in Tamil Nadu, and Ellora in Maharashtra. These supply important links in the history of Indian Paining.
The Kalpas tra in the collection at Ahmedabad, painted at the G ndh ra Bundara (port) on the west coast in c. 1475 A.D. with a lavish use of gold, lapis lazuli, carmine, etc., shows remarkable border decorations with paintings illustrating different technicalities of BharataNatyam and Persian influence.
V.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
The Kuvalayam I kah mentions the making of images from white stone (Mukta sela) for the first time in Jaina literature.
In the description of ntin tha Jaina Temple of P taliputra a beautiful woman image has been described in the Rayancudarayacariyam. The description of this image is comparable to Khajur ho women image.
iii.
iv.
The R yapaseniyasutta provides a large material on architecture, which proves the development of the art of house building to a great extent in that period.
Brhatkalpabhāṣya mentions three kinds of buildings:
An underground cell, a palace and a combination of the two.
Dr. J. C. Jain has critically examined these references found in Agama texts and commentaries.
The Digambaras illustration of the Ya odhr Caritra, and of the lives of Jinas and others described in works like the dipur a and Uttarapur a of Jinasena and Gunabhadra became very popular and have provided some exquisite examples of miniatures.
The palm leaf illustrations of the Dhaval and Jaya Dhaval manuscripts painted in the twelfth century in Karnataka also are remarkable.
Jainas also patronized the art of wood carving. Beautifully and richly carved temple mandapas, miniature shrines etc. have been discovered and published.
Jaina caves at Ellora have several paintings on their ceilings which are an important landmark in the history of painting in India.
Illustrated palm leave manuscripts are found only in Jaisalmer Bhand ras while the other kind of illustrated manuscripts are found in several Bhand ras.
The illustrations on the life of lord Nemin tha reveal that the painters of the 12th century were not limited to the painting of the portraits only but they were expert also in making other painting.
There is a manuscript of dipur a written by Kavi Puspadanta in the 10th century. This manuscript was copied in the year 1404 A.D. On the 14th folio of this manuscript there is a painting of Marudevi, mother of Lord Ṛṣabhadeva, the first Jaina Tirtha kara seeing sixteen dreams. The color is still in good condition and it has been draw on pure Indian style.
11.0 Importance of Jaina Grantha Bhand ras
i.
ii.
Jaina Grantha Bhand ras are the Treasure Houses of Manuscripts.
They were the earlier literary institutions of the country.
They saved the treasure of knowledge from destruction.
Colophons called prasastis of Manuscripts are very important from the historical point of view. On the basis of these, the time of many rulers can be determined and history of old cities and towns can be prepared.
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1.4.b
Mahāvīra, Prākṛta and the Āgamas (Language of the Jaina gamas) Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
It is incontrovertible that the 6th Century B.C. witnessed the rise of the 24th Trtha kara, Mah vra who played a dominant role in shaping the cultural history of India. Owing to the magnetic personality of Mah vra and his metaphysical, ethical and spiritual teachings, number of kings, queens, princes, princesses, ministers and merchants accepted him as their teacher. Thus males and females of all castes and classes became the ardent followers of Mah vra and a fourfold order of S dhus (male ascetics), S dhvis (female ascetics), r vakas (male householders) and r vik s (female householders) came into existence. He revolted against the socio-religious exploitation and oppression of man and introduced vigorous innovations in the then existing social law and order. In fact, he serves as an illustration both of spiritual realization and social reconstruction.
VERSAC
Mah v ra was born on the 27th March 598 BC at Kṣatriya Ku dagr ma (Ku dalapura) now known as Vasuku da or V suku da about 50 KM. to the North of Patna. Along with the birth of Mah vra prosperity increased, so King Siddh ratha and queen Tri al call their son, Vardham na. Because of controlling and pacifying and a muck elephant, the people of Ku dalapura addressed him by the name "Ativ ra'. By seeing the poisonous cobra, Vardham na fearlessly played with it so the Sa gama deva who assumed the form of a cobra, bestowed on him the honour of being "Mah vra". In the Buddhist text, he is referred to as the Niggantha Nāṭaputta.
Gradually Mah vra attainted adulthood. In spite of this, worldly pleasures did not attract him. In consequence he decided to lead a life of asceticism. After receiving the consent of his parents, he relinquished all mundane pleasures so as to attain Siddhahood and in consequence he assumed complete nudity and become a Nirgra tha. This is known as Mah vra's Abhinişkrama, that is, the great Renunciation of Mah vra. This renunciation took place on Monday the 29th December 569 B.C. at the age of 30 and from that time Mah vra moved as a Nirgra tha Muni i.e. a naked ascetic.
Since Mah v ra regarded meditation (Dhy na) as the clear and single road by which the aspirant can move straight to the supreme good, he selected isolated and lonely places such as forest, cremation ground, caves, and mountain tops for performing Dhy na (meditation). He endured with the greatest equanimity all sorts of abuses, tortures inflicted on him by vicious persons. He meditated day and night, undisturbed and unperturbed and at last under the Sāla tree on the banks of the river Ṛjukūlā outside the town, Jrmbhik, he attained supreme knowledge known as Kevalajn na and became Arhant on Sunday the 26th April 557 B.C. at the age of 42 years.
After the attainment of omniscience (Kevalajn na), Mah vra remained silent and did not deliver, according to Digambara tradition, any sermon for sixty-six days. At the advent of a renowned Vedic scholar, named Indrabh ti Gautama in the Samavasara a (religious assembly) Mah vra delivered his first sermon at the Vipul cala Mountain outside the city of R jagrha, the capital of Magadha, on Saturday the 1st July 557 B.C. This day is celebrated as the V ra sana day and Mah v ra designated Indrabh ti Gautama as his first Ga adhara (chief disciple). Along with Indrabh ti Gautama his five hundred pupils joined the order of Mah vra. Gradually Mah vra initiated more Vedic scholars into the ascetic order. It is of capital importance to note that Mah vra made use of Pr kṛta for his discourses, as a result of which the Ga adharas prepared the whole canonical literature in Prākṛta.
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Now the question is why did Mah vra deliver his first sermon only at the advent of a Vedic scholar? My interpretation of the event is: Vedic scholar is a Prākṛta scholar, since the Vedas have been composed in loka Bhāṣ (language of the masses) of that period. Pt. Kisoridasa Vajapaye tells us that the language of the Vedas is the first form of Prākṛta, though this underwent change in form in course of time and became the second stage of Prākṛta at the time of Mah vra. This second stage was prevalent in a very large area and Mah v ra's discourses were meant for all without any distinction of caste and creed, classes and masses, so he chose Prākṛta for his deliverances. I have no hesitation to say that the mother tongue of even Panini was Prākṛta. Since the eleven Ga adharas including Indrabh ti Gautama were Vedic scholars, they were well-versed in Pr kṛta language.
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Mah vra gave them the most important task of gamic preparation. My contention is that just as the seeds of Laukika (Classical) Sa skrta are inherent in the Vedic language, similarly the seeds of Prakrta constructions may be easily discerned in the Vedic language. Thus the Vedic language is the precursor of Laukika Sa skrta as well as Prākrta constructions. Thus to say that Prākrta is derived from Laukika Sa skrta is an improper approach to the history of language development in India. I may, therefore, conclude by saying that the study of Vedic language will constitute an all-embracing foundation of Indian culture. Unfortunately India is missing this aspect of culture and it must be remembered that the study of language is basic to the study of any culture. This will open the way to Prākta and Apabhra sa studies and the study of regional languages. By virtue of this, the origin of national language, Hindi will be understood in a right perspective.
Since Mah vra preached in Prāksta language, the language of the gamas is Prākta. Hence canonical writing and the earliest commentaries are written in Prākta language. It will not be out of place to mention that Mah vra was desirous of making the values of life accessible to the masses of the people, so he adopted Prākta for the propagation of ethicospiritual ways of life and living.
Now the question is what is the origin of Prākrta adopted by Mah vra? In reply it may be said that Mah v ra's Prākta is derived from the first stage of Prākrta, from which Vedic language and the Panini's language have been derived. Thus first stage of Prākrta language is the mother of all the ryan languages of India.
To say that Prākta is derived from Panini's Sa skrta is not correct, since we find many parallels in Vedic language and Pr krta constructions. Some examples may be given to show Pr krtism in Vedas; as for example, in the Vedas we find Kutha, D labha, Ucc, Nic, D dabha etc. In Vedic language o is seen in the nominative case masculine singular number like Pr krta So, Sa vatsaro etc. Just as in the Vedic language, so in Pr krta the Genitive Case is used in place of Dative case. Besides, in Pr krta plural number is used in place of Dual number and this tendency can also be traced in the Vedas.
This goes to prove that the origin of Pr krta of the Mah vra era is neither Vedic language nor classical Sa skrta of Panini, but it has come to us from the First Stage of Pr krta, from which Vedic language and classical Sa skrta have been derived. Thus V kapatir ja is correct when he says in the Gaudavaho that all the ryan languages have come down to us from Pr krta.
Thus it can be said that Vedic language, classical Sa skrta, Pr krta of Mah vra's era, Apabhra sa, provincial languages like Gujarati, Sindhi etc. and Hindi the national language of India have gradually developed from the First Stage of Pr krta.
Now it is intelligible that Mah vra's Sojourn in the Arhat state of life inspired him to preach in the universal language used by the masses of people, though Vedic language and the classical Sa skrta preceded him. This may be styled language renascence, which supported the uplift of the masses. The neglect of the common man ended with this attitude of Mah vra. It is of capital importance to note that the Jaina C ryas continued to compose their works in Prākta up to 13th cent. A.D;namely the gamic commentaries, the metaphysico-spiritual works of Kundakunda, logical works of Siddhasena and Devasena, ethical works of Vattakera and Haribhadra etc. Besides, there are numerous Critras in Prākta that describe the life of individual Trtha kara such as Rsabha,
antin tha, Nemin tha, P r va and Mah vra. Jainas own abundant narrative literature in Prākrta. All this shows that Jainas have to their credit voluminous Prākta literature, but unfortunately the study of Prāksta language has practically disappeared from India. What will be its consequence is a matter of great concern for the custodians of Indian culture.
From what has been said above it may be rightly inferred that the Second Stage of Pr krta originating from Sa skrta, Mahāvīra used the First Stage of Prākta of the pre-vedic times for his deliverances and Ga adharas prepared the gamic literature from it. In contravention to this, it was considered by some scholars that the Pr krta of Mah v ra's times is subservient to Panini's Sa skrta. Consequently they made the learning of Pr krta through Sa skrta, a compulsory part of learning Pr krta. This made the whole thing cumbersome and unnatural, which resulted in the gradual
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disappearance of the learning of Prākṛta language. The result is that happily Sa skrta is flourishing and surprisingly Pr krta is waning. At present Pr kṛta is understood through Sa skṛta, which seems to me to be an anti- Mah vra attitude. This means that the Pr kṛta language, which is the representative of the common man's aspirations, is denied the respectful position in society at large. Its revival is very much important for making intelligible the cultural history of India. Without it India will be misunderstood and the increasing significance of the common man in the present day democracy will not find its basis in ancient history of India.
It is matter of great satisfaction that some scholars of the past decried the teaching of Pr kṛta through Sa skṛta, but they could not find time to develop a detailed programme of teaching Pr kṛta independently of Sa skrta. It is to the credit of Apabhra şa S hitya Academy, Jaipur, Pr kṛta Bh rat Academy Jaipur and to the University Department of Jainology and Pr kṛta, Udaipur for starting teaching Pr krta independently of Sa skrta. Deriving inspiration from the Pr krta scholars of wide repute and recognition, Apabhra sa S hitya Academy has made a humble effort in preparing the required system of teaching Pr kṛta and Apabhra șa through the National language, Hindi. Some of the Students and teachers of the Universities are studying the Pr krta and Apabhra sa language through correspondence course developed by the Apabhra șa S hitya Academy, Jaipur. It is my wish that students who have come here to study Jainism will make use of this method for learning the Pr kṛta language. They may use their mother tongue to learn Pr. krta for comprehending the gamas. This will go a long way in understanding properly the contribution of Jaina gamas in enriching world culture in general and Indian culture in particular.
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1.4.f
Mantras and 'My Prayer' (Meri Bh van by Pt. J. K. Mukhatara)
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Jains have a number of mantras, which both the laity and monks use regularly to meditate on and observe as a ritual to take themselves away from daily routine and pay respects to the auspicious beings or to pray for fulfillment of their desires. The most potent mantras of Jains are called Navak ra and Cat h ara a that is common to all sets and shades of Jains. The main difference between Jain mantras and others is that Jains pay obeisance to the virtues and the people who have either become virtuous or are practicing the path of spiritual purification on a full time basis to become virtuous. In this paper we shall understand the two mantras by Jains and their significance.
Similar to mantras, Jains have a very popular prayer, which is sung or recited either individually or in groups almost daily. The basis of such prayers is the Jains belief in autosuggestions and contemplations to purify their thought, mind and attain beneficence. Pandit Jugal Kishore Mukhtar had beautifully composed Meri Bh van or my prayer. It has a collection of eleven verses of 4 lines each in simple and easy to understand in Hindi language. These eleven verses can be identified to convey the following suggestions for self as well as for the benefit of others.
Verse Content
Identify the true nature of auspicious/ supreme beings Nature of the true monks /spiritual leaders Suggestion to myself for self improvement
Do
Do
Do Selflessness Equanimity Prayer/ expectations from others. Do Benefits of the prayer.
9 10 11
In this prayer we will find our involvement in worldly affairs in a righteous way as well as maintaining a distance from the same so as not to be too involved in them.
Mantras Navak ra: amo arihant am Obeisance to the perfect beings with body amo siddh ama Obeisance to the liberated souls amo yariyama Obeisance to the heads of congregation amo uvajjh y ama Obeisance to the holy teacher monks amo loye savves hu ama Obeisance to all the holy monks
Cat h ara as: Catt ri ma gala, arhanta ma gala , siddha ma gala. Sahu ma gala kevalipa atto dhammo ma gala
Catt ri log ttama, arahanta log ttam, siddha log ttama, sahu logg ttama, kevalipa atto dhammolog ttamo.
Catt ri sara a pavvajj mi. Arahanta sara a pavvajj mi. Siddhe sara a pavvajj mi, sahu sara a pavvajj mi, kevalipa atto dhammo sara a pavvajj mi.
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Meaning:
There are four auspicious beings namely ariha tas (perfect beings with body), siddhas (liberated souls), holy monks (s dhus) and dharma (religion) described by omniscient lords. May they be auspicious to me? There are four most suprerior beings in this world, namely ariha tas (perfect beings with body), siddhas (liberated souls), s dhus (holy monks) and dharma (religion) described by omniscient lords. May they be beneficial to me? I dedicate myself to these four beings namely arahantas (perfect beings with body), siddhas (liberated souls), holy monks (s dhus) and dharma (religion) described by omniscient lords.
My prayer / Meri Bh van by Pt. J. K. Mukhatara
Jisne rāga dvesa kāmādika jīte saba jaga jāna liyā Saba jivo ko Moksa mārga kā nisprha ho updeśa diyā Buddha Vira Hari Har Brham y usko sy dh na kaho Bhaktibh va se prerita ho y citta us me lina raho.
Meaning: He, who has destroyed or subdued his attachment, aversion, desires and had understood the reality of this universe; who delivers the sermons to every body about the path of spiritual purification and attaining liberation; who may be called by different names such as Buddha, Vira, Hari, Har and Brahma or the self/ soul; Imbued with devotion in Him, may this mind be eternally engrossed in Him.
Vişayo k nahi jinakes mya bh va dhana rakhate he Nija para ke hita s dhana me ni a din tatpara rahate he Sv rtha tyaga ki kathina tapasy bin kheda jo karate he Ese jñ n s dhu jagat ke dukhah samuha ko harate he.
Meaning: They, who have overcome the desire for sensual pleasures and maintain the state of equanimity; they are engrossed everyday in the welfare of others as well as their own; they practice the hard penance of selflessness; such knowledgeable ascetics (they) conquer /overcome the pains of mundane worldly existence.
Rahe sad satsa ga unh k dhy na unh k nitya rahe Unh jais cary me yaha citta sad anurakta rahe Nah sat u kisi j va ko jhuta kabh nah kah karu Paradhana vanit para na lubh u santo mrta piy kar
Meaning: May I always associate with such holy ascetics; may my mind be occupied in their life style; may I never cause pain to any living being nor tell a lie at any time; may I never be attracted towards the wealth or women of others and hence feel contented all the time.
Aha k rak bh va na rakkhu nah kis para krodha kar Dekha dusro k batht ko kabhi na rs bh va dhar Rahe bh van es mer sarala satya vyavah ra kar Bane jah taka esa j vana me auro k upak ra kar
Meaning: May I never a feeling of ego / pride nor get angry with anyone; May I never feel envious / jealous on seeing the progress of any one; May I develop a balance, straight and simple, fair and honest feeling towards all; may I be good in my behavior towards all to the utmost level of my capabilities.
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Maitr bh va jagata me mer saba j vo se nitya rahe D na dukh j vo para mere ura se kar stotra bahe Dūrjana krūra kūmārgarato pera kşobha nahi mujha ko āve S myabh va rakhu me una para es parinat ho j ve
Meaning: May I always maintain a feeling of friendship towards all living beings: May the spring of compassion always flow for those who are in pain and are suffering; May I never get angry with those who are bad cruel and wrongly directed people; May I maintain a sense of equanimity while dealing with such persons.
6
Gijano ko dekha hrdaya me mere prema umada ve Bane jah taka unaki sev karake yaha mana s khap ve Houn nahi krataghna kabhi main droha na mere ura ve G a graha a k bh va rahe nita drsti na doso para j ve.
Meaning: May my heart overflow with love at the very sight of virtuous people; May I derive pleasure and happiness in serving these people as much as possible; May I never become ungrateful nor feel jealous of any one; May my longing be always for assimilating the virtues of others and never look at their vices.
7
Koi būrā kaho yā ācchā laksami āve yā jāve L kho varso taka jiu y mrty ja h j ve Athav ko kaisa bhi bhaya y l laca dene ve To bh ny ya mrga se mer kabh na paga digane p ve.
Meaning: Whether people speak good or ill of me or the wealth comes to me or leaves me; whether I live for thousands years or die even today; whether anyone allures me with worldly riches or scares me in any way: I pray that I do not leave the path of just in any of the these situations.
Hokaras kha me magana na fule d kha me kabhi na ghabar ve Parvata nadi samas āna bhayānaka atavi se na bhaya khāve Rahe adola akampa nirantara yaha mana drathatara banaj ve Ista viyoga inaista yoga me sahana lat dhikhal ve
Meaning: May my mind neither be overwhelmed with happiness on having comforts nor become worried on having pains; May I never be scared of the sight of dangerous mountains, river, pyres in the cremation grounds; May it become calm, composed continuously and become stronger and stronger: May I display / experience tolerance in favorable or unfavorable situations alike.
S khi rahe sabaj va jagata ke ko kabh na ghabar ve Baira p pa abhim na coda jaga nitya naye ma gala g ve Ghara ghara carca rahe dharma ki duskrata duşkara ho jāve Jn na caritra unnata kara apn man ja janma fala saba p ve.
Meaning: May the happiness be the lot of all and nobody distress never bother anyone; May ever one experience auspicious feelings every day by giving up animosity, sins and pride/ego; May the discussions of religious exist in all households and the inauspicious events be destroyed; My every one realize the highest attainment of life by enhancing their wisdom and conduct.
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10
ti bh ti vy pe nahi jaga me vrsti samaya para h kare Dhamaniştha hokarar j bhi ny ya pr ja k kiy kare Roga mari durbhikṣa na faile praj nti se jiy kare Param Ahis dharma jagata men faila sarvahita kiy kare
Meaning: May distress and suffering no longer exist and may it rain on time: May the king be righteously inclined and do justice to all his subjects; May the diseases, epidemics and famine cease to spread and exist; May Ahis pervade the entire universe and bring benevolence to all.
11
Faile prema parapara jaga me moha dura para rah kare Apriya katuka kathora sabda nahi koi m kha se kah kare Banakara saba y ga-vira hrdaya se de onnati rata rah kare Vastu svar pa vic ra kh i se saba d kha sa kata sah kare.
Meaning: May mutual love spread through out the world and delusion stay at a distance from all: May no one use harsh, bitter and unpleasant words from their mouths; May everyone become the hero of his time and work for the progress of his country: May all understand the true nature of entities / substances and hence become tolerant of all sorts of pains inflicted.
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1.5
Influential Jaina cryas Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
1.0 Introduction
The purpose of dealing with the above topic is to acquaint you with the prominent, Influential Jaina c ryas who contributed to logic, ethics metaphysic and spiritualism (mysticism) as propounded by Jaina Thinkers. It is not a detailed treatment of the topic but only a simple presentation of some of the great c ryas of Jaina Philosophy. I have not taken into account the contemporary c ryas. We propose to classify the cryas in the following way.
1. Canonical c ryas (gama c ryas)
2. Creative c ryas (Sarjan tmaka c ryas)
1. Canonical c ryas ( gama c ryas):
After the attainment of omniscience (Kevala-jn na) in 557 B.C. at the age of 42, Indrabh ti Gautama and Sudharm Sv mi converted into Jaina canon (gama), the deliverances of Mah vra. The language of the canon is Pr krta.
VERSAC
After two hundred years of the Nirv a (emancipation) of Mah vra (527 B.C.) there was a terrible feminine in Magadha (4th Cent. B.C.) That lasted for twelve years. The result was that the knowledge of the Jaina canon started to suffer losses. Consequently Sth labhadra (4th Century BC) convened a council at P tliputra (Patna) and the canon was fixed to some extent. In spite of the great other councils, the canon was in danger of being lost. Finally the credit of saving the Jaina canon goes to Devarddhi Kṣam rama a (5th cent. A.D). the present canon comes to us because of this great
c rya.
The important names for writing commentaries on the Jaina canon are:
1. Bhadrab hu II 6th cent. A.D. 2. Samghad saga 7th cent. A.D. 3. Jinabhadraga 7th cent. A.D.
4. Jinad sa Mahatara 7th cent. A.D. la ka 9th cent. A.D.
5.
6. Abhayadeva 12th cent. A.D.
In addition to the above canonical c ryas, there is known to us a great c rya, namely, G adhara (1st cent. A.D.) Who wrote Kaş ya P huda (Discussion on attachment and aversion) in 233 verses? Apart from this, Puspadanta and Bhūtabali composed ṣatkha d gama in Pr krta after learning the Jaina doctrines from Dharasen c rya of 1st cent. A. D. The c rya who commented upon some portions of satkha d gama is V rasena and the commentary in known as Dhavl. He also wrote an incomplete commentary on Kaş ya P huda known as Jayadhavl. Here the significant point to be noted is that V rasen c rya by measurement composed 92 thousand lokas. It is something unique in the history of Indian literature.
2. Creative c ryas (Sarjan tmaka c ryas)
2.0 Um sv ti/Um sw mi:
Both the traditions of Jaina Sa gha regard Um sv ti/Um sw mi as a celebrated creative c rya who composed in Sa skṛta S tra style, Tattv rthas tra. It is a compendium of Jaina Philosophy, which includes Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics and Spiritualism. The number of S tras in Tattv rthaS tra differs in the two traditions in the following way.
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1. Number of S tras commented upon by P jyap da, (6th cent. A.D.), Akala ka (8th cent. A.D.) and Vidy nandi (9th cent. A.D.) are 357.
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2. Number of Stras commented upon by Siddhasenaga and Haribhadra are
344.
2.1
Kundakunda (1st cent. A.D) the important works in Prākrta are:
•
Pravacanas ra. (Epistemology, Metaphysics and rama c ra) Samayas ra (Doctrine of empirical and transcendental self) Pa C stik ya (Six substances and Nine Padarthas) Niyamas ra (spiritual awakening, value knowledge and ethico-spiritual conduct)
2.2
Vattekara (1st cent. A.D His important work is
. MI c ra in Prākrta. It dwells upon the rama c ra in1252 9 th s.
2.3
iv rya (1st cent A.D) His important work is
Bhagavat rdhan in Prākrta consisting of 2166 verses. This work is very famous for understanding the types of Death.
2.4
Samantabhadra (2nd cent. A.D) He was a great logician, profound devotee and a writer of house holder's ethics.
pta Mm 5 - Critical examination of pta (Perfect Personality) in 115 verses Yuktyanu sana - Devotion to Mahavira. The crya regards the Trtha of Mah vra as Sarvodaya Trtha (Development of all without any distinction) Verses 64 Ratnakara dar vak c ra - Treatise on householder's ethical living. 150 Verses. Svayambh stotra - Devotion to 24th Trtha karas in 143 Verses. 2.5 K rtikeya (3rd cent. A.D.) His work is: K rtikeyanūpreksā in Prākta 489 verses.
2.5
Krtikeya (3rd cent. A.D) His work is:
•
Kārtikeyanūpreksā in Prākta 489 verses.
2.6
Siddhasena (6th cent. A.D) Writer of
•
Sanmati Tarka in Pr krta dealing with the doctrine of Nayas (Stand points) in 166 Verses. Kaly a Mandira Stotra in 44 verses (Devotional Verses) in praise of P rsvan tha.
2.7
Siddhasena Div kara (6th cent A.D) writer of a work on logic known as
.
Ny y vat ra. (32 verses).
2.8
P jyap da (6th cent. A.D) the following are his works.
Dasabhakti (Ten types of devotion) Sam dhitantra (Spiritual delineations) 105 verses. Istopadeśa (Description of self) 151 verses. Commentary on Tattv rthas tra known as Sarv rtha Siddhi.
2.9
Joindu or Yogindu (6th cent. A.D) the c rya writes in Apabhra sa language. He is known for mystical exposition.
•
Param tma Prak a
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Yogas ra
are his two mystical writings.
2.9.1 Mallav d (6th cent. A.D) His important work is
Dv dasa Nayacakra (Doctrine of stand-points.)
Haribhadra (7th cent. A.D): His important works are
Anek nta Jayapat k (Doctrine of Anek nta) (b) satdarśan Samuccya (Six Philosophies) Yoga-Bindu (New Trends in Yoga)
r vaka Prajñapati (Householder's way of life)
2.10
2.11
2.13 Akala ka (8th cent. A.D): Father of Jaina Logic. His works are:
Ny ya Vini caya Siddhi Vini caya
(Perception, Inference and Authority) (Pram a, Naya & Nikṣepa)
Tatty rthav rttika - (Commentary on Tattv rthas tra of Um sv ti) Asta at (Commentary on pta M m s of Samantabhadra)
M natu ga (7th cent. A.D.):
Bhakt mara Stotra in 48 verses. It expresses devotion to Rṣabha, the first t rtha kara.
2.14 Vidy nandi (9th cent. A.D) - His important works are:
2.15
ubhacandra (9th cent. A.D.) - Only work is:
⚫ Jñ rava (Work Predominantly on Dhy na)
2.16 Amṛtacandra (10th cent. A.D) - His important works are:
Astasahar: Detailed commentary on Samantabhadra's pta M m s. Tattv rtha lokav rttika - Commentary on Tattv rthas tra of Um sv ti.
Purus rthasiddhup ya (Unprecedented work on his )
• Commentaries on Samayas ra, Pravacanas ra & Pa c stik ya of Kundakunda.
2.17 Nemicandra Siddh nta Cakravarti (10th cent. A.D) - His important works are:
Gommattas ra (Jivak Gommattas ra (Karmak
da) 962 verses.
2.18 Devasena (10th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
2.20
da) 734 verses.
Nayacakra (423 verses) - Doctrina of Naya & Nikṣepa.
2.19 Nemicandra Muni (11th cent A.D) - His important work is:
Dravyasa graha (58 verses) (Pointed presentation of Tattavas and Dravyas)
M ikyanandi (11th cent. A.D) - His only work is:
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Pariks
mukha S tra (Work on Jaina logic in S tra style.)
2.21
Prabh candra (11th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
Prameyakamalam rta da (commentary on Parik mukha Stra)
2.22
R masena (11th cent. A.D) - His work is
•
Tattv nu sana (Detailed treatment of Dhy na)
2.23
V didevasuri (12th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
Pram
anayatattv lok la k ra (Work on Jaina Logic)
2.24
Anantav rya (12th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
Prameyaratnamāla (Commentary on Parikṣāmukha Sūtra)
2.25
Vasunandi (12th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
vak c ra (Householders way of life)
2.26
Hemacandra (13th cent. A.D) - His important works are:
• •
Pram a Mm S: (Dissuasion on Jaina epistemology & Logic) Anyayogayavachedika (critical examination of other Indian Philosophies) Yoga S tra (Work on Jaina c ra & dhy na)
2.27
Mallise a (13th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
• •
Sy dv dama jar (Commentary on Hemacandra's Anyayogayavachedik ) (Critical examination of other systems of Indian Philosophy)
2.28
Pt.
dhara (14th cent. A.D) - His Important works are:
S gāradharmāmrta (Householder's way of life.) Anagāradharmāmsta (Muni's way of life.)
•
2.29
Dharmabhūşana (15th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
Ny yad pik (work on Jaina logic)
2.30
Ya ovijaya (18th cent. A.D) - His important work is:
•
Jaina Tarka Bhāṣā (Discussion on Jaina Theory of Knowledge)
Subjectwise Classification of c ryas:
(a) gama c ryas
Indrabh ti Gautama and Sudharm Sth labhadra
Sv mi 6th cent. B.C.
4th cent. B.C.
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Devarddhi kşam rama a Bhadrabahu 11 Samghad saga Jinabhadraga Jinad sa Mahatara
la ka Abhayadeva Gadhara Puspadanta and Bh tabali Vrasen c rya
5th cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D. 9th cent. A.D. 12th cent. A.D. 1st cent. A.D. 1st cent. A.D. 9th cent. A.D.
(b) Logistic c ryas
Samantabhadra Siddhasena Siddhasena Div kara Mallav di Haribhadra Akala ka Vidy nandi Devasena M ikyanandi Prabh candra Anantav rya Vadidevasuri Hemacandra Malli se a Dharmabhūsana Ya ovijaya
2nd cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D. 8th cent. A.D. 9th cent. A.D. 10th cent. A.D. 11th cent. A.D. 11th cent. A.D. 12th cent. A.D. 12th cent. A.D. 13th cent. A.D. 13th cent. A.D. 15th cent. A.D. 18th cent. A.D.
(c) Spiritualistic c ryas
Kundakunda
iv rya Krtikeya P jyap da Joindu or Yogindu Haribhadra
ubhacandra Amptacandra R masena
1st cent. A.D 1st cent A.D. 3rd cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 6th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D. 9th cent. A.D. 10th cent. A.D. 11th cent. A.D.
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Nemicandra Muni
Hemacandra
(d) Ethical cryas
Vattekara
Samantabhadra
Haribhadra
Vasuna di
Pt. dhara
(e) Devotional c ryas
Samantabhadra
Siddhasena
P jyap da
M natu ga
11th cent. A.D.
(13th cent. A.D.
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1st cent. A.D.
2nd cent. A.D.
7th cent. A.D.
12th cent. A.D.
(14th cent. A.D.
2nd cent. A.D.
6th cent. A.D.
6th cent. A.D. 7th cent. A.D.
Tattv rthas tra of Um sv ti/Um sw mi (2nd cent A.D) is a compendium of Jaina Philosophy which includes Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics and Spiritualism.
(All inclusive c rya)
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1.5
1.0 Introduction
The survival of Jainas, though as a minority community, for the last so many centuries in India- and especially in south India can be safely attributed, among other things, to the glorious and continuous tradition of Jainas saints for more than a thousand years. They never attempted to lead a solitary life in isolation from others. On the contrary, the Jainas always tried to preserve contacts with the general masses so as to encourage them to lead a religious life.
Jaina c ryas from South India & Their Contributions Prof. Bhag Chand Jain
The contribution of South India to development of Jainism is remarkable one in all the spheres like religion, philosophy, literature, art and architecture. Here we confine ourselves to introduce mainly the pontiffs like Bhadrab hu, Gu adhara, Dharasena, Puspadanta, Bhutavali, Kundakunda, Yativṛṣabha, Sivārya, Samantabhadra and Akalanka etc. who composed a vast Prākṛta and Sanskrit Jaina literature.
2.0 Jaina c ryas and their tradition
ruta (Scripture or Canon) is the soul of the religious traditions. It is an anthology of the sermons of Trtha karas, may be called God in non- Jain traditions, or their direct or indirect disciples who have attained the certain spiritual purification. It is therefore established as an authority and priority as the form of religion. The scriptural texts are engraved in the hearts of believers who draw inspiration and revival from them in every age.
crya is the spiritual guide and the head of the monastic order. He should also be a proficient in his own philosophical principles as well as other's philosophies.
Jaina thinkers enriched practically all the faculties of literature. Mah vra is the Arthakart of the present rutajn na of Jaina tradition and Gautama Ga adhara is its Granthakart. Gautama expressed his views without adding anything from his own side. The ruta is of two types A gab hya and A gapravista. A gapravista is of twelve types, viz.:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
y ra ga
Suyagad ga
Th
ga
Samav y ga
Viy hapa atti
Ny y yaddhmmakah o
Uvasagadas o
Antagadadas o
Anuttarovav iya
Panhavagaanaim
Viv gasuyam
Drṣtiv da, the twelfth A ga.
According to the Digambaras the Canonical literature has been lost.
1. c rya Bhadrab hu
Bhadrab hu, was the disciple and successor of the fourth rutakevali Govardhana. He went to South India with a large Jaina Sangha during the famous famine of twelve years which was due to happen in Magadha. He was the knower of the 14 P rvas. Candragupta Maurya the famous Mauryan emperor was his main disciple who went Page 136 of 555 STUDY NOTES version II with him to south and accepted Sallekhana at the hill of Sravanabelagola. The Brhatkath ko a of Harisena (p.317-19) supports this fact.
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2. c rya Gu adhara
Gu adhara was the first and foremost monk who achieved the partial knowledge of A gas and Prva ruta after Loh rya. He was the knower of 5th P rva Pejjadosap huda and Mah kammapay dip huda, while Dharasena was knower of only P rvagatakammapay dip huda. Therefore Gu adhara is the first P rvavid rutadhar c rya in Digambara Jaina Tradition. He composed Kaş yap hudan Prākṛta verses as pointed out by Virasena in his Jaya Dhaval commentary:
Jeniha kaş yap husamaneyanayamujvalam anam tattha. Gh hi vivariyam tam Gu ahara bhadarayam vande. G th 6
This reference indicates Gu adhara as elder to Dharasena in age and the knowledge as well. The linguistic characteristics also support the view that the Kaş yap hudias prior to Satakha d gama. V rasena in his Jaya Dhaval tika on Kaş yap hudsays in this regard:
"Puno tao ceva suttagahao airiyaparamparae agamacchamanio ajjamankhunagahattinam pattao. Puno tesim donham pi padamule asidisadagahanam gunaharamuhakamalaviniggayanamattham sammam souna jayivasahabhadaraena pavayanavacchalena cunnisuttam kayam"
3. c rya ryamamksu and N gahasti
Nandis tra Patt val refers to ryamamksu and N gahasti as proficient in scriptures and Karma stras and disciple of ryasamudra (G th s 28-30). The vet mbara tradition questions about the conduct of Aryamamksu and perhaps on the same basis, Yativṛṣabha and Virasena mentioned his teachings as Apavaijjama a and N gahasti's teachings as Pavaijjama a (based on c rya tradition). Therefore these c ryas may be contemporaries possessing different opinions.
The Dhaval t ka refers to both these c ryas as Mah rama a, K am rama a, and Mah v caka. All these attributes are sufficient to prove that they were well-versed in scriptures and Karma philosophy. They had also the knowledge of r tiya tradition (Kaş yap huda, p.388). Virasena clearly says that ryamamksu and N gahasti studied the Kaş yap huda from Gu adhara. Indranandi in his rut vat ra supports this view through the following verse:
Evam g thasutri pañcadasamah shikarani.
Praviracya vyacakhyau sa n gahastyaryamamksubhyam. G th 154
Kaş yap huda is the concise form of the Pejjado ap huda. It was, therefore, more convenient to have the oral study of the Agamas. ryamamksu and N gahasti procured them through oral tradition and Yativṛṣabha obtained them through ryamamksu and N gahasti as revealed by Vrasena (JayaDhaval part 1, p.88). Here in this reference the words " yariyaoaramparae agacchamanio" and "Souna" are very important. It appears that these G th s were prevalent in oral tradition during the period of ryamamksu and N gahasti. Many generations of c ryas passed away. Yativṛṣabha was their disciple who studied Kaş yap huda from them and composed the commentary called Cri S tra on the work consisting of six thousand lokas. Uccaran c rya composed the Uccarana S tras on the Cris tras. Then Vrasena and Jinasena composed the Jaya Dhaval tika on the Kaş yap huda in mixed Prākṛta and Sanskrit languages.
4. Acārya Dharasena, Puspadanta and Bhutavali and their works
They are great spiritual philosophers of Digambara Jain tradition. They were profound scholars of Karma Siddhānta, Dharasena was the teacher of Puspadanta and Bhutavali. Dharasena made a request to the Congregation that two monks well-versed in Jain Karmasiddh nta are sent to him immediately to save the knowledge which he had gained from the purvas. Accordingly, Puspadanta and Bhutavali went to Dharasena, the knower of the Purvagata Kammap yadi P huda who was engaged with his penance and counting his last days. They gained the required knowledge from Dharasena and returned back to their natives. Puspadanta composed the Visadisutta, the Satparuva of Satkhand gama for Jinapalita and then sent it with Jinapalita to Bhutavali in Dravid country for going through the Visadisutta, the other name of Satprarupa Puspadanta was elder to
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Bhutavali. Bhutavali understood that the duration of life of Puspadanta is remained not much. Puspadanta prepared the synopsis of the Satkhand gama and disturbed the Jivatth na into eight Anuyogadv ras. Satprarupa was its first Anuyogadv ra which was written by Puspadanta. The other Anuyogadvāra as the he parts of the Ṣatkhandagama were composed by Bhutavali.
5. Acārya Yativṛṣabha and His Works
Nothing much is known about him. His two works are mainly available, Kaş yap hudaunnisutta and Tiloyapannatti. The first does not indicate any thing about him. But the other one Tiloyapannatti informs of course as follows:
Panamaha jinavara-vasaham, ganaharavasaham taheva gunaharavasaham. Dusaha-parisahavasaham, jadivasaham dhammasutta padhae vasaham. Cunnasaruvam attham, kara padamapamana-kimjantam. Atthasahassa-pamanam, Tiloyapannatti-namae. G th 77 Tiloya. Part 2, p. 882
Kaş yap huda Cunnisutta
The Kaş yap huda Cunnisutta of Yativṛṣabha is known as Vrtti, which provides the different meanings of Bijapadas in a condensed way. In other words, the Cunnis tras are the exposition of Bijapadas as pointed out by using the word "Anucintiun nedavam" or "Genhiyabbam". The total number of S tras of the work is 7009.
The Kaş yap hudaunnisuta is divided into fifteen Adhik ras, which are somewhat different from the division made by c rya Gu adhara. Uccara a commented upon the Cunnisutta.
6. Tiloyapa atti
The second work Tiloyapa atti is the earliest text relating to Loka or Universe. The Text Tiloyapannatti is divided into nine chapters, i.e. Jagat Svarupa, Narakaloka, Bhavanavasi Loka, Manuşyaloka, TiryakLoka, Vyantara Loka, JyotisiLoka, Kalpav si Loka, and Siddha Loka. It is a treasure of culture standpoints. The fourth chapter of the Text deals with Jain mythological views relating to Kalpavṛksas, al k purusas, Samavasara a and so forth. It appears that some of the G this are added there in the text afterwards. For instance, a prose portion in the seventh chapter (P. 766) is borrowed or added afterwards from Dhaval (Pu. 4, p.157) as Dhaval itself refers to Tiloyapa atti. Likewise, 7th to 87th G ths of the first chapter are also borrowed from Santaprarupa of Dhaval. This does not mean that the Tiloyapa atti is composed in 8th or 9th c. A.D. In fact such portions are defiantly added interpolated.
7-8. Dhaval -tika and JayaDhaval -tika of V rasena and Jinasena on the Kaş yap huda and Satkhand gama
V rasena composed Dhaval Tika on the Satkhand gama in Pr krta - Sanskrit mixed language called Ma iprav la style. It was written in memory of Rāṣtrakuta king Amoghavarśa who was called Dhaval. Considering the importance of Dhaval tika, Jinasena says "It is the Tika of V rasena and the other Tikas are simply Panjikas. The Tika exposes the Siddh nta, the philosophical trends and in this context the Dhaval tika is Tika in true sense. Both Dhaval and Jaya Dhaval Tikas discuss the Jain philosophical trends profoundly they deal with the subjects of Mah karmaprakritipr bhrita and Kaş yap huda.
V rasena was the disciple of ryanandi and El c rya. Jinasena praises him by saying rutakeval and Prajñ rama a. V rasena completed the Dhaval tika in Saka Sam. 738 (816 A.D.) He composes only Purv rdha part of the Dhaval and Jayadhala tika. The Uttar rdha part of both the Tikas was written by his disciple Jinasena.
JayaDhaval Tika on the Kaş yap huda
Jayadhala Tika on the Kaş yap hudaas written by, Vrasena and Jinasena. V rasena composed it up to the fifth Varga Khanda and the remaining part by Jinasena. V rasena distributed the chapters of Kaş yap hudaccording to his own arrangement. Since the original text is related to Jň naprav da, the author discussed in detail the nature of knowledge and Nayas. All the Anuyogadv ras are
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described here in brief in the first chapter. According to Indranandi, Jaya Dhaval Tika is composed in sixty thousand verses (rut vat ra, 182-184).
Other Karma literature composed in South India
In later period the cryas continued to compose the Karma literature in both the traditions, Digambara and vet mbara. The Karmaprakriti (475 G th s) appears to be a common earliest and oldest Text which would have been a main source for composing such literature vet mbaras composed many C r is and Tikas on this text. It is the work of an unknown author but traditionally it is composed by ivasamasuri, in about 5th c. A.D. It's Pr kṛta cunni by unknown author, and Sanskrit Tikas by Malayagiri and Ya ovijayaji are also available. The Pañcasangraha of Candrasimahattara and some other Karma literature, Cunni of vet mbara and Tikas are also available but they are not composed in South India.
crya Nemicandra Siddh ntacakravarti
He hails from Karnataka. He was the disciple of Abhayanandi, Vranandi, and Indranandi. C mu dar ya who constructed the huge monumental statue of B hubali at Sramanabelagola was his disciple. To teach the Jain Siddhanta to C mu dar ya he composed the Gommatas ra Jivajnanda and karmakanda on the basis of Dhaval and JayaDhaval in tenth c. A.D.
Some other cryas from South
Some more names of c ryas from South may be mentioned here. For instance Sv mi Kum ra K rtikeya, Um svami, Samantabhadra, Pujyap da, P trakesari, Joindu, Jatasinhanadi, Akalamka, V rasena-Jinasena, Vidyānanda, Prabhācandra, Puspadant and so forth, we cannot discuss all of them in short period. Let know something about Vidy nanda. cryas Vidyananda
this
us
crya Vidy nanda hails from Karnataka. He was Br hma a by caste and belonged to Nandisangha. He may be placed in about ninth c. A.D. He composed ptaparik with Svopajñavrtti, Pram aParik, P traparik, Satya sanaparik, r purap r van tha Stotra, Vidy nanda mahodaya, Astasahasri tika on ptamim ms of Samantabhadra, Tattv rthaslokav rtika, the commentary on Tattv rthaS tra of Um svami and Yukt nu sanalank ra, the commentary on the Yukt nu sanalank ra stotra of Samantabhadra.
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1.5
Jaina Thinkers: r mad R jacandra, K nji Sw mi, Pt. Todarmala Dr. Kamini Gogri
1.0 Introduction
The Indian situation in the 19th century was different from the situation at the time of the two reformers discussed earlier i.e. Dokansaha and Bhikku. India was now under the British rule. Christian missionaries have started their preaching. The British introduced formal education system, science and technology and started criticizing classical Indian religious traditions on the ground that there was no acceptance of GOD, GRACE, FAITH, LOVE AND HOPE.
Against this background we have to understand the works of the three main reformers
r mad R jacandra (1867-1901 A.D.),
K nji Sw mi (1889-1980 A.D.), and
1.
2.
3. Sant B la (1904-1982 A.D.).
None of them preached the traditional ascetic oriented religion. They unified spirituality and the dayto-day activities of life. Sr mad introduced BHAKTI M RGA (or the path of devotion) in Jaina religion, which is discussed by him in his poems and correspondence with various individuals who had spiritual quest. K nji sw mi, emphasized JN NA M RGA (or the path of acquiring knowledge), that is, one should know that one is uddh tma (pure soul). r mad never took initiation but was a householder. K nji sw mi was a Sth nakav si muni but after reading 'Samayas ra' the Digambara text, became a Digambara lay follower.
2.0 SR MAD R JACANDRA (1867 A.D- 1901 A.D.)
Raichand was born in 1867 A.D. to Ravjibhai and Devabai of Vavania in Morbi. His grandfather was a devout Krs a worshipper and his mother came from a Jaina family. This blend of two religions in his life played an important role. He had four sisters and one bother. His paternal grandfather was a major influence on him. In autobiography 'Samutchaya Vaya-carya', which he wrote at the age of twenty-two he says that he was "deeply dyed in the more colorful mode of worship of Krs a cult"1. He listened eagerly to the verses consecrating the image of lord Krs a as also to the lore of various adventures and miracles attributed to him in the different incarnations. This had a profound effect on young Raichand. He even mentions his having been formally initiated while he was yet a boy of less than ten, by a monk named Ramad saji. In Samutchaya Vay c rya, however he mentions this only as a phase which he later was to outgrow.
He is said to have astonishing powers of intelligence and memory. At the age of seven he started going to school and it barely took him a month to master the numerals. At the age of 7, when he saw his neighbor being cremated, he obtained j ti smara a jñ na (knowledge recollecting his past births) When he was eight years old he is known to have composed some five thousand lines of verse.
In this youth he earned the reputation of being a at vadh ni (one who could attend to a hundred different things simultaneously. He even gave public performance of these rare feet in Bombay in 1886-87. Times of India dated 24th January 1887 have published an article on it. In this 20th year he renounced these powers, as he considered them to be obstructions to his spiritual progress.
He never ran away from any of his responsibilities and duties. On the contrary, he took the uttermost care in performing them. Even in business he could have attained the highest position but he declined any such opportunities.
He was married at the age of sixteen and had five children. He advocated performing marriage and other social functions in a simple and economical way. This shows that a person can live like a householder and even live and aspire for a life of spiritual development. He holds that religion should be followed in every act of life. Whatever he was doing, whether eating, sitting, sleeping, he was firmly detached from every act. He was never attracted to any worldly matters. He lived simple
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dressed in very simple way and also always satisfied with whatever food was offered to him. "From V.S.1947 to 1951, for the first time he had the direct experience of atman (soul) as separate from body. This is called samakit or samyaktva. He then ardently desired to give up worldly life and become a nirgrantha muni. However his fight with external upadhi becomes quite active here. So this stage is marked with terrific battle or conflict between the two opposite forces. He feels like assuming the role of religious teacher for which renouncing worldly life and becoming a monk is a precondition."2 "Though externally he is a householder of the fourth spiritual stage, internally he has reached the seventh spiritual stage (apramatta samyata gu asth na) of a monk".3 While from V.S.1952 TO 1957 when he passed, he almost overcame conflict. But before reaching the zenith of the spiritual development, that is, perfect vitar gat and kevala jn na, the span of his life was unexpectedly cut short and he met a premature death because of extreme weakness".4
Another important feature of his life is his acquaintance with Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was very much influenced by his teachings and was a major influence on him. He was Gandhi's spiritual guru. Through letters Gandhi and r mad had lot of correspondence. Gandhi Says, "he was absorbed in his thoughts even when he would be walking. He had a miracle in his eyes, which were very shining. He was never in depressed mood. His voice was so much sweet that one would never be tired of listening to him. His face was always smiling and it displayed inner bliss."5
There were many other people who followed him during his life. He wrote tma Siddhi on the request of Sobh gabhai and completed it in three hours. Sankara, the propounder of Advaita Vedanta and Vivekananda of Ramakrishna Mission also lived a short span life of 33 years with its full meaning. r mad lived only for 33 1/2 years.
2.1 Literature
His major works are in Gujarati. They include Bhāvanābodha, Mokṣamala, Ātmasiddhi, Apurva Avasara, Mulam rga, about eight hundred letters, personal diaries and notes, more than one thousand aphorisms and good sayings are published in works like Puspam I, Bodhavacana and Vacanasapta Sati, Gujarati translation of Kundakunda's Pañc stik ya etc.
Some poems, incomplete articles, translations notes and commentaries etc. are available in Manuscripts. His autobiographical article such as Samutcaya-Vay c rya is also valuable. These works show that he was a prolific writer, poet and a mystic who always wrote on the basis of his personal experience. His unfinished and unpublished works include topics like 'women's education', 'Svadesi', 'Who is really rich?' All these were written before he completed 20 years of his age. But he stopped writing on such topics after the 20th year and concentrated only on spirituality.
r mad can be regarded as a reformer in so far as we find in his views a beautiful blend of householder and of a spiritual aspirant. He proved to the world that religion has to be followed in every act of life and that in spite of performing duties towards parents, wife, children, and doing other social activities one can live a detached life. He earned money only for his simple livelihood devoid of greed.
He also studied various sects of Jaina religion, and found that there was great rivalry amongst them because they had forgotten the welfare of their own souls and the principle of Anek nta preached by Mah vra. After his extensive and unbiased study and research, he came to the revolutionary conclusion that all religions preach only tmadharma and therefore there is, in essence, only one universal religion of tmadharma and hence it is not necessary to belong to any particular religion or sect or not even to the one, in which one is born. This revolutionary idea of r mad goes against the traditionalist view of religion, which regards that, one's own religion or sect is true and those of others as false (Mithy). He therefore re-established that permanent and the eternal (dhrauvya) is the tmadharma and not the sectarian beliefs and outward ways of worship which are really of the nature of origin and destruction (utp da and vyaya).
In the present age, some aspirants try to find their salvation through the mere observances of rites and some others through dry intellectual knowledge. Merely following the rituals and overlooking their
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spiritual significance, the ritualists denounce the path of knowledge as they hold that only practicing rituals alone is sufficient. This is so because the traditional Jainism holds that ones the knowledge obscuring karmas are shed off through the 12 forms of nirjara one does not feel the need to aspire for Samyag jň na of which rmad was critical.
He therefore says that "Samyag dar ana is necessary to attain samyag jn na". Therefore according to him any action and mere knowledge devoid of samyag dar ana is not worthy to follow. Mere external kriyas or dry intellectualism, both of them lead to the development egoistic attitude. Therefore in terms of rmad both self-effort and intellectual understanding are insufficient for the self-realization.
2.2 His Views In the order of Panca Parmesthi, Arihanta and Siddha are the supreme and those who have attained liberation. Therefore the aim of the s dhus, up dhyayas and c ryas is to attain the supreme state. Even though they may have highest of the scriptural knowledge, they may be less self - enlightened. They are in the four-fold samgha, the part of organized institutional religion. Even though they guide people through their discourses, rmad has seen the lacuna in such a way of guidance. Since they are ordained in a particular institution they have to follow the set of prescribed rules. They solely follow the external rituals mentioned in the agamas. The time required for s dhan is wasted in mere performance of external rituals. They cannot guide people properly about the spiritual development due to their inability to grasp the spiritual level of the people. rmad therefore stresses the need of a sadguru or satpurusa to whom an individual can completely devote. The sadguru is a real selfenlightened person who is far away from external rituals, passions, completely engrossed in self. At no moment he is away from the self. Such a satpuruşa can hence guide the person rightly on the spiritual ladder.
He laid very much importance on Sadguru. According to him the teacher who is sanctimonious and enlightened and has self-experience is like God himself and devotion to him is devotion to God. Hence the individual who has found such a teacher should totally surrender to him and obey all his commands. The study of scriptures also should be done under the guidance of such a teacher otherwise a person is likely to be misguided.
An aspirant who aims at attaining liberation has to follow right knowledge, faith and conduct. He says that spiritual knowledge consists in realizing with the help of the preaching of pious teacher, (a) that soul is different from body (b) that it has the inherent quality of knowledge and (c) that it is indestructible. Here what he tries to clarify is that in the process of acquiring right knowledge a teacher plays an important and significant role.
In his book Moksa Mala he has stressed on the importance of satpurusa and his satsanga. He explains that good company helps the person to be free from passions etc. and helps to lead him to the path of self-realization. He seems to be right in saying that only an experienced person can be forceful in giving explanation to us, which are right. Here he was really right in asking people to follow right teacher. Then only his discourse affects the person and makes him stable in his thoughts. He also stresses on meditation. He himself would go away in secluded place and meditate.
According to him meditation is the best means for spiritual progress and realization. The aim and object of realization is to know our self. He says that an aspirant should have a dialogue with the sadguru. Then after having got the doubts cleared he should go to a place where there is no disturbance, contemplate on the real nature of the self and thus know the true spirit in one's own self. When one's knowledge is purified it is nothing but Kevala jn na. This knowledge according to him is not the knowledge of the substances but the purified knowledge of the self.
r mad's teachings were full of devotion. It means that a person true to his teacher is fully devotional to him and devotion to teacher is devotion to God because only a pious teacher can impart the true teaching of trtha karas and the Scriptures. This devotion, which his teachings express, is the devotion to a living person.
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Really speaking the period from the 9th century to the 12th century was very important from the point of view of various changes that were taking place in the course of conduct of a layman. It was a time when rituals were getting into prominence in place of the basic principles of religion. People were looking for various forms and manners of performing divine services, as a result the code of ceremony and performances of rites were gaining popularity. As the quotation describes the bhakti in traditional Jainism means divine service (mainly in the form of rituals) which is totally different from what he meant by surrender.
The present times are very hard and very unfavorable for the practice of spirituality and sadguru or satpuruşa are very rare to be found. Sr mad therefore said at many places in his writings that if no such sadguru is available, one should worship such things and places and study such scriptures as would increase the sentiments (bh va) of passionlessness (vair gya), and subsidence of Kaş yas (attachment, aversion etc)
The association of such sadguru must result in changing one's life in due course. This changing of life suggests the attaining of samyaktva. He says, "An aspirant must find out a satpurusa at any cost and totally surrender to him and devote himself with all his might. This will destroy all his passions and desires because such a person, who has realized his soul, can only help him achieve self-realization. He further says that to accomplish sat (truth), one has to come in touch with the embodiment of sat, and that is the satpurusa."
"He unconditionally declares that it is not essential to belong to any faith or system or religion because anything, which helps us know our self and remain with and realize the self is the best of religions for us and whatever distracts us away from our self, is nonreligion for us. The moment we forget our self, we go under the control of our mind, desires and passions, which are the sources of misery and unhappiness". By emphatically emphasizing only on the immutable tma dharma rmad hits hard at those religious doctrines, which preach that only their way is the right path. This deconditioning liberalizes the approach of religion because then religion will overcome religious differences and set beliefs.
rmad has preached his philosophy of self-realization in his poem, called tma Siddhi. Here he has formulated the six tenets. Firm belief in these six tents leads an aspirant to achieve samyag - dar ana which means one becomes introvert. He comes to acquire general knowledge of soul and non soul (soul as different from body). He has firm faith in those things and also develops great sensitivity and discriminatory knowledge to decide what is good for his soul or for self - realization and what is not. The text is in a form of a dialogue between an aspirant and a guru. The aspirant who is in search of the transcendental reality has certain doubts. This shows that the six propositions regarding the self; earlier given by Siddhasena more recently by rmad can be said to have their genesis in the ar ga.
He has expressed spirituality in his tmasiddhi without involving in any rituals. It is purely spiritual poem r mad's tma-Siddhi consists mainly of six tenets which are sure to help him achieve his goal and bless. It unfolds mystery about soul. These six propositions can be said as the metaphysical basis of r mad.
The six tenets on which the whole edifice of his philosophy of tmadharma is built are about of right faith, which is the foundation of all spiritual progress.
1. The soul exists: - Soul is a substance. Its existence can be proved because of certain qualities
like its realization and knowledge which make its existence felt and thus it knows itself and
also others. He thus avoids skepticism and affairs that the existence of soul can be proved. 2. Soul is eternal: - Soul is indestructible and permanent. It is an independent substance, cannot
be produced and therefore cannot be destroyed at any time. 3. Soul is the author of its own acts: - When it acts spiritually, it can realize its nature and hence
it is doer of its own nature. From practical point of view also it is the doer of things.
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4. Soul is the enjoyer of its own actions: - Every action has a reaction or effect. Cause effect -
relation is a common experience. Eating poison has it effect and eating sugar has its own effect. If soul acts under passions it attracts inauspicious karmas and if it is the doer of good and auspicious thoughts and acts, it attracts auspicious karmas and enjoys their pleasant fruits.
5. The soul can be liberated: If there is a cause, the effect is bound to follow. The soul can attain Liberation if the cause of bondage is removed by e stoppage of influx of karmas and by efforts like austerities, non-attachment, and meditation. Liberation is a natural state of Soulpure consciousness.
6. There is path to 'liberation':- Soul can be freed by realization of soul and by practicing religion.
Through such a composition it follows that one cannot merely have blind faith in spiritual matters. It becomes more essential to become doubtless by raising doubt. It becomes all the more necessary in spiritual matters to purify the intelligence through proper guidance. Therefore one cannot deny the importance of knowledge as a precondition for right faith. According to him intellectual knowledge can be purified by submission to a Sadguru.
His main emphasis on sadguru, bhakti, satsanga, and sw dhy ya suggest that with such an approach he evoked the inner feelings of the aspirants. Such an emotional growth would on the contrary lead a person to overcome a feeling of apathy to its opponents and that is what he has suggested bringing about a reconciliatory approach between incompatible views.
2.3 Legacy
He had a lot of correspondence with various individuals. One of the important people was muni Laghur ja Sw mi; a Jaina monk and an ardent devotee of r mad. They had a lot of correspondence with each other. After his demise muni Lahgur ja established r mad's rama at Agas.
Today we find lot of ramas in the name of r mad. The new age spiritual gurus have established these rama. Some of these ramas are established at Kob (near Ahmedabad), Deol li (near Nasik) and Dharampur (Valsad). These complexes consist of temples. The images serve the purpose of having an external instrument for worship and not of image worship. These complexes also contain meditation halls, libraries, guesthouses, even residences, hospitals etc. In paryusana and other holy days there are sessions for satsanga and sw dhyaya. These gurus who have mastered the words of the scriptures impart so to the followers.
3.0 K NJI SW MI (1889 A.D. 1980 A.D.)
K nji Sw mi was born in a Sthanakavasi family at Umrala a small village in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat in A.D. 1889. His mother was Ujamb and father was Moticanda. He was intelligent and firm. He was learning Jainism right from childhood and had yearnings of vair gya- freedom from worldly things.
Experiencing profound approach and unusual consciousness from within at the age of 11, while looking at a muni walking alone with supreme confidence of his freedom from worldly life, he felt muni had a wonderful state of mind,. At such a tender age his mind was attracted to a state, which will be absolutely far from worldly attachments. Experiencing deepest recesses of mind, he was not satisfied with knowledge of words. His search was different. He was missing SAT- truth.
He was orphaned at early age and then joined his father's shop. He was simple and honest and his expression was frank, innocent and fearless. He was always touched by religious matters specially Vairagya i.e. detachment or freedom from worldly things.
Always engaged in reading religious books, he found out means to be free. He wanted to take initiation, in spite of his brother and relative's efforts to find him a life partner.
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He then searched for a Guru and ultimately after a long search he renounced the world and accepted the life of a Jaina saint, at the hands of r Hir candaji in A.D. 1913 in Sth nakav si sect. He studied Swet mbara gamas with criticisms. He practiced an absolute code of conduct for munis.
He was a great believer in self- effort for achieving salvation. Nothing else could help, he believed and this was his mission. He never believed that salvation would be achieved only when Kevali would have seen it in his infinite knowledge of the ultimate. He firmly believed and said for those who are engaged in personal effort to source salvation that there are not many lives to live. The kevali in his supreme knowledge has never seen many lives for such persons who are simply engrossed in personal endeavors. So for such persons gain in terms of good life is not an incentive for liberation. They continuously strive for salvation. Their efforts remain supreme.
Finding for truth once came in his hands Samayas ra in A.D. 1921 a great book of Kundakunda that gave him great joy. He experienced enormous pleasure in his heart after he read the whole book. It was a great turn in his life. Thus, Samayas ra became his guiding book through which he expounds the spirituality and philosophy through out his life.
His inner self told him that real path is the Digambara. He therefore changed and left Sth nakav si sect, in A.D. 1934 being aware of difficulties ahead. He became a Digambara lay follower.
He said at that time that Jainism does not belong to any sect it is a religion of the soul. When one realizes the magnanimity of the self and one's interest in non-self objects vanishes, one fixes one's attention on the pure nature of the self and thereby attains samyag darsana. His life was prone only to his own soul. His daily routine of life basically was in his own studies, his own knowledge meditation and the deep introspection of the scriptures.
Knji Sw mi has given discourses on the following books:
Satkhand gama part 1. Samayas ra, Pravacanas ra Pañc stik ya, Aştap hudas, Parm tmapraka, Niyams ra, Purus rthasiddhiup ya, Moksa M rga Prak aka and others.
Listening to him many took initiation in Jaina monk order. Many people assumed Digambara faith. Songadha (Saurashtra) was his main place where these activities were conducted. He died in A.D. 1980
3.1 His Views Kanji swami's philosophy could be considered mainly as a revolt against the ritualistic aspect prevalent in the Jaina religion in his times. In and around him he observed that the gurus were mainly emphasizing only the ritualistic aspect devoid of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. He also found that Jaina teachers of his times gave sole importance to the material karmas and considered that the soul is mere puppet in the hands of those karmas. Hence the vision of the individual was shifted from the modifications of the perfect consciousness to the modifications of the karmic matter. He therefore raised his voice against this and by theorizing the philosophy of Kundakunda he propounded the revolutionary view of Krama Baddha Pary ya (sequence bound modifications). He therefore argues that the material karmas cannot modify the changes in the soul i.e. in consciousness. Further arguing he says that no substance can in any way bring about the changes in another substance. Soul is neither puppet nor the master of the karmas. No two substances affect each other- neither pudgala (especially). Neither karma pudgala nor souls affect each other. No real bondage, no real salvation i.e. no efforts for salvation takes place. The effect takes place in solely due to the up dana k rana or the material cause; the nimitta or the instrumental has nothing to do with the bringing about the effect.
He even said getting attached to trtha kara n ma karma needs to be left out. There is no misery to the soul at all even when the body suffers intensely in its various parts'. The path of salvation is not achieved by merely keeping balance of mind with an understanding that one should not mourn
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unhappiness since this will bring new karmas. Even the five vows, penances bring punya but not the salvation.
He used to live a highly saintly life of Sth nakav si s dhus with perfect celibacy. Despite achieving highest heaven, the soul has to come back to this world so what remains to be done now? Such was the subject of his deep meditation and study and he felt that the true path was something different. Formal ceremonies are not the path of salvation. The real path lies in self-experience of the soul.
3.1.1 VYAVAH RA AND NI CAYA NAYA The exponent of "standpoint" was the great Jaina reformer Kundakunda. He belonged to the Digambara tradition of Jainism. Kundakunda's spirituality is reflected in his famous work Samayas ra. This work expounds the nature and working of consciousness and the nonconscious matter and the co-relation between them the Ni caya-Vyavah ra are the two spiritual perspective of understanding the self (samaya) in its pure nature and in its bound nature respectively. From the Ni caya perspective the soul is pure and at no point it is in bondage.
"The defining characteristic of the jiva is that it knows - that is its essence. J va and jn na, self or knower and knowledge are not different, they are identical; the knower is essentially one with knowledge."
"It is the self, which can know anything because it is only the self, which has knowledge as its swabh va. Moreover, because of this it does not do anything in order to know - it has no need to act in order to obtain knowledge, knowledge is its condition".
And what it knows is precisely itself. Thus knowledge is not a matter of knowing something beyond or external to the self but of realizing or knowing one's own true nature. This was a total revolution by Kundakunda. He completely internalized the spirit of true religion; that is one has to know one is free and not bound. He completely broke the kart bh va.
"Pratikrama a (repentance for past misconduct), pursuit of the good, rejecting the evil, concentration, abstinence from attachment to external objects, self-censure, confessing before the master and purification by expiation, these are eight kinds constitute the pot of poison".
"Non-repentance for past misconduct non-pursuit of the good, non-rejection of evil, nonconcentration, non-abstinence from attachments to external objects, non-self-censure, nonconfessing before the masters and non-purification by expiation, these eight kinds constitute the pot of nectar"
In case of an empirical self, the uncontrolled rush of emotions must be kept under restraint. For achieving this purpose, the eight kinds of disciplines, Pratikrama a etc become necessary and desirable. Since they promote the achievement of the good, they must be said to constitute the pot of nectar. Whereas the lack of eight-fold discipline must constitute the opposite, that is, the pot of poison since there is a free vent to evil. The ordinary description is reversed in the last two verses by the author. He is talking of the transcendental self, which is quite beyond the region of good and evil. Hence, the question of discipline and non-discipline is meaningless. And hence in the case of the supremely pure state of the self, to talk of Pratikrama a, etc, is to drag it down to the empirical level and to postulate the possibility of occurrence of impure emotions, which ought to be disciplined and controlled. Kundakunda considers the various kinds of moral discipline to be avoided and calls them pot of poison. When the self is absorbed in its own pure nature by attaining the yogic Sam dhi, there is a full stop to the series of impure psychic states which are characteristics of the empirical self. Hence, there is no necessity to practice the various kinds of disciplines. The very absence of those disciplinary practices produces spiritual peace that passes understanding. It is that stage that there is the pot of nectar. Such a spiritual peace necessarily implies spiritual bliss, which is the characteristic of the supreme self.
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3.3 Legacy Knji sw mi brought in fore front the philosophy of Kundakunda. He had attracted a lot of followers who went on publishing his commentaries on Samayas ra, Pravacanas ra, etc. Having built temples, etc in Songadha from where he conducted the activities he went on preaching the doctrine of Krama Baddha pary ya. Yet he did not choose any one to carry forward his mission. Because he believed that every Pary ya is Swanirmita. Today the followers have established a huge sect known as K nji pantha. A group of followers have started regarding him as a future t rtha kara.
4.0 Pandit Todarmal In the true tradition of ancient Jain Saints and scholars, Pandit Todarmalji, too, did not pay any attention towards writing anything about his life history. Therefore, nothing definite can be said on the dates of his birth, death and life span. However, on the basis of the available circumstantial and other evidence Dr. Hukamchand Bharilla in his research treatise " Pandit Todarmal - life and work" established his year of birth to be 1719-20 A.D. and the year of his passing away 1766 A.D. with a life-span of only 47 years. He was born in Jaipur (India). His father was Shri Jogidasji Khandelwal of Godika Gotra (Jain subcaste) and Rambha Bai his mother. He was married and had two sons, Harishchandra and Gumaniram. Shri Gumaniram was a great revolutionary genius. He received ordinary education in the spiritual Ter Panthi Style of Jaipur, but his deep scholarship was mainly due to hard work and genius. He was a great intellectual having sharpness of understanding and a studious nature. He was well- versed in Prākta, Sanskrit, Hindi and Kannad languages.About his scholarship Pandit Raimalji wrote in his letter of invitation for the Indra-dhwaja Vidhana (Ritual), in the year 1764, "It is very difficult to find a man of his intellect these days. All the doubts about religious matters are removed after meeting him". About his knowledge and studies, he himself writes in Mok a Mrga Prak sa, "I have studied Samayas ra Panc stik ya, Pravacanas ra, Niyams ra, Gomattas ra, Labdhis ra, Trilokas ra, Tattv rthas tra, with commentaries; Kshapanas ra, Purus rtha Siddhyup ya, Asthap hud, Atm nus sana and many other scriptures describing the conduct of monks and householders, and Pur nas containing stories of great personalities according to my own understanding and knowledge". In his short life-span, he wrote, in all, twelve books, big and small which is about a lac verses in measure and about five thousand pages. Some of these are commentaries of popular sacred books while others are independent works of his own. These are found both in prose and poetry.
References: 1. Digish Mehta, Srimad Rajacandra A Life, p. 15. 2. U.K. Pungaliya, Philosophy and Spirituality Of Rajacandra, p.27. 3. ibid 4. ibid, p. 68 5. ibid 6. ibid 7. A. Cakravarti, Commentary on Samayasara of Kundakunda, p 232-233 7. W.Johnson, Harmless Souls, p. 276 8. 9. A. Cakravarti, op.cit, 9.306
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1.5.a
crya Kundakunda and His Literature
Prof. Bhag Chand Jain
1.0 Introduction Kundakunda was a spiritual saint and a great writer among Digambara Jaina thinkers. He is honored, next to Mah vra. Kundakund nvaya is evidence that recognizes him as the head of the Moolasangha, which is also considered one of the earliest congregations of Jaina ascetics named after Kundakunda. Kundakunda as a leader of Moolasangha had also launched the Sarasvati movement around 30 B.C. and initiated or popularized the reading and writing the scriptures in Sauraseni Prākta and in the languages of South India, Kundakunda also composed the Kural in Tamil language
1.1 Life Sketch According to epigraphic records, Kundakunda's original name was Padmanandi, but he became more popular by the name Kundakunda (E.C. II, 64, 66). In addition, Vakragriva, El c rya and Gradhapiccha were his other names or epithets. According to Dr. Upadhye, Kundakunda hails from Konakunda near Guntakal. Dr. Hanumanth Rao is of view that the birthplace of Kundakunda is Vijayawada on the ground that there is an ancient inscription in Akkanna Madanna caves. Dr. T.V.G. Shastri Supported the view by saying that exploration on the bank of the river Krishna has revealed some ancient Jain remains attributed to the period before Christ in a village called Kolanukonda, not Konakonda in Anantapur District. The place is located in Guntur district on the opposite side of the city of Vijayawada.
Nothing more about his personality is found in the works of Kundakunda except the name of Bhadrab hu as his Gamakaguru. So many traditional stories of course are found in different texts of different times that are not much reliable and helpful for deciding the date and period of Kundakunda. For instance, the Punyravak tha ko a, rdhan k tha ko a, and Jn naprabodha provide some information about his advent to Prva Videha-ksetra for paying a visit to Sr mandharasv mi. Devasena in his Dar anas ra (Verse 43) also supports this view.
1.2 Date of crya Kundakunda The date of crya Kundakunda is still a vexed problem, which could not be solved in such a way that could be approved by all the scholars. It requires the judicious and unbiased approach with a relative evaluation of the previous scholars' views and epigraphically records in right perspective.
I need not refer to and evaluate all the views established by the scholars like Pt. Nathuram Premi, Dr. Pathak, Muni Kalyanavijiy, Pt. Jugal Kishor Mukhtar, Professor Chakravarty, Dr. A.N. Upadhye, and Pt. Kailash Chandra Shastri. Dr. A.N.Upadhye evaluated all then exiting important views and established the date of Kundakunda at the beginning of the Christian era with two limits in the introduction to the Pravacanas ra (P. xii) as follows: In the light of this long discussion on the age Kundakunda wherein we have merely tried to weigh the probabilities after approaching the problem from various angles and thoroughly thrashing the available traditions, we find that the tradition puts his age in the second half of the first century B.C. and the first half of the first century A.D.; the possibility of Satkha d gama being completed before Kundakunda would put him later than the middle of the second century A.D.; and the Merkara copper-plates would show that the later limit of his age would be the middle of the third century A.D. Further the possibilities, in the light of the limitations discussed, that Kundakunda might have been a contemporary of king Shivakandha of the Pallava dynasty and that he, if proved to be the same as El c rya on more definite grounds, might be the author of Kural, would imply that the age of Kundakunda should be limit, in the light of the circumstantial evidences noted above, to the first two centuries of the Christian era. I am inclined to believe, after this long survey of the available material, that Kundakunda's age lies at the beginning of the Christian era. After the demise of Dr. Upadhye, the date of Kundakunda was not much discussed. Sometimes back Dr. M.A. Dhaky and Dr. Sagarmal Jain have reviewed the date fixed by Dr. Upadhye and expressed their views on the problem that Kundakunda may be even placed in about eight c. A.D. Most of their arguments are based on the negative and inferential evidence. Prof. Dhaky published his article in the Aspects of Jainology, Vol. 3, pp. 187-206, Varanasi, 1991 with the
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caption "The Date of Kundakund c rya" and Dr. Sagar Mal Jain got his article published in the Sagara Bharati.
2.0 The Works of Kundakunda The following main works are attributed to Kundakunda:- 1) Satkha d gama tika on three sections known as Parikarma which is not available today, 2) Mic ra, 3) ten Bhattis(Bhaktis): - Titthayarabhatti, Siddhabhatti, Sudabhatti, Carittabhati, A ag rabhatti, yariyabhatti, Nivyabhatti, Pa caparametthibhatti, Yogibhatti, 4) Astap huda- Damsana P huda, Caritta P huda, Sutta P huda, Bodha P huda, Bh va P huda, Mokkha P huda, Liga P huda, Sila P huda, 5) B rasa Anuvekkh, 6) Panc tthik ya Sa graha, 7) Pavayanas ra, 8) Samayas ra, 9) Niyamas ra. These Texts are composed in Sauraseni Prākta along with impact of Ardhamāgadhi and Mahārāshtri Prākta. We are giving some important points about these Texts.
2.1 Samayas ra Samayas ra or Samaya P huda is the most popular work in Digambara tradition. It deals with spirituality from ubha Ni cayanaya (standpoint) and Vyavah ranaya. It also indicates the status of soul, which is engaged to attain the equanimity, abandoning all sinful acts (Samaria). Thus it is the book of soul. The commentator Jayasena (12th c. A.D.) divided the Samayas ra in his T tparyavrtti commentary into ten chapters dealing with the subjects in 442 G ths. The commentator Amrtacandra (10th c. A.D.) added in his tmakhy ti Commentary, two independent appendixes namely Sy dv da ikhara and Upayopeyabhav dhik ra with the view to explain the Nayas. According to him, the Samayas ra consists of 415 G th s.
The Samayas ra deals with the spiritual matter, which is called Bhedavijň na, the knowledge of dissociation with the Karmas. Kundakunda discussed the matter mainly from udha Ni cayanaya, the absolute/ pure standpoint of view. At the outset, he explained the nature of Svasamaya and Parasamaya in this respect. Svasamaya means the soul that is situated in the state of Dar a a, Jn na and Caritra and the Parasamaya is that which stays with the state of Karmas (G th 2). In his opinion the udha Ni cayanaya, will not be helpful for laymen who are not spiritually well determined. It is not in fact for a common people. It is only for those who are about to be detached with worldly affairs. Self-realization in his view is the prime object of a Sams ri Jva who should properly understand the real nature of self. The author defined the Sva- samaya and Para - samaya at the beginning and opined to create Ekatva (oneness) or Bhedavijñ na (knowledge of differentiation between self-own soul and others) on the basis of Ratnatraya. The aspirant can know the nature of pure soul from Ni cayanaya (absolute standpoint) that the soul is absolutely pure, sentient, omniscient and completely distinct from Aj va (lifeless stuff). The Vyavah ranaya (empirical standpoints) can only help him to reach the destination as the Mleccha (barbarian) can make understood through his language. One must realize the difference between the soul and the karmic influx.
The soul has its own independent existence. Whenever we get different stages of matter or extrinsic qualities contrary to real nature therein due to its cause is called the nature of soul in the practical standpoint (Vyavah ranaya). In fact the soul keeps infinite spiritual knowledge of all substances by nature but does not involve and absorb in them at all. The inanimate substances can never be of soul. Keeping this view the worldly beings can attain the Nirva, the emancipation from all karmas through his own right efforts
The main object of Kundakunda is to explain of uddhopayoga. ubhopayoga and A ubhopayoga in his opinion are the causes of Sams ra. The good (ubha) and Bad (A ubha), both the Karmas are insignificant as the karmas in general are hindrances in attainment of liberation. The chain may be made of gold or iron is ultimately a chain, which binds one. The good deeds are definitely causes of influx of meritorious and auspicious Karmic results which assist to attain the liberation; but simultaneously they will have to be left out for the final attainment of liberation. One will have to be completely detached with all sorts of desires for the attainment of V tar gatva (G th 145-46). Kundakunda discussed the nature of soul from various points. In his view the worldly beings travel the entire wheel of world through talking interminable births due to their own past Karmas and realize
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the sorrow and pleasure. These Karmas cover their natural qualities and as a result they get the karmic bindings that create the obstructions for attainment of liberation.
According to Kundakunda, all the souls transform within the ambit of their own quartet (Svacatustaya) related to the nature of matter, space, time, and feeling (Dravya, Ksetra, Kla, and Bh va). None can interfere into others Dravya - Ksetra- Kla, and Bh va. He then reestablished the traditional Jain view that the soul is his own Kart (Doer) and Bhokt (one who experiences both joys and sorrows) - Katta bhoi amutto sarirabhitto anainihano ya, Bhavapahuda, G th 148). Likewise, none is the cause if neither of its origin nor its destruction. It is an immortal, eternal, and beyond old age (Ajara), possessed of knowledge, vision and consciousness (Pañc stik ya, G tha 109). The power of transformation (Parinamana) is a virtue of only soul (J va) and matter (Pudgala) that can be perceived on the stage of world through their different activities. The alone-purified soul does not possess the power of binding to any one. Only passionate feelings contrary to the real nature of soul are responsible for being associated with matter and binding of Karmas. This is considered from practical standpoint (Vyavah ranaya). The soul is neither therefore an action (K rya) because it is not originated one, nor it is the cause (Kara a), as it does not originate others. It is in fact the Doer as it is a shelter of Karmas and the Karmas are originated from shelter of doer. This called Kart karma Siddhi (G th 310-11). There is cause and effect relationship (Nimitta-naimittika Sambandha) between Karmabandha (binding of Karmas) and soul (J va).
2. Pavayanas ro The Pravacanas ra is another popular text of Kundakunda. It has two commentaries in Sanskrit, one is written by Amrtacandra, which contains 275 G th s divided into three rutaskandhas dealing with un na, Jneya and Caritra, and the second one is composed by Jayasena, which consists of 311 Gth s, divided into three Adhik ras. Some more commentaries are also available in Hindi, Kannada and other languages.
Dhamma or Sama is the real state of soul. It is pure when it is free from auspicious or inauspicious modes of soul, called uddhopayoga. The uddhopayoga leads to attainment the Kevalajn na and liberation from all karmas Moksa). The Subhopayoga consists in devotion to divinity, cultivation of good deeds, observation of fasts and so forth that lead to births in Human or diving categories. Deluding is the most powerful Karma that develops the attachments and aversion caused to Karmic bondage. The object of knowledge is made up of substances endowed with various qualities and modifications. The substance undergoes conditions of permanence, origination and destruction. Substance comprises J va and Aj va that are dealt with in detail in the second chapter. Meditation on the self is the real way to attain salvation. The third chapter deals with code of conduct of ascetic. Nonattachment is pre-requisite for entering the order of monks who should have the aim to reach the stage of total non-attachment some philosophic questions and their criticism have also been made by Kundakunda in the Text.
The Pravacanas ra in included into n takatrayo but it does not appear as a N taka. Its main object is to deal with the conduct of rama as. : Carittama khalu dhammo" is the main theme of the Text (3.75). Its object is to adopt equanimity after entering the order of ascetics and attain liberation (Mokşa), the path to which consists in right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. (G th s 1-6)
The subject has been dealt with the help of both the Nayas i.e. Ni cayanaya and Vyavah ranaya, but the Ni cayanaya became the prominent one. The entity is made up of substances, quality and modifications. The soul is therefore auspicious or inauspicious when it develops those modifications, and is pure when free from both the substance and modifications.uddhopayoga leads to liberation of self from Karmic matter, ubhopayoga to heaven and the A ubhopayoga to hellish and other lower destinies. The soul gets freedom from Gh tiyakarmas and becomes omniscient called Svayambhu (Gth s 9-16). In this state, the soul enjoys direct vision and knowledge of all subjects without the sensational stages in his perception without having any mutual contact. This is called direct knowledge (
Gth s 26-29, 53-58). This knowledge bestows the eternal pleasures to the liberated soul.
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The ubhopayoga consists in devotion to divinity, right penances and other merits. As a result of these auspicious Karmas the soul avails the various sensory pleasures that lead to a cause of bondage. The A ubhopayoga consists in delusion, attachment, cruelty and aversion, which rise to various kinds of Karmic bondage and sorrows. One who understands the nature of ubhopayoga and A ubhopayoga is called Dharma as he becomes free from delusion and attachment. (83-92).
The Jneyadhik ra deals with the nature of substance consisting of three elements origination, destruction and permanence. In the state of permanence, the origination and destruction take place in the substance simultaneously in its different forms of modes. Substance is the same. Thus modes and qualities constitute the substance. They are not separate. They cannot be present elsewhere than in a substance. This relation between them is called non-identity (Anyatva). There is always nondifference in the substance, but there is always difference in view of its modifications. There is nothing - absolute producing or destruction in the world. The soul also gets modes in the form of births and re-births due to bondage of Karmas. The great saint is he who meditates on the highest happiness and completely gets rid of all karmas (G th s 93-108)
In the Critr dhik ra he discusses the types of Caritra, which is the emblem of the Jain ascetic. Nonattachment is a pre-requisite for adopting the asceticism. After taking the initiation from the Guru, he should receive his course of duties consisting of 28 Mulagu S. There should be no default in observing the Mulagu s or primary virtues. He should go ahead for having the state of complete detachment from all the worldly affairs. He should take up the scriptural study, which prepares him for self-discipline and self-control. He takes one meal a day, which is not full stomach diet. The monks are endowed with either auspicious or pure manifestation of consciousness. Disciplinary formalities in behavior are not forbidden in ubhopayoga. Monks of ubhopayoga have renounced attachment for external and internal attachment. A monk who has abstained from improper conduct, who has ascertained the reality and who is peaceful and perfect in asceticism will soon attain liberation and becomes Siddha. (
Gth s 31, 57-60, 71)
In fact the he is of view that one should first abandon the A ubhopayoga and then should not attach much importance to ubhopayoga, but always should intent on uddhopayoga, which leads to attain the Nirva, the state of complete free from all Karmas. This is the main aim of the novice. The aspirant should enter the order and observe the primary virtues and discipline, cultivate ubhopayoga and attain Nirva.
Substances (Dravyas), qualities (Gus) and modifications (Pary ya) are called the object of the knowledge. The substance is endowed with origination, destruction and permanence without leaving the existential character, Soul is a substance; manifestation of consciousness is its quality, and its modifications different types of births. Rupitva is a quality of matter and its modifications are manifold like wood etc. The soul is the knower and essentially an embodiment of knowledge. But this essential knowing ability of the soul is crippled because of its long association with Karmic matter. Kundakunda showed the path of liberation from the Karmic matter.
3. Pa ctthik ya - Sa gaho Pañc stik ya has two main commentaries in Sanskrit one is of Amrtacandra, which contains 173 Gth s, and the other one is of Jayasena, which informs the 181 G th s. It is divided into two
rutaskandhas with a Pithik in beginning and Culika at the end. This division was made by Kundakunda himself as indicated in the opening of second rutaskandha by using the pronoun Tesam which refers to Astik yas etc. discussed in the first. This Text might have been a collection of traditional G th s as indicated by the word Sangaho. Amritcandra called some of them as Siddh nta Sutr ni.
The Text proposes to define the Samaya as the Samay ya or collection of five Astik yas that manifest their existence through numerous qualities. They are soul (Jva), matter (Pudgala), principles of motion and rest (Dharma and Adharma), and space (ka). The five Astik yas and Anatik yika K la are designated as Dravya (substance consisting of three qualities origination, destruction and permanence). It then discusses the qualities of J va comprising mainly In na and Dar ana and then
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follows the discussion about other remaining Dravyas. After having discussed about Davyas, the author goes to discuss the nature of nine Pad rthas including Pu ya and P pa and also the path of liberation through Vyavah ranaya and Ni cayanaya.
4. Niyamas ro Niyamas ra contains 187 g thas dealing with the concept of Ratnatraya that is Samyakdar ana (right faith), Samyakin na (right Knowledge) and Samyakcaritra (right Conduct). Padmaprabha Maladh rideva (12th-13th c. A.D) is the only commentator who commentated upon the Niyamas ra dividing it into 12 rutaskandhas. The commentary is written in Sanskrit language and is named T tparyavrtti. The Text consists of some traditional G ths, which are also found in the Mul c ra and other ancient gama Texts. Niyamas ra means the three jewels-Right, Right knowledge and Right conduct (Ratnatraya) which form the path of liberation. Ratnatraya is the way and the liberation is the result (G th s 2-3). Ratnatraya is called Niyama and S ra indicates the M rga which is devoid of perverted motives like Mithy dar ana, jň na-Caritra. The Niyama is described from both the standpoints Ni caya and Vyavah ranaya (G th s 54, 120). Ni cayanaya is the direct way for obtaining the liberation while the Vyavah ranaya assists in its achievement.
Right faith consists in believing in pta, gama, and Tattvas. The Right faith (Samyakdar ana) should be devoid of contrary faith (G th s 51). There are six dravyas (substances) namely J va, Aj va. Dharma, Adharma, k a and K la. The soul is expected to relinquish all the external objects and pursue its own nature the purity that is called Siddha. Right Knowledge (Samyakjn na) is free from doubt, perversity and vacillation. It consists in the correct understanding as to what is acceptable (Up deya) and what is rejectable (Heya) (G tha 51-52). Right conduct (Samyakcaritra) is to bear the Samat bh va, the harmonious or full of equanimity temperaments. It is described from both the standpoints. Vyavah racaritra consists in observing Pancamah vratas, Pancasamitis, Triguptis and the Panca- Paramesthi Smara a (Arihanta, Siddha, crya, Up dhy ya and S dhu). The observation of Vyavah racaritra leads the aspirant to Ni cayacaritra, which comprie the va yakas. The Ni cayacaritra can be achieved only through uddhopayoga and Bhedavijň na (discriminating science)
It may be noted here Kundakunda discussed the Samyakcaritra through Ni cayanaya. It covers mainly the va yakas, such as Pratikrama a, Praty khy na, locan, Kayotsarga, Sm yika and Paramabhakti (G th s 83- 140). The last one is divided into two, Nivrtti and Yogabhakti leading to meditation and self-realization.
5. Micro MI c ro is an authoritative work on the code of conduct of Digambara jain asetics. Vasunandi (1112th c. A.D.) in his Sanskrit Commentary on the MI c ro attributes its authorship to Vattakera and also to Kundakunda as follows: - "It's Mulacaravivrttau Dadasodhyayah. Kundakund c rya - pranitamulacarakhyavivrttih. Krtiriyam Vasunandinah sramanasya". The Vattekara may be his adjective. If So, its authorship goes to Kundakunda. It contains 1252 G th s. But the Kannada commentator Meghacandra mentions about 150 additional G th s and is also of view that Kundakunda composed the Micro.
The MIC ro consist of 12 chapters
iv.
M lagu a Brhatpraty khy na - samst rav stava Samksepa Praty khy na Sam cra Pañc c ra Pinda uddhi Şad va yakas Dv dasa nupreks Anag rabh van Samayas ra
vi.
vii.
viii. ix. X.
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xi.
xii.
6. Atthapahudama
There are eight Pāhudas composed by Kundakunad. They are Aṣṭapāhuda- Damsana P huda, Caritta P huda, Sutta P huda, Bodha P huda, Bh va P huda, Mokkha P huda, Linga P huda, Sila P huda. rutas garasuri wrote a Sanskrit commentary on the first six P hudas only. All the P hudas in fact are independent and significant works dealing with different important topics. Of these, the Caritta P huda and Bodha P huda are more systematic. The Bh vap huda keeps the importance from technical terms and mythological stories.
Damsana P huda contains 36 g thas dealing Right faith. The Caritta P huda contains 44 G thas discussing about the cultivation of Right conduct and its eight virtues. Sutta P huda (27 G thas) is related to the S tras given by Arhantas and Ga adharas. A S tra (the sacred text) is not lost in Sams ra. The Nirgrantha type of asceticism is said to be the best one and the women are forbidden from accepting severe types of penances and asceticism such as nakedness. Bodha P huda (62 G th s) deals with about eleven topics such as y tana (spiritual resorts), Caityagraha (holy edifice), Padim (image), Dar ana (faith), Jinabimba (the idol of Jina), Jinamudr (the appearance of Jina), Jň na (knowledge), Deva (the pure soul), Tirtha (the holy resorts), Arahanta (Jina), and Pravrajy (Asceticism). The last two g thas are very important from the standpoints of kundakunda's life and his discipleship of Bhadrab hu. Bh va P huda (163 g th s) is related to the Bh va (purity of psychic state of mind). The Bh va is of three types, pure (uddha), auspicious (ubha) and inauspicious (A ubha) which are called Upayoga. In order to get rid of the Karmas one should reflect on the nature of self, which is embodiment of knowledge and consciousness. Mokkha P huda (106 G th s) deals with the Param tmahood realizing which souls attains liberation. Limga p huda (22 g th s) discusses the appearance of monk and other. ila P huda (40 G th s) deals with the conduct, which is an important factor of spiritual life.
7. Bhaktisamgaho
There are twelve types of Bhakti-composed by Kundakunda. They are
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
V.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
X.
xi.
xii.
i.
ii.
lagu a Pary pti
iii.
iv.
V.
vi.
8. B rasa Anuvekkh
B rasa Anuvekkh (91 G thas) deals with 12 types of reflection, which are prescribed for the stoppage of Karmic influx. They are:
vii.
viii.
Titthayabhakti (8 G th s)
Siddha Bhakti (12 G ths) Sudabhakti (11 G ths) Caritta Bhakti (10 G th s) Jogi Bhakti (23 G th s yariya bhakti (10 G th s) Nibb na Bhakti (21G th s)
Pancaguru Bhakti (7 G th s)
Nandisvara Bhakti
S nti Bhakti
Samahi Bhakti
Ceiya Bhakti
Anitya: All are transitory
Asara a: No external things can rescue the soul from death Ekatva: the soul is only responsible for the fruits of the Karmas Anyatva: External objects are quite separate from the soul
Sams ra: Soul is wandering in Sams ra
Loka: This universe is threefold
VERSAC
A uci: Ever thing in this world is impure
rava: Mithy tva, passions etc. are the causes of karmic influx.
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ix.
X.
xi.
xii.
Samvara: Such religious activities which counteract the karmic influx, should be reflected upon
Nirjar The twofold way of shedding the karmic matter should be considered Dharma: Pratimas of a householders and 10 Dharmas should be considered
Bodhidurlabha Anupreksa; enlightenment is rare, so one should reflect on the means of attaining it.
9. Raya as ro
The Raya as ro (162 G th s) deals with the religious duties of laymen and monks. Some scholars are of view that this is not the work of Kundakunda as it has a lot of Apabhra a impact, but it is not correct. This happened only due to ignorant copyists. There are many common ideas found in his work. Right faith is the root of the tree of liberation. Inauspicious mental attitude is inclined towards wicked and irreligious ones. Bhakti is every where necessary in religious activities. In order to realize tmatattva and Paratattva, study is a sure remedy. Attachment is bondage and non-attachment is liberation. The three jewels stand for Ga a and Gaccha, the various virtues mean Sangha, and Samaya is the pure Soul. The great monk should not be attached to gana etc., but he should cultivate three jewels with its attendant virtues, so that he will soon attain liberation.
This is the brief introduction to contribution of Kundakunda and his works to the development of Jainism in general and southern India in particular.
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1.6.a
Puj - Worship or Devotion Rituals of Jains
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
Puj is a part of obligatory duties ( va ayakas) which adopts perhaps certain characteristics of Hindu puj . Laity performs both dravya (with the aid of material substances) and bh va (psychic or mental) puj while the ascetics and even laity from Sth nkv si and Ter panth vet mbara Jains perform only bh v puj. While origin of puj is obscure in literature it seems that it is an extension of obligatory duties like meditative contemplation (s m yika), inner worship and reverence to the holy teachers. It is an activity to signify devotion, interaction and obeisance towards a divine through his iconic form. It is generally conducted in temples in the morning. Both sects of idol worshippers perform this with some differences.
The individuality of the daily puj is emphasized by the fact that Jains are not supposed to greet, or even recognize each other while at worship, and as they make their way about the temple, it seems almost that they cannot see the kinsmen, neighbours, and collegues around them. One is alone in their religious practice. The puj is not performed in unison. Each celebrant acts alone and chooses his / her own way. There is no set time for performing daily puj and no congregation which holds a common service. Worshippers are free to come to the temple and worship at any time during morning hours before the noon, and they have direct access to the idols. They spend as long as they like at their devotion and put together their own separate performances. This is in accordance with Jain teachings which stress the need for individual efforts to achieve their salvation. In theory, only consecrated idols should be worshipped at least once a day but it is lay people themselves, rather than priests, who perform these regular repeated rituals. It is to be noted that emperor Samprati (2nd century BC) in order to popularize Jainism used iconography as a means to spread and expand Jainism. Consequently temple building grew and with it arose a host of rituals, which were later popularized by all sects of Jains (Digambaras in south) and Ancalagacha ( vet mbara sub sect of 10th century AD) in Gujarat.
Performing or acts of Jain puj s, especially the dravya puj s, have deep Hindu effect and at times performed with lot of enthusiasm, pomp and show, but differ significantly in substance and content. For example, after the puj, Hindus distribute pras da (left over offerings) i.e. the goodwill of divinity worshipped which is not the case in Jain puj s. Similarly puj ris in Hindu puj s are conspicuous by their absence in Jain puj s as Jain laity themselves performs all interactions with the idols and divinity. Watching Jains perform puj give an impression that Jains are far from dry and inactive people and exercise lot of physical and other activities in performing religious duties.
Puj hymns and similarities to Hindu puj s: Invariably while performing puj s and making the offerings, the devotees sing quietly (so as not to disturb the others performing the puja) certain hymns depending on the Jina represented by the ruling idol and other auspicious events. Generally these are in praise of the fordmakers, at times assuming the Hindu tinge with fordmakers being described as gods able to bestow their grace to the devotee. However the deep Jain doctrine ingrained in devotee stays and does not get affected except singing and contemplating the praise of the fordmakers. For worldly favors however, there are gods and goddesses like Padm vati, Cakre awari, Saraswati linked to fordmakers; Dd gurus; doorkeepers (ksetrap las) for all Jains and protectors like Bhomi ji at Sammet ikhar (now at different temples at other places also), Bhairava at Nakoda, Ghant karana at Jain temples in Gujarat for vet mbara Jains are worshipped,
Object of devotion and the devotee: Jina means a spiritual conqueror who has gained complete control (or has become totally indifferent to sensual pleasures and pains and followers of Jina are called Jains. The word r vaka is also used for a Jain, the teleological meaning of which is as follows:
• • •
: Believer or has full faith (raddh) in some one's sermons / beliefs. va : Having discriminating knowledge (vivekav na) ka: Active (kriy v na)
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r vaka also means an apt listener. raddh implies unquestioned faith in Jinas and their holy sermons. With this faith, a Jain tries to develop discriminating knowledge (vivek or bhedavijň na) of good and bad and lead a virtuous life.
Var ga Caritra and Hariva apr a have described charity, puj. penance, and la as essential observances of a householder (r vaka)'. However crya Jinasena in di Pra says 'Bharat Cakravarti calls puj as worldly duties (v rt *), charity, self study, self restraint and penance as the essential observances of a householder. Later on la was identified as v rt, self study, self restraint and then v rt was replaced by service of the holy teacher and puj. c rya Soma Deva in Up sak dhayyana and Padma Nandi in Pa caviatik say:
Devapuj grp sti Sv dhy ya sa yamastapah D na ceti grahsth na sat karm i dine dine.?
Since then the six essential observances of the householders have been established. Further it is indicated in these texts that the householder, when he gets up first in the morning, after attending his nature's calls, should take a bath and pay obeisance to the divinity (Devapuj ). c rya Kunda Kunda in Rayansara' says 'D a puy m kkha svayadhmmo as vay te a vi'i.e. the two most important religious duties of the householder are puj and charity as without performing these, a person cannot be called a r vaka.
Amit Gati in the
vak c rao speaks of the nature of the deva (divinity) as follows.
'Those who have destroyed the huge mountains ranges like rows of snakes of inauspicious material and psychic karmas (resulting in pain only) by their meditation (similar to lighting destroys the matter coming in its way); have attained omniscience (like the messenger of the woman like liberation); who are the owners of the auspicious events of the life (kalay akas); whose divine sound being free from the movement of lips and tongue causes amazement and is the cause of knowledge of the three worldly realms and relieves the listeners of all theirs pains (like the rain clouds bring comfort to the earth suffering from scorching heat of the sun); and wander on this earth due to the activation of the meritorious karmas of their listeners. The gods worship with great respect and honour such divinity by decorating the eight auspicious things (astapratih riyas) around them for gaining worldly miracles/benevolence. The householders are suitably advised to follow the same feelings while worshipping the divinity. He further cites the following example to explain this concept of worship:
"Like a mongoose is not found in a hot place, similarly the jinas are free from the flaws like attachment, aversion, pride, anger, greed, elusion etc. Such Jinas, who are the supreme most in the three realms of the world, are worthy of worship (with the aid of material objects (dravya) or just psychic (bh va)) according to the capabilities of individual devotee. Bh va puja implies to regain control over mind, speech and body or to concentrate the mind on devotion of the Jina only. Using the eight materials (water, sandalwood, shelled rice, flowers, coconut, lighted lamp, incense or sandalwood powder) to perform puj is called dravya puj . By performing such puj, the devotee is not only able to achieve the most sought after worldly comforts but can even move forward to attain complete liberation also.
Types of Puj Besides the dravya and bh va puj, we also find mention of the following six types of puj N ma: Name
To recite the names of the Jinas and offer rice, flowers etc at a clean
and holy place. Sth pan : To establish or it is of two types namely Sadbh va or similar and Asadbh va to assign
(dissimilar). The first one implies assign or think a similar objects like idol (as the jina and then worship their virtues) while the second type assumes dissimilar objects like rice etc assigned the image of jina and then worshipped.
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Dravya:
Objects/entities lit assumes using three types of materials e.g. entity with life (like real
jina present or a holy teacher etc.) without life (matter only like idols or holy scriptures) and mixed with and without life).
kşetra:
Place
Kla:
Time
Those places associated with the five auspicious events of the life of the jinas worshipped with eight types of materials. Worship during the time periods or moments when the five auspicious events of the life of jinas or the special religious events take place. To recite hymns or to remember the arhantas / jinas with body and endowed with the four infinites, siddhas with infinite attributes and without body i.e. pure soul; preceptors, holy teachers and ascetics according to ones capabilities. Similarly the four types of meditation i.e. pindastha, padastha, roopastha and roop tita is also called bh va puj.
Bh va:
Mental psychic
Āśā Dhar in Sagara Dharmāmrta (2.44) says that the devotees who worship the sermons (scriptures) of jina in fact worship the jina himself as there is no difference between jina and his sermons. Dhaval (9.4) says that worshipping a monk results in extinction of the sins committed. Up sk dhyayna indicates prast van pur karma, sannidh pana, pj and the benefits of p j as types of pj. Synonyms of p jare j jña, jajna, kratu, pj, saparya, ijy, adhwara and makha.
c rya Soma Deva had described two types of puj primarily namely daily (nitya) and event oriented (naimaitika). He says that the devotees and especially the learned ones who are familiar with the Jain metaphysics should be attentive while performing pj and not show any form of carelessness.
Types of Puj s
Daily Worship: This implies the worship performed daily by the devotee. Besides this, contributing daily towards establishment of a jina idol, building a temple, popularizing the Jain religion, paying obeisance to the deities of all the three time periods, s m yika, paying obeisance at the feet of the holy ascetics and charity for religious cause are also indicated as different types of puj
Event Oriented Worship: Puj performed by emperors, kings and cakravartis is called Caturmukha puj. Worship performed during the holy eight days every 4 months is called Astah nik puj: worship performed by gods is called Indradhwaja puj and the worship performed during Das laksa a / Paryusa a is called Daslaksa al Paryusa a puj. Besides these worship performed during consecration of idols or temples, called pancalkaly aks and during fasts are also called event oriented puj s. Tiloyapa atti describes the method of performing the puj with types of offerings. Special event oriented puj s, like Astah nik (for eight days), during festivals and special purpose puj s where lot of glamour, music, professional singers and ascetics are also involved along with special offerings like coconuts, incense in the fire, food for all those attending the puj s etc.
Offerings in Puj s: Reasons for performing abhişeka (giving a bath to the idol) and puj with eight types of offerings and the benefits accrued: Vasunandir vak c ra pages 483-488:
• Pouring water over and in front of the idol, the devotee washes/rids the dirt (sins) associated
with him. Based on the principle 'like water removes dirt associated with body /cloth etc, similarly water in the form of the true belief and knowledge (samyaktva) washes away the dirt of the k rmika accumulations over the soul'.
Putting sandalwood paste on the idol, the devotee acquires good fortune. Based on he idiom 'candayati hal dayati ca danam' i.e. like sandalwood pastes causes the bodily heat /fever to cool down, similarly samyaktva (right belief and knowledge) in the form of sandalwood paste
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causes the destruction of the ill effects of the inauspicious karmas associated with the soul and provides peace and tranquility to the devotee.
Using the shelled rice as offering causes the devoted to acquire the wealth (9 nidhis and 14 jewels) of the cakravarti, the devote stays always free of diseases and pain and ultimately achieves the salvation (mokşa). 'Na ksati eti akşatam' i.e. an entity which can never be destroyed is called akşata (indestructible). This is based on the fact that the rice after being shelled from its husk cannot be used as a seed to give rice plants again. Similarly removing the three types of matter dirt (dravya, bh va and nokarma) from the soul, it attains the state of pure soul i.e. moksa or end of the transmigration cycle called sa s ra. Using the flowers as offering causes the devotee to have a gleaming face like a lotus flower and becomes attractive and praiseworthy from the people (primarily opposite sex). Pūşpayati vikasati eti püspa' i.e. flower is an entity which transforms the mind in a state of blissful fragrance. Similarly offering flowers cause the devotee to experience the fragrance of his own soul i.e. bliss.
Using naivaidhya (delicacies i.e. cooked delicious foods) causes the devotee to be full of energy and aura, healthy body and handsome appearance. Coconut or its pieces are used as a substitute as it is supposed to contain all ingredients of food and by offering them, the devotee develops conquest on hunger thereby making his body free of the ill effects of various types of food and the devotee enjoys the eternal energy (ananta virya) of his soul.
Using lights (burning / lighted lamp) result in the devotee developing equanimity and true knowledge of the Jaina metaphysical doctrine i.e. attains omniscience ultimately or the infinite knowledge (ananta jň na and dar ana) attributes of his soul. Using the incense powder in the fire, the devotees becomes like the moon, an owner of worldly fame by burning all types of matter karmas associated with his soul and letting his soul shine like the full moon in the entire universe.
Using the fruits, the devotee acquires the ultimate benefit i.e. nirv
a/mokṣa or salvation.
These are the eight types of offerings used by the devotee while performing dravya puj of the jinas.
Benefits of Puj s: Puj signifies devotion and expressing wishes to attain certain levels of purities in thought and action and worldly achievements even though the Jain doctrine of non responsive jina / fordmakers and not bestowing any favors is deeply ingrained in them. The puj s, in fact do not elicit any response from the jina / fordmakers but rather brings about an internal, spiritual purification in the worshipper and at times causes bondage of merit lauspicious karmas and keeps the worshipper away from the inauspicious karmas during the period of puj s. About the benefits of puj s, Samantbhadra in Ratna Karnada vak c ra (verse 41)' says that the devotee of jina ultimately attains the state of jina (who stay at the summit of the loka and worshipped by all the luminaries with there heads bent down in reverence) himself'.
Performing puj s (daily)
Digambara Jains: Digambara Jains, generally do not touch the idols, except a handful of men (women also allowed in Bisapanthi sub-sect). The men, who touch and give bath (praks afirst thing in the morning to the idols, take the bath themselves in the temple and wear two non-stitched clothes (dhotis) before starting the puj. The person starts puj with first chanting abandonment (nissahi) or move from the world to a holy place three times while entering the temple, then with folded hands recites navak ra three times before the idols and making three circumambulations of the idols afterwards followed by bowing before the idols. After dusting the idols with clean cloth, they remove the metal idols from the pedestal and keep them in a plate on the table at the altar. These men, one at a time, give bath to the idols with clean water in specified manner and reciting mantras, followed by drying the idols with
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a clean cloth and placing the idols back on their normal place. They along with other fellow devotees in the temple, sing hymns, perform rati with lighted oil lamps and adore the idols with fly whisks.
Some men then stay at the table and perform puja there while others sit at different palces in the hall. The sequence consists of first preparing a plate with painting, using sandalwood paste, a swastika with three dots on top and a half moon for offerings and keeping all the ingredients in a separate plate, small pots for water and sandalwood water to use as offerings, bowl to offer water and sandal wood water and a separate stand to offer rice or cloves while invoking the divinity being worshipped
Then both women and men sing hymns, mantras etc using eight types of substances (water, sandalwood water, rice, flowers (replaced by saffron coated rice), sweets (replaced by coconut bits). lamp (substituted by coconut bits coated with saffron), sandalwood powder (substituted by cloves), fruits (substituted by almonds) and a mix of all these. They perform the puja singing hymns adoring the fordmakers, holy teacher, liberated souls, mantras and offering different substances at different times in the course of the puj. Most lay persons, not involved in the above manner of puj, bring rice, almonds, and coconut bits and cloves mixture from the home and perform the puja without preparing the plates as indicated above. Generally the temples also provide these ingredients to the devotees who do not bring them from their homes. Mostly the puj is performed either individually or a team of husband and wife together.
vet mbara Jains" The puj sequence is called eightfold (astaprak ri) divided in two parts namely the three limbs (anga) puj where offerings are made onto the limbs of the idol (water, sandalwood paste and flowers) and the second part is called the agra (facing) puj where the remaining five offerings are made in front of the idol (incense stick burning, lighted lamp, rice, food and fruits).
The puj ri in the temple first briskly cleans the stone idols, with peacock feather brushes, of the previous day's offerings on them, then give them a bath and dries the same for the devotees to perform the puj A handful of men and women, especially after they take bath in the temple, wearing two non stitched clothes for men) and simple daily dress for women on entering the temple, chant abandonment (nissahi) (move from the world to a holy place three times), then with folded hands in front of the idol says Namo Jin nam and recites navakar three times before the idols. Then he/she makes three circumambulations around the idols ending with a bow before the idols. They put a cloth to cover their mouth to perform water puj involving a bath to the idols placed on the pedestal followed by wiping it dry with a clean cloth.
Like prakslaf idols by Digamara Jain, they also perform the similar bathing called snatra puj s of one metal idol kept in temple for the purpose. This is performed by a small group of lay people who come early in the morning. The idol is placed on a pedestal called samosarana and all those who take part in this puj sing songs from the books provided alongwith pouring water on the idol to give it a bath(at times with milk, curd, sugar, ghee and sandalwood also). This ritual is a re-enactment of the first bath given by angels led by Indra (king of gods and goddesses) to the newly born jina at Mount Meru. In snatra puja worshippers take on the role of angels and Indra. On a particular day, not more than 2 or 3 persons perform this puj. After drying of the idol, it is returned to the pedestal meant for
The next stage of the puj is to put dabs of sandalwood paste on nine parts of the idol and to place fresh flowers on the lap, knees shoulders and top of the head of the idol. This is known as anga (limb) puj The process of anointing and decorating may continue by putting perfumed oil, silver leafs pasting and by dressing the idol with jeweled ornaments and a silver coin. During the puj worshippers also enact certain rituals like waving flywhisks to serve the idol/ jina etc.
This is followed by Agra puj. The worshipper takes a burning incense stick and waves it in front of the idol followed by waving a lamp in the same manner. These activities are performed while being
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inside the central shrine. Then the worshipper comes out of the shrine and sits in the central hall to perform the remaining puj . Using rice, she makes a svastika on the table followed by offering food and fruits on this svastika. This is followed by ringing a metal bell, waving the fan while dancing. And finally using a mirror to bring the idol image of the idol) close to the heart of the devotee for seeking blessings. Throughout the above puj s, there are hymns which the devotee keeps on reciting slowly to be one in mind, body and speech in devotion
Throughout the morning the people continue to come and perform the bathing rites on older idols. They may also circumambulate the central idol thrice and ring the bell hanging in the central hall before performing the puja. As the morning progress more people come, dressed in ordinary work clothes and before going to their work place and content only in bowing before the idols and take a dar ana/look.
References
1. di Pra by Ac. Jinasena (v 25. 'hajy ---svavosadan kam t' 2. Padma Nandi's Pa cavin ati v.2 3. Raya as ra by Kunda Kunda 4. rvak c ra by Ac. Amit Gati 5. ibid 6. Up sak dhayyana 7. ibid 8. ibid 9. Ratna Karnadar vak c ra by Ac. Samanta Bhadra. 10. ibid verse 41. 'Dev dhideva paricara a sarva d h kha nirhara am; k ma d hi k mad hini
paricin y dh hato nityam' i.e. worshipping the feet of jina results in destruction of all worldly
pains, pains of sensual addictions. Therefore the enlightened beings should worship the jina. 11. Renouncers and Riches by James Laidlaw, Assembly of listeners by Michael Carrither
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1.6.a
Spiritual development activities of Jains (k tikrma)
Shugan C. Jain
As per Jain philosophy, every substance (dravya) including j va has its independent existence. Further every j va is blessed with the four virtues (ananta - catu aya), these being infinite vision, knowledge, bliss and energy (when the j va is in its pure state). However due to bondage of karmas, every j va is at a different level of spiritual development and hence can only enjoy these basic attributes in a limited way. Therefore, we perform some spiritual development/ purification activities on a daily, periodical and special event basis to destroy the bondage of karmas and to accumulate (if not totally destroy) at least the inauspicious karmas only. To do so, we take refuge of those who have achieved these attributes by worshiping or paying respects to them so that their sermons and life style can guide us on the right path.
A householder in Jain literature is called r vaka. One who listens and follows the sermons of Bhagw na Mah v ra or the s dhus practicing Jainism is called r mana. All r vakas are not capable of following the right conduct based on non-violence principles and the science of detachment fully and hence they are classified in three categories namely:
a. Pk ika i.e. one who is born in Jain family or adopt Jainism as a way of life and feels that Jaina
path of purification is the right path of attaining eternal happiness. b. Nai thika i.e. who is committed to Jain code of conduct and is practicing the same after accepting
the five mini-vows (A uvratas) and moving on form first to tenth stages (pratim) of spiritual
purification for householder. c. S dhaka i.e. who is practicing the mini-vows totally and has accepted the vows of ascetics in a
limited way (11" pratim). He/she has left home to stay in the congregation and is ready to be given the monk hood by c ryas.
We shall study these spiritual activities by ordinary householders in categories 'a' and 'b' which are classified as follows:
i. Basic virtues / characteristics of Jains ii. Daily activities iii. Special activities performed on special occasions called parva or festival.
iv. Pilgrimage As we shall see, all these activities are based on the fundamental principles of non-violence, self-ontrol (sa yama) and austerities (penance or tapa) for purification of the self.
1.
Basic virtues
These are the primary characteristics or code of conduct to be followed to be called a Jain.
Not eating meat, honey or alcohol i.e. any type of animal based product-involving violence. Not eating the five types of fruits containing insects. Daily visit to the temple for paying reverence and obeisance to the Omniscient. Not eating at night Not getting involved in gambling Consuming water that is strained i.e. purified.
•
These virtues have to be kept and practiced for the entire life. Without observing these, one cannot progress on the path of spiritual development and appreciate the same.
Daily duties (called six va vakas)
Jain literature prescribed six essential duties of householders to be performed daily. Devapuja causes refinement or reaffirmation of the right belief in the principal of non violence, science of detachment and capabilities of the self ( tm orj va). Sv dhy ya causes enhancement of the right knowledge about Jain principals. The other four essential duties when performed causes refinement in the right conduct of the practitioner. The six essentials are:
i. Devap j or worshiping the omniscient lords. ii. Gurup san or paying obeisance to the holy - teachers. iii. Sy dhy ya or self studing of spiritual development literature
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iv. Sa yama or self control v. Tapa or observing austerities vi. D na or performing charitable activities.
Some sects of Jains however follow the same essential for householders as for rama as namely:
i. S m yika or practice of equanimity; ii. Caturvi atistava or praise twenty four t ratha kars; iii. Vandan or veneration of the mendicant teachers; iv. Pratikrama a or expiation for transgression; v. K yotsarga, abandonment of the body (standing or sitting motionless for extended periods of time
and vi. Praty kh na, renunciation of certain foods etc. if we see closely we find that these are more or less
covered in the six essentials indicated earlier except the first (i.e. s m yika which is performed first thing in the morning and at night before going to bed).
We shall briefly discuss these to understand their import and practice.
2.1. Devap j or worshipping the omniscient lords.
Normally it implies worshipping the Arha tas i.e. the omniscient who have destroyed the four obscuring karmas permanently and attained a state of omniscience and are guiding others to attain this status. It is of two types namely Dravya-p j i.e. performed using some matter objects and Bh va-p jor conceptual worship i.e. without taking support of matter objects. In both types we meditate on the Arha tas and then mentally pay obeisance to them by praising their virtues and praying to be blessed by the same. Normally this activity is performed by first performing outer cleaning of the body (taking bath and outing on washed and clean clothes, and than going to the temple to perform the same. Doing so enables us to get ourselves free from the worldly activities and concentrating on the performance of p j.
Dravya p j, made popular by Som Deva in the 10th century AD, involves use of the following eight matter objects, each signifying a specify activity or objective.
i. Pure water: destruction of birth-old-age and death. ii. Sandal wood power (ca dana): destruction of the worldly problems. iii. Ak ata or rice: attainment of eternal state. iv. P pa or flowers: destruction of desires / lust. v. Naivdhya or coconut: destruction of hunger. vi. D paka or light: destruction of delusion vii. Dh pa or sandal wood power: destruction of all types of karmas. viii. Phala or Fruit: attainment of salvation ix. Argha or mixture of all above eight ingredients: attainment of complete liberation and eternal state.
It starts with first announcing your arrival in the temple, then fixing the place and the metal plate with all the above ingredients ananother plate for offering the above. The person invite the lord to be with him and than starts the p j ends with begging pardon for his inadequacies, paying respects and applying the holy water on his head. Normally the worshipper studies some texts thereafter, donates some money in the temple box and returns home for the day's activities.
Special p j s, like Indradhwaja (performed by heavenly beings), At hnik (thrice in a year for eight days performed by heavenly beings), kalpdruma (performed by emperors etc.) are performed by lay householders by dressing and behaving like the hea venly beings and emperors respectively.
2.2 Gurup san or paying obeisance to the holy-teachers.
Normally this involves going to the monks, paying respect to them, listening to their sermons and offering services (like books, other as necessary). If a monk is in the temple where the person goes for p j , then this activity also becomes a part of pj, sy dhy ya etc. this occasion is also used by the layman to seek repentance for wrong doings from the monk or seek special blessing for important work being done etc.
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2.3 Sy dhy ya or self studying of spiritual development literature
It involves reading either by oneself or in groups, holy texts for enhancing our knowledge about spiritual purification activities. This also involves attending to sermons of monks or special religious classes being conducted from time to time. In Jain philosophy, this is very important activity as without right knowledge, we cannot perform our duties in a right manner.
2.4 Sa yama or self control
Normally a lay person performs this by setting certain limits to be observed by him/her, like eating so many types of food or not going to a place farther than 50 KMS etc. Here the emphasis is on controlling your desire by controlling your activitiesof mind, body and speech. Some people even observe silence for specific periods of time. Jains say that activities of mind, body and speech cause influx of karmas to the soul.
2.5 Tapa or observing austerities
Jains talk of two type of tapa. However layman generally refers to external type like fasting etc to be observed on a regular basis. By observing these, Jains feel that destruction of karmas bonded with soul take place.
2.6 D na or performing charitable activities
Generally it involves offering food to the monks. However these days building temples, organizing group p js, doing socially desirable work like donating to schools, hospitals, natural disaster activities etc are becoming a part of this activity. Jains are known for charity.
3.0 Jain parvas / festivals
3.1 Background
Festivals have been an integral part of Indian cultural. We can learn about the culture, life style and standard of living of a society by observing the objective and actual celebration of its festivals. The word parva in Hindi means an occasions/event/celebration. It is an occasion when we tend to forget our day to day duties, problems etc and try to learn ways and means and then enhance our happiness. We all look forward to celebrates and enjoy our festivals.
3.2 Peculiarities of Jain festivals
Jain philosophy always talk of attaining salvation i.e. purification of soul completely from all types of bondages. Parvas provide an opportunity to focus on this objective and learn more about attaining it and practicing activities accordingly at least during the parvas. A Jain thus things, "I have been going through endless cycles of birth-death for times unmemorable. Now is the time to break this cycle and attain permanent status i.e. Moksa or liberation:
i. Observes fasts of different severity levels so as to develop detachment from our body, win control
over our sensual pleasures an focus on our soul. ii. Spend more time in our temples performing worship rituals / meditation and listening to sermons
from monks. iii. Visiting monks and listening to their sermons. iv. Charity i.e. our gifts (monetary, service, knowledge, medicines etc.) v. Undertaking pilgrimages.
If we analyze the above activities, we shall find that all these activities relate to giving up worldly activities and including more in spiritual purification by minimizing the anger, pride, deceit and greed (passions) and enhancing right belief, right knowledge.
Discussed in earlier lecture separately.
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1.6.b
K mv i Parva. Festival of seeking and giving forgiveness
Dr. Shugan C. Jain
Fed up of hearing and experiencing the ills of terrorism, war, anger and hatred in your world. Welcome to the world of forgiveness and join us in understanding and expressing the same on Km v i Parva, celebration of seeking and giving forgiveness. Just imagine if Bush and Osama or Bush and Saddam could forgive each other and start a new life. Or take a look at your own life. How much time and energy do you spend in taking revenge from someone who has done some (or perceived to do some) harm to you? We shall be amazed to see how forgiveness adversely affects the anger and ego, and even eliminates them. Anger and ego consume all our energy and deprive us from enjoying our nature i.e. being happy. The well known saying "To err is human and to forgive is divine if practiced sincerely can solve all such problems and bring peace and harmony in life.
Wilkepedia defines forgiveness as the mental, emotional and/or spiritual process of ceasing to feel resentment, indignation or anger against another person for a perceived offence, difference or mistake, or ceasing to demand punishment or restitution. This definition, however, is considered simply in terms of the person who forgives, in terms of the person forgiven and/or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven. Jain religious texts take a holistic view of the life, goes a step further whereby they say that forgiveness is not only an attribute but the very nature of our pure soul (Uttam k am m rdva......brhamacarya dharma i.e. supreme forgiveness etc is the religion). Thus they say that forgiveness can be a gift (you give to others and yourself) or can be earned (by seeking forgiveness and observing some sort of penance) and it is in fact just our nature, which asks us to observe equanimity in all our mental, vocal or physical actions towards all living beings.
Literal meaning of the word k am consists of k a meaning to destroy and m meaning to protect i.e. k am means to protect from destroying the nature /virtues of soul. Similarly one of the meanings of k am is mother earth. Earth tolerates all hardships that we give to her by digging, burning etc but the earth still gives us all the means to live.
Thus we can delineate forgiveness as being: i. gifted (by the one who forgives), ii. Earned (by the one seeking it) and iii. natural as a part of our nature (defined by Jains) and as being divine. During the month of Bhadra, the entire world of Jains resounds with the words 'Micch me dukkadam' i.e. we ask forgiveness for any harm we may have caused you, by thoughts, words or actions, knowingly or unknowingly. Khamemi savve j va (I grant forgiveness to all living beings), savvej va khamanatu me (May all living beings grant me forgiveness), metti me savve bhuyesu (My friendship is with all living beings) and vairam majham na kenai (My enemy is totally non-existent), especially it is the grand finale to the holy period of religious activities.
Forgiveness to be earned would be considered only properly exercised if forgiveness is requested or earned through means such as pratikrama a (confessions of wrongs done and seeking forgiveness in the form of prayers) and promise not to repeat again and pr ya cita (repentance in the form accepting some punishment and promise not to do again). Forgiveness as a gift makes to let go of resentment held in the forgiver's mind of a perceived wrong or difference, either actual or imagined and frees their respective minds of resentment and guilt. Such forgiveness does not require repentance. Natural forgiveness does not require any effort and is automatic and without any effort as in the first two types. As a gift or earned, forgiveness allows both the person giving the gift and its recipient, an opportunity to overcome some hurt or emotional turmoil and ability to move on from the perceived situation of unease.
As the nature of pure soul, it is motivated by virtues of compassion, equanimity to all living beings, and motivated by love, philosophy, appreciation for the forgiveness of others and so considered divine. This is supreme forgiveness and is its nature and virtue. Pure soul or the state of param tm is devoid of anger or any bondage. The statement K am virasya bhu a am or 'to err is human and to forgive is divine' are synonymous. Only the brave or the most powerful can forgive.
Mah vira said that we should forgive our own soul. Forgiveness is a great metaphysical concept. To forgive others is a practical application of forgiveness but the main and supreme forgiveness is to forgive your own soul. It is the nature of soul and is like pure water, which removes all types of karmika and other dirt, which shroud the soul.
Forgiveness benefits the one who forgives first and than the one who is forgiven. It is the basis of all spiritual purification activities. Mah vira in His sermons to Gautam in yaro says 'the one whom you hurt or kill is you. All souls are equal and similar and have the same nature and qualities.' It goes on further to talk of the six
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different kinds of living beings, identified by their bodies like air, earth, water, plant, fire and moving beings with two to five types of sense organs and mind. Live and let live and Ahi s Parmo dharma are the popular Jain sutras / slogans enunciating these. This is based on Jain karma doctrine where every act has its consequences and the same have to be enjoyed by the doer. Thus anger begets anger and forgiveness or love begets forgiveness or love.
Jains think, when caused pain or hurt by others, as 'I have not caused any pain or ill to them, still they are angry with me, abusing me etc. It is my bad karmas, which are yielding results now and causing pain to me. So I must repent or perform penance. I am the doer of my karmas and the enjoyer of their results and nobody else is responsible for them.' Another thinking is to consider the others as weak persons as they get angry and hence must be forgiven by me. Always forgiveness involves total annihilation of anger. One who gets angry first hurts himself and then the others. Similarly forgiveness brings peace and tranquility to the giver first and then to others (auran ko shital kare aap hi shital hoye). Psychologists have established that anger is followed by hatred, tiredness; feeling of wrongdoing and then repentance while forgiveness is followed by peace, tranquility and contentment.
The feeling or experience of forgiveness cannot be found in religious or other texts as these texts are like a mirror which shows the dirt on the face but the dirt has to be removed by self wiping it. Moral and spiritual purification ethics prescribed by Jains talk of maintaining attitudes of carefulness and restraint in all our activities to avoid anger or to cause hurt to others. The daily essential duties for all Jains include pratikrama a (confession of wrongs done and seeking forgiveness and promise not to repeat again) and pr ya cita (repentance). On annual basis the month of Bh dra is considered holy and the last eighteen days are observed as either paryu a a or das lak an parva. A day after the last day they observe K amv i parva whereby they seek and give forgiveness to all for all the wrongs done knowing or unknowingly or asking others to do so or supporting / admiring those doing so.
Jain pur as or holy texts having stories are full of great people becoming stronger, contented by observing forgiveness. The example of Bharat B hubali war in which the younger brother Bahubali wins the war and immediately forgives his elder brother, gives him the territories won and accepts renunciation from all worldly activities to meditate on his self and attain supreme soul state. Similarly Mah vira went to a cremation ground for meditations. There the people roughed him up thinking that He is going to grab their land and livelihood. Not responding to the hurt caused by them made the people realize that He is beyond worldly possessions and is a great saint and person meditating on His self.
All religions of the world do emphasize essentiality of the concept and practice of forgiveness.
The concept of performing atonement from one's wrongdoing (Prayaschitta), and asking for forgiveness is very much a part of the practice of Hinduism as it is related to the law of karma. Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. The effects of those deeds and these deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain in others. Forgiveness is a great power. Kabir aptly said "The strong and the elders should practice forgiveness as the weaker and youngsters are by nature mischevious and troublemakers...' Lord Krishna (Gita 16.3) said that forgiveness is one of the characteristics of one born for a divine state. It is noteworthy that He distinguishes those good traits from those he considered to be demoniac, such as pride, self-conceit and anger. The entire episode of Mahabharat is based on the hurting words of Draupadi and the anger of Duryodhana making him occupied with ways to take revenge. Just imagine the situation if either of them had sought forgiveness from the other.
In Buddhism, forgiveness is seen as a practice to prevent harmful emotions from causing havoc on one's mental well-being. Buddhism recognizes that feelings of hatred and ill-will leave a lasting effect on our mind karma. "In contemplating the law of karma, we realize that it is not a matter of seeking revenge but of practicing metta (loving kindness), and forgiveness, for the victimizer is, truly, the most unfortunate of all."If we haven't forgiven, we keep creating an identity around our pain, and that is what is reborn. That is what suffers."
Jesus Christ when He was being crucified prayed to God to forgive those who are crucifying Him as they are ignorant and do not know what they are doing? Similarly the concept of confession and seeking absolution and the end of all prayers seeking forgiveness and blessings of Lord are applications of the accepted principle of forgiveness.
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Islam teaches that God / Allah is 'the most forgiving', and is the original source of all forgiveness. Forgiveness often requires the repentance by those being forgiven. Depending on the type of wrong committed, forgiveness can come either directly from Allah, or from one's fellow man. Muslims are taught many phrases and words to keep repeating daily asking God's forgiveness e.g. Astaghfiru-Allah, "I ask forgiveness from Allah"
In Judaism, if a person harms one, but then sincerely and honestly apologizes to the wronged individual and tries to rectify the wrong, the wronged individual is religiously required to grant forgiveness. Jews observe a Day of Atonement Yom Kippur' on the day before God makes decisions regarding what will happen during the coming year. Just prior to Yom Kippur, Jews will ask forgiveness of those they have wronged during the prior year (if they have not already done so). During Yom Kippur itself, Jews fast and pray for God's forgiveness for the transgressions they have made against God in the prior year.
Let us now take a look at the principle of forgiveness in our own lives:
We see a dog starts barking on seeing a stranger. If the stranger responds by trying to hit him or run, the dog barks louder and chases him vehemently. If the person stands still and shows love to the dog, the dog also calms down and does not bother the person.
Similarly the fire (anger) when it falls on combustible things (i.e. absence of forgiveness) like hay, oil and petroleum products etc burn faster itself and the things on which it falls. But the same fire when falls on water or non-combustible things gets extinguished faster itself.
Mahatma Gandhi's forgiveness of his assassin as he was dying is a glorious example of forgiveness in our own life time. His practice of non-violence and satyagraha are based on the principles of forgiveness.
The Japanese, one of the most powerful economies of the world, sought forgiveness from Korea for the wrongs committed during the war to make a new beginning.
Studies show that people who forgive are happier and healthier than those who hold resentments. One study has shown that the positive benefit of forgiveness is similar whether it was based upon religious or secular counseling as opposed to a control group that received no forgiveness counseling. This is supportive of our own experience of anger. When angry, we start breathing heavily our pulse rate increases, blood pressure increases, physical tensions increase clouding our rational thinking. Forgiving eliminates anger. Remember revenge is sweet, but letting go of anger at those who wronged you is a smart route to good health
The need to forgive is widely recognized by the public, but they are often at a loss for ways to accomplish it. Like in other areas of human inquiry, science is beginning to question religious concepts of forgiveness. Psychology, sociology and medicine are among the scientific disciplines researching foregiveness or aspects of foregiveness. Psychological papers and books on the subject did not begin to appear until the 1980's. Dr. Robert Enright from the University of Wisconsin is regarded to have placed forgiveness on the world map by establishing International Forgiveness Institute. Thus we see forgiveness is gaining importance as an essential quality to be understood and practiced to enhance the quality of life, peace and harmony. It is therefore essential that we find ways to populrize studies, awareness and practice of forgiveness universally. Let us start a movement on forgiveness by observing K mv i Parva as the international day of seeking and giving forgiveness. K mv i Parva, as the name implies is an opportunity / celebration to express our belief in the concept and practice of forgiveness.
(References: Wilkepedia internet dictionary on forgiveness, Jain religious texts (Bhavapahuda Baras anuprekkha, Niyama Sara, Tattvaratha sutra and pujas by Dhyanat Rai)
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2.1.c
Concept of Soul / Self (tm) In Jain Philosophy Dr. Veer Sagar Jain
Jain philosophy is based on the duality of existence i.e. as living beings and non-living beings. Here also the main focus of Jain philosophy is the living being only and there also it is the self / soul or tm which is specific to me the individual 'I'. To understand this through an example, we can say that tm is the addressee while the rest of the living beings and non-beings are like the address on the envelope. Therefore a number of philosophers have called Jain philosophy highly spiritual. The holy texts of Hindus, namely Vedas and Pur as also mention that the first preacher of Jain religion, Lord abha Deva, was an exponent of the science and knowledge of soul. A reader will find extremely detailed and logical description of soul in Jain philosophical literature. There is no aspect of soul which has not been elucidated by Jain preceptors / c ryas in Jain literature. Not only have they explained the subject but also they have analyzed the subject with facts and figures and with all their pros and cons.
The reason behind such a detailed treatment given to the subject by Jain philosophers and c ryas had been that the knowledge of self / soul is the foundation of the religion and ignorance about it is the cause of all pain in this world. One starts becoming religious by acquiring the knowledge of the self. Without knowledge of the self, our religious activities do not yield the desired spiritual beneficence. Jains say that one who knows the self knows everything, the cosmos, the canonical literature and on. In fact he has achieved emancipation. However the one who does not have the true knowledge of the self and has the vast knowledge of all books and other worldly arts, sciences and objects are still termed as ignorant (ajñ ni). Therefore as per Jain c ryas, the first and foremost essential duty of every individual is to acquire the true knowledge of self, even at the expense of leaving all his worldly affairs. Until one has the knowledge of the self, he cannot progress further on the path of spiritual purification (1),
To describe the detailed explanation of the self in the Jain literature, one article or even a book may not suffice. Therefore I suggest the books (given at the end of the paper), which the inquisitive reader can refer to know more about the self.
I will now attempt to explain the concept of soul through the following points / topics.
Existence of soul / self (tm)
Difference between soul and j va (living being)
Synonyms of j va and self in Jain texts and their meaning
Etymological meanings of soul and j va
SORS OF JAN
Nature of j va, its nine basic virtues
Elimination of wrong concepts of soul/ self
Types and subtypes of j va
Nature of soul as per spiritual texts like Samaya S ra Experiencing the self and the ways to do so
Three types of soul / tm
Summary
1. Existence of soul / self (tm)
Some people, due to their ignorance or insistence of their own perspective, blame Jain philosophy as atheists. To support this they say that Jain philosophy does not believe in soul / supreme soul, merit / demerit, heaven / hell etc. However this is totally false. We cannot discuss all the reasons and support this statement but insist that Jain philosophy believes very clearly and in lucid terms the existence of soul / supreme soul, heaven/hell and merit / demerit. Jain philosophy not only believes in the existence of soul but proves its existence with all its logic, examples etc.
Jain c ryas in their philosophical works have presented many reasons / logic to prove the existence of soul. c rya Samanta Bhadra (3 century AD) has written a full text on 'The Existence of Soul',
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named as J va Siddhi' and gave many reasons to establish the existence of soul. Some important reasons given by Jain c ryas to prove the existence of soul are as follows:
Like a mechanical statue, with its features, tries to establish the existence of its sculptor, similarly capabilities (pras) like breathing etc. establish the existence of soul.2
I am happy, I am sad etc. etc such feelings involving 'l' automatically proves the existence of soul. (3)
Since there is the word 'Soul; therefore there should be a meaning of this word also. An entity which does not existence is also not represent-able by words.
). That owner of these
Attributes (knowledge and bliss etc.) cannot exist without their owner (g attributes is soul only.)
Besides these supporting arguments, Sy dy damanjari gives this foolproof reason to establish the existence of soul. "What is the knowledge that this is soul? Is this knowledge a doubt (sa aya) or perverse (viparyaya), or indecisiveness (anadhyavas ya) or is true? It has to be some sort of knowledge. If it is a doubt, then it proves the existence of soul, as we do not doubt non-existent entities. If it is perverse, then also it proves the existence of soul, as an unknown or less known entity cannot have perverse. It cannot be indecisiveness, as from the beginning-less time we have experienced soul. And if it is true knowledge than it automatically proves is existence.
Thus we find Jain literature full of assertive reasons to prove the existence of soul.
2. Difference between j va (living being) and soul ( tm). Both j va and tm are synonymous really. Function and nature of both of them is same. However both the terms are used differently and it is important to understand these terms and their usage.
The word j va is used in philosophical / textual and doctrinal discussions while the word tm is used in spiritual discourses. We can also say that j va is the object of knowledge and study while tm is the object of meditation and experience. We can also say that j va is the subject of academia / universities and tm is the subject of temples / holy places where monks stay. In fact we are all living beings but soul is used just for self and not for all. An example is we call man to all male human beings but we call husband specific to a woman; houses are many but home is one specific to an individual. Similarly living beings are infinite but soul is just self or I out of all living beings. I am soul / self for me but a living being for you all. Mathematically we can express this as follows:
Jva + feeling of 'l' = tm tm - feeling of 'l' = j va
In the terms of Logic texts, we can differentiate tm and j va as pervaded (vy pya) and pervader or one who pervades (vy paka). Soul is pervaded and j va is pervader. Thus we can call tm as j va but not vive versa. Like mango and tree are related as pervader and pervaded, so are j va and tm Hence a tree is called a mango tree but any tree cannot be called mango. Thus we see it is essential to understand the diference between soul / self and living being.
3. Synonyms of tm and j va in Jain texts and their meanings. Jain texts, especially Dhaval ( c rya Vra Sena 10th AD) and Gomma as ra ( c rya Nemi Candra Siddh ntacakravarti 1,1th century AD), mention a number of synonyms or equivalents of j va along with their meanings clearly. Briefly some synonyms of living being (empirical soul) are given below:
1 2
Jňa Un n
Because it cognizes. Because knowledge is one of its attributes.
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9 Vi
10 Svaya bh Originates and develops by itself.
11
With a body.
12
With spatial extensions.
13
Built of and by knowledge.
14
Gets born in the four destinies i.e. hellish, human, sub-human, heaven.
With the passion - pride.
With the passion - deceit.
Owner of the activities of mind, body and speech.
Contracts in a small body
Expands to a very large body.
Capable of knowing all territories in the cosmos.
Stays inside the eight matter karmas.
15
Jñ t
Kart
Bhokt
Vakt
Sakt
Pri
16
ar r
Mn
My v
17
Yog
18
Sa ku a
19 Asa ku a
20 K etrajña
21 Antar tm
Deh
M nava
Jant
Knower or one who knows.
Doer of its own nature; from practical viewpoint doer of its matter acts.
Enjoyer of its own nature; from practical viewpoint enjoyer of its matter acts.
Speaker or who speaks.
Infatuated with the body, family, friends and worldly possessions.
Has forces / capabilities of breathe, sense organs, lifespan and general energy. Co-exists in the entire body it owns.
The above synonyms in fact indicate the attributes of j va as per Jain texts.
4. Etymological development of the words j va and tm and their special meaning.[7] Even though there are numerous synonyms of the words soul and living beings in Jain texts, yet the most commonly words are j va and tm. Therefore we shall attempt o understand the meanings and significance of these two words specifically. J va in Jain literature has been described as the one who lives, lived in the past and shall live in the future namely:
P ehi cad hi jv dij vissadi jo hi j vido puvva
[8]
Da asu pr e u yathop ttapr apary yena tri u k le uj van nubhavan tj vati, aj vait, j vi yati eti v jvah. [9]
Etymological development and meaning of the word tm is said to be an entity that always manifests (transform, changes, originates and destroys) as knowledge. tm in Sanskrit formed with the syllable 'ata' (ata s tatyagamane) having two meanings namely to go and knowledge and both are applicable here.
5. Understanding the nature of soul by its nine attributes / characteristics.
To present a lucid description of j va, Jain c ryas have used the nine characteristics of j va. c rya Nemi Candra Sindhanta Deva (11th century AD) in his text Dravya Sa graha has explained all these nine characteristics in thirteen verses (g th s). These nine characteristics are very briefly given below:
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1. J vatva
An entity which lives, as per absolute viewpoint with the force and capability of its consciousness and as per practical viewpoint with its four forces /capabilities of breathe, lifespan, sensual organs and its energy, is called to have j vatva or is called j va.
2. Upyogamaya or able to manifest
Here upyoga means primarily manifestation of consciousness into intuition (dar anopyoga) and knowledge (jn naopyoga). There are further sub divisions of these two manifestations of consciousness that we do not discuss at this stage. However it is to be understood that this manifestation of consciousness is the primary or main characteristic of j va in Jain philosophy
e.g. the verses 'upyogo lak a am' [10] and 'cetan lak a o jvah [11] indicate this concept clearly.
3. Am rtika non-concrete
J va by its nature is non-concrete and attributes like touch, taste, colour and odour are not associated with it.
4. Kart or Doer/Agent
From absolute viewpoint, it is the doer of its nature and from practical viewpoint it is the doer of its matter karmas.
5. Svadehaparim a or is of the size of the body it owns.
J va expands or contracts in shape and size according to the body it lives in at different times. When it is liberated of all its k rmika impurities, it is of the size and shape slightly less than the last body it owned.
6. Bhokt or enjoyer
From absolute viewpoint, it is the enjoyer of its nature and from practical viewpoint it is the enjoyer of its matter karmas.
7. Sa s rastha or exists in this cosmos.
From the beginning-less time, it exists in this cosmos at different places and destinies.
8. Siddha or Pure soul
When it is fully free from all the k rmika impurities, then it attains the status of siddha (one who attained its objective) or mukta (free from bondages). It stays in this status forever and is omniscient, detached and in a state of bliss. It does not get born again in any other form (no
reincarnation).
9. Urghvagamana or to move upwards
Like the flame of a fire, its nature is to always move straight up but due to k rmika bondage it appears to moving in different directions.
6. Elimination of wrong concepts of soul/ self.
Jain c ryas used the above nine characteristics of j va to remove the misconceptions about j va of different philosophies/ philosophers. Besides these, they have also given logical explanations emphatically to clearly explain the Jain concept of j va. Given below is the explanation of j va as per Jain philosophy.
i. J va has existence.
ii. Jva is completely independent.
It cannot be treated as void or non-existent or imaginary.
It is not a part of any God. It exists by itself.
iii. Infinite j vas exists in They look similar but are different and infinite.
this cosmos.
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iv. Jva is capable of manifestation.
V.
Its nature is consciousness
vi. Its non-concrete and indestructible.
viii. Doer / agent of its acts (bh va)
ix. Knows and
X.
vii. It is elastic by nature. It is neither omnipresent nor a pointless existence. It expands and contracts fully as per the body it owns.
experiences its self.
Delusion, attachment etc.
Neither created by nor a combination of the five basic elements.
Consciousness is not just an attribute but is nature of j va.
Sth vara / immobile (One sensed)
Water bodied
It is neither with extensions, nor with origination / destruction.
Nobody else is the benefactor or agent of its activities. It is responsible for all its activities and their results.
'Sva-par prakasaka' i.e. it knows its own self as well as all other beings also.
7. Classification of J va or types and subtypes of j va.
As per Jain philosophy, there are infinite j vas in this cosmos. By there characteristics, they look alike but from modal viewpoint they are all different. They are classified in different categories like on the basis of the sense organs or on the basis of their ability to move or the basis of their place of existence etc. One such classification is shown in the chart below.
Delusion, attachment and aversion etc. are not its nature but they exist to some extent. They look like that but after destroying all these, it can attain pure state.
Sa s riempirical
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Air bodied
3 senses
Fire bodied
4 senses
Soil or earth bodied Vegetation 5 senses
J va
Tras / mobile (2-5 sensed)
2 senses
Mukta liberated
Similarly j va can be classified in a number of ways based on its destiny (gati) (like human, subhuman, heavenly and hellish) or its capability to achieve liberation (bhavya and abhavya) or its state of spiritual purification (gunasth nas) etc.
8. Nature of the soul as per spiritual texts like Samayas ra and others.
As we have seen earlier that the word j va is used in philosophical / textual and doctrinal discussions while the word tm is used in spiritual discourses. We can also say that j va is the object of knowledge and study while tm is the object of meditation and experience. Jain philosophy is considered highly spiritual philosophy in which meditation on the self and its knowledge attribute are the focal points for study and practice. Jain c ryas like Kunda Kunda in their texts have emphasized these two points extensively. Hence we shall discuss soul from the spiritual viewpoint only.
It is said that existence of soul and its experience are inexplicable i.e. cannot be described by speech. Therefore we do find description of jiva in affirmative terms texts but description of soul is seen more from the negation form. Affirmatively Jain texts only say that soul is an amalgam of intuition,
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knowledge, and conduct etc. and even these are refuted immediately saying that these are different while soul is inseparable or cannot be divided into parts.
Vavah re uvadissadi a via a carita
issa caritta da sa a a a da sa a j ago suddho (12)
Meaning: from practical viewpoint we say that knowledge, intuition and conduct are the attributes of soul but from absolute viewpoint it has neither of these; it is just the knower. Similarly Samayas ra, as per verses given below explains these in a negation style.
Arasamaruvaga dha avattava ceda gu amasadda, J a ali gagaha a jivama idditthsantth a [13] Ahamekko khalu suddo da sanan namaiosad rv. a vi attha majjha ki ci via a parm numetta pi '14)
The first verse is very popular and found in all the five texts by Kunda Kunda. It says that soul is without taste or form or odour and is inexplicable, is with consciousness, is without any gender and you know it like this. In the second verse it says, "I am one, pure, with intuition and knowledge, non concrete. Except my nature of intuition and knowledge, not even an iota of other matter is mine".
Another way of enunciating the difference between soul and living being is that living being is always described as a collection of pure and impure manifestation of its nature but soul is always described as per its just pure nature and without any impurities associated.15) Niyama S ra verses 44-48 say that from absolute viewpoint soul is without bondage, without ant attachments, free of all flaws, without any desire or anger or deceit or pride. Even the empirical soul from the absolute viewpoint is like siddhas (existing in the summit of the cosmos) without body or sense organs or destruction and is pure and without any karma attached to it.
9. Method of experiencing the existence of the soul.
Jain texts repeatedly suggest / preach that we must experience the nature and existence of soul. This is the only way to destroy delusion. Amrta Candra writes:
Ayi kathamapi mrtv tatvakaut hali san, Anubhava bhava m rteh prvavarti muh rtam Prathagadha vilsanta sva sam lokya yena Tyajasi jhagiti m rty s kamekatvamoham (16)
1.e. Meditate upon self, stay contented with self and be focused on it: you will attain contentment and then bliss, Even Kunda Kunda has said the same at number of places in his texts. [17]
Many spiritual texts of Jain say that one can never experience self with the aid of external media and the only way to experience is by meditating upon the knowledge attribute of the self. [18] The practitioner who wishes to experience the self should think / contemplate that the entity which intuits and knows is me and everything else is non-self.""
We can explain the process of experiencing the soul in simple and lucid terms as follows:
1. Acquire true and correct knowledge of soul and understand it properly.
2. Divert all wandering and external tendencies of sense organs and mind towards the inner self
or soul i.e. from gross body to subtle body and then to soul.
3. Get rid of thoughts of attachment, aversion and just concentrate / meditate on the inner self.
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10. Three types of soul: external, internal and supreme
Jain texts talk of three types of soul namely; external (bahir tm ), internal (antar tm ) and supreme (param tm ).
External: The self that thinks that the body it owns is the soul is deluded and ignorant [20] Internal: The self that understands its nature properly is with right vision and faith[21]
Supreme: The self that is completely detached from external impurities and is omniscient. Supreme soul is of two types namely with physical body (known as Arhanta) and without physical body (known as Siddha). [22]
Status as external soul is to be eliminated; that of internal soul is good and the status of supreme soul is the aim to be realized.
11. Summary
To conclude, we see that Jain philosophy has detailed spiritual and logical explanation of soul. Jain thinkers have proved the existence of soul, synonyms of soul, its types and sub types, nature of self, need to experience the self and detailed the ways to do so. There are infinite living beings in this cosmos and each one is soul/ self just for itself. Everyone can become supreme soul by giving up its status of external soul, moving to the status of internal soul and then meditating upon it. Once we achieve the status of supreme soul, then we can get out of the cycle of birth-death i.e. sa s ra and enjoy our nature of knowledge and bliss (jn n anda) forever.
12. Recommended books for further reading
Samaya s ra, Niyama s ra, Pa c stik ya
Dravya Sa graha
Param tmaprak a
Şa dar anasamuccaya
Sy dv damanjari Structure and function of soul in Jainism Jain Dar ana mein tma vic ra
crya Kunda Kunda
crya Nemi Candra Yogindu Deva
c rya Hari Bhadra S ri
c rya Malli e a
Dr S.C.Jain Bhartiya Gyanpeeth, Delhi Dr L.C.Jain PVR Instt Varanasi
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SORS OF JAN
SOUL
SANSARI/EMPIRICAL
PURE
• INFINITE KNOWLEDGE
LIMITED BY KARMIK VEIL
• INFINITE PERCEPTION
LIMITED BY KARMIK VEIL
• INFINITE CONDUCT (DETACHMENT) AFFECTED BY ACTIVE KARMAS
• INFINITE POWER
LIMTED BY KARMIKA VEIL
• INFINITE BLISS
• NO BODY
DEPENDS ON ACTIVE KARMAS OWNS AT LEAST THREE BODIES LIFE SPAN, ASSOCIATED BODY
• NO BIRTH OR DEATH
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Quality
Remarks
Table 0.1 Soul / J va Distinguishing quality: Sentient. Number: Infinite Empirical soul
Pure soul Sansarij va 6
mukta į va 6 Vision, knowledge
Omniscient Consciousness
Manifestation of consciousness (upyoga)
Empirical Soul has its knowledge and vision obscured by respective karmas while pure soul is just knowledge and vision.
Live Lives (Jt hein)
Non concrete
Senses, age, power,
breathe
Pure soul was empirical soul in the past. Pure soul has consciousness as its life and enjoys its own nature.
Non concrete (am rtik)
YES
YES But looks like concrete due to karmic bondage.
Empirical soul behaves like matter and thus interacts with matter.
Agent / Doer (Kart )
Of matter karmas due to activities of mind, body and speech
Of its own nature i.e.
infinite vision, knowledge, bliss and
power Consciousness and of its own-nature only.
Doer of own nature (svabh va) as well as affected by others (vibh va). Enjoyer of the results of its own actions.
Enjoyer (Bhoktt)
Of results (pain, pleasures of matter
karmas.
Size (svadeha parim
)
Slightly less than the last human body it
owned. Fixed
Adapts to the size of
the matter body associated with it except at the time of
changing-mode (samudagh ta)
Soul is owner of countless space points and adjusts itself to any size of the body it owns. Pure soul has no karmas bonded and is hence of constant size.
Existence
Exists everywhere in Only at the summit of Pure soul just stays at the cosmos in different cosmos. Does not move the summit of cosmos, forms/ modes and
from there. as there is no dharma capabilities.
and adharma dravya beyond that.
Upwards movement*
(urdhva gamana)
Has the capability. Is the nature of pure Soul.
Stationery, does not
move
Pure soul has a natural tendency to go up but due to its bondage with karmas, does not do so always
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References:
[1] Samays ra verse / g th 15, 17 commentary.
Param tmaprak a 2/99 commentary.
Chahadh | 4/9
Yog ndu, Yogas ra 53
[2] 1. Sarv rtha Siddhi 5/19
2. Sy dv da Ma jari 7
[3] Sy dv da Ma jari 17 [4] pta M m sa 84
[5] Sy dv da Ma jari 17
[6] Sy dv da Ma jari 17
[7] (a.) Dhaval 1/1/1/2
(b.) Gomattas ra J vak da 365,366
[8] Pravacana S ra 147
[9] Tattv rtha V rtika 1/4
[10] Tattv rtha S tra 2/8
[11] Sarv rtha Siddhi 1/4
[12] Samays ra 7
[13] Samays ra 49
[14] Samays ra 38
[15] Niyama s ra 44,48
[16] Samays ra commentary verse 23
[17] Samays ra 206
[18] Samays ra 205, commentary verse 143
[19] Samays ra 298,299
[20] Yog ndu, Yogas ra 10
[21] Yog ndu, Yogas ra 8
[22] Yog ndu, Yogas ra 9
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2.1.d
Matter and its types
Dr. Mahavir Raj Gelra
According to Jainism, the universe comprises of six "existents". They are soul, matter, space, time, medium of motion, and mediumof rest. In contrast with standard physics where one deals with matter in time and space coordinate systems, in Jainism it is the soul which is to be studied in terms of time, space and matter. These all are regarded as "substances" which is also a helpful way of considering them.
1.0 Pudgala Pudgala is one of the fundamental realities of the universe. The fundamental reality has been termed as 'Dravya' in Jaina philosophy. Six types of dravyas are considered in Jaina system. They are:
1 Dharm stik ya Medium of motion
2 Adharm stik ya Medium of rest 3 k astik ya Space 4 Pudgal stik ya Matter
5 K la
Time
6
Jiv stik ya
Soul/ living beings
Out of the six dravyas including Pudgala, first five are Aj vas (no life), and the sixth dravya is jiva (having life). Secondly except time, the remaining five dravyas are astik yas, that is, they exist in continuum.
1.1 What is Dravya?
c rya Tulsi defines dravya as: "Gu a Pary y srayo Dravyam". This means, "the substratum of attributes / (gu a) and modes (pary y ) is dravya (substance). Um sv ti in Tattv rtha S tra says, "Utp da, vyaya dhrauvya yuktam sat". Sat means existent and existent is known to us through Dravyas (substances). Hence that entity alone, which is associated with and characterized by these features namely: origination, destruction and permanence simultaneosulhy is called substance. Dravya does not deviate from its essence- that is from these specific attributes.
1.2 What is Pudgala? The word 'pudgala', as found in Jaina literature is loosely equivalent to the scientific term 'matter'. It has two parts pud and gala. The first part pud means 'to combine' and second part gala means 'to dissociate'. So the etymological meaning of pudgala is that dravya (substance) which undergoes modifications by combination and dissociation is called pudgala.
Pura agalandharmatv ta pudgala iti
The definition is significant because these processes of combination and dissociation do not occur in the other five substance types. Succinctly, pudgala means tangible entity having four qualities of touch, taste, hue (color) and odor. Siddhant Dipika defines pudgala as:
Spar a, rasa, gandha var a pudgala
Theses qualities provide shape or form to a pudgala. Tatty rtha S tra defines pudgala as:
Spar a, rasa, gandha var a sansth na pudgala
Pudgala is aj va, that is, it does not have consciousness. There is an absence of cognition in pudgala.
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1.3 Positive Entity The question arises whether Aj va is only a negative form of j va or it is a positive entity. Jainas emphasize that Aj va is a positive entity also because dravyas have their characteristic qualities. Pudgala is nitya or eternal and avasthita or immutable.
1. Eternal means: Pudgala does not give up its general and the specific nature. 2. Immutable means: while retaining own nature, not to assume a nature that belongs
to some other dravya.
Therefore Pudgala shall remain pudgala always. It shows that universe will remain everlasting due to the permanent presence of J va and Aj va.
Limitation in existence In addition to their characteristics qualities, there is a universal law that Jva (soul) can never change to Aj va (non-living) and Aj va can never change to J va (living).
1.4 Characteristic modes Schubring, an eminent German Indologist has mentioned that among all inanimate fundamental realities, pudgala alone is palpable because it has four qualities, namely:
Touch cold, hot, rough, smooth, light, heavy, soft and hard Taste acid, sweet, sour, bitter and astringent Smell fragrant, foul Color black, blue, red, yellow and white
Due to these qualities pudgala can be experienced through senses; that is through touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. It addition to these quality pudgala has a form. Jainas have used the technical words rupa, murta / concrete for the word, form of the pudgala. We find an interesting discussion in this connection. All pudgala are said to be possessed of rupa and here rupa literally means colour but Jains have described rupa as form also.
The change in magnitude and intensity of various essential attributes of pudgala causes the evolution of certain other secondary qualities. They are: sound, binding, grossness, configuration, splitting, darkness, subtleness, shadow, hot radiation and cold radiation.
2. Other Indian Philosophies: The term pudgala has been employed by other Indian Philosophies. The Buddhists imply pudgala to mean J va, that is, conscious. It is just opposite to Jaina concept of pudgala. And in the systems like Vai e ika, Ny ya, S nkhya, pudgala is known by the names like pradh na, parm u and prakriti. The Jaina philosopher does not believe in class distinction of atoms like earth, air, fire and water as the Vai e ika philosopher does. The atoms are homogeneous and give rise to different species of matter like earth, air etc. on account of the manifestation and cessation of qualities. They have proposed as follows:
Earth touch, taste, smell, color, Water touch, taste, color Fire touch, color
Air
Touch
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3.1 Atomic theory Mah pragya has put the atomic theory in historical perspective. Indian philosopher Kannad and western philosopher Democritus are widely considered as the pioneers of particle theory. Democritus represented the era of 460-374 B.C. The evolution of Kannad's 'Vai e ika S tra' is considered to be around 1st century A.D. Whereas, the period of Lord Mah vra is 599- 527 B.C. His atomic theory precedes those of Kannad's and Democritus, but the historians of the philosophy have ignored this fact. The reason is neither the bias nor the discrimination; it is perhaps the unavailability of Jaina literature and lack of its serious study. Both Jain and Vai e ika philosophies agree to the fact that param-a u is indivisible. But they disagree about the adjectival attributes of the param-a u. In Jaina philosophy, all param-a u are identical as far as their physical form is concerned. But their classification is possible on the basis of quantum of various attributes (touch, taste, hue and odor) they possess as amalgam of paramanus. Since the extent of these attributes may vary from one unit to infinite units, Jainas believe that there are infinite such permutations and combinations possible. It must be observed that the atomic theory is just a part of whole theory of pudgala.
3.2 Spar a (touches) of Pudgala Classification of Pudgal is:
1. Param-a u or Dion As stated earlier, it is the smallest part of a pudgala which is further indivisible. These dions can possess two touches (sparsa) out of the basic; positive- negative (snigdha- ruksa) hot -cold (u a ta). Author has carefully christened them as 'dion' by their virtue of having two touches. Though these dions could be of infinite varieties depending upon the qualities they possess, however, they can be subcategorized in four broad types depending on which two touches they inherit out of the four available:
• Type 1 combination of positive and hot • Type 2 combination of positive and cold • Type 3 combination of negative and hot • Type 4 combination of negative and cold
It must be noted here that there is a restriction on having both the touches of same pair. Another important observation is that all four broad categories mentioned above have three attributes, namely taste, hue and odor. Infinite varieties of dions stem of the fact the quantity of the attributes in them may range from one unit to infinite units.
2. Bahu - Prade i Skandha or Quadons These pudgalas are one step higher in the hierarchy. Two or more dions combine to form '
multitouch clusters' typically named Bahu - Prade i Skandha in the Jaina literature. These clusters, now, can possess all the four touches thus as christened as quadons. These quadons, since are made up of multiple dions, have all the four touches, namely, positive- negative and hot- cold. Quadons could comprise a minimum of two up to a maximum of infinite dions. When there are infinite joining together, it is known as "anant prade i skandha". These quadons with infinite dions again come together to constitute an entity which is the first step of migration from micro towards macro level.
3. Anant - Anant Prade i Skandha or octons From this state onwards, the state of pudgala is such that it possesses eight touches - four primary ones, positive- negative and hot and cold, four secondary touches namely, light-heavy and soft - hard. Out of the four secondary touches, the former two are responsible for the constitution of mass of the octons. It thus turns out that the Jainas do not consider mass as the primary property of a pudgala, but it manifests only after the formation of octons from the relative quadons and dions.
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3.3 Mass of Pudgalas This brings us to the second method of classification applicable to the pudgals which is based on the property of mass.
3.3.1 Suk ma (subtle) As far as dions and quadons are concerned, they do not have light heavy attributes, thus are almost massless. They are so subtle that they do not obey certain principles of physics. One important example is that they are capable of attaining infinite speed far beyond the physical limit of speed of light.
After treating mass as essential quality of matter, even science is convinced that certain facts be explained only if massless particles are treated as realities. Scientists are already discussing some particles like photons, gravitons and gluons. Once the scientists are able to work out the entire set of physical laws applicable to such massless particles, it will revolutionize the way we understand physics. Hopefully, many enigmatic questions will be answered then.
3.3.2 B dar (Macro) When the pudgalas achieve their third state of octons, they start manifesting mass. From this stage onwards, they come in the realm of human perceptions and predications. Octons are, therefore, referred to as Vyavah ric parm u also. In this state, they become comparable to the atoms as known to the modern science.
4.1 Pudgalas and qualities of matter The third classification of pudgalas is on the basis of the quality they impart to other pudgalas to which they are attached. It is a very interesting Jaina doctrine that the qualities of matter life bigsmall, micro - macro, light-heavy, long - short, integrated - fragmented, radiant - dark, hot - cold etc. are nothing but the types of pudgalas only. Besides, these pudgalas may vary in shape also. To consider all substances and all properties as pudgalas, indicates the deep insight of Jaina philosophical knowledge.
4.2 Pudgalas and association with soul A fourth classification is based on the various groups of octons which remain attached to the J va (soul). In Jaina philosophy, there are eight sets of quadons and octons which are related to the J va. . Set of octons forming mortal body
Aud rika varga . Set of octons forming transformational body Vaikriya varga . Set of octons forming projectile body
h raka varga Set of octons and quadons forming respiration Swosw sa varga • Set of quadons forming thought
Vacana varga • Set of quadons forming radiance
Taijasa varga . Set of quadons forming karmic body
Krmic varga
In Jaina philosophy the relation of Jva, that is soul and substance has been elaborately discussed. Whereas, in Vai e ika philosophy, individual param-a u is classified in four types only, viz. earthly, aquatic, irradiating, and aerial.
The difference in classification has given rise to atomic theory which is unique to the Jaina school of thought
4.3 Functions There are numerous functions of pudgalas. Some are beneficial to J va's body, speech, mind, or internal organ, breathing as these are functions of pudgala. Distress, pain, death - these too are due to pudgala which are harmful to J va.
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All the five bodies, namely aud rika etc are made up pudgala, karmic body is supra sensuous, it yields fruits like pleasure and pain etc. when conjoined with another concrete substance of the type of aud rika etc. (five bodies).
The activities of speech and manas (mind) are also operated by pudgala. Jainas have put forward the karma theory in which they explain that due to manifestation of some type of karma, the activities of the body take place. Bh, manas, pr a, these are all found to suffer obstruction and suppression through the instrumentality of pudgala.
4.4 The Definition of Pudgala on the basis of its function
Body, speech, manas - or internal organ, in-breath and out-breathe - these are benefits due to pudgala, that is, these are functions of pudgala.
Of the numerous functions of pudgala some are enumerated here which prove beneficial or harmful to the Jvas. All the bodies of the types aud rika etc. are certainly paudgalika that is, are certainly made up of pudgala. And though the karmic body is supra-sensuous it yields fruits like pleasure, pain etc when conjoined with another murta substance of the type aud rika etc.- just as paddyseeds yield fruit when conjoined with water etc; hence it too should be considered to be paudgalika.
Of the two types of bh or speech that of the bh va type is a specific capacity which is acquired as a result of the particular type of the karmas, since it is dependent on pudgala, is paudgalika. And the aggregates belonging to the material grouping of the form of speech that are converted into speech when impelled by a soul possessed of the capacity in question constitute speech of the dravya type.
Manas of the bh va type in the form of labdhi and upayoga is paudgalika because it is dependent on pudgala. On the other hand, those aggregates belonging to the material groupings of the form of manas which, as a result of the particular type of the karma prove beneficial to a soul in its task of considering the merits and demerits etc. that is, which stimulate the capacity of this soul- constitute manas of the dravya type. Similarly, pr a that is out-breathe which a soul expels outwards from the abdomen and ucav yu or ap na that is in-breathe which a soul conveys inwards into the abdomen are both paudgalika; and as much as they are life-giver they prove beneficial to a soul.
Bh, manas, pr a and ap na these are all found to suffer obstruction and suppression. Hence just like body they are all doubtless paudgalika. The transformation of a Jva of the form of easement is pleasure and it is produced through an internal cause of the form of special type of karma and an external cause of the form of the concerned substance, place etc. Distress, verily is pain and it is produced through an internal cause of the form of impure karma and an external cause of the form of the concerned substance etc.
The continuance of out-breathe and in-breathe in the case of an embodied soul as a result of the manifestation of yu-karma is like the discontinuance of out-breath is death. All these modifications pleasure, pain etc. are produced in J vas through the instrumentality of pudgala. Hence in relation to J va they are treated as benefits due to pudgalas.
5.1 Pudgal stik ya
The expression astik ya with pudgala is significant. According to Schubring the liberal version of astik ya is, 'mass of all that is'. The Jaina philosophers postulate six dravyas (substance) of which the five, namely Jva, dharma, adharma, k a and pudgala are astik ya. Astik ya means a substance that has a continuation of indivisible space points resulting in an extended body. The other interpretation of the term astikaya is the particle 'ast' indicates the persistent nature of a substance, whereas the expression "k ya" stands for the aspects of utp da (origination) and vyaya (cessation). The term "k ya" has also been interpreted to indicate the plurality of prade as (points) in the substances, k ya means an aggregate.
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2.2.a
Spiritual Awakening, Devotion and Meditation: Jaina Perspective
Prof. Kamal Chand Sogani
1.0 Spiritual Awakening The pronouncement of the c ra ga' that the ignorant are asleep and the wise are awake inspires us to be aware of the highest in us, which is our Real Nature. In Jaina terminology we may say that this is tantamount to achieving Samyagdar ana (Spiritual Awakening). When we are asleep we are in the state of spiritual perversion known as Mithy dar ana.
1.1 The Role of Samyagdar ana (Spiritual Awakening) in the life of an Individual Jainism regards spiritual awakening (Samyagdar ana) as the beginning of the spiritual pilgrimage, and it is the foundation of the magnificent edifice of liberation.? Even performing very severe austerities by persons devoid of spiritual awakening do not attain spiritual wisdom even in thousands and millions of years. Just as a leaf of the lotus plant because of its own nature and constitution is not defiled by water, so also an awakened person because of his spiritual nature is not sullied by passions and sensuous attractions. Value-knowledge and ethico-spiritual conduct is acquired through spiritual awakening. The spiritually awakened self considers his own self as his genuine abode and regards the outward dwelling places as artificial. He renounces all identification with the animate and inanimate objects of the world, and properly weighs them in the balance of his awakened spirit. Thus he develops a unique attitude towards himself and the world around him.
Without Samyagdar ana conduct is incapable of surpassing the province of morality. An ascetic who bases his asceticism on the mere moral concepts cannot be said to be superior to a householder whose interior has been illumined with the light of Samyagdar ana, inasmuch as the former is paving the way for the achievement of empyreal pleasures far away from the blissful state of existence, while the latter's face is turned in the right direction, which will in due course yield whatever is worthy of his inherent nature. The spiritually awakened persons regard the auspicious bh vas as the temporary places of stay, when they find themselves incapable of staying at the pinnacle of truth and realization. These Bh vas serve as a halting place for them and not as a permanent dwelling. Thus such individuals absolve themselves even from subconscious egoism in performing auspicious activities. On the contrary, those who are only morally converted regard the acquisition of auspicious mental states and performance of auspicious activities as ends in themselves, hence they are bound to endless mundane existence, which shall deprive them of spiritual bliss for all time before spiritual awakening. Besides, their profound learning and the austere penances performed by them even for thousands of years or more are spiritually unfruitful in the absence of Samyagdar ana.
1.2 Function of Spiritual Perversion and Its Nullification Spiritual perversion acts as a barricade to soul's true life. It is the root of all evils, the seed of the tree of Sa s ra. The person experiencing spiritual perversion becomes perverted in his attitude. It poisons all our activities, so as to check the realization of the Summum Bonum of life. Moreover, it is responsible for the perversity of knowledge and conduct alike. So long as spiritual perversion is operative, all our efforts to witness the sun of self's glory are bound to fail. Thus it is to be rooted out in the interest of rendering its unwholesome function null and void. In other words, spiritual awakening is to be attained, which in turn will make knowledge and conduct conducive to the attainment of Param tman. It is only after the acquisition of spiritual awakening that the person attains the primary qualification for even marching towards emancipation from the wheel of misery. If spiritual perversion is at the root of worldly life and living, spiritual awakening is at the root of liberation.
1.2.1 Judgment of the occurrence of Samyagdar ana in the life of an Individual Now the question is: Is there any way to Judge the occurrence of spiritual awakening in the life of an individual? The answer given is this that though spiritual awakening is a subjective phenomenon, yet the Jaina C ryas have given certain individual and social characteristics that accompany Samyagdar ana (spiritual awakening).
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Individual Characteristics
The spiritually awakened regards, without any doubt, kindness to all creatures as Dharma and any injury to them as Adharma. Now the question is: How to acquire the state of doubtlessness? The answer can be given by saying that either the individual should stop thinking and resort to a sort of blind faith or he should employ himself in the task of vigorous thinking. Blind faith is the path of mental slavery, but vigorous thinking is the path of awakened mind. To my mind Jainism has subscribed to the latter view. Reason should be freely allowed to play upon kindness and cruelty to creatures, so as to arrive at rational decision, Mah vra never threatened the critical faculty in man, inasmuch as he seems to be aware of the fact that by paralyzing the critical faculty in man, he will be cut at its roots. For the spiritually awakened, kindness to creatures emerges from the very process of rational thinking. Thus the individual will be free from any doubt in observing kindness to creatures. This is known as the Ni a kita characteristic of the spiritually awakened. Along with this characteristic it may be said that the spiritually awakened self is without any iota of fear and pride. 10 He is not frightened when worldly pleasures part company and troubles accompany him. Nor is he perturbed by the life hereafter. He has no fear of death, disease, accidents, and insecurity and of losing prosperity. Again he has comprehended the futility of pride and consequently he has forsaken pride of learning, honour, family, caste, power, opulence, penance and body.
The spiritually awakened is required to impose upon him restraint in the realm of desires. Man is a bundle of desires. Desires do not arise in vacuum. They presuppose goods. Desires may admit of two kinds, namely, possessive and creative, corresponding to the two kinds of goods, namely, material and creative. The difference between the two kinds of goods is that the former admits of exclusive individual possession, while the latter can be shared by all alike. Thus the possessive impulses aim at acquiring private goods, whereas the creative ones aim at producing goods that can be enjoyed by all without any conflict. "Material possessions can be taken by force', but "creative possessions cannot be taken in this way'. The desire for material goods makes man's personality egocentric, which is the cause of social tensions and frustration. Creative desires lead the individual towards self-satisfaction and social progress. Thus the spiritually awakened is free from possessive desires and develop Nik kşita" characteristic in his personality and makes himself free from the desire for material possessions.
The spiritually awakened individual begins to comprehend that many religious superstitions, social paths of life and other forms of follies and falsities are derogatory to individual progress; therefore they are condemned in every age of history. But the change is met with great resistance. The reason for this is that individuals look at change with doubt and uncertainty. Besides love for conventionality and vested interests run counter to the acceptance of novelties in thought. All these obstacles mar individual dynamism. Thus the spiritually awakened individual becomes free from follies (M dhat s) and develops Amūdhadrstil characteristic in his personality. It is only through such individuals that society progresses and a scientific outlook gains ground. Such individuals are forward looking, and are free from the pressures of narrow traditionalism. They are always open-minded and are ever eager to learn from history and experience.
iv.
The spiritually awakened individual develops virtuous dispositions of honesty, gratitude, forgiveness, modesty etc. This is known as Upag hana characteristic. 13 It may be noted here that though mere thought is important to bring about any individual transformation, it is only virtues in addition to thought that can effect transformation in the life of an individual and transmute existing state of affairs. It cannot be gainsaid that noble thoughts can be translated into action through the medium of virtuous dispositions.
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Social characteristics
Besides, there are certain social characteristics that emanate from the spiritually awakened individual. It is true that there is nothing over and above the good of the individual men, women and children who compose the world. The proper adjustment of "I' and "thou' leads to the healthiest development of both "I and "thou'. All individuals should live together in such a way that each individual may be able to acquire as much good as possible. Thus every individual, therefore, shall have certain responsibilities towards one another. This is the same as saying that an individual has certain social responsibilities
The spiritually awakened individual does not hate a meritorious being owing to certain diseased bodily conditions and the like. This is known as the Nirvicikits' characteristic. We may extend it by saying that to create differences between one individual and the other on the factors of religion, race, nationality etc. is derogatory, therefore, should be condemned ruthlessly. These are irrelevant inequalities.
The negative conditions of not hating others are not sufficient, but the positive condition of loving them (V tsalya) is very much necessary. To love is to see that every individual without any distinction, of race, religion, sex and nationality, receives equal opportunities of education, earning and the like. Where there is love there is no exploitation. To treat other individuals as mere means is decried and denied. Where there is V tsalya, all our dealings with others will be inspired by reverence; the role of force and domination will be minimised. Thus the spiritually awakened develops V tsalya characteristics.15 It is likely that individuals may deviate from the path of righteousness. In dealing with persons, they may become so selfish as not to allow them their due share of liberty; they may become very possessive. Pride of power, use of force, and exploitation of the weak may look to them normal ways of life. To establish them in the good life is Sthitikara a. the spiritually awakened individual develops Sthitikara a characteristic. This is very much necessary in a society where the role of creative impulses is to be established. The good ways of life, of thinking and doing things should be made widely known to people at large, so that they may feel obliged to mould their lives in that pattern. For this, we need psychological methods of transmitting knowledge to be followed in all earnestness. The scientific techniques of radio, television and the like are to be utilized for propagating good ways of life. If the researches in the laboratories are not taken to and utilized in the fields, they will serve no significant purpose. They will be like doing things in seclusion. Similarly, if the findings in the human laboratory in the realm of values are not taken to human beings in general, things will deteriorate and conditions will not change. The spiritually awakened individual develops the characteristic known as Prabh van 17 for propagating ethical spiritual values by such means as are best suited to time and place.
iv.
In addition to these eight characteristics indicative of Samyagdar ana, there are other characteristics, which accompany the subsistence of spiritual awaking. These are
i. ii.
Reduction of passions to the extent of acquiring mental peace; Pra ama Turning away from the causes, which enhance worldly career; Sa vega Expression of the non-skeptical attitude towards the spiritual nature of Reality: stikya Manifestation of universal compassion; Anukamp
iv.
1.2.2 Origination of Samyagdar ana (Spiritual Awakening)
The Occurrence of Samyagdar ana or spiritual Awakening is sometimes consequent upon the instruction of those who have realised the divine within themselves, or are on the path of Divinerealization, while at other times, the self is reminded of its spiritual heritage automatically without the help of any outside instruction. The importance of instruction is paramount, since the self in whom spiritual awakening has taken place without apparently any direct instruction must have received instructions, if not here, in some previous birth. In other words, he who has not got any instruction since beginningless past is incapable of being awakened spiritually; and he who has got such an
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opportunity in some previous birth may be so awakened without any instruction at present. Thus instruction is unavoidable. It shall not be contradictory to aver that ""the secret of knowing God, of realizing Him, is, whether we like it or not, in the hands of mystics." "It is through them alone as spiritual teachers or Gurus that we shall have to bring about the spiritual conversion in us."20 Spiritual awakening not to be confused with moral and intellectual accomplishments: There may be a tendency to confuse spiritual awakening with moral and intellectual accomplishments. One may say that he who is intellectually enlightened and morally converted is spiritually awakened. How can a man after attaining to the fair height of intellectual knowledge and moral uplift be spiritually barren? Though it is astonishing, yet it is regarded as a fact by the Jainas. The "Dravya-l gi-Muni' is an instance of this sort of life. No doubt, intellectual learning and moral conversions may facilitate spiritual awakening in, certain selves, but this cannot as a rule bring about the latter. A spiritually unawakened man may be an astute intellectualist, a resolute moralist, but he will lack that spiritual quality by virtue of which he may be called a real saint, a seeker of spiritual truth, a person moving on the spiritual path. Thus spiritual awakening is to be sharply distinguished from moral and intellectual accomplishments.
2.0 Devotion
It is generally recognized that devotion in Jainism is a contradiction in terms, since devotion presupposes the existence of a Being who can actively respond to the aspirations of the devotee, and in Jainism such a conception of being is inadmissible. It is true to say that Jainism does not uphold the idea of such a being known as God, but it undoubtedly recognises the Arhat and the Siddha as the divinity-realized souls who may be the objects of devotion.
Devotion, Devotee and Devotional Object
(a) Devotion
Devotion implies the sublime affection, circumscribed by the immaculacy of thought and emotion, towards the divinity-realized souls or towards those who are advanced on the path of divine realization. 21
(b) Devotee
The devotee profoundly knows the object of his devotion, namely, Arhat and Siddha. Every fibre of his being feels the supremacy and sublimity of the object of his devotion to such an extent that when the devotee finds himself confronted with the omniscient and omnipotent God (Arhanta and Siddha), he abruptly and spontaneously proclaims himself to be shameless, 22 ignorant like an obstinate owl 23 child, etc. This is a sort of religious humility, self depreciation, self-devaluation and a consciousness of "creaturehood". 24 This strange and profound mental reaction of calling oneself a creature in the face of that which is transcendent is not a conceptual explanation of the matter but a mode of submergence into nothingness, an attempt to convey the content of the feeling response in the best possible way.
The devotee is so much attracted by the divine consciousness that he expresses his deep yearning for establishing the holy feet of God in his heart forever." Intoxicated by the devotional juice, the devotee announces that he keeps God in his heart and so allows Him (God) to cross the ocean of mundane miseries; but after a moment, he reverses the position by saying that God serves as the air inside the leather bag of his heart for crossing the ocean of world.25
The spirit of utter consecration is manifested when Samantabhadra proclaims that that is intellect which remembers God, that is head which bows down at His feet, that is successful life which lives under His pious shelter, that is speech which sings His praise, that is a sacred man who is engrossed in His devotion, and that is a learned man who bows down at His feet. 26 The devotee who finds all the objects of the world quite impotent to bestow upon him spiritual solace surrenders himself to God (Arhat and Siddha) for putting an end to transmigratory existence and to tribulations and fears.27
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(C) Devotional Object The object of devotional consciousness is "wholly other in the sense of its being Anupama, i.e., it is absolutely and intrinsically other than everything that is and can be thought of.28
It is "majestic" in the sense that its infinite characteristics are incapable of being described by us. 29
Notwithstanding the fact of being possessed by the subjective feeling of the status of a creature and the objective feeling of the devotional object being supreme and" "wholly other", the devotee is led to the singing of the praise of God (Arhanta and Siddha) on account of being captured by the fire of devotion like the deer who resorts to save its child from the clutches of a lion out of love or like a cuckoo (koyala) which sings in autumn merely due to the presence of small mangoes. This refers to the "element of fascination' in the devotional object. 30 Though the object is awe-inspiring on account of its infiniteness, yet it is fascinating and very easily captivates and transports the devotee with strange exultation. The consequence of his emotions is that his vocal cords begin to function automatically in extolling the deity, though in a limited way.
Importance and effects of devotion According to Kundakunda, he who bows with great devotion at the feet of Jina undermines the root of Sa s ra." Pujyap da pronounces that the Self by dint of its devotedness towards Arhanta and Siddha can transform itself into the state of Param tman."2 V dir jamuni represents that notwithstanding deep intellectual attainments and untainted moral accomplishments the doors of the edifice of liberation are locked by delusion and incapable of being thrown open by the aspirant without applying the key of profound devotion." Since God is incomparable and unlike anything else, our devotional outpourings are incapable of unfolding His being, says V dir jamuni. Despite this disharmony between our words and His Being, our expressions permeated with the nectar of devotion are capable of bestowing upon us the desired fruits."
All sorts of mundane pleasantness and super-mundane results follow as a consequence of devotion to God, nay perforce accompany the devotee. Thousands of imperiling disturbances and obstructions disassociate themselves from the devotee. He who has heard God's pious name and has poured his heart and soul into it, has escaped the mountain of distresses. He who unwaveringly and with tears of joy and with jubilant voice adores God relieves himself from diverse heartrending diseases. 35 Though God has transcended the duality of praise and censure, yet the singing of His glory sweeps away the filth of vices from the mind of the devotee 36
Samantabhadra points out that just as iron is turned into gold by a mere touch of the p rasa stone, likewise the devotee is transformed into an effulgent personality and his words are reckoned as pregnant with great momentousness. According to V dir jamuni it is by devotion that the obstacles that might baulk the movement of the devotee towards heavenly pleasures and his pilgrimage towards liberation are overthrown; and the devotee gets endowed with such a penetrating intellect that he never encounters any difficulty in memorising the scriptures. 58
Samantabhadra exhorts that in his case devotion has resulted in fearlessness and in the dissipation of several diseases, and in making him a magnificent, respectable and virtuous personality. Bhakti, according to Dhana jaya, blesses a devotee with eminence, richness and success."
Thus, it may be seen that according to Jain conception the effects of devotion are mundane pleasures (in this world and in heaven), super-mundane happiness, abrogation of distress and disturbance, banishment of physical diseases, removal of vices and attainment of virtues, overthrowing of the obstacles, acquisition of penetrating intellect, development of effulgent personality and weighty tongue, wide recognition, achievement of success and riches and, lastly, attainment of fearlessness.
3.0 Dhy na (Meditation) Dhy na represents the concentration of mind on a particular object. The stability of thoughts on one object is recognized as Dhy na and the passing of mind from one object to another is deemed to be either Bh van or Anupreks, or Cint
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Dhy na is the indispensable, integral constituent of ethico-spiritual conduct, and consequently, it is directly related to the actualization of the divine potentialities. It is the clear and single road by which the aspirant can move straight to the supreme good.
The object of concentration may be profane or holy in character.^2 The former is designated as inauspicious concentration (Apra asta Dhy na), while the latter is called auspicious concentration (Pra asta Dhy na). The Pra asta category of Dhy na has been deemed to be potent enough to make the aspirant realise the emancipated status. On the contrary, the Apra asta one forces the mundane being to experience worldly sufferings. Thus those who yearn for liberation should abjure Apra asta Dhy na and embrace Pra asta Dhy na. In dealing with Dhy na as Tapa, we are completely concerned with the Pra asta type of Dhy na, since it is singularly relevant to the auspicious and the transcendental living.
The practice of the fourfold virtue of Maitr (friendship with all creatures), Pramoda (appreciation of the merits of others), Karu (compassion for those who are in trouble) and Madhyastha (indifference to those who are irrational), constitute the mental pre-requisite conditions of Dhy na."
The aspirant should avoid those places which are inhabited by the vicious, hypocrites, gamblers, drunkards and the like, and should choose a bank of river, an island, a cave, a summit of a mountain and other places of seclusion for practicing spiritual concentration. For him, whose mind is immaculate, stable and detached, every posture, every place, and every time is fit for meditation.o7
Many places in the body have been enumerated for mental concentration, namely, the two eyes, two ears, the foremost point of the nose, the forehead, the place between the two eyebrows."
The best kind of Dhy na is to meditate upon the self by fixing one's mind in it after renouncing all other thoughts." The Dravyasa graha regards the renouncement of bodily activity, mental activity and vocal activity along with one's own absorption in the self as the best meditation.
References: 1- References 1-10 are lost at the moment - investigations on the way....
10
11 Ratnakara dar vak c ra of Samantabhadra, 12. (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi) 12 Ibid 14 13 Purus ārthasiddhyupāya of Amrtacandra, 26, (Rājacandra Aśrama, Āgāsa) 14 Ratnakara dar vak c ra of Samantabhadra 13 15 Kārttikeyānuprekṣā, 419-20, (R jacandra rama, g sa). 16 Ratnakara dar vak c ra of Samantabhadra 16, Purus ārthasiddhyupāya of Amrtacandra,
28
17 Purus rthasiddhyup ya of Amrtacandra, 30, Ratnakara dar vak c ra of Samantabhadra
18, Kārttikeyānupreksā, 421-422 18 R jav rtika of Akala ka, I. 2/30, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi). 19 Tattv rthas tra of Um sy ti, I. 3 (Bh rat ya Jn na P tha, New Delhi). 20 Yoga of the Saints P. 57, 58 21 Sarv rthasiddhi of P jyap da, VI-24, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi). 22 Bhakt mara 15 (Digambara Jaina Pustakalaya, Surat under the title "Pancastotra
Sa graha'). 23 Kaly amandira of Kumudacandra, 3 (under the title "Pancastotra Sa graha'). 24 Idea of the Holy P. 21
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25 Kaly amandira 10 26 Jina ataka of Samatabhadra, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi), 113; 27 Svayambh stotra: Tattvaprad pik, 80 ri Ga e avar Digambara Jaina odha Sa sth na,
Varansai). 28 Yukty nu sana, of Samantabhadra, 4 (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi) 29 Ibid. 2 30 Bhakt mara 5, 6. Idea of the Hoy, P. 31 31 Bh va P huda of Kundakunda, 153, (Pātani Digambara Granthamālā, Mārotha under the
title of Astap huda). 32 Sam dhi ataka of P jyap da, 97, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi) 33 Ek bh va-Stotra of V dir ja 13, (Digambara Jaina Pustakalaya, Surat, under the title
"Pa castotra Sa graha) 34 Ibid. 21 35 Ibid. 3 36 Svayambh stotra : 57 37 Jina ataka of Samatabhadra, 60 38 Ek bh va-Stotra of V dir ja, 23 39 Jina ataka of Samatabhadra, 47, 114 40 Vi34 pah rastotra of Dhana jaya, 40 (Digambara Jain Pustakalya Surat under the title
"Pa castotra Sa graha'). 41 Satkha d gama Vol. XIII, Page 64, (Jaina S hitya Uddh raka Fund K ry laya, Amraoti) 42 Kārttikeyānupreksā, 468, (Rājacandra Aśrama, Āgāsa). 43 Tattv rthas tra of Um sv ti IX- 29 44 Sarv rthasiddhi of P jyap da, IX-29 45 n n rava of ubhacandra, XXII-20. 46 Ibid. XXVII - 23 to 33, XXVIII-2 to 7 47 Ibid. XXVIII-21 48 Ibid - XXX- 13 49 Kārttikeyānupreksā, 480, (Rājacandra Aśrama, Āgāsa). 50 Dravyasa graha of Nemicandra, 56, (Jaina Vidy Sa sth na ri Mah vraj).
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2.2.a
Idealism and Realism in Western and Indian Philosophies
Dr. Sohan Raj Tater
Idealism And Realism in Western And Indian Philosophies Over the centuries the philosophical attitude in the west has never been constant but undulated between Idealism and Realism. The difference between these two appears to be irreconcilable, being more or less bound up with the innate difference of predispositions and tendencies varying from person to person. Given below is a brief introduction to the views of different western and Indian philosophers.
A. Western Idealism
1. Platonic Idealism
The Idealism of Plato is objective in the sense that the ideas enjoy an existence in a real world independent of any mind. Mind is not antecedent for the existence of ideas. The ideas are there whether a mind reveals them or not. The determination of the phenomenal world depends on them. They somehow determine the empirical existence of the world. Hence, Plato's conception of reality is nothing but a system of eternal, immutable and immaterial ideas.
2. Idealism of Berkeley
Berkeley may be said to be the founder of Idealism in the modern period. The existence of things must be determined by perception of idea: 'Esse est percip'i. This type of Idealism may be regarded as subjective Idealism. According to Berkeley, it is the individual mind that determines the existence of external objects. For the emergence of perception the existence of external objects independent of mind is necessary. Without an external and independent object no perception is possible. To overcome this difficulty Berkeley established a new doctrine later works known as "esse est concipi". In this new doctrine he placed the word 'conception' meaning thereby "to exist is to be conceived".
3. Idealism of Kant
The Idealism of Kant consists in that the world of our knowledge is an ideal construction out of sense manifold to which alone the forms and categories of understanding are confined and, therefore, is known as objective Idealism. It is subjective in the sense that knowledge does not reach out to the world of things-in-themselves. He argues that reality cannot be grasped by our knowledge because our judgment is conditional, relative and partial. We cannot know a thing as it is but we know it as our experience reveals. His view of the Transcendental Unity of Appreciation is more important as regards the unity of knowledge. All knowledge presupposes the synthetic unity of pure appreciation, because unless there is synthetic unity, no knowledge is possible. This idea of synthetic unity of pure Appreciation leads Kant quite near the conception of soul, which is not accepted by him outwardly.
4. Idealism of Bosanquet
While explaining the nature and functions of thought, Bosanquet says: "The essence of thought is not in a mental faculty, but in the objective order of things. We bring the two sides together if we say, it is the control exercised by reality over mental process. He puts in his own words Implicit in all the modes of experience which attracted us throughout, it is now considered in its own typical manifestations, in which the idea of system, the spirit of the concrete universal, in other words, of individuality, is the central essence.[2) On this very fundamental basis he defines error as simply an inadequate determination without a system, which leaves alternative possibilities open, i.e. dependent on unknown conditions. (3) The Idealism of Bosanquet, establishes the monism of the spirit which is at once the unity of experience and the unity of
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values. The ultimate spirit is the "Real Thing". This spirit is nothing but the totality of existence and the unity of values. Thus, the external world is nothing more than the spirit as a unity of experience and unity of values. The Spiritual Idealism propounded by Bosanquet is monistic in character.
5. Idealism of Hegel
The fundamental question before Hegel was: What must be the nature and characteristic of ultimate principle of the universe in order to explain by it the origin, growth and development of mind and nature, their mutual relations, as well as the question of science, philosophy, ethics, art and religion. The world consists of both mind and nature, subject and object, self and not-self. Hegel seems to reserve for his Absolute an immutable and inexhaustible being which always transcends its heterisation or the world of becoming. [4] It shows that the Absolute Idealism of Hegel is monistic spiritualism i.e. in the shape of one spiritual reality as the source and foundation of all external objects as well as individual thoughts. In other words the absolute Idealism of Hegel may be called objective Idealism.
6. Idealism of Bradley
Bradley finds that the external relations are meaningless to the conception of the unity of reality and the internal relations. Bradley thinks that the proper organ for grasping the absolute Reality is not intellect but the whole of mental life, which is constituted by intellect, feeling and will. He, therefore, describes his Absolute as identified with experience. Human experience is a piece of transcendental experience and can approximate it when it has learnt to transcend the limitations of intellect. The Absolute of Bradley therefore, is to be felt, experienced or realized and not to be known by our simple intellect.
B. Indian Idealism
After giving on introductory account of Western Idealism, now come to the Idealistic schools of India. Buddhism and Ved nta are the most important schools of Indian Idealism.
1. Yog c ra school of Buddhism
According to it, as is generally believed, only momentary ideas are real. The reality, which is grasped by the four categories of thought, is only Phenomenal.[5] The highest reality is unchanging, calm and permanent. It is beyond the four categories of thought.[6] It is beyond the duality of subject and object.[7] By mere analysis we cannot grasp reality. Thus, it is indescribable and devoid of any explanation. [8] The external world is the creation, not of the individual consciousness, but of the absolute consciousness.[9] All except consciousness, is unreal. Consciousness alone is the established truth preached by the Buddha. All the three worlds are the result of discrimination or thought-relations. No external object exists in reality. All that is, is consciousness. [10]
2. Idealism of a kara
In the philosophy of a kara the ultimate reality is B hama or Self. He maintains that Self is the transcendental ground of experience. The self is not momentary, but permanent, not changing, but changeless, not finite, but infinite, not limited and conditional, but unlimited and unconditional. The existence of Self is self-proved (svaya siddha) and cannot be denied. It is always conscious. a kara recognizes three grades of reality.[11] The external object of our ordinary experience has only a vyavah rika satt (empirical reality), the objects appearing in dreams and illusions enjoy only a pratibh sika satt (illusory appearance) and B hama, i.e., the Absolute has the parm rthika satt (ultimate reality). The vyavah rika and pratibh sika existences are real from a lower standpoint. The Ultimate Reality is the highest reality, which is
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devoid of all differences and contradictions. We cannot know B hama but we can become B hama: 'He, who knows B hama, becomes B hama'. [12]
3. M dhyamika School of Buddhism
According to this school, reality is beyond the four categories of thought. [13] Human intellect cannot grasp reality. What we grasp is the prapa ca, and not the param rtha. If we put this idea in the technical language of Buddhism, we can say that human knowledge is confined to the sa vrti-satya, i.e., to the phenomenal reality. It is unable to grasp the param rtha-satya i.e. the nominal reality. Buddhism preaches reality (dharma) considering two types of truth. The first type is the Phenomenal Truth, and the second is the Nominal Truth. [4] The empirical world is the phenomenal reality, while the ultimate truth is the nominal reality. The ultimate truth is intuitional, peaceful, devoid of plurality and one. This is the nature of reality'. [15]
C. Western Realism
The Realism, which believes in one material reality, is called monistic Realism. If it takes the existent to be two, it would fall in the category of Dualistic Realism. If it admits reality to be more than two, it would be called Pluralistic Realism. Similarly, some other types of Realism would be dealt with according to their specific characteristics.
(a) Monistic Realism
The primitive Greek philosophers such as Thales, Anaximander, Anaximenes and Heraclitus, in so far as they each thought one or other of water, air or fire to be the one indivisible stuff of reality, were Monistic Realists. To them all things as the physical objects, the mind, the life and the rest were the products of any one of these stuffs. Thus, consciousness was considered to be merely a product of matter.
(b) Dualistic Realism
Plato and Aristotle may be said to have indulged in Dualism in spite of their insistence on the reality of the world of Ideas or Forms. Aristotle was, perhaps, more pronounced in his Dualism than Plato. In modern philosophy, it was Decartes who gave a distinct turn to Realism. To him matter and mind are independent existences each having a characteristic diametrically opposed to the characteristic of the other. Although Kant was an Idealist in his noumenal outlook, still he become guilty of a Double Dualism-Epistemological Dualism between sense and understanding and ontological Dualism between mind and noumenal world of things-in-themselves.[16]
(c) Pluralistic Realism
Greek thinkers thought that the visible objects of the universe are many and independent of one another, and each such object can be divided further and further till we come to a point beyond which our division cannot go. Such units of material objects, which they call "atoms" must be the ultimate physical principles of the universe. From these "atoms" all else (including minds) have been derived. They are the only reals, self sufficient, self-existent and indivisible, and independent of the minds, which originate from them. This type of Realism can be called Pluralistic Material Realism or "Atomic Realism".
(d) Pragmatic View of Realism
Pragmatism means, in the broadest sense, the acceptance of the categories of life as fundamental. By life, pragmatism means, not the imaginary or ideal life of any hypothetical being, not the eternal life or the absolute life but the temporal, operative life of animals and men, the life of instinct and desire, of adoption and environment, of civilization and progress. The whole "experimentalist" tendency in English, Science and Philosophy may be said to have anticipated the pragmatic theory that truth is
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achieved by the trying of hypotheses. The tendency of pragmatic Realism is mainly directed against Absolutism.
(e) Theory of Immanence
The neo-Realist suggests by their theory of Immanence that things and minds are not to be regarded as two independent realities but rather as "relations" into which knowledge as a fact must necessarily enter. Perry observed; "Instead of conceiving of Reality as divided absolutely between two impenetrable spheres, we may conceive it as a field of interpenetrating relationships." [17]
(f) Theory of Independence
According to the Theory of Independence, things being independent of one another, the relations which exist among things are also external and real, and not subjective and internal. Just as things are outside of mind, so is the relation. This view is quite similar to the Nyaya-Vaisesika conception of the external existence of relations.
(g) Theory of Critical Realism
According to Theory of Critical Realism the things have their independent existence and are not known in their entirety but only in their partial character. Our knowledge of things is determined by our interest, which selects certain qualities of things in preference to the rest. Things are not entirely unaffected by our experience, as the Neo Realists hold.
(h) Selective and Generative Realism
The Generative hypothesis holds that the existence of data is physiologically conditioned. The sensedatum is the effect of two joint causes viz., the physical object and the sense-organ. Thus a color is actually produced by the interaction of the physical object and the organ of sight. If this hypothesis is taken to be true, there will exist no color when there is no eye. Similar conclusions follow as regards the data of the other senses. Hence, according to this theory, sense data exist only when they are being perceived.
Indian Realism
Indian Realism can be classified into two broad divisions: orthodox realism and heterodox realism. That school, which believes in the Vedic testimony, is called orthodox and that which does not regard the Vedic authority as valid is called heterodox.
1. S
khya School of Realism
This school falls in the category of dualistic realism. It points out that there are two ultimate entities viz., p ru a and p akrti both of which are eternal and different from each other. P ru a is nothing but consciousness (cita) while p akrti is unconscious (jada). 18 P ru a is spectator (d ) and enjoyer (bhokt ), while p akrti is what is seen and enjoyed (d ya and bhogya). From this account it is evident that p ru a is consciousness or spirit, whereas p akrti is physical existence. P akrti is further manifested into different forms." The S khya system believes in two realities, which are independent of and different from each other.
2. Ramanuja's Realism
According to Ramanuja, the conscious substance (citattiva) is knower and is the substratum of knowledge (in na). Both are eternal and inseparably connected together.C20) Knowledge is all pervading. It is immaterial (ajada) and of self-revealing nature. It is capable of contraction and
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expansion (sa koca and viko a). It illumines things as well as itself. [21] But it cannot know itself. The physical substance is divided into three kinds:
5.
1. That which possesses immutable existence (sattva) only,
2. That which has all the three qualities (gu a) and
3. That which does not possess any one of the three qualities (gu a).
It is eternal. [22] It is distinct from knowledge and is free from consciousness. [23] It is subject to change. [24]
3. Purva-Mim s School of Realism
Both the scholars viz., Bhatta and Prabh kara, believe in two independent realities. But a close study of the Mim s -Sutra in which it is indicated that knowledge is produced when the senseorgan comes in contact with the object, shows quite clearly that the writer believes in the separate and independent existence of knowledge from objects.
4. Ny ya-Vai e ika School of Realism
It holds that spirit and matter are two independent substances. It believes in seven categories of reality. Matter, which is an important factor in the concept of Realism, has been shows as eternal, non-momentary and cognizable through one or more means of valid cognition.
Jain Theory of Realism
In the Bhagavati-Sutra a question is asked by Gautama in connection with the conception of universe. Lord Mah v ra replied in a direct manner. The conversation is as follows:
Gautama: "O Lord! What is universe?"
Mah vra: O Gautama! This universe is composed of five extensive substances. They are the medium of motion, the medium of rest, space, soul and matter. [25]
In some chapters of the Bhagavati-Sutra, Time is mentioned as a separate entity but not extensive. [26]
6. Vaibh ika and Soutr tika Schools of Realism
According to Vaibh ikas, knowledge, consciousness or intellect is formless, while it has forms according to Soutr tikas. The former believes in the direct perceptibility of the outside world, while the latter holds it to be entirely inferential. The Vaibh ika system may be called 'Direct Momentary Realism'. The Soutr tika School may be named 'Indirect Momentary Realism'.
7. C rv ka School of Realism
According to the C rv ka, consciousness is not a separate reality. He holds that reality consists of the objective world only which is constituted by the four Mah bhutas (Primary Elements), viz., earth, water, fire and air. Consciousness is merely a by-product of a peculiar amalgamation of the above-mentioned Mah bhutas (27), although none of them possesses it separately. This school does not believe in anything, which is neither a bhuta nor bhautika (product of bhutas). This system of Realism is purely materialistic.
References:
[1] Life and Philosophy in contemporary British Philosophy, p. 61
[2] Ibid, p. 63.
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[3] [4]
Ibid, p. 67. Principle of Philosophy, p. 107. Lankavatara-Sutra, p. 188.
[5]
[6]
Catuskotivinirmukta.
[7] Grahya grohakavinirmukta. [8] Lankavatara Sutra, p. 116. [9] Indian Philosophy—C.D. Sharma, p. 145. [10] Lankavatara Sutra, p. 186.
[11] Vedanta-Siddhanta-Muktavali, p. 25.
[12] Brahmavid brahma eva bhavati.
[13] Catuskotivinir muktam tattvam madhyamika uiduh.
[14] Madhyamika-Karika, XXIV.8. [15] Ibid, XVIII.9.
[16] Principles of Philosophy, p. 91 [17] Present Philosophical Tendencies, p. 311.
[18] Sankhya-Karika, 11.
[19] Sankhya Karika, 21. [20] Tattva-traya, p. 17. [21] Ibid, p. 35. [21] Ibid, p. 35. [22] Ibid, pp. 41, 46.
[23] Ibid, p. 41.
[24] Vikaraspadam. [25] Bhagavati-Sutra, XIII.4.481
[26] Ibid, XXV, 2.4 [27] Saddarsana-Samuccaya, p. 306.
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2.2.a
Seven Verities (Tattvas) in Jainism (Based on Tattv rtha S tra)
Dr. Anekant Kumar Jain
Introduction Total release of k rmika matter from the self (soul) by self-realization is liberation / emancipation/ salvation. Everybody feels pain in transmigration and wants to eliminate this pain.
Right belief - knowledge - conduct together constitutes the path of liberation. Um sw mi, the c rya revered by all sects of Jains, wrote an important text in Sanskrit in the first century AD. This text called Tattv raths tra, considered as Bible of Jains, has ten chapters and 357 S tras. This text is also called as text for attaining liberation (Mok a S stra). Tatty rathas tra starts with the following Stra:
Samyagdar anajn nac ritr
imok am rgah (TS 1/1)
Um Sw mi defined right belief as firm belief in the true nature of the principles/ verities / tattvas. Right belief arises from the innate disposition or by acquisition of right knowledge. The living being (i va), the non living beings (aj va), influx ( srava), bondage (ba dha), stoppage (sa vara), dissociation (nirjar ) and liberation (mok a) constitute the seven tattvas /verities. S tras 2nd and 4th from first chapter of Tattv rthas tra define right belief and verities.
Tattv rtha raddh na samyagdar anam. Jj v jv sravaba dhsa varanirjar mok astattvam. (TS/1/2, 3)
This classification of the fundamental principles into seven verities is metaphysical with overtones of spiritual values. To these seven verities, merit (punya) and demerit (p pa) have been added and the nine entities called pad rthas giving them a flavor of religious content.
1. J va, the living being In this world, we do not meet j va or pure soul as such. J va or the living being is a mix of pure soul and non-living being i.e. pure soul bonded with k rmika matter. In common parlance, jva is translated as soul or living being. An average individual, due to ignorance, regards his body as his soul and all thoughts and attention go to keep it in comfort. The root cause of our suffering lies in our ignorance of the essential characteristics of our soul.
According to Jain philosophy, living beings are neither created nor destroyed. As already indicated, living beings and non-living beings are the two substance types which comprise the universe. The primary characteristic of living beings is consciousness that distinguishes it from non-living beings. Manifestation of consciousness is its inherent feature, as without it, it cannot perceive and cognize which are the prerequisites of any kind of knowledge.
1.1 Distinctive characteristics of j va (Living being) The further distinctive characteristics of living being mentioned by Um
Sw mi in Tattv raths tra is
Upayogo lak a am (TS/11/8)
i.e. manifestation of consciousness is the distinctive feature of the j va. That, which arises from both internal and external causes and concomitant with consciousness, is upyoga (active or attentive consciousness)
Consciousness manifests itself in two ways namely intuition (dar ana) and knowledge in na). The difference between intuition and knowledge is that the former is detail-less knowledge (a feeling of sheer existence) while the later is with all the details of the object of knowledge. It is important to understand the difference between these two terms as they occur very frequently in Jaina texts. Dar ana is an indeterminate stage in the process of cognition. The object of knowledge gets in
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contact with sense organs and initiates the process of cognition. At this stage it is just a mere awareness of the existence of the object. So at this stage there is an indefinite and indistinct idea about the object in question. The details about the object are not perceived and so there is no question of identifying the object as belonging to a particular class or group. The process of discrimination or analysis that is inherent in the human mind enables the enhancement of mere sensual awareness into sensual perception. The vague consciousness of the object presented to the senses is replaced by a definite comprehension of its class and characteristics. The distinction of the object is grasped and this paves the way for a further expansion of the knowledge domain.
According to Pujya P da, knowledge is with details and the intuition is without details. Apprehension of the mere object (the universal) is intuition and awareness of the particulars is knowledge.
1.2 Two main types of living beings
Sa s ri o mukt ca (TS/11/10)
Living beings are further described as of two types, namely empirical souls or the tran-migratory soul (sa s rijva) and pure or liberated souls (Mukt tm ). Tran-migration (metem-psychosis) means moving in an endless cycle of birth-death-birth and the living beings going through transmigration are called sa s rijva / empirical souls. Those living beings who have freed themselves from transmigration are the emancipated / liberated/ pure souls (Mukt tm).
1.3 Living beings are inter-related / inter dependent/ help each other.
Parasparopgrahov n m. (TS/V/21)
Souls are also substances. On eof the fhe function of soul is to help one another. The word paraspara means reciprocity of action. Parasparasya upgraha means rendering help to one another. What is it? Is it the mutual help between master and the servant or the teacher and taught. The master renders help to servants by paying them in cash while the servants render their physical and mental services to the master in return. The preceptor teaches what is good in this life and thereafter and makes his disciples follow them. The disciples benefit their preceptor by their devoted services. What is the purpose of the repetition of the word 'upgraha? It indicates that living beings are also the cause of pleasure and pain, life and death of one another. This S tra is very important and famous in Jain community and used as a logo of Jainism
2. Non - Soul (aj va) Jaina cosmology regards the universe as comprising six substances that are technically called dravyas. It is real and consists of Jva (soul) and Aj va (non-soul). While the Jaina C ryas have divided the substances into broad categories of J va and Aj va, or Living and non- living, they have further divided Aj va (non-living) into five categories, namely:
Pudgala Dharma Adharma ka K la
According to Um Sw mi
Aj vak ya dharm dharm k apudgalah TS/V/1
K la ca TS/V/39 The non soul substances (bodies) are the medium of motion, the medium of rest, space and matter. Here in the first S tra the term 'K ya' is derived from 'body'. Here it is applied on the basis of analogy. The non-soul substances are called bodies on the analogy of the body of a Living being. The
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word 'body' is intended to indicate a multitude of space point. The space-points of the Medium of Motion are a multitude.
According to Kundkund c rya also there are only five Astik yas (extensive substances), like Jva, Pudgala, Dharma, Adharma and k a. Time (K la) is not Astik ya because of only one space point. Since j va and pudgala (and in pudgala also it is only karmika matter which is of interest in the discussions of tattvas or verities) which are active and other four types of aj va i.e. Dharma, Adharma and ka. Time (K la) is inactive and just support the activities or interactions between jiva and karmas, we have discussed here only j va and pudgala and the remaining shall be discussed in the paper on substances.
2.1 Pudgala (Matter)
'Pudgala' is a definitive word used for matter in Jainism. Matter (Pudgala) has been defined as that which undergoes modification by combination (Pud = to combine) and dissociations (Gala = to dissociate). It has r pa / form, meaning, the qualities of colour, touch, taste and smell i.e. it possesses a form (M rta) or defined as concrete. Matter signifies anything that is liable to fusion and fission. It is an eternal substance with regard to quantity and quality. It may increase or diminish in volume without any addition or loss of particles. All material substances are characterized by the tendency to form aggregates (Skandha) or to break up into smaller and smaller parts. The smallest part, which cannot be divided further, is the sub-atom (param u). Compound objects of the material world including senses, mind and breath are the aggregates of atoms. Sound has been regarded not as a quality but only as a modification of matter. According to Kundakunda, matter is an entity, which can be cognized by the five-sense organs. The entire universe and its contents are perceptible due to matteronly as it is the only concrete substance. Its basic or distinguishing characteristics are to join with or dissociate from other matter (of same type or different) or to be attracted to jva and be of use to it.
Matter types which are of use to i va are called clusters/varga s. Clusters are of eight types namely k rma, luminous/electric (Tejus), gross/physical body (ud rika), protean/celestial body (Vaikriyika), conveyance body (h raka), mind material (Mano varga ), speech material (Bh a varga ) and breathe material (w socch sa varga s). Gross bodies, protean bodies and conveyance bodies are three types of matter endowed with associability. All varga s are respectively used by j va to have k rma, tejus (electric), physical and protean / celestial (for hellish and heaven beings) bodies, h raka or knowledge body for ascetics of higher order and remaining varga s for mind, speech, body and breathe.
Matter exists in two states namely parm u and aggregate/ lump. Matter is further in four classes namely: skandha (aggregate), Skandha de a (aggregate occupying space), Skandh Prade a (aggregate occupying limited space) and parm us. Lump/ Skandha is a collection of parm us and is perceptible. Skandha is further classified in six categories as follows:
Gross-gross. Lump, which can be broken in parts and the parts, cannot be lumped together again
e.g. wood, stone.
Gross
Lumps, which cannot be broken in parts but divided and can be mixed together again e.g. milk, water etc.
Gross-subtle Those which can be seen but cannot be touched or held e.g. shade, light etc. Subtle-gross Those which cannot be seen but cognized by some other sense organs e.g. words,
sound, heat, odour etc.
Cannot be cognized by any sense organ directly like karma particles.
Even smaller e.g. lumps of two or three parm us.
Subtle
Subtlesubtle
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Pudgala is a substance type that is concrete i.e. with touch, taste, smell and color attributes. It is active like j va. However unlike j va, its activity is not purposive to spontaneously result in its manifestation of its nature. It is thus affected to a large extent by j va and is capable of greatly affecting i va, due to its omnipresence. It is a major component of empirical soul and almost all knowledge acquired by empirical soul is through the use of matter as a means or the medium
Tattv rtha Stra (V.19-21) describes the benefits and uses of pudgala for va as
ar rav dmamanah prp
n pudgal nm
sukhdukhaj vitamara opagrah
ca,
parasparograhoj v nm
Thus matter is of immense use to the j va. Identification of empirical souland its activities are all due to matter associated with it. Even acquisition of knowledge by i va to rid / dissociate itself of matter is matter. Spoken words, activities of mind, body and speech, thoughts are all matter.
Matter has eight types (4 pairs of existent-non existent attributes) of touches (2 out of 4 present at a time in any parm u), 5 colors, 5 tastes and two smell types. Thus a total of 200 different types of aggregate (i.e, of different characteristics) can be formed. Science has to date found 114 types of basic elements.
3. Srava or influx Activities (called yoga in Jain texts) of mind, body and speech cause vibrations in the environment around soul. These vibrations cause the k rmana varaga s (matter particles) flow towards the soul. This flow of k rmika particles towards soul is called srava. The soul forgets its own nature due to its being veiled by k rmika impurities called karmas themselves. J va's involvement in the transmigratory cycle is due this influx. Just like water flows in a pond through a number of streamlets, so also karma particles flow towards soul from all directions due to activities of mind, body and speech.
K yav manah karma yoga . TS/VI/1
sa srava . TS/VI/2
3.1 Punya (merit) and P pa (demerit) According to Um Sw mi, there are two kinds of influx namely: Puny srava or influx of meritorious k rmika particles and P p srava or influx of De-meritorious k rmika particles. Auspicious activities of mind body and speech are the causes of meritorious influx while inauspicious activities of mind body and speech are the causes of de-meritorious influx. If we add these two to the seven verities then we have nine pad rthas.
What is good and what is bad? Killing, stealing, copulation, etc are the wicked activities of the body. Thoughts of violence, envy, calumny etc are wicked thought activities. Opposites of these are good activities. An activity performed with good intentions is good and those performed with bad intention is bad. Good activities and intentions are the cause of influx of meritorious particles while evil activities and intentions are the cause of influx of de-meritorious particles.
3.2 Two types of influx. Influx is also classified in another way as follows:
Bh v srava or psychic influx Dravy srava or matter influx
The former is concerned with thought activities and the later with actual influx of matter particles. The causes of the former i.e. psychic influx are activities of five senses like attachment, e.g. flow of
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water into the boat through holes in its body when the boat is actually floating over water. Matter influx is the actual k rmika particles, which fills our environment. Psychic influx is further classified in five categories namely delusion (mithy tva), lack of self-control (avirati), pram da (inadvertence), yoga (activity) and ka ya (passions).
3.3 Influx varies from person to person
According to Um Sw mi, there are two kinds of influx namely that of persons tainted with passions which extends transmigration and the other of persons who are free from passions which prevents or shortens it or is not affected by it.
Living beings can have tweo types of dispositions, namely those actuated by passions (called saka ya) and those who are free from passions (called aka ya). Passions are anger, deceit, pride and greed. These passions are called ka ya in Jain texts. S mpar ya is sa s ra (transmigration). Karma which leads to sa s ra is called S mpar yika. ry means yoga or movement / vibrations. Karmas caused by vibrations is called ry patha. The influx of the former karma operates in the case of persons of perverted faith actuated by passions while the influx of later karma takes place in the case of ascetics who are free from passions.
4. Ba dha (Bondage)
The principle of bondage is an important spiritual concept of Jainism. It is the bondage which leads one to ever increasing involvement in transmigration. Bondage is caused by influx of k rmika particles. Influx brings bondage. According to Um Sw mi
saka ya tvajj v h karma o yogy npudgal n datte sa bandhah (TS/VIII/2)
An individual living being who is actuated by passions attracts particles of matter filling the environment, which are fit to turn into karma. This is called bondage.
How does influx of karmas bind the soul? The process is illustrated by the example of a person who has fully smeared his body with oil and stands out in the open where wind is blowing. It is natural that particles of dust should stick to his body. Similarly when the soul is rendered weak by various kinds of passions and thought activities, it gives room for k rmika particles to stick to it and get converted into karmas. It is invariably the process that the psychic influx or the thought activities are the direct and proximate causes of matter influx.
4.1 Bh va ba dha, psychic bondage and dravya ba dh or matter bondage.
It is the conscious state of mind that binds the karma with the soul when the soul is excited by any of the causes like passion or attachment/aversion. Bondage is also of two types namely
Bh va ba dha or bondage by emotion or psychic bondage • Dravaya ba dha or matter bondage.
According to Nemi Canda Sidh nta Deva
Bajjhadi kamma je a du cheda abh ve a bh vabandho so, Kammm dpades a a o apavesa a idaro.
1. That modification of consciousness consisting of attachment or aversion by which karmas are bonded to the soul is known as psychic bondage. Psychic bondage is therefore the alliance of the soul with mental or psychic activities that are produced when the soul is excited with attachment or aversion to the worldly objects.
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2.
There is an association of soul with actual karmas. This union consists of the interpenetration of the soul and karmas, and the bondage resulting bondage is called matter bondage.
4.2 Causes of bondage
According to Um Sw mi
Mithy dar an viratipram daka yayog bandhahetavah (TS/VIII/1)
i.e. Mithy tva (wrong belief), Avirati (non-abstinence), Pram da (negligence), Ka ya (passions) and Yoga (activities) are the causes of bondage.
4.2.1 Wrong belief
It is the perversity of outlook. Wrong belief in these seven verities is called wrong belief. It has many subdivisions like ek nta (solitary viewpoint), viparyaya (opposite of right knowledge), vinaya, sa aya (doubt) and ajn na lack of knowledge).
4.2.2 Non abstinence It is the absence of self-control. A person who has no control over his senses indulges in sense pleasures and he looses direction for self-realization. There are five vows in Jainism namely non violence, non-stealing, speaking the truth, non possession and celibacy. Non-abstinence primarily means non-adherence to these five vows.
His nristey bramhparigrahebhyo Viratirvaratam. (TS/VII/1)
4.2.3 Negligence Negligence here means indifference to higher values of life. Indulgence in sensual pleasures leads one to negligence and it again leads to activities like listening to reprehensible talks (vik tha) or activities leading to sensual pleasures again. Reprehensible talks can be about affairs of an individual, state, leader, organization, women etc.
4.2.4 Passions Passions create states of the soul, which are intensely affective in nature. Feelings and emotions like anger, greed, deceit and pride are responsible for the influx and bondage of karmas.
4.2.5 Activities Activities of mind, body and speech cause vibrations in the environment and affect the state of the soul. (TS/VI/1)
4.3 Four kinds of bondage Bondage is of four types according to the nature and species of karmas, duration, fruition and quantity of space points. According to Um Sw mi:
Prak itisthityanubhavaprade stdvidhayah (TS/VIII/3)
4.3.1 Prak iti ba dha / Nature of the bondage It refers to the nature of karma that has been bonded with the soul.
4.3.2 Duration of bondage It refers to the state i.e. present and when it gets activated and is extinguished i.e. separated from the soul after fruition.
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4.3.3 Potency or strength of karmas
It refers to the intensity of experience resulting from the karmas which leads to the intensity if bondage.
4.3.4 Space-points of karmas It is concerned with the extensiveness and the aggregation of krmika particles associated with the soul.
The three fold activities determine nature and space point bondages while the passions determine duration and potency of bondage. This diversity of bondage is due to the degree and intensity of passions. If the soul does not take the modes of activities and passions, then the k rmika particles are destroyed. Hence the soul is not the cause of bondage.
The four types of bondages as discussed above are intimately associated and affect the soul accordingly.
So far we have seen that the soul gets involved in the cycle of life and is bound due to influx of karmas. This bondage is beginning-less but it has an end. The soul with its inherent capacity is pure and perfect and can achieve the ultimate sate of eliminating all types of bondages to it. This is possible by means of a process, which gradually stops new bondages and then eliminates the effects of exiting bondages (k ayop ama). From now onwards the self-realization starts.
We therefore have to take steps in this direction namely
Sa vara or stoppage of influx and bondage (new) Nirjar or dissociation of existing karmas with the soul
These steps follow that order i.e. Sa vara first and Nirjar then.
5.0. Sa vara - (Stoppage of influx of new karm s in soul)
Sa vara or stoppage of the influx of new karm s is the first significant step in the process of liberation of the soul from karma. Sa vara is the opposite of A rava; it is so called as it prevents the attraction of karma particles towards the soul. Um sw mi has given a precise definition - The obstruction of influx is stoppage'. (Sa vara)
sravanirodhah sa varah' (TS/IX/1)
It is the harbinger of spiritual development that chooses the entry for new karmas. Continuing the earlier simile, if the entry of water in to a boat through a hole is to be stopped, the hole must be plugged. If the wind is blowing in through the window, the window must be closed. This is the common sense remedy. The some principle applies to stoppage of influx of new karmas. If the influx is to be stopped, the activities, which cause it, must be stopped. If the passions are the cause, they must be subdued. Many of karam s are due to wrong belief. When a person is in a state of delusion or in the grip of a passion, he will not know what is good for the soul. He becomes deeply involved in attachments of the world and affected with miseries of various kinds.
5.1. Dravya Sa vara and Bh va Sa vara
Sa vara is of two types
Dravya Sa vara Bh va Sa vara
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Dravya sa vara refers to the stoppage of the influx of the karmic particles. Psychic accompaniment of the influx of karmic particles has also to be stopped. The stoppage of the psychic accompaniments and psychic causes of the influx of karma is the bh vasamvara.
5.2. The means of stoppage According to Um sw mi stoppage is affected by restraint (Gupti), carefulness (Samiti), virtue (Dharma) contemplation (Anuprek), conquest by endurance (Pari ahajaya), and conduct (C ritra).
Sa gupti samitidharm nuprek
pari ahajayac ritaih (TS/IX/2)
5.2.1 Gupti (attitude of restraint/control) That, by which the soul is protected from the causes of transmigration, is control (qupti). There are three kinds of Gupti.
1. Manogupti (restraint on mental activity) 2. Vacanagupti (restraint on speech activity) 3. Kya gupti (restraint on body activity)
According to Um sw mi - Restraining activity turely is control.
Samyagyoganigraho guptih (TS/IX/4)
5.2.2. Samiti (carefulness) Carefulness in walking, speech, eating, lifting and lying down and depositing waste products constitute the five-fold regulation of activities
ry bhai a
d nan k epotsarg h samitayah (TS/IX/5)
5.2.3 Dharma (virtue) There are ten virtues described by Um sw mi - Supreme forbearance (K am ), Modesty (Mrdava), straight forwardness ( rjava), Truthfulness (Satya), purity (auca), self-restraint (Sa yama), austerity (Tapa), renunciation (Ty ga). Non-attachment ( kincanya), celibacy (Brahmcarya) constitute moral virtues or duties (Dharma). The practice of these moral virtues coupled with the thought of evil caused by the opposites of these leads to stoppage of karmic inflow. (TS/IX/6)
5.2.4. Anuprek (Contemplation) Anuprek or reflection or contemplation on transitoriness etc. helps one to practice moral virtues such as forbearance and consequently leads to effective stoppage of karmas. Reflection is mentioned in the middle for the sake of both. He who practices contemplation in this way is enabled to practice the moral virtues and also subdue of afflictions.
There are twelve types of contemplation according to Um sw mi. (TS/IX/7)
1 Anity nuprek
Contemplation of Transitory-ness
2 A aran nuprek
Contemplation of Helplessness Contemplation of Transmigration
3 Samsr nuprek
4 Ekatv nuprek 5 Anyatv nuprek
Contemplation of Loneliness Contemplation of Distinctness
6
A ucity nuprek
Contemplation of Impurity
7
rav nuprek
Contemplation of Influx
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8 Sanvar nuprek
Contemplation of Stoppage
9 Nirjar nuprek
Contemplation of dissociation
10 Lok nuprek
Contemplation of universe/cosmos
11 Bodhidurlabh nuprek
Contemplation of rarity of enlightenment.
12 Dharm nuprek
Contemplation of truth proclaimed by religion.
5.2.5. Pari ahajaya (Conquest by endurance) Pari ahajaya or conquering the afflictions. According to Um sw mi the afflictions are to be endured so as not to swerve from the path of stoppage of karm s and for the sake of dissociation of Karmas.
Mrg cyavananirjar rtham Pari o hacy h (TS/IX/8)
5.2.5.1. Types of afflictions There are twenty two afflictions, which have to be endured, as described by Um sw mi - (TS/IX/9) 1 Kuta
hunger
thirst
2 Pips 3 ita
cold
Hot
4 U a 5 Dam ama aka
insect - bites
Nakedness
6 N ganya 7 Arati 8 Str
absence of pleasure
women
9 Cary
pain arising from roaming
discomfort of postures
uncomfortable couch
scolding
10 Ni ady 11 ayy 12 Kro a 13 Vadha 14 Y can 15 Al bha
injury
begging
lack of gain
16 Roga
illness
17 T a- spar a pain inflicted by blades of grass 18 Mala
dirt 19 Satk ra purask ra reverence and honour (good as well as bad reception) 20 Prajn
conceit of learning
21 Ajn na
despair / uneasiness arising from ignorance
22 Adarna
Lack of Faith
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5.2.6.-C ritra (Conduct)
Um sw mi mentioned five kinds of conduct. (TS/IX/18) 1 Sm yika equanimity
2 Chedopasth pn
reinitiation
3 Parih rvi uddhi purity of non injury 4 Sk m mpar ya slight passion
5 Yath khy ta perfect conduct It is clear from what has been stated above that stoppage results when there is all round spiritual development. It is the activities and passion that lead to transmigration. Their cessation and conquest over passions stop the influx of Karmic matter, that is, results in Dravya- sa vara.
6.0 Nirjar - (Dissociation of Karma) After sa vara we came to the process of nirjar. The function of sa vara is to arrest the influx of karma through different sources by stopping the inlets. But the function of nirjar is to remove the accumulated Karma already present in the soul.
According to Pujyap da - The karmas fall off after giving pain or pleasure, as these cannot stay on after complete fruition, just as food and similar things decay in course of time. Dissociation takes place after the fruition of Karmas.
6.1. Two kinds of dissociation of Karmas The separation of or dissociation of Karamas is of two kinds, namely ripening in the usual course (Vip k or Ak ma) and being made to ripen prematurely i.e. (Avip kj ) or (Sak ma).
In the great ocean of transmigration, the individual self wanders for countless periods of time, whirling round and round among the four states of existence in various births. And the auspicious and inauspicious Karmas associated with the self, reach the stage of fruition gradually and complete their ripe period and then dissociate themselves from the self completely. This is the first kind of dissociation.
6.2. Method dissociation Dissociation is effected by penance and also by other ways, according to Um sw mi
Tapas nirjar ca. (TS/IX/3)
Penance (austerity) is dissociation also.
Penance (Tapa) is very important for both sa vara and nirjar . Though penance (religious austerity) in included under the moral virtues, it is mentioned separately in order to indicate that it effects both stoppage and dissociation and that it is the chief cause of stoppage of influx and dissociation.
6.2.1. The twelve types of Penance (austerities) It is of two kinds:
1. External Austerities (Penance) There are six types of external austerities - (TS/IX/19) 1 Anasana
fasting
2 Avamodarya
reducing the diet
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3 V ttiparisamkhy na special restrictions for begging food 4 Rasaparity ga giving up stimulating and delicious dishes
5
Vivikta ayy sana
lonely habitation
6 K yakle a
mortification of the body These are called external, as these are dependent on external things and can be seen by others.
2. Internal Austerities (Penances) There are six types of internal austerities - (TS/IX/20) 1 Pr ya citta Expiation
2 Vinaya
Reverence
3 Vaiy vritti Service 4 Sv dhy ya Study of Agam s
5 Vyutsarga
Renunciation
6 Dhy na
Meditation
These are called Internal because these are development on internal things and can be experienced by the practitioner only.
The soul regains its purity after the karmas have fallen of either due to enjoyment or destruction.
c rya Kundakunda has dealt with this subject in verses 144 to 146 of the Pañc stik ya. According to him, a person who has practiced a number of austerities and observed rules for the purifications of his activities will be able to shed away many of his Karmas. A person who understands the real nature of the self and the futility of attachment to objects of the world will have right knowledge and thereby acquire the ability to destroy the Karmas due to his purity of thought and action. He alone will be able to cast away his Karmas, who on an account of his right knowledge contemplates on the self with full concentration. The force which right belief, right - knowledge and non-attachment generates becomes the course of premature shedding of Karmas. Pursuit of self-absorption results in shedding karmas by thoughts (Bh va-nirjar ) first followed by Karmic shedding (dravya-nirjar ).
7.0 Mok a (salvation / liberation) The last verity of the seven verities is called Mok a. This is the ultimate goal of every religious practitioner like S dhu, muni or monk. When the self is freed from the bondage of Karma and has passed beyond the possibility of rebirth it is said to have attained mok a. Mok a is the highest ideal to be attained by the self at the time of perfection. According to Um sw mi
Bandhahetvabh vanirjar bhy m k tsnakarmavipramok o mok ah (TS/X/2)
Owing to the absence of the cause of bondage and with the functioning of the dissociation of Karmas, the annihilation of all Karmas fully is Liberation.
No new karmas flow in owing to the absence of causes such as perverted faith and as on. And the already acquired karmas fall of gradually in the presence of causes that lead to dissociation of Karmas. Owing to the absence of the cause of bondage and the functioning of dissociation indicate the case denoting liberation. Therefore Liberation is the total destruction of all Karmas at the same time, after leveling down the duration of all the remaining there Karmas, so as to be equal to that of the age - Karma (yu - Karma).
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The final stage of self-realization is the stage absolute perfection in this stage of ukladhy na. This stage lasts only for the period of time required to pronounce five shorts syllables. At the end of this period the soul attains perfect and disembodied liberation. This is a stage of perfection. However, the Jain conception of mok a does not obliterate the individuality of each soul. It is neither merged nor is identical with anything higher than itself. Its individuality is not lost. This is the permanent personality of the soul even in the state of perfection immediately after attaining release from all Karmas the soul darts up to the top/summit of the universe.
Tadnantaram radvam gacchty lok nt t (TS/X/5)
8.0 Summary / Conclusion Annexe I shows the seven varities and the two states of bondage i.e. merit and demerit. If we see closely at the chart, we find that the seven verities relate to j va and pudgala (primarily karma) as the constituents of cosmos and the remaining five verities are the states of their interaction and the resultant j va. The next two states i.e. influx and bondage is the indicator of sa s ra or the world, as we know it or the transmigratory state of the j va. The next two verities i.e. stoppage of influx and dissociation are the spiritual state of jva where jiva tries to free itself of the krmica bondage and attain the state of pure soul called mok a, the last verity. Merit and demerit are the results of the interactions of the jiva and karma as auspicious (merit) and inauspicious (demerit).
Reference:
TS stands for Tatty ratha S tra by crya Um Sv mi and its commentary by Pujya P da Known as Sarv rtha Siddhi
Annexe 1
Seven Tattvas / Verities Nine padarthas / entities
Jiva
Ajva
Influx Asrava
Bondage Bandh
Stoppage Samvar
Dissociation
Nirjara
Liberation Moksh
Merit Punya
Demerit Paap
Constituents of
universe. Jiva and pudgal active, others supportive
World/universe. Causes delusion, inadvertence, laziness, passions and
activities. Pravritti /engagement.
Moral ethics
Spirituality, Disengagement/Detachment, Nivritti,
Major vows, guptis, samitis
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2.2.b
Reality (Sat) and Concept of Dravya (Substance) in Jaina Philosophy
Dr. Veer Sagar Jain & Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Reality: Preamble Looking at the colorful and different forms of existences in the universe, it is natural to be inquisitive about the form and nature of reality i.e. their ultimate source of origin. Is it one entity with its manifold modifications or manifestations or the reality itself is manifold. Therefore all philosophers and philosophies start their enquiry about self and the universe around, with first understanding the reality (sat) and its nature. They soon came up with two related alternatives namely:
The problem of change - Is changing real? The problem of one and many - Is reality one or many?
The views of western and Indian philosophers are discussed in a separate paper on Jain views of reality with reference to western philosophers.
1.1 Indian philosophers Like the western philosophers, we find Indian philosophers also made similar statements, e.g.:
a kara's Advait-Ved nta presents the thesis of unchanging, eternal, and conscious and one reality - Brahm. For him change, plurality and all worldly things are illusory.
.
On the other hand Buddhists consider change as real. (Only Ng rjuna like a kara denies the reality of worldly things. Other schools of Buddhism do not deny worldly things)
S khya believes in duality of existence. They talk of Purusa (sentient) and Prakrti (insentient)
•
Ny ya talk of multiplicity of existences like air, water, fire and earth as different forms of insentient besides soul being sentient.
Jain philosophers and spiritual leaders accept existence of all beings as real and multiple with broad grouping as sentient and insentient beings. Basic considerations about their views on reality are based on the following:
•
It accepts permanence, change, multiplicity and identity or similarity simultaneously because in our experience we always find particularity and universality or generality simultaneously. They look at an explanation that is free of fallacy of partial view of reality as any generalization about reality on the basis of single characteristic suffers from the ek ntika doşa (mono-ism). It is therefore based on the doctrine of multiplicity of viewpoints (Anek ntav da). Hence the reality should be viewed both from permanence viewpoint (substance) as well as momentary (mode) viewpoint also. It therefore considers both permanence as well as change as real. So they consider reality as permanence with change.
1.3 Nature of Reality in Jainism The nature and characteristics of reality (sat) are given by the three S tras from Tattv ratha S tra Jain c rya Um Svii
Sat dravyalaksa am Utp da-vyaya-dhrauvyayukta Gu aparyayavad dravayam
sat
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This means that substance (dravya) is the indicator or representation of reality: sat is with origination, destruction and permanence simultaneously and substance is with modes and attributes. These will be discussed further in section 2.1 while discussing the characteristics of substance later on. Basically Jains talk of duality of existence / reality namely:
Living beings (j va) Non-living beings (aj va)
2.0 Need to know the nature and form of substance/dravya. As per Jain philosophy, this cosmos (loka) is another name of an amalgam of infinite substances. Therefore to know this cosmos, it is essential that we understand properly the concept and nature of substance (dravya). Without knowing the nature of substance, we cannot understand the characteristics of any entity properly / correctly. As the cosmos is said to be an amalgam of infinite substances, knowledge of the nature of substance will help us understand the entire process of origination, destruction and changes taking place in the cosmos better. One of the Jain c rya has gone to the extent of saying the foundation of all worldly or spiritual knowledge is the knowledge of the dravya itself.'
Crya Nemi Candra Siddh nta Deva, in the first gth (verse) of his text Dravya Sa graha, given below, says that the main reason of our worshipping the Jain preceptors (Jinendra Deva) is that they gave us the true description of the substances like j va living beings).?
J vamaj va davva ji avaravasahe a je a niddittha, Devi davi dava da va de ta savvad sisr
Meaning: We pay homage by bending our heads to Jinendra Rsabha Deva, who has delivered the sermons of jva (living beings) and aj va (non living beings) and who is adored by the entire community of heavenly gods,
Thus without having the knowledge of dravya, how can any body know correctly the supreme soul (Jinendra Deva). If one does not know the true nature of the supreme soul, how can one worship them properly and with all obeisances? Therefore, one of the most respected c ryas todate, Kunda Kunda says that the main reason to destroying delusion is to know the substance, its attributes and modes as given in the following verse.
Jo j adi ariha ta davvatta gu atta pajjayattehi; So j adi app a moho khalu j di tassa layas
Meaning: One who knows the supreme soul by its substance, modes and attributes, knows his-self and destroys the delusion in the process.
We therefore infer that the knowledge of substance, its modes and attributes enable us to have the correct knowledge of soul and supreme soul thereby destroying delusion, the root cause of all our problems. Hence it is not only important but also essential to have full knowledge of the nature and concept of substance.
2.1 Characteristics of substance/dravya. Dravya is a definitive term of Jain philosophy that in general represents an entity or an object. This is why Jain c rya Um Sv ti (2nd century AD) writes:
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Sat dravyalaksa amo
i.e. dravya / substance is the characteristics / indicator of reality (existent). What is real is substance. Now the question arises what is reality / sat? He then proceeds to say the following in this regard:
Utp da-vyaya-dhrauvyayukta sat 5
i.e. reality is with origination - destruction and permanence. As per Jain philosophy, all objects/ entities in this cosmos, whether sentient or insentient, are with origination-destruction-permanence characteristics i.e. substance / dravya is with origination - destruction and permanence simultaneously. New form of an entity is called its origination; giving up its old state is called destruction and the continuation of the nature of the substance is permanence; e.g. destruction of the state of milk results in origination of the state curd and the continuation of its being dairy product i.e. a bye product of cow (go-rasa) for use by us continues its existence. This way each and every entity in this cosmos goes through origination-destruction-permanence continuously at every moment. Hence all these entities are termed as substance and are real /sat.
Besides reality /existent, another characteristic in Jain philosophy of substance is that it is always with attributes and modes (pary ya) as given by Um Sv ti in the following S tra.
Gu aparyayavad dravayam?
Those parts of the substance, which co-exists with it, are called attributes (gu a) and those that occur serially (krama) are called modes (pary ya). There is no entity in this cosmos, which is not always accompanied with attributes and modes. Knowledge, intuition, happiness etc are the attributes of living beings while mind-based knowledge, verbal testimony etc are the modes of knowledge. Similarly form, taste, odour and touch are the attributes of matter (pudgala) and black / white /yellow etc are the modes of attribute colour.
Thus we conclude that dravya is what is real and real is with origination-destruction and permanence or with attributes and modes.
Jain texts use the word dravya primarily to represent substance. However we also find the terms like object (artha), thing (pad rtha), object of knowledge (jñeya or prameya) etc. 'aryate gamyate parichidyate v eti arthah' i.e. the entity cognized is the object. Similarly all other terms used are with the object of acquiring knowledge about them. Dravya is also called existent (vastu) as 'vasanti guh yasmin tat vastu' or an entity in which attributes exist is called substance.
2.2 Number / quantity of dravyas. There are infinite substances in this cosmos which can all be classified in six categories namely:
Jva: Living being Pudgala: Matter / Mattergy Dharma: Principle of motion Adharma: Principle of rest ka: Space Kla: Time
It is significant to know that most of the philosophies of the world talk of Mono-ism or advaitv da i.e. only one type of existence and everything emanating from it. But Jain philosophy talks of duality of existence / reality i.e. it propagates Duopoly of existence of living and non-living beings. Jains say that both living beings as well as non-living beings are existent and hence eternal truth and not imaginary or pseudo-reality. Similarly knowledge and object of knowledge, eternal and temporary, soul and supreme soul etc are all existent and real.
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We shall briefly discuss each of these now. Jain literature however discuss at length the nature of living beings and matter as these are primary substance types which are helpful in following the path of spiritual purification and attaining emancipation.
A. J va or living beings. An entity with consciousness and its manifestation as knowledge and intuition etc are found is termed as living being. From absolute viewpoint, living beings do not posses attributes like taste, touch, odour or colour and hence are non-concrete. While existing in the cosmos as empirical living being, it lives/ exists due to its capabilities of breathe, sense organs, life span and overall energy while as pure soul, it exists at the summit of the cosmos and exists / lives forever with its attributes of knowledge, intuition and bliss.
c rya Nemi Candra Siddh nta Deva, in his text Dravya Sa graha, has in a lucid manner explained the true nature of jva based on its nine special characteristics as given below: 8
i. J vatva or ability to live An entity which lives, as per absolute viewpoint with the force and capability of its consciousness and as per practical viewpoint with its four forces / capabilities of breathe, lifespan, sensual organs and its energy, is called to have j vatva or is called j va.
ii. Upyogamaya or able to manifest Here upyoga means primarily manifestation of consciousness into intuition (dar anopyoga) and knowledge (jin naopyoga). There are further subdivisions of these two manifestations of consciousness that we do not discuss at this stage. However it is to be understood that this manifestation of consciousness is the primary or main characteristic of j va in Jain philosophy e.g. the verses 'upyogo laksa am' 10 and 'cetan laksa o j vahindicate this concept clearly.
iii. Am rtika - non-concrete J va by its nature is non-concrete and attributes like touch, taste, colour and odour are not associated with it.
iv. Kart or Doer/Agent From absolute viewpoint, it is the doer of its nature and from practical viewpoint it is the doer of the matter karmas.
v. Svadehaparim a or is of the size of the body it owns. J va expands or contracts in shape and size according to the body it lives in at different times. When it is liberated of all its k rmika impurities, it is of the size and shape slightly less than the last body it owned.
vi. Bhokt or enjoyer From absolute viewpoint, it is the enjoyer of its nature and from practical viewpoint it is the enjoyer of its matter karmas.
vii. Sa s rastha or exists in this cosmos. From the beginning-less time, it exists in this cosmos at different places and destinies.
viii. Siddha or Pure soul When it is fully free from all the k rmika impurities, then it attains the status of siddha (one who attained its objective) or mukta (free from bondages). It stays in this status forever and is omniscient, detached and in a state of bliss. It does not get born again in any other form (no reincarnation).
ix. Urghvagamana or to move upwards Like the flame of a fire, its nature is to always move straight up but due to krmika bondage it appears to moving in different directions.
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B. Pudgala or matter
Pudgala is a substance type that is concrete i.e. with touch, taste, smell and color attributes. It is active like jva. However unlike j va, its activity is not purposive to spontaneously result in its manifestation of its nature. It is thus affected to a large extent by jva and is capable of greatly affecting jva, due to its omnipresence. It is a major component of empirical soul and almost all knowledge acquired by empirical soul is through the use of matter as a means or the medium. Tattv rtha S tra (V.19-21) describes the benefits and uses of pudgala for j va as
Thus matter is of immense use to the j va. Identification of empirical soul and its activities are all due to matter associated with it. Even acquisition of knowledge by j va to rid / dissociate itself of matter is matter. Spoken words, activities of mind, body and speech, thoughts are all matter.
The entire universe and its contents are perceptible due to matter only as it is the only concrete substance. Its basic or distinguishing characteristics are to join with or dissociate from other matter (of same type or different) or to be attracted to jva and be of use to it. The word pudgala, a definitive term of Jain philosophy is a union of pud (to complete or combine) + gala (to separate) i.e. fusion and fission. Thus matter particles can combine to form lumps / aggregate (skandha) or the lumps can break to form smaller lumps and continue the process to reach the last stage i.e. parm u which is the smallest part which cannot be further subdivided. Some characteristics of matter are:
ar rav dmamanah pr pn pudgal n m
sukhdukhaj vitamara opagrah ca, parasparograhoj v n m
Matter in its primitive form is of just one type i.e. parm. It is the basis of all matter and energy. Both energy and matter can be interchanged. Light, Heat and other forms of energy are thus matter. Light is a skandha of matter. Its speed is said to be 186000 miles per second by Einstein. Parm u, as per Jains can travel at the highest speed of 14 rajjus per samaya. c rya Amrita Candra in Tattv ratha S ra says that the parm u has a natural tendency to move downwards versus of j va to move upwards.
Matter is of two types namely lump (skandha) and parm u. Lump is a collection of parm us and is perceptible. Lump /aggregate is further classified as of six types namely fine-fine, fine, fine-coarse, coarse-fine, coarse, coarse-coarse. Parm u even though with perceptible qualities cannot be perceived by senses and is classified as absolute (non divisible) and real like atom to give molecules. Skandha is further classified in six categories as follows:
Gross-gross:
Gross:
Gross-subtle: Subtle-gross:
Subtle: Subtle-subtle:
Lump, which can be broken in parts and the parts, cannot be lumped together again e.g. wood, stone.
Lumps, which cannot be broken in parts but divided and can be mixed together again e.g. milk, water etc.
Those which can be seen but cannot be touched or held e.g. shade, light etc.
Those which cannot be seen but cognized by some other sense organs e.g. words, sound, heat, odour etc.
Cannot be cognized by any sense organ directly like karma particles. Even smaller e.g. lumps of two or three parm us.
Matter has eight types (4 pairs of existent-non existent attributes) of touches (2 out of 4 present at a time in any parm u), 5 colors, 5 tastes and two smell types. Thus a total of 200 different types of aggregate (i.e. of different characteristics) can be formed. Science has to date found 102 types of basic elements.
Matter types which are of use to j va are called clusters/varga s and are of eight types namely k rma, luminous (Tejas), gross body (ud rika), protean body (Vaikriyika), conveyance body (h raka), mind material (Mano varga ), speech material (Bh a
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varga ) and breathe material (w socch sa varga s). Gross bodies, protean bodies and conveyance bodies are three types of matter endowed with associability. All varga s are respectively used by j va to have k rma, tejus (electric), physical and protean/celestial (for hellish and heaven beings) bodies, h raka or knowledge body for ascetics of higher order and remaining varga s for mind, speech, body and breathe. Parm u is the smallest and indivisible part of aggregate. It cannot be destroyed even by the sharpest and most lethal arm / fire or water. It is without space points, besides its own one space point. It is slightly concrete and slightly non concrete. Parm u, which is the basic part of matter has special characteristics and is defined as the smallest indivisible part of matter. It is like a dimensionless and mass-less geometric point that has existence but almost no size and weight. It travels in a straight line if unobstructed otherwise it can travel in any direction including in waveform but under the influence of other entities. (Ref scientists Max Plank, Neil Bohr etc and others who proved this to be so). Parmu in normal state occupies one space point but in special conditions, one space point can have almost infinite parm us in it. Scientists have proved that specific gravity of matter in nebulae is approx 10 while some stars are said to be composed of matter which is 2000 times denser than gold. Parm u can have one each color, smell, taste and two touch (hot or cold and hard or soft) qualities. As per Einstein's theory of relativity, e = mc2, matter can be converted into energy. So a parm can have almost infinite speed as parm u which is almost mass-less and can travel 14 rajjus (i.e. the whole universe) or 1.4 * (10) miles per samaya at its fastest speed while its normal speed is one space point (prade a) in one samaya (smallest unit of measurement of time). Bonding of parm us is only due to the dry (arid) and cohesive (smooth) attributes present in different proportions. This is similar to positive and negative charges of protons and electrons. The remaining five substance types are non-concrete and cannot be cognized by our sense organs directly. Word, Bondage, subtle, gross, darkness, shadow, light, heat etc. are the modes of matter
Now we shall discuss the four supportive substances i.e. by themselves these substances do not act but they support the activities of both active substance types namely j va and pudgala.
C. Dharma or Principle of motion & Adharma or principle of rest Here the terms dharma and adharma do not mean the contemporary meaning of religion and non religion. Jain philosophy says that like living beings and non-living beings, there are two more entities known as dharma or principle of motion and adharma or principle of rest. Both are real and existent and hence have all the attributes associated with dravya. Because they are non-concrete, they cannot be cognized directly by sense organs. Even the scientists have proved the existence of these entities.
Gatisthityupagrahau dharm dharmayorupak rah. (TS/V/17)
Dharma in Jainism has been defined as a substance which it self does not move but helps the moving living beings and matters in their movement, just as water of river assists to movement of moving fishes. The fish swims by its own force but the water is essential for swimming. Principle of motion supports the motion of those objects (living beings and matter), which are moving e.g. water supports the movement of fish or the rail-lines support the movement of trains. It is one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
Adharma is the principal of rest and pervades the whole universe. This is the auxiliary cause of rest to the soul and matter. Adharma has been defined as a cause of helping the matter and souls which are at rest, in taking rest just as earth, which is at rest, helps those who want to stay and take rest. It is a substance, which supports the resting entities (living beings and matter), e.g. the shade of a tree supports a tired traveler's intention to rest. It is like force of friction in modern science. It is also one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
The medium of motion and rest never lose their special characteristics of facilitating movement and rest etc., and their common characteristics of existence etc., they are eternal, fixed in number and
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colour less (non-material). These are also without activity. There are innumerable points of space in the medium of motion, the medium of rest. They are located in the space of universe 12 and pervade the entire universe-space.
It is important to note that both these principles of motion and rest are the efficient cause (nimitta) only for the entities to be in these states. They, on their own do not encourage or cause these entities to move or rest. This point is very emphatically clarified in all texts of Jain philosophy e.g. Dravya Sa grah in both g th s (12 and 13) say 'accha t eva so e' and 'gaccha t eva so dharadi' on the subject clearly say so.
प्र
D. k a or space
The entity, which provides space for all jva and matter, is called k a or space. It is also one in number and omnipresent through cosmos and beyond. Even though it is one in number, yet from the point of view of six substance types, it is divided in two conceptual parts, namely lok k a and alok k a. Lok k a is the space where all the substances are found. It is surrounded by an infinite space called alok k a which is like void i.e. no other substance exists there except just space. To give an example, consider a glass half full with milk. Then in speaking terms one can say that this glass is with milk and this glass is without milk to give a feeling that there are two glasses though only one glass exists. Similarly k a is just one but divided in two parts for the sake of understanding and function.
E. K la or Time.
The entity, which supports transformation or change taking place in living beings and matter, is called k la or time. It is also non-concrete and in innumerable in number. Time also is a non-living being substance. It has no body as it occupies only one space point and has no extension or body. Still it is classified as a substance as it has the essential characteristics of substance namely origination, destruction and permanence and that which is an aggregate of qualities and modes. Both these characteristics also apply to time. Transformation in the substance cannot be conceived without the presence of time.
Vartan pari makriya Paratv paratve ca K lasya (TS/V/22)
Like jewels, it is spread throughout space (lok k a). From practical viewpoint, it is denoted as year, month, week, day, and hour, minute; second etc but these are all modes of k la. It is through time that changes are reflected in the other substances. This proves the importance of time. This fact itself proves existence of k la. In vet mbara texts, generally they do not consider k la as substance but because of its usefulness, sometimes they do accept k la as substance also. Primary attributes of time are assisting substances in their continuous transformation; modifications, in their priority and non-priority in time etc. From practical viewpoint time is expressed in terms of year, month, day, hour ad minute etc. Smallest unit of time is called samaya (infinitely small part of time) in Jain texts. And it consists of infinite instants -
So (a) nantasamayah (TS/V/40)
2.3 Classifications of dravya
Substances can be classified or grouped in two classes based on their similar attributes. The most prominent classification is as sentient (j va) and insentient (aj va). Similarly substances are classified as concrete and non-concrete or active (sakriya) and passive (nişkriya) or svadravya and pardravya as below.
1. Concrete and non concrete: Only matter is concrete rest all substance types are non concrete.
2. Active and passive: Only j va and matter are active and the remaining four are passive or supporting in nature.
3. Sva-dravya (self-same) and par-dravya (others): This classification is seen in spiritual texts only where the soul/ tm is svadravya and all other living beings and other substance types
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are par-draya. This classification is essential to understand and contemplate on the self for spiritual purification.
4. Astik ya (many space points) and An-astik ya (one space point only): Except time, all other substance types are with many space points and hence are classified as astik ya while time is with one space point only and not an astik ya. K la is also called as without any space point. Thus, except time, all other substance types are clubbed together and called pa c stik ya. A Kunda Kunda's famous text Pa c stik ya describes these five substances only.
Concrete Sentient Active Astik ya
Name
1. Jva
Nature
Knowledge, bliss
2. Pudgala Fusion
fission
3. Dharma Supports
motion
4. Adharma Supports rest
5. k a
6. K la
Number
infinite
& infinite
one
one
Provides space one Supports change
Space points
innumerable No
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do
do
do
do
innumerable one
Yes
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
Ao a pavisat dit og sama ama assa,
Mela vi ya other, icca sagasabbh va a vija ha ti 21
Yes
No
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Yes
Yes
It is important to note that as per Jain philosophy, the total number of substances in this cosmos do not change i.e. no new substance is created and no existing substance gets destroyed; they just change form. Hence all substances are eternal i.e. they were existent in the past, exist now and will continue to exist forever. Also it is true that they keep on transforming continuously. No substance stays in the same state even for a minute faction of a second i.e. transformation is the nature of all substances.
Yes
It is also to be noted that transformation of any particular substance is within certain limits. No substance will ever leave its nature i.e. sentient can never become insentient and vice versa. Similarly J va can never become matter and matter can never become j va. Similarly we can surmise for other substance types also.19 Similarly each substance is the material cause of its own transformation; no other substance can be so. Other substances can have a relationship like cause and effect only i.e. other substances can be the efficient cause of transformation in the main substance.20
Yes
Yes
No
Another important feature of substances in Jain philosophy is that each substance is eternally independent and complete in itself. No substance has origination from ab-initio i.e. totally new and no substance gets totally destroyed. Similarly no substance is dependent on other substances. No substance does anything for any other substance and neither obstructs in the functioning of other substances. From practical point of viewpoint, however it is said that all substances are inter related but from absolute viewpoint no substance is the doer of anything for any other substance. Every substance stays in its nature and they do not enter or interfere in the nature of other substances. Following verse from Kunda Kunda is worth mentioning here in this context.
These substances do meet each other, interact with each, support other's activities; but they never leave their nature or adopt the nature of other substances. Like Kunda Kunda, other c ryas have also said similarly; notably c ryas Vra Sena and K rtikeya.

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3.0 General and specific attributes of substances. As we have seen earlier, each substance has infinite attributes. Some attributes out these are generic in nature i.e. found in more than one substance types while the others are termed specific or unique to a particular substance type. Generic attributes which are found in all substances, be they sentient or insentient are as follows:
Existence / eternal existence (Astitva) i.e. by its virtue the substance exists forever and can be neither created nor destroyed
Causal efficiency or functionality (Vastutva) i.e. every substance is capable of performing a purposeful action (artha kriy )
Substantive-ness or fluency or persistence (Dravyatva) i.e. due to this attribute the substance keeps on changing e.g. the ocean keeps on changing its modes by having waves at every moment but it always stays as ocean.
Objectivity or measurability (Prameyatva) i.e. by its virtue a substance can become an object of knowledge.
Extension in the space / occupying space or some sort of form (Prade atva) i.e. by virtue of this attribute a substance can occupy space and have some shape / form.
Eternal persistence or identity / essence / invariance (Agurulaghutva) i.e. an attribute which prevents the substance and its attributes from leaving its substance hood or attributes, e.g. sugar even if mixed with poison does not leave its nature of being sweet.
Generic attributes which are found in more than one substance types:
Insentient e.g. matter, space, time etc except living beings. Non-concrete e.g. all substance types except matter.
•
Specific attributes, specific to a particular substance type are as follows:
•
Living beings: Pudgala: Dharma: Adharma: Space: Time:
Knowledge, intuition, conduct, bliss, energy etc. Touch, taste, odour, colour or from etc. Supports motion Supports rest Provide space to stay / exist. Supports change / transformation
We thus conclude discussion on substances as per Jain philosophy. For further details the texts Kunda Kunda's Pac stik ya with commentaries: Nemi Chand's Dravya Sa graha with commentaries; Kunda Kunda's Pravacana S ra Part I with commentary, Pa c dhy yi by Pt. Rj Mal and Um swami's Tattv rtha S tra are recommended:
References
Anena dhim n vyavaharam rga buddhv punrbodhati suddham rgama. NiyamaS ra kala a 52. Dravya Sa graha -1 Pravacana S ra - 80 Tattvar tha S tra 5/29 ibid 5/30
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pta Mms , karik 72 Tattvar tha S tra 5/38 Dravya Sa graha -1/2 ibid 1/16 Dravya Sa graha - 1/17 ibid 1/18 ibid 1/17 ibid 1/18 ibid 1/19 ibid 1/20 ibid 1/1 Parm tma Prak a 2/29, commentary. ibid 2/29 commentary -- Samaya S ra commentary 309 Samaya S ra chapter kart - karma Pac stik ya Sa graha
18
21
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2.2.b
Samyagdar ana: Right Belief
Dr. Sushma Singhvi
1.0 Introduction Man's attempt to explain widely different human conditions has yielded religious and philosophical systems of incredible diversity. Within a given cultural environment however, it is usually possible to discover certain core beliefs "given" accepted by nearly all thinkers of that culture, which underlie the multitude of conflicting doctrinal developments. The history of Indian thought provides a clear example of this phenomenon; indeed, we can properly understand the doctrines of virtually all-Indian schools as efforts to encompass consistently, within a soteriological framework, the implications of two basic assumptions:
i. Man has been forever bound in a state of suffering. ii. This bondage is fundamentally due to some kind of spiritual ignorance.
This ignorance receives various names: avidy for the Buddhists, aviveka for the skhya, mithy tva for the Jainas. In every case, however, it represents a misunderstanding or lack of awareness of one's "true nature", as well as of the factors, which cause that nature to be hidden from manifestation. Thus it follows that elimination of ignorance provides the key whereby the shackles of bondage, hence of suffering, can be removed.
Certain difficulties come immediately to mind. If one has been in state of bondage since beginningless time, why will he suddenly turn away from delusion and set out upon a new course? What are the conditions that could bring about this momentous shift, conditions which have never been present before? These are among the most difficult questions that any stereological system must face, for each possible answer presents its own set of problems. If, for example, the factors required to turn a soul away from delusion and towards salvation that has been eternally present in that soul in some potential, then we must seek the crucial external causes, which bring those potentialities into a manifest state. Can the soul, moreover, in any way influence the appearance of such "efficient causes", or does it remain totally at their mercy, languishing helplessly in bondage until some force beyond its control brings them into play?
2.0 The Jain Solution Perhaps more than any other Indian religious tradition, Jainism is imbued with an emotional commitment to self-reliance. Thus Jains have found both theistic (grace) and fatalistic (sudden escape) doctrines repugnant, for these doctrines not only negate the efficacy of the T rtha karas path, but they totally deny soul's ability to influence its own future.
Jains grant the soul great powers of manipulation with regard to the karmas. For a Jain the knowledge, bliss, and energy can never be totally extinguished, whereas karmic influence is subject to complete elimination. Hence the soul possesses a sort of built-in advantage, an ever-present tendency to develop its qualities and temporarily reduce the influence of the karmas. When Jains say that a soul is free to work at its own salvation, it is this inherent tendency towards self-improvement that is referred to. Thus a soul will again and again progress to transitory states of relative purity and insight, only to be driven back by onrushing karmas, until a moment when the attainment of such a state coincides with the sort of external "activating" conditions mentioned above. We do not know precisely what happens at that moment; it would appear, however, that the bhavyatva (capability to become free) is moved to exert its catalytic influence upon the energy qualities, thereby redirecting it towards mok a. The mysterious event completely alters the future of the soul; its bonds of sa s ra begin to unravel, and ultimate salvation is assured.
The first step therefore is to encompass the notion of samyaktva; it is due to which the further development is possible.
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2.1 Definitions of Samyagdar ana Samyagdar ana is rendered as right belief or right faith or right attitude or right conviction. From the real point of view, samyagdar ana means a sense of realization of self. From practical point of view samyagdar ana means a firm belief in the fundamental principles of Jainism, as propounded by Jinas. Vyavah ra samyagdar ana i.e. practical point of view may be said to be the means of ni caya samyagdar ana i.e. real point of view. Nature of samyagdar ana as defined and expressed by different c ryas in their works is given as follows:
The Uttar dhyayana defines samyaktva as belief in the nine categories. In the Dar anap huda, Kundakunda also defines samyagdar ana as a firm belief in the six substances and nine categories.? In Moksap huda, he expresses the same idea in different words by defining samyagdar ana as belief in the dharma devoid of violence, in faultless deity and the way of life, prescribed by the omniscients. In Niyamas ra, samyagdar ana is explained as a belief in liberated souls, Jaina scriptures and Jaina principles." In Mul c ra, the samyagdar ana is defined as belief in nine categories.
Sv mik rtikeya added belief in non-absolutism as a condition for samyagdar ana He held that the nature of nine categories cannot be rightly ascertained without the help of pram na and naya
Um sv ti, who is followed by Am tacandr c rya and Nemicanda Siddh ntacakravarti, defines samyagdar ana as belief in the seven predicaments of Jainism.'
Samantabhadra defines samyagdar ana as a belief in true deities, true scriptures and true teachers as against the three follies of belief in pseudo-deva, pseudo-belief and pseudo-teacher. Samantabhadra also speaks of the eight essentials of right faith and the necessity of freedom from eight types of pride for a right believer.
Vasunandi in the r vak c ra says that, in addition to belief in the seven predicaments, samyagdar ana includes belief in liberated soul and Jain scriptures.
2.2 Characteristics of right belief. Criterion or Right Belief, according to Jainism is the manifestation of the following characteristics:
Pra ama or ama Calmness or tranquility
Samvega
Absence of hankering
Anukamp
Compassion
stikya
Belief in the existence of soul forever, karman etc.
Right belief is the starting point of the life of a r vaka (votary). The essence of a religion is determined by the nature of belief upheld in it. The moral code of a religion necessarily based on the nature of the belief propounded there. The mental and moral discipline prescribed for a layman, sr vaka, in Jainism is inspired by the 5 criterions of belief / faith noted above:
1. An excited person, who becomes the victim of his own ill-considered actions, and is
overcome by such negative ideas as that of rage, hatred and jealousy, cannot focus his energies with a single-minded devotion to the purpose of liberation. The calmness comes
from the realization of the true aim of life. 2. A true aspirant of liberation is not only detached from all worldly pleasures but is also afraid
of them because these allurements can take him away from the right path. This is called samvega and comes from the realization of the fact that happiness comes from within and
not from without, hence he remains absent of hankering. 3. A right believer is not a bigoted, hard-hearted and bitter man but has respect for all, willing
to let others lead a happy life, and has tendency of proving helpful in the miseries of others.
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4. He understands the equality of all. 5. He has friendship for all (maitr) but feels special bondage of kinship for those who are
spiritually advanced (pramoda). Those who are away from truth, he tries to improve their lot (karma). But if they do not listen to him, he does not develop any hatred for them; he rather becomes indifferent to them (m dhyasthya).
Besides these five primary moral qualities, a right believer is asked to renounce eight types of pride, i.e. the position of relatives on the maternal side (j timada), the position of relatives on the paternal side (kulamada), beauty (rupamada), strength (aktimada), austerities (tapomada) and honour (arcan mada)
The awakening of belief / faith: the spiritual awakening of a person sometimes takes place after a prolonged association with saints and study of religious literature. It can also take place spontaneously without any effort. This awakening is called samyagdar ana i.e. right belief or right view of things. This right view is technically called samyagdarsana which we have rendered as right belief / faith. Belief in essence is a kind of knowledge based on the vision of truth. In Jainism, this belief is explained as the consequence of lessening the intensity of passions as anger, pride deceit, and greed. These passions have a deluding faith. They act as impediments to spiritual awakening. These impediments are due to Karman, which covers and mutilates the inherent qualities of the soul.
2.3 Samyaktva is of ten Kinds: 1 Nisaggarui
Spontaneous faith in Jva, Aj va, merit (Pu ya), demerit (P pa). Influx (nisargaruci) ( srava), stoppage (Samvara) etc. in the framework of substance, space,
time and modes, as propounded by the Jina. 2 Uvaesarui
Firm faith in the above mentioned tenets on the basis of the instructions of a (upade aruci) follower (with imperfect knowledge of the Jina or the Jina himself. 3 A arui j ruci) Faith in the command (of the enlightened one) as a result of the suppression
of lust, hatred, delusion and ignorance. 4 Suttarui (s traruci) Firm faith consequent upon the deep study of scriptural law in all its varieties 5 Byarui (bjarui) Faith that permeates arising from a single word through all others, even as a
drop of oil poured in water spreads over the entire surface 6 Abhigamarui Faith arising from a deep understanding of the scriptural law.
(abhigamaruci) 7 Vitth rarui Faith arising from a detailed study of everything through various organs of
(vist raruci) knowledge and different standpoints. 8 Kiriy rui (Kriy ruci) Faith arising from a genuine active interest in the triple gems namely
Da sa ga, Jn na, and Caritta, as well as penance, modesty, truth, careful
conduct and restraining. 9 Samkhevarui Faith arising from a brief study of the scriptural lore, which is free from
(samk eparuci) obstinate attachment to wrong views, even though not well versed in them. 10 Dhammarui Faith arising from a deep understanding of the ontological realities, the
(dharmatuci) scriptural lore and the moral and mental discipline.
Four fold Sammatta saddaha (samyaktva raddh na):- A true cultivation of faith consists in acquaintance with the highest truth and association with those who have realized the truth and avoidance of the company of the misdirected people."
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Strong desire to hear the scriptures.
2.4 Three Signs of Sammatta: 1 Sussus 2 Dhammar o 3 Gurudev n m Jah Sam hiya, Vey vacce
Niyama
Predilection for the practice of the discipline.
Compulsive reverence for the teacher and the
deity. 11
2.5 The five transgressions (Atic ras) of Sammatta: 1 Samk (amk )
Doubt about the variety of the tenets propounded by the Jina in
part or as whole. 2 Kamkh (k mk)
Desire mundane or super mundane. This is the interpretation given by Um sw ti and Siddhasenagani. 12 Haribhadra in vasyakat ka has given a different meaning, which appears more plausible and cogent. As addiction to or appreciation of many fold doctrines, (k mkh annannamsa a
gaho) in part or in whole. 3 Vittigicch (vicikits)
Misdirected intelligence resulting in doubt about the outcome of a spiritual discipline.
Appreciation of followers of heretical creeds.
4 Parap samdapasams
(parap kh mdapra ams) 5 Parap samdapasamthava
(parap kh mdasamstava)
Association with heretical teachers, 13
The fourth transgression differs from the fifth in as much as the former means secretly thinking admiringly of wrong believers, whereas the latter means announcing the praise of wrong believers loudly. Banarasi Dasa in his N takasamayas ra, (13-38) has given the following list of transgressions of right faith:
Fear of public censure Attachment towards worldly pleasures Thinking of attainment of worldly pleasures in the next birth Praise of false scriptures Service of wrong believers.
2.6 The eight limbs of Sammatta: The firmness of an aspirant's belief is indicated by the following eight qualities, which are essential characteristics of Samyagdar ana. All these characteristics together make the faith complete and effective.
Nissamkiya (nis amkita): absence of doubt the variety of the tenets propounded by the Jina in part or as whole. The right believer, because of this quality, is free from the seven fears of
This world Another world Death Pain Accident Absence of protector and Absence of forts, etc. 14
This shows a state of complete fearlessness, which is obviously necessary for a moral life.
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Nikkamkhiya (nihk m ita): absence of appreciation of manifold doctrine or having no desire for the worldly pleasures. It comes from the firm belief that worldly enjoyments are ephemeral, fraught with miseries, root of sins and evils. A right believer, therefore, has a detached view of life. According to Am tacandr c rya, he has non-absolutistic attitude and avoids one-sided view. 16
Nivvittigicch (nirvicikits): absence of doubt in the result of spiritual discipline. A right believer should not have any repulsion from the impurity of the body of a person possessed of three jewels."
Am dhadiddhi (am dhad ti): un-deluded vision. Right believer does not follow the wrong path even if it may sometimes lead to seemingly favorable results. He disassociates himself from that person who follows the wrong path. 18 This is not out of any hatred for them but because of the possible dangers of deviating from right path by their association. He should not recognize violence as right under ant fear or greed. He should avoid pseudoguru, pseudo-deva, pseudo-scripture, pseudoconduct and common false conceptions. 21
Uvavr hana (upab ha a): confirmation of faith. The right believer should perpetually endeavor to increase his spiritual qualities. 22 Another name for these characteristics is Uvav ha (upag hana), consisting in concealing one's own merit and demerits of others. 23
Thir ara a (sthir kara a): steadfastness of faith. Any time any one may be tempted by passions to follow the wrong path. It is the duty of the aspirant to re-establish him and others also on the right path by reminding him of its glory. 24
Vacchala (v tsalya): Affection for faith. It includes respect for spiritual principles and for those who follow them. One must be devoted to meritorious persons, show respect to them and speak nobly.
26
Pabh van (prabh van ): glorification of faith.27: One should try to propagate the truth to others also by means of charity, austerity, devotion, profound learning, by such means as are suited to the time and place. 28
It may be observed here that the first five characteristics pertain to the individual life of the aspirant whereas the last three pertain to the social aspect of religion.
A question is raised on the numerical discrepancy between these eight limbs and five atic ras in respect of faith / belief. Expanding the connoting of the last two atic ras namely parap samdapasams and parap samdasamthava to cover the opposite of the last five limbs eliminates the discrepancy.
Kundakunda in his Samayas ra has also explained the above eight characteristics from a different point of view. 29
3.0 The process of Samyagdar ana There is always a tendency in the soul to run away from the circle of worldly existence. But this centrifugal tendency is thwarted by a centripetal force that keeps the soul tracing the circumference of the world process. The centripetal force consists in the passion of attraction (r ga) and repulsion (dve a) or rather root like perverted attitude (mithy tva) towards truth. The centrifugal tendency is the soul's inherent capacity for emancipation, that is, the part of characteristics potency of the soul, which still remains unhindered or unobscured. It is this centrifugal tendency that ultimately leads the soul to the right path, to the virtuous ones only, because different individuals have different degrees of power manifested in them.
The soul, during the course of its eternal wanderings in various forms of existence, sometimes is possessed of an indistinct vision of its goal and feels an impulse from within to realize it. This impulse is the work of eternal centrifugal tendency. The impulse is a kind of manifestation of energy,
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technically known as yath prav tta Kara a. It is not always affective and so does not always invariably lead to spiritual advancement. But sometimes it so strong and irresistible that it goads the soul to come to grip with the centripetal force and to weaken it to an appreciable extent in the struggle that ensues. Here the soul is face to face with what is known as gra thi or the Gordian knot of intense attachment and repulsion. If the impulse is strong enough to cut the knot, the soul is successful in the struggle and ought to be emancipated sooner or later within a limited time. The struggle consists in the twofold process known as ap rvakara a and aniv ttakara a.
By the yath prav ttakara a the soul is confronted with the concentrated force of the passions, and the other two kara as enable the soul to overpower and transcend the force. The force of the passions was there from all eternity. But it is only on some occasions that the soul is feelingly conscious of this force. Such consciousness means coming face to face with the knot (gra thi). This consciousness is the work of the process called yath prav ttakara a. During this process the soul undergoes progressive purification every instant and binds the karmic matter of appreciably less duration. Further more, there is increase in the intensity of the bondage of auspicious karmas accompanied with the decrease in the intensity of the bondage of inauspicious karmas. And as a result the soul gets an indistinct vision of goal of its tiresome journey. This may be thought as the implication of the conception of granthi- and the soul's coming face to face with it.
Originally the soul lies in a state of spiritual slumber. Gradually it awakens and becomes selfconscious. Moral and spiritual consciousness dawn only when it is sufficiently conscious of and confronted with the force that has eternally been keeping it ensnared and entrapped. But this consciousness alone is not sufficient to enable the soul to overcome the force. A more powerful manifestation of energy is necessary for the purpose. And the soul that lack in this requisite energy fails to fulfil the mission and withdraw before the force. It is only the soul having the requisite energy by way of the two process of ap rvakara a and aniv ttikara a at the end of which the soul develops such spiritual strength as is destined to gradually develop and lead it to the final emancipation. In the process of ap rvakara a, which like the yath niv ttakara a lasts only for less than forty-eight minutes, antaramuhurta, the soul passes through such states as it never experienced before (ap rva). The soul had considerably reduced the duration and intensity of the karmas in the process of yath niv ttakara a, and reduced them still further in the ap rvakara a. The kara as are spiritual impulses that push the soul to fulfil its mission and realize the goal. And this is possible only if the soul can reduce the duration and intensity and also the mass of the karmic matter associated with it. What the soul did automatically without any moral or spiritual efforts until now, it now does consciously with spiritual exertion. During the process of ap rvakara a the soul undergoes such purification, as has colossal effect on the duration and intensity of the bondage of new karmas as well as the accumulated ones. This is made possible by the following four sub processes, which begin simultaneously from the very first, instant of the main process:
1. sthitigh ta: destruction of duration
2. rasagh ta: destruction of intensity
3. gu a reni: the construction of a complex series of the groups of karmic atoms,
arranged in geometrical progression with an incalculable common ratio, transplanted from the mass of karmic matter that would have come to rise after an antarmuhurta for the sake of their premature exhaustion by fruit and
4. Ap rvasthitibandha: an unprecedented type of bondage of small duration, whose length much smaller than that the duration hitherto bound.
The soul undergoes yet another sub process known as
5. Gu asamkrama: transference of karmic matter.
This process transfers a portion of the karmic matter of the inauspicious type of karma to some other types of karma. The mass of karmic matter thus transferred increases every moment until the end of the ap rvakara a process.
There are thus five characteristics sub-processes in the process of ap rvakara a. At the end of this process the knot (granthi) is cut, never to appear again.
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The first process of yath prav ttakara a leads one face to face with the knot and the second process of aniv ttikar a leads the soul to the verge of the dawn of the first enlightenment that comes like a flash on account of the absolute subsidence of the karmic matter of the vision deluding mithy tvamohan ya karma.
The soul undergoes the same five sub-processes in the process of antarakara a, whereby the soul divides into two parts the karmic matter of the vision deluding Karma that was to come into rise after the aniv ttikara a. The first of the two parts the soul forces into rise during the last few instants of aniv ttikara a while the rise of the second part is postponed for an antarmuh rta during which no karmic matter of the vision deluding karma is allowed to rise and produce its effect on the soul. Thus at the end of the process of aniv ttikara a the vision deluding karma has no effect on the soul for an antarmuh rta. This antarmuh rta is the period when the souls enjoys the first dawn of enlightenment or the spiritual vision i.e. samyagdar ana or samyaktva the manifestation of Pra ama, samvega, nirveda, anukamp & stikya.
4.1 Compassion (Anukamp)
The soul has what are called "attributes" or characteristics or qualities. The attributes are manifested or become apparent in various human behaviours; one such being that can be termed as anukamp that the compassion, (beyond the commonly experienced emotional love) and therefore not susceptible to the changes and uncertainties which occur with emotion. That is, emotional love can change to the emotions of hatred and bitterness. The notion of compassion (unconditional love) is neither based on psychological need nor on reciprocal benefit. One does not love unconditionally or one does not become compassionate for the "pay-off". Compassion is some underlying force or energy, which when expressed results in unbiased manifestation of beneficial human characteristics such as sense of equality, caring, releasing misery. Compassion is the fundamental attribute of human nature, valued throughout the globe, and throughout the ages.
Granted hatred, harm and destruction have occurred under the guise of love but this is not the same as compassion that is an aspect of a more developed human nature. Compassion attribute of soul motivates or determines the benevolent conduct of people in their relation to other living beings. There are cases of young children, who without prior influence refuse to eat meat because it is from animals that have been killed, or because they do not want animals to be hurt or to suffer.
This nature instinct of compassion attribute influences people's conduct and result in their attempting not to harm living beings.
It comes from within, 'inside' and not from outside, this natural need of anukamp motivates non harming behaviour towards nonhumans and which results among other in greater feelings of harmony, peace, happiness, and identity with them.
Philosophies, one of them like Jaina philosophy can do a great service to many people by providing a rational base for what is a complex and often difficult to articulate, fundamental human experience, traditionally referred to as the 'soul'.
Society at large is experiencing an increase in incidents of violence leading to harm and detrimental debilitating feelings of fear and insecurity. In light of the increasing need of humans to give in harmonious co-existence with other life-forms on this planet and importance of compassion for such occurrence, it would be important and beneficial to investigate samyagdar ana phenomenon with its kinds and limbs, so that humans can further develop non harming aspect of their nature.
Our own happiness and well being is linked to our treatment of all living beings. Samyagdar ana provides the insights into the reality of our non-harming nature represented by ama or pra ama, the first characteristics of samyagdar ana. Regarding anukamp, the compassion, the logical questions arise:
How can someone love another being and at the same time be willing to kill that being?
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How can someone possess the capacity to love and happiness and also the capacity to kill? The current animal rights movements has primarily been focusing on the treatment of certain nonhumans discussing upon the characteristics that animals have in common with humans. Based on this ethical philosophical standpoint each living being should receive the same moral treatment as that advocated for humans, that is equal concern, care and consideration. Thus the thrust has been on presenting a greater understanding of what is know as the 'other'. Service to other is service to self and others, service to individual and universe.
Why does the sight or thought of other's suffering (animal suffering etc.) provoke a strong reaction to assist them in some people and little or no reaction in others?
Why do some people attempt not to harm any living being while other people do not hesitate to exploit and kill non humans if they desire so?
Why people change from harming to no harming?
It is because of manifestation of inherent attribute 'anukamp! It is the self that enables the development of such benevolent behavior. Some may say this change is a subject matter of psychology and sociology. Yet the philosophy of self also involves these questions. If someone professes to love animal, one cannot kill and eat them or satisfy fashion desire like using promoting use of animals for testing cosmetics, encouraging use of silk, leather etc. Knowledge & practice of anukamp can resolve the contradiction of love and killing, overcoming the emotional love by anukamp, the compassion.
The question is 'is anukamp possible?' The answer is yes; it is not only possible but it is found to be the expression of fundamental nature of human in their ideal state, perfect state.
Emotions are subject to change often depending upon ever changing situations and circumstances. Anukamp is an attribute of self or soul, this knowledge and reason can overcome the emotional terrorism and hatred.
Concern for other life forms is the underlying principle of anukamp Anukamp is an expression of permanent pure soul, which implies consistency, and sustained impartiality overtime. This anukamp is natural not conditional, and represents pure soul, it cannot change in hatred or disliking.
Lack of energy or fatigue may affect emotions, anger, hatred may manifest in place of love but anukamp is not subjective, it is universal and based on self-control, it cannot cause destruction, pain, and suffering. Hatred and happiness cannot live together. Happiness out of compassion is an attribute of soul; it does not include killing, harming and hatred.
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3.1
Karma Doctrine of Jainism (1/2)
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 The Karma Doctrine The word karma has many meanings namely to act, activity, and special types of matter particles which get associated with soul.
The doctrine of Karma is the central dogma of the Indian religions. It means: every action, every word, and every thought produces, besides its visible, an invisible a transcendental effect called as v san (trace) or seeds left behind. Further every action produces certain potential energies which, under given conditions, are changing themselves into actual energies, forces which, either as rewarded or punished, enter sooner or later into appearance. As in the case of a bond which, although the amount borrowed may long ago have been spent, continues to exist and only loses its validity on the repayment of the capital sum, so also the invisible effect of an action remains in existence long after the visible one has disappeared." This effect does not confine itself to the present life, but continues beyond it; it destines qualitatively and quantitatively the state after death. Actions performed during the present existence are the causes of the future existence, and the present life is, in its condition and duration, the result of the actions of the preceding one. The picture at Annex I describes beautifully this doctrine of karma.
Thus the natural difference between individuals, one finds, are explanation that is so plausible that inversely they prove the validity of the Karman theory. The idea of the eternity of the transmigration (sa s ra), as soon as life was contemplated pessimistically, necessarily led to the endeavor to bring the painful re-birth to an end and eradicate the power of the Karman.
Jains are the most realistic of all that have had their origin in India. Their fundamental idea of karma as a complexity of material particles infecting the sinful souls is indeed unique. The fine matter called pudgala (as known in Jainism) particles, which can become karma, fills the entire cosmos. An empirical soul does some activity, as a result of its energy (vrya) quality through the faculties of mind, speech and body. All these activities are karma and mind, speech and body are the media through which it acts. This is okay. But with these activities, called bh va karma or psychic activities affect subtle matter particles and they get attracted towards the space points of the soul and then form unison with them. However it is to be noted that all matter particles attracted towards the soul are not bounded with it. Bonding of these particles depends on the state of the soul at that time i.e. state of attachment, aversion and passions affecting it at that time. If the soul is free of these impurities (i.e. is in a state of vitr ga or detachment) the attracted particles fall of like dust particles from a shining and polished surface. These subtle particles when bound with soul are called matter or dravya karma and they are concrete and have taste, touch, odour etc. As the empirical soul keeps on performing psychic activities, these material karmas keep on getting bonded with the soul depending on the state of the soul at that time.
That the soul, pure in itself, is polluted through its actions and, in order to regain its natural state, must be freed from its stain has been adopted by the Jains in the real sense of the word, and has been worked up into an original system, which even now is the foundation of the belief of over five million people.
The matter that entered into union with soul separates itself into a greater number of particles, the karma praktis with varying effects. Their number and character are conditional upon the conduct of soul; if it is good, the j va assimilates good karma species, he binds good karmas; when bad, he binds bad karma. The karma may stay latent for a long time but may appear after a long time or quickly when the right moment arises. The duration and intensity of the effect of karma depends upon the state of mind (adhyavas ya) at the moment of assimilation. When its efficacy expires it becomes extinguished.
Matter eternally infects the soul; soul's union with the karma has no beginning and, at every moment it is gathering new matter and in natural course of things has no ending. The deliverance of soul from
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the karman is, therefore, only possible through a series of special processes by the j va to first eliminate the absorption of new karman and to eliminate the karma already bound with it.
This doctrine of karma has been remarkably described by Jains in a systematic manner. Texts like Sa kha d gama, Pa casa graha, Karamgra thas, Goma as ra etc give detailed explanations of this doctrine. Salient feature of Jain karma doctrine can thus be listed as follows:
Karmas are material aggregates of extremely fine or subatomic wavelets pervading entire cosmos like sunlight. They are sense imperceptible. Not all the above particles are karmas. It is only those particles, which are capable of associating with j vas, are karmas. Karma influences the physical and spiritual properties of j va by
AAAAAA
Obscuring Defilements Counteracting Chaining with attachment and aversion Linking with past and future Making j va dependent and Creating sufferings for him.
Their existence is conformed by difference in physical and spiritual conditions of j vas. The karmas may be Sacred or profane, General or quasi- physical and Volitional or destructive. The materiality of karmas is confirmed due to
►
Color etc. in them, Origination of volitions and feelings of pleasure and pain etc.
The karma undergoes bonding and de-bonding The karma doctrine is not applicable to
► ►
Liberated souls /siddhas Permanent nigodas or micro organism Non-liberation-ables /abhavya.
The Jains have dealt karma doctrine under four heads namely:
NA
Name and kind of karmas
Definition, causes and mechanism of bonding ► Possibility of shedding of karmas > Methods of shedding
2.0 Name and kinds of Karmas Karmas can be contemplated from four points of view, namely: i. According to the manner of their effect (prak ti) or species
According to the duration of their effect (sthiti) iii. According to the intensity of their effect (rasa) iv. According to their quantity, i.e. number of their prade a bonded
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2.1 Species (prak ti)
As indicated earlier, the soul's state (and its activities in that state) transforms simple karmik matter into appropriate 'specific function karmas' which interact with soul in their own ways. There are 8 primary species (m la-prak ti) of the karma, namely:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
V.
vi.
vii.
viii.
Jn vara a, which obscures knowledge, i.e. affect knowledge quality of the soul.
Dr an vara a, which obscures undifferentiated cognitionor intuition.
Vedan ya, which produces the feeling of joy and grief,
Mohan ya, which obstructs belief and conduct, i.e. misguides the soul and make it confused and desirous of others.
yus, which determines the duration of life for the next birth,
N ma, which gives the various factors of individuality through body features.
Gotra, which gives family and surroundings,
Antar ya, which hinders the j va in his capability of resolution and enjoyment, limit the energy (v rya) attribute of the soul to weaken every aspect of the soul.
Each of these m la-prak tis is divided into a number of uttaraprak tis i.e. sub-species. The latter can, on their part, be separated into yet smaller sub-divisions, so that the entire number of the karmas is exceedingly large as are given in Annex II. Thus we see there are a total of 148, which can exist (satt). Similarly in activation (udaya) state of Karma, these prak tis number only 122 as those associated with bondage are not included and the 20 of taste, touch, odour and colour are taken as just 4 instead of 20. Similarly in Ba dha state the number goes down to 120 as two prak tis of mohan ya i.e. samyagmithy tva and samyaktva cannot be bound by j va.
The Karma prak tis can be grouped in two classifications namely gh ti i.e. obscuring (which to some extent affect the nature of the soul) and ag hti or non-obscuring (which do not affect the nature of the soul but are to be enjoyed by it). These distinctions of the karmas are important for Jains mainly to defend their acts on the basis of morality. For example it is said that Lord R abha in his previous birth put a mouth band on a cow so that the cow does not eat; as a result of which during his ascetic life he had to go without food for six months; charities or service of monks result in nice births in heavens etc or not sharing or imparting knowledge to others may result in knowledge obscuring karmas affect that individual later in the present or future lives.
2.2 Duration of Karma Effect (sthiti):
The time that karma remains associated with the soul is called duration (sthiti) of the karma. Sthiti literally means existence of karma with the soul. The maximum duration of all karmas whether good or bad is considered inauspicious and the minimum duration is considered good. Duration of karma of a living being is dependent on his psychic state (adhyavas ya) and therefore on the strength of passions (ka yas). The more sinful a being is, the more is the duration of the karma bonded while the purer the psychic states the shorter is the duration of bondage.
The duration is of two stages i.e. state called ab dh of karma (when the karma just exists as associated with the soul) and the other when the karman is active. Duration of different karma is different and expressed in the units of time from smallest being samaya and the largest being utsarpi. For details please see Doctrine of Karma by Glasenapp.
2.3 The Strength of Karma Effect (rasa or anubh ga)
The karma shows its effect, according to circumstances, in a more or less similar manner. The intensity of this effect corresponds to weakness or otherwise of the four ka yas / passions (anger, deceit, greed and pride). According to the four-degrees (anant nubandhi, pratyakh na, apratyakh na and sa javallan) of passions, four degrees of strength are recognized.
With the bad prak tis the strongest (anant nuba dhi), the 4th degree of the rasa is produced by the most violent passions, those of life long duration. Similarly the decreasing intensities are produced by pratyakh na, apratyakh na and sa javallan states of passions with the last one being the weakest. With the good karma species, reverse is the case. However a rasa of first degree i.e. anant nubandhi
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does not exist with the good praktis which are discussed in stages of spiritual purification ( g asth na) or mysticism doctrine in the karmagra thas and such texts.
2.4 The Quantity of Space Points (prade as) of Karma. The j va assimilates karma matter, which is within its own space points, called prade as, (infinitely small space of the j va which can be grossly compared to a pixel in a photo) and not matter lying outside of them, just as fire only seizes inflammable material which is lying within its reach. Therefore every part of the soul is filled with karma particles, which if the necessary conditions are fulfilled, adhere to the va just like dust to a body besmeared with oil. The j va seizes a karma particle simultaneously with all his parts, because an exceedingly close connection exists between all the prade as of a j va, as with the links of a chain.
The Karma particles absorbed by the J va develops into the 8 species of the Karma, as food consumed at a meal changes itself into blood and other constituents of the body. The shares, which fall to the 8 m la-praktis, differ from one another; their measure corresponds to their sthiti. The part following to m la-prak tis is then further divided among the uttara prak tis. Thus the extent of the prade abandha of the different praktis does not depend on ethical factors, as with sthiti and rasa bandhas but upon mechanical ones.
3.0 Concept of Ba dha (bondage). Sa vara (stopping influx) and Nirjar (dissociation) of Karmas
3.1 Karmic Bonding (2) Karmic bonding may be described under four heads:
ii. iii. iv.
Bonds (nature and definition) Kinds of Bonds Bondable (Aggregates) and Bonder j vas
Bonding requires association of at least two entities. The bonders must have the necessary properties for bonding. Bhagavati indicates presence of an adhesive (sneha) between the j va and karma particles to lead to bonding. However, material karmas and non-material soul cannot have bonding together.
In current science, the atoms bind together due to opposite charges with necessary internal and external energy for bonding. They have been called as 'smooth and rough' in scriptures with lightning as their example. The material karmas and worldly j vas should also have these properties. The free karma particles are very powerful, but a large amount of their energy is spent during their conversion into bondable karmas. Still, they have sufficient energy to cause continuous j va-karma bonding. The worldly j va's association with karmas is already charged. These karmas particles are charged as described in scriptures:
3.1.1 Theories of Bonding Currently, there are many theories regarding karmic bonding, some traditional and some recent based on scientific experimentations. The first one has developed from time to time based on factors of bonding and nature of karma and j va while the latter are the results of developments of atomic theory.
In the first instance, Jainism was taken as an ascetic religion. All its theories were based on their spiritual progress. Accordingly, the first theory involved bonding due to activities emerged from physical and social possessions. The theory postulates that
✓
All activities are sinful and they bind karmas. Activities and Karmas are synonyms. The activities (mental, speech or physical) emerged from passions; attachment and aversion etc result in binding karma.
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✓ ✓
The control on activities (mental, speech or physical) leads to lesser bonding It is only actual actions, which leads to bonding other factors are just instrumental. The activities of ascetics performed vigilantly may not lead to rebirth. All activities of laity are long-time bonding ones.
✓
The scriptures mention 25 kinds of activities, which may be incidental, natural, induced due to ignorance or thought that may bind karmas.
Similarly there is theory of functional consciousness, which states When entities or sensual perceptions are in proximity, they create passions, which are a form of consciousness and which, then, lead to bondage'. Recently Kaccara, Nahata and Mardia have developed bonding theories based on formation of molecules and chemical compounds.
3.1.2 Nature of Karmic Bond There are different opinions about factors in karmic influx and bonding, which are simultaneous processes. Their description is scattered in many places under different contexts and, hence, they vary from 1 to 28. Dhaval favors four causes with 57 sub-varieties. Some other texts like Tattv rthas tra follow five causes with 72 varieties. In fact, ignorance, different kinds of volitions and wrongness are the basic causes. On detailed analysis we find that almost all kinds of internal and external activities lead to bondage. The degree of bondage depends upon their nature and intensity. The scriptures give specific details under spiritual stages. One must see that all the causes are extensions of only one causes or wrongness. The j va or empirical soul is taken as karma bonded since beginningless time.
According to the moral value of their activity - and corresponding also to the kind of karma, which they bind - the j vas can be divided into six categories. The first is characterized by the possession of the greatest sinful, while each following one improves and the last is finally standing in the state of highest attainable purity. The attainment to one of these six classes shows itself in the soul externally; the soul, which is free by nature from all distinctions perceptible by the senses, receives colour, taste, smell and touch. In short it becomes a defined type, which distinguishes from the other souls although not recognizable by the senses. This type of soul is called le y . The different le y s are distinguished according to different colours, which they give to the soul namely black, dark blue, gray, fiery red, lotus pink and white. Le y is considered to be a product of passions (ka yas) or activity called yoga in the Jain texts or a product (parima) of 8 karmas by different authors.
3.1.2.1 kinds of Bondage Dhaval and other karma texts have classified karma bonds in many ways including the four major divisions under different heads namely:
Space point bond prade aba dha Species bond prak tibandha Intensity bond rasa or anubh gabandha
Duration bondsthiti bandha
The nature of these bonds has been discussed earlier in section 2.0. The spiritual stages of purification, the different species of karma and their cause and effect are detailed in Dhaval and other karma texts.
3.1.3 The Causes of Bonding
The penetration of matter particle into the soul and its transformation into karma proceeds through the activity (yoga) of the j va. The species of the karma into which the matter can be transformed is,
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in addition to yoga, conditional upon 3 other causes of which each as long as it operates, affords the bandha of a certain number of karmaprak tis. The four causes of bondage are:
Mithy tva Wrong belief. (5) Avirati Lack of self-discipline or lack of interest in observance of the vows. (12) Ka yas Passions. (25) Yoga Activities. (15)
Each of these chief causes is subdivided into a number of subdivisions, the secondary causes as shown in 0 against each. Each chief cause results in binding certain types of karma species. For example hostility against knowledge and undifferentiated cognition (i.e. samyag j na and dar ana): those who know and the means of cognition; disregard of the doctrine and it commandments; lack of respect/ dedication towards teachers and masters and destruction of books are the causes of bondage of knowledge obscuring a n vara a) and undifferentiated cognition (dar an vara a) prak tis.
3.2 Stoppage of Bonding or Sa vara Two processes are required for de-bonding namely: no bonding of new karmas (sa vara) and dissociation of accumulated karmas (nirjar ). In fact, Kundakunda states stoppage is instrumental in dissociation. Bonding is due to passion. Hence, activities or observances without passions are required. As stoppage leads to flushing, the factors for it are also the factors for dissociation. Various texts have mentioned observances for being without passion. Here we shall refer to Tattv rthas tra.
Obstructing of influx i.e. flow of matter particles towards the soul is stoppage (sa vara). It is of two types namely: psychic (bh va) andphysical (dravya). The cessation of activities that lead to transmigration is psychic stoppage (bh va sa vara). When these activities are checked they result in karmic matter being interrupted (dravya sa vara) from flowing towards the soul. The means of stoppage are
Sag ptisamitidharm n prek pari ahajayac ritraih TS 9.2
i.e. Stoppage is affected by attitudes of control /restraint and carefulness, virtue, contemplation, endurance of afflictions and conduct. That by which the soul is protected from the causes of transmigration, is:
Control or restraint (g pti) i.e. restraint on activities of mind speech and body Careful movements to avoid injury to organism in regulation are carefulness (samiti) (care in walking, speaking, food, picking and placing and excretions). Which takes to the desired goals is virtue (dharma). These are Supreme-forgiveness, humility, honesty, non-greediness, truth, restraint, austerity, renunciation, celibacy and nonpossession Meditating on the nature of body and so is contemplation (an prek ). Twelve contemplations are on world (transmigration), soul's transientness, refuge less ness, solitariness, separateness, impurity of body, influx, stoppage, dissociation, rarity of enlightenment and Jina teaching. To endure the bodily afflictions for the sake of dissociation of karmas. Conquest by patient endurance is (pari aha). 22 afflictions are: hunger, thirst, heat, cold, insectbite, nakedness, disliking, women, wandering, seating, sleeping, agony, injury. begging, non-gin, illness. Blades of grass, dirt, reward and honor, wisdom, ignorance and lack of faith Conduct (c ritra) is observance of vows and other spiritual purification activities assigned. Five types of conduct are equanimity, re-initiation after atonement, purity though exclusion, subtle passion and perfect conduct.
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The above means are explained in details in Tattv rthautra S tras IX.4-18. As these are effective in stoppage activities, these are mentioned as instrumental causes. Stoppage is also affected by penance / austerities (tapa). Austerities are mentioned separately to show that it is effective in both stoppages of new bondage of karmas as well as dissociation of existing karmas.
Austerities are
External:
•
Fasting, under eating, giving up one specific taste daily Limitation of begging foods, Lonely habitation Physical mortification;
Internal:
Expiation (9) Reverence (4) Selfless service (10) Self studies (5) Renunciation (2) Meditation (4)
3.3 Karmic De-bonding / Dissociation or Nirjar The spiritual objective of life is to acquire infinite bliss over physical pleasure. Karmas bonded with the soul are the major hindrance factors in fulfilling it. To eliminate their effects, there are the stages of influx, bonding, stoppage, fruition and dissociation to consider and asct suitably.
We have already discussed bonding in details. We have to consider what happens after bonding?
The empirical soul or jva has to develop a force of austerities etc. to counteract the force of attraction and aversion (main causes of bondage). The force of austerities must be greater than the force of attraction and aversion if ultimate spiritual progress is desired. The debonding process i.e. enhancing the forces of austerities and gradual elimination of the forces of attraction and aversion when followed continuously results in elimination of all the karmika bondage with the empirical soul till the pure soul state is achieved.
There are ten operations in Karmic systems where bondage and existence are also counted and which do change the volitional states of j va or empirical soul and lead to de-bonding. These operations result in ten states of the karmas bonded with empirical soul, which shall be discussed later on in section 4.0.
Each of eight types of karma can only be bound so long as its cause of bondage is in existence. If the cause disappears, the bandha of the corresponding prak ti ceases. Further the causes can only eliminated successively and not out of order i.e. mithy tva avirati, ka ya and yoga respectively.
3.3.1 Processes of Dissociation The karmas are bonded with j va for specific duration depending upon intensities of various bonding factors. If we have to de-bond ourselves, we will have to undergo three processes either simultaneously or consecutively:
•
Checking the Influx or bonding of new Karmas Letting Karmas produce their effects naturally or pre-maturely Flushing of accumulated Karmas
The first process is discussed in section 3.2 earlier.
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It is stated that karmas, bonded with the empirical soul already, affect the various capacities of j va until their duration lasts when they are automatically flushed out like ripened fruits from trees. The rate of fruition depends upon substance, location, time, mode, birth state and duration etc. Thus the j va experiences these fruits and then dissociates them off (nirjar ). This process will go on forever unless the first process i.e. stoppage of new bonding takes place. However still it can be almost an endless process as the duration of existence of karmas and their strength of each bonding can be extremely large and it may not be possible for the jva to continue the first process during all this time. Further it is necessary that j va experiences the fruits of karmika activation, even though it is miniscule or not felt sensually.
Jain texts however detailed specific activities, like penance, which speed up the ripening process of existing karmas (like we ripen raw mangoes with some chemicals). This is possible as by definition, as detailed in section 4.0 later, karmas have different states and most of them, except the one, can be changed by prescribed ethical practices and penance/ austerities. Tattvarthas tra in its chapter IX details the means of speedy flushing of karmas associated with the empirical soul. Detailed relationship of various species of karmas and their effect in this process of speedy dissociation are detailed in Dhaval and other Karmagranthas.
The karmic fruition has four varieties like the four bonds. For example the durational fruition has two varieties:
1. With effort 2. Natural
Dissociation when total i.e. when all the karmic bondages are eliminated from empirical soul, then the empirical soul attains the status of pure soul / pure soul / Mok a.
4.0 States or Modes of Karmas Jains do not subscribe to Fatalist and Theists theories and give significant commitment to selfreliance. This means that the soul has innate capability or energy (v rya) to influence its own future even though karmas are extremely powerful and affect soul in many ways shown earlier. Thus soul is the material (up d na k ra a) cause of its defilement and obscuration. Its energy attribute actively differentiates the karmika matter into appropriate efficient cause (nimmita k ra a). The energy attribute of the soul can affect the matter karmas in eight different ways (out of ten possible states of karmas marked by * below out of ten states of karmas). Thus changing the state of the karmas can change auspicious and inauspicious results of karmika activation. Refer Bhagavati s tras no 23, 24, 44, 47, 357 and Gomma as ra karmak nda g ths 441-450. This indeed is the cornerstone of the Jain doctrine of karma and pr rtha / self-effort and refuting fatalists (niyativ da) and theists i.e. no supreme power being benevolent for our achievements or luck. Even though we are born with some past karma and associated luck, still we can change our destiny by our efforts.
An empirical soul makes special efforts, like undertaking meritorious activities (e.g. bhakti / devotion, service to others, charity etc that are practiced to enhance the effectiveness of merit (p nya) karmas or to reduce the duration and intensity of de-meritorious (p pa) karmas; penance and observing vows etc to be able to continue performing spiritual purification activities so as to achieve stoppage and dissociation of karmas. Thus the entire path of spiritual purification is based on these capabilities of the empirical soul and different states of the karmas.
There are ten states of karmas, which are identified as:
1. Bandha or bondage, 2. Satt or existence, 3. Udaya or activation / realization, 4. Udra a or premature fruition 5. Udvartana or increasing the duration and/or intensity of the karma, 6. Apavartana or reducing the duration of existence and activity
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7. Sa krama a or interchange of nature 8. Upa ama or subsidence, 9. Nidhatti or immunization of karmas against certain external activities and 10. Nik can or immunization of karmas against all external activities.
Let us briefly understand these states of karma and their effects and corresponding efforts needed.
4.1 Bandha or Bondage * State of soul and karmas being united is called bandha. In Bhagavati, example of boat with holes and water creeping inside the boat, filling the boat, and making boat and water as one union is given by Mah vra to Gautam to explain bandha of karmas with the empirical soul. Jain philosophy uses the term bandha more in terms of the act of bondage. From the viewpoint of means of activity, the cause or method of bondage is bandha. Similarly the entity, which gets bonded, is bandha. All these meanings are interchangeably used to explain bandha as a system.
4.2 Satt or Existence In Jain philosophy, reality, existence, generality, entity, and object are all called existence. Like storage of cereals after harvesting, storage of the karmas with the empirical soul and the existence of the store of karmas prior to their activation are called satt of karmas. As per ka ya Pr bhata, k rma a varg s (matter particles) after their conversion to karmas till they become active to yield results is satt i.e. the period from the time the karmas get bonded and till they start yielding results is satta.
4.3 Udaya or Activation* The activation of karmas existing with the empirical soul to yield auspicious or inauspicious results is called udaya and from now onwards the karmas are busy yielding appropriate results to be experienced by empirical soul and continue doing so till their active time is finished and they dissociate from the soul. Example of rose flower, which starts emitting pleasant odour from the time it starts to bloom till the flower's bloom time is over at which stage the flower starts shedding its petals and leaves the plant. Udaya is said to be of two types namely result yielding activations called vip ko-udaya (i.e. the karma gets active to yield results and then their dissociation from the soul after its duration is over) and prade oudaya, which implies experience of results in the space points of the empirical soul only and not externally by the j va.
4.4 Udra a or Premature Fruition* It is also like activation of karma with the difference that the activations of karmas is made ahead of their natural time by external special means i.e. the efforts of the empirical soul. Example of greenhouse farming, where the plants are made to grow at an accelerated place to yield fruits/vegetables/flowers by use of ultraviolet light and close control of temperature and humidity. Similarly by special efforts of the soul, the duration of the existence of karmas with the empirical soul is reduced so that the karmas become active i.e. ready to yield fruits like plants) for enjoyment by j va sooner than scheduled originally at the time of bonding.
4.5 Udvartana or Enhancing the Duration and Intensity of the Karma.* The process of increasing the predetermined duration and intensity of a specific species of the karma by special spiritual purification activities of the empirical soul is called Udvartana. Thus Udvartana enhances the characteristics of sthiti bandha and anubhaga bandha.
4.6 Apavartana or Reducing the Duration of Existence and Activity. Apavartana means to reduce. This means the reduction in the duration of the period of existence (sthiti) of karmas with the empirical soul and then the duration of the active period (an bh ga reduction) of the karma existing with the empirical soul is apavartana. This also is achieved by special efforts of the soul.
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4.7 Sa krama a or Interchange of Nature* Sa krama a means interchange of one activity or type of entity with another. Thus the special efforts by which the secondary species (uttara prak tis) of a chief species (m la prakti) of karmas are interchanged (within the same chief species), and this is called sa krama a. Howevery a, Dar anamohan ya and C ritramohan ya m la praktis do not allow sa krama a of their secondary species.
4.8 Upa ama or Subsidence* To suppress activation of the most potent karma of the eight types of karmas i.e. Mohan ya or deluding, and making it ineffective from its activation is called Upa ama or subsidence. During Upa ama of karma, prade o-daya and vip ko-daya do not exist i.e. they are made redundant by special spiritual purification exercises by the empirical soul. Subsidence exists for some time only as the suppressed karma becomes active again or can be dissociated by the empirical soul using special spiritual purification activities. Mohan ya karma cannot be activated, premature fructified, immunized against certain or all activities during subsidence.
4.9 Nidhati or immunization of karmas against certain external activities.* To make the existing karmas immune to udvartana and apvartana is called Nidhati. Nidhati makes the bondage of karmas with the empirical soul stronger so that the results of this bondage are enjoyed by the soul for longer duration or at a later stage and as per the bondage only.
4.10 Nik can or Immunization of Karmas against all external Activities To make the existing karmas immune to all activities of the soul is called Nik can. This implies that the state of Nik can of the karmas is extremely strong where the soul becomes sort of ineffective and just enjoys the effects of the bonded karmas. To some extent it can be said to be a state of niyati or determinism.
Annexe 1 Jain Theory of Karma
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Annexe 11
Karma types / praktis
1.0 Gh ti / obscuring
2.0 Ag hti / non obscuring 1.1 Knowledge obscuring ( n vara a)(5) 2.1 Experience/ (Vedniya) (2) 1.2 Intuition obscuring (Dar an vara a) (9) 2.2 Life span determining (yu a) (4) 1.3 Deluding (Mohniya) (28)
2.3 Body construction (n ma) (93) 1.4 Obstructing/ hindering (Antr ya)(5) 2.4 Family status determining (gotra) (2) S No Name
Subtype 1 Subtype 2 1.1 in vara a 5* 1.2 Dar an vara a 4** 1.3 Mohniya
25+ + Antr ya 2.1 Vedniya St
As t (pain)
(pleasure) 2.2 yu a
4 destinies 2.3 n ma
93^^ 2.4 gotra
high
low
5***
3+
5****
Notes
Mati-k which causes the obscuration of the knowledge transmitted through the senses and mind; ruta-k which produces the obscuration of knowledge acquired by interpreting signs (i.e. Words, writings, gestures): avadhi-k which hinders transcendental knowledge of material things (clairvoyance obscuring): manahpary ya-k which hinders transcendental knowledge of the thoughts of others, (telepathy obscuring) and kevala-k which obscures the omniscience inherent in the i va
****
+
Cak ur-k or through eyes; aca ur-k or sense organs other than eyes; avadhi-k i.e.clairvoyance; kevala-k Nidr -k (pleasant sleep); nidr -nidr -k (deep slumber); praca k (sound sleep while sitting or standing) and sty nag ddhi-k exceeding intensive sleep. D na-k (giving charity); bha-k (receing); bhoga-k (enjoyment); upabhoga-k (repeated enjoyment) and v rya-k (will power.) Dar ana or faith deluding (3) C ritra or conduct deluding. It has 16 passions, 6 small passions and 3 genders. Human, sub human, heaven and hell. States of existences (4) Classes of beings (5), bodies (5); chief and secondary parts of bodies (3), bindings (5), sa gh tans (5), firmness of joints (6), figures (6), colours (5), odours (2), tastes (5), touches (8), n purvis (4), gaits (10), trasa praktis or moving capabilities (10) stahvara praktis i.e. Stationery (10)
++
<
AA
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Table 0.3
S.NO
Categories
SubCategories*
Description
1.0
Knowledge obscuring or does not let full knowledge quality to be utilized by soul.
Gh ti - Obscuring Jn var iya (Knowledge obscuring) Dar navar iya (Vision obscuring) Mohaniya (Deluding))
9
Perception obscuring.
Bliss defiling or misleading the soul from its own nature thereby developing wrong tendencies
Energy obscuring or limiting of the soul
Antr ya (Obstructing) Agh ti - Non obscuring Vedniya (Feeling)
Pertains to feelings or experiences of happiness and unhappiness by soul
N ma (body making)
Responsible for construction and features of the body associate with the soul.
yuh (Age)
Describes the longevity or the life span in the coming destiny or life mode.
Gotra (family determining)
Status determining karma in the current or new life cycle / mode.
References:
[1] Karma Doctrine by Glasenapp [2] Jainendra Siddh nta Sabda Kosa
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3.3
G
asth na - Stages of Spiritual Development
Prof. Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
Jaina Mysticism and the Mystic Way Introduction The equivalent expressions in Jainism for the word 'mysticism' are: ddhopayoga, Arhat 12 and Siddha state 13. Pa dita Pa dita Mara a Param tman-hood 15). Svasamaya 6 Pa dita Pa dita Mara all, s marthya-Yoga (8), Ahi s 19), un nacetan [10), Sayambhu '11), Samatva '12), etc. All these expressions convey identical meaning of realizing the transcendental self. The traditional definition of Jaina mysticism may be stated thus: Mysticism consists in the attainment of Arhathood or Siddhahood through the medium of Samyagdar ana (spiritual awakening), Samyagjin na (value knowledge), and Samyakc ritra (ethico-spiritual conduct) after dispelling Mithy dar ana (spiritual perversion) Mithy jň na (perverted value knowledge), and Mithy c ritra (perverted conduct). (13) Kundakunda (1st cent. AD) departs from this terminology when he says: 'Mysticism consists in realizing the Param tman (transcendental self) through the Antar tman (internal self) after renouncing the Bahir tman (external self) 14 Haribhadra (7th cent A. D.) also employs a different terminology when he announces: 'Mysticism consists in arriving at the state of Vrttisamk aya (cessation of mental states) through the stages of Samyagd ti and C ritr after abandoning the stage of Apunarbandhaka 115) (Mithy drsti in transition). 16 At another place he says, "Mysticism consists in attaining to Par drsti (transcendental insight) through Sthir (steady spiritual insight). K nt and Prabh d ti is (elementary and deep meditation insights) after passing through Mitr, Ir, Bal, and Dpr 117] d tis'. [18] All these definitions of mysticism are fundamentally the same. Param tman refers to Arhat-hood, Siddha-hood, Pardti, and the state of V ttisa k aya; Antar tman points to Samyagdar ana, Sthird ti, and Samyagd ti; and consequently to Samyagjn na, Samyakc ritra, the state of Critr and the K nt and Prabh dti Bahir tman, refers to Mithy dar ana the state of Apunarbandhaka along with Mitr, Ir, Bal and Dprd ti and consequently to Mithy jn na, and Mithy c ritra.
Thus we may say that the Param tman is the true goal of the mystic quest. The journey from the Antar tman to the Param tman is traversed through the medium of moral and intellectual preparations, which purge everything obstructing the emergence of potential divinity. Before this final accomplishment, a stage of vision and fall may intervene. Thus the whole mystic way can be put as follows:
Awakening of the transcendental self, Purgation, Illumination Dark-period of the soul, and Transcendental life
According to Underhill, 'Taken all together they constitute the phases in a single process of growth, involving the movement of consciousness from lower to higher levels of reality, the steady remaking of character in accordance with the 'independent spiritual world 19). But the Jaina tradition deals with the mystic way under the fourteen stages of spiritual evolution, technically known as g asth nas. However, these stages may be subsumed under the above heads in the following way:
Dark-period of the self prior to its awakening Mithy tva g asth nas (First) Awakening of the self Avirata Samyag d ti g asth na (Fourth) Fall from awakening (a) S S dana g asth na (Second) (b) Mi rag asth nas (Third) Purgation (a) Virat virata g asth nas (Fifth) (b) Pramattavirata g asth nas (Sixth) Illumination (a) Apramattavirata g asth nas (Seventh);
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(b) Aprvakara a g asth nas (Eighth); (c) Aniv ttikara agasth na (Ninth); (d) Suk masampar ya g asth na (Tenth) (e) Upa ntaka yag asth nas (Eleventh); (1) K aka ya g asth nas (Twelfth) Dark-period post illumination Fall to the first or the fourth g asth na from the eleventh Transcendental life (a) Sayogakeval g asth na (Thirteenth)
(b) Ayogakeval g asth nas (Fourteenth) 1. Dark Period of the Self prior to its Awakening or mithy tva g asth na. In this g asth na the empirical souls remain in a perpetual state of spiritual ignorance owing to the beginningless functioning of Mohan ya Karma. This Karma on the psychical side genders a complex state of 'Moha' having spiritual perversion (Mithy dar ana) and perverted conduct (Mithy c ritra) as its ingredients. Here the effect of Mithy dar ana is so dominant that the self does not evince its inclination to the spiritual path, just as a man invaded by bile infected fever does not have liking for sweet juice 120. This Mithy dar ana vitiates knowledge and conduct alike. In its presence both knowledge and conduct, however extensive and suffused with morality they may be, are impotent to disintegrate the hostile elements of the soul and to lead us to those superb heights, which are called mystical. Consequently the darkest period in the history of the self is the one when Mithy dar ana overwhelms the self. It obstructs all our mystical endeavours.
Thus the plight of the self in Mithy tva g asth na resembles that of a totally eclipsed moon or a completely clouded sky. It is a state of spiritual slumber with the peculiarity that the self itself is not cognizant of its drowsy state. Led astray by the perverted attitude, the soul staying in this g asth na identifies itself with bodily colour, physical frame, sex, caste, creed, family, friends and wealth. The consequence is that it is constantly obsessed with the fear of self-annihilation on the annihilation of the body and the like 122) and is tormented even by the thought of death 23). Besides, it is the victim of the seven kinds of fear (24) and the eight kinds of pride. 25) Again under the influence of Mithy dar ana 'One accepts the Adharama (wrong religion) as the Dharma (right religion), the Am rga (wrong path) as the M rga (right path), the. Aj va (non-soul) as the Jva (soul) the As dhu (non-saint) as the S dhu (saint), the Amukta (un-emancipated) as the Mukta (emancipated) and vice versa. (26) Kundakunda (27) and following him Yog ndu, P jyap da, ubhacandra, K rttikeya etc. recognise this Mithy tva g asth na as the state of Bahir tman. In this g asth na there are such souls as will never triumph over this darkest period and hence will never win salvation. [28] They are technically called Abhavyas. Haribhadra aptly calls them Bhav bhinand s129 (those who welcome transmigratory existence). In contrast to these souls, there are, according to Haribhadra, Apunarbandhakas who are also occupying this g asth na.30) The difference is that the latter are moving in the direction of becoming Samyag drsti is and consequently do not commit sinful acts with much strong inclination, do not attach undue value to the worldly life and maintain proprieties in whatever they do 131, whereas the former are Mithy d ti is proper, and consequently they are mistaken as to the nature of things, evince no disgust for worldly existence and are like the man to whom unworthy acts appear worthy of performance."- The Apunarbandhakas may be further said to have developed first four Yoga drstis namely, Mitr Tr. Bal and D pr. It may be Bhav bhinand s.
2. Awakening of the self or Avirata Samyag drsti-g asth na Spiritual awakening is the result of Granthibheda (cutting the knot of ignorance) 133). By virtue of cutting the knot, the Bhinnagranthi sees supreme verity and acquires unswerving conviction in the true self. 34 This occurrence of Samyagdar ana (spiritual awakening) is consequent upon the instruction of those who have realized the divine within themselves or are on the path of divine realization. 'Even as a person born blind can see the world as it is on the sudden acquisition of eyesight, so can a soul having experienced the vision the truth as it is. Even as a person suffering from long-drawn disease experiences extreme delight on the sudden disappearance of the disease, so does a soul eternally bound to the wheel of worldly existence feels spiritual joy and bliss on the sudden dawn of enlightenment. [36]
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This is to be borne in mind that the spiritual awakening is to be sharply distinguished from the moral and the intellectual conversion. Even if the man in the first g asth na gets endowed with the capacity of intellectual and moral achievements, it cannot be said to have dispelled the spiritual darkness. The characters portrayed by Jaina C ryas of Dravya-lingi Muni and of the Abhavyas who have attained to the fair height of intellectual knowledge and moral uplift illustrate this sort of life without spiritual awakening. Thus the flower of mysticism does not blossom by the water of mere morality and intellectuality, but requires spiritual manure along with it.
It will not be idle to point out here that the soul in this g asth na is called Samyagd ti, Antar tman, (37) Bhinnagranthi, 38) and the occupant of Sthir d ti..39) Being spiritually awakened, the Samyagd ti considers his own self as his genuine abode regarding the outward physical dwelling places as artificial.40) He renounces all identification with the animate and inanimate objects of the world and properly weighs them in the balance of his discriminative knowledge. His is the only self that has acquired the right of Mok a. Besides, he practices universal compassion (Anukamp ) 142), does not hanker after worldly opulence and empyrean pleasures, shows no feeling of disgust at the various bodily conditions caused by disease, hunger (44) etc., and is free from all fears. Again, being overwhelmed by fear, inferiority and greed for profit, he does not recognize His as Dharma. 146 Apart from this, he has deep affection for spiritual matters and strengthens the conviction of those who are faltering in their loyalty to the path of righteousness and disseminates spiritual religion through various means best suited to time and place. 48]
3. Fall from Awakening or (A) S s dana g asth na and (B) Mi ragasth na If the spiritual awakening is due to the total annihilation of Dar ana Mohan ya (Visiondeluding) Karma, the self has thrown over all the chances of its fall to the lower stages. But if the spiritual awakening is consequent upon the suppression of Dar ana Mohan ya Karma, the self either falls to the lower stages or remains in the same stage with the emergence of certain defects ordinarily incognizable. 5) If the self descends to the first g asth na, again darkness overwhelms him; 5) or the self falls to the third g asth na, namely, Mi ra g asth na wherein total scepticism as regards matters spiritual prevails. 52S s dana g asth na is the intermediary stage of the self which has fallen from the peak of the mountain of Samyagdar ana, but has not arrived at the stage of the Mithy tva g asth na. 53 In this stage the peculiar taste of the fall from Samyagdar ana like the peculiar taste of sweet food after its vomiting is experienced.15
4. Purgation or (A) Virat virata g asth na and (B) Pramatavirata g asth na After dispelling the dense and intense darkness caused by the vision deluding (Dar ana Mohan ya) Karma, the passionate and ardent longing of the awakened self is to purge the conduct deluding (Critra Mohan ya) Karma which now stands between it and the transcendental self. Only those who are in possession of sturdy will are capable of doing so, says Am tacandra. In the fifth g asth na, the aspirant who is a householder is incapable of making himself free from all His root and branch.56 In consequence, he adopts the five partial vows (A vratas) along with the seven la vratas in order to sustain the central virtue of Ahis as for as possible.157) This state of the self's journey has been called Virat virata or De avirata g asth na, since here the aspirant avoids intentional His of two to five-sensed J vas, but he has to commit the intentional His of one sensed J vas namely the vegetable bodied, fire bodied (58) etc. Besides, the His which is committed in being engaged in a certain profession, in performing domestic activities and in adopting defensive measures, cannot be avoided by him.5 This shows that the householder's life is a mixture of virtue and vice,C60) which obstruct the purgative way pursued by the mystic.
Hence the aspirant, being motivated by certain incentives to spiritual life (Anuprek s) gradually renounces the householder's type of living, becomes a saint in order to negate Hi s to the last degree. In consequence, the saint observes five Mah vratas, five Samitis, three Guptis and practises internal and external austerities with special attention to meditation, devotion, and Sv dhy ya. Besides, he gets food by begging, eats only a little, gets over sleep, endures troubles, practices universal friendship, adheres to spiritual uplift, and turns away from acquisitions, association and life-injuring activities. 62 Thus from the life of Muni, 'vice totally vanishes and there remains virtue which will also be transcended as soon as the flight into the realm of spirit is made. Since in
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this stage complete meditational self-submergence is lacking, though there is complete self-restraint (Sa yama), this stage is styled Pramattavirata g asth na, i.e. here Pram da exists with selfrestraint." [63] Nevertheless this stage may be regarded as the terminus of purgative way. It may be noted here that the self in the fifth g asth na and onwards is called C ritr. [64]
5. Illumination of
Apramata Virata Apurvakara a Anivrtikara a, Suk masampr ya,
Upa ntaka ya and
K nanka yag asth nas
These g asth nas from the seventh to the twelfth are the meditational stages or the stages of illumination and ecstasy. In other words, these are the stages of K nt and Prabh d tis.[65] It is to be noted here that the self oscillates between the sixth and the seventh gasth nas thousands of times and when it attains steadiness, it strenuously prepares itself either for suppressing or for annihilating the conduct-deluding Karmas. [66] This oscillation is the result of the struggle between Pram da and Apram da. By the time the aspirant reaches the seventh gasth na, he has developed a power of spiritual attention, of self-merging and of gazing into the ground of the soul. It is through the aid of deep meditation that the mystic now pursues the higher path. In consequence, he arrives at the eighth and the ninth stages known as the Anivrtikara a and the Anivrtikara a g asth na, where exists the state of profound purity. In the tenth g asth na known as Suk ma-sampr ya there is only subtle greed that can disturb the soul. [67] The soul suppresses even this subtle greed in the eleventh g asth nas known as Upa ntaka ya and thus absolves itself from the rise of all types of passions. If the self follows the process of annihilation instead of suppression it rises directly from the tenth to the twelfth gasth na known as K nanka ya g asth na.[68] Here the conduct deluding Karma is destroyed instead of being suppressed. P jyap da rightly observes that meditation produces supreme ecstasy in a mystic who is firmly established in the self. Such an ecstatic consciousness is potent enough to burn the K rmic fuel; and then the person remains unaffected by external troubles and never experiences discomposure. [69]
6. Dark Period of the Soul post Illumination:
Owing to the suppressed passions gaining strength, the illuminated consciousness of the eleventh g asth na falls to the lowest stage of Mithy tva or to the fourth stage of Avirata Samyagdṛṣṭi g asth na The consequence is that the ecstatic awareness of the transcendental self gets negated and an overwhelming sense of darkness envelopes the mystic. It may be noted that not all mystics experience this dark period. Those of them who ascend the ladder of annihilation escape this tragic period, whereas those who ascend the ladder of suppression succumb to its dangers and pains. Mystics of the latter type no doubt will also reach the pinnacle of transcendental life, but only when they climb up the ladder of annihilation either in this life or in some other to come.
7. Transcendental life of (A) Sayogikeval and (B) Ayogakeval g asth na:
The slumbering and the un-awakened soul, after passing through the stages of spiritual awakening, moral and intellectual preparation, now arrives at the sublime destination by dint of ascending the rungs of meditational ladder. In the thirteenth stage the soul possesses dispassionate activities (Yoga) and omniscience (Kevalajn na), hence it is known as Sayogikeval g asth na.[70] It is a state of Jvana-Mukta, a supermental state of existence and an example of divine life upon earth. The fourteenth stage is called Ayogakeval g asth na, as there the soul annuls all activities (Yogas), but preserves omniscience and other characteristics. In this stage the soul stays for the time required for pronouncing five syllables - a, i, u,, I [71] After this, disembodied liberation results (Videha Mukti). To be more clear, the self in the Sayogikeval and Ayogakeval g asth nas bears the title of 'Arhat' [72] and after this, the title of 'Siddha' [73] This state of Siddha is beyond all a asth nas. [74]
It may be noted here that the self in these gasth nas is called Param tman (75), the doer of V ttisa k aya [76], and the possessor of Par d ti. [77] This perfected mystic is established in truth in all
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directions. [78] He experiences bliss, which is super sensuous, unique, infinite, and interminable. [79] Whatever issues from him is potent enough to abrogate the miseries of tormented humanity. (80) His presence is supremely enlightening. He is the spiritual leader of society. 18! Just as a mother educates her child for its benefit and a kind physician cures diseased orphans, so also the perfected mystic instructs humanity for its uplift and dispenses spiritual pills to the suffering humanity. 182He is always awake.83] He has transcended the dualities of friends and foes, pleasure and pain, praise and censure, life and death, sand and gold, attachment and aversion. 184 Since he is the embodiment of spiritual virtues, he leads a life of super-moralism but not of amoralism. Thus we may conclude by saying that the cognitive, conative and affective tendencies of the perfected mystic reveal their original manifestation in supreme mystical experience, which is ineffable and transcends all the similes of the world. [86]
References:
[1] Pravacanas ra of Kundakunda, I. 14. (R jacandra rama, g sa) [2] Dravyasa graha, 50, 51 (Jaina Vidy Sa sthana, ri Mah vraj). [3] Bhagavat r dhan , 2144 (Praka Chand ila Canda Jain, C dan Cauka, Delhi). [4] Ibid. 27 [5] Mok a P huda of Kundakunda, 5. (Pāțani Digambara Jaina Granthamālā, Mārotha, under the
title "Asta P huda) [6] Pravacanas ra, II. 2. [7] Yogadrstisamuccaya of Haribhadra, 178. (L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad) [8] Ibid. 8 [9] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 44, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
rama, g sa).
[10] Pa c stik ya of Kundakunda, 38-39, (R jacandra [11] Pravacanas ra I. 16. [12] Jn n ava of ubhacandra, XXIV, 3. (R jacandra
rama, g sa).
[13] Rjav rtika of Akala ka,, I. 1/38 (Bh rat ya Jñāna Pitha, New Delhi). [14] Mok a P huda, 4, 7.
[15] Yoga ataka of Haribhadra, Hindi edition, P. 111 (Gujar ta Vidy sabh, Ahmedabad). [16] Yogabindu of Haribhadra, 31, 252, 366. (L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad).
[17] The type of enlightenment accruing from eight D i may respectively be compared to the type
of light given out by the sparks of straw fire, cow-dung fire, wood fire, the light of a lamp, the lustre of a gem, the light of a star, the light of the sun, and the light of the moon (Yogad" "isamuccaya 15). Thus it varies from the indistinct enlightenment to the most distinct one. The first four drstis (Mitr, Tr Bal, and D pr ) occur in the stage of Apunarbandhaka (Mithy drsti in transition) hence they are unsteady, while the last four, in the stages of
Samyagdrstiand C ritr, hence they are steady. [18] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 13, 19, 178. (19) Mysticism by Underhill, P. 169. (Methuen, London).
[20] Gommattas ra J vak da of Nemicandra, 17 (Bh rat ya Jnāna Pitha, New Delhi).
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[21] Param tmaprak a, I. 80 to 84. [22] Jň n ava of ubhacandra XXXII, 18, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [23] Sam dhi ataka of P jyap da 76. (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). [24] Mūlācāra of Vattakera, 53 (Rājacandra Aśrama, Āgāsa): Fear of (1) this world (2) other world,
(3) death, (4) unrest from disease, (5) accidental occurrence (6) insecurity, and (7) loss of affluence or self-control.
[25] Ratnakara dar vak c ra of Samantabhadra, 25. (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi): Pride of (1)
learning, (2) honour, (3) family, (4) caste, (5) power, (6) opulence. (7) penance, and (8) body.
[26] Sth n ga s tra (vide, Studies in Jaina Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia, Varanasi), P. 145, (P.V.
Reasearch Institute, V r nasi). [27] Mok a P huda, 8.
[28] Samayas ra of Kundakunda, 273. (Jaina Vidy Sa sth na, Jaipur). [29] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 75. [30] Yogadrstisamuccaya, Introduction, K. K. Dixit, PP. 5 to 11. [31] Yoga ataka of Haribhadra, 13 (L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad). [32] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 78, 79 80. [33] Yogabindu, 252. [34] Ibid. 205 [35] Tattv rtha Stra, 1. 3. (Bh rat ya Jñāna Pītha, New Delhi under the title "Sarvārthasiddhi of
P jyap da). [36] Studies in Jaina Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia, P. 273. [37] K rttikeyanuprek 197 (R jacandra rama, g sa). [38] Yogabindu, 266. [39] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 155. [40] Sam dhi ataka of P jyap da, 73, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). [41] Mok a P huda, 17. [42] R jav rtika of Akala ka, 1. 2/30 (Bh rat ya Jñāna Pītha, New Delhi). [43] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 24 (R jacandra rama, g sa). [44] Ibid. 25. [45] Samayas ra, 228. [46] Krttikeyanuprek 418, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [47] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra 29; K rttikey nuprek , 420.
[48] Krttikeyanuprek 423. [49] Gommattas ra J vak da, 647. [50] Bh van viveka by Pt. Chainsukhdass, 93, 100. (Jaina Vidya Sa sth na, Jaipur).
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[51] Labdhis ra, 108. [52] Ibid. 107 [53] Gommattas ra J vak da, 19. (54) Dar an aura Cintana, Pt. Sukhalal P. 276. [55] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 37. [56] Ibid. 75. [57] Ratnakara dar vak c ra, 51; (Vra Sev Mandira, New Delhi) Puru rthasidhyup ya of
Am tacandra, 136. [58] Gommattas ra J vak da, 30, 31. [59] Jaina Dar ana by Pt. Chainsukhdasa, P. 65. (Sadbodha Grantham Jaipur). [60] Ethical Doctrines in Jainism by K. C. Sogani, P. 87 (I varaja Grantham Sholapur). [61] Ibid. P. 120. [62] MI c ra, 897, 898, (Bh rat ya Jñāna Pītha, New Delhi). [63] atkha d gama of Pu padanta and Bh tabali, Vol. 1, PP. 175, 176, (Jaina sa sk ti,
Sa rak aka Sa gha, Sholapur). [64] Yogabindu, 352. [65] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 162, 170. [66] Labdhis ra (commentary), 205, 217. [67] Gommastas ra J vak da, 50, 57. [68] Ibid. 62. [69] Istopadeśa of P!jyap da, 47, 48 (R jacandra rama, g sa). [70] Gommattas ra J vak nida, 64, satkhand gama, Vol. 1. P. 191. [71] n n ava of ubhacandra, XLII. 59. [72] Bh van viveka, 233. [73] Ibid. [74] Gommattas ra J vak da, 10. [75] Ibid. 63, 64. [76] Yogabindu, 405. [77] Yogadrstisamuccaya, 178, 179. [78] cr ga s tra, 146, (Agama Prakasana Samiti, Beawer). [79] Pravacanas ra, 1. 13, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [80] Jn na ava of ubhacandra, XLII-34, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[81] Svayambh stotra of Samantabhadra, 35 (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi).
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[82] Ibid. [83] cr ga s tra, 106. [84] Pravacanas ra, III. 41: Svayambh stotra, 10. [85] Jn n ava of ubhacandra, XLII-33.
[86]
cr ga s tra, 176, Jñ na ava, XLII- 75, 76, 77.
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3.3
Omniscience Br. Hem Chand Jain
Benediction:
Mok am rgasya net ra, bhett ra karma bhubhrut Jn t ra vi va tattv na, vande tadg a labdhaye.
I bow to the leader and promulgator of the path of liberation, the destroyer of the larg of karmika impurities and the knower of the reality completely so that I mayt also realize these qualities.
1.0 Introduction
According to Jaina metaphysics, our universe is an amalgam of six kinds of substances, namely soul (Jva), matter (Pudgala), principle of motion (Dharma), principle of rest (Adharma), space (k a) and time (k la). Except soul, all the other five substances are non-souls (Aj va). Thus the whole universe consists of souls and non- souls. Souls are infinite in number, matter (Pudgalas) are infinite times more, principle of motion (Dharma), principle of rest (Adharma), space (k a) are each one in number and omnipresent while time (k la) is innumerable. The soul's distinguishing quality is consciousness, which manifests itself as knowledge and perception. Distinguishing qualities of matter are touch, taste, smell & colour. All that is visible / perceptible in universe is matter. Soul and mater are both active i.e. have the capability to act and move while the other substances are inactive and just support the actives of both souls and matter. Except matter, remaining all the five substances are non-concrete (Arupi). Space provides accommodation to all the other five substances.
Here the term 'Dharma' (religion) should not be confused with principle of motion (Dharma). "Samantabhadra" has said in Ratna Kara dakar vak c ra verse 2:
De y mi samicinam, dharmam karma nivarha am. Sa s ra dhukhatah sattava, yo dhartyuttame sukhe //2// i.e. Religion is something that takes the mundane beings out of the worldly misery and establishes them in the highest bliss. I will preach that true religion.
All the living beings in the universe want pleasure and are afraid of the pain and pangs of transmigration. Jain Trtha karas have shown the path to remove miseries and attain true happiness.
Here, one should know that everything in this universe is independent and eternal. This universe is without a beginning and end. No one has created it, no one can destroy it; it is there on its own merit, it simply changes every movement because "permanence with change" is its inherent nature. Each soul, in mundane existence, is having bondage of karma. Due to this bondage, the soul is suffering from different miseries in the four states of existence. It is continuously trying to ward off misery but without finding the right means, misery does not end. The root cause of all miseries and bondage are, the wrong belief about the self and non-self, perverse knowledge and ill conduct. Complete release from karmic bondage is liberation and it is attainable through adopting the right
means.
Um Sv m writes in 'Tatty rtha-s tra':
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Samyag dar ana jn na c ritr i mok am rgah
Right Faith/ vision, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct, the three together are the path to liberation.
Declaring this to be the true religion Samantbhadra wrote in Ratna Kara dakar vak c ra as under: The Lord of Dharma (religion) has said - Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct are True Religion and reverse to these wrong faith, wrong knowledge and wrong conduct augment miseries of worldly life and are "adharma".
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In the absence of true knowledge of self and non-self the whole of mankind is groping for happiness in the darkness of uncertainly and doubt. If knowledge is false, the belief or faith will definitely be false and vice versa. A true aspirant for liberation has to understand the nature of these substances and realities as the knowledge of which is condition precedent to right belief (insight).
As per Jainism, religion which is the essence and pure never changes. K rtikeya has defined the religion in Krtikeya Anuprek verse 476 as under:
Dhammo vatthu sah vo, khamadi bhavo ya dasviho dhammo. Raya att yam ca dhammo, jv am rakkh am dhammo. //476//
Meaning: The intrinsic inherent nature of substance is 'Dharma.' Supreme forbearance, modesty etc, ten types of pure dispositions of the soul are 'Dharma'. The triple jewels (right faith, right knowledge and right conduct) are 'Dharma' and protecting the life of all living beings is 'Dharma', i.e., "Nonviolence is the highest religion". This is as propounded by omniscient Lord Mah vra 2500 years ago along with the doctrine of total detachment.
2.0 Characteristics of Omniscience As per Jainism the omniscient monks with super natural corporeal body are called 'Arihantas'. The omniscient souls without corporeal body are called 'Siddhas'. Both classes of souls are termed as true spiritual leaders (sacce deva) the adjective "true" has been used to differentiate them from celestial beings that are also termed as gods but they are not omniscient.
The main adjectives or characteristics of Arihantas are:
V tar ga' i.e., totally detached from the worldly things and affairs, free from delusion, illusion, attachment- aversion, all sorts of passions, birth and death and 18 types of blemishes, viz. hunger, thirst etc.
'Omniscient', i.e., perfect knowledge by which the whole of the universe all substances with their attributes and modifications) and non- universe are reflected / known.
pta', i.e., true counselor or guide. This adjective has some specialty of its own. One who is wholly detached and omniscient is a kevali. All kevalis are not wise counselors or guides and the siddhas have no use of words, so only Trtha karas whose divine sermons / sounds (letter less speech or words) show the true path to liberation to auspicious beings (Bhavya J vas), are called true' pta'. Literally' pta' means "He who has attained/achieved worth attaining /achieving".
2.1 Scriptural proof with respect to Omniscience Defining omniscience, Um Sv mi in Tattv rtha Sutra has written the aphorism Sarva-dravya pary ye kevalsya, i.e., the subject of omniscience is all the attributes and modifications of three tenses (past, present, and future) and its owner knows them all simultaneously in one unit of time (samaya) without any instrumentality of senses and mind. In the annotation of this aphorism Pujyap da in Sarv rtha Siddhi says that "the past, present and future modifications of all the substances are infinite and omniscience operates in all these. These are no substances or mass of modifications, which are beyond the all-pervading omniscience. The splendor of omniscience is without any limits".
Kundakunda in his 'Pravacanas ra' verse no. 39 says that
'If the unborn modifications of future and the dead ones of the past are notknown to the omniscient (sarvajna) omniscient, then who will call this sentience as divine'.
Am tacandra in Tattva Prad pik annotation verse no. 200 has written clearly
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"The sequence operated, infinite and wonderful modifications of the past, present and future and the deep and infinite mass of substances are so exquisite to the pure soul as if those substances have been engraved in, painted, entered deep, nailed inside, drowned wholly or merged completely and reflected in the glory of pure consciousness and its manifestation". Further he has written in verse 47 annotations.
Amitgati has also expressed the same thing in Yogas ra: i.e. all the past and future substances remain present in their various modifications and the consciousness of the omniscient knows them exactly in the same forms and variations.
Samantbhadra in pta-Mimans", Akala ka in "A a ati" and Vidy nandi in "A tasahasri" have established the principles of omniscience at large. As a matter of fact the existence of "omniscient being" is the main topic of Jaina logic and the whole logical thought is dedicated to the establishment of the concept of an omniscient.
The people with preserve attitude think that the independence of substances is deprived by fixing futurity as definite, but they forget that if further is taken for granted as take uncertain, the astrology, astronomy will be proved imaginary, when solar-eclipse, lunar eclipse etc. will take place this can not be foretold the Jaina philosophy is full of definite declarations of further events which will happen lacs of years afterwards. All those declarations are very emphatic in their assertions of futurity. In words, they are like this - "Things will happen like this only and not otherwise. If we deny the certainly of futurity in the omniscient being we will have to deny whole of the Jaina Scriptures?! But before things any such wrong step, I would like to request the eager seekers of truth to ponder over coolly, calmly as it is a great principal of sequence bound modifications of all the substances. They may have a natural cause-and-effect-relationship in between them, yet the omniscient knows simultaneously all the events of futurity as well as all the events of the past.
Once a true aspirant of liberation attains omniscience, he never loses it again. It is the fullest form of manifestation knowledge attribute of soul. There are no different degrees of omniscience. It is not caused by any eternal means. It is the complete enfoldment of our consciousness by itself. In the state of omniscience the consciousness ceases to be influenced by time etc. eternal causes whereas in the first twelve stages of spiritual development, i.e., is the state of non- omniscient the consciousness gets influenced by time etc. The omniscience is regarded as "All comprehensive Channel of knowledge because it is characterized by the absence of Karmic bonds. In case of nonomniscient beings there are many different degrees of knowledge (knowing-activity) varying from minimum two types to maximum four types of imperfect knowledge.
Some scholars may argue to how great kundakunda has written in Niyams ra that the omniscient god knows and sees all (the substances with their all modifications) from the conventional (vyavah ra) point of view and from the realistic (Ni caya) point of view he knows and sees his soul only? Here one should not get confused with the earlier statement but he should know that all the prepositions are based on the principal -prepositions depending on the self and congruous to the self are real, while those depending on non-self and not congruous to the self are conventional. This is made clear in the Sanskrit commentary on the above verse.
In short, whatever depends on others is conventional. As such omniscient knows, sees his own soul is real assertion while that he knows and sees other is conventional assertion. This is the sum and substance of the above statement. But, that "He knows & sees non-self entities from conventional aspect does not mean that He does not know them actually.
Prak
a
Further in the above context a question has been raised and answered well in Parm tm chapter 1 verse No. 52 commentary as under:
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Question: If the omniscient knows non-self substances from the conventional aspect only, then his omniscience should also be deemed to be so from conventional aspect, not real one?
Answer: It has been called conventional, because just as omniscient knows the self - soul as part and parcel of his own being, He does not know non-self substances similar & identical to that of the self, but not that He lacks the knowledge of non-self substances. If He knew the non-self substances with the same oneness affinity as with his own self, he would have been happy - unhappy by knowing the pleasures and miseries of others and would have himself become attached or aversions which, in fact would have been a great fault.
"One who knows the omniscient Lord in respect of his substance, attributes and modifications knows his own soul also and his delusion disappears." The remedy of conquering delusion has been shown in this verse; i.e., one who knows his own soul (true nature of soul), his delusion is eliminated. Thus, the understanding about the characteristics of Arihantas has been made compulsory for the annihilation of perverted belief.
The substance and the attributes of our own soul and those of the Arihantas are exactly similar, difference lies only in the present modification over modification is completely developed and the same is our ideal and aim. This is the reason that along with the realization of the self, the recognition of true God Arihantas, true scripture (His divine discourses) and true monks is absolutely necessary for the achievement of right faith.
Omniscience is the basic foundation of Jaina philosophy, so we need to know its nature and the process of achieving it. Without faith of true God, true scriptures and true monks is not possible because the difference of true faith of true God, true scripture and true monks is not possible because the differentiate of true God is omniscience and passionlessness (complete detachment). The origin of scriptures lies in the divine voice of the omniscient Arihantas. The true monks are followers of the path shown by the omniscient God.
One who is going on wrong path cannot reach his destination. Likewise one who is having wrong concept about the self and non-self, yet thinks that he is on right path of liberation, he will never attain liberation. Samantbhadra in his 'Ratnakarand r vak c ra' (a sacred book on householder's religion) has written the following verses:
The belief in the true God, scripture and preceptor (monk) by fulfilling the eight requirements of true belief and without three kinds of follies* & eight kinds of pride** is called Right Faith.
The belief that the Jaina Tirtha karas are the true Gods, the Jaina canons are the true scriptures and the Jaina saints the true preceptors is called 'Right Faith'. The three kinds of follies are:
Folly of senseless deeds in the name of religion, viz. bathing in so called scared rivers & oceans, setting up heaps of sand & stones, immolating oneself by falling from a precipice or being burned up in fire etc
Folly of devotion, viz. worshipping with desire to obtain favour, of worldly false deities who themselves are full of passions, likes-dislikes etc.
Folly of devotion of hypocrites consists in the worshipping of false ascetics who have attachmentaversion with worldly things. The eight types of pride boasting for:
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Learning Worship
Family
Tribe
Power
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Affluence Religious Austerity and Person having strong or comely body
2.2 The eight Limbs of Right Faith The eight kinds of limbs of Right Faith are:
Unshakable faith in the nature of substances Entertaining no desire for sensual enjoyment Loving the virtuous persons and monks for their excellent qualities without feeling disgust to see their soiled impure bodies. Non-recognition of the authority of false creeds and senseless acts at the name of religion. To remove the ridicule raised by ignorant and incompetent persons on the naturally pure path of Jainism. And also not to expose publicly the weaknesses of a layman or of a monk who is trying his best to be free from all faults & weaknesses. To help and re-establish therein them who, due to whatsoever reason, are wavering in right faith or conduct Entertaining love and proper respect for one's co religionists with pure heart and by crooked motives To establish the glory of the Jaina doctrines by removing in all suitable ways, the dense clouds of ignorance
Now, coming back to our main topic of omniscient, we must know the true characteristics of an omniscient God. Samantbhadra in his 'Ratnakarandr vak c ra' has described as per below:
Naturally, in the nature of substances, the true God must be
Free from all sorts blemishes / faults and weaknesses which are found in all mundane beings:
The knower of all things (omniscient) and the revealer / expounder of Dharma (true religion/path of liberation); else in no other way can Godhood / divinity be constituted. He alone who is free from hunger, thirst, senility, disease, birth, death, fear, pride, attachment, aversions, infatuation, worry. conceit, hatred, uneasiness, sweat, sleep, and surprise (18 blemishes) is called a God.
He who is the enjoyer of the highest status, who is of unsurpassed splendor, who is free from all kinds desires and impurities of sin, who is endowed with omniscience and devoid of beginning, middle & end and who is a friend savior of all kinds of living beings - such a Teacher is called 'Hitopde i' (who gives useful discourses showing the path of liberation).
Just as a drum gives you out sound in consequence of the contact of the drummer's hand, but without any desire on its own part, so does the teacher reveal the truth without any personal motives of his own.
That one is true scripture which is the word (revelation of omniscient Tirtha kara, which cannot be over-ridden in disruption, nor falsified by perception, reason or testimony, which reveals the nature of things, which is helpful to men, animals and all other kinds of beings and which is potent enough to destroy all forms of falsehood.
That preceptor (monk) is praiseworthy who has no desires for sensual pleasures, who has renounced all worldly occupations and possessions and who is always absorbed in study, meditation and selfcontemplation. (Only such a capable soul-monk with right faith knowledge & conduct can attain omniscience and none else).
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Also Samantbhadra has described the characteristics of Right Knowledge as under:
That which reveals the nature of things / substances /elements neither insufficiently, nor with aggression nor perversely but exactly as it is as they are and with certainty, that the knower of scriptures call Right Knowledge. Based on this definition the adage -"Be wise, do not be over wise, do not be under wise and do not be otherwise", is prevalent in ethics.
The Third Jewel of the right path to liberation is observing of Right Conduct and it has been described by Samantbhadra as under:
To whom Right Knowledge has accrued by virtue of the acquisition of right faith on the destruction of Right Faith on the destruction of the darkness of faith - obstructing infatuation that excellent soul begins to practice the rules of Right Conduct to get rid of personal likes-dislikes (attachmentaversion) that is to attain to the state of desirelessness.
From above discussion it is very clear that the attainment of perfection is the culmination of a gradual course of self-absorption, which needs to be followed step by step. The preceptors have therefore, divided the pathway into fourteen stages each of which represents a particular state of development, partial elimination of natural traits and qualities. These fourteen stages of spiritual purification are called "Gu asth nas" and are as under:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Mithy tva
S s dana
Mi ra
Avirat Samyagd ti
De a- Virata
Pramatta Virat
Apramatta virata
Ap rva Kara a
Anivritti Kara a
10. Suk ma Samparaya
11. Upa nta Moha
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Perverse belief, wrong faith, gross ignorance
A momentary psychic state of soul in the process of falling from the right faith prior to touching false faith
Mixed feeling, hovering between certainty & doubt
Vow less true believer. This stage arises when faith deluding and the interest type of conduct deluding karmas are wholly or partially subdued or destroyed.
A true believer observing A uvratas, small vows. This arises when the intense passion (conduct deluding) is also subdued or destroyed. This is a votary householder's stage.
A stage of possession less, occupation less and homeless naked monk observing complete conduct with slightly imperfect vows. This arises when the Praty khy n vara a Prakriti is also subdued partially. The mild passion 'Samjwalan' is in operation.
A stage of perfect observance of vows of a true monk with real right conducts of self absorption but with slow rate.
A true monk with excessively increasing purity of thoughts with ascending ladder of perfect conduct and pure meditation. The 'Samjwalana' mild passion being in subduing or vanishing state.
A true monk in highly advanced state of pure thought activity than the preceding one.
A true monk in a very high spirituality advanced state than the preceding one with the slightest 'Samjwalana' greed passion which is also fully under control and remains to be eradicated in this stage.
Subsidence of delusion. A true monk touches this stage then only when he ascends by 'upa ama reni' (subsided ladder or flight of step) after 7th gu asth na This stage arises from the total subsidence of 'Mohaniya Karma', for a while and he falls back certainly due to rise of deluding
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karma.
12. Ka-Moha
Destruction of delusion, i.e., completes eradication of the 'Mohaniya Karma'. A true monk reaches this stage if he ascends by 'K apaka reni' eradicative ladder after 7th gu asth na and he certainly goes up and attains the omniscience in 13th gu asth na.
13. Sayoga Kevali
Sa=with, yoga=three channels of activity, i.e., mind, speech & body and Kevali / Jina means omniscient. This is the stage of J vana Mukti characterized by the total destruction of the four kinds of Gh ti- Karmas (destructive Karmas) and possessing omni perception, omniscience, infinite bliss, infinite power etc. natural traits, but indicating the association with the physical body due to operation of "Agh ti Karmas" (non-destructive Karmas). Those who evolve out the Tirtha karas Name Karma become the Tirtha karas who reveals the true 'Dharma' (religion). Surrounded by celestial beings (gods & goddesses) and human beings who offer him devotion, the omniscient Tirthankara explains the truth in "Om" voice called divine speech and it is interpreted into popular speech for the benefit of masses by the highly advanced disciple monks called "Ga adharas". The truth thus known is called "ruti" (revelation) and its perfect accuracy is guaranteed by the omniscience, which does not manifest until and unless the 'Mohaniya Karma' is totally annihilated. He (the omniscient) is totally free from partisan feeling because he has no trace of any attachment-aversion. He has conquered delusion so he is called "Jina". He is absolutely passionless; hence his revelation is cent percent true. Ayogya=without mind, speech & body and Kevali=omniscient. This is the last stage on the path to liberation and is followed by the soul's ascent to "Nirvana" on the exhaustion of the 'Agh ti karmas'. The soul who passes this stage is called "Siddha" A perfectly successful accomplished soul free from Karmic matter & body & body possessed of omni perception, omniscience, infinite bliss, and infinite power etc. natural traits in fully blossomed state. He is now no longer subject to any depressing influence of matter. He rises up immediately to the top most part of the universe to reside there for ever in the enjoyment of all those divine attributes which we may have never dreamt of. He the "Siddha" being the ideal of absolute perfection becomes the object of meditation and worship for we all the "Bhavyas" (souls capable to attain Nirva) in the three worlds. The words fall short; rather have no power to describe his glory & attributes.
14. Ayogya-Kevali
Above discussion reveals that the arrangement of Gu asth nas' is not based on any artificial path but it is based upon the natural effects observable in the being who takes himself scientifically in hand to control his destiny.
Jainism is nothing but the path of purification of soul and the science of attaining Godhood. Jainism is the illuminator of the path to liberation and also encourages the mundane beings to follow that path and assures that those who follow this path will definitely attain all blissful state of Godhood. Therefore, knowing and experiencing our souls is utmost necessary for the destruction of delusion and knowing the Arihantas (embodied omniscient God) in respect of their substance, attributes and modification is very essential to know our own souls.
Kundakunda in his 'Pravacanas ra' verse No. 82 states: All the Arihantas attained 'Nirvana' by destroying the 'Karmas' in the same pathway of attaining Godhood- our salutations to them.
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In annotation of this verse Amritacandra says: "Let there be no more exposition and discussion. My understanding is settled well".
In the introduction of this verse he has written that "This is the only path of spiritual advancement as experienced and revealed by the omniscient Beings. Thus I have corrected /systematized my own understanding".
From above discussion it is clear that omniscience or omniscient is the knower of events only, not the door of those events. The modifications or events are all without any sequence, not otherwise; i.e., a substance is sequence bound in respect of its modifications and without any sequence in respect of its attributes. This way the theory of relativity applies in a substance, which is a mass of attributes & modifications.
Amritcandra in' tmakhy ti' annotation on verse 2 of 'Samayas ra' says: The soul or any substance, being possessed of multifaceted nature in such as has admitted sequence bound modifications and attributes without any sequence, both of which constitute its very existence. In short we can generalize as follows:
•
Each soul is independent and not under any other substance. Substantially all souls are equal none is higher or lower. Each soul possesses the seed power of infinite Knowledge and bliss. Happiness does not come from outside. Not only soul but all substances are possessed of the nature of "Permanency with a change", i.e., they on their own continue changing /modifying without quitting their inherent intrinsic nature /qualities. Mundane beings are unhappy & miserable because of their perverse faith, false knowledge and false conduct. They can be happy by abandoning perversity and attaining Right Faith (insight) - Knowledge - Conduct. There is no imaginary so called creator God. Every soul may become a God by discriminating the self from non-self. The omniscient God is only the knower & seer of the universe and not the creator-destroyerprotector. Jaina philosophy is basically that of non-doing/non-doership as this principle is established with omniscience and the sequence bound modifications. Every soul (mundane being) is potentially omniscient, that is to say, the consciousness of every living being is endowed with the capacity to know all things, unlimited by time or space or distance. All things, whatever exists in this universe possess the basic quality of knowableness; hence they are known by perfect knowledge (omniscience) on annihilation of knowledge obscuring karma, perception obscuring karma & power obstructing karma and proceed by the annihilation of deluding karma.
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Knowledge - Jn na Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
Preamble
Oxford English dictionary defines knowledge as:
Expertise, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject; What is known in a particular field or in total; facts and information; or (iii) be absolutely certain or sure about something. Philosophical debates in general start with Plato's formulation of knowledge as 'justified true belief
iii.
There is however no single agreed definition of knowledge presently, nor any prospect of one, and there remain numerous competing theories. Knowledge acquisition involves complex cognitive processes like perception, learning, communication, association and reasoning and used to develop better understanding a subject to use it for a specific purpose if appropriate.
Religious meaning of knowledge is:
Christianity: Knowledge is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Islam: The Knowing" (al-Al m) is one of the distinct attributes of God. The Quran asserts that knowledge comes from God and encourages the acquisition of knowledge.
Indian religions talk of two kinds of knowledge direct (paroksa) i.e. knowledge obtained from books, hearsay, etc. and indirect is the knowledge borne of direct experience, i.e., knowledge that one discovers for oneself.
Knowledge is the most discussed subject in Jaina canonical literature which consider knowledge in its totality i.e. source, types, use and method to attain it. Its importance is established by the fact that attaining omniscience is an essential pre-requisite to achieve emancipation (Mok a). Dhaval by Vra Sena Sv mi, Pravacanas ra by Kunda Kunda, Tattv rathasutra by Um Sv ti and commentaries on it by Um Sv ti, Piya P da, Akala ka and others plus a separate appendix prepared at Vallabhi v can called Nandi Sutra containing just knowledge are the important sources for understanding the Jain theory of knowledge.
Discussions of Knowledge in na) in Jainism
Knowledge is an attribute of the soul. In fact knowledge is said to be the nature of the soul as it is found only associated with the soul. In empirical soul, it decreases or increases as per the thickness of k rmika veil on it.
Let us look at the example of moon to understand the Jaina concept of knowledge and soul concomitance: We see full bright moon on the full moon night called Purnim. After that night we start seeing moon gradually becoming less visible due to its being obscured by the relevant position of sun/earth and moon itself as well as other obstructions like clouds, trees, hills etc, till on the no moon night called Am vasy we do not see the moon at all. This cycle does not mean that the light/ shining attribute of moon has gone but it simply gets obscured by impediments stated above. So as an example only: soul can be taken like moon and its attribute knowledge like brightness or light emitted by the moon.
Pure soul is perfect knowledge. There is never a moment when even the empirical soul, be it in any destiny or state is without a trace of knowledge otherwise it will become by definition a non-soul. The
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states of imperfection and perfection, expressed by such terms as mati jñ na and kevala jñ na are in turn the modes of the attribute knowledge in partial or complete states. The empirical soul being defiled by knowledge obscuring karmas therefore needs certain media or external devices to acquire knowledge of others. Also there are limitations to its knowledge capabilities in terms of place, area, time or the substance type.
Knowledge as a system in Jain philosophy:
Object of knowledge
What we want to know?
(prameya or jñeya)
Jñana definition
Black box
Consciousness, its manifestation
(pram t / tm & pram a)
Result of knowledge / output
pramiti / result /just knowledge
Some of the definitions and benefits of knowledge in Jain literature are given below:
⚫ Jň na is an attribute of soul, which is capable of knowing both self and others.[1] a arassa s ro [2] says that the sole purpose of human mode is to acquire knowledge, as jn na and soul are concomitant.
Niryuktik ra Bhadra B hu II says assa s rm y ro or the sole purpose of knowledge is to develop and practice right conduct to achieve the ultimate objective'.
utra-k t ga, the second canonical text starts with Bujjhejja meaning to know or try to know and then practice to destroy the bondage.
Thus we see that Jň na is defined by different c ryas from time to time. P jya P da [3] defines it as, 'The means by which cognition takes place', 'one who knows' and 'the knowledge'. Dhaval [4] defines jn na as 'The specific entity which provides the true knowledge of the object', 'entity which enables to decide the true nature of a substance' and 'means of cognizing substance, modes and attributes'. Nand Cri on the other hand defines jñ na as 'Just cognizing', 'means of cognizing' and 'the cognizer'. Other scriptures also define jñ na similarly. So we can define in na all inclusive as the:
Process of knowing or cognition can thus be viewed as measurement system, the measure or standard also, knower (owner or the processor of knowledge)?
Result of cognizing (knowledge): i.e. elimination of ignorance about the characteristics of the object. Jň na here implies acquiring the knowledge about what is good for adoption and what is bad to be given up for achieving the ultimate objective. Further jñ na is a capacity (of soul) to know completely and directly as state (gross or subtle), distance, spatial and temporal constraints are not hindrances. Status of knowledge as right (samyak) or wrong (mithy) depends on the attitude of the owner of knowledge. An individual with right attitude (samyak d i) will have right knowledge and vice versa.
Caitanya or consciousness is the essence of Jva. The two manifestations of consciousness are intuition / dar ana and knowledge/jñ na, the former is simple apprehension and the latter conceptual knowledge. The consciousness itself takes two forms namely attainment (labdhi) and utilization (upyoga). Attainment is the capacity to know whereas utilization involves its application for the purpose of knowing. The utilization of consciousness itself takes two terms namely intuition or dar ana (which is indeterminate i.e. not definitive cognition) and knowledge (which is determinate, is
Anfinitiunl Dor and in cimala intuition of annaralition of things while knowleden in with particular or

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specific attributes of the thing. These two utilizations of consciousness occur either simultaneously or in continuous sequence of intuition followed by knowledge.
Consciousness
Utilisation (upyoga)
Intuition (indeterminate)
Knowledge (determinate)
-Attainment (labdhi)
Empirical soul cannot have pure knowledge or complete knowledge of a thing. Hence the object has to be viewed from many angles / view points to have near complete knowledge of the same. Lord Mah vra always replied from at least four angles namely substance, mode, time and space/place view points, e.g. when asked about loka, he said, "From substance view point it is one and with limits; from space /place view point, it occupies countless space but is limited and bound on all sides by aloka, from time perspective it is eternal i.e. was always there and will always be there, from mode view point it is infinite i.e. changing continuously and things existing in it are changing also. (5)". Later on from Bhagawati and other gamas, we find an object is always viewed from two view points at least i.e. from transcendental or absolute or substance view point which gives the substance or permanence perspective and from practical or mode view point which gives the changing state of the object at a particular point of time. These viewpoints were further classified into seven nayas (partial knowledge) being discussed in different gamas, which provide us the means to know an object from a specific viewpoint of the cognizer. The knowledge thus acquired through the doctrine of viewpoints, was expressed using sy t (in some respect or a little bit 'kincita').
Characteristics of Jñana
Jva is described as sentient (cetana) having sentiency (cetan ) and its manifestation (upyoga) as the two essential characteristics. These characteristics set j va aside from all other substances, which are all insentient [6]. Thus soul / j va and jñ na are concomitant and the soul is the knowledge and the knower itself. Nature of pure soul has been defined as infinite intuition / vision / dar ana, infinite knowledge, infinite bliss and infinite energy. Thus pure soul has the capacity to know all objects irrespective of temporal or spatial distances and as vividly as either present or in the near vicinity. Soul and jn na are of the same size and co-existent. If it were not so, then either the parts of soul will be without jn na or jñ na itself will exist at a place other than soul.
Jň na does not have spatial and temporal limitations, but is a capacity. Distance, spatial or temporal constraints are not hindrances for the soul to know. Knowledge, being co-existent with soul is as independent as existence and does not depend on any other knowledge. Further no physical contact, direct or indirect with objects is necessary for the emergence of knowledge.
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Senses etc are only the media of acquiring jn na. They can cognize only the concrete (r pi) objects and that too their present modes only. Thus empirical soul or pure soul defiled / bonded with matter karmas, whose jñ na capability is masked with matter karmas (especially jn n var iya) acquires knowledge through external media like senses and mind. Pure soul does not need any media to cognize as it can cognize all substances (concrete and non-concrete) and their modes of past, present and future. Thus the knower and jñ na is only the soul / Jva.
Knowledge types
Jain literature is perhaps the only one of its type to have extensive discussions on jn na. In fact kevala-jn na (omniscience) is an essential requirement to achieve emancipation / nirv a. From absolute or transcendental viewpoint, jn na is of one type only i.e. omniscience which is a quality of pure self. However due to the masking of pure soul by k rmika cover; it is classified into different categories, depending on the extent of the k rmika cover it has, which are in fact the modes of pure knowledge.
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Knowledge is of one type only. However, for the sake of explaining and its systematic investigation ranging from the most imperfect knowledge of one sensed j va to the perfect knowledge of five sensed omniscient, right knowledge or samyak-jn na had been classified as of five types of knowledge in the canonical literature:
•
Mati or mind based or sensory perception: includes sense perception, memory (sm ti). recognition (sañjn ), hypothetical reasoning (cint), and inference (anum na).
ruta or verbal testimony: knowledge generated by words Avadhi or clairvoyance or knowledge with limits: avadhi cognizes distant (temporally and spatially) physical objects Manah paryaya or telepathy or knowledge of mental modes i.e. which perceives directly the modes of other person's mind and hence the thoughts and their objects Kevala or omniscience
The last three are supra empirical and are generated by special type of meditation and spiritual purification while the first two are empirical knowledge only and acquired through sense organs and mind. Further they maintained that the first three in nas may be true (samyak) or wrong (mithy ) depending on the state of knower as having samyak dar ana or not. Samyak dar ana was defined as the tendency or attitude that was conducive to spiritual progress. Thus knowledge being valid or not was dependent on spiritual progress and not on logic. This is the first phase of knowledge development in Jain canonical literature.
Matijn na - Sensuous Perception or Mind Based Knowledge (7) Sensuous perception is defined as the knowledge acquired through the aid of the five senses and mind. This originates with intuition followed by the four steps namely:
Out linear-grasp: avagraha or awareness of some existence Discrimination; h, a desire to know whether it is THIS or THAT Perceptual judgment; av ya is ascertainment of the right and exclusion of the wrong Retention of judgment; dh ra
There is a rule concerning complete cycle of the four steps indicated. Sometimes 1, 2 or even first three steps can occur and then forgotten. These four steps result with the aid of the sense organs. After retention of judgment; memory, comparison, logic or inference can occur serially and are the functions of mind. All these four steps after retention of judgment are also included in matijn na.
Jain thinkers have defined touch or skin (spar ana), taste (rasn ), smell (ghra), form / colour or eye (cak u) and hearing (rava a) as the five types of sense organs. Further they also consider mana / manas (mind) as no-indri (quasi sense) and the integrator of all the remaining five senses. Of these six senses, eyes and mind are not competent for contact-awareness while the remaining four senses perceive the objects only on contact with them. Therefore contact awareness is possible through later four senses only while the object-awareness is possible through all the six senses. Matijn na is preceded by visual intuition /cak u and / or non-visual intuition / acak u dar ana.
Since all the senses and body are indicated as consisting of matter, matijn na is limited to knowing concrete objects only, i.e. objects which can be cognized by the senses as they have attributes which are the subjects of the five senses. Non-concrete objects, like soul/self, k a, dharma, adharma and k la are not the subjects of matijn na. Hence we see that the sphere of its cognition even though is very limited, yet it is of prime importance as it is the knowledge, which affects our daily life.
Stages of sensual perception discussed Let us take each stage of development of sensual perception at a time for brief discussion.
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Avagraha: - Out linear-grasp. Apperception Avagraha is the general knowledge of an object when it is brought in contact with sense organs. It consists of two stages namely vya jan vagraha (contact-awareness) and arth vagraha (object-perception / awareness). Contact-awareness is the relation of the physical sense organ with the subject transformed into its sense data such as sound-atoms. Object-perception on the other hand is the last stage of contactperception and is an instantaneous flash. Initial bare contact of the sense organs take place at the moment it reaches the senses. This is the stage of contact awareness. This contact awareness gradually proceeds towards the plane of consciousness and is called object awareness. Bhadra B hu II in va yaka niryukti defines avagraha as cognition of sense data. Further it is instantaneous, i.e. it lasts only for one instant that is infinitesimal (samaya) and beyond human conception. However it relates to object-perception and not to contact-awareness, which continues for countless number of instants gradually proceeding towards the plain of consciousness. Sequencing of Avagraha cognition is given in table below:
Stage Activity name Details
Avgraha a Sense organs and object in contact continuously. Over a period the (Receiving) perception takes place and not at the first instance Updh ra a From first samaya to countless samaya, cognition of generic attributes (Holding) get clearer.
rava a Receives cognition of the generic attributes of the object or its class. (Hearing) Avalambana Grasp of the generic attributes of a specific object or its class.
(Grasping) medh
Inquisitiveness of other attributes of the object arises during this stage. (gradual (awareness)
Following example will clarify the occurrence of avagraha in the cognition process.
"A man is asleep and is to be awakened by a telephone call. . The sound of telephone ring, which Jaina thinkers regard as composed of matter parmus (subtle-atoms) reach his ears and awaken him. This is the stage of awareness (darsana). However the sound subtle-atoms reach his ears in succession, and countless instants elapse before the ears are sufficiently saturated with these subtle-atoms so that the person may be awakened to consciousness. As soon as the person is conscious, contact-awareness is over and then there occurs object-perception, which lasts only for one instant."
The knowledge that occurs with the help of eyes and mind is of the expressed object only. The rest of the four senses i.e. ears, nose, tongue and body can perceive both expressed and non-expressed objects. Expressed and non-expressed objects are sub divided in twelve groups, from the viewpoint of their cognition; e.g. Multiple (bahu): Few (eka): Complex (bahuvidha): Simple (ekvidha): Quick comprehension (k ipra): Slow comprehension (Ak ipra): Partially exposed (ani ruta): Unspoken (anukta) and Nonconstant (adhruva) etc.
Sense organs cognise only the general features of the object during avagraha. The object is free from association with names at this stage. For example in the above example, the man who is awakened is just conscious of some sound and not of the specific source or nature or its purpose etc. Actually he is at this stage not even aware of 'This is sound' which becomes firm only in the third stage of matij na i.e. av ya. The object-perception being instantaneous cannot be considered to have developed such a form.
h - discrimination; h is the inquisitive pursuit for the knowledge of specific details of the perceived datum i.e. a desire to know whether it is THIS or THAT. Thus similarities and differences of the object with other objects become the subject of consciousness in this stage. It follows in the wake of avagraha whereby the object is cognized distinctly. For example in avagraha a person simply hears (partial cognition) a sound while in h he cognizes the nature of the sound also. The process of h thus continues for a certain period of time though it never exceeds one muh rata (48 minutes).
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Some Jain scholars subscribe to this view and hence declare that contact-awareness is the beginning of awareness, object-perception is dawning of awareness and his the determinate tendency towards the ascertainment of the particular nature of the object. Though his a kind of discrimination, yet it is different from doubt. It strives to ascertain the true nature of the object by means of reason and logic to lead towards the acceptance of truth and avoidance of the untruth. h cognition starts immediately after avagraha and its stages are listed in Table below
Details Intuition starts after contact of the object being cognised.
Stage Activity name
bhogant (leaning towards) m rga at (searching), gave a t (fathoming) cint (discursive thought) vimara a (enquiry)
Intuits anvaya and vyatireta attributes of the object. Intuits anvaya attributes after rejecting vyatireta attributes. Repeated intuition of the object for its anvaya attributes | Enquires about nitya / anitya and similar opposing attributes
Av ya or Ap ya - perceptual judgment: After h arises av ya. Av ya excludes the non-existent characteristics of the object. his enquiry about right and wrong; av ya is ascertainment of the right and exclusion of the wrong. It is thus perceptual judgment. For example, when on hearing the sound one determines that the sound must be of telephone and not of conch shell or a person because it is accompanied by certain rhythm being repeated. Av ya cognition starts immediately after h and its stages are indicated in the Table below. Stage Activity name
Details vartana
Nature of the object starts being cognised after limited determination
h . Praty vartana, repeated
Repeated intuition of the object of the determination
knowledge. ap ya (determination)
h ends and the cognition of the object of
knowledge get ready for retention. Buddhi, vivid determination
Stabilisation of the clear cognition of the object. Vij na (determinate cognition). Clearer cognition of the object is achieved and
ready for retention
Dh ra - retention of judgement
Av ya is followed by dh ra Dh ra means retention of the perceptual judgment for a number of instants, which can be countable or non-countable. Nandi Sutra gives dh ra (holding), sth pn (placing), prati th (fixing) and ko tha (firmly grasping) as the synonyms of dh ra Akala ka defines it as condition of recollection, which is sa sk ra (trace). Vidy Nanda also says so and further clarifies that it is like hof the nature of knowledge called recollection'. V di Deva Suri says it is only concentrated persistence of av ya for a certain length of time. It is not by any means the condition of recollection in future, as it cannot last up to the time of recollection. Hema Candra says that dh ra is the basis or cause of sm ti.
In our daily life, we can compare dh ra to writing in certain books or memory, after ascertaining validity / truth, new information or updating old information for retrieval or use later. Dh ra does not include retrieval of information from memory or written records. In psychology, activities of memory are described as encoding (sth pn ), storage (ko tha) and retrieval. Following characteristics of dh ra emerge from the above discussions:
• It is the last stage of cognition by sense organs. • No new cognition takes place during this stage but it is only the retention of the judgment. • Sequence of dh ra cognition. It starts immediately after av ya as given in Table below Stage Activity name Details dhara
Cognition of the object of knowledge continues to exist
(avicyuti) dh ra (holding) Vicyuti of the object knowledge due to its non usage, i.e. is
capable of being recalled from memory for days.
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3
4
5
sth pn (placing),
prati th (fixing)
ko tha (firmly grasping)
Object of knowledge is kept in storage (brain) for unlimited time.
Object of knowledge with its clear identity is kept in storage (brain) for unlimited time.
Permanent retention in the memory, like rice in storage chamber.
Intellect as enhanced mind based knowledge:
It is of interest to note the two ways classification of bhinibodhikaj na (mind based knowledge) in Nandi Sutra (verses 31-38); namely rutani rita i.e. backed by scriptural learning or a rutani rita i.e. not backed by scriptural learning. The four stages of sensual perception indicated above can be either rutani rita or a rutani rita. A rutani rita is further subdivided into four intellects (buddhis) by Nandisutra, namely
• Autp tika buddhi or instantaneous comprehension i.e. it comprehends instantaneously the true nature of a thing never seen or heard before. It does not depend on sense organs or words. This implies original thinking as it does not include any thing read / heard or seen before. Digambar literature assigns knowledge acquired in previous births as a cause for this intellect. Akalanka says that owner of this intellect is said have wisdom (Prajna) and can give discourse to even the owner of knowledge of 14 purvas. (Example cock having a fight with itself (mirror given by the prince)). • Vainayika buddhi or intellect born out of faithful service to an intelligent person or text i.e. it is capable of completing a difficult task and is fruitful in this life and thereafter. (examples of faithful service of the guru resulting in this intellect in the disciple (story of two friends learning astrology one with complete dedication to guru becomes expert and the other acquires knowledge but no dedication to guru and hence has no effective intellect)).
• Karmaj buddhi or intellect developed by practical experience i.e. intellect which comprehends the truth due to attentive consciousness of both practical and theoretical sides of an action / object. It is born out of experience. Most people appreciate this intellect for worldly attainments /benefits: (ex goldsmith can differentiate between pure gold and alloy)
Pri mik buddhi or mature intellect i.e. intellect which fulfils its purpose by means of inference, reasoning and analogy and results in well-being and ultimately salvation.
These buddhis are purely mental only and not inspired by just learning. Dhaval talks of all these buddhis also but in the context of karma theory whereby all these intellects are due to the knowledge acquired in earlier life and giving special faculties (in the form of development of certain parts of the brain which processes knowledge which respond very fast due to prior learning in earlier lives and cognition occurring without the need of five sense organs) to the j va in the present life. Such a person is called an intelligent person or a genius.
[8]
rutajn na - Verbal or Scriptural Knowledge / Verbal Testimony
Originally it means knowledge embodied in the scriptures and falls in two categories namely A ga pravi a and A gab hia. ruta literally means 'what is heard', so rutajn na is also called as knowledge developed due to hearing. Later on whatever is heard is also defined as ruta. rutajn na thus got redefined as knowledge by testimony and not by acquaintance. This implies that expression of sensual perception in syllables / signs is rutajn na. The objects of this knowledge may be both concrete and non concrete (i.e. physical and non physical or m rta and am rta) in the entire loka and of all times.
Thus verbal testimony (rutajn na) can be defined as 'Knowledge or cognition of other related entities with the aid of mind using the knowledge cognized through the medium of sense organs'. It also follows from this discussions that rutajn na is matter as it is based on sensual perception which itself is matter as per Jain theory of knowledge. It is normally of two types namely verbal (through words heard or read) and inference (e.g. seeing smoke to know the existence of fire).
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ruta is classified in two categories namely material scripture (Dravya ruta) and psychic scripture (Bh va ruta). Sermons of omniscient composed as Dv da ga by ga dharas is Dravya ruta while
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the knowledge acquired by their listener or reader is called Bh va ruta. As verbal testimony is preceded by sensual perception, it is identified as of two types namely verbal (through words heard or read) and inference. Since the subjects of the five sense organs are touch, taste, smell, sound and form; rutajň na can accordingly be classified as Ak ara i.e. which can be represented by words /syllables, signs etc) and Anak ara (which cannot be so represented by words, syllables, forms etc, e.g. smell, taste, touch etc.).
Ak ara literally means indestructible. Even though all knowledge is ak ara, still the conventional meaning of ak ara is a syllable or alphabet. Sa jñ -ak ara is the indicated meaning assigned to a syllable as per its form, size etc. as the same is always conveyed by that syllable. Vya jana-ak ara is the pronunciation or spoken form of syllables. Dhaval talks of 64 syllables (33-consonants, 27vowels, 4-auyogavaha for a total of 64). Their different permutations and combinations give words (padas), which are countless. Anak ara, like inhaling, exhaling, thunder etc. is actual material scripture, are not written or spoken like syllable and is the cause of rutajn na. Living beings without mind i.e. with 1 to 4 senses and without mind have this type of rutajn na that originates without the use or effort of speech faculty.
Types of rutaj na:
Verbal testimony can be classified in many ways and accordingly is of many types e.g.
• Based on the state of owner or rutaj na (Dravya ruta & Bh va ruta) • Based on the determining cause of rutaj na
• Form / representation ruta is classified in two categories namely material scripture (Dravya ruta) and psychic scripture (Bh va ruta). Sermons of omniscient composed as Dv da ga by ga dharas is Dravya ruta while the knowledge acquired by their listener or reader is called Bh va ruta. However from the perspective of the listener, it is with a beginning and end (reasons subsidence cum destruction mode is temporary.
As verbal testimony is preceded by sensual perception, it can be classified as; verbal (through words heard or read) and inference (e.g. seeing smoke to know the existence of fire).
Since the subjects of the five sense organs are touch, taste, smell, sound and form; rutaj na can accordingly be classified as Ak ara (i.e. which can be represented by words /syllables, signs etc) and Anak ara (which cannot be so represented by alphabets, words, syllables, forms etc (e.g. smell, taste, touch etc.). Sa j ak ara is the indicated meaning assigned to a syllable as per its form, size etc. as the same is always conveyed by that syllable. Vya jana-ak ara is the pronunciation or spoken form of syllables. Dhaval talks of 64 syllables (33-consonants, 27- vowels, 4-auyogavaha for a total of 64). Their different permutations and combinations give words (padas), which are countless. Labdhya-ak ara is the subsidence cum destruction of rutaj navar iya karmas and subsequent use of rutaj na. It is the facility by which mind and senses are able to cognize the syllables (ak ara). Saj and Vya jana are both dravya- ruta while labdhya-ak ara is bh va- ruta. Labdhya-ak ara is possessed by only those persons who are competent to learn alphabets / syllables and is possible through all the five senses. Anak ara, like inhaling, exhaling, thunder etc. is actual material scripture, are not written or spoken like syllable and is the cause of rutaj na. Living beings without mind i.e. with 1 to 4 senses and without mind have this type of rutaj na, that originates without the use or effort of speech faculty. The sa j ij na is considered in three ways; in as much as there are three varieties of Saj (cognitional activities, namely:
i. Discursive thinking that takes in accounts the past, present and future (k liki);
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ii.
Consciousness that discriminates between what is to be avoided and what is to be adopted for life but cannot think of past and future (hetupade iki) Consciousness due to the knowledge of right scriptures. (
d iv dopade iki}
iii.
Saj in gamas mean the mental faculty of living beings (instincts) enabling their owner to decide the involvement in good and leaving the bad. Every living being has ten instincts like instincts for hunger, fear, sex, attraction, possessions etc. Nandi sutra uses k liki and no-indri interchangeably for mind. It is said to be the highest level of mental faculty and assigns six activities for it namely h (discrimination), apoha (exclusion), vimar a (enquiry), m rga (searching), gave a (fathoming) and cint (discursive thought). Hetupde iki is the lower level of Sa j and is generally concerning present tense only. Living beings with it are generally using the faculty to accept right food and avoid wrong acts/ foods. D iv dopade iki is based on attitude and / or vision. According to this, the person who has the right attitude (samyak-d i) is Sa j i and a person with wrong attitude is asaj i. This state of mental development is due to subsidence cum destruction of mithy tva-mohniya and rutaj navar iya karmas. Activation of mithy tva-mohniya and subsidence cum destruction of rutaj navar iya karmas results in asa j i- ruta. Asa j i are not able to indulge in right and avoid wrong activities. However it does not mean that they don't have the instincts at all but they have little traces of them only.
Kund Kund in Pa c stik ya gth 41.2 says that it is of four kinds namely:
i. labdhi or association i.e. capability to understand an object represented by a word. ii. bh van or attention: To contemplate on an already known object repeatedly for
deeper understanding. upayoga or understanding: To derive knowledge from cognition e.g. this is red and
that is blue etc. iv. naya or viewpoint: To understand the meaning conveyed by word with a specific
angle/viewpoint.
This classification of rutaj na is very important to understand the process of acquiring it. Labdhi corresponds to association of ideas (i.e. process of getting the meaning of one idea through its associated ideas); Bh v na is direction of one in idea with a view to get at the associated idea; upayoga is the process of understanding the meaning of idea consequent upon bh vn and naya is viewing the meaning from different relations. The first three are concerned with the psychic process of acquiring knowledge through the ideas contained in the books and the last is way of understanding things from different aspects.
During philosophical era (Dar ana-yuga) when logic was the main criterion of truth realisation and
gamas as secondary, extension of rutaj na from the perspective of transferring knowledge to others also took place in the form of sy dav da (conditional dialectic) and Naya (view point). This doctrine is based on the premise, "Object of knowledge is with infinite attributes and modes. Empirical self cannot know them all simultaneously by indirect means. Even if one knows them directly, like an omniscient, still he cannot express them through words simultaneously. Thus the expression of knowledge in words is always conditional and partial. When the cognizer has a specific objective or view point to know an object, then his knowledge is called as with reference to a specific viewpoint or naya". Thus rutaj na is of as many types (as the forms of speech or words and they are countless). This is the basis of the doctrine of anek nta for self-cognition, sy day da for its expression for others and naya for partial cognition by listener or speaker. Similarly classification of pram a (as organs of valid knowledge) is possible based on certain specific consideration as they can also be of countless types/classes.
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Avadhi Jn na / Sm Jn na - Clairvoyance or knowledge with Limitations Avadhi-Jn na implies knowledge with some limitations (Avadhi) with respect to substance, space, time and modes. It is cognized directly by the self/soul (without the assistance of senses and mind). Only concrete objects are its subjects (objects of knowledge). The power or potency of Avadhi-Jň na depends on the level of subsidence cum dissociation of avadhi-jn n var iya karmas resulting in its having different levels of limitations of cognizing concrete objects with respect to spatial, temporal, substance and modes considerations. It can disappear also after its acquisition if it is of lower level or it can grow till the self attains omniscience. It is of immense use in worldly pursuits (like crystal ball gazing to tell future or advising others on worldly problems) but in attaining emancipation, it is of no use. Concerning the limitations of avadhi-jn na, these are as follows: As usual, there can be countless subdivisions or types of Avadhi-jn na. Nand and Tattv rathasutra talk of two types primarily, namely bhava-pratyaya (congenital or due to destiny in which born and associated throughout he lifespan in that destiny) and gu a - pratyaya (due to merit or level of spiritual purification of karmas bonded with the soul).
Bhava-pratyaya is due to the birth (due to the activation of n ma and yu karmas of specific types) of living beings (e.g. denizens of hell and heaven). Gu a- pratyaya, on the other hand is due to dissociation cum subsidence of avadhi-jn n var iya karmas of the individual resulting from its spiritual purification effort (right faith and right conduct).
S.No
Name
Explanation
Anug mi
Stays with the owner wherever he goes i.e. in different place/ mode/birth. Example: sunlight.
Ananug mi
Stays with the owner in his present birth/place/ mode only. Example: Question raised by a fool.
Vardham na
Increases in potency after its origination till the owner become omniscient. Example: Fire ignited in dry leaves heap. Decreases in potency after its origination. Example: Light of the lamp without
Hiyam na
oil.
Pratipt
Destroyed after its origination. Example: Lightening Potent to know beyond cosmos. Stays till omniscience attained.
Apratip t
Manah pary ya/Manah paryava jň na - Telepathy or Cognition of Mental Modes Manah pary ya jň na is the cognition of the objects thought of or contemplated by others. As thoughts are the functions of mind, it uses the mind of others to know the objects being thought so the knowledge derived is called the manah paryaya jň na ). Objects thought earlier, or are being thought, or shall be thought in future can be the subject of manah paryaya in na. Since its subject is the modes of minds, its area of knowledge is limited to manu yaloka (abode of human beings) only.
When a person is engaged in mental activity i.e. thinking / contemplation or analysis; then the self attracts a specific type of matter particles called manovarga S. These manovarga s are said to result in an eight-winged lotus shaped lump called mana situated near the heart (anywhere in the body as per wet mb ra philosophers). These manovarga s take the shape / form of the object being thought and thought process (mode of dravya-mana or physical mind) of the person at that time. As per Jain philosophy, ascetics with high and special spiritual achievements, i.e. those born in karambhumi or the place where tirthankars are born, possess longevity, right faith and self control and have fully developed sense organs (pary pta), free from passions (apramatta) and possess extra ordinary powers (ddhis) develop this ability to know the thoughts (present, past and future) of the minds (their own as well as of the other person) by contemplating on respective manovarga S directly
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The following example will clarify this point.
A person goes to two ascetics (one of them is an avadhijn ni and the other is manah paryayajñ ni) staying together. The person's objective, being a non-believer in Jain philosophy, is to belittle their cognizing capabilities. He therefore catches a small bird and holds it in his palm. He thinks that he will hold the bird in his fist and ask the ascetics what doeshe hold in his fist, i.e. is the bird live or dead. He can let the bird fly or kill to negate the answer provided by the ascetics. His objective is to tell the ascetics that they both are wrong and their knowledge is limited. So he asks them as to what does he have in his fist? Replies by the two ascetics are as follows:
Avadhijn ni: He knows that the man has a living bird and was about to say so but was stopped by manah paryaya jñ ni from saying so.
Manah paryayajň ni: He says to the man, "Why do you want to have ill feelings towards us and spoil your thinking and future? If I say you have a living bird, you will kill it to prove me wrong. If I say that you have a dead bird, you will let it fly. Hence there is no use of your ill thinking and you should use your energies to improve your present and future lives."
Kevala jň na - Omniscience The total destruction of mohniya (deluding) karma is followed by short interval lasting for less than a muh rata (forty eight minutes) after which the karmas obscuring in na and dar ana as also antr ya (obstructing) karmas are destroyed completely (and the person is called Arha ta then) and then the soul shines in its full splendor and attains omniscience which intuits all substances with all their modes (gross and subtle, concrete as well as non concrete). Kevala jň na emerges after the total destruction of the four obscuring karmas. It is the nature of pure self. Hence Jain theory of knowledge is based on the concept of Arha ta, a living human being becoming omniscient, as this jn na is k yika i.e. results only after destruction of all obscuring karmas. It has the following salient features:
The other four types or stages of jn na namely mati, ruta etc. also disappear and only kevala jň na exists. This is also supported by the fact this jň na is called kevala (meaning only) jn na. This is pure knowledge or the state of pure soul (i.e. without any flaws or bondages or impurities) as pure knowledge and pure soul are concomitant and coexistent. This jň na is not a mode of jň na but is the nature of pure soul. Kunda kunda states 10). The knower has knowledge of his nature and all the objects are within the range of his knowledge; just as the objects of sight are within the ken of the eye, though there is no mutual inherence'.
It knows all objects, concrete or non-concrete or sentient / insentient or self and others directly . The owner of this in na cognizes all objects including itself directly i.e. without the need of assistance of any external sources like sense organs, minds or light etc. [12) Kevala jn na itself is not an attribute but is a jň na itself. Hence it does not need two streams to know the self and others separately (13)
Even though it knows all substances and their modes, yet it neither enters them nor becomes like them. It just knows them and that is it. It does not develop attachment or aversion to the object of knowledge. Like a mirror, all objects are seen in this without touching or affecting the mirror However unlike mirror, which sees only a part of the object (front part facing it), this jň na sees and knows everything (front, rear, top, bottom and internal plus future /past) of the object.
Different Entities / Limbs of Knowledge (Object of Knowledge, Knowledge, Source)
Object of knowledge - Jneya, Prameya Jain philosophy talks of existent as reality / being / sat as the object of knowledge or simply as object. Existent is the indicator of substance (dravya), which is with origination, destruction and permanence simultaneously. Substance is a collection of qualities and modes. Thus substance is like persistence with change i.e. it is eternal but transforming continuously into different modes. It has
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infinite attributes and is existent. Thus the object of knowledge assumes serious complexity due to its ever-changing nature.
Substance is classified in two categories primarily namely sentient (Iva) and insentient (Aj va). J va is further classified as empirical (sa s ri) and pure (mukta or siddha). Aj va is further classified in five categories namely matter (Pudgala), principle of motion (dharma), principle of rest (adharma), space (k a) and time (k la). J va and pudgala are active while the remaining are inactive and just support the activities of these active substances. Pudgala is concrete i.e. cognizable by senses and the rest are non-concrete and hence are not subjects of senses.
Source of knowledge and its owner - Jn t Soul / self or J va is differentiated from other substances by its distinguishing characteristic of jň na. Hence in na is found nowhere else except in j va. Both soul and jn na are concomitant and coexistent and the soul is the knower (In t ).
Jn na and soul are both of the same size else parts of soul will be without jň na or
Means of Indirect Cognition by Empirical Self Empirical soul needs other media to cognize the objects as it is masked by jň na and dar ana obscuring karmas. Accordingly it has sense organs (indriyas). Mind is also described as quasi-sense in Jain scriptures. There are five senses namely skin (touch sense), tongue (taste sense), nose (smell sense), eyes (colors and forms sense) and ears (hearing sense). Eyes and mind can perceive their objects without touching or contacting them while the remaining sense organs need contact with their subjects to cognize. Each sense organ has limitations of the distance and time for their respective subject as detailed in Dhaval. Further the j va is classified according to the number of sense organs it has starting with touch and moving on to taste, smell, see and hear). J va with up to four senses cannot have mind and the five-sensed j va can be with or without mind. Sense organs are classified as physical (Dravya) and psychical (Bh va) and shown below in Fig1.
Physical sense organs are further classified as Form (Nivrati) and upkara a (capability to use physical organs to perceive matter). Nivrati is further classified as external (form of each sense organ as we see it) and internal which is the internal part of sense organ associated with the external part. Upkara a / enabler is essential as they assist and protect (upk ra) both internal and external sense organs (e.g. eye brow and black eyeball are the upkara a of eye). Psychical sense organs on the other hand are the manifestation of soul resulting in the inclination and capability of each sense organ to know their respective subjects. Psychical sense organs are further classified as capability and its utilization, which are due to the dissociation cum subsidence of matijn n var iya karmas. Matter sense organs are effective only when associated with psychical sense organs (as they have the causeeffect relationship). Each sense organ can cognize only its own attribute, e.g. skin can cognize touch, eyes can cognize form and colour and so on.
Indri Sense organs
Dravya physical
Bhava psychical
Nivrati Form /shape
Upkarana enabler
Labdh Capability
Uproga utilization
external
internal
Fig. 1
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J vas are also classified according to the number of sense organs they have like one sense organ (sth vara or non mobile) and tras (mobile bodies and with 2 to 5 sense organs and with or without mind). Further ear and eye are called k mi as they cognize with the association of the word and form of the object while the remaining three sense organs are called bhogi or enjoyer as they contact and feel the object for cognition. Further eye is said to be apr pyak ri as it does not get in contact with the object while the remaining four are said as pr pyak ri as they get in touch directly or indirectly with the object. Detailed cognition and spatial capabilities of different sense organs are given in Dhaval.
Mind is the quasi sense organ as per Jain scriptures. It is also known as sa jn, noindri (nonsense organ) or anindriya (internal-sense organ). It is different from consciousness as it is primarily an integrator of all sensual perceptions (the word sarv rathagraha am manah 114 specifies the instrumental character of mind and different from soul which is an agent). It is also of two types namely matter and psychical or conceptual. Physical mind or dravya mana is identified as a lotus like matter structure with eight petals near heart. Svetambaras consider mind to be existent everywhere in the body along with the soul (?). Hema Candra in Pram a Mim s defines it as a combination of manovarga as busy in contemplation / memory or imagination and changes its size and form every moment. Psychical mind or bh va-mana on the other hand is divided in two parts namely capability and its utilization (like in psychical sense organs) and is born out of the conscious substance (cetanadravya-janya). Discrimination (h). Judgment (av ya), Retention (dhr). Memory (sm ti). Comparison (praty bhijn na). Discussion / argument / logic (tarka), Inference (anum na) and scriptures (gama) are all different aspects of mental contemplation. Comparative analysis of functions and capabilities of sense organs and mind are given in Table 1.2
Table 1.2
Feature
Sense Organ
Mind
Functions
Perception (by contact or from distance of the object)
Contemplation, memory, imagination. Sensual perceptions analysed
Concrete, in the vicinity
Object of cognition
Concrete / non-concrete objects
Time
Object of present time only
Objects of present, past and future.
One at a time by each sense organ. Many objects at the same time
Cognition process
Initiation of Contact (except eye) essential Contact not required. cognition Process of Knowing Soul ( tm or Jva) is an inseparable lump of innumerable space points. It is of the same size as the physical / matter body it owns. J va's unique characteristic of sentiency and its manifestation (dar ana and in na) distinguishes it from other substances. Pure soul is pure knowledge. Empirical soul, defiled with karmas has a mask of matter karmas, which obscure its jň na characteristic partially. The nature and extent of the knowing capacity of the soul is obstructed by jn n var iya karmas one of the eight types of karmas classified according to their nature), which mask the soul, and permits it only an imperfect comprehension of the world. Further it is said that the thicker the cover of karmas, the more obscured is the in na quality of soul.
As the senses are matter themselves, so the empirical soul can cognize only concrete entities requiring the assistance of sense organs. But when the soul is totally free of k rmika mask (especially of jn n var iya karmas), its cognition becomes limitless and is extended to all types of entities (concrete or non-concrete of present, past and future). Thus cognition power of soul increases as the
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k rmika veil masking it decreases. Pure soul cognizes all entities directly and does not use any media for cognition. It cognizes directly and simultaneously all objects of knowledge.
Dar ana - Intuition
Dar ana implies intuition of generalities (s m nya) of things without particulars (vi e a). There is no grasping of details in dar ana. It just gives a feeling of say existence of the object or of being. Before we know an object in details, there is a stage where we simply see, hear, or otherwise become conscious of a thing in a general way without knowing the ins and outs of it. We simply know it as being or it belonging to a class. It is thus detail-less knowledge (in Jain gamas it is also called Nir k ra or formless upyoga or indeterminate cognition) or intuition. It is not necessary that this state of intuition be only through the senses. Accordingly it is identified as of four types:
⚫ Cak u (visual intuition)
Acak u (intuition of the object through senses other than the visual sense)
Avadhi (peculiar kind of clairvoyant capacity), which is able to intuit things and events at distant places and times, past or future, without the use of sense organs and hence directly by the soul i.e. objects and events not evident to sense perceptions are obvious to it. It perceives only concrete things.
Kevala (intuition par excellence) and associated with pure consciousness. It refers to the allperceiving faculty of an omniscient.
Thus the last two types of dar ana are not sensual perception but a sort of indistinct awareness, which precedes the more complete or complete awareness in case of Avadhi and Kevala respectively. Concerning the first type of manifestation of consciousness i.e. dar ana-upyoga, Jains talk of realization of the self- occurring in dar ana and hence they use the word dar ana instead of belief in samyak dar ana. On this basis, sometimes they say that dar ana is svaprak aka i.e. self-revealing or activating to distinguish it from jñ na-upyoga (Table 1.1). Virasena in his commentary Dhaval states that intuition is the introspection of the self as every entity is with both specifics and generalities. This is partially true as both dar ana and jn na are cohesive and occur together either serially or simultaneously, e.g. when one becomes introvert i.e. looks and gets immersed in his soul, then the object of knowledge also becomes the object of dar ana and the cogniser starts cognizing the object.
Jñ na - Cognition or Knowledge
Dar ana, which occurs on the first contact of the object with the knower, is followed by the cognition process (Avagraha) for cognition of specifics or details about the object. Empirical soul uses pram a and nayas to cognize an entity. As every substance has infinite qualities and modes and there are infinite substances; so the empirical soul cognizes them using pram a (for complete knowledge of the substance) and naya (for partial knowledge of the substance from a specific view point or objective). Empirical souls can cognize only concrete objects (mati and ruta with the assistance of senses and mind; avadhi and manah pary ya directly though) while pure self has just kevala jn na. Further mati and ruta jn na are the only types of acquired jn na (the other three types of jn na are direct by soul). Some c ryas say ruta in na can cognise non-concrete objects also, though indirectly with the aid of sermons of kevalis / omniscient. We shall now try to see how the empirical soul and pure soul use their sentiency faculty and its manifestation to know the objects of knowledge.
Cognition by Empirical Soul
The empirical soul, by its very nature, needs the assistance of external agencies, either as a medium or as an aid to acquire knowledge of the object of knowledge. The physical or celestial body, accompanying the empirical soul is used as a means or a medium to acquire and transfer knowledge. The human beings are said to have the five sense organs and the body comprising the nervous system including the brain (for processing), mind and a host of nerve centers. The k rma a arira (like a database of programs and data in computers) accompanying the empirical soul is a storehouse of the traces (karmas) and activated by the tejus arira (which connects the k rma a arira with soul and the nervous system for information exchange purposes). The empirical soul is affected by the activities (called yoga in Jain literature) of the sense organs as well as the activation of the karmas and called as psychic or bh va-mana, which cause the lumping of mind particles (manovarga s) in
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the form of a lotus shaped entity called mind. This physical or material mind, in turn, interacts with the nervous system including the brain to transmit appropriate signals to sense organs and psychic mind back and forth. Brain is the first connection of physical mind. It processes all signals from physical mind and transmits the results for processing by other sense organs and vice versa. The brain has the capability to store information processing modules in its various limbs so that it process data received from sense organs and physical mind quickly and without recourse to physical mind all the time.
प्र
The empirical soul acquires knowledge through indirect means i.e. mati and ruta jn na. Table 1.3 gives the steps involved in acquiring these types of knowledge in a sequential manner. Thus we see that avagraha, the first stage of mati cannot start without intuition (i.e. feeling of existence of the object by the cognizer) and the object getting in the zone of cognition of the cognizer, i.e. getting in contact with each other direct or virtual.
Similarly h without avagraha; av ya without h; dh r without av ya; Sm ti without dh r and stages at serial number 7,8,9 and 10 are all serial and require preceding stage to occur to enable the succeeding stage take place. Sm ti is however used in h and av ya also.
We have also seen that the empirical soul can acquire on its own, without the use of sense organs, the knowledge of concrete objects through two types of jn na namely avadhi and manah pary ya directly. These are said to be partial / ek-de a as they know the concrete objects only but directly without the assistance of sense organs. Soul, due to the subsidence cum destruction of avadhi and manah pary ya jñ n var iya karmas, attains a capability to know all concrete objects directly. However to some extent, these two types also are dependent on the physical body of the cognizer (Avadhi) and the mind of the other person for manah pary yajn n.
Avadhi knows the objects through some or all-specific space points of the soul associated with the body and spread throughout the entire body (bhava pratyaya particularly). These space points are of the shape of conch shell, swastika, kala a etc. for auspicious knowledge while for the inauspicious cognition these are of the shape like chameleon etc. Further these space points keep changing or getting added/deleted as a result of the purity level of the soul (i.e. subsidence cum dissociation of avadhi jn n var iya karmas). Empirical souls in hellish and heavenly destinies have avadhi jñ na by birth and limited in nature.
With mati jn na, the cogniser knows the physical mind of the others and then manah paryaya cognises the objects being thought (or were /will be) by the mind of others as the thoughts are said to be the modes of the mind itself. Manah paryaya knows the objects with the assistance of mind and hence matijn na is its dar ana. Being the empirical soul, it knows the mind and its modes, this jn na knows only the concrete objects thought of by the mind of others and not the non-concrete attributes associated with them. As the owner of this jñ na is with a high order of soul-purity, his soul is able to directly cognise these objects and is of right type only.
Avadhi, manah pary ya and kevala being direct cognition by the soul do not need any media or assistance. These types of jñ na depend on the status of karmas masking the pure soul only. Avadhi and manah paryaya have limitations, as they are cognized by the empirical soul due to dissociation cum subsidence of respective jñ n var iya karmas.
To acquire knowledge of worldly and physical objects, Akala ka divided Matijn na into two types, namely s mvyavah rika pratyak a (direct by tradition) and / or parok a (indirect) comprising memory, comparison, logic, inference. Further he kept rutajn na as scriptural knowledge for spiritual discussions as the last type of parok ajñ na. In this process of acquiring knowledge, ruta is generally representing the knowledge acquired from others. In a way, it can be seen that ruta is further refinement of already existing knowledge, as it is first used as memory in acquiring knowledge then in updating this memory for use later on. It is acquired with the assistance of mati and is useful in enhancing the process of acquiring knowledge. Hence mati or mind based knowledge can be said as the most important type of knowledge to know the physical objects.
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6.0 Origin and Growth of jñ na Doctrine in Jain Philosophy
We shall now review developments in the concepts and literature on jn na in Jain philosophy.
a. Pre-Mah v ra Time to 1st Century BC. Canonical Era
Basis of our knowledge of Jain theory of knowledge is the transfer of knowledge on the tradition of preceptor to disciple for quite some time as no efforts were made for a long time to document the sermons of Bhagav na Mah vra or earlier trtha karas. Jain definition of the loka states that loka is eternal i.e. not created by anyone and existent from beginning-less period. The entire time period divided into epochs and each epoch has a series of 24 trtha karas practicing and delivering the Dv da gas. Thus jn na origin is beginningless as it is accepted as a co-existent quality of soul.
Fourteen P rvas (old texts), which are the organised source of knowledge before Mah v ra's time and non existent now, have Jñana Prav da as number 5th p rva dealing exclusively on the subject of jn na. Dv da gas (compiled by Gautama, the principal apostle of Mah vra and based on His sermons) all through have discussions on jñ na. So the period from Mah v ra's time till say 1st century BC can be considered as the time of Yogi-pram a as the basis of right / valid knowledge (due to the presence of either omniscient themselves or the rutakevalis or c ryas having knowledge of some purv s or some A gas). Knowledge is described in canonical texts as of five types shown in Fig 1 to 3.
Five types of knowledge as per Fig.1 - Ref Bhagwati Sutra
Regrouping the five types of jñ na in two categories namely direct (pratyak a) and Indirect (parok a). Fig 2. Ref Sth n ga.
Sensual perception being included both as direct and indirect, i.e. Mati divided in two categories namely sensual perception as direct and memory, comparison, logic, inference as indirect. Fig 3. Ref. Nandi Sutra.
Mati, sensual-perception
Kevala
Avadhi
Śruta
Verbal or scriptural
Pratyaksa(direct)
Bhava pratya
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kṣayopaśamika
jñāna knowledge
No-kevala
Avadhi, Clairvoyance
Fig.1
jñāna
abhinibodhika
Manahparyaya
Manaliparyaya Telepathy
Fig.2
Parokia (indirect)
śrutaniśrita
SORS OF JAN
aśrutniśrita
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Kevala. Omniscience
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jñāna
Direct - Pranaksa
Direct - Praryaksa
Indirect - Parokşa
Indiet- Pa
Samvyavahanka
Mukhya
Memory - Smrti
Kevala
Pratyabhijñana
Avadhi
Logic - Tarka
Manatsparyava
Inference - A
nna
Canonical literature - agama
Fig3
The beginning of Jain logic is evident in the works of Kunda Kunda's (analyzes every aspect of reality from three view points), Sama ta Bhadra ( pta Mim ns ) establishing the essence of omniscience; Um Sw ti (Tattv ratha sutra), Siddha Sena Diw kara (equating knowledge with pram a) in the period 1-4th century AD. They considered knowledge as valid or not from the point of view of logic and not just spiritual progress. They classified pram a into two viz pratyak a (direct) and parok a (indirect) first based on its origination by the soul directly or through some other external media. The next phase of Jain logic / theory of knowledge were initiated by Akala ka, called father of Jain logic (720-780AD). He wrote Lagh straya, Ny yaviniscaya, Pram asa graha, Sidhiviniscaya and commentary on Tattv rthas tra called R jv rtika. He studied all Indian schools of logic and then gave final shape to Jain logic, which was compact, comprehensive, authentic and subtle. Competent Jain logicians like M nikyanandi (Park mukha). Prabh candra (980-1065AD) wrote commentaries on Park mukh and Laghistrya named as Ny yakumudacandra and Prameyakamalam tanda and a host of other logicians like V didevasuri etc. later on followed. Then in 1108-112AD Hemacandra wrote an excellent systematic textbook on logic called Pram amim s followed by other logicians later on who wrote commentaries on this and Div kara's works. Ya ovijaya (1608-1688AD) wrote Tarkabh and Jn nabindu dealing with subject systematically
Kunda kunda in Samaya S ra (g th 5) introduced the concept of prama, Tattv rathasutra equated jn na to prama and further classified it as direct and indirect 8. rya Rak ita tried to define pram a and gave its four types as per Ny ya stra. Um Sv ti equated jň na to pram a in Tattv rthas tra. Sama ta Bhadra established the validity of Jaina omniscient (pta), anek nta (multiple view points or relative pluralism), sy dv da (conditional dielectic) and naya (view point) in
pta Mm ns, Svayambh Stotra and I opde a. Siddha Sena used logic to further detail the Anek nta and Naya doctrine and used them to discuss jn na as indicated in scriptures earlier. P jya P da also did a comparative analysis of jň na with other philosophies. Hari Bhadra wrote Anek nta Jayapat k and also tried to establish harmony between Jain and Patanjali yoga systems. Akala ka put Jain pram a on firm footing and wrote Tatty ratha-Vrtika, A a ati, Laghistrya etc. He is described as the father of Jain Ny ya. Later on his followers namely Vidy Nanda (commentaries on Akala ka's works), M ikya Nand (Parik Mukha to describe Jain Nyaya in sutra form), and later on Hema Candra (Pram a Mm s ) etc. wrote extensive literature on Jain pram a and ny ya.
Hemacandra 15) says," literally pram a, when studied in parts, stands for pra- means in excellent form i.e. to the exclusion of doubt: m - means to determine and the suffix a- means an instrument. Thus the whole word pram a stands for 'what is the most effective instrument of the determination of reality in its true character through the preliminary exclusion of doubt'".
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b. Recent Developments. 11th Century AD till now
11th century marks the beginning of crya Hema Candra's era. He wrote Pram a Mms and simplified the definition of pram a as per the Jain scriptures namely samyagartha nir aya pram am or prama is an entity, which assists in the determination of the right meaning of the object. He was followed by Prabh Candra (commentaries Prameya-Kamala-M rtanda on Parik Mukha and Ny ya Kumucandra on Lagh striya), Abhaya Deva's commentary on Sanmati Tarka, Ya ovijaya using Akala ka's concepts of Pram a, ny ya to write books on Jain ny ya like Jain Tarka Bh J n na Bindu, commentary on stra-v rt samuccaya. Vimal D sa wrote Sapta-Bha gi to elaborate the concept of this important aspect of anek nta. This is the era of developing literature with clarifications on Jain ny ya for commoners and the process continues to date.
References:
[1] Jain Sidh nta abdako a V. Il p-255 [2] Bodha P huda by Kunda Kunda [3] Tattv rtha sutra Sarvartha Siddhi 600 [4] Șa khand gama Dhavl by Vira Sena 1.1.4 /142/3 [5] Bhagwati Sutra 2/44-45 [6] Nandi Sutra edited by Maha Prajna. [7] Pravacana S ra by Kunda Kunda V 15 [8] Nandi Sutra edited by MahaPrajna [9] Pravacana S ra by Kunda Kunda V 22-24 , Tattv rtha sutra 1/9-10 [10] Tattv rtha sutra Sarvartha Siddhi by P jya P da V.16,17 [11] Tattv rtha sutra Sarvartha Siddhi by P jya P da Para 265 [12] Jain Sidh nta abdako a by Jainendra Var 11/430 [13] Jain Sidh nta abdako a by Jainendra Var 11.408 [14] Pram a Mim s by Hemacandra sutra 24 [15] Pram a Mms by Hem Candra V.1
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4.2.b
The Concept of Naya in Jainism
Dr. Anekant Kumar Jain
1. Introduction This complex universe comprises of infinite realities. Each reality characterized as substance in Jainism, is endowed with infinite attributes and their modes. Further there are infinite substances grossly grouped in six classes. It is impossible for an ordinary human being to cognize /know simultaneously all the modes and characteristics (such as one and many, similar and dissimilar, eternal and ephemeral, determinate and indeterminate, prior and subsequent, cause and effect, good and bad, beautiful and ugly etc.) of even one substance, what to talk of the entire universe. Thus the cognition of one even substance by an individual J va (self /soul) and presented by its limited intellect can never be a whole view. It is always partial. Further it is a relative view - as per the beliefs, prejudice, mood and purpose of the one experiencing it and narrating it. This is so deu the substance being constantly going through transformation in its attributes. This is known as Naya (doctrine of viewpoints). Even though there can infinite viewpoints, yet they are summarily grouped in seven types or modes of predication.
2. The Concept of Naya Different thinkers have taken different views and perceptions about the universe, reality, and the ultimate end. The philosophical standpoints propounded by them are nihilism, monism, dualism, materialism, atheism, and the like. Each 'isms' expresses only one aspect of manifoldness; and in turn, there can obviously be various viewpoints. According to Jain Philosophy, each view is true from a particular stand-point of the speaker and none of them is complete. This perception or conception of grasping a particular standpoint at a given situation is presented through the concept of Naya in Jainism. This doctrine known as Nayav da and the doctrine of expression of these Nayas is called Sy dv da. Nayav da and Sy dv da are the two main wings of anek ntav da.
2.1. Systematic Development of the Concept of Naya The millennium following Mah vra's liberation is known as the period of canonical texts and literature of Jainism. This period was followed by an era of philosophical writings. The Jain cryas felt a serious need to construct new terminology for explaining the import and importance of Naya to the contemporary world. "In large part such an initiative was inspired by the necessities of the time, which was characterized by the ongoing philosophical and logical debates about the nature of reality often giving rise to competing and conflicting views among the debaters. The major Indian traditions attempted to explain the efficacy, worth and validity of their own points of views about the nature of reality. The Ved ntis held the view of one ultimate unchanging reality, Brahman, whereas for the Buddhists everything was in flux and momentary
During the first century AD, crya Um sv ti (also knowm as Um sv m) undertook the task of defining the reality in his famous treatise Tattv rtha S tra on the basis of Mah v ra's teaching. He articulated three levels for the comprehension of reality: permanence, origination and cessation (or end). c rya Siddhasena Div kara, taking a step ahead from c rya Um sv ti, came up with the new terminology anek nta to help reconcile the apparently opposing perspectives on the nature of truth and reality. The concept of naya, which we have stated above, is a part of Anek ntav da. Sanmati Tarka and Ny y vat ra are the two main treatises of crya Siddhasena Div kara which explain anek nta and naya.5) Nayav da recognizes that ordinary and nonomniscient knowledge claims they are biassed. Consequently, claims from one perspective must always be balanced and complimented by the claims from other perspectives.
2.2. kinds of Naya While operating within the limits of language and seeing the complex mature of reality with its multiple aspects, Mah vra used the language of naya. Naya is the partial expression of the truth. It enables us to comprehend the reality part by part. There are two kinds of naya: Ni caya Naya (transcendental or absolute viewpoint) and Vyavah ra Naya (practical or modal viewpoint). Ni caya Naya enables us to understand the reality from the viewpoint of the substance without denying the existence of modes. Vyavah ra Naya allows us to comprehend the reality from the perspective of
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modes and attributes, but does not deny the existence of substance. Take for instance a gold vessel. From the perspective of Ni caya Naya, it is matter in the form of gold. From the perspective of Vyavah ra Naya, it is a vessel. Both the statements are true as long as they are relative to each other i.e. gold is the substance and vessel is its mode. However from the perspective of substance, the gold vessel is matter, and gold it is mode. Hence, to have a comprehensive view of reality, it is essential to understand co-existence of both nayas. In other words, to recognize the many facets of reality, we must consider it both in terms of the eternal and unchanging substance and also in terms of modes which are infinite, transient and changing. Thus, reality is both permanent and changing."
2.3. Distinction between Pram a and Naya Pram a and Naya are the different ways of knowing the reality. They enrich our knowledge of real things. Pram a is the valid knowledge of multiform object endues with many qualities. Pram a is valid Knowledge of itself and of things not known before. It is the instrumental cause of right knowledge, which must be free from doubt, vagueness and perversity. Lack of discrimination between the real and unreal is to create wrong knowledge. Mental or physical disturbances create wrong attitude, which again is the cause of wrong knowledge. Objects possess different characteristics, which can be fully comprehended by omniscience only. Our perceptions and knowledge have their own limitation and hence we often take a partial view of thing. This is naya. Naya is the valid knowledge of one part, aspect, quality, or mode of multiform abject. Naya is a part of pram a. It is partial valid knowledge. It deals with a particular aspect which the speaker has in view; it is therefore a theory of stand - points. That is why it is said Pram a-nairadhigamah.
c rya Akalanka has described the standpoints as the hidden intentions or presuppositions of inquirers, different points of view of persons searching for truth. He further states that a pram a results in right knowledge while a standpoint is only a view of the knower. Each viewer views a thing from a particular angle/intention. For the ascertainment of reality, the doctrine of standpoints (naya) is necessary, in addition to that of Pram a. In other philosophical schools, it is asserted that reality is revealed and cognized only by the means of knowledge. According to the Jainas a thing has innumerable characteristics, and a Pram a may reveal a thing as a whole, but not its all particular features. Thus the standpoints (nayas), by putting emphasis on one aspect or other, can help us to grasp reality in a complete and proper manner.
A Pram a reveals the thing as a whole of (sakala-grahina) while a naya reveals only a portion of it (am a-grahina). A naya is only a part of Pram a. A pram a is compared to an ocean, while nayas are like drops of ocean kept in different pitchers. A naya is defined as a particular opinion (abhipr ya) or a viewpoint (apek) a viewpoint which does not rule out other different viewpoints, and is, thereby, expressive of a partial truth about an object (vastu) as entertained by a knowing agent
i ta). A naya is a particular viewpoint about an object or an event, there being many other viewpoints which do not enter into, or interfere with the particular viewpoint under discussion. Although the other viewpoints do not enter into the perspective of the particular viewpoint under discussion they constantly, as it were, attack its frontiers and await its reconciliation with them in the sphere of a fuller and more valid knowledge which is the sphere of pram a.
2.4. Naya and Nay bhasa (fallacious standpoint) If we took an object from multiple points of view, we can say that there are many kinds of naya because abject is composed of multiform characteristics, and one naya knows only one characteristic. Naya or incomplete judgment is only one of the qualities of that abject and leaves the rest untouched. This does not mean that one rejects all other qualities except one, while advocating naya. The point is that a particular naya (viewpoint) selects one of the infinite qualities not rejecting the other viewpoints (nayas). If only one particular naya is accepted and all other are rejected it becomes a fallacious standpoint, which is called Nay bhasa.
3. The Seven Nayas The realities of the world are innumerable and they can be grasped from innumerable points of view. According to crya Akalanka, in the Sanmati Tarka, The standpoints are the presuppositions of
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inquiries, embodying the points of view fro which they are investigating the thing in question. In ordinary cognition, the knower partially sees the thing from particular point of view. Consequently, the nature of thing that is revealed to him is necessarily conditioned and limited by this particular viewpoint which is giving only some partial knowledge. c rya Siddhasena says, "Since a thing has many characters, it is completely comprehended only by the omniscient. But a thing becomes the matter of a naya, when it is perceived from a particular standpoint.'
The Jaina c rya propose seven nayas even though there are many. These seven nayas are broadly divided into two categories:
Dravy rthika naya (substance view, dealing with generality) Pary y rthika naya (modal view, dealing with particularity)
Substance standpoint is the view of looking at the identity of things (abheda), while mode or modal viewpoint is the view which looks at the differences of things. Man speaks of something either from the standpoint of identity or from that of difference. Statements of things from the form point of view are put under the head of Substance viewpoint. Propositions of objects, according their differences, fall under the category of mode viewpoint. Many minor classifications of things ranging between general (dravy rthika) and particular (pary y rthika) viewpoints are a possible. But briefly speaking, there can be only two groups of statements. The viewpoint identity on which the statements of generalization are founded is called the dravy rthika naya; while the viewpoint of difference on which the statements of particularization are founded pary y rthika naya.
Dravya nayas are of three kinds:
Naigama - naya:
Samgrahanaya: Vyavah ra - naya:
Figurative view point/ Non-literal or the teleological or the universalparticular standpoint
Class view or common or general view point Distributive view / standpoint of the particular
They are also called artha-nayas. They refer to objects or meanings. Pary ya (or pary y rthika) nayas are four kinds:
Rjus tra- naya:
Linear or straight thread/ standpoint of momentary-ness. abda-naya: Literal or word or discriptive / standpoint of synonyms Samabhir dha-naya: The specific or the etymological standpoint Evambh ta-naya: Active or Determinant or the such-like standpoint
They are also called abda-nayas, for they refer to words.
3.1. Naigama-naya
Naigama-naya is interpreted in two ways. First, P jyap da takes it as the standpoint which emphasizes the purpose of series of actions, which is not yet completely accomplished. A person going with an axe, being asked for what purpose he is going, answers, 'I am going to bring a wooden measure." He is going to cut a bamboo and make a measure out of it. The measure is the purpose to be realized in the action. Secondly, Candraprabha S ri interprets naigama-naya in another manner. It is the common-sense point of view, which considers things as possessing both generic and specific qualities, which are not distinguished from one another. Advaita Ved nta denies the specific qualities. Buddhism denies the generic qualities. The Jaina holds that a thing is an amalgam of both generic and specific (particular) qualities.
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3.2. Samgraha - naya
Samgrahanaya is the class point of view. It refers to mere generality devoid of all particular or specific qualities. It considers things from general points of view, ignores the special features, and treats them as mere 'being'. The Samgraha - naya is of two kinds: Parasamgraha and Aparasamgraha. Parasamgraha-naya is the highest class view. All individual things in the world may be considered from the most general point of view as mere 'being' irrespective of their particular features. Aparasamgraha - naya is the inferior class view. This naya considers dharma, adharma,
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space, times, soul and non-soul as identical with one another, since they have substantially. It considers all earth vessels as earth irrespective of their particular features. This is the inferior class view.
3.3. Vyavh ra- naya
Vyavh ra-naya is the practical point of view based on sense perception. Vyavh ra-naya is the particular standpoints which consider the particular individuals alone, without taking cognizance of their generic qualities and specific qualities.
3.4. Rjus tra- naya
Rjus tra-naya is literally the straight standpoint which considers only transitory modes of a thing at the present moment apart from the permanent substance. It does not consider the past modes which have vanished, and the future modes which have not yet come into existence. For example, 'pain exists at the present moment.' Here the transient mode of pain at present moment is considered, and its substratum, the soul is ignored. It is the extreme opposite of Samgraha-naya. Further, Rjus tra - naya is narrower than vyavah ra-naya which considers individual things with certain duration.
3.5. abda-naya
abda-naya is the standpoint which refers to words and their meanings. A word implies a particular object, an attribute, a relation, or an action. Each word has its own meaning. Different words also may refer to the same object. The relation between the words and their object are relative and absolute. Words differing in gender, number, person, case and the like may refer to the same object. Pu ya (masculine), Tr (feminine) and Nak atra (neuter), mean the same object - star. Dr h (plural) and Kalatra (singular) mean the same object - wife.
3.6. Samabhir dha- naya
Samabhir dha-naya refers to the different meanings of words according to their roots. Indra literally means 'all prosperous'. akara literally means 'all powerful'. Purandara literally means 'destroyer of the enemies'. Samabhir dha-naya emphasizes the literal meaning of the words and ignores their identical derivative meanings. The three words we have just seen have the same derivative meanings. They refer to the king of gods in heaves. Samabhir dha-naya is a special application of the abda-naya. It distinguished the synonyms from one another, and applies each word appropriately to a specific object according to the etymological meaning.
3.7. Evambh ta-naya
Evambh ta- naya is a special application of Samabhir dha-naya. It restricts a word to one particular meaning which emphasizes one particular aspect of an object suggested by its root meaning. The word gau literally means 'a moving animal.' A moving cow is gau. When it is at rest, it should not be called a gau. It should be designed by a different world according this naya. It uses a word in the strictest etymological sense.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, it could be said that the nayas serve to categorize the different points of view from which reality could be investigated. Nayav da also encourages investigators to assume other perspectives, including the important perspective of the other as persisting, but constantly changing, entity or reality. A substance has infinite powers, and can be known from various points of view. The nayas are partial, one-sided views, which are not adequate to the complete reality. They give only relative truths, and not absolute truths. All affirmations and negations are relative to time, place, and circumstances. This is what the doctrine of naya maintains in Jainism.
Helpful Books:
A comparative study of the Jaina theories of Reality and knowledge - Y.J. Padmarajiah MLBD - 1963 The Central Philosophy of Jainism by - Bimal Krishna Matilal, University of Toronto Canada, Pub L.D. Institute, A Bad-9
Nyay Dilika Primary text for Jain logic - by Itaru warkirgo, Pub Pratibha Prakashan - Delhi. Jaina Philosophy: An Intriduction by- Mohanlal Mehta Pub. Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, Banglore - 1.
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Compenduim of Jainism. T.K. Tukol, Pub Karnatka Universiti University, Dharwad. Karnatka, First - 1980
References:
[1] Tattv rthsutra, by-Ach rya Umaswami, Ed. By - Pt. Phool Chand Sh stri, Chapter - 1, Sutra - 6, Pub. Shri Ganeshvarni digamber Jain Research Institute. Varan si (U.P.) India, Second - 1991, Pp-10.
[2] Laghiyastraya, by Ach rya Akla kadev, Trans. Pt. Kailashchandra Shashtri, Third Pravachan prave h, Sixth Pravachan Parecheda. Karika-52 Pub. Shri Ganeshvarni digamber Jain Research Institute, Varanasi (U.P.) India, First-2000, Pp 77.
[3] Pram na naya tattv loka - by Shri V dideva Siru, Ed. Pany s Arun vijayaji Maharaj, Chapter 7, Sutra - 1, Pub. Shri Mahvir Vidyapeeth kalyana Kendra, Bombay, second - 1994, Pp. 190.
[4] Nayachakko, by Shri Mailla - Dhaval, Ed. Pt. Kailash Chandra shashtri G th -171, Pub. Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi Third-2001, Pp.98.
[5] Sammati Tarka - Sidhasene divakar. Eng. Version Pt. Sukhlal Sanghvi, Bechard s Joshi, Chapter-III, G th - 47, Pp. 164.
[6] Samaysar - by Kundkund, commentary-by Acharya Amrit Chandra, Bandhadhikar, G th - 272, Pub. Kundkund Kahan digamber Jain Teerth Trust Jaipur - 15, Tenth-1995, Pp. 434. [7] Tattvarthvartika 1/33/2, by - Acharya Aklankadev, Ed. Prof. Mahendra Kumar Jain Pub. Bhartiya Jnanpeeth, New Delhi - Fourth - 1993, Pp-95.
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4.2.b
Ni caya (transcendental) and Vyavah ra (practical) Naya
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Reality / Sat / Existent Um Sw mi defines reality through its sutras
Sad dravya lak a am i.e. substance is the indicator of real. TS 5/29
Utp davyayadhrauvyayuktta 5/32
sat' i.e. nature of real is origination, destruction and permanence TS
G
apary ybad dravya i.e. substance is with mode and attributes. TS 5/33
But he did not elaborate about the nature of the relationship existing between them. Kunda Kunda established the relationship between them on the basis of concomitance. According to him, "Till such time a new mode is created, the old mode cannot be destroyed. Similarly without the destruction of one mode, other mode cannot originate. Hence both of them i.e. origination and destruction have concomitance of their existence." Similarly he related permanence to them by saying that origination and destruction can take place only when we accept existence as permanent. This can be explained easily by the following schematics for a small series of modes of an already existent object.
.....D1
02D2
03D3.
1.e. destruction of the previous mode and the origination of his present mode take place at the same instance while substance is always present.
Thus according to Jain Ny ya (logic), both substance and mode are truth /real. When we are unable to visualize the substance hidden under the waves of modes, then we consider modes as primary and the substance as secondary. Similarly when in the tranquil ocean of the substance, the modes i.e. waves are quite then substance becomes primary and modes as secondary. Different philosophers have presented different views of the truth based on determinate (savikalpa) and indeterminate (nirvikalpa) knowledge. In the indeterminate experience we just come in contact with the object without knowing any specifics about it (i.e. something is there) while determinate experience being based on sensual perception results in perception of different details of the object.
The third sutra above implies that every substance has infinite modes and attributes. Further there can be pairs of opposing attributes coexistent in an entity at any given time. Samanta Bhadra in pta Mim S has used permanence without origination and destruction in place of the generic attributes and origination and destruction in place of specific attributes of the entity. He has also said that origination, destruction and permanence are identical and different as shown in the following verse:
Kryotp dah k ayo hetoniryam Ilak a tp athak Na tau j ty dhavasth n danpek h khapu pavat
Origination and destruction of an activity is due to a cause / reason. There is a rule of causation in origination and destruction. Cause of the origination of an activity also becomes the cause of the destruction of substance/ base. Cause for the destruction of the soil becomes the cause for the origination of the pitcher. Similarly cause of the destruction of the pitcher becomes the cause for the origination of the broken pieces of the pitcher.
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When our cognitive alternative tends to be unifying then we find the substance and mode gets lost in the background; and when the same is discriminative then the mode appears and the substance disappears in the background.
Pijayvijudan davvañ davvavijutt ya pajjay atthi Do han a a abh dan bh van sama par vinti
Panc stik ya g th 12
There is not much distance between true. There is no bifurcation like one alternative is true and other is false; and that both are false if we accept that universal is independent of particular and particular is independent of universal. Both become true when they are both considered relative to each other Similarly both become false when they start rejecting each other and become true when each starts talking of its subject / domain.
Every object has two types of existences namely:
Existence in its own nature (swar p stitva) Existence like similar objects (s dra y stitva)
Svar p sitva provides unique identity to the object that differentiates it from other objects belonging to similar or dissimilar classes of objects. Due to it only various modes of the object keep themselves different from the modes of other objects. Further it assists the object to maintain its identity over a period of time in all of its modes and keeps it aloof from other objects. Svarup sitva is also called vertical universal or urghavt sm nya. This is called the substance as it flows through its serial modes i.e. results in its generations.
S dra y stitva causes the feeling of similarities between two different objects. This is also called tiryaka s m nya (horizontal universal) or s dra ya s m nya. It is not correct to imagine existence of one entity or universal like cow-ness or man-ness in a number of independently existing cows and men. They cannot be accepted as the combined modes of two dissimilar substances as two objects of extremely different spaces cannot be the material cause in one mode as the spontaneous reaction takes place only after receiving an indication. A person who develops a feeling of sameness amongst many persons after observing some common parts / features amongst them can only experience existence of man-ness amongst them (due to the existence of s dra ya s m nya amongst them). Hence we should accept existence of s dra y stitva as the cause of similarities amongst different objects that is present to some extent in each object. Vertical universal or svar p stitva had been discussed earlier and so we accept two types of universal attributes.
Similarly the part / component which cause the serial transformation from one mode to another in a substance is called particular / specific or vi e a. Specific / particular or vi e a cause the feeling of difference between two objects is called vyatireka-vi e a. This implies that the feeling of same in two modes of an object is due to vertical universal while the feeling of difference (like aging) in the same object is due to vi e a called pary ya or mode as indicated in Park amukha,
"Par paravivartavy pi dravyam rghvat m diva sth s diu, ekasmin dravye k mbh vinah parim h pary y tmani har avid divat."
Further the feeling of sameness in two different objects is due to vertical-universal attribute and the feeling of differences amongst them is due to vyatireka-vi e a. This is explained in Parik mukha as follows:
Sad parima stiyark khandamund di u gotvavat: arth nttaragato visad aparimo vyatireko gomahi divat.
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FOR THE
Hence every object in this universe is with universal and specific attributes. This is the nature of the substance by which the part causing the feeling of sameness in an object is universal and the part, which is the cause, the feeling of differences in the same is called specific.
Origination destruction - permanence in an object relates to transformation in the object. The permanence component of the substance relates to vertical universal and the origination - destruction to vi e a called mode or pary ya. Past being the material cause of present and present being the material cause of future proves that the three moments are tied to the inseparable cause - effect - cause sequence. Existence of this combination of universal and specific attributes in an object indicates the existence of infinite attributes in the object.
2.0 Cognizing the Reality
Um Sw mi in the sutra TS 1/6 says Pram anayairadhigama i.e. the object of knowledge (prameya) can be cognized by pram a (organs of valid knowledge) and naya (doctrine of viewpoints). Pram a makes the entire truth as its prameya while naya makes only a part of truth its prameya. For people like us we have to use naya doctrine to cognize an object as per our objectives. This sutra also forms the basis of the doctrine of Anek nta or multiplicity of viewpoints. To know any entity, we have to view it from at least two viewpoints as follows:
Origination (Utp da) destruction (Vyaya) i.e. from mode (pary ya) or practical viewpoint Permanence (dhrauvya) i.e. from substance (dravya) or transcendental (ni caya) viewpoint
Here we have interchangeably used modal and practical views; substance and transcendental viewpoints. However Nayacakra in verse 182-183 says that transcendental and practical viewpoints are the main viewpoints while substance and modal viewpoints are the means to know them respectively. This appears to be so as we see use of transcendental and practical viewpoints used primarily in spiritual discussions (adhy tma) while substance and modal viewpoints used in canonical literature. This justifies their use in canonical literature as means to learn and experience spiritualism. Thus these are the two ways / methods of explaining the same concept / entity.
We shall now discuss the transcendental, some times referred as absolute viewpoint also, and practical viewpoints to develop a better understanding of pure soul and empirical soul. To explain the concept of pure and empirical soul clearly, c ryas Kunda Kunda in Niyama S ra and Samaya S ra, and Samanta Bhadra in pta Mim s have used these extensively these concepts of transcendental and practical viewpoints.
Transcendental viewpoint looks at an entity without breaking the same in parts and as per its true nature and without the impact of other entities. On the other hand practical viewpoint keeps on differentiating (or breaking it into parts) an entity and impact of other entities on it so that its true nature can be understood properly. In short we can say the following main features of the two viewpoints:
• Subject of transcendental viewpoint is the entity without dividing it in parts or it looks at similarities/universal attributes of the entity while practical viewpoint looks at differences or parts or a specific attribute in the entity.
Transcendental viewpoint looks at the entity only while practical viewpoint views the impact of other things on the entity primarily.
Transcendental viewpoint talks of the pure state of the entity and its nature while practical viewpoint looks at the union of the entity with others or like other entities.
•
Transcendental viewpoint says that the nature and transformation of an entity as its own without intermixing them or their effects on each other. Practical viewpoint on the other hand even includes the efficient causes of transformation as if they have as the nature of the main entity and describes the entity in the form of other entities.
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For example, we call the tree of almonds, almond with the kernel and shell as almond also even though only the kernel of almond is of use to us and is the real almond. Similarly we call our body, family and house as ours or us even though only our pure soul (sometimes embodied with karmika impurities also) as us. Even at this stage, like almond with the peel, the empirical soul is bonded with external matter and so it is only pure soul we are interested in. Thus the pure soul becomes the subject of transcendental viewpoint while all other transformations or manifestations of pure soul with other karmika matter bonded with it are the subjects of practical viewpoint. Pure soul is therefore called to have transcendental or eternal existence. It is worthwhile to see the distinctions of empirical and pure soul for different attributes as placed in Annexe 1.
From the table we see that pure soul and empirical soul, both being non-concrete and slightly concrete, cannot be a subject of sensual perception. Hence we base our knowledge about them through their association with matter as material body and thus say sometimes that body and soul is same. This statement is from practical viewpoint to use body as a means to go deeper and understand and experience the empirical soul first and then the pure soul. Similarly attributes of pure soul like infinite perception, knowledge and conduct are referred as the path of attaining pure soul status. We can discuss other attributes shown in table from both transcendental and practical viewpoints accordingly.
As per definition of viewpoint doctrine, the intention of the knower is very important. So a person whose objective is to attain pure soul status has to view the soul from pure soul status only and perform activities of conduct, knowledge acquisition etc so that he can experience the attributes of pure soul and move forward to achieve that status completely. On the other hand in our day-to-day worldly lives, we have to know the means i.e. right knowledge, belief and conduct and practice them to achieve our worldly objectives while keeping the nature of pure soul in mind. For example to succeed in our profession we must have faith in our own resources, capabilities; acquire the knowledge of the business i.e. what it is, its scope and competition, money involved, technology and management skills needed; and then start acquiring knowledge and perform activities. This is what Jain path of purification i.e. right belief - knowledge - conduct together is the path to attain liberation is all about. One has to make efforts to succeed in its objectives.
It is important to keep in mind that on their own both transcendental and practical viewpoints are incomplete and not the whole truth. Jain logicians like Kunda Kunda, Siddha Sena, Samant Bhadra and Hema Candra have even kept consideration of just one viewpoint as perverted or mithy knowledge. Like the ocean when its waves are influenced by movements of air and celestial bodies, then waves, like modes become primary and the peaceful ocean beneath i.e. transcendental viewpoint becomes secondary but both co-exist. Similarly when the ocean is calm and quiet then the peaceful state becomes primary and the stormy or wave formations become secondary. However one has to be careful as to when to focus on one or the other viewpoint, e.g. we must know when to get on and get off the boat while crossing a river lest we either do not cross the river or get drowned in the river. (G th 12 SS).
Coming back to empirical and pure soul again, it is interesting to note that empirical soul is said to be the doer / agent and enjoyer of its karmas (practical viewpoint) while pure soul is the doer and enjoyer of its own nature (transcendental viewpoint). Here the implication is that the empirical soul, because of its association with karmic matter is influenced by, influences the external entities i.e. karmic matter either bonded with it or likely to be bonded with it or to be separated from it and even other living beings. It is this concept, which is of paramount importance in Jain path of spiritual purification i.e. the pure soul dissociates itself completely from karmic bondage. Similarly the Jain doctrine of Karma is detailed on the basis of the influence of matter karmas on various attributes and dispositions of the soul.
3.0 Types of Transcendental and Practical Viewpoints Jain logic is based on detailed analysis of an entity. Similarly the intentions of innumerable people to know an entity can be innumerable. Therefore Siddha Sena even went to the extent of saying that there are as many viewpoints as the number of entities and their modes and the knower. However for
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the sake of ease in understanding they are all clubbed under these two viewpoints. Jain logicians have gone a step further and divided each viewpoint in two further categories as follows:
Transcendental viewpoint: Pure and impure. Practical viewpoint: Sadbhuta and Asadbhuta
By the very definition of transcendental viewpoint, we cannot think of different limbs or parts / classifications of this viewpoint. However different c ryas have referred to it by different names such as pure (uddha), impure (a uddha), supreme (param uddha) and true (bhut rtha) transcendental viewpoints after making some additions to the explanations given earlier. Later on they started using them as different types of transcendental viewpoints also. For our discussions, we shall not go in details of these different types of viewpoints.
Coming to practical viewpoint, it is possible to divide it in different types according to our intention and the infinite existences to be cognized and their utility. Broadly it is divided in two types namely Sadabhuta or and asadabhuta. In sadabhuta we talk of vertical universal (feeling of same in two modes of an object) attributes and serial transformation from one mode to another in a substance (called particular / specific or vi e a) like ageing. In Asadabhuta we talk of similarities and differences of one entity with others like herd of cows, forest having many types of tree and plantations and animals. However it is be noted that practical viewpoint is used only to improve our understanding the attributes and nature of an entity and carry on our day to day life by discriminating between good and bad. Other Jain texts have further classified practical viewpoint on different basis as of 4, 7, 46 and innumerable. The most popular classification used is of seven viewpoints, which shall be discussed as a separate lecture later on under the topic epistemology.
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4.3
Anek nta Syat - Saptabhangi Dr. Kusum Jain
Anek ntav da - Non-one-sidedness
Truth is knowledge of reality. According to Jaina philosophy, truth is a vast and wondrous complexity. However, reality is extremely difficult to fully grasp because of its four aspects:
⚫ Its extension over time (past, present, future)
Its extension across space
The mix of changing forms and fixed qualities that characterize the different substances which make up the universe
The fact that those substances and forms are constantly undergoing new beginnings (origination) and endings (destruction) while still remaining permanent, all at the same time.
We often see some individuals pushing (what they feel is the only correct) their own point of view. The dogma monger sees his or her perspective on human experience and the world as the only one that matters or makes sense. He tends to dismiss, ridicule or condemn those holding a different perspective. He may also prompt antagonism. In doing so he commits violence against others in his thoughts and speech, which all too often leads to physical violence by people mistaking dogma for intelligence.
We've heard that in order to understand things as they truly are we need to be "objective". However, unless we know how to detach ourselves from the things we wish to understand and comprehend that true objectivity starts with letting go all of our forgone views and biases, we can never be objective. We are each clouded by an environment that prejudices us, by past experiences that have shaped us, and by fixed ideas about the world that seem to make sense in our limited minds.
If we would approach our own natural omniscience we could fully comprehend this great universe. We would see the origins and destinies of every soul and substance, including our own selves. Persons who have attained such autonomy and whom Jains refer to as Jinas or Kevalins, experience this state of omniscience at all times.
We, however, aren't quite there yet. Our situation is different. Our five senses are our indirect means to knowledge, but whatever they may grasp is always partial, and not always reliable. We see this partiality in the proverbial study of an elephant by seven blind men. Each man touches only part of the elephant and concludes that the creature is like a tree trunk, a rope, a fan, a wall, and so on. The same applies to our views and beliefs. We worldly souls tend not to rise above the limitations of our senses and experiences. So, our individual concepts of reality are not just incomplete, they are valid only from a particular point of view.
"Absolute truth" cannot be grasped from any one point of view, by itself, because any viewpoint is dependent on the time, place, nature and state of both the viewer and whatever is being viewed. Hence, we can point to infinity of partially valid perspectives. What appears true from one point of view is open to question from another. Naturally, we need to benefit from the labors of seeing things from different perspectives - including ones we might not prefer initially in order to gain any kind of realistic impression.
This attitude begins a science of thinking called Anek ntav da, which is the principle of "non-onesidedness". Anek ntav da is an informed and engaging method of reason. Such a principle does not ask us to try balancing in our minds a "multiplicity of viewpoints" regardless of whether they hold merit or not. It is also not the same as "relativism" or "non-absolutism", meaning the belief in no absolutes. Rather than denying the existence of absolute truth, Anek ntav da only reaffirms it - but with the cutting admission that truth is such an intricate and many-ended thing that no single belief system, no tower of dogma, no "grand unifying theory", and no faith or religion can ever do it justice.
Exploring the idea's four components will further reveal its meaning: AN
is like the prefix "non-", which makes the opposite of whatever comes after it
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EKA means "one" or "singular" ANTA means "end", "boundary" and "conclusion", a conclusion drawn from an observation or an
investigation or analysis V DA means "way of being", similar to the suffix "-ness".
Together they mean non-one-sidedness. A remarkable term it might seem but its tremendous practicality is for any of us seeking to learn reason, investigate, theorize, visualize, systemize, solve or understand some issue, something, or someone.
Non-one-sidedness is the principle of not settling for just one single conclusion about the truth or untruth of a given statement, or about the actual nature or makeup of an object or thing. While the whole truth about anything is a wide and complex reality, a particular object or issue of interest can be anything we choose: the mind of a person, a philosophy, an event, a physical object, or any claim such as, "The universe is infinite," or "Man has free will," or "War is a necessary evil," or "Emotional stress causes cancer," or "Corporations are beneficial to society", or "Light is composed of energy particles," or anything else more simple or complex.
And why not be satisfied making just one conclusion about these things, whatever that conclusion may be?
To help us see why, first let's simplify our words a bit. We'll use the term "picture" or "big picture" to stand for the full, unobstructed truth about the given statement or object, with all its broad aspects and its tiny intricacies. "Angle" will denote our one chosen way of looking into or investigating that big picture, and the word "part" will simply mean that limited area of the big picture that we see from one particular "angle", perspective, or point of view.
Just like every one of the seven blind men, any single perspective that we might take is inherently blind to some part, or many parts, of the big picture. Being attached to just one set of criteria for judging the truth or validity of something tends to distort our perception of it, by making other relevant facts and other possible criteria seem less significant to us, or by excluding them from our thinking altogether. If we would actually see and be aware of those other parts of the picture, we would also see that they could be crucial to the validity of whatever conclusion we might draw.
One conclusion, by itself, can be the result of only one single investigation coming from one way of perceiving or approaching the reality or situation at hand. If one blind man investigates only the elephant's leg, and on that basis alone decides an elephant is like a tree trunk, he would be partly right but mostly wrong.
That is because any one way of looking at things almost always leaves out some or most aspects of whatever is actually and fully going on in the big picture. Doing any observation or analysis based on the limited part of the picture we're able to grasp at one given time - what little bit of the proverbial "elephant" we can observe in just one attempt - leads to only one limited conclusion, which often appears wrong from a different angle, or way, of studying the picture. A single conclusion, by itself, is usually a mere part of the whole truth because it comes from a study of only part of the big picture.
In other words, there's a lot more to a great big elephant than just a leg that feels like a tree, or an ear that feels like a fan, or a tail that feels like a rope. It is clear that just one way of looking at an object or a statement, and just one investigation based upon that one way or theory, and just one judgment about the object or statement derived from that one single investigation just isn't enough!
Say we even try to see the reality from a very wide angle, thinking that this way we will get a sense of the big picture. Even then, because we are not yet perfect and all knowing, we typically miss important details and nuances that would impact the validity of the conclusion we would draw from seeing the matter so broadly. And on the other hand, when we look only at details, we obviously lose perspective on the larger system or grand scheme of things.
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Non-one-sidedness is a solution. To really understand something as fully as we can, first we need the steel to set aside and relax (but not discard) our initial biases, preconceptions, paradigms and theories. This means among other things that we shouldn't shrink from considering either the fine details or the broad generalizations.
We set out to do one investigation after another, multiple inquiries into our object, statement or issue of interest - each investigation or observation done from a different perspective, angle, paradigm or theory.
In order to accomplish this we simply change our position, meaning we put ourselves in different shoes or we adopt a totally new or different method of investigation (depending on the kind of subject matter we're dealing with). We shift our sights to as many different perspectives as we are able to discover or synthesize. At each unique angle we stop for the opportunity to do a brand new observation or analysis, each one leading us to perhaps a new and unique conclusion.
Then, we consider each conclusion that we are able to draw as one partial truth, as one aspect, dimension, sampling or part of the whole truth about the object or statement. At last we have the more involved intellectual job of attempting to integrate together each of those partial truths into a more complete understanding of the big picture. We use each conclusion - each anta, or boundary - to help structure a whole new concept of what the object under study, or the statement under analysis, entails. We might not get the big picture quite right the first time we try integrating all the partial truths we have derived. But that only means we need to continue the process. The more different perspectives we adopt, and the more different independent investigations we do, the more different conclusions we will gain, and the more deeply and comprehensively we are bound to understand. The more powerful will be our information, our ability to analyze, our solutions and our creativity.
Non-one-sidedness multiplies the freedom of the mind. Jains see even this principle from more than one angle. Its two philosophical developments are known as Nayav da, which is the scrutiny of contentions through a variety of specific perspective modes, and Sy dv da, which is the truthanalysis of any given statement using disparate combinations of
Its affirmation Its negation, and The admission of its inexpressibility
While academic in nature, these methods of insight are a major contribution to epistemology and logic.
Anek ntav da is intellectual humility that empowers the user. It is an essential part of being nonviolent in our thoughts and words. It shows us why we shouldn't wed ourselves to rigid opinions that disconnect us from reality and stifle the pursuit of fuller understanding. It also demonstrates why we should not cower to ambiguous or nihilistic positions with little or no sense of right and wrong. Nonone-sidedness encourages us to examine and be critical of all beliefs and claims from many different angles, helping us recognize the value of others' views and opinions as well as the limitations of our own. This means respecting a person's individuality by discovering his or her concept of the world and trying to see things through that model.
Fostered by a mature view of human experience, on a different level Jains are able to appreciate the sincere insights of those who may interpret Jain ideas in new or innovative ways.
The very foundation of the Jaina system of philosophy is the conception of reality, which is manifold, nay infinite fold, hence highly complex and pluralistic in character. It is why the Jaina system is so called the philosophy of Anek ntav da, the term being made up of three words aneka (many), anta (aspects or attributes) and v da (theory). It has been described by modern scholars variously as the philosophy of non-absolutism since it is opposed to unrelenting absolutism or monism (ek nta- v da).
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as the theory of relative, pluralism or of relativity, the theory of co-existence, and the philosophy of realism.
Sy dv da or Conditional dilectic
Closely associated with anek ntav da is the syadavada, which is the theory of conditional predication and is based on the sapta-bhangi. In fact anek ntav da is concerned with the thought process and sy dv da indicates the manner in which that thought process is given expression to.Sy dav da is on of the aspect of the Jaina philosophy, which has been much misunderstood, and often misconstrued, by many non-Jaina philosophers, ancient and modern, who looked upon this approach to reality as indicative of uncertainty and indefiniteness of knowledge. This is, however, far from being the truth. One reason of the misunderstanding seems to have been that they did not grasp the true significance of the term sy t, and interpreted it to mean "perhaps'. But, it is not so. Jainism says, that the term sy t used by them in this context means 'in a way, from one point of view', or viewed at from a particular angle or stand. Instead creating doubt or uncertainty, sy dv da helps a correct, precise and through comprehension of the reality. Based as it is on anek ntav da and the related nayav da, this theory manifests the realistic, rational and highly tolerant spirit of Jainism.
Sapta-bhangi or Seven-combinational mode of predication
Connected with nayas is the seven-combinational mode of predication (sapta-bhangi), which is also a peculiarity of Jaina logic. When we speak of a thing as exists on its own substance (dravya), space (ksetra), time (k la) and essence (bh va). Thus from point of view of its own quadruplet the thing in question exists, that is, its 'is-ness' is established. At the same time, from the point of view of the quadruplets of all things other than this one, its "is-not-ness" is implied. Thus a thing "is" (asti) and also "is - not" (N sti) and since it cannot be said to be "is" and "is-not" at one and the same time, it is also inexplicable (avaktavya). These three conditions produce seven permutations: asti, n sti, asti - n sti, avaktavya, asti-avaktavya, n sti-avaktavya, and asti-n sti-avaktavya. And in order to avoid the pitfall of being misunderstood, the speaker uses the adverb sy t before every one of these modes of predication. This term sy t in this context is the most significant; it means 'in a way, from a certain point of view', 'also', or 'not absolutely'. So when we say, 'sy t' 'A' is a son; we mean that he is also a son and not only a son; that in relation to his father 'B', 'A' is a son and not only a son; that in relation to his son 'C' he is a father, similarly, he may be a brother, a friend, a husband, an enemy and so on, in his relationships with different persons. If we do not use the prefix sy t the statement we make, it is likely to be a categorical affirmation, a dogmatic assertion, precluding the possibility of the existence of other relationships or other aspects of the person 'A' in question. The use of term sy t limits the sense of the seven permutational, and for the matter of that, any other relevant vocal statement. In making an assertion, the institution of sy dv da thus curbs down, limits, qualifies, and modifies and harmonies the absolutist view conveyed by the individual nayas.
In fact, in order to give shape and expression to our comprehension of an idea or object, we start analytically, resolving, separating and differentiating its parts: aspects or facets. But while considering one of the many aspects, the rest must not be denied. Synthesis follows analysis, putting together the various aspects in thought so as to realize that the truth consists in the irresolvable combination of all the seven modes of predication detailed above, have to be accepted. This theory implies the non-isolation of parts, ingredients, properties, aspects, etc., of a thing and the method to comprehend and speak of it synthetically. It is impossible to predicate the various and numerous aspects of a thing in a single statement, but the statement, which predicates any one of them, must imply them. In this way there is no likelihood of the person spoken to being misled. Recognizing the complexity of existence, the Jaina philosopher says since a thing has several aspects and relations, there will be as many determinations, and the apparently conflicting attributes inheriting in the thing can be expressed only through this process of predication.
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4.3.a
Anek nt Metaphysical-Spiritual Perspectives Prof. Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
It is incontrovertible that metaphysics deals with the problem of reality. Philosophers have endeavoured to expound the world of phenomena in a consistent manner. For Jaina thinkers, reality is constituted of apparent contradiction. So its one-dimensional exposition is not possible. It is an inalienable complex of permanence and change, existence and non-existence, oneness and manyness, universality and particularity etc.[1] Because of this complexity reality is styled 'Anek ntic'. It is thus multidimensional possessing antagonistic dimensions of permanence and change, one and many etc. these antagonistic dimensions are infinite in number, of which we know only a few of them. Thus the Jaina philosopher differs from all absolutists in their approach to the enfoldment of the inner nature of reality. The Jaina advocates change to be as much ontologically real as permanence. Being implies becoming and vice versa. This conception of reality reminds us of the Greek philosopher Parmenides who regarded 'Being' as the sole reality wholly excludent of all becoming, as also of Heraclites, for whom, permanence being an illusion, 'Becoming' or perpetual change constitutes the very life of the universe. It also makes us reminiscent, of the Buddhist philosophy of universal flux and of the unchanging, static, permanent absolute of Ved nta. But all these point to the one-sided approach to reality. It may be said, "If the Upani adic thinkers found the immutable reality behind the world of phenomena and plurality, and the Buddha denounced everything as fleeting, Mah v ra found no contradiction between permanence and change, and was free from all absolutism."[2]
Problem of reality implies the problem of substance. In consonance with the Anek ntic view of reality already discussed substance is characterized by simultaneous origination destruction and persistence or is the substratum of attributes and modes. [3] Permanence signifies persistence of substance along with the emergence of the new modes and the disappearance of the old once at one and the same time [4]. To illustrate, gold as a substance exists with its modifications and qualities. Now after making an ornament, what changes is the mode.
Substance and Quality
Substance as different from the general and specific qualities and modification are nothing but abstractions. Qualities are incapable of being existent by themselves even for a moment. They necessitate the simultaneous existence of substance, and are denied any isolated character: and they are themselves bereft of qualities [5]. As regards the relation between them; we may say that they are non-separate and non-identical. Non-separateness results owing to their subsistence in the same spatial extent, and non-identity issues because of the fact that one of the fact that one is not the other. The assertion that substance is not quality and that quality is not substance serves only to emphasis the non-identical character of both substance and quality. It does not mean the absolute negation of substance in quality and vice-versa.[6] Thus the relation between Dravya and Gu a substance and quality is one of identity and difference in point of nomenclature, number, characterization, and purpose and not difference with reference to spatial extent.[7 [7]
Substance and Modification
The notion of Pary ya is peculiarly Jaina.[8] In conformity with the nature of as permanence in mutability, Pary ya alludes to the variable aspect of a thing which is due to the external and internal inducements. Every quality transmutes its state every moment: and this mode of being is called Pary ya, which is incessantly transforming itself into the next, though the quality as such is never abrogated. It is on this account alleged that substance is in a state of perpetual flux. However incessant and infinite the transformations may be, the underlying substantiality and permanency can never part with existence. Substance and Pary ya are not to be distinguished like two different things, for it is substance through qualities, which because of its flowing nature attains the qualification of Pary ya. Substance and modes are neither exclusively identical nor exclusively difference, which is in perfect harmony with the non-absolutistic attitude upheld by the Jaina. Thus origination and destruction are applicable to Pary yas and persistence to qualities along with substance.
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Persistence and the Distinction between Gu a and Pary yas The Jaina conception of persistence is defined as that which accounts for recognition in the form of the proposition "This is the same. This is consequent on the fact then the essential nature of substance or quality, notwithstanding its mobility, is eternal and unchangeable. [10] Thus the continuously flowing nature of quality does not annihilate the quality itself, which, if admitted, would fail to all our daily commonplace, transaction. Continuance devoid of variability stands in direct antagonism to experience. Hence permanence is not the denial of change, but includes it as its necessary aspect. In the same way, qualities in the absence of modifications are incapable of being of conceived. To distinguish Guna from Pary ya, in the first place, the infinite attributes are ever simultaneously present, but the modifications do not appear simultaneously, but only in succession Secondly, qualities render the judgment of sameness possible, while the judgment This is the not same' is accountable only by making allusion to modifications. Thirdly, Gu as as such are to be interpreted as immutable in contrast to Pary yas which are regarded as mutable. In other words, attributes of a substance are created with the nature of perpetuation, while the originative and decaying designations are accorded to Pary ya.
Classified of Substance: Plurality, Duality and Unity Jainism resolves the whole of the universe of being into two everlasting, uncreated, coexisting, but independent categories of J va and Aj va. The Aj va is further classified into Pudgala matter, Dharma principle of motion, Adharma principle of rest, k sa space and K la time. Hence reality is dualistic as well as pluralistic. But, according to the Jaina, plurality, considered from the point of view of one existence, entails unity also. According to Kundakunda, in spite of the unique characteristics possessed by the different substances, existence has been regarded as an all-comprising characteristic of reality which ends all distinctions. [11] The K rttikey nuprek recognises that all substances are one from the standpoint of substance, while they are distinct and separate from their characteristics differences.12) Samantabhadra also endorses this view by affirming that in view of the conception of one universal existence all are one, but from the point of view of substances distinctions arise. [13]
Padmaprabha Maladh r deva pronounces that Mah satt pervades all the things in their entirety, but it is always associated with Av ntarasatt which pervades only the particular objects. 14) In a similar vein, Amrtcandra speaks of the two types of Satt, namely, Svar paatt and S dra yasatt. The latter is the same as Sm nyasatt. In his Saptabha gitara gi i Vimalad sa discusses the problem of unity and plurality of existence in detail, and concludes that both the postulation of existential identity and the articulation of differences from the standpoint of different substances are logically necessary and justifiable. 15 Thus Jainism gives credence to the recognition of existential oneness but not exclusively, since it is always bound up with plurality. This is quite consistent with the Anek nt maka view of reality propounded by the Jaina philosopher. Thus Mah satt will be associated with its opposite, namely, Av ntarasatt. It may again be pointed out that this Mah satt is not an independent something as may be conceived, but is invariably accompanied by its opposite. 16 Kundakunda holds the nature of existence as one, immanent in the totality of substances constituting the universe, comprehending and summarizing the universe, having infinite modifications, indicative of the triple characteristics of origination, destruction, and persistence and in the last as associated with the characteristics opposite to those mentioned above.17 Hence unity, duality, and plurality-all are inseparably and inevitably involved in the structure of reality. This is the Anek ntic view of reality.
By recognizing both J va and Pudgala as substances Jainism steers clear of the two extremes of materialism and idealism, which are radically opposed to each other. Materialism considers the universe as rooted in matter while idealism imagines the mind or spirit to be fundamental and primary. The former lays stress on the recognition of the reality of matter and considers the mind to be an incident or accompaniment; the latter affirms that mind or spirit is to be reckoned as real and matter just an appearance. But according to Jainism, both matter and spirit are equally true.
Knowledge of reality and its expression It will be noted here that if the Anek ntic reality is indescribable altogether, any sort of discussion along with the path of liberation will be blocked, as nobody will be able to preach and propound. 18] According to Jainism reality or substance or universe is cognized by, Pram a and Naya. 19) Pram a
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refers to the grasping of reality in its wholeness, while Naya points to an aspect of infinitely-phased reality illumined by Pram a, thus the letter takes into consideration only a fragment of the totality.[20] The emphasis on the one and the cancellation of the other would irresistibly lead us to the baised estimation and Ek ntic view of reality. [21] Pram a assimilates all the characteristics at once without any contradiction and animosity between one characteristics and the other, for instance, between one and many, existent and non-existent, etc. of the unfathomable characteristics, Naya chooses one at one moment, but keeps in view the other characteristics also. We can thus say that both Pram a and Naya are essential for the proper understanding of the nature of reality. Reality being the repository of infinite attributes, the apprehension of it form a particular angle of vision, i.e., Naya, which is objectively given and not subjectively contemplated, does not exhaust the whole of the multiphased reality. So, in order to avoid the possible misunderstanding that reality is exhausted by the employment a particular Naya, every prediction should be preceded by the word 'Sy t'. In order to make us aware of the possibility of other alternative predictions. Hence it is known as the doctrine of Sy dv da. Sy dv da is no doubt the logical out come of Anek ntav da, the doctrine of the multiple nature of reality. It is simply the mode of prediction or communication envisaged by the Jaina to convey the knowledge of the multiphased reality. Thus Sy dv da is the mode of expression, Anek ntav da or Nayav da is the mode of cognition. Sy dv da is the expression of Anek ntav da in language.
We may point out here that corresponding to the infinite antagonist characteristics there are infinite Nayas. But summarily speaking, all the Nayas from the metaphysical point of view can be summed up into two kinds:
Dravy rthika Naya Paryay rthika Naya
These two Nayas can very well expound the nature of reality, or substance or universe. Dravy rthika Naya refers to the permanent aspect of a substance and Paryay rthika Naya to the changing aspect of a substance.
Anek nta: Spiritual Perspective
The first section has been devoted to the metaphysical understanding of reality or substance or universe. For the proper intelligibility of the Anek ntic reality, Jaina c ryas have given us two Nayas, namely Dravy rthika Naya and Paryay rthika Naya corresponding to the permanent and changing aspects of reality. This type of comprehension yields intellectual satisfaction, yet it does not show us the way to spiritual growth, satisfaction and self-realization. Axiological consciousness is very much different from descriptive consciousness produced by metaphysical curiosity of the human mind. So the Jaina c ryas have propounded two axiological Nayas, namely, Ni caya and Vyavah ra for properly evaluating the manifested and unmanifested Pary yas of the self. Thus we have
Axiological and Metaphysical Anek nta
The axiological Ni caya Naya affirms that the realization of self's Svar passat, or the manifestation of intrinsic characteristics and modifications of the self, or the expression of the self's original origination, destruction and continuance is the self's original origination, destruction and continuance is the terminus of spiritual journey. No doubt, the self is existent, but its existence is mundane from the beginningless past. The self is not to acquire existence, but what is to be acquired is simply the purity of existence. Dharma, Adharma, k a and K la are the pure existents. Pudgala in the A u form is pure and in the skandha form is impure, but the self exists in the defiled state of existence. It is, in the empirical state, characterizing itself with impure modifications and qualities, and consequently impure origination, destruction and continuance occur. By its own strenuous efforts transcendental modifications and qualities, and pure origination, destruction and continuance are to be revealed. In this state alone, the self realizes it's true substantially.
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Meaning of two axiological Nayas The Ni caya Naya grasps the soul in its undefiled state of existence in contradistinction to the Vyavah ra Naya, which describes the self as bound, impure, and the like. No doubt, we are in the defiled form of existence from beginningless past, but the Ni caya Naya reminds us of our spiritual magnificence and glory. It prompts the sullied self to behold its spiritual heritage. It endeavors to infuse and instil into our minds the imperativeness of uddha Bh vas after abundantly showing us the empirical and evanescent character of ubha and A ubha Bh vas that bind the soul to mundane existence. It does not assert that the soul is at present perfect but simply affirms that the self 'ought' to attain the height illuminated by it. It has the force of 'ought' and not of 'is', but this force is valid for empirical selves. In the opening chapter of the Samayas ra kundakunda summarizes the implication of the aforementioned two Nayas by saying that every self has heard about, observed and experienced the worldly enjoyments and consequential bondage, but the nature of the highest self has never been comprehended. 22 Hence the former is Vyavah ra Naya, while the latter is called Ni caya Naya, which points to the potentiality of the empirical self to become pure and enjoys its unalloyed status. It is therefore averred that when the self has elevated itself to the domain of spiritual experience, the Vyavah ra Naya becomes false and the Ni caya Naya seen to be genuine. In other words, we achieve the right to renounce the Vyavah ra Naya only when we have accomplished the loftiest height of mystical experience. If we regard the Vyavah ra Naya as untruthful at a low stage, Punya, P pa, bondage, and the necessity to do strenuous effort to achieve liberation would be of no avail. It may be noted here that the falsity of the Vyavah ra Naya affects neither the existence of external objects nor the omniscience of the transcendental self, which reflects the differences of the world as they are. In explaining the nature of spiritual experience, Kundakunda affirms that the nature of spiritual experience surpasses all the conceptual points of view 123) whether Ni caya or Vyavah ra. The former represents the self as unbound and untouched by attachment and aversion. While the latter, as bound and touched by them, but he who transcends these verbal points of view is called Samayas ra, the terminus of spiritual journey. The self becomes pure consciousness, bliss and knowledge.
It may be noted here that like the Ni caya or Param rtha and Vyavah ra Nayas enunciated by Kundakunda, a kar c rya, the great exponent of the Advaita doctrine, makes use of the Param rthika and Vy vah rika view-points as the corner-stones of his philosophy. But the two differ widely. The Param rthika view as advocated by a jkara negates the Param rthika existence of other material and non-material objects of the world which, in the view of the Jaina, have their own independent existence. The Vyavah ra Naya of the Jains simply points to our slumbering state in the domain of spiritualism, and does not in the least touch the existential aspects of things. The Ni caya or Param rthika Naya simply serves to awaken the slumbering soul to attain its spiritual heritage. It does not pretend to annual the external things by mere spiritual outlook.
Doer and Deed: An Axiological Point of View We may discuss the philosophy of the doer and the deed from the axiological point of view. From the Ni caya point of view, the transcendental self is the doer and enjoyer of its own pure states. From the Vyavah ra point of view the empirical self is the doer and enjoyer of the impure states of self. This is the spiritual perspective of Anek nta. There is no denying the fact that the empirical self has been the doer of impure dispositions of attachment and aversion since an indeterminable past, so it is no doubt the author of these dispositions of attachment and aversion. But according to the Ni caya point of view, in whatever deeds the empirical self may get itself engaged in the world, they are not the author of these impure dispositions. The chief point of reference is the self in its pure nature. There is no contradiction in affirming that the enlightened self which had its true nature manifests the pure modes and thereby becomes the substantial agent of those modes, and in affirming that the ignorant self because of its erroneous identification with the alien nature develops impure dispositions, and thereby it is called their agent.25) Just as from gold only golden things can be produced, and from iron only iron things, so the enlightened self produces pure modifications and ignorant self produces impure ones. 26 When the ignorant self becomes enlightened, it starts generating pure modifications without any incongruity. Thus the self is simply the doer of its own states and not the doer of anything else whatsoever. The empirical self is the author of impure psychic states on account of its association with attachment and aversion. But if we advance a step further and reflect transcendentally, we arrive at the inevitable conclusion that the pure self cannot be the author of
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these impure psychical states because they are foreign to its nature. Thus the transcendental self is the doer of transcendental psychical states. Besides it is also their enjoyer.
Auspicious, Inauspicious and Pure Psychical States
Again, the spiritual perspective of Anek nta expressed when it is said that auspicious and inauspicious psychical states of self continue to captive it in never-ending tensions and the pure psychical states of self engenders equanimity. Thus from the Ni caya point of view both the auspicious and inauspicious psychical states prevent the self from attaining to the loftiest spiritual heights, hence they should be equally condemned as unwholesome for the healthiest development of the self. But from the Vyavah ra point of view if the empirical finds it difficult to rise to spiritual heights, it should develop auspicious psychical states, but with the clear knowledge, that these psychical states will in no way enable the self to realize the pure states of self. The inauspicious psychical states should by all means be disapprobated. In the end we may say that to make Anek ntic reality intelligible from the metaphysical perspective, Dravy rthika and Paryay rthika Nayas are necessary and to make an axiological assessment of Anek ntic reality from the spiritual perspective, Ni caya and Vyavah ra Nayas cannot be dispensed with.
References:
[1]
ptam m ms 15, 34, 56; Muni-Anantakirti Granthamala, Bombay.
[2] Studies in Jaina Philosophy; P. 18; By Nathamal Tatia; Parsvanatha Vidyasrama, Varanasi.
[3] Pa c stik ya; 10; Srimad Rajacandra Asrama, Agasa.
[4] Pa c stik ya; Comm. Amṛtcandra; 10.
[5] Tattv rthas tra; V. 41. Under the title Sarv rthasiddhi; Bharatiya Jnana Pitha, Kasi.
[6] Pravacanas ra; V. 16; Edited by Dr. A.N. Upadhye; Srimad Rajacandra Asrama, Agasa.
[7]
ptam m ms: 72
[8] Pravacanas ra; Introduction, A.N. Upadhye; P. LXVI
[9] Sarv rthasiddhi; V. 31
[10] Ibid.
[11] Pravacanasāra; Comm. Amṛtcandra; II. 5.
[12] Kārttikeyanuprekṣā; 236; Rajacandra Asrama, Agasa.
[13] ptam m ms 34.
[14] Niyamas ra; Comm. Padmaprabha Maladh r deva; 34; Sri Kundakunda, Kahana Digambara Jaina Tirtha Suraksa Trust, Jaipur.
[15] Saptabha gitara gi P. 78; Rajacandra Asrama, Agasa.
[16] Pa c dhy y: 1, 15 Malika Granthaprakasa Karyalaya, Indore.
[17] Pa c stik ya; 8.
[18] Yukty nu sana; 43; Vira Seva Mandira, Daryaganj, Delhi.
[19] Tattv rthas tra; 1,6; Under the title Sarv rthasiddhi.
[20] Sarv rthasiddhi; 1.6
[21] Sy dv damañjar: 27; Rajacandra Asrama, Agasa.
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[22] Samayas ra; 4; Edited by Balbhadra jain; Jain Vidhya Samsthana, Digambara Jaina Atisaya
Ksetra Sri Mah viraji.
[23] Ibid. 144 [24] Ibid. 141, 142. [25] Ibid. 128, 129. [26] Ibid. 130, 131.
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4.3.c
SY DV DA - Conditional Dialectic Expression of Anek nta Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
The significant fact about knowledge is its communicability. When knowledge is for one's own self, the question of communicability can be displayed with; but when it is for the other, the question needs serious consideration. Communicability is accomplished through properly worded propositions. Thus knowledge to be communicable is to be reduced to propositions. This goes without saying that formulation of propositions is dependent on the content of knowledge. It is not idle to point out that if there is discordance between the content of knowledge and formulation of propositions, serious misunderstandings are bound to arise. S dv da is the linguistic device to represent without any omission and distortion the content of knowledge. Thus in a way Sy dv da and knowledge become the observe and the converse of the same coin.
SORS OF JAN
Knowledge, according to the Jaina, reveals itself and the object. In consequence the Jaina thinkers propound that the object has infinite characteristics some known, some in the process of being discovered and many as yet unknown. This is known as the doctrine of Anek ntav da. Sy dv da is the method of communicating the manifold characteristics of a thing to the other. In the absence of this technique real knowledge of a thing cannot be passed to others without any incongruence. Thus Sy dv da is the expression of Anek ntav da in the mode of cognition; Sy dv da is the mode of expression.
The significant point to be comprehended in regard to Anek ntav da is that every characteristics of a multiphase thing is maintaining its identity through the existence of its opposite as its aspect. In fact, a thing cannot be the same thing without the negation of other things in it. For example, a colour cannot remain a colour without the negation of other characteristics like taste, smell etc. in it thus non-existence is as much an essential aspect of the real as existence is. Negative propositions cannot be asserted without accepting non-existence as an element in the constitution of the real. Similarly, the characteristics of one and many permanence and change, generality and particularity are reconciled in a thing without any incongruity. Thus when the Jinist is faced with the problems of expressing the complex content of knowledge in language in a way, which can communicate to the other the knowledge as such, he had to devise the method of Sy dv da. The word 'Sy t' implies that the subject Gha a is a manifold of attributes, of which the attribute of being colourful referred to in the propositions is there in the Gha a as a matter of fact. This should not be understood, as it is generally done, to mean that the existence of colour in the Gha a is doubtful. In other words, certainty of colour along with the manifoldness of characteristics is indicated by the word 'Sy t'.
The word 'Sy t' can also be understood differently, though the difference is of expression and not of meaning already discussed. As already pointed out, a thing is the repository of infinite attribute. Hence the apprehension of it from a particular angle of vision or point of view, technically called Naya, does not exhaust the whole of the multiphase thing. It is important to note that the Naya is objectively given and not subjectively contemplated. So in order to avoid the possible misunderstanding that a thing is exhausted by a particular Naya, every predication should be preceded by the word 'Sy t' thus making us aware of the possibility of other predications in regard to that thing. Thus Sy dv da is the custodian of clarity, certainty and non-ambiguity in the field of philosophy. It is by no means the doctrine of doubt and uncertainty.
Although an existence is possessed of infinite attribute yet the knowledge of it is not a simple affair. The question is what is it to know a thing? And how many propositions are requisite to express the content knowledge? The conviction of the Jaina is that seven distinct propositions, neither more or less, are needed to express the content of knowledge in regard to an existent. The significant point to be noted here is that each proposition is not the result of mere subjective necessity possesses attributes as an ontological truth. All this implies that since the existents or their characteristics are infinite in number, seven propositions can be expressed with reference to each. Consequently, their will be infinitely seven-fold propositions without any inconsistency.
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Let us now illustrate the doctrine of seven - fold propositions by taking an example of the attribute existence or permanence or oneness etc. in respect of pen.
1.
The first proposition is: Sy t pen exists. This means that the existence of pen is contextual, the context being its own Dravya (substance), Ketra (Space), Kla (time) and Bh va (state). It is by virtue of this context that the pen derives its individuality and becomes meaningful. In fact this context is interwoven into the constitution of the pen itself, so it cannot be separated from the object. This proposition controverts the possibility of unqualified existence of a thing without the consideration of substance, space, time and state. The second proposition is: Sy t pen does not exist. The proposition does not, as it seems, negate the existence of pen referred to in the first propositions, but it states the nonexistence of pen in respect of other Dravya, Ketra, Kla, and Bh va. Thus it strengthens the first propositions rather than cancels it. The pen is pen only because it is not pen. In other words the existence of pen in respect of its own Dravya, K etra, Kla, and Bh va cannot maintain its identity, if non-existence of pen in respect of other Dravya, K etra, Kla, and Bh va is not considered the concomitant aspect of pen. Thus both existence and nonexistence is co-present in the pen without any contradiction. According to the Jaina, nonexistence is as much constitutive of the nature of thing as existence. The critics fail to see that contradictory statement can be made about a thing, if context is changed. The conviction of the Jaina is that if this proposition is denied, it shall be difficult for us to account for the differences of things. Hence, by asserting this proposition. We come across a new aspect of thing, which is not given in the first proposition. The third proposition is: Sy t pen exists and does not exist. In this proposition the two attributes of existence and non-existence in their relevant contexts are successively predicated of the pen. Thus this proposition, which appears merely the summation of the first two propositions is not really so. It expresses a new aspect of pen under consideration. This aspect is not present either in the first or in the second proposition considered separately. If mathematics is our guide, the third proposition is nothing but a summation of the first two. But according to the Jaina experience, which is our sole guide, tells us that the combination or separate units give rise to a distinctive meaning, not apprehended in any of its constituent elements The fourth proposition is: Sy t pen is inexpressible. In this proposition the two attributes of existence and non-existence instead of being asserted successively as in the third proposition, are asserted simultaneously. The need for simultaneous assertion of these appositive attributes is man's desire to express in words the apprehension of pen as such. Since words are incapable of expressing this apprehension of pen the pen is inexpressible. It may be noted here that inexpressibility is a novel and factual characteristics of pen. The distinction between the third and fourth propositions is that in the former the novel attribute is the result of consecutive togetherness of the elements of existence and non-existence, whereas in the latter it is the result of simultaneous presentation of the two elements in question. It goes without saying that this inexpressibility is not absolute, it is only so in the context of the two opposite attributes being together synchronically. "The common sense principle implied in its recognition is that what is given cannot be rejected simply because it is inexpressible by a single positive concept". The fifth, sixth, and seventh propositions are: Sy t pen exists and in inexpressible. Sy t pen does not exist and is inexpressible. Sy t pen exists and does not exist and is inexpressible.
7.
All these propositions according to the Jaina, represent a new aspect of the real. It may be noted here that the Jaina texts have not discussed these propositions clearly. Now the question arises: What is the basis of regarding the number of propositions as seven, neither more nor less than this? The answer of the Jaina is that since affirmation and negation are possible in regard to the real, there are only seven questions possible in regard to the real. These questions know a thing, which in turn is dependent on the seven objective aspects of the real. In fact, the enquiry starts upon the initial doubt, for example does a pen exist or not? Or is a thing permanent or changing? And the answer is seven distinct propositions or Bha gas.
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What I feel here is that the Jaina in propounding the seven propositions are making use of mathematical knowledge, which necessarily leads to these seven BhA gas. Out of these the first four are empirically verifiable or understandable and the last three are mathematical possibilities. That is why the Jaina texts have not explained the first four ones. But there is nothing wrong in saying that they are possibilities confirmed by mathematics. So if one speaks of more than seven Bha gas, there will either be duplicated or assertion of propositions neither confirmed by mathematics nor by experience, if one speaks of less number of propositions, there will either be omission or suppression of the aspect of the real given to us either mathematically or experientially.
It may now be argued that since Jaina philosophy is known as Anekant v da (non-extremism and non-absolutism) does the seven-fold prediction apply to Anekant v da itself? The answer of Jaina is in the affirmative. Sy t Anekant v da, Sy t Ek ntav da and so one will be the seven propositions (SaptabhA gas). Knowledge which takes into account the nature of the real as consisting of an infinite plurality of attributes is called pram a and this is non-absolutism, knowledge which takes into account one attribute without negating the order attributes present in the real is called, Ny ya and this is Ek ntav da. In other words the Anek nta can not be sub stained without admitting Ek nta as its opposite, just as a tree can not he saved if the branches are taken out.
Of the many charges alleged against the doctrine of Sy dv da, the most fundamental is that of selfcontradiction. In other words, the charge is that the Jaina doctrine flagrantly violates the law of noncontradiction which says that A cannot be both A and B at the same time. Thus how can pen have the characteristics of both existence and non-existence? Before answering this objection, let us first discuss the attitude of the Jaina towards the law of non-contradiction propounded by formal logic. The conviction of the Jaina is that the law of non-contradiction is a priori and thus does not state any facts about reality. If it were asked what is the criterion of contradiction the reply of the Jaina would be that it is experience and not pure thought. It is by the former that the notion of contradiction should be decided. Two facts are contradictory, if they are not found to coexist in experience just as light and darkness, heat and cold, and the like. On the contrary, if experience confirms the coexistence if seemingly contradictory attributes in a thing it should be regarded as valid. Thus the Jaina insists that the source of the law of non-contradiction should be sought not in a priori thought, but in experience of the behaviour of things. Following this mode of logic, the Jaina finds no empirical contradiction in asserting that the pen has the characteristics of both existence and non-existence, as has been explained above.
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4.4
Spiritual purification and enhancement of knowledge
Shugan C Jain
1.0
Preamble
Jiva' or referred as soul in spiritual context for self and is classified as
Pure soul with just consciousness and able to reflect (or know) all objects of past, present and future of the entire cosmos and beyond (popularly known as omniscience). Omniscience cognizes directly and unaided. It is comparable to full moon in the above example. This is the ideal to be achieved. Pure soul can exist in two forms namely with human body (called Ariha ta) and extend, without any desire or benefit, their capabilities of pure knowledge to their intelligent followers (known as ga adharas or apostles) and without any associated body called Siddha after liberation of Ariha ta. Empirical soul which is pure soul defiled with a veil of impurities called karmika matter or karmas. So empirical soul cognized with the aid of other entities like sense organs and hence its cognition is restricted and incomplete. Cognizing ability of empirical soul is inversely proportional to the thickness of its defilement.
Example of the moon can be used to understand the above two states of soul. On the full moon night shines brightly and enables us to see all objects clearly can be compared to pure soul while during the rest of the month it appears like an empirical soul due to various obstructions coming in its way and us
All ethico-spiritual and religious activities are associated with reducing this thick cover of karmika impurities and enable the empirical soul to enhance its cognizing capabilities until the state of pure soul or omniscience is achieved and liberation (moksa) ultimately.
2.0
Jain theory of knowledge
Mah v ra, the latest rejuvenator of Jainism, with his extreme penance and self-restraint attained omniscience and revealed the Reality to us. With the dawn of philosophical era starting about first century BC, we saw emergence of a number of Jain logicians (like Kundakunda, Um Sv ti, Samantabhadra, SiddhaSena Div kara, Hari Bhadra, Akala ka, Hem Candra and others in Jain philosophy) who tried to explain his doctrines based on logic and canonical literature. Jain theory of knowledge, unique in a number of concepts and details all aspects of knowledge such as its definition, sources, development from lowest levels to the ultimate, types, objects of knowledge and the doctrines of valid knowledge (pram a), viewpoints (naya), prama, Anek nta and Sy dv da. Processing of knowledge, however, is based on the concept of black box as processor and the inputs and outputs.?
Object of knowledge or what we want to know (cosmos and its constituents) called prameya/j eya. Knowledge processor: pramt / tm or consciousness and its manifestation to think / analyse. The output or results known as pramiti or just knowledge and Happiness (Bliss ultimately)
Soul: Soul (atma) and consciousness are concomitant i.e. one cannot exist without the other. Caitanya or consciousness is the essence of jiva. The consciousness itself takes two forms namely attainment / capacity (labdhi) and utilization (upyoga). Attainment is the capacity to know whereas utilization involves its application for the purpose of knowing. The utilization of consciousness itself takes two terms namely intuition / Dar ana (which is indeterminate, is not definitive cognition or simple intuition of generalities or sheer awareness) and knowledge (which is determinate, is definitive, is with particulars or specific attributes of the thing). These two utilisations of consciousness occur sequentially of intuition followed by knowledge in empirical soul. As empirical soul cannot have complete knowledge of a thing, so it has to view the object from many angles/ view points to have near complete knowledge of the same. It is also important to demarcate knowledge and its application. Knowledge is a function of soul while its application is of the sense organs and sensory system including mind, brain and nervous system. Empirical soul uses certain material media (like sensory organs, mind called as quasi sense organ and nervous system) to acquire and transmit this knowledge. So its knowledge is called Acquired or indirect and has certain limitations of speed, scope in terms of place, area, time or the substance type etc. This limitation depends on the purification level of the soul itself as well as the media it uses to know other objects.
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Knowledge:
Right knowledge is defined as that which knows an object just as it is i.e. neither less nor more; is free from doubt and contradictions. States of knowledge in Jainism are classified as:
Direct (Pratyaksa):
Indirect/Acquired (Paroksa):
All living beings from the lowest level of consciousness i.e. one sensed to the human beings have these two types of acquired knowledge in some form or the other. Human beings can acquire capabilities of incomplete direct knowledge as well and ultimately omniscience. However we shall discuss Acquired knowledge only as to their nature and enhancement in this paper.
Incomplete*: Clairvoyance and telepathy (mental modes). Complete: Omniscience.
Mind based and Verbal/scriptural.
2.1 Matij na - Sensual perception or mind based knowledge.*
Sensual perception is defined as the knowledge acquired through the aid of the five senses and mind (considered as quasi sense organ in Jainism). Matij na is also known as bhinibodhika j na (perceptual cognition) in gamas, even though mati is used more often. BhadraBahu II's va yaka niryukti gives h (discrimination), apoha (exclusion), vimar a (enquiry), m rga (searching), gave a (fathoming), saj (recognition), sm ti (memory), praj (wisdom) as synonyms of matij na. However Tattv rathasutra mentions only mati, sm ti, cint (thought) and bhinibodha as its synonyms. Akala ka supplements the list by pratibh (grasp), buddhi (intellect) and uplabdhi (perception). Vidy Nanda in Tattv ratha- lokav rtika talks of buddhi, medh (retentiveness), praj, pratibh, abh va (non-perception), sambhava (probability), upamiti (analogy) to be the synonyms in addition to those given by Um Sw ti. We thus see a very wide coverage of knowledge under this head.
Matij na is preceded by intuition and originates in four steps namely:
i. Out linear-grasp (avagraha)
ii. Discrimination (h)
iii. Perceptual judgement (ap ya)
iv. Retention of judgement. (Dh ra )
There is a rule concerning complete cycle of the four steps indicated. Sometimes 1, 2 or even first three steps can occur and then forgotten. These four steps results with the aid of the sense organs. During these steps to some extent and after these four steps i.e. after retention of judgment; memory, comparison, logic or inference can occur serially and are the functions of mind and are part of sensuous knowledge. To acquire knowledge of worldly and physical objects, Akala ka divided Matij na into two types, namely s mvyavah rika pratyak a (direct by tradition) and/ or parok a (indirect) comprising memory, comparison, logic, inference. Further he kept rutaj na as scriptural knowledge for spiritual discussions as the last type of parok aj na. In this process of acquiring knowledge, ruta is generally representing the knowledge acquired from others. In a way, it can be seen that ruta is further refinement of already existing knowledge, as it is first used as memory in acquiring knowledge then in updating this memory for use later on. It is acquired with the assistance of mati and is useful in enhancing the process of acquiring knowledge. Hence mati or mind based knowledge can be said as the most important type of knowledge to know the physical objects.
Jain thinkers have defined touch or skin (spar ana), taste (rasn ), smell (ghr a), form / colour or eye (cak u) and hearing (rava a) as the five types of sense organs. Further they also consider mana/ manas (mind) as nondri (quasi sense) and the integrator of all the remaining five senses. Of these six senses, eyes and mind are not competent for contact- awareness while the remaining four senses perceive the objects only on contact with them. Matij na is preceded by visual intuition /cak u and/or non-visual intuition/acak u dar ana. P jyap da in Sarv rtha-siddhi says that matij na is due to the subsidence and destruction of matij n var iya karamas.
Since all the senses and body consist of matter, matij na is limited to knowing concrete objects only, i.e. objects which can be cognized by the senses. Non-concrete objects, like soul/self, space, principles of motion and rest and time are not the subjects of matij na.
Limitations of matij na are
i. From space point of view, it can cognize only those objects, which are within its close proximity due to the cognition limitations of different sense organs.
ii. From time perspective, it can cognize only objects of present time and not of the past and future. iii. From mode perspective, it can cognise only objects of the present and not of the past or future.
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Hence we see that the sphere of its cognition is very limited and yet it is of prime importance as it affects our daily life. Mind, being a quasi-sense organ is however a little different.
2.1. Stages of sensual perception discussed Let us take each stage of development of sensual perception at a time for brief discussion before analyzing matij na further.
2.1.1 Avagraha: - Out linear-grasp. Apperception Avagraha is the general knowledge of an object when it is brought in contact with sense organs. It consists of two stages namely vya jan vagraha (contact-awareness) and arth vagraha (object-perception / awareness). Contactawareness is the relation of the physical sense organ with the subject transformed into its sense data such as soundatoms. Object-perception on the other hand is the last stage of contact-perception and is an instantaneous flash. Initial bare contact of the sense organs take place at the moment it reaches the senses. This is the stage of contact awareness. This contact awareness gradually proceeds towards the plane of consciousness and is called object awareness. Bhadra B hu II in va yaka niryukti defines avagraha as cognition of sense data. Further it is instantaneous, i.e. it lasts only for one instant that is infinitesimal (samaya) and beyond human conception. However it relates to object-perception and not to contact-awareness, which continues for countless number of instants gradually proceeding towards the plain of consciousness. Sequencing of Avagraha cognition is given in table below:
Stage
Activity name Avgraha a (Receiving) Updh ra a (Holding)
rava a (Hearing) Avalambana
(Grasping) medh (gradual (awareness)
Details Sense organs and object in contact continuously. Over a period the perception takes place and not at the first instance From first samaya to countless samaya, cognition of generic attributes get clearer. Receives cognition of the generic attributes of the object or its class.
Grasp of the generic attributes of a specific object or its class.
Inquisitiveness of other attributes of the object arises during this stage.
Following example will clarify the occurrence of avagraha in the cognition process.
"A man is asleep and is to be awakened by a telephone call. The sound of telephone ring, which Jaina thinkers regard as composed of matter parmus (subtle-atoms) reach his ears and awaken him. This is the stage of awareness (darsana). However the sound subtle-atoms reach his ears in succession, and countless instants elapse before the ears are sufficiently saturated with these subtle-atoms so that the person may be awakened to consciousness. As soon as the person is conscious, contact-awareness is over and then there occurs object-perception, which lasts only for one instant."
The knowledge that occurs with the help of eyes and mind is of the expressed object only. The rest of the four senses i.e. ears, nose, tongue and body can perceive both expressed and non-expressed objects. Expressed and non-expressed objects are sub divided in twelve groups, from the viewpoint of their cognition; e.g. Multiple (bahu); Few (eka); Complex (bahuvidha): Simple (ekvidha): Quick comprehension (k ipra); Slow comprehension (Ak ipra): Partially exposed (ani ruta): Unspoken (anukta) and Non-constant (adhruva) etc.
Sense organs cognise only the general features of the object during avagraha. The object is free from association with names at this stage. For example in the above example, the man who is awakened is just conscious of some sound and not of the specific source or nature or its purpose etc. Actually he is at this stage not even aware of 'This is sound which becomes firm only in the third stage of matij na i.e. av ya. The object-perception being instantaneous cannot be considered to have developed such a form.
2.1.2 h - discrimination; h is the inquisitive pursuit for the knowledge of specific details of the perceived datum i.e. a desire to know whether it is THIS or THAT. Thus similarities and differences of the object with other objects become the subject of consciousness in this stage. It follows in the wake of avagraha whereby the object is cognized distinctly. For example in avagraha a person simply hears (partial cognition) a sound while in h he cognizes the nature of the sound also. The process of h thus continues for a certain period of time though it never exceeds one muh rata (48 minutes).
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Some Jain scholars subscribe to this view and hence declare that contact-awareness is the beginning of awareness, object-perception is dawning of awareness and his the determinate tendency towards the ascertainment of the particular nature of the object. Though h is a kind of discrimination, yet it is different from doubt. It strives to ascertain the true nature of the object by means of reason and logic to lead towards the acceptance of truth and avoidance of the untruth. h cognition starts immediately after avagraha and its stages are listed in Table below.
2
Stage Activity name
bhogant (leaning towards), m rga at searching), gave a t (fathoming),
cint (discursive thought) 5 vimara a (enquiry)
Details Intuition starts after contact of the object being cognised. Intuits anvaya and vyatireta attributes of the object. Intuits anvaya attributes after rejecting vyatireta attributes. Repeated intuition of the object for its anvaya attributes. Enquires about nitya / anitya and similar opposing attributes.
2.1.3 Av ya or Ap ya - perceptual judgment: After h arises av ya. Av ya excludes the non-existent characteristics of the object. h is enquiry about right and wrong, ay ya is ascertainment of the right and exclusion of the wrong. It is thus perceptual judgment. For example, when on hearing the sound one determines that the sound must be of telephone and not of conch shell or a person because it is accompanied by certain rhythm being repeated. Ay ya cognition starts immediately after h and its stages are indicated in the Table below. Stage Activity name
Details vartana
Nature of the object starts being cognised after h. limited determination Praty vartana, repeated
Repeated intuition of the object of the knowledge. determination ap ya (determination)
h ends and the cognition of the object of knowledge
get ready for retention. Buddhi, vivid determination
Stabilisation of the clear cognition of the object. Vij na (determinate cognition). Clearer cognition of the object is achieved and ready
for retention
2.1.4 Dh ra - retention of judgement
Av ya is followed by dh ra . Dh ra means retention of the perceptual judgment for a number of instants, which can be countable or non-countable. Nandi Sutra gives dh ra (holding), sth pn (placing), prati th (fixing) and ko tha (firmly grasping) as the synonyms of dh ra . Akala ka defines it as condition of recollection, which is sa sk ra (trace). Vidy Nanda also says so and further clarifies that it is like h of the nature of knowledge called recollection'. V di Deva Suri says it is only concentrated persistence of av ya for a certain length of time. It is not by any means the condition of recollection in future, as it cannot last up to the time of recollection. Hema Candra says that dh ra is the basis or cause of sm ti.
In our daily life, we can compare dh ra to writing in certain books or memory, after ascertaining validity / truth, new information or updating old information for retrieval or use later. Dh ra does not include retrieval of information from memory or written records. In psychology, activities of memory are described as encoding (sth pn ), storage (ko tha) and retrieval. Following characteristics of dh ra emerge from the above discussions:
• It is the last stage of cognition by sense organs. • No new cognition takes place during this stage but it is only the retention of the judgement.
• Sequence of dh ra cognition It starts immediately after av ya as given in Table below Stage Activity name
Details 1 dhara
| Cognition of the object of knowledge continues to exist (avicyuti) dh ra (holding), Vicyuti of the object knowledge due to its non usage, i.e. is capable
of being recalled from memory for days. sth pn (placing),
Object of knowledge is kept in storage (brain) for unlimited time. prati th (fixing)
Object of knowledge with its clear identity is kept in storage
(brain) for unlimited time. ko tha (firmly grasping) Permanent retention in the memory, like rice in storage chamber.
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2.2
OVER
Intellect as enhanced mind based knowledge:
It is of interest to note the two ways classification of bhinibodhikaj na (mind based knowledge); namely rutani rita i.e. backed by scriptural learning or a rutani rita i.e. not backed by scriptural learning. The four stages of sensual perception indicated above can be either rutani rita or a rutani rita. A rutani rita is further subdivided into four intellects (buddhis) by Nandisutra, namely
Autp tika buddhi or instantaneous comprehension i.e. it comprehends instantaneously the true nature of a thing never seen or heard before. It does not depend on sense organs or words. This implies original thinking as it does not include any thing read /heard or seen before. Digambar literature assigns knowledge acquired in previous births as a cause for this intellect. Akalanka says that owner of this intellect is said have wisdom (Prajna) and can give discourse to even the owner of knowledge of 14 purvas. (Example cock having a fight with itself (mirror given by the prince)).
Vainayika buddhi or intellect born out of faithful service to an intelligent person or text i.e. it is capable of completing a difficult task and is fruitful in this life and thereafter. (examples of faithful service of the guru resulting in this intellect in the disciple (story of two friends learning astrology one with complete dedication to guru becomes expert and the other acquires knowledge but no dedication to guru and hence has no effective intellect)).
Karmaj buddhi or intellect developed by practical experience i.e. intellect which comprehends the truth due to attentive consciousness of both practical and theoretical sides of an action / object. It is born out of experience. Most people appreciate this intellect for worldly attainments / benefits; (ex goldsmith can differentiate between pure gold and alloy)
• Pri mik buddhi or mature intellect i.e. intellect which fulfils its purpose by means of inference, reasoning and analogy and results in well-being and ultimately salvation.
These buddhis are purely mental only and not inspired by just learning. Dhaval talks of all these buddhis also but in the context of karma theory whereby all these intellects are due to the knowledge acquired in earlier life and giving special faculties (in the form of development of certain parts of the brain which processes knowledge which respond very fast due to prior learning in earlier lives and cognition occurring without the need of five sense organs) to the j va in the present life. Such a person is called an intelligent person or a genius.
2.3 rutaj na - verbal or scriptural knowledge / verbal testimony
ruta literally means 'what is heard'. So it is also called as knowledge developed due to hearing and the dissociation cum subsidence of rutaj n var iya karmas of soul. Soul involved in listening or reading ruta is ruta or whatever is heard to perform an activity is ruta. Act of hearing while contemplating is ruta. Knowledge acquired from all these is called rutaj na. It is thus knowledge by testimony and not by acquaintance. This implies the expression of sensual perception in syllables / signs as rutaj na. Thus verbal testimony (rutaj na) can be defined as 'Knowledge or cognition of other related entities with the aid of mind using the knowledge cognized through the medium of sense organs'. It also follows from this discussions that rutaj na is matter as it is based on sensual perception which itself is matter as per Jain theory of knowledge. It is normally of two types namely verbal (through words heard or read) and inference (e.g. seeing smoke to know the existence of fire).
Originally rutaj na meant knowledge embodied in the scriptures and falls in two categories namely a ga pravi a and a gab hia as they are based on sermons of omniscient and their commentary. Dhaval says cognition resulting from the subsidence and destruction of rutaj n var iya karmas is rutaj na.
Thus whatever is heard is defined as ruta. It is preceded by matij na i.e. matij na is the determining cause of rutaj na. Hence there is no rutadar ana described in scriptures. Akala ka in R jav rtika also defines rutaj na as cognition, which is preceded by matij na. Eight qualities of intellect namely desire for hearing, repeated questioning, attentive hearing, grasping, enquiry, conviction, retention and right action's are recognized as necessary for the acquisition of rutaj na.
The objects of this knowledge may be both concrete and non-concrete (i.e. physical and non-physical or m rta and am rta) in the entire loka and of all times. However it is to be noted that these enhanced limits of verbal testimony are due to the indirect knowledge it acquires through inference and hence is not lucid / clear/ complete.

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2.3.1
Types of rutaj na:
Verbal testimony can be classified in many ways and accordingly is of many types e.g.
• Based on the state of owner or rutaj na (Dravya ruta & Bh va ruta)
Based on the determining cause of rutaj na
Form / representation ruta is classified in two categories namely material scripture (Dravya ruta) and psychic scripture (Bh va ruta). Sermons of omniscient composed as Dv da ga by ga dharas is Dravya ruta while the knowledge acquired by their listener or reader is called Bh va ruta. However from the perspective of the listener, it is with a beginning and end (reasons subsidence cum destruction mode is temporary.
As verbal testimony is preceded by sensual perception, it can be classified as, verbal (through words heard or read) and inference (e.g. seeing smoke to know the existence of fire).
Since the subjects of the five sense organs are touch, taste, smell, sound and form; rutaj na can accordingly be classified as Ak ara (i.e. which can be represented by words /syllables, signs etc) and Anak ara (which cannot be so represented by alphabets, words, syllables, forms etc (e.g. smell, taste, touch etc.). Sa j -ak ara is the indicated meaning assigned to a syllable as per its form, size etc. as the same is always conveyed by that syllable. Vya janaak ara is the pronunciation or spoken form of syllables. Dhaval talks of 64 syllables (33-consonants, 27- vowels, 4auyogavaha for a total of 64). Their different permutations and combinations give words (padas), which are countless. Labdhya-ak ara is the subsidence cum destruction of rutaj navar iya karmas and subsequent use of rutaj na. It is the facility by which mind and senses are able to cognize the syllables (ak ara). Saj and Vya jana are both dravya
ruta while labdhya-ak ara is bh va- ruta. Labdhya-ak ara is possessed by only those persons who are competent to learn alphabets / syllables and is possible through all the five senses. Anak ara, like inhaling, exhaling, thunder etc. is actual material scripture, are not written or spoken like syllable and is the cause of rutaj na. Living beings without mind i.e. with 1 to 4 senses and without mind have this type of rutaj na, that originates without the use or effort of speech faculty.
The sa j ij na is considered in three ways; in as much as there are three varieties of Saj (cognitional activities) namely: iv. Discursive thinking that takes in accounts the past, present and future (k liki):
Consciousness that discriminates between what is to be avoided and what is to be adopted for life but
cannot think of past and future (hetupade iki) vi. Consciousness due to the knowledge of right scriptures. (d iv dopade iki)
V.
Saj in gamas mean the mental faculty of living beings (instincts) enabling their owner to decide the involvement in good and leaving the bad. Every living being has ten instincts like instincts for hunger, fear, sex, attraction, possessions etc. Nandi sutra uses k liki and no-indri interchangeably for mind. It is said to be the highest level of mental faculty and assigns six activities for it namely h (discrimination), apoha (exclusion), vimar a (enquiry), m rga (searching). gave a (fathoming) and cint (discursive thought). Hetupde iki is the lower level of Sa j and is generally concerning present tense only. Living beings with it are generally using the faculty to accept right food and avoid wrong acts/ foods. D iv dopade iki is based on attitude and / or vision. According to this, the person who has the right attitude (samyak-d i) is Sa j i and a person with wrong attitude is asa j i. This state of mental development is due to subsidence cum destruction of mithy tva-mohniya and rutaj navar iya karmas. Activation of mithy tvamohniya and subsidence cum destruction of rutaj navar iya karmas results in asa j i- ruta. Asa j i are not able to indulge in right and avoid wrong activities. However it does not mean that they don't have the instincts at all but they have little traces of them only.
V.
Kund Kund says that it is of four kinds namely:
labdhi or association i.e. capability to understand an object represented by a word. vi. bh van or attention: To contemplate on an already known object repeatedly for deeper
understanding. vii. upayoga or understanding: To derive knowledge from cognition e.g. this is red and that is blue etc. viii. naya or viewpoint: To understand the meaning conveyed by word with a specific angle/viewpoint.
This classification of rutaj na is very important to understand the process of acquiring it. Labdhi corresponds to association of ideas (i.e. process of getting the meaning of one idea through its associated ideas); Bh v na is direction of one in idea with a view to get at the associated idea; upayoga is the process of understanding the meaning of idea consequent upon bh vn and naya is viewing the meaning from different relations. The first three are concerned with
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the psychic process of acquiring knowledge through the ideas contained in the books and the last is way of understanding things from different aspects.
During philosophical era (Dar ana-yuga) when logic was the main criterion of truth realisation and gamas as secondary, extension of rutaj na from the perspective of transferring knowledge to others also took place in the form of sy dav da (conditional dialectic) and Naya (view point). This doctrine is based on the premise, "Object of knowledge is with infinite attributes and modes. Empirical self cannot know them all simultaneously by indirect means. Even if one knows them directly, like an omniscient, still he cannot express them through words simultaneously. Thus the expression of knowledge in words is always conditional and partial. When the cognizer has a specific objective or view point to know an object, then his knowledge is called as with reference to a specific viewpoint or naya". Thus
rutaj na is of as many types (as the forms of speech or words and they are countless). This is the basis of the doctrine of anek nta for self-cognition, sy dav da for its expression for others and naya for partial cognition by listener or speaker. Similarly classification of pram a (as organs of valid knowledge) is possible based on certain specific consideration as they can also be of countless types/classes.
2.4 Comparison of Mati and rutaj na Generally mati and ruta both appear to be one and the same. Sidha Sena Div kara even proposed that they are same; however later Jain scholar, except Ya ovijay refuted this claim and tried to put reasons for them being different. As a rule, ruta is accompanied by mati while it is not necessary that a mati should be accompanied by ruta. Thus there is a relationship of mutual concomitance between mati and ruta. Generally the difference being given is the use of vocabulary by rutaj na while matij na does not do so, e.g. Jina Bhadra says, 'the knowledge of the speaker or the listener, that is informed of his previous learning is ruta while the knowledge of the self same person, free from association of language, is mati'. Differences between them are tabulated below.
S.No
Item Definition
Matiij na Mind based knowledge or sensual cognition matij n var iya karmas.
rutaj na Verbal cognition or
testimony. rutaj n va iya karmas.
Cause: Subsidence cum destruction of karmas Precedence
Is preceded by matij na
For use by Medium Stages /types
Is preceded by sensual intuition / dar ana Self Senses and mind avagraha, h , av ya, dh ra
Self as well as others mind Many as per the objective.
3.0 Process of cognition
Sequence of acquiring knowledge by empirical soul is given in the following table.
Step
Entity
Remarks
Activity Ist activity. Dar ana
Sos
Perception of generalities. Existence of the object. Activation of consciousness for cognition. Several stages as mentioned in 2a and 2b. Cognition starts of the object. Contact perception (Vya jan vagraha)
Object comes in contact with
Sos cognizer Stimulus of contact acts on the peripheral ends of Sos sense organs and brings the subject in a certain relation with the object. Consciousness is exited and a sensation felt where the person is barely conscious of the object. Desire to know more details about
Sos, the object, its resemblances and differences to others. Integration of present and past and
Mind the recognition of the object as this and not that.
Object perception (arth vagraha)
Discrimination (ha). Continuation of 2, 3 till 4 is achieved.
mind
Judgment (Av ya)
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Mind
Recognition of sensations, revealing qualities of object.
Retention (dh r ) of judgement for use now or later. An impression resulting in our ablity to remember the object later (sa sk ra). Start of rutaj na.
Desire to know more or tell others about cognition sa sk ra and activities 2 to 5 continued
7.
Mind
Direct contact with the object and use of sm ti
Sos, mind
Contemplation, mental analysis
Origination of thought due to sa sk ra this is like that' from memory (sm ti). Steps 2-5 for each attribute Cognition by comparison (Pratyabhij na ) of details using memory and observation of the object. Steps 2-5, 7 'This is that' Use rules, arguments to arrive at a decision. Logic or Tarka. Inference /Anumana. Most important When the object to be cognised is not available for cognition but some other object is available having a relation with it
Mind
Mind
Knowing an object, to infer another object with which it has a universal relation
Consciousness is the discriminating nature of soul. In fact soul and consciousness are concomitant and so coexistent and one cannot exist without the other.
Practice /code of conduct to enhance knowledge capabilities As discussed earlier soul and knowledge are concomitant. Like indicated in the verse below, pure soul is like a mirror in which all objects of knowledge of past, present and future and of all places are reflected as they are.
Namah r vardham n ya nirdhuratakakalil tamane S lok n trilok n yadvidhh darpa ay te.
We, the ordinary people are unable to realize this potential of our pure self-due to the thick cover of karmika impurities shrouding our soul. Therefore our soul has to use other medium (like our sense organs) to discover the ultimate truth. This effort is subject to the limitations of the medium (sense organs) used and the thickness of the karmika veil. For acquired knowledge (i.e. mind based and verbal testimony), we have seen the four types of intellect which are also not immune to our sense organs limitations and purpose etc whereby they are allowed to wander in the unchartered regions beyond the jurisdiction of sense organs. For this we have to fall back on other organ called meditation to restrict such free wanderings of sense organs. Meditation on the Self is the process which is propagated by all Indian philosophies and can be the only means to realize the truth.
One can realize the truth through meditation only when the practitioner pins faith on whatever system he/she is initiated into and should see at the end whether he /she did start with the right postulate. How can realize the truth unless one exerts oneself (i.e. makes extra efforts) in its discovery by making his thoughts free from wanderings through meditation.
In Jainism this path of purification is called Mok am rga and consists of right belief /attitude-knowledgeconduct practiced together i.e. samyak dar ana-j na-c ritr i mok am rga. Hence belief or attitude (predilection or love for truth) is extremely important as knowledge without this belief or attitude is also said to be pervert or useless. Every soul has such predilection in some measure, but unless and until it develops into a self-conscious pursuit of truth, it does not help in the progress of spiritual pursuit or quest for truth. It is at this stage that this love for truth is called samyak darsana. The soul is said to be groping in the dark before this. This stage in Jain mysticism is called the 4"gu asth na or stage of spiritual purification. Ordinary householders can stay at 4" (attainment of right attitude) and 5 (accompanied by practice of observances of minor vows and code of conduct) to attain the four types of intellect primarily and prepare for movement to higher stages as an ascetic. During this and after several stages of spiritual purification, by practising right belief-knowledgeconduct, does the soul achieve its capability to know and experience the truth? At each stage of spiritual purification i.e. from 4h to 54h (for common householders) and onto 13th for ascetics, the soul acquires more and more power for meditation on itself and achieve enhanced knowledge. The karma doctrine which describes the
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states of bondage and purification of soul, also say that the changes in body features (nama karma) like joints becoming stronger, enhanced endurance power as well as the physical impurities getting reduced etc etc occur in the practitioner. This spiritual purification process inn Jainism aims primarily to stoppage of additional karmika impurities (called sa vara) and dissociation of associated karmika bondage with the soul (called nirjar ).
Influx of karmas is due to activities of mind body and speech; and passions (anger, greed, pride and deceit). For stoppage of additional bondage of karmas, Jain code of conduct lays down:
1. Three guptis or restraints namely of mind, body and speech. 2. Five samitis or attitudes of carefulness in daily life. 3. Ten fold moral/religious virtues 4. Contemplation of the twelve fold nature of objects 5. Twenty tow endurances of afflictions 6. Five vows like non violence etc. There are also five enhancing vows called silas.
Observance of the above code of conduct enables the practitioner to be careful and focus on his pursuit for truth and avoid further accumulation of impurities to his soul.
To make further progress i.e. dissociate the existing karmas with the soul, Jain code of conduct talks of twelvefold tapa (austerities) grouped under two main categories as follows: Internal: Fasting, eating less than needed, limiting the types of food intake, giving up eating delicious
and stimulating foods, selection of a lonely place for habitation, and body postures. These
austerities enhance the endurance capabilities of the body to let us meditate on the self. External: Nine fold expiation (pr ya cita) like confession, repentance etc; fourfold humility, respectful
service of the virtuous; fivefold self study (reading, teaching, enquiry, reflection and preaching); renunciation of non self and lastly meditation.
Observance of the above vows', as a rule, results in achieving heavenly pleasures with clairvoyance knowledge as well as charismatic body and several extraordinary powers in the present life itself. Many modern day scholars and writers publish books on emotional intelligence, moving ahead in life through better knowledge and conduct; invariably quote one or several of the above codes of conduct. Meditation is often becoming a fad to enhance our intellect and bodily activities. However, as we see above, it alone may not produce the desired results as there are several prerequisite codes /practices to be followed and then meditation becomes a very potent tool to enhance knowledge capabilities also.
Clairvoyance and telepathy can also result from practising the above code of conduct but to a limited extent. In Jain texts, clairvoyance is of use in worldly pursuits and can be wrong or right depending on its application while telepathy can accrue only when the practitioner moves to higher levels of code of conduct and is always for better purposes and hence is right only.
4.0 Analysis From the above discussions we find: • Jainism supports the doctrine of enhancement of knowledge capabilities of an individual along with the level
of spiritual purification attained. A practitioner of spiritual purification is required to develop detachment from the worldly association and thus attains perhaps a state of lasting happiness i.e. without the need for better food, shelter etc. A materialist on the other hand enhances his knowledge of the world, its constituents primarily i.e. research in matter to use it for the benefit of our worldly needs like satisfying our basic needs of food, clothes, shelter, security, health etc. He feels happy in discovering new material properties and ways to attain them; their application etc and relegates his consciousness as secondary.
Thus the two appear different i.e. spiritualist looking for inner happiness and enhancing his all knowing capability while the materialist looks for better understanding of the cosmos, its constituents, their purification and application of their properties to provide material comforts (sensual pleasures /related happiness) to self and others. It may be of interest to look at the source i.e. consciousness which manifests as knowledge. In both cases, it is the same. However in spiritualism, the method aims at purifying consciousness from the impurities obstructing its better manifestation capabilities (labdhi) so as to have crisp. fuller and instantaneous grasp of reality e.g. removing the curtains from a window to let sunshine enter the room and make it bright and visible clearly. In terms of matter it is like purifying gold after its extraction from the mines by removing the associated rock formations and then heating it to removing other associated impurities till it attains lustre at 22 or higher carat of purities. It is of interest to analyze how the our great
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scientists like Newton, Faraday, and Einstein etc had extraordinary awareness (consciousness) to observe simple events in life and come up with original doctrines about the universe processes. This can also be supported by the worldwide use of the techniques of meditation to enhance the mental capabilities of the practitioners.
It would thus seem that spiritual purification will lead to enhance the manifestation capabilities (knowledge) of the practitioner proportionately. Unfortunately the serious spiritual practitioners are becoming conspicuous by their absence due to advancements and greater emphasis on material sciences.
5.0 Epilogue We have tried to understand Jain theory of knowledge and enhancement of knowledge capabilities by practicing of non violence, self restraint and then observing austerities 'Dhamo mangal mukhittam, ahinsa sanjamo tavo". In ancient times, we hear stories of rsis and munis acquiring several extraordinary powers through practice of code of conduct indicated above. Through this paper I propose to conduct experiments to see how the above can help us in enhancing our own knowledge capabilities.
References
TattvarthaSutra by Ac Uma Swami Verse II.10 PhD Thesis Jain theory of knowledge and modern computer systems' of Shugan C Jain Chapter 1. Ratan karand Shravakachar by AC Samant Bhadra verse II. 1 PhD Thesis 'Jain theory of knowledge and modern computer systems of Shugan C Jain Chapter 1. & Studies in Jain Philosophy by N.L.Tatia Publsihed by Parshwanath Vidhyapeeth Varanasi Nandi Sutra Edited by Ac Maha Prajna Published by Jain Vishwa Bharti Univ. Vedrse 31-38 Panchastikaya by Kund Kund Verse 41.2 Ratan karand Shravakachar by AC Samant Bhadra verse 1 TattvarthaSutra by Ac Uma Swami Verse 1.1 Ratan karand Shravakachar by AC Samant Bhadra verse III.17 Samman Suttam by Jinendra Varni Published by Bhagwan Mahavira Kendra Verse 82
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5.2.a
Jain Diet Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Introduction
The word diet brings to our mind thoughts of austerity, restriction and deprivation to lose weight and look better. However in Jainism, the word diet refers more to the harmonious relationship between food we take, our health (both physical and mental), environment we live in and enhancement of our abilities to perform and make our existence happy and blissful in this and future lives.
Jain term for food is h ra. Recent literature uses the term bhojana also. h ra is the taking in or absorption (and not just eating) of the matter fit for the different kinds of bodies (1. gross or physical body of human, animals and vegetation kingdom; 2. the transformable body of the celestial and infernal beings and so on; and six kinds of completions (called pary pti; these being assimilation of molecules of matter, formation of body, the senses, the respiratory organs, the organ of speech and the mind)'.
Food means taking external inputs (nutrients, energy and body building and functioning elements) by the living beings. It is the most important need of the living beings as without it they may not be able to survive for long time. It therefore becomes important to know Jain views on food. Food and conduct, as per Jains, have strong correlation. Here also ethical postulates, such as being healthy (to be able to perform right conduct for self purification), non violence, self control (sa yama), attitude and our thinking have strong correlation to the type and quantity of food we take.2 Mah vira, during his penance of more than 12.5 years is said to have taken small quantities of food and that too only 265 times.
However all living beings need external energy and nutrients to maintain their physical bodies healthy and use it effectively to utilize their faculties (mind, body and speech) to achieve their objectives'. Thus food is the primary need of all living beings. Like cotton is the basic material of cloth, similarly to practice Mok a M rga with right vision-knowledge and conduct as main constituents, proper diet is very important. The eight basic virtues (mulaguna) or requirements to be a householder (sravaka) have at-least three virtues consisting of abstinence from meat, honey and wine3 while other cryas have all the eight associated with abstinence from eight types of food containing innumerable micro living organism. To conclude the underlying principle of Jain diet can be summarized as 'eat to live to be able to exercise self control and not just maintain the body healthy' so as to able to perform optimally your duties to achieve your objectives and 'not just live to eat'.
1.1 Types of food (h ra) that living beings (empirical souls) take. According to Jain literature, food is classified in the following categories, based on the manner they are absorbed by the living beings.
i. 'Oza'or life span determination at the time of birth is the energy the living being takes at the time of birth and this energy stays until his / her death. We hear stories of some living beings buried under debris for days together alive due to the existence of this energy.
ii. 'Roma' or nutrient & energy absorbed from environment directly. Every pour of body (millions in number) is capable of absorbing nutrients from the air & solar energy (similar to the process called photo synthesis in plants where the leaves absorb all the food from air and sun light and convert them to plant and its branches, leaves, fruits and flowers). Jain texts and modern medical science emphasize and provide several means to enable us use this type of food and minimize the need of the third type i.e. kaval h ra.
iii. 'Kavala' or food taken as morsels by mouth or injected in the body by other means. Generally we mean this type of food to denote all types of food. Few people realize that solar energy and fresh air and water are essential components of food (type ii indicated above).
iv. 'Mano' or mental food. All the necessary nutrients needed are available in the environment around us. However our spiritual capabilities are not so advanced to use this method. Monks do develop such capabilities through their practice of Mok a M rga. Stories abound in Jain texts of such developments (generally Jain texts have four types of stories namely Women (stri), Food (bhatta), Kingship (r ja) and country (de a)). It is also said that celestial beings
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i.e. heavenly beings (gods and goddesses) have such capabilities and their bodies are even
termed as celestial body so that they do not need 'kaval h ra'. v. 'Karma a' or the absorption of karma a particles by the empirical soul due to its various non
self activities. These act as insulation for soul's energy to enjoy its own nature of knowledge & bliss. These particles also reduce the efficiency of body parts to perform their function. All spiritual practices aim at stopping further accumulation of these particles on the soul and to dissociate the existing bonded karma particles with soul.
2. Basis of Jain Diet The question now arises, what is the proper diet as per Jains? We know that one type of food makes us sick and the other type makes us healthy, calm and composed. Ayurveda divides food in three types namely 'hita' or beneficial to the body, mita or eating less than needed and ta i.e. which does not depend on exploitation of others and the consumer earns his food. Jains talk primarily of the third type as the first two are corollaries of this. Jains talk of the kaval h ra i.e. taken from the mouth or through other means introduced in the body as food. Perhaps Jain ethical texts emphasize the importance of food most for a happy life now and to move forward on Mok a Mrga i.e. path of spiritual beneficiation to attain salvation. Basis of Jain diet can be enumerated as follows:
2.1 Non Violence (Ahis ) Non violence is the heart of Jain philosophy. The entire ethical practices and the doctrine evolve around minutest details of this concept. 'Live and let live' and Non violence is the supreme spiritual value' are the hallmarks of Jain doctrine. Thus Jain food also is based on the practice of this doctrine. This result in the following boundaries for what is good to eat and what is not good.
Total avoidance of killing of 2 to 5 sensed living beings as food. This prohibits consumption of meat, eggs etc of any kind. Minimal killing of one sensed i.e. living beings with air, water, fire and earth as body and plants for food. To live, we cannot avoid harming air, water, fire and earth bodied living beings while we can exercise control and restraint in harming the plant life. This perhaps prohibits consumption of root vegetables or plants and fruits where colonies of micro-living organism exist. Only fruits of the plants free from such considerations are prescribed for consumption. The food taken should be such that it does not enhance the violent nature like anger, aversion, hatred etc) in the person consuming the food. Excessive consumption of dry i.e. non oily) or spicy food; consumption of animals or their products create violent feelings Exercise carefulness while preparing and taking food e.g. not eating after sunset as the subtle two-three sensed living beings may not be visible and to prepare the food in a clean place after carefully cleaning the food articles by known and well intentioned persons.
2.2 Non-eating One of the pillars of three components of Jain doctrine of Anekant namely co-existence of opposites says that eating and non-eating should co-exist to practice Mok a Mrga. Therefore Jains lay equal importance on not eating also. The first three types of external penance are an ana (fasting), unodari (eating less than what is normal food intake) and rasa parity ga (giving up one or more of the five types of tastes namely salty-sweet-oily-dry and bitter foods on specific dates and for specific periods). Jains (practicing spiritual vows) keep fasts or eat once a day on 8th and 14 h day of each fortnight, do the same on almost on all festivals and special occasions, do not eat greens during rainy season and on specified days etc. Not eating or practicing the three austerities does help the person in maintaining control over his sensual desires and perform spiritual and other worldly duties more rigorously. The community glorifies those individuals who observe the maximum number of fasts during Paryu a a Parva.
2.3 Minimization or annihilation of passions (anger, pride, deceit and greed) and
maximize self control over sensual pleasures and enhance the capability to
observe the vow of celibacy (b hamcarya). The five deterrents to salvation and causes for the k rmika influx and bondage are':
Perverted views (mithy tva), ii. Disinterest in observing vows (avirati).
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Laziness (pram da). iv. Passions (ka ya) and
v. Activities of mind/body and speech (yoga). Food has direct impact on all thesecauses. It is well known and proved by science that all types of food have good as well as bad effects depending to an extent on their nature, the method they are prepared for eating, mixing of different types of foods and the quantity of their intake. yurveda also talks of three broad categories of food namely r jasika (rich or heavy to digest), t masika (toxic causing laziness and loss of discriminating knowledge) and s tvika (pure food which does not produce perverted views in the consumer's mind and is fit for consumption to lead a healthy and peaceful life). Jain diet emphasizes the last type. R jasika food is said to enhance laziness and disinterest in vows while t masika food is said to enhance passions and perverted views. S tvika food contains all the four essential constituents of food namely food grains, edibles and water, oil, air and solar energy in essential quantities and prepared properly. In today's terminology such types of food can be compared to balanced food having carbohydrates, proteins, salt, oil, water, air, minerals and vitamins. Similarly those food items which are said to be aphrodisiac in effect or causes loss of discriminating intellect or cause enhancement of violent nature are to be avoided.
3.0 Preparation and preservation of food: The manner of preparing the food for consumption, and the quality and edibility (i.e. shelf life in modern parlance and before the food articles become stale or infested with germs and other bacteria) are very important considerations for Jains. This is also true today as the mass producers of ready made foods and food articles (FMCC MNCs) go a long way in enhancing the shelf life of food items by adding preservatives and packing in inert containers all products and indicate shelf life of the product. A typical list of food items and their shelf life as per Jain texts is given in section 6.0 later
Similarly the person who prepares and serves the food assumes significance in Jain way of life.
A.
Desirable attributes of person for preparing food for the monks are listed below: i. Awareness of the needs and limitations of the monk/nun for whom food is being prepared. ii. Should be free from any expectation of worldly benefits/ pride / anger /indifference towards
the monk /nun while preparing the food. iii. Should be knowledgeable about the qualities, limits and desirability of various ingredients for
food e.g. the shelf life, the ingredient being free from living beings, their beneficial and
harmful effects on mind /body and speech etc iv. Should be in a happy mood and be with pure mind, body and speech V. Offer respect to the monk /nun while serving etc. vi. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women or those having menstrual period; Sick or old persons,
children, scared or incapacitated (blind /lame etc) persons are not allowed to serve food to the monks and nuns.
Similarly the kitchen should be clean, well lighted (preferably by sunlight), ventilated and protected (free from mosquitoes, flies, dust etc) place. All the ingredients used should be first manually cleaned (sorting), checked for their suitability (i.e. within the time limit prescribed and free from living beings of any kind) then washed and used. The water to be used should be strained and boiled before use. Similarly the persons cooking, utensils and the place etc should be clean.
For the householders, the above principles are kept in mind and forms the basis while
relaxing these restrictions depending upon i. Life style like joint family /nuclear family or single working person, ii. Professional needs of working hours. iii. Place of stay.
iv. Kitchen facilities at home fitted with all possible modern kitchen appliances. As examples, the food prepared by domestic help under the supervision of a family member, the food from vegetarian restaurants; enhancement of shelf life of food with the availability of modern appliances like refrigerators and freezers, water purifying systems (like RO), food articles being made and sold by large corporations, legal restriction imposed by government on labeling the food for its content, use of preservatives for enhancing shelf life etc can be acceptable for adoption. Most of the
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Jain texts found in temples and homes having puj s (devotional hymns), s m yikas (meditation hymns) and va ayakas (essential duties o householders) have a list of edible things, the impact of their mixing with each other and their shelf life. Section 6.0 gives some sample food articles and their shelf life.
4.0
Vegetarian diet
The Jain diet is claimed to be strictly vegetarian, perhaps vegan but relaxed to contain dairy products also (lacto vegetarians). Most of the restaurants and other high end restaurants and food serving organizations present special Jain menus i.e. vegetarian food without root vegetables like onion, garlic, potatoes etc. However certain root vegetables like turmeric, ginger and garlic in dried and powdered form are acceptable for their medicinal qualities. Animal products or those products made by using even small quantities of animal pro ducts are forbidden (e.g. processed cheese using animal based rennet, cereals or medicines using honey/ bone ash or other such things, ice creams using eggs). Here again the method of preparing, consuming s tvika food in limited quantities and times and eating before sunset or after sunrise, so as to avoid contamination of food with mosquitoes and insects are emphasized.
5.0
Modern medical science, economic and ecology views on Jain diet. We see a significant movement in the world towards adopting vegetarian food and giving up meat eating or even animal based products based primarily on health considerations. Everyday we find new medical reports identifying illnesses correlated to eating meat and poultry products.
Similarly a number of studies support economic considerations for being vegetarian and resource constraints in supporting meat eating habits. On the ecology front also, recent researches on production of meat or other animal products show detrimental effect they have on our land and water resources besides harm to the air quality and the ill effect of consuming animal products.
6.0
Jain food & diet for householders
Jain texts give detailed list of food items which are not edible and the time period for which an edible item also remains edible. The householders are further advised to seek opinion of the monks /nuns whenever in doubt
Edible foods and their shelf life?
6.1 Some of the in-edible items are given below:
i.
ii.
Any thing which involves killing of large numbers of stationery (one sensed living beings). For example root vegetables like onion, garlic, potatoes etc.
Anything which induces laziness or are toxic or aphrodisiac in nature. For example alcohol in any form; tobacco; opium, heroin etc.
Anything which is even edible but not suitable for a particular individual. For example cold water or drinks for a person suffering from cold, cough etc. Anything which is unknown.
The Food Revolution by John Robbins
a. Medical: Dr Dean Ornish in the forward to the book 'The Food Revolution' by John Robbins says 'A series of scientific studies and randomized clinical trials demonstrating that the progression of even severe coronary heart disease an be stopped or reveres simply by making comprehensive changes in one's diet and life style. These lifestyle changes include adopting a low fat, plant based, whole food diet; stress management techniques (including yoga and meditation); moderate exercise; smoking cessation; and psychosocial group support'.
iii.
iv.
Any thing which involves killing of mobile living beings. For example meet and eggs of any type and their products; honey; food grains and cooked foods infested with moth /mildew and micro organism etc.
V.
b. Ecology: 'It is a dream of a success in which all beings share because it is founded on reverence for life. A dream of a society at peace with its conscience because it respects and lives in harmony with all life forms. A dream of a people living in accord with the natural laws of creation, cherishing and caring for the environment, conserving nature instead of destroying it. A dream of
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a society that is truly healthy, practicing a wise and compassionate stewardship of a balanced ecosystem. Page 3 by the author. All of the planet's physical features and living organism are interconnected. They work together in important and meaningful ways. The clouds, oceans, mountains, volcanoes, plants, bacteria and animals all play important roes in determining how our planet works. (Page 231) Traditionally farm animals played an important role in keeping agriculture on a sound ecological footing. They ate grass, crop waste and kitchen scarps that people could not eat. Their manure provided the soil with needed nutrients. And the animals pulled the plows and provided other services that enhanced human life. (Page 233).
c. Economic: There is not enough land to raise animal feed to satisfy the meat eating habits of the human population. Producing one Kg of lettuce consumes 33 gallons of water while producing one Kg of beef consumes 5300 gallons of water. The same is the case of land requirements to cultivate other grains and plant based foods. Disposal of animal excreta makes the water bodies as unusable for irrigation and human consumption. A number of large water bodies (aquifers) all over the world are becoming dry on this account.
d. Anything which is even edible but not suitable for a particular individual. For example cold water or drinks for a person suffering from cold, cough etc.
e. Anything which is unknown.
Most of the plant based foods like cereals, fruits (except infested or having large colonies of micro organism in them or toxic in nature), vegetables (except root vegetables, leaf vegetables during rainy season, vegetables infested with insects) are considered edible. Milk and its products are generally considered edible but with certain limitations.
6.2
Shelf life of food items"
This is very important consideration for Jains concerning edibility or in-edibility of any food items. Some examples are given below.
Water: strained water- 48 minutes; strained water with cloves added- 6 hours; boiled water-12 hours; water boiled many times - 24 hours.
Milk: 48 minutes after taken out from cows; boiled milk within 48 minutes after extraction - 24 hours; curd - 24 hours; butter- 48 minutes; ghee- as long as it does not change taste / colour /smell. Cereals: As long as they do not get infested with mildew, moth or insects; flour- 7, 5 and 3 days during winter, summer and rainy seasons.
Cooked foods: Generally 6 hours after cooking; fried things -24 hours; sweets having water -24 hours and sweets with no water are like flour.
6.3
Time and quantity of food comprising a normal diet.
Normally three meals per day are recommended starting with after sunrise and ending before sunset in quantities sufficient for sustenance. Further fasts / missing one meal or two meal regularly (8th and 14th day of every fortnight and religious days) and avoiding any one specific types of foods on certain selected days are advised for good health and enhancing self control.
The texts do not specific exact quantity (by weight or type of food items) to be consumed and hence the statements are generally qualitative. Normally the emphasis is on minimizing the food intake (i.e. prohibiting overeating completely) but not starving.
7.0
Conclusions
Jain canonical literature gives the following description of a monk' to support his/her spiritual life 10 That monk, who, without the desire, passions (attachments and aversions) but maintaining an attitude of carefulness and restraints (samitis and guptis) eats proper and worthy for the monk as per the Jain scriptures food and wanders from one place to other place for preaching and stay is said to be free from the flaws of taking food directly. The soul of that monk, who is busy in meditating on his self and is free from the act of accepting other matter is in fact called a fasting self (nirhari). Thus such monks are said to be free from the flaws of the food accepted by them in enabling them to meditate on their self. Such pure food is accepted once a day during daylight, that too less than the full need of the stomach is balanced in dry-oily-sweet-salt tastes and contents, free from elements
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like honey, meat etc, is prepared by religious persons aware of the method of preparing and serving. Such food is said to free from the flaws of adhah -karma and is taken through begging.
With these as ideal, the diet for householders is suitably modified depending upon his / her spiritual inclinations, family and professional circumstances and the place where he / she live. The basic principles of Jain diet are:
Non-violence has to be always kept as a supreme factor while planning one's diet. It should assist us in achieving our objective of the human life by enhancing self control, reducing passions and lead a happy and healthier life.
References
Tattvartha Sutra by Uma Svati and its commentary by PujyaPada sutra 2.30 Bodha Pahuda by Kunda Kundav-34 Rattan Karand Shravakahara by SamantBhadra, commentary Prabha Chandra edited by Dr Panna Lal. Verse 66. Ahi s k Jvana Shelly by Samani Chinmaya Pragya Purushartha Siddhi Upaya Amrit Chand Suri v. 61-75 Tattvartha Sutra by Uma Svati and its commentary by PujyaPada sutra viii. 1 Purushartha Siddhi Upaya Amrit Chand Suri v. 168-170 Bhagawati Aradhana by Shivarya 1206-4-10 Puja Patha Pradeep, Samayika ka Saundarya compiled by Dr Mukesh Jain Pravacana Sara by Kunda Kunda verse 3.26-30; Sutra K at ga verse 1.3.1-6
ON
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5.3
raman c ra - The Code of Conduct of the Jaina Monk Dr. Dhayanand Bhargava
1.0 Jainism is an Ascetic Religion.
The moral code of Jainism preaches asceticism to its extreme. The idea is that if spirit is something beyond senses, then all sensual pleasures must be only an obstacle in the realization of the soul. They, therefore, must be renounced. Once this principle is accepted, no concession is to be made in the name of practicability. Of course, this ideal cannot be achieved normally all at once. Therefore there are gradual stages of renunciation. A person who wishes to fulfil his social obligation cannot give up all worldly activities, but gradually as one realizes the importance of spiritual attainment and gains confidence and power, he proceeds towards the higher goal, leaving aside the material necessities of life. This journey leads to monkhood.
SORS OF JAN
1.1 The Importance of Asceticism in Jainism
In the earlier scriptures of the Jainas, we find that the gospels are addressed mainly to monks. It means that Asceticism occupies the central place in Jainism. In Brahmanism on the other hand, householder occupies the central place. In later Hinduism, asceticism was accorded a place in the fourth stage of life under the rama scheme. In Jainism, ascetic character was retained from the very beginning till today. In Hinduism, also asceticism continued to occupy increasingly important place day by day. In the Mah bh rata, we find how a conflict was going on between the older religion of activity and the newer religion of renunciation. According to B had Kalpabh ya, even a r vaka is to be taught Yatidharama before r vaka dharma i.e. he is to be instructed in the life style of a monk first, so that he can know the ultimate goal of life. In Hinduism, action or karma preceded the study of jn na or Ved nta. It appears that Hinduism was very much influenced by the ascetic tendencies of Jainism and Buddhism.
1.2 Asceticism and Society
Coming to asceticism of the Jain tradition, a Jain monk has to devote himself absolutely to spiritualism. No doubt, he depends on society for such bare necessity of life as food, but he is not obliged to fulfil any social duty. In fact, his contribution to the society is not mundane but spiritual. It is true that spiritualism plays an important role in regulating the social behavior in the sense that it puts a check on the bad activities of the members of the society. Morality is the first condition for all spiritual progress and the same morality is essential for any social progress. In this way, asceticism plays a role in guiding the society but its main object is spiritual realization. It is held that perfection lies in spiritualism and not in worldly progress. In a way, worldly pleasures are a hindrance to spiritual realization and, therefore, they cannot be recommended. The scriptures of the Vedic tradition, the Gt for example appear to have a different view. They hold that worldly progress and spiritualism can go together. This is how Lokmanya Tilak interpreted Gt. However, the interpretation of the Gt by ankara has an ascetic overtone. Thus, we find that though the Vedic tradition has been wavering regarding the importance of asceticism, the Jaina tradition is firm about its conviction. The influence of Jainism on Vedic tradition can be clearly seen in the description of the life style of Ṛ the Bh gawat Pur a.
abhadeva in
2.0 Jaina Monk
The conduct of a Jaina monk is the highest example of asceticism. He is expected to practice in what he believes. Let us therefore, have a look at the code of a Jaina monk to understand how asceticism is to be put in practice. This forms a unique chapter of Indian civilization and of the history of asceticism as a whole.
2.1 Who Can Become a Monk?
A monk can practice spiritualism without any distinction of caste or colour. Harike was a Pariah who was admitted to the order of monkhood and he is referred to with highest regard even though socially Pariah was considered to be belonging to the lowest cadre of the society. The conditions laid down for a person for qualifying for initiation for monk-hood are such, which do not discriminate between person and person on the basis of cast. One must be above the age of 8, should not be too old, should be physically and mentally fit and should not have any such social obligation as debt. The
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main emphasis is on moral qualities. On the whole we can say that any person who is physically fit and morally sound can be admitted to monkhood.
3. O Two Types of Monks In vet mbara tradition those monks who observed more strict code of conduct, form a separate category called Jinakalp (i.e. who live like Lord Mah v ra); whereas those, who are not so strict, are called Sthavirakalpa. Jinakalp is supposed to be not in vogue in modern times. Sthavirakalpa observes not only the moral code but also the rules, which are prescribed by the Order. This kind of distinction is available in Vedic tradition also, where Paramhans or Turiyatita monks are distinguished from ordinary type of ascetics. It only means that even among ascetics we have gradation of higher and lower type. However, there are some qualities, which are to be observed by all ascetics. For example all ascetic should observe five great vows (mah vratas); must have an attitude of restraint and practice the same (samitis); must observe mental vocal and physical discipline (g ptis); should have control over their senses, must lead a life of austerity, should have control over their food habits, and should be detached, full of forgiveness and forbearance. Let us have a description of some of these qualities in some detail so as to understand the heart of asceticism with special reference to Jainism.
3.1 Five Great Vows Mah vratas The five great vows form the foundation of the Jaina tradition. They are called great because they are to be observed without any exception whereas in the small vows of the householder, a concession is given, so that he can fulfil his obligation towards his family and society. The great vows on the other hand are unconditional and absolute. There have been some modifications in the details of these five great vows but the basic structure has remained intact through ages.
The first great vow is the vow of non-violence his, which consists in abstinence from injury in any form and in any condition to any living being, small or great, inferior or superior. As Jainism believes that not only man and animals and all vegetable but even fire, air, water and earth have life, and a monk is supposed to lead a life, which does not interfere, with life as such. This makes his movement very much restricted. He cannot touch fire or water or cannot dig earth or cannot use fan. Naturally, this makes his life full of hardships for example, if he is thirsty, he cannot drink water of any kind but only that water which has become inanimate through such procedure as boiling. He cannot take even boiled water if it has been boiled for him. He can take only that water which a householder might have boiled for himself and is willing to share that water with the monk by remaining satisfied with only that quantity of water, which remains after offering that water to the monk. It is clear that in this way a monk becomes so much dependent on the householders that he cannot have any sense of ego or pride. By this sort of conduct, he becomes instrumental in extending asceticism to a smaller degree amongst the householders also who has to limit his requirements if he wishes to fulfil the requirements of the monk.
3.1.1 Detachment The core of non-violence is detachment and compassion. Compassion does not consist in fulfilling the demands of the flesh but in inspiring one to get rid of demands of flesh. Attachment is suicidal for the aspirant. All behavior of a Jaina monk regarding movement, speech, handling of things, food, and even thinking is regulated by this one spiritual value of detachment. Non-violence implies strict vigilance. In the scripture it is mentioned that when a straw was placed in the ear of a sleeping monk
ryadeva, he removed it so carefully that if it were not a straw, but a worm, it would not be hurt. He did it very gently
3.1.2 The Scope of Non-Violence his It is said that of all the vows the Jaina attached the greatest importance to non-violence. Nonviolence is not a philosophy of inactivity but a philosophy, which values the life of all and does not like interfering in the freedom of any living being. It goes beyond mere humanitarian but encompasses the whole nature. Today when we are worried about environment, the Jaina concept of nonviolence becomes very relevant because it preaches non-disturbance of the balance of nature. For Jainism, nature is not something that can be handled in any way, it is rather throbbing with life and has to be handled with kindness. Jainism has also analyzed the causes of violence. In fact, the cause
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of all sins lies in our passions, which include anger, greed hypocrisy and pride. It is not that the Jaina monk gives up all activities; he gives up only violent activities. Of course, he practices his to the last degree and therefore, his activities become very much restricted. But his spiritual activities extend to the largest degree possible. When we look at non-violence from social point of view the Jaina concept of non-violence may appear to be incomplete. The Jaina monk, for example will not resort to violence even if he is attacked. The social being, on the other hand, would like to reserve the right of self-defence. We have to understand that since a monk has given himself to absolute spiritualism; even defence of his own body at the cost of spiritualism is not advisable for him. His vow of non-violence is unconditional. He will not only be kind to those who are kind to him, but also to those who are unkind to him also. He can do so because he is so much engrossed in the spiritual bliss of his inner self that physical miseries do not move him. He avoids violence mentally, physically and vocally. He also avoids inspiring others to commit violence and if somebody has committed violence he avoids approving of it.
3.2 The Vow of Truthfulness Satya The second vow is that of truthfulness. No false word is to be uttered out of attachment, aversion, fear or anger or greed. For this purpose, he has to avoid insulting, teasing and use of harsh words. He should not use speech, which excites others. He should not only be true, but modest and gentle in his speech. The example of wearing the outfit of a non-Jaina monk to get food and drink is also quoted as an example of falsehood.
3.3 The Vow of Non-Stealing Acaurya The vow of non-stealing is much more comprehensive than what we normally understand by the term. Even if something is lying in the house of a householder and monk finds that it is of no use for the owner of the house, he cannot take it without the express permission of the owner. He can neither show any attraction of benefit to a householder to get something from him nor use either fear for this purpose. He should have detachment even to whatever little he has. He cannot claim any ownership of the place in which he is staying. He should gladly share his possession with the fellow monks. He should not gather any requisite secretly. Thus the vow of non-stealing means perfect honesty in one's behavior.
3.4 The Vow of Celibacy B ahm c rya The fourth vow consists of celibacy or control of sexual desire. Under this vow he has not to decorate his body. He has to avoid exciting and excessive food, songs and dance, and exciting and passionate behavior. He has to avoid any contact, especially in private or on one to one basis with members of opposite sex. In case of any emergency, also the rule of the celibacy is to be observed in letter and spirit.
3.5 The Vow of Non-Possessiveness Aparigraha The last and fifth vow is that of non-possession. As even a monk has to possess such instrument of acquiring knowledge as books, it cannot be said that he should not possess anything. It only means that whatever he possesses, he should have no attachment to it. Moreover, he should not possess anything, which is not allowed by the scriptures. There is a difference of opinion regarding the list of possession that a monk can have. This becomes the one article of the main reasons of division between the Digambara and the vet mbara. It appears that the vet mbara scriptures allowed very few items of clothe and utensils for a monk but the list increased by the passage of time. The Digambara on the other hand did not allow even a cloth for a monk. The crga Sutra though mentions clothes, alms-bowl, blanket and broom for the monk. The Digambara tradition classifies the possession of the monk under three heads:
Means of attaining knowledge i.e. scriptures
Means of observance of vows i.e. a broom of peacock feather by which one can gently remove insects etc. so that they are not injured by the movement of monk
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Means of purifying the body i.e. a pot of wood to carry inanimate water for cleaning the body after nature's calls.
Later on, especially the vet mbara scriptures increased the list of the possession of a monk to include such articles as a staff and an umbrella, even though, in practice, the monks do not have them today. The list went on increasing by including needle, razor, nail cutter and ear cleaner etc. B hatkalps tra gives in as many as seventy articles as possession of a monk. In latter period it appears that the monks accepted even gifts of land. The rules were, however, so clear and strict that such practices which were against the spirit of the vow could not continue for long.
3.5.1 The Importance of Non-Possessiveness It is important that possessions are not only external but internal also. The Jaina scriptures include laughter, liking and disliking, sorrow, fear and disgust as internal possessions. Even though nonviolence is considered to be the cardinal moral virtue, yet the greatest contribution of the Jainas to asceticism is the vow of non-possession, which they carried to such an extreme that the Digambara monks do not keep any cloth to cover even their body. Why there is so much insistence on nonpossessiveness is explained by the fact that almost all sins emerge out of the desire to possess. There is struggle and violence for usurping the belongings of others so that one can enjoy them. One resorts to falsehood and thefts for becoming rich. Detachment must be translated into practice by not accumulating things beyond a limit. In fact, a householder is also expected to put a limit on his possession and as he enters monkhood he becomes all the more rigid and does only with the bare minimum.
3.6 Observing Other Attitudes to Support the Observance of the Five Great Vows The deepest form of attachment is found towards body. Asceticism therefore, culminates into not only refusing the body any comfort or luxury but also voluntary accepting situations which are not favorable to the body. We shall discuss austerities in a separate lesson. As a means to protect the above five great vows a monk is supposed to observe three fold self control (gupti) and five fold vigilance (samiti). In self-control, one is to avoid all harmful activities where as in vigilance one has to see to it that others are not injured by one's activities.
3.6.1 Three-Fold Discipline Guptis The discipline of mind means freedom from thought of passions, delusion, attachment, aversion, and other impure thoughts. The discipline of speech means avoiding talks about sex, politics, anti-social activities and food. Discipline of body means physical activities are to be avoided such as piercing or beating etc.
3.6.2 Five-Fold Vigilance Samitis Of the five-fold vigilance; the first is regarding the movement. The monk should not traverse on the path where there are ants, seeds, vegetables etc. He should move only on a path, which is free from the chance of injuring any living being. He should move only in daylight, as, in the night, the path is not properly seen. He should not have any attraction towards the object of five senses while moving. He should move only for religious purposes. He should look forward on the ground to the extent of four cubits. The idea is that he should move only when it is necessary for religious purpose and that too with full vigilance.
The second is discipline of speech, whereas vigilance of speech means the positive aspect of using speech, which should be short, sweet and beneficial.
The third vigilance is regarding begging of food. One has to take food to keep his body. For a monk the purpose of life is to achieve the ultimate end of life i.e. liberation. He takes food only with this end in mind. Of course, he has to see that no violence is involved in the process of acquiring food. The food should not be prepared for him, nor should he suggest the type or quantity of food should be or approved by him. As already said, whatever little a monk gets in begging, it should be out of the things which the householder has prepared for himself. The householder shares this preparation voluntarily by putting control over his own share. The purpose of taking the food is to sustain life so
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that one can make study, meditate serve other monks and perform religious duties. Two parts of stomach are to be filled with food and one with water. And the fourth one is to be left for passage for air. The monk should not take food if he finds any impurity like nails, hair, insects, bones, chaff, grain particles, pus, skin, blood, flesh, seeds, fruits, bulbs and roots. A monk should not go out for food when he suffers from diseases or when some misery befalls him, or when he wants to defend his celibacy or when he wants to refrain from causing injury to living beings or when he is desirous of renouncing the body.
Whatever articles a monk has, he has to handle them carefully. He should remove insects from the place where he wants to put an article. When a monk feels call of nature, he has to choose a place, which is, devoid of all life. Thus, we find that all the activities of a monk are to be regulated in accordance with the observance of the code of conduct.
4.0 Other Supporting Activities for practicing Spiritual Purification There are a number of activities detailed which the monk should practice regularly so that he develops detachment and practice non-violence to enable him o meditate on the self/soul.
4.1 Ten Fold Dharma To strengthen the moral virtues a monk should have forgiveness, humility, straight forwards, contentment, truth, restraint, penance, renunciation, detachment, and celibacy. These qualities are excellent because they are to be cultivated with the purpose of spiritual development only and not with any worldly gain. These qualities come automatically to a monk if he is clear about his goal. The goal is to check the inflow of karmic matter, which is a foreign element and which pollutes the purity of soul.
4.2 Attitude Towards Hardships (22 Pari ahas) With such a strict code of conduct, it is but natural that a monk should face many hardships, which he is expected to overcome with detachment and forbearance. He should understand that the physical pains and pleasures are transitory in nature and they come and go. A worldly man tries to overcome such hardships by various means, which are not always free from sins. However, the monk has to face hardships with fortitude. He should not feel disturbed at all. It increases his will power, so necessary for treading the path of asceticism.
The monk has to deny comforts to the body. The hardships which he may face, are 22 in number: hunger, thirst, cold, heat, insect bites, nakedness, discontentment, woman, fatigue from walking etc. disturbance by animals, sleeping or sitting on hard earth, abuse, beating, begging failure to get alms, etc., disease, contact of thorny shrubs, etc., discomfort from dirt, respectful or disrespectful treatment, pride of knowledge, lack of knowledge and failures in religious practices. The idea behind the above hardships is that whatever the circumstances the monk should not deviate from his prescribed code of conduct which includes rules for begging food, observance of religious duties, non possessiveness, non violence, sex control, detachment, freedom from greed, freedom from attachment to body, non despondency and stead fastness. All this proves to be of great help in checking the inflow of karmic matter and also shedding of the already acquired karmic matter. Penance means voluntarily imposing on oneself circumstances, which are physically unfavourable. We shall speak about them in a separate lesson. Here we have dealt with only with the unfavorable circumstances, which a monk may have to face involuntarily.
4.3 Six-Fold Essentials va yakas In his daily life the monk has to perform certain essential duties. The first of them is S m yika. It is the most important quality, which means equanimity in life and death, profit and loss, union and separation, friend and foe, and happiness and misery. A monk has not to make any distinction between one who belongs to him and the other who does not belong to him. Detachment, faith in scriptures, abstention from vices, three-fold self control and all other moral virtues along with meditation, form Sm yika. One should be detached from good or bad names, forms, material, place, time, or emotion.
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Those realized souls have attained perfection by destroying desire, conquering the passions and death with equanimity. It is true that the realized souls who have attained liberation do not answer to our prayers in the way in which God is supposed to answer, but our prayer to them purifies us.
The second duty is that of paying respect to the preceptor and the images of Ariha tas. In fact a monk pays respect to those who observes vows and not to those who are undisciplined even though they may occupy high position in the worldly sense of the term.
The third duty is to criticize one's moral transgression by confessing them before one's G r. One should not conceal anything from his Gr. He should be free from crookedness and observe balance of minds in all situations. Another essential quality is to avoid sinful activities in future. The monk should be sorry for whatever sinful activities may have been performed by him in the past.
Another duty is to feel detachment from the body.
4.4 Rules for Begging Food
The Jain scriptures understand that the food is the most fundamental necessity of human life. Even this necessity is to be reduced to the minimum. As he has to go for begging, he should put the householder to the least possible difficulty. Food is to be taken for maintenance of body and not for the taste of the tongue. In fact, the earlier scriptures are full of prescriptions regarding food. The faults, which may occur in procuring food, are classified into four categories.
4.4.1 The First Category of Faults
The mistakes on the part of the giver are sixteen in number. The monk should not accept food:
If it is specially prepared for him;
If some additional food or new item has been cooked on seeing him;
If he uses sterilizes food and it has been mixed with unsterilized food or water;
If he is asked to take the food together with layman;
If the food is offered to him after being removed from the place of its preparation;
If the food is remnant of offerings;
If the food is offered at wrong time:
If pots containing food are removed from one place to another at the sight of himself, if
pots are washed before him or a lamp is lit;
If the food has been purchased for him;
If the food has been borrowed for him;
If the food has been obtained in exchange for some other article;
If the food has been brought from another's house;
If the food has been kept uncovered;
If the food is offered at a place where he can reach only by mounting a ladder;
If the food is offered out of fear;
If someone has objected to the offering of food;
4.4.2 The Second Category of Faults
The following sixteen faults pertain to the receiver and should be avoided by the monk. The food becomes condemnable:
If it is achieved by teaching the giver the way of looking after the children
If it is obtained by delivering some message
If it is obtained by telling someone about his future, etc.
If it is obtained by describing one's high linkage or occupation
If it is obtained by flattering the giver
If it is obtained by giving medical advice or medicine
By showing anger
By showing pride
By deceit
By showing greed
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By praising the giver in anticipation By praising the giver afterwards By imparting occult powers By imparting mantras for snake bite etc By imparting secrets for winning over one's love
4.4.3 The Third Category of Faults It consists of the following ten faults concerning the manner of giving. The food becomes condemnable:
If there is any doubt about its purity If it is offered by hands or in utensils which are besmeared with oil or ghee If it has been placed on unsterilized water or green leaves If it is covered with unsterilized water or green leaves If the pots are not handled carefully by the giver If it is unclean If it is mixed with earth, insects or unsterilized things If it is not sterilized so as to make it incapable of breeding any living creature If it is offered from pots or hands besmeared with flour, chalk, and the like If it has been thrown away
4.4.4 The Fourth Category of Faults While taking the food, the monk should be free from the following four faults:
Mixing up hot things with cold, which have ceased to be sterilized Over-eating Having attachment to food Condemning food while eating it
5.0 The Ascetic Order: The Role of crya Though asceticism in its pure form is an individual's journey, yet the Jaina tradition avoids absolutism in any fields. Therefore, the Jaina monks have a community of their own where they help each other for spiritual development. Of course, monks of a very high order have been allowed to remain aloof but ordinarily a monk is expected to be a member of Sa gha of which a c rya as its head. The
c rya organizes and regulates all spiritual activities of the Sa gha. He has the following duties: Sutr rthasthirikara a - Decide the meaning of the scriptures Vinaya - Should be humble to all Gurupuj - Should be reverential to those who are senior to him in spiritual development Saiks bahum na - Should show respect for the aspirants of spirituality D napatisradd vrddhi - Encourage the giver to give alms Buddhibalavardhana - Enhance the intellect and capacity of his students Besides, the crya should also keep in mind the following things:
1. He should be careful in giving any order 2. He should see that the junior monks behave properly towards senior monks 3. He should see that the order of reading the scriptures is not violated by the monks 4. He should provide proper facilities for those monks who are either diseased or
engaged in penance for studies 5. He should do everything in consultation with other monks 6. He should see that every monk gets the equipment that he requires 7. He should also take care of the equipments of monks
5.1 Rules of Behavior towards Fellow Monks In an Order, it is necessary that rule of conduct which prescribe behavior amongst the member of the Order are followed. For the sake of chastity, monks and nuns are not allowed to touch each other
The society of monks is guided by what is called Sambhoga. The rules of Sambhoga are twelve in number:
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1. Up dhisambhoga - The possessions of a monk are called Up dhi. The monks should
exchange these Up dhis with other monks with care. 2. Srutasambhoga - The monk should instruct other monks with regard to the
scriptures. 3. Bhaktap na - The food given to other monks should be pure. 4. Aijalipragraha - The monk should pay due respect to other monks. 5. D nasambhoga - Pupils can be exchanged with the other monks of the same group. 6. Nimantra a - A monk can invite another monk of the same group for exchange of
food, possessions and pupils. 7. Abhyutth na - The monk should pay due respect to other monks of the same group
by giving them seat etc., and by standing from his seat on their arrival. 8. Krtikarma - Should give proper salutation etc. 9. Vaiyy vrtya - The old, diseased, and disabled monks should be served with due
respect and care. 10. Samavasara a - He should join the assembly at the time of religious discourse. 11. Sannisadya - The monk can share his seat with the monk of his own group but not
with the nun. 12. Kath - Prabandha - He should discuss various religious matters with fellow monks.
The order is thus an organized form of asceticism but the primary form of asceticism is to be practiced by an individual all-alone even when he is a member of an Order
5.2 Twelve Reflections The practice of asceticism is not a bed on roses. It is a very difficult path. What sustain an aspirant on this path are certain reflections, which have been classified into twelve:
1. The first is the transitory nature of things. Nothing is permanent in the world. If we
get attached to a particular thing we are bound to suffer. 2. Nobody can escape death, nor can anybody save one from death. It is, therefore,
unwise to depend on relatives, wealth, or position because all of them are helpless
before death. 3. The soul is transmigrating from one body to another body from time immemorial. It
has undergone all possible favorable and unfavorable situations. There is no end to
this journey unless one adopts the path of spiritualism. 4. Even though we live in a society speaking truly, we are all alone. We have to suffer
the miseries all alone and there is none to share them. 5. One has to realize that the self is distinct from body. Pampering the body is of no use
for the self. 6. The body, which consists of flesh, blood, and bones is impure all in and all out. 7. The universe is very huge and the man is so small that he has no point in being
proud of himself. 8. It is a very rare chance that one gets the knowledge of right path. Once it is attained
one should not miss this rare chance. 9. Because of our activities, there is constant inflow of karma, which covers our true
nature. 10. This inflow of karma is to be stopped if we want to protect our purity. 11. The already accumulated karmas are to be shed. 12. The real nature of truth is to be realized.
With these reflections, the monk becomes steadfast in asceticism.
6.0 Summary From the aforesaid description of the conduct of a Jaina monk, it would be clear that asceticism is a form of pure spiritualism, which does not admit of any concession for worldly life. There is a contradiction between the spiritual life and mundane life, which is clearly brought out by what has
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been said above. The goal of asceticism is spiritual realization, for which an aspirant has to forsake physical comforts and undergo hardships.
The institution of Order of Jaina Monk is perhaps the oldest Order of the world. Its study is an important chapter in the history of asceticism. It may also be pointed out that even though the journey of spiritualism is individualistic yet the Jaina T rtha karas laid down the foundation of an order where the aspirants could help each other without interfering in their freedom. This is perhaps the secret of longevity of Jaina asceticism.
Suggested Readings
1. Sogani Kamal Chand, Ethical Doctrines in Jainism, Pub. : Lalchand Hirachand Doshi, Solapur 2. Bhargava D., Jain Ethics, Pub. : Motilal Banarsi Das, New Delhi. 3. S.B. Deo, History of Jain Monachism, Puna. 4. B.C. Law, Mahaveer, his life and teachings, London. 5. H.L. Jain, Bharatiya Sanskrit Men Jaina Dharma Ka Yogadana, Bhopal. 6. Acharya Mahapragya Jain Darshan: Manan Mimansa, Ladnun
Questions: 1. What is the position of a Jain Monk vis-à-vis a Jain householder? 2. What are the conditions of eligibility for a Jain Monk? 3. What is the difference between great vows and small vows? 4. What is the importance of non- possessiveness? 5. What is the meaning of self-control and vigilance in the case of a Jain Monk? 6. What is the spirit of rules for begging food for a Jain Monk? 7. What are the common rules of an order of the Jain Monks?
Annexure 1 28 Mulagunas (According to the Digambaras) of Monks
1. 5 Mah vratas:
1. Non-Violence 2. Truth 3. Non-stealing 4. Celibacy
5. Non-Possession 2.5 Samitis (Carefulness)
1. Moving about 2. Right speech 3. Procurement of provision 4. Receiving and placing things
5. Right disposal of refuse 3.5 Indriyanigraha:
1. Vision 2. Hearing 3. Smell 4. Taste
5. Touch 4. 6 va yakas:
1. Equanimity 2. Praising the lord 3. Salutations 4. Repentance
5. Abandoning the body 5. 7 other miscellaneous:
1. Plucking the hair 2. Nudity 3. Not to have bath
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4. Sleeping on the ground 5. Not to brush the teeth 6. Stand while eating 7. Eat once a day
27 Mulaganas (According to the vet mbaras) of Monks 1. 5 Mah vratas:
1. Non-Violence, 2. Truth, 3. Non-stealing, 4. Celibacy,
5. Non-Possession 2. Not to eat after sunset 3.5 Restraint on senses:
1. Vision 2. Hearing, 3. Smell, 4. Taste,
5. Touch 4. Discarding 4 passions:
1. Anger, 2. Deceit, 3. Greed
4. Ego 5. Bhava Satya 6. Karana satya 7. Yoga satya 8. Forgiveness 9. Vitaragata 10. Restraint on mind, body and speech 11. Engaging in knowledge, faith and conduct 12. Equanimity in death
22 Par aha (Hurdles or Afflictions) to be won over by Monks:
1. Hunger 2. Thirst 3. Cold 4. Hot 5. Gadflies/ Mosquito 6. Nakedness 7. Distaste 8. Women 9. Movement 10. Seating 11. Bedding 12. Harsh words 13. Beating 14. Begging 15. Non-Receipt 16. Disease 17. Touch of grass 18. Dirt 19. Honour 20. Miraculous intellect 21. Ignorance 22. Non-vision
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5.4
Sm yika: Practicing Equanimity / Periodic Contemplation
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
1.0 Background Every religion has its own code of conduct and its meditation practice of self / soul purification to attain Bliss. Buddhists call their meditation practice as Viudhi Mrga; S khya calls it Yoga Dar ana (Mahar i Patanajali called this path as Yoga). Jains call it Mok a Mrga or Mukti Mrga. Jain literature does not use the term Yoga in the sense as used by Patanjali. On the contrary Yoga in Jain literature implies the activities of mind, speech and body. However after Patanjali, the use of the term Yoga in its present context gained wider usage in all religions including Jains. The closest term in Jain literature for Yoga is sa vara (stoppage of bondage of karmas to soul), which implies controlling or stopping the activities of mind, body and speech from wandering around. According to Jains, 'Right belief-knowledge-conduct together is the path to attain liberation ! In this paper, we analyse the basic and a very important component of Mok a Mrga namely Sm yika-State of equanimity or periodic meditating / contemplating on the self for spiritual purification.
2.0 S m yika- State of Equanimity of the Self / Periodic Contemplation S m yika is the essence of the Jain spiritual and ethical practice. Accordingly it is included as the 1st essential duty (1st out of six va yakas), first ik vratas (ninth vow out of twelve consisting offive A uvratas, three Gunavrats and four ik vratas), 2nd Pratim / Pratijn (of the 11 stages of the spiritual purification of householders) and the type of perfect conduct (s m yika c ritra) practiced by Jain monks and householders alike. It is said that the householder while performing s m yika is like a monk for the period of s m yika, as he has withdrawn himself from all worldly activities and focuses on just self. Monks are required to be in a state of s m yika all the time.
The root word in s m yika is samzaya, which literally means to know and perform simultaneously? This can be done only by the soul. Hence s m yika means soul or to be one with the soul or the process to be one with the soul. This implies withdrawing the activities of the mind, speech and body from their wandering nature and focusing on own self / soul is s m yika'. Gomattasara (J va k nda) describes s m yika as, withdrawing from all other entities / things and manifesting / focusing on the soul only. Soul is the knower and the observer (In t .d . object of knowledge and knower and experiencing like this is s m yika. Thus s m yika literally means what Pata jali implied by Yoga.
Equanimity or sm yika is described as essential in all religions. 'Na hi s myena vin dhy nam' or without equanimity, the practitioner cannot even start his meditation practice. Jina Bhadra goes to the extent of saying, 'Like space (k a, one of the six substance types) is the basis of providing place to all substances to exist, so is s m yika the basis of all virtues. He further says s m yika is the essence of the 14 p rvas. Equanimity means suppression or destruction of attachment and aversion, indifference to pain and pleasure and stable sate of mind leading the practitioner to enjoy the nature of his self / soul. Thus while the practicing monk or householder is performing s m yika, his mind becomes like a tranquil ocean free of any type of disturbance and hence no new karmas are bonded during that period. Attachment and aversion; pleasure or pain; birth and death; etc. do not disturb his mental state state of sa vara) as he does not regard all these as the nature of self.
2.1 Nature of S m yika? Sm yika is the positive way of submerging the activities of mind, body and speech in the tman. The seven requisites; namely: place, time, posture, meditation, and the threefold purities, namely, mental purity, bodily purity and vocal purity, are necessary for the successful performance of Sm yika5.
That place, which is free from disturbing noise, gathering of persons, and insects like mosquitoes flies, etc, is the suitable place for S m yika. In other words, the place of silence and solitude, whether it is a forest, a house, a temple or any other place, should be chosen to perform S m yika.
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S m yika should be performed three times a day, i.e., in the morning, noon and evening. The great Am tacandra3 says that the householder should consider the act of S m yika as obligatory and perform it at least twice a day, i.e., in the morning and evening. He further remarks that its performance at other times will conduce towards the enhancement of the spiritual and moral characteristics; hence it is not improper, but beneficial.
Sitting and standing postures are generally recommended for the performance of S m yika.
The aspirant should purge the mind of sensual pleasures by concentrating on the sermons of the Jina, adopt submissive and surrendering gestures, and finally, either repeat the devotional hymns mentally or absorb himself in self-meditation.
Nature of S m yika can be broadly classified as:
1. N ma i.e. nature of the name assigned to any entity, good or bad does not affect the practitioner as the soul is without any name. Name is assigned to the body only.
2. Sth pan i.e. looks of an entity whether beautiful or ugly does not affect the practitioner as he assigns these attributes to matter and not to soul.
3. Dravya i.e. costs, appearances or use of any entity does not affect him as he thinks these are the attributes of matter and not soul.
4. Ketra i.e, the places whether cool or hot, pleasant or unpleasant etc does not affect him.
5.
K la i.e. time or season like morning, afternoon, cold season or hot season or monsoon does not affect him.
6. Bh va i.e. the state of an entity old/young/attractive etc. do not bother him as he considers soul to be immortal.
From the practitioner's view point S m yika can be classified as
• S m yika of householder i.e. for example 48 minutes per day generally but can be extended or reduced according to his capacity.
• S m yika of monks is for the entire life and all the time.
Bhadrab hu has classified S m yika in three categories namely: Samyaktva to firm up the practitioner's beliefs in the Mok a M rga and provides him the knowledge of discrimination; ruta provides clarity of thought and beliefs and C ritra, which becomes pure with the above two. We shall now see how it is detailed in different categories like va yakas, ik vratas, Pratim s and type of conduct for monks.
3.0 S m yika as va yaka
va yaka literally means essential duties to be performed by the practitioner of Mok a M rga. A separate text considered as canonical was written immediately after Mah vira's nirv a by some cryas at that time. va yakas are supposed to be practiced by monks and householders alike; however there is difference for each category. These are enumerated in a scientific manner as follows:
1. S m yika or State of equanimity of the self
2. Caturvi atistva or reciting the virtues of the 24 tirtha kars.
3. Vand n or veneration of the holy teacher/s.
4. Pratikrama a or visiting the mistakes committed during the day and seek forgiveness and punishment.
5. K yostarga or relaxation i.e. developing a feeling of separateness of body and self.
6. Praty kh na or determination not to commit the faults again.
vetambara tradition accepts these va yakas as common to both householders and monks, while Digambara tradition accepts these for monks and for householders they have different va yakas, namely Devap j (worshipping theomniscient), Gur-up sati (veneration of the holy teachers), Sv dhy ya (self study), Sa yama (self restraint), D na (charity), Tapa (Austerities), Praty kh na or vowing not to make mistakes or practice Mok a M rga in future. These va yakas do have all the
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features of va yakas for monks but emphasis is given on simple Dos on a daily basis e.g. Caturvi atistva is included in Devap j and S m yika in Sa yama and Tapa.Most of the Digambara householders do perform S m yika also in the morning before going for Devap j
3.1 Performing S m yika
S m yika has certain pre-requisites i.e. the person indulging in it should have right belief in Tattv ratha, practice equanimity and self control else it becomes just a show due to the practitioner's inability to control his mind, body, speech. Only a person who is aware and conscious of self-restraint, vows, austerities and soul can perform S m yika. Further the person should be able to win over the afflictions (pari ahas) else he will get distracted during Sm yika. Various steps involved are enumerated below.6
1. The practitioner should make himself free from all householder duties and nature's call, clean his body by washing his hands, feet and face or taking a bath and put on light and comfortable cloths, tie his hair etc so that he is free from all bodily distractions.
2. He should then select a place, which is clean, free from disturbances like noise, mosquitoes, family members or others coming and going or performing other activities and is the place is neither cold nor hot.
3. While standing in k yotsarga posture i.e. standing facing north and hands hanging down and seven centimeters away from the body, legs about 10 centimeters apart; he takes a vow to be in S m yika for 48 minutes (ideal or the time he deems fit) and leaves all his mental, speech and bodily activities.
4. He then recites Navk ra nine times silently and bows his head with his hands folded and moving them in clockwise direction three times. He performs this routine facing each of the four directions. Then he sits in k yotsarga posture.
5. He then recites Navak ra with auspicious (mA gala) and dedication (ara ama) verse; pratikraman (locan) sutra, S m yika p tha, tiratha kara vanad na and finally takes a vow to observe self-restraint during the day completes the S m yika.
Normally S m yika should be done individually but due to difficulty in concentrating the mind on various mantras etc in S m yika, there are group S m yika in special places where the practitioners recite all the verses in a very low pitch so as not to disturb each other.
As S m yika has a special place in the religious activities of all Jains, tremendous literature abounds having description, holy poems, methods etc to be used. Some of them are: Bhadrab hu-II has detailed S m yika in va yaka Sutra; Jinabhadra Ga i wrote Vi e va yaka especially on S m yika, all literature concerning ethics and practice of Jains detail S m yika, S m yika P tha7 by Amit Gati Suri and a book S m yika k Saundarya by Dr. Mukesh astri detailing various p thas /poems and dedicated to S m yika.
4.0 S m yika as ik vrata, Pratim for Householders
ik vratas are the third stage of vows for householders, which are observed to prepare the householder to live like a monk. So by definition, they require a definite regimen of practice several times during the day. Posture of the body, time period and its frequency i.e. morning, afternoon and evening and duration are adhered to. Also while performing, after the recitation of mantras and verses, the practitioner needs to contemplate on self and its uniqueness compared to other types of substances and its own nature. Also there are flaws identified, which the practitioner is required to remove while performing it. So as ik vrata, it is more disciplined and rigorous. Also the practitioner at this stage has already achieved a higher level of spiritual purification and is almost ready practicing equanimity all the time like a monk as away of life.
Sm yika as Pratim is as the 2nd Pratim (out of eleven stages of spiritual development for householders prior to becoming a monk). Thus the householder, who has accepted this pratim, performs (as by monks) veneration of the omniscient and S m yika simultaneously. Posture of the body, time period (minimum 48 minutes per practice) and its frequency i.e. morning, afternoon and evening and duration are strictly adhered to.
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5.0 S m yika for Monks Since the monks practice Mok a Mrga all the time and for their entire life; Sm yika for them becomes a way of life. Besides practicing three times as for householders; they observe equanimity in their thoughts, attitudes of carefulness (samitis) and attitudes of restraints (guptis) in all their activities while performing their daily activities of going for food, sitting, standing, interacting with householders etc. Kunda Kunda in his text 'Niyamas ra chapter on Sam dhi describes Sm yika for monks (verses 125-133) i.e. those who are permanently practicing s m yika as follows:
1. He, who is always indifferent to all types of attachments, is practicing the three attitudes of
restraint (mind, body and speech) and has conquered the sensual pleasures. 2. He who always observes equanimity towards all moving and stationary living beings. 3. He who is always busy in observing self-restraint, vows and penance. 4. He in whom the ill feelings of attachment and aversion do not occur. 5. He who gives up the two flawed meditation types ( rta and raudra) and is always observes
the other two types of meditation namely dharma and ukla. 6. He who gives up the feelings of merit and demerit. 7. He who is free of the nine small passions (sex, hatred, fear, sorrow, making fun etc).
6.0 Analysis Equanimity (samt ) is the foundation of all yogic traditions of India. Jainism emphasizes it more and makes it an essential pre-requisite of a religious and moral life of its practitioners. Sm yika is making it a part of one's daily activities for contemplation on self, paying obeisance to the holy souls, auto suggestion (bh van ) for self improvement, critical review of the wrong doings during the day and begging forgiveness plus promising not to commit the same mistakes in future. Thus the practitioner first leaves all his daily worries / activities to free him for such an analysis and planning, then he performs prayers, veneration, and critical analysis to enjoy a state of happiness as if he has relieved himself of his past ills and is ready to move forward in his life. The first four lines of the Sm yika P tha7 given below beautifully describe the state of mind of the practitioner:
Prem bh va ho saba jivo se, gu i jano mei har a prabho Karu stotra bahei dukhiyo para, durjana mei madhyastha vibho
Yaha ananta bala ila tm , ho arira se bhinna prabho Jyo hoti talw ra my na se, vaha ananat bala do mujhko.
In fact the entire poem of 32 verses when recited slowly and contemplated on is a good description of how to develop equanimity and to experience the self.
The practitioner is encouraged to start performing Sm yika as an essential duty in a casual way and enhance its practice as he moves higher on the path of spiritual purification in the form of 2nd Pratim and finally as 2nd ik vrata when he takes a vow to perform Sm yika three times a day of a fixed period of 48 minutes each. The monks are expected to be in a state of Sm yika all the time.
If we analyze Sm yika closely, then we find
1. It is a way of developing equanimity from beginning to its becoming the way of life. 2. It encourages us to start the practice and enhance it by techniques such as self-study.
autosuggestions, contemplation, reflections on self and taking corrective steps to improve our conduct.
Sm yika is like meditation on the self but without concentrating on a specific object or being one with the self (sam dhi). Here the person is well aware of his existence but focuses all his attention on mantras, recitations and contemplating on the attributes of pure self, reviews and confessions and their resolutions. Thus it is an excellent way of contemplating and meditating to learn and then to imbibe the good ethical-spiritual values in our day-to-day life and make progress in our path o spiritual purification. In our day-to-day life also, it assists the practitioner in developing a balanced mind and decide action accordingly.
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7.0 Comparison with Other Religious Traditions of India S m yika can be partially compared with Pata jali's eightfold yoga, Buddhists yoga and Vedic yoga. A brief comparison follows.
7.1 Pata jali Yoga Pata jali has defined his Yoga S dhn to consist of eight steps or limbs namely Yama, Niyama,
sana, Pr n y ma, Praty h ra, Dh ran Dhy na and Sam dhi. Yama and Niyama help the practitioner to control / eliminate feelings of attachments and aversions and enhance his social status.
sana helps enhance physical strength and tolerance so that he can develop detachment towards his body. Pr ny ma and Praty h ra develop control over his breath and other sense organs. After these five stages, the next three stages are for meditating and enhancing its intensity so that the last stage i.e. Sam dhi enables the practitioner to enjoy the soul and be one with it. From the discussions of Sm yika, we see that it compares with the first five limbs of Pata jali Yoga as the practitioner moves from va yaka to 2nd Pratim and finally as 2nd ik vrata. Of course the situation for monks is different as they are normally in the last three stages of Pata jali has defined his Yoga S dhan
7.2 Buddhist Yoga The limb Vi uddhi M rga of Buddhists emphasize the word sama with each limb and the last limb i.e. Sam dhi is not possible unless the practitioner develops equanimity and eliminates the feelings of attachment and aversion. The word sama is used in the same sense as in Jain texts (equanimity). Various canonical texts of Buddhists like Sa yyukta Nik ya, Majjhima Nika ya etc. talk of equanimity and specify as the path of Buddhist monks. We thus find the use of Sama and equanimity at different places in Buddhist literature but no specific mention of Sm yika.
7.3 Vedic Tradition Git, which is the representative canonical text had abundant mention of the word sama e.g. Verse 2/15 in Git says, The one who maintains equanimity in pains and pleasures, sensual feelings is only capable of attaining Nirvana'. Similarly verse 18/54 says, The one who stays in the state of equanimity is only capable of my (krishna's) devotion'. Similarly there are number of mentions in the entire text of equanimity. Equanimity, being the base of S m yika, therefore we see its similarity in Vedic tradition also.
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5.4
r vak c ra (Ethics of the Householder) Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
1.0 Ahi s as the Foundation of Jaina Ethics
Ethical discipline constitutes an important aspect of Jainism. The foundation of the ethical discipline is the doctrine of Ahi s [2] The laying down of the commandment not to kill and not to damage is one of the greatest events in the spiritual history of mankind. [3] This is for the first time clearly expressed in Jainism.
VERSAC
1.1 Classification of Living Being from One-Sensed to Five-Sensed Beings
The Jaina gama classifies living beings (J vas) into five kinds, namely, one-sensed to five-sensed beings.[5] The minimum number of Pr as possessed by the empirical self is four (one sense, one Bala, life-limit and breathing), and the maximum number is ten (five senses, three Balas, life-limit, and breathing). The lowest in the grade of existence are the one-sensed J vas, which possess only the sense of touch and they have only the Bala of body, and besides they hold life-limit and breathing. These one-sensed Jvas admit of five-fold classification, namely, the earth-bodied (P thv k yika), water-bodied (Jalak yika), fire-bodied (Agnik yika) air-bodied (V yuk yika) and lastly, vegetable-bodied (Vanaspatik yika) souls.
(Householder and Muni)
1.2 Progressive realization of Ahi s The entire Jaina ethics tends towards the translation of the principle of Ahi s into practice. The Jaina regards as the ethical Summum Bonum of human life, the realisation of perfect Ahi s. In fact Ahi s is so central in Jainism that it may be incontrovertibly called the beginning and the end of Jaina religion. The statement of Samantabhadra that Ahi s of all living beings is equivalent to the realisation of Parama B hma sheds light on the paramount character of Ahi s. Now, this idea of Ahis is realised progressively. Thus he who is able to realise Ahi s partially is called a householder, whereas he who is able to realise Ahi s completely, though not perfectly is called an ascetic or a Muni. It belies the allegation that the ascetic flees from the world of action. Truly speaking, he recoils not from the world of action but from the world of His No doubt the ascetic life affords full ground for the realization of Ahis, but its perfect realization is possible only in the plenitude of mystical experience, which is the Arhat state.
Thus the householder and the ascetic are the two wheels on which the cart of Jaina ethical discipline moves on quite smoothly. It is to the credit of Jaina c ryas that they have always kept in mind these two orders while prescribing any discipline to be observed. They were never in favour of confounding the obligations of the one with the other. In consequence, Jainism could develop the c ra of the householder with as much clarity as it developed the c ra of the Muni. Being overwhelmed by the ascetic tendency, it has not neglected the c ra of the householder. By developing the doctrine of A vratas, G avratas and ik vratas for the householder it has shown the way in which the householder should direct his course of life. I feel that the doctrine of A vratas, G avratas and ik vratas is the unique contribution of Jainism to Indian ethics.
2.1 Nature of Ethico-Spiritual Conduc
Let us now proceed to deal with the nature of ethico-spiritual conduct, which transforms the potential excellences of the self into actuality. With the light of value knowledge, which enables the aspirant to look into his infirmities, the pursuit of ethico-spiritual conduct sweeps away the elements, which thwart the manifestation of uninterrupted happiness and infinite knowledge. Value knowledge illumines the path and ethico-spiritual conduct leads to the goal. In addition to spiritual awakening and value- knowledge emancipation presupposes ethico-spiritual conduct as well. Really speaking, ethico-spiritual conduct emanates from the internal necessity, which the spiritually awakened has developed in him. Thereby he then expunges the disharmony existent between his present and future conditions, and between his potential conviction and actual living.
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So important is the pursuit of ethico-spiritual conduct for realising the transcendental nature of self that Kundakunda calls it Dharma.[8] Such conduct as will conduce to the emergence of a state of self which is devoid of infatuation (Moha) and perturbation (K obha) by virtue of the subversion of all
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kinds of passions in their most comprehensive extent is called V tar ga C ritra. This should be distinguished from Sar ga C ritra' which results in auspicious activities by virtue of auspicious psychical states.
The auspicious activities are no doubt the part of ethico-spiritual conduct; but the inauspicious activities emanating from inauspicious psychical states are in no way be the part of conduct, hence they are to be completely relinquished. Thus, in order to stamp out the inauspicious psychical states from the texture of self, the aspirant must abstain himself root and branch from violence, falsehood, theft, un-chastity and acquisition. The engrossment of the self into such vicious deeds is indicative of the expression of the most intense passions, which can be wiped off by negating to perform the vicious deeds.
The negative process of purifying the self by weeding out these villainous actions of necessity requires the pursuance of the positive process of non-violence, truthfulness, non-thieving, chastity and non-acquisition. Both of these processes keep pace together. The elimination of these vices requires the cultivation of virtues of non-violence, truthfulness, non-thieving, chastity and nonacquisition. Of these virtues, non-violence is the fundamental. All the rest should be regarded as the means for its proper sustenance, just as the field of corn requires adequate fencing for its protection. The householder can partially acquire these virtues, which are then called partial non-violence (Ahis -A vrata), partial truthfulness (Satya-A vrata), partial non-thieving (Acaurya-A vrata), partial chastity (Brahm c rya-A vrata) and partial non-acquisition (Parigraha-parim a-A vrata).
2.1.1 Spiritual Awakening, Inauspicious Activities and Morality We cannot forbear mentioning in passing that even a spiritually awakened person may be occupied with the aforementioned evil deeds; the recognition of which would at the first sight tend to annul the distinction between the wise and the ignorant, or between the spiritually awakened and perverted souls. But this assumption is based on a certain misapprehension. Notwithstanding their extrinsic similitude they evince intrinsic disparity: i.e., the wise under some latent constraint unwillingly perpetrate such evil actions, and the ignorant while rejoicing commit them. From this it is obvious that spiritual awakening is not incompatible with the most intense forms of inauspicious activities. It will not be inconsistent if it is laid down that both the wise and the ignorant are capable of extirpating inauspicious psychical states. But the difference is that while in the former case there is spiritual morality, in the latter, there is only dry morality, which is possible without spirituality. Dry morality is socially useful, but spiritually barren; while spiritual morality is fruitful both socially and spiritually. Being subtle and far-reaching, the internal distinction between these two types of morality eludes our limited comprehension. We may simply say that, for the spiritually awakened, morality is a means; while for the perverted it is an end in itself. It is to be borne in mind that morality, of whatever type, can in no case be useless; hence it deserves our respect wherever it is witnessed.
2.1.2 Vikala-C ritra (Partial Conduct) and Sakala C ritra (Complete Conduct) It astonishes that in spite of not being the part of conduct in any way, the aforementioned vicious deeds refuse to be completely relinquished at the start on account of their being ingrained in the mind of man. Hence, there arises the concept of limited morality technically called Vikala C ritra (partial conduct) in contrast to absolute morality known as Sakala C ritra (complete conduct) wherein these vicious deeds are completely renounced. He who observes the former, being not able to renounce the vices to the full, claims the title of a layman; while he who observes the latter, being able to hold the spirit of renunciation to the brim, is called a Muni'.
2.1.3 Meaning of the Commitment of His For explaining Vikala C ritra (partial conduct), and Sakala C ritra (complete conduct) let us be clear about the meaning of His . The term His may be defined as the committing of injury to the Dravya-pras and the Bh va-pr as through the operation of intense passion infected Yoga (activity of mind, body, and speech). Suicide, homicide and killing of any other life whatsoever aptly sum up the nature of His , inasmuch as these villainous actions are rendered conceivable only when the Dravya-pras and the Bh va-pr as pertaining to one self and to others are injured. The minimum number of Dravya-pras has been considered to be four, and the maximum has been
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known to be ten; and the Bh va-pras are the very attributes of J va. The amount of injury will thus be commensurate with the number of Pras injured at a particular time and occasion. If the bodily movements etc., are performed with circumspection, nevertheless if any living being is oppressed, it cannot be called His for the infecting element of intense passion is missing. On the contrary, even if, by careless bodily movements no animate being is oppressed, the actions are not free from Hi s . Here though the soul has not injured others, yet it has injured itself by defiling its own natural constitution. 11) We may thus say that both the indulgence in His and the negation of abstinence from His constitute if, by careless bodily movements no animate being is oppressed, the actions are not free from His . 112] In other words, he who has not abandoned His though he is not factually indulging in it, commits His on account of having the subconscious frame of mind for its perpetration. Again, he who employs his mind, body and speech in injuring others also commits His on account of actually indulging in it. Thus, wherever there is inadvertence of mind, body or speech, His is inevitable. [13]
2.1.4 Internal Mind and Outward Action It will be the height of folly and impertinence if any man conceitedly argues that it is no use renouncing the performance of certain actions, but that the internal mind alone ought to be uncontaminated. But it is to be borne in mind that in lower stages, which exceedingly fall short of self-realisation, the external performance of a man has no meaning without his being internally disposed to do so. Hence the external and the internal influence each other; and in most cases the internal precedes the external. Thus, in no case, the outward commission of His , without the presence of internal corruption can be vindicated. He who exclusively emphasizes the internal at the expense of the external forgets the significance of outward behaviour." He loses sight of the fact that the impiousness of external actions necessarily leads to the pollution of the internal mind, thus disfiguring both the aspects, namely, the internal and the external. In consequence, both the Ni caya and Vyavah ra Nayas, i.e., both the internal and external aspects should occupy their due places.
2.1.5 Intentional and Non-Intentional His His is of two kinds, namely, intentional and non-intentional. (15) The intentional perpetrator of His engages himself in the commitment of the acts of His by his own mind, speech and action; provokes others to commit them; and endorses such acts of others. Besides, His, which is unavoidably committed by defending oneself from one's foes, is denominated as non-intentional defensive His . This leads us to the philosophy of fighting defensive wars. [16]
2.1.6 Ahi s (A vrata - Mah vrata) The householder, being snared in the meshes of infirmities, is incapable of turning away completely from His , hence he should keep himself away from the deliberate commission of His of the twosensed to five-sensed beings. The commitment of His in being engaged in a certain profession, in performing domestic activities and in adopting defensive contrivances, cannot be counteracted by him. Thus he commits intentional injury to one-sensed J vas, namely, the vegetable-bodied, the airbodied, the fire-bodied, etc.; and non-intentional injury in performing rambha (domestic activities). Udyoga (profession) and Virodha (defense). He can therefore observe the gross form of Ahi s which is known as Ahi s A vrata. Even in the realm of one-sensed J vas and in the realm of nonintentional injury he should so manage to confine his operations as may affect the life and existence of a very limited number of J vas. 18 In these two provinces the point to note is that of alleviating the amount of injury that is apt to be caused and not that of total relinquishment which is not possible without jeopardizing the survival of man. Nevertheless, His even in the realm of one-sensed J vas and in the realm of non-intentional injury is unjustifiable. If we reflect a little, we shall find that man is subject to His by the very condition of his existence. Yet instead of aggravating the natural weight of His by falling foul upon one another and by our cruel treatment of the animal and vegetable kingdoms, we should endeavour to alleviate this general curse, to the extent to which we are capable of doing, by conforming ourselves to the sacred injunctions enjoined by Jaina spiritual teachers. The observer of Ahi s A vrata should avoid gambling, hunting, drinking, meat eating, and the like. Vegetarianism is therefore prescribed. It limits us to the unavoidable injury caused to only one-sensed-J vas. This is the philosophy of vegetarianism propounded by Jainism.
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The Muni extends active friendship to all living beings from the one-sensed to the five-sensed without any exception, and consequently all forms of intentional Hi s are shunned and the question of being engaged in a certain profession, in performing domestic activities and in adopting defensive contrivances does not arise in his case. Thus the Muni follows Ahi s Mah vrata. The Muni is a world citizen. He, therefore, draws the attention of men to the inefficacy of His for solving social, national and international disputes. He himself is the embodiment of Ahi s and exhorts others to develop reverence for life as such.
2.2 Satya (A vrata - Mah vrata)
It implies the making of wrong and improper statement by one who is overwhelmed by passions such as anger, greed, conceit, deceit and the like. Falsehood is of four kinds. [19] The first kind of falsehood refers to the affirmation of the existent as non-existent [20], the second refers to the declaration of the non-existent, as existent[21] the third refers to the representation of the existing nature of things as different from what they are!22), and the fourth is indicative of speech which is disagreeable to others (23). The Muni avoids all these four forms of falsehood, and therefore, he is said to observe Satya Mah vrata. But the householder has to speak harsh, unpleasant, violent words for defence, for running the household and doing professional management, therefore, he observes Satya A vrata. The observer of Satya A vrata does use words, which are soothing, gentle and ennobling. If any speech causes His, it should be withheld. Ultimately the criterion of Satya and Asatya is Ahi s and His respectively. Thus Satya speech should lead to Ahi s
2.3 Asteya (A vrata - Mah vrata)
Steya means the taking of things under the constraint of passions without their being given by the owner [24]. It may be noted here that things constitute the external Pr as of a man and he who thieves and plunders them is said to deprive a man of his Pr as [25]. This is not other than His. The Muni who observes Mah vrata does not take anything whatsoever without the permission of others, but the householder uses such things freely as are of common use without their being given, such as well water, and the like [26]. Thus he is observing Asteya A vrata. It may be noted here that the Muni does not use even the common things without their being given by others. The householder does neither take those things which are forgotten and dropped by others nor give them to any one else [27]. Purchasing of costly things at reduced prices is stealing, which is probably due to the fact that one may sell a thing after getting it by improper methods [28] Adulteration, abetment of theft, receiving stolen property, use of false weights and measures, smuggling, and the like are considered as part of stealing.
2.4 B ahm c rya (A vrata - Mah vrata)
Sex-passion is Ab hma. He who frees himself completely from sexual inclination is observing B hm c rya Mah vrata. However, householder, who abstains himself from the sexual contacts with all other women except his nuptial partner, is observing B ahamcarya A vrata [29]. Sex-passion is His and B ahamcarya is Ahi s. The householder keeps himself away from adultery, prostitution, unnatural methods of sexual enjoyment and the like. [30]
2.5 Aparigraha (A vrata - Mah vrata)
Attachment to things is Parigraha. [31] Those who have a feeling of attachment to things in spite of their external renunciation are far from Aparigraha and those who have external things are not free from internal attachment. [32] Thus if one is prone to remove internal attachment, one should correspondingly throw aside external possessions also. Attachment is a form of His and those who wish to practice Ahi s should avoid attachment. The householder is incapable of renouncing all Parigraha, therefore, he should limit the Parigraha of wealth, cattle, corn, buildings etc. [33] this is Parigraha Parim uvrata. The Muni renounces all Parigraha of worldly things. Thus he follows Aparigraha Mah vrata.
Parigraha-Parim uvrata is socially very important. We should bear in mind that economic inequality and the hoarding of essential commodities very much disturb social life and living. These acts lead to the exploitation and enslavement of man. Owing to this, life in society is endangered. Consequently, Jainism pronounced that the remedy for the ill of economic inequality is Parigraha Parim uvrata. The method of Parigraha Parim uvrata tells us that one should keep with one self that which is
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necessary for one's living and the rest should be returned to society for its well being. Limit of wealth and essential commodities are indispensable for the development of healthy social life. In a way wealth is the basis of our social structure and if its flow is obstructed because of its accumulation in few hands, large segments of society will remain undeveloped. The hoarding of essential commodities creates a situation of social scarcity, which perils social life. In order to resist such inhuman tendency Jainism incessantly endeavoured to establish the social value of Parigraha Parim uvrata.
Apart from the A vratas, the r vaka (the householder) has to observe the three G avratas and four ik vratas known as seven lavratas. These lavratas serve the useful purpose of guarding the A vratas. They effect a positive improvement in the observance of A vratas. That which refrains unlimited movement in any direction is Digvrata; that which refrains from going to some region is De avrata. That which refrains wanton activity is Anarthada avrata. All these three are styled as
avratas (vows of withdrawal).
G
3.1 Nature of Digvrata It consists in fixing the limits of one's own movements in the ten directions. 134 For the purpose of demarcation are utilised the well-known signs, such as oceans, rivers, forests, mountains, countries and yojana stones. [35] As regards the time limit, Samantabhadra (36) and Akalanka (37) explicitly prescribe its life-long observance, while the other c ryas implicitly state so. The r vaka Prajnapti (38] tells us that since the householder is like a heated iron ball, his movements, wherever they are made, entail Hi s. If the area of his movements is circumscribed, he will thereby save himself from committing His as such outside that area. Thus by the avoidance of even the subtle sins beyond the determined limits, the A vrat (householder) becomes like a Mah vrat (ascetic) in respect of the regions lying beyond those limits. 39 Besides, the K rttikeyanuprek tells us that by fixing the limits in all the ten directions the passion of greed is controlled. 40 This may be explained by saying that the Digvrat has automatically renounced the getting of wealth, even if it can be easily got, from the area outside the limits. It will not be idle to point out here that the limitation of movements in the external world tends to reduce the internal passions, thereby fulfilling the purpose for which the Digvrata is enjoined.
3.2 Nature of De avrata The Sarv rthasiddhi expound the nature of De avrata as limiting one's own movements to the region determined by certain villages and as renouncing the rest of the places. 142) Vasunandi has explained it by affirming that it implies the abandonment of the habitation of those countries or places where the observance of vows is threatened or rendered difficult.[43] It is very interesting to note that
rutas gara, the 16th century commentator of the Tattv rthas tra has subscribed to the view of Vasunandi by saying that the De avrata consists in discarding those places which obstruct the due observance of vratas and which occasion insalubrity's mind. 44)
3.3 Nature of Anarthadandavrata K rttikeya defines Anarthadandavrata as renouncing the commitment of such acts as is not subservient to any useful purpose. Being frivolous, they simply engender insalubrity's mind, which results in depravity. The r vaka Prajnapti affirms that actions without any purpose bring about more Karmic bondage than the actions with some end in view, inasmuch as the former may be committed at any time even without any necessity, while the latter are performed at some specific time out of some necessity (46)
3.3.1 Forms of Anarthadandavrata The perpetration of barren and inane actions admits of multitudinous forms, but for the sake of comprehension five forms have been recorded. K rttikeya, Samantabhadra, and the commentators of Tattv rthas tra like P jyap da and Akala ka, recognise five forms of Anarthadandas. They are:
Apadhy na P popade a Pram dacarita, Hi s d na Du ruti
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Firstly, Apadhy na implies inauspicious reflections, which procreate nothing except a vicious trend of thought. This involves the fact of peeping into another man's faults and infirmities, coveting another man's wealth, seeing another man's wife with an evil eye, 147) witnessing the dissension among persons48), mutilating, imprisoning and killing others and getting interested in hunting, victory, defeat, war, adultery, theft, gambling and the like."
Secondly, P popade a means the giving of evil instructions to persons earning livelihood by service, business, writing documents, cultivating land and working in the field of art. SoJ Samantabhadra, P jyap da, and Akala ka include in P popade a the following things: the talk of selling slaves and beasts profitably and the giving of direction to hunters, fowlers and the like. 51 Thus the provocation of vicious tendencies on account of which an individual may indulge in corrupted, passionate, and lifeinjuring ways may briefly sum up the meaning of P popade a.
Thirdly, Pram dacarita consists in doing such actions purposelessly as digging the ground, uprooting trees, trampling lawns, sprinkling water, burning and quenching fire, plucking leaves, fruits and flowers, wandering 2) etc.
Fourthly, Hi s d na implies the giving of the instruments of His d na like knife, poison, fire, sword, bow, chain etc to others. According to K rttikeya the rearing of violent animals like cats etc., and the business of weapons like iron etc. come under Hi s.15!
Lastly, Du ruti implies the listening to and teaching of such stories as are passion exciting. Besides, the study of literature aggravating worldly attachment, describing erotic things, and dealing with other intensepassion exciting things has also been included in Du ruti..
Keeping limited things of use (Bhogopabhogapram avrata); pursuing self-meditation (S m yikavrata); observing fast in a specific way (Pro adhopav savrata) and offering food etc. (Atithisa vibh gavrata) to a non-householder guest who observes self-restraint and propagates ethico-spiritual values- all these four have been proclaimed to be ik vrata (vows of pursuance).
3.4 Nature of Bhogopabhogapram avrata We now proceed to deal with the nature of Bhogopabhogapram avrata. The word Bhoga' pertains to those objects which are capable of being used only once, for instance, betel-leaf, garland, etc., and the word Upabhoga' covers those objects which are capable of being used again and again, for instance, clothes, ornaments, cots, etc. Thus the Bhogopabhogapram avrata implies the limitation in the use of the objects of Bhoga and Upabhoga in order to reduce attachment to the objects.57) It may be pointed out here that this Vrata includes not only the positive process of limitation, but also the negative process of renunciation. K rttikeya tells us that the renunciation of those things that are within one's own reach is more commendable than the renunciation of those things that are neither possessed, nor likely to be possessed in future. Samantabhadra points out that the Vrata does not consist in giving up things unsuitable to oneself along with those which are not worthy to be used by the exalted persons, but that it consists in the deliberate renouncement of the suitable objects of senses, since the above two types of things are not even used by commonplace persons. Am tacandra tells us that the layman should renounce, according to his capacity, the use of objects which are not prohibited."
3.5 Nature of Sm yika Sm yika is the positive way of submerging the activities of mind, body and speech in the tman.[60] The consideration of seven requisites is necessary for the successful performance of S m yika.
1 Place
That place which is free from disturbing noise, gathering of persons, and insects like mosquitoes, flies, etc., is the suitable place for Sm yika.l2! In other words, the place of silence and solitude, whether it is a forest, a house, a temple or any other place, should be chosen to perform S m yika.63
2 Time
Sm yika should be performed three times a day, i.e., in the morning, noon and
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evening. 64 The great Am tacandra says that the householder should consider the act of S m yika as obligatory and perform it at least twice a day, i.e., in the morning and evening.65] He further remarks that its performance at other times will conduce towards the enhancement of the spiritual and moral characteristics, hence it is not improper, but beneficial (66) Sitting and standing postures are generally recommended for the performance of Sm yika.67]
3 Posture
4 Meditation The aspirant should purge the mind of sensual pleasures by concentrating on the
sermons of the Jina, adopt submissive and surrendering gestures, and finally, either repeat the devotional hymns mentally or absorb himself in self-meditation; [68) and three folds purity of mind, body and vocal
3.6 Nature of Pro adhopav savrata Samantabhadra [69) and others, enunciate (70) the Pro adhopav savrata as 'renouncing the four kinds of food on the eighth and fourteenth lunar days in each fortnight'. Probably keeping in view the infirmness of disciples, K rttikeyanuprek also includes the eating of unseasoned food once a day in the Pro adhopav savrata, and Amitagati!12) and dhara173) also comprise the taking of only water in this Vrata. The observance of this Vrata requires the performance of meditation, the study of spiritual literature, and the avoidance of bath, perfumes, bodily embellishment, ornaments, cohabitation and household affairs. 174) The r vaka Prajñapti prescribes that the relinquishment of food, bodily embellishment, cohabitation; household affairs should be affected either partially or completely in the Pro adhopav savrata. As regards the place for the performance of this Vrata, a temple, the abode of S dhus, a Pro adhopav savrata or any holy place should be chosen for one's
stay (75)
3.7 Nature of Atithisa vibh gavrata He who offers four kinds of gifts to deserving recipients is pursuing the Atithisa vibh gavrata.l76) Four kinds of gifts have been recognised; namely, food, medicine, books and fearlessness. (77) Food, medicine, Upakara a religious accessories) and the place of shelter is the other list of four objects. (78) All these things should be worthy of the P tras. Only such things should be given as are useful for the pursuance of studies and for practicing austerities of a very high quality, and as do not bring about attachment, aversion, incontinence, pride, sorrow, fear and the like. [79] Just as water washes away blood, so proper gifts to saints would for certain wipe off the sins accumulated on account of the unavoidable household affairs. The paying of obeisance to the holy saints causes noble birth; the giving of D na to them entails prosperous living; their servitude promotes high respect; their devotion determines gracious look; and the extolling of their virtues brings about celebrity. 181) Vasunandi tells us that the gift to P tras is just like a seed sown in a fertile land; the gift to Kup tras is just like a seed sown in a semi-fertile land; and the gift to Ap tras is just like a seed sown in a barren land. 182]
4.1 Eleven Pratim s: (Eleven Stages for Becoming Excellent r vaka) The eleven Pratim s are denominated
Dar ana, Vrata Sm yika Pro adha, Sacittaty ga, R tribhuktity ga B hm c rya,
rambhaty ga Parigrahaty ga, Anumatity ga, Uddistaty ga 83
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Dar ana Pratim : The fist stage is Dar ana Pratim. After the attainment of Samyagdar ana the aspirant who should be styled Dr anika r vaka resolutely forsakes the use of odious things such as meat, wine and the like, and becomes indifferent to worldly and heavenly pleasures, and nourishes the spirit of detachment. If we subtract the attainment of Samyagdar ana from this stage we shall get the eleven stages of moral advancement in contradistinction to the eleven stages of spiritual advancement owing to Samyagdar ana.
Vrata Pratim : The second stage is called Vrata Pratim. This second rung of the ladder of the householder's evolution of conduct comprises the scrupulous observance of A vratas, G avratas and ik vratas. We have already dwelt upon the nature of these vratas, so need not turn to them again.
Sm yika and Pro adha Pratim s: The third and fourth stages bear the designations of S m yika and Pro adha Pratim s respectively. A question may be asked: when Sm yika and Pro adha Pratim s have been treated as A vrata, why have they been regarded as constituting the third and fourth Pratim s, respectively? As a matter of fact, these sum up the entire spiritual life of the householder. Besides, Sm yika, and Pro adhopav sa are closely interrelated and so influence each other. Pro adhopav sa assists in the due performance of Sm yika and sometimes Sm yika encourages the performance of the other with purity and zeal. In the science of spirituality theory cannot countervail practice. So, if these two Vratas are elevated to the rank of Pratim s, it is to favour the deepening of spiritual consciousness, and hence it is justifiable.
The remaining Pratim s: All the subsequent stages rest on the relinquishment of Bhoga and Upabhoga. Sacittaty ga Pratim consists in renouncing the use of articles having life, namely, roots, fruits, leaves, barks, seeds and the like. The observer of the discipline prescribed by this stage does not also feed others with those things, which he himself has renounced. The next stage is recognised to be R tri Bhuktivirati. This stage refers to the object of Bhoga predominantly food. He who has ascended this stage neither eats food nor feeds others at night. The next stage known to as Brahm c rya Pratim prescribes absolute continence. This is indicative of the further limitation in the objects of Upabhoga. The eighth stage of householder's advancement, which is known as
rambhaty ga signifies the discontinuance of service, cultivation, and business, in short, the means of livelihood. Besides, he neither suggests others to do business, etc., nor commends those who are doing so. The next stage, namely, Parigrahaty ga Pratim enjoins the abandonment of all kinds of acquisitions except clothes, and in those too the observer is not attached. In the tenth stage, the aspirant refuses to give advice or suggestion regarding matters concerning the householder, hence it is called Anumatity ga Pratim Here all the objects of Bhoga and Upabhoga have been renounced except clothes, and proper food cooked for him. The highest point of householder's discipline is arrived at in the eleventh stage when the aspirant renounces home and goes to the forest where ascetics dwell and accepts vows in the presence of a Guru. He performs austerities, lives on food obtained by begging, and wears a piece of loincloth. Thus he is designated as excellent r vaka and the stage is called Uddi taty ga Pratim
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Vows of a householder/laity
Vratas /vows
Amutatas
Siksavatas
Desvakida
ETETE CEEA
Alus Nou Violence
Sana Truth
Acara Nos Stealing
Brahmacara Celibacy
NonPossession
Samyaka Equanimity
Posahogada
Fasting segually
Dina Charity
Gusavatas
Gurengatas
Transgressions / Flaws of Vows
Non-violence
Binding living beings in captivity Beating living beings Mutilating limbs Overloading excessive weight on living beings Withdrawing or providing insufficient food or water to living beings.
1. Truth
Untruth pertaining to ownership Forgery or adulteration of goods Misrepresentation as witness Divulging secrets of others Using harsh language
3. Non-Stealing
Pick up goods not given and employing thieves to obtain things Receiving stolen merchants Using false weights and measures Adulterating commodities Accepting goods without paying or underpaying the required taxes and price
4. Celibacy
Company of prostitutes or other women Arranging marriages of others children Perverted sexual practices or Use other parts of body for sexual satisfaction Use sexually provocative language Excessive craving for the company of other sex
5. Non-Possession
Gaining new lands Disguising excess accumulation of gold and silver Going beyond the volume limit on grain/foodstuffs by repackaging these commodities in more compact containers Not counting on newborn of the livestock as an increase in overall holdings, since they were "not purchased" "Diminishing the amount of household goods by combining them, welding plates together.
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6. Digvrata Vow for Directional Movements
Ignorantly going in upward direction
Ignorantly going in downward direction Ignorantly going in linear direction
Increase the location limits
Transgress the limited space in ignorance
7. Bhogopbhoga or Limit Use or Desire of Things used once (Food) and many times (Clothes etc).
Reminiscing the things consumed earlier
Excess indulgence in too much action (vulgar) before others.
Excessive craving for consumption of things in future
• Passions and attachment in the present things
8. Flaws of anarthadanda (useless or without purpose Activities)
Brooding
Purposeless mischief
Facilitation of destruction
9. Flaws of De vak ika (Movement Restrictions of Cities, Countries etc.) Ask others to do work exceeding his limits without transgressing ones own Do the with some other sound like coughing
Ask others to get things
Giving harmful advice
Helping hunters to find animals
References:
Expose one self to others
To throw stones etc on others
10. Flaws of S m yika (Equanimity or Concentration)
Unclear expression of words or mantras
Constant movement of ones body
Mentally engaging in other thoughts than on spirituality
Thinking that S mayika is useless
Forget the Mantras or Sutras during S mayika because of unstable mind
11. Flaws of Posadhopav sa or fasting regularly
Dying with hunger he wears the clothes of Puja
Due to above he also does urine in negligence Due to hunger in negligence he puts the bed
Due to hunger in negligence he does not do any work with respect
Due to hunger in negligence his mind remains unstable
12. Flaws of D n or Charity
Cover food with leaves
Put food on the leaves
Disrespect while giving
Careless while giving
Is unhappy when others are giving
[1] Indian Thought and its Development by Albert Schweitzer, Pages 82-3, London 1951.
[2] cr ga S tra, 132, (gama Prak ana Samiti, Beawer).
[3] Ibid., 129
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[5] Pa c stik ya of Kundakunda, 112-117, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[6] Ibid., 110.
[7]
[8]
Sarv rthasiddhi of P jyap da, II-14/288, (Bh rat ya Jň na P tha, New Delhi).
Pravacanas ra of Kundakunda with the Commentaries of Am tacandra and Jayasena, 1.7, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[9] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 43, (R jacandra rama, g sa)
[10] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 45, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[11] Ibid., 46, 47.
[12] Ibid., 48.
[13] Ibid., 48.
[14] Ibid., 50.
[15] JainadraSiddh ntas ra by pt. Chainsukhad sa, Page 63, (Sadbodha Grantham I, Jaipur)
[16] Ibid., Page 63.
[17] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 75, (R jacandra rama, g sa).75; C ritra P huda of Kundakunda, 24, (P tan Digambara Jaina Grantham I M roha under the title " Asta P huda); Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi).53; Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 77 (R jacandra rama, g sa); Vasunandi ravak c ra, 209, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi). Yoga stra of Hemacandra II. 21, (Pr k ta Bh rat Academy, Jaipur).
[19] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 91, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[20] Ibid. 92.
[21] Ibid. 93.
[22] Ibid. 94.
[23] Ibid. 95.
[24] Ibid. 102.
[25] Ibid. 103.
[26] Ibid. 106.
[27] Yoga stra II. 66; Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 57.
[28] K rttikeyanuprek, 335, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[29] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 110, (R jacandra
rama, g sa).
[30] Vasunandi ravak c ra, 212; Ya astilaka and Indian Culture by Handiqui, Page 267 (J var ja Grantham, Sholapur).
[31] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 111, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[32] Ibid., 112.
[33] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 124 to 128, (R jacandra
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rama, g sa).
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[33] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 124 to 128, (R jacandra rama, Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., K rttikeyanuprek, 340, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[34] K rttikeyanuprek, 342, (R jacandra rama, g sa). Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi). 68; Yogas stra, III. 1.
[35] Ratnakara da ravak c ra Puru rthasidhyup ya Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21.
of
of Samantabhadra, Am tacandra,
(V ra Sev 137, (R jacandra
g sa). 61;
Mandira, rama,
[36] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 68. [37] R jav rtika, of Akalanka, VII. 21, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi).
[38]
ravak c raPrajñapti, 281, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi), Yogas stra III. 2.
[39] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi).70; Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 138, (R jacandra rama, g sa)., Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21.
Delhi).69; g sa).
[40] K rttikeyanuprek, 341, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[41] Sarv rthasiddhi, VII.
[42] Sarv rthasiddhi, VII.
[43] Vasunandi ravak c ra, 215.
[44] Tattv rthav tti of Rutas garasiri, VII. 21, (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi).
[45] K rttikeyanuprek, 343, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[46] ravak c raPrajapti, 290 (Bh rat ya Jň na P tha, New Delhi)
[47] K rttikeyanuprek, 344, (R jacandra
rama, g sa).
[48] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi).78; Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21.
[49] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, (R jacandra rama, g sa)., 141, 146.
[50] Ibid. 142.
[51]
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Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 76; Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21.
[52] K rttikeyanuprek, 346, (R jacandra rama, g sa). 6; Ratnakara da ravak c ra, 80; Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21; Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 143, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[53] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 77; ravak c ra Prajñapti, Comm. 289; Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 144, (R jacandra rama, g sa)., Sg radharm m ta of dhara, V. 8 (Bh rat ya Jñ na P tha, New Delhi.
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rama, g sa).
[54] K rttikeyanuprek 347, (R jacandra [55] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 79; K rttikeyanuprek, 348, (R jacandra rama, g sa: Sg radharm m ta of dhara, V.9. [56] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 83.

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[57] K rttikeyanuprek, 350, (R jacandra rama, g sa). Ratnakara da ravak c ra
Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi).82; Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. Sg radharm m ta of dhara, V 13.
of 21;
Mandira, Delhi).
86,
[58] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev
K rttikeyanuprek , 351, (R jacandra rama, g sa).
[59] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 164, (R jacandra rama, g sa) [60] R jav rtika, VII. 21/7. [61] Krttikeyanuprek 2 (R jacandra rama, g sa). [62] Ibid., 353. [63] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi)., 99. [64] K rttikeyanuprek ,354, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [65] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 149, (R jacandra rama, g sa). 149. [66] Ibid. [67] Krttikeyanuprek , 355, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [68] Ibid., 355-356. [69] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 106, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). [70] Puru rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 151, (R jacandra rama, g sa). Sg radharm m ta
of dhara, V. 34: K rttikeyanuprek , 359, (R jacandra rama, g sa). Ya astilaka and
Indian Culture, Page 282 [71] K rttikeyanuprek 359. (R jacandra rama, g sa). 9. [72] Amitagati ravak c raVI. 90, (Anantakirti Digambara Jaina Grantham 1, Mumbai). [73] Sg radharm m ta of dhara, V. 35. [74] K rttikeyanuprek 358, (R jacandra rama, g sa)., 8. [75] ravak c ra Prajñapti, 321, 322; Sarv rthasiddhi, VII. 21. [76] Krttikeyanuprek ,360,361, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [77] K rttikeyanuprek, 362, (R jacandra rama, g sa). Amitagati ravak c ra, IX. 83, 106,
107; Vasunandi ravak c ra, 233.
[78] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 117. (V ra Sev Mandira, Delhi). Ya astilaka and
Indian Culture, Page 283.
[79] Puru
rthasidhyup ya of Am tacandra, 170, (R jacandra
rama, g sa).
[80] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 114 (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). [81] Ibid, 115. [82] Vasunandi ravak c ra, 240-242.
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5.5
Das Lak a a Dharma/ Ten Commandments/ Ten virtues
Dr Shikhar Chand Jain
Most of us are always busy in our daily life such as business, service or whatever profession a person has adopted as the means of livelihood. We are so much absorbed in worldly life that our real cause of life is marred, neglected such as how to concentrate on spiritual development leading to good health, well behavior, be a law abiding citizen and a good neighbor, honest and cooperative person with a nice peaceful family life.
Our ancient philosophers, thinkers, preceptors and teachers have ordained certain commands, teachings to observe them for ten days in the year we are reminded of these principles by which following them we may keep our perfect health and tread on the path of righteousness thus making this world free from hatred, violence, smuggling and trafficking.
Now these ten observances or commands have been propounded by the great genius Um sw mi in his Tattv rthas tra as:
Uttamak am IX.6
m rdav rjava auca satyasa yama tapas ty ga kincanya brahm c rya i dharmah.
These ten commands have been named as Daslak a a Dharma or ten commands or ten observances. Daslak a a Dharma is also known as Paryu a a Mah Parva, Pajjosava a, Parivas a, Pajusa a, Vasavaso. All the sects of Jains celebrate this festival; the Digambaras for ten days while the wet mbaras for eight days.
All over the world this way or that way these sorts of observances are celebrated. The Christians observe it in their own way while the Muslims, Persians and Hindus they have own peculiar ways following the righteous life of honesty, simplicity, fasting, charity and compassion whatever may be the way of following observances, the aim is one, perfection in life full of love, fraternity and peace all over the world.
This festival is celebrated by the Jains every year during the months of February Magha), April (Chaitra), and September (Bhadrapada) from the fifth day of bright moon fortnight to the 14 day. Bhadrapada (September) month has been observed as the best for accounting ones own self right and wrong doings. During these days the pontiffs observe Caum s (four months stay) and almost stay at one place and meditate upon self. These days the ascetics devote themselves for study, teaching and imparting sermons to the devotees. The devotees get an opportunity to talk freely to the ascetics and sometimes learn scriptures from them. There are free classes for teaching religious books. In the sth nakas people sit, meditate upon self and practice silence (
mauna).
For these ten days everyone day is devoted to a particular observance and according to the day there is discourse on that particular subject like austerity, forgiveness whatever it may.
Bhadon month (September) has been considered to be the best month for observing these Daslakshana days. Malli Nath Purana observes, oh! It is the best month as it inspires for religious activities and in this month due to a number of holy events occurring and described in the Jain texts. The observance of these ten commands help in development of mental, vocal and physical concentration and help in control over five senses and four passions, anger, pride, greed the root cause of all evils.
The day starts early in the morning with ablution of the lord. To see this ablution is a great achievement for the devotees. There is peace, serenity and complete harmony in the atmosphere. There is the discussion, discourse on Kalpasutra and other religious scriptures by the wet mbaras while there is scripture reading in the morning and evening. In the evening there are religious discussions, meetings, prayers (rati) with lamps and devotional songs and dances.
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Starting on 5th day then comes the 10th day observed as Sugandhada ami day, a great joyful, energetic and inspiring day to the children and all. People with sandal wood powder visit temples and offer the same in the fire pot signifying that bad habits, bad actions, bad ideas of a man, the inflow of Karmic matter may burn and he may achieve salvation. He may tread on right path. For most of the people it is a day of fasting or eating only once in a day (Ekasana) etc.
Anant Caturda i is a very important day. It falls on the 14" day. Most of the markets are closed on this day there are worships and most of the people spend the day in observing complete silence and total fasts. People make donations to assist the hospitals, animal hospitals, orphanages and other needy. From various organizations people gather in the temples for collecting donations.
After the completion of these holy ten days, K amv i day or Forgiveness day is celebrated on the eleventh day. Apart from meeting, conferences and other functions, on k am v i day people send individual letters to their friends, relatives asking for forgiveness. Gandhi Ji observed this principle and found peace at heart. There are special issues in the newspapers on this day. To ask for forgiveness personally is really a great action which melts iron ill will and generates harmony.
During these days acts of charity for the poor and needy are undertaken like free eye operation camps, complete medical check up camps, wheel chairs are distributed for the handicapped. Clothes, sewing machines, food etc. free of cost are distributed. It signifies the essence of Jainism. Um Sw mi says: "Parasparopgraho Jv n ma" i.e. mundane souls support each other.
Daslak a a Dharma /Ten Commandments / Ten Observances
These ten Commandments or signs following which one leads to spiritual progress and uplift of self are called Daslak a a Dharma. To keep awareness or wakefulness constantly among the people, every year the last ten days of Bh don month are celebrated as Dashlakshan festival or known as Paryushana Mahaparva. These are the followings: 1. Supreme Forgiveness (Uttama Kshama) 2. Supreme Humility (Uttama Mrdava) 3. Supreme Straight forwardness (Uttama rjava) 4. Supreme Contentment (Uttama aucha) 5. Supreme Truth (Uttama Satya) 6. Supreme Restraint (Uttama Samayam) 7. Supreme Austerities (UttamaTapa) 8. Supreme Renunciation (Uttama Tyaga) 9. Supreme Non Attachment, Not taking, The Non-self for other self (Uttama Akinchana) 10. Supreme Chastity (Uttama Brahamcharya).
Supreme Forgiveness (Uttama k am )
Forgiveness is the sign of greatness. Forgiving others is the ornament of man. All the misdeeds and misbehavior done by others are pierced with the arrow of forgiving. It leads to the peace of the mind and satisfaction. On the contrary, if instead of forgiving, we adopt anger, ill-will, hatred and rough attitude, we lose our own mental balance and suffer in vain. We should forgive others and taking the unpleasant happening as the result of own in auspicious deeds. Forgiving is the ornament of brave and valiant. We must think that the ways that preserve our mental balance, peace and harmony is better. If we take vengeance to heart, it leads to greater harm for ourselves.
During our daily life there are various stances when we are happy, sad and angry. While angry we loose our sense of peace may react violently. It is the worst type of moment which may lead to any physical, mental and vocal harm. So it is better to control over anger and forgives the one.
There is one very beautiful example of Lord Mah v ra. After renouncing the world, the Lord reached Ujjain where he absorbed himself in austerity in the cremation ground. The people of that place
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misunderstood him that he was encroaching on their land. They hurled stones on him, beat with sticks but the lord was peaceful, silent and remained as it was in his penance. These people causing several injuries to the Lord were amazed at him and realized that he was a mendicant, paid obeisance to him and requested him to forgive them as they were ignorant. Realize, what world would have happened if the Lord had reacted upon. To face the situation calmly, one can turn tables even in great events.
There are several examples where ignoring the wrong doings of a person may help you, the person may feel ashamed and act wisely. Lord P rshva N th, as a child had angered a saint absorbed in his fire ritual by telling that he had offered a log in the fire which had the snake couple in it. He being annoyed by the child took out the log and while being opened, there came out the hissing couple of the snakes. The Lord recited to them the Namokar Mantra and the couple were born as Dharnendra and Padm vati in the heaven.
Now that saint Kamatha after his death became a God and one day while moving in air saw Lord Prshva N th in penance, threw stones at him, caused rain in torrents, caused fire thus created several hurdles. The Lord was protected by the erstwhile snake couple Dharnendra and Padm vati. But see the greatness of the Lord, he did not bother about Kamatha ignored him and had his meditation and forgave him.
Realize at the depth of your heart, what Lord Christ said when he was crucified. Such a noble compassionate Lord, milk of human kindness flowed from his heart. He prayed God for their well being as they were ignorant about their misdeeds. A rare example of forgiveness what a noble idea you are being killed by a person and you pray for his happy life.
See the greatness of Lord Krishna one day while he was sleeping in the jungle one man Jare thinking the man to be deer, shot his arrow and it hurt Lord Krishna. When he came nearby and saw the Lord, he became afraid and lay at his feet for forgiveness. Lord immediately forgave him and asked him to leave the place soon as Balram would not leave him when he comes. Jare touched his feet and ran away. It is the outcome of spontaneous flow of kindness from the heart of a righteous, virtuous, high souled person that the Lord forgave that person.
Supreme Humility (Uttama M rdava)
To shun pride and to keep our heart soft and tolerant is supreme humility. To discard the pride of race, family, power, wealth knowledge youth, and beauty and to be soft hearted humble, courteous and modest is the best.
Once Gandhiji went to see Rai Chand Bhai, the great philosopher and came to know that he was a shatavadhani i.e. can remember hundred things at a time after reading them and without seeing them again. Gandhiji was happy to see such a learned scholar and gave a paper on which something was written in English and French. After sometime Rai Chand Bhai repeated the same. It was a great surprise to Gandhiji but the greater surprise was that Raichand Bhai never showed any such thing as he was not proud of his scholarship. Such is the example of Mardava Dharma. But in Mahabharata, the poet says a king should act according to the need of the time. He should be harsh and soft as the occasion demands. Such a king rules over happily and he thus protects his country. It may be applied in case of a common man as well. The base of compassion lies in humility. Following humility one can reach the step of Samyakdarshan- the right belief.
•
Supreme Straight Forwardness (Uttama rjava)
Arjarva simple nature, away from fraud and deception and to lead straightforward life is Arjava. Ratnakar Suri in Panchavinshatika says that a sage called upon Lord Mah vra in his Sermon Assembley (Samavasharna) and repented thus, I adopted sainthood to cheat the people and sermonized to attract people towards me and attained learning to grab their wealth by erudite knowledge. What I should say I repent now after seeing you in this assembly.
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Now such a person can not be called a scholar. A person must be honest, free from duplicity, fraud and cheating, whatever may be his position.
In Padampurana there is beautiful example of a crooked crane. Rama and Laxman were going towards in the jungle during their exile period. Rama saw a crane standing on its feet with his neck down. Rama said Laxman to see that crane in deep meditation and looked like a great ascetic. But Laxman as he was quick witted and sharp told that the crane was in search of his prey and ready to attack his meal and thus he was cheating the innocent birds. See this beautiful saying, the crooked people have something in their minds, do something different and tell totally different from their actions but the righteous persons are different whatever they think, they do and whatever they act, they tell, "manasyekam vachasyekam karmanyekam mahatmnan.
Supreme Contentment (Uttam aucha)
To be free from greed i.e. and internal insatiably or external purity is contentment. Greed breeds all sins. Greed has no limits and desire for more is insatiable and a man indulges in immoral and unethical activities for hoarding and grabbing things. Thus a greedy person commits his own downfall. Therefore one must stay away from greed.
Mahabharata says, "Greed is monstrous alligator and leads a man towards sin" (Eko lobho mahagraho lobhita papani pravartate).
There is no power on earth that can a save a greedy from his down fall (Lobha moha smavcshtam na daivam trayatre naram). Mental faculty away from avarice and greed is the right path for solace and serenity otherwise a man goes downwards decay. External purity in absence of internal purity is hollow.
Even if one takes bath in holy river Ganges, Pushkar and at famous teerth palces (religious places), it will not make him pure if he is greedy (gangasagarapushakaradishu, Sada tirtheshu Sarveshvapi Snatasyapi na jayate prayo vishudhipara).
See what Lord Krishna says about the purity of a person. One day Pandavas approached Lord Krishna and requested him to accompany them to the Ganges for a bath. In spite of repeated requests, Lord Krishna refused but on being insisted the Lord gave his hollowed gourd (Tumbi) as his representative. When the people at the Ganges came to know that this Tumbi belonged to the Lord, they touched it, prayed before it, thinking it to be Lord Krishna itself. When the Pandavas came back and told the Lord that his Tumbi had been bathed thousand times by the people. The Lord was amazed, he got cut into pieces and gave to the people to eat it but lo! Everyone felt uneasy, had vomiting and felt uneasy because its inner part of it had rotten. Now the Lord told them to realize that external bath would not make you great. Internal purity is a must. So we must be true to ourselves away from the greed, fraud and dishonesty. Internal purity is important in stead of physical embellishment, which reduces greed and inspires for righteousness.
Supreme Truth (Uttam Satya)
Truth means fearless description of what one sees, hears or feels. Once a person tells a lie, he has to utter numerous lies to support his first false statement. Such a person is afraid and his wisdom is shattered and wavering. But one who takes the true course is afraid of none. He is free from worry and is full of self-confidence. Truth should be attractive and beneficial.
Unpleasant truth for the benefit of others is good but pleasant truth for the harm of others is bad. Sometimes, when from speaking the truth, there is fear of violence, better to lie is desirable. Wherever truth appears unpleasant, it should be explained in such a way that it appears pleasant and he does not take it otherwise.
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Truth and non-violence are co- related to each other. Truth is God. The whole world rests on the anchor of truth. The four passions (Kashayas) anger, pride, maya and greed are to be controlled. Greed may lead to speaking of untruth. So speaking truth may save a person from greed, for greedy person will resort to tell lie to get and amass more and more wealth or whatever may be the object.
Uttarpurana gives a beautiful story of a person Satyaghosha, who always kept a knife in his thread chain wearing in his neck. Whenever asked he would say that he always spoke the truth and if ever he spoke untruth he would cut his tongue with the knife. Now see the greed of Satyaghosha. His fast friend came and kept his jewellery box with him as he was going out of station for six months. But when he came back and asked for the ornament box, he asked him to dig and collect from the place where he put them. There was nothing. The friend went to the king. The king ordered Satyaghosha to surrender his jewellery before the king. The king mixed some royal jewels in the box and asked the victim to take his ornaments. This man immediately collected his ornaments. Satyaghosha accepted his crime. Satyaghosha had committed breach of faith only for wealth. What we can say about this truth upholder Satyaghosha?
It may be concluded that only truth wins and not the lie (Satyameva Jayate Nanrtam). A truthful person is always happy and peaceful (Rtasya Gopa Dabhav). "May there be always truth in my heart" (Akuti Satya Manso Meatsu).
• Supreme Restraint (Uttama Samyam)
Restriction is to control over desires which go on and go on and never satisfied. But a person who keeps his mundane carnal desires under control remains always contented. A self-disciplined person devoid of worldly pleasures is not over powered by anger, pride and deception. Without discipline, it is useless to wish for the attainment of good traits.
Restraint is the base for all the human activities of a person. In the vehicles there are brakes to check the speed in the same way there is restraint to control over the activities - mental, vocal and physical. These three activities are known as (Kayavagng manah Karmyogha), our five senses they take a person to their different destinations as we are the slaves of these senses. Control over the senses is the greatest victory of a person. Even the taste of one sense can destroy a person. A deer is killed for his love to music; a cobra is caught for his interest in musical sound, an elephant due to his pleasure in physical touching, fish due to its taste and the black bee for its addiction to smell. What to speak of a person who is addicted to the taste of all the senses.
There is always boundary to protect the field, the house, the same way there must be restraint on the activities of a person. The internal and external restraint always helps people in their lives. Antarang and Bahiranga restraint both constitute the virtues of glory to a person. His rise in worldly progress and spiritual development make him righteous person. He is an uncrowned king with highest perfection in life.
The great scholar Banarasi Das in his nataka Samaysara says, "Gyanakala jinake ghata jagi, ve jagmahi sahaja viragi, gyani Magana vishaya sukhamahi, yaha viparita sambhave nahi", those people who have developed the highest knowledge of restraint in their hearts they can easily tread over the path of detrachment (Vairagya) and if otherwise he makes merry in sensual pleasures he is not to be called the high souled. It means he is deceiving the people in his deceitful garb of restraint.
Gandhiji went to England to participate in Round Table Conference. There he met political dignitaries. Gandhiji was asked to tell the qualities of good leader. Gandhiji told to control over self and to remember God at every step.
Pandit Todar Mal says, "to follow non-violence, truth, non-theft, celibacy, non-attachment and to control over anger, pride, maya and greed is itself restraint observance - Sanyam.
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Dayanta says, "Always control over five senses, keep properly the restraint jewel for there are thieves in the forms of various pleasures (Kaya Chhanan Pratipal, Panchendriya Mana Vasha Karo, Sanyama Ratna Samahal Vishaya Chora Bahu Phirata Hain).
•
Supreme Austerities (Uttama Tapa)
Uttam Tapa means fasting, abstinence, prayers, devotion, meditation and through these enlightening one's soul, and thorough control of senses and desires to benefit the spiritual self, get the release himself from the shackles of bondage.
Everyone should, according to his physical capacity, slowly practise austerity Tapa and renunciation (Tyaga) and endeavour to take himself higher. It is not proper to take our self near death through meaningless starvation because the human body is the vehicle (Sadhan) to religious uplift (Dharm Sadhan) and spiritual betterment.
Austerity is a powerful missile to destroy evils like anger, greed etc, but as the handling of the missile requires perfect training and metal concentration so the austerity has its way in controlling over one self. One is aware of the fact that the physical, mental and vocal activities of a person cause the inflow of karmic matter. This activity is known as yoga. Yoga Vasishtha says, Yogah Chittavrtti Nirodhah i.e. controlling over fives senses is yoga.
Now how the influx of Karmic matter may be destroyed so Uma Swami says, Tapasa Nirjara Cha. By austerities (is caused) shedding of Karmic matter and also stoppage of flow.
Samyagyoganigrahoguptih. Gupti prevention is proper control (Nigraha) over mind, speech and body. There are twelve kinds of Tapa: 1. Six external austerities 2. Six internal austerities Six external austerities
Anshana- To avoid food and be away from Kashayas anger, pride, maya and greed. Unodara. To take less food than you require. Vrttiparisankhyana- To decide to take limited things in lunch. Rasaparityaga-To avoid any juicy thing. Kayaklesha-To avoid physical pleasures and physical embellishments Viviktashayyasana- To take only one posture for meditation. Six internal austerities Prayashchita i.e. repentance. To repent for the mistakes done previously,
Vinaya- To pay respect to the holy ones. (iii) Vaiyavrata. To serve the high-souled religious sages. (iv) Svadhyaya- To read scriptures. (v) Vyuttsarga-To renounce internal and external attachments. (vi) Dhyana- To concentrate on self.
(ii)
Swami Samantbhadra says, Vishyashavashatito Nirarambhoaprigraha i.e. to control over sensual pleasures and shun attachment should be the aim of the person. In Adipurana austerity has been as the greatest power, Tapah Shakti Raho Para.
•
Supreme Renunciation (Uttama Tyaga)
It implies avoiding all evil practices adoption of renunciation and cooperation with others because the individual and society are complementary to earth offer. The progress of the society ensures the progress of individual'.
Parasparopgraho J vanam'. It will be possible only when a person shares his material resources with others and is willing to help others. Renunciation leads to peace and general progress. The affluent person ought to use his possessions for the progress and prosperity of the society. Consuming ones possession himself is neither good for oneself nor for the society. Selfish motive may lead to anarchy.
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Jinasenacharya the great preceptor thinks renunciation the best means of peace and happiness in the world which leads to co-existence in the world. Even the richest can not enjoy serenity in life, if he does not share his prosperity with his financially weaker brethren. In the Atharvaveda there is the prayer, May the people not call us miser or hard fisted (Ma ma vuchann radhasam anasah). Again the same idea is repeated in the Rgveda- one who eats himself, eats only the sin (Kevalagho bhavati kevaladi)
Today there is globalization and the world has become very small. Means of communications have added to easy access to any place. There are unfortunate natural calamities, earth quakes, fire. At such a time all the nations rush for immediate assistance. If the poor nations suffer due to famine and scarcity it is imperative on the part of the rich nations to support the weeping hungry children. There may be rushed food, medicines, clothes and other necessary life equipments.
There must be some provision for charity in your earning may be of any type cash or kind. Jain preceptors have enunciated four kinds of charities which may be delivered to the needy:
1) Aharad na (Food) 2) Vidyad na (Knowledge) 3) Oshadid na (Medicine) 4) Abhayad na (To make one fearless). One may part any of these four or all the four as the case may be.
Tyaga eko gunha shlaghyah, Kimanyai guna rashibhi, Tyagajjagati pujyante, Pashupashanapapah (Rayansara), renunciation is supreme in comparison to other virtues. For their deliverance of good things even the animals, stones and trees are worshipped.
Aharad na (Food): One may give up food for the poor it means one can go to any charity home, orphanage, old age house and can pay for their food arrangements. There are several charity homes in India, run on social assistance. There are animal bird's hospitals to feed and treat them. I think that Mother Terresa proved herself the goddess on earth in doing charitable work to the destitute of the world. There are several poor nations deserving help from the wealthy nations.
Vidyad na (Knowledge): If one can not financially support one can teach someone or donate books to the needy students. If one member of a family is given perfect education, when grown up will help others thus a family becomes self supporting. When there was no printing press, one lady in South India wrote herself and donated one thousand scriptures to different temples and scholars. There had been the tradition of learning and writing that is why we have our legacy in manuscripts. Oshadhid na (Medicine): Medical care of the poor can be taken in any form. These days there are free medical check ups. Almost all the hospitals and famous surgeons arrange for operations and other things. In Jaipur, you have seen the charity homes for the handicapped and polio affected people.
Abhayad na (To make one fearless): It is but natural for a person to be worried about himself for food, health and education. One is always under the fear of uncertainty. The arrangement for ones living being made, he leads a fearless life and his mind works properly. We should remember that the state alone can not do all the welfare. Individuals, philanthropists, munificent and compassionate people have done more all over the world than the government. So keep in mind to do always a charitable work and deliver any good to the needy.
•
Non Attachment (Uttama Akinchan)
Akinchana means I am something, I am great, I am the doer, 'l' (this sort of pride brings downfall. of a person). One must shun hoarding and should develop thinking that nothing belongs to him and nothing is needed. There should be no pleasure in possessions and no pain in loss of it such ideas cause solace and serenity to a person and thus in this position he can contemplate upon self with mental peace.
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Gita says, "It is the foolishness of a person that he thinks that he is the doer of this thing" (Ahankara vimudhata kartaahomti manyate). When a man has destroyed his pride, he becomes a saint, a great thinker and his path towards liberation becomes perfect.
The great Indian king Harsha, every after five years donated his wealth and even passed over his ornaments and clothes. Donations exalt a person and bring peace in the world.
Pride is of different kind's public position, wealth, scholarship, beauty, relatives, high family status and so on. One may be proud of even small things. But all these things are meant for hatred, disputes and social evils. For a proper co-existence we must not be false proud or have anything wrong with anyone.
Chamund Raya, the great commander-in-chief got built the greatest beautiful statue of Lord Bahubali. He was the happiest person to see this biggest statue in the world. When there was the Mahamastakabhishekha (the great ablution) of this statue, the water would not flow down from head to chest even. Thousands of jars were poured upon. Why for Chamund Raya had become conceited and thought that he was the builder of this statue. All the efforts proved in vain.
Then appeared an old lady with a small earthen pot but no one would allow her to anoint the lord. But on repeated requests she was allowed to do the Prakshal of the statue and lo the water came down like a ware fall. Here it was the true desire of the old lady that the divine power helped her.
• Supreme Celibacy (Uttama Brahmacharya)
Celibacy occupies a great significant and prominent place in people's life. This penance protects one's body and develops his soul. Such person can well lead family life properly. Husband and wife should be satisfied and contented with each other and should have good reciprocal good regard. Celibacy makes one daring, fearless, happy and well intended.
Apart from the nine commands celibacy has been given as the tenth command to be observed on all the ten days of Parsyushan and then there must be restrictions according to own itself. It may be Ashtami Chaturdashi (8" and 14" days of the month). To indulge in extra sexual affairs may lead to diseases and fear at the heart. Celibacy has been included as the fourth vratas- non-violence, truth, non- stealing, celibacy and non-attachment. Kunda Kunda acharya says,
Taha vi ya sachche date bamhe, Aprigmahattne cheva
Kirdi ajjhavasanam jam, Tena dubajjhade punnamtt One who observes and follows these five vratas becomes meritorious and leads a happy life. In case of a house holder these five vratas are known as Anuvratas. They are given a sort of relaxation in observing these fasts. The pontiffs have to follow strictly all the five vratas. If one follows celibacy says Yogashastra,
Chitrayushah susansthana, Diradhasamhsanna narah
Tejasvino mahavirya, Bhaveyurbrahmacharyatah One gets longevity, able-bodied, his health becomes solid, valiant and a thoughtful person. See the importance of celibacy says Bhartrihari,
Vyalo malyaguayate, Virharasah Piyushavarshayate
Yasyangeakhilaloka vallabhamatam, ShilamSamunmilitam A serpent can turn into a garland, poison may turn into nectar. One who is observing celibacy he enjoys the greatest happiness of life.
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Husband and wife they have a very important relation of faith to each other and devotion to each other in their happiness and sorrows. If the sanctity of this relation is violated it is a great sin. A man should regard other women as mother, sister, and daughter according to their age. Similarly a woman should regard other man as father brother on according to their age.
R vana the greatest scholar of the world kidnapped Sit though he had several wives in his harem but only due to being bewitched by her beauty. The result was great battle, killings of several people and destruction of kingdom and a bad name to this day.
Thus the observance of these ten commandments inspire you to take a right path in life and thus become a law abiding good citizen standing for cooperation and fraternity with the whole world.
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5.6.c
Meditation (Dhy na)
Dr. Sushma Singhvi
As a means of self-realization, meditation holds the supreme position. In fact, all ethical discipline aims at perfect state of meditation. The conception of state of meditation differs from one system to another, but they all agree regarding the importance of meditation. Dhy na is one of the forms of internal penance is defined in the Tattv rtha sutra as the concentration of thought on a single object for up to one muhurata (48 minutes)'. It may be of four types, the first and the second being inauspicious and the third and fourth being auspicious.
Types of Dhy na: Tattv rtha sutra has classified Dhy na into four categories:
rta Raudra Dharma
kla The first two are inauspicious and the last two are auspicious. The last two types of Dhy na are said to lead to liberation.
1. rta Dhy na This Dhy na has been further classified under four heads: Ani a samyogaja, I a viyogaja, Vedan janita Nid na janita
As it is clear from the names of these rta Dhy na, all of them are connected with worries emanating from worldly objects. Ani a samogaja relates to anxiety to remove the undesirable objects like poison, thorn, enemy, weapon, etc. The opposite of it is a viyogaja where one thinks of means of attaining such desirable objects as son, wife or wealth in their absence. Vedan janita rta Dhy na is connected with anxiety for finding devices to remove the physical disease. Nid na janita means concentrating on the means of obtaining the worldly pleasures by a person who yearns for them.
2. Raudra Dhy na This type of dhy na is worse than rta dhy na. It arises from relishing ideas about sinful violence, falsehood, theft, and preservation of objects of enjoyments; it is found only up to the 5th stage of spiritual development. The first type is called hims nandi means taking delight in killing, crushing, or destroying the living beings either by self or through others. It includes skill in violent actions, advising sins and association with cruel people. Desire of killing in the battle; taking delight in hearing, seeing or remembering the miseries of sentient beings; being envious of others prosperity are all included in this type of dhy na.
Mrs nandi raudra dhy na includes falsehood, composing deceptive literature for one's own pleasure, collecting wealth by deceit and deceiving the simple-minded. Cauryananadi raudra dhy na includes not only the act of theft but also preaching dexterity in theft. Visayanandi raudra dhy na includes desire to take possession of all good things of the world and thinking of fighting ferociously for attainment of the objects of enjoyment.
It is obvious that only a man who is fully disciplined can avoid raudra dhy na which persist up to the 5th stage of spiritual development. These two above-mentioned inauspicious types of Dhy na require no effort and are spontaneous. They do not lead to liberation. Only the auspicious types of Dhy na viz. Dharma and ukla Dhy na lead to liberation.
3. Dharma Dhy na The aspirant should be possessed of knowledge and detachment, self-control, firm desire for liberation, should be active, calm and steadfast.
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Place for Dharma Dhy na
Whether crowded or lonely, any place is fit for meditation, if the mind is firm. But the surroundings also influence the mind. Therefore, that place should be avoided which is inhabited by low people, ruled by a wicked king and surrounded by hypocrites, highly perverted persons, gamblers and drunkards. In short, all such places, where disturbances may be caused by people of reprehensible profession, bad character, women, or animals, should be avoided.
On the other hand, a place that is sanctified by the association of great persons, and is lonely like seashore, forest, mountain, island, etc. should be chosen. The place for meditation should not have disturbance by noise, rain or wind.
Postures for Dharma Dhy na
Every place and every posture is suitable for meditation for him, who is detached, steadfast, firm and pure. Yet postures have importance of their own. They are
Paryank sana,
Ardhaparyank sana,.
Vajr sana,
Vir sana,
Sukh sana,
Kamal sana, Kayotsarga
The first and last of these seven, are especially suitable for the modern age, when people lack energy. The aspirant should face east or north, though there is no fixed rule. One who has controlled his posture becomes immune from the clemencies of nature. Sitting crosslegged; one should place his left hand on the lap, concentrating his sight on the tip of the nose, and making his face as motionless as the lake with fish asleep.
Other auxiliaries of Dhy na
In Patanjali yoga, much importance has been attached to Pr n y ma. In Jainism also, Subhacandra considers control over breath of much importance for control over mind. At the same time he also says that controlling the breath may lead to rta dhy na. The main purpose of these pr ny ma is to control the mind, and they give to know the whole world also. Better than pr ny ma is praty h ra, which means concentrating on forehead by withdrawing the senses. Besides, one can concentrate on the eyes, the ears, the tip of nose, the mouth, the naval, the head, the heart, and the place between the two eyebrows.
Object of Dharma Dhy na
Leaving attachment and infatuation, one should cut, as it were the enemy of karmas by the sword of Dhy na. The chief object of Dhy na is soul. Soul should strive for the attainment of self, that is, the soul. All these yonis / destinies are the result of karmas, the real self is siddha. Self is possessed of the four infinitive qualities of energy, knowledge, perception and bliss. Amongst the objects of Dhy na are sentiments and the insentient, their triple nature of continuance, birth and destruction, arhantas and siddhas. What is necessary is to distinguish the self from the body. The self should think that he is simply a light which has no foe or friend. Thereby he should leave all desire for beauty, age, strength, wealth etc.
Types of Dharma Dhy na
Tattv rtha sutra mentions four types of Dharma Dhy na:
Ajñ na vicaya it means having firm faith in the nature of things as taught in the scriptures composed by the omniscient. It becomes necessary when there is no teacher, one's own intellect is not so subtle, when there is rise of karmas and the objects are subtle and when one does not find proper causes and illustrations. Or, the person, who has himself grasped the nature of things, uses
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naya and pram a for supporting the truth is also said to have performed ajn na vicaya dharma dhy na. All studies of scriptures constitute this type of dharma dhy na.
Ap yavicaya - to think that the perverted souls are opposed to the path of the omniscient, or to ponder over ways and means of realizing preachers from wrong belief, knowledge and conduct, constitutes ap yavicaya. To contemplate on seven tattvas is also ap yavicaya dharma dhy na.
Vip ka vicaya - it means thinking of the various effects of the karmas on the creatures. All pleasures and pains are results of one's own actions that should be regulated and controlled. All reflections on this aspect are included in this type of dharma dhy na.
Samsth na vicaya - it means reflecting over the nature and form of the universe with a view of attaining detachment. It includes reflection over the shape of the universe, the seven hells and their miseries, the middle region, the sixteen heavens and their pleasures, and the Siddha ila or the place where liberated souls reside.
4. kla Dhy na In dharma Dhy na, the consciousness of the distinction between subject and object of knowledge persists; whereas in kla Dhy na all conceptual thinking ceases gradually. kla Dhy na is so called, because it emerges when the filth of passions has been destroyed or has subsided.
kla Dhy na is possible only for a person with a body of the best order (vajrav abha n racasamsth na) and for one who has the knowledge of the eleven angas and fourteen purvas.
Stages of kla Dhy na With gradual disappearance of conceptual thinking, the ukla Dhy na has following four stages, the first two which occur up to the 12th gunasth na and the last two only to an omniscient:
P thakatva vitarkavic ra - In this stage, all the three types of activities of body, speech, and mind (yogas) continue and the aspirant shifts from one kind of activity to another, from one substance to another, and from one modification to another. All these stages of thinking depend on the scriptural knowledge. In spite of the fact that the object of thinking changes here, it is called Dhy na, because many Dhy na together also form Dhy na.
Ektva vitarkavic ra - Here only one of the three yogas persists and there is no shifting from one object of thinking to another. In this stage, also thinking depends on scriptural knowledge. After this stage, the aspirant becomes omniscient, and all the obscuring karmas are destroyed.
Suksmakriy pratipatti- Now only the subtle activities of body persist and all types of vocal and mental and gross type of physical activities cease. Only the four non-obscuring Karmans, viz. agedetermining, feeling-determining, name-determining, and family-determining Karmans remain. Now, if the age-determining Karman has the same length as other karmas exceed age-determining karma, they are brought in line with the last mentioned Karman by means of samudg ta. While resorting to gross physical activities, he makes the gross vocal and mental activities subtle; and then resorting to the later, he makes the former also subtle. Resorting to the subtle physical activities, he stops other two activities completely.
Samucchinnakriy - Here all activities stop completely. The soul shines forth in its intrinsic lustre, all Karmans exhaust, and he leaves his body in the time taken for pronouncing five small letters.
To conclude we say, that Jainism lays emphasis on penance, but it should be characterized by spiritual awakening, or else it just becomes torture of the body. The transcendental morality culminates in meditation, which should never be used as a means for attaining supernatural powers.
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5.7
Sallekhan (as per Jain holy text)
Dr. Dhayanand Bhargava
Introduction The body is the means and not the end, it is a means to attain liberation. One has to leave the body at the end. The Jainas, therefore, prescribe forsaking food and sometimes even water and leave the body with equanimity under certain circumstances. This is known as Sallekhan or Santhr. This is supposed to end or shorten the mundane existence of the soul in the whirlpool of transmigration from one life to another. This is allowed only if one feels that he or she is not able to perform his religious duties with efficiency anymore. A healthy person who is physically fit is not allowed to take up Sallekhan
There is inscriptional proof that Jain monks, nuns and householders have been observing Sallekhan for the last two thousand years. The inscription of ravanabelagola mentions that the period of this kind of fast varied from three days to one month. It would be interesting to read a description of this vrata from one of the oldest Agamas of the Jainas - the cranga Sutra. The portion given below is the translation by Hermann Jacobi of the original Prakrit. It is the oldest description of Sallekhan.
Knowing the twofold (obstacles, i.e. bodily and mental), the wise ones, having thoroughly learned the law, perceiving in due order (that the time for their death has come), get rid of k rman. (2) Subduing the passions and living on little food, he should endure (hardships). If a mendicant falls sick, let him again take food. (3) He should not long for life, nor wish for death; he should for yearn after neither, life or death. (4) He who is indifferent and wishes for the destruction of k rman, should continue his contemplation. Become unattached internally and externally, he should strive after absolute purity. (5) Whatever means one knows for claming one's own life that a wise man should learn (i.e. practice) in order to gain time (for continuing penance). (6) In a village or in a forest, examining the ground and recognizing it as free from living beings, the sage should spread the straw. (7) Without food he should lie down and bear the pains which attack him. He should not for too long time give way to worldly feelings which overcome him. (8) When crawling animals or such as live on high or below, feed on his flesh and blood, he should neither kill them nor rub (the wound). (9) Though these animals destroy the body, he should not stir from his position. After the asravas have ceased, he should bear (pains) as if he rejoiced in them. (10) When the bonds fall off, then he has accomplished his life. (We shall now describe) a more exalted (method) for a well - controlled and instructed monk. (11) This other law has been proclaimed by Jnátrip tra: He should give up all motions except his own in the thrice-threefold way. (12) He should not lie on sprouts of grass, but inspecting the bare ground he should lie on it. Without any comfort and food, he should there bear pain. (13) When the sage becomes weak in his limbs, he should strive after calmness. For he is blameless, who is well fixed and immovable (in his intension to die). (14) He should move to and fro (on his ground), contract and stretch (his limbs) for the benefit of the whole body; or (he should remain quiet as if he were) lifeless. (15) He should walk about, when tired of (lying), or stand with passive limbs; when tired of standing, he should sit down. (16) Intent on such an uncommon death, he should regulate the motions of his organs. Having attained a place swarming with insects, he should search for a clean spot. (17) He should raise himself above (sinfulness), and bear all pains. (18)
•
•
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And this is a still more difficult method, when one lives according to it: not to stir from one's place, while checking all motions of the body. (19)
This is the highest law, exalted above the preceding method:
⚫
Having examined a spot of bare ground he should remain there; stay O Br hmana! (20)
Having attained a place free from living beings, he should there; fix himself. He should thoroughly mortify his flesh, thinking:
There are no obstacles in my body. (21)
Knowing as long as he lives the dangers and troubles; the wise and restrained (ascetic) should bear them as being instrumental to the dissolution of the body. (22)
He should not be attached to the transitory pleasures, nor to the greater ones; he should not nourish desire and greed. Looking only for eternal praise. (23)
He should be enlightened with eternal objects, and not trust in the delusive power of the gods; a Br hmana should know of this and cast off all inferiority. (24)
Not devoted to any of the external objects he reaches the end of his life; thinking that patience is the highest good, he (should choose) one of (the described three) good methods of entering nirv na. (25) Thus I say.
Spiritual Way of Meeting Death
The end of life is death. All is well that ends well. If one becomes disturbed at time of death it has a great impact on his future. One has to be careful that he is able to perform his religious duties. And his body becomes a burden on him rather than serving as a means of a monk, is expected to face death with equanimity and voluntarily.
Of course, the wisest from of death is that of a perfect soul who has attained the summum bonum of his life and who will not take any birth after his death.
The second form of death is one who has been following spiritual past to the best of his capabilities but has stopped short of perfection and, therefore, he leaves his body voluntary in case of a situation where his body his body does not help him in spiritual practices. He forsakes food.
The third stage is that of a householder who has practiced partial self control but could not take up monk's life but at the time of death he also forsakes food and faces death with equanimity.
The forth type of death is of a person who has believed in wrong principles of life. We have thus the last vow of asceticism called Sallekhan or Santh r where one faces death with equanimity by facing death voluntarily.
The nature of Sallekhan is such that one is likely to confuse it with suicide. The Jain c ryas have, therefore is justified if the body becomes incapable of observance of vratas.
In view of what has been said above, Sallekhan has been recommended when someone is confronted with calamity, famine, senility, disease, and when the sustenance of spiritual practices is endangered. Sallekhan can also be practiced at a time when the natural death is known to be at hand. It is better to die a voluntary death with self-control than try to save the body in vain, when it ceases to respond to medical treatment.
The idea underlying Sallekhan is not mere flagellation of the body but denial of passions also. Voluntary death is not so difficult as upholding self-control, when the vital forces leave the body. If the mind is not pure at the last moment, the life-long self-control study, austerity, worship and charity become futile, just as a king, well versed weapons, is not good if he faints in the battle-field.
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Transgressions of Sallekhan vrata Tattv rthas tra gives the following five transgressions of Sallekhan vrata:
1. Desire to live (jvt sms) 2. Desire to die (maran sms ) 3. Remembrance of friends (mitranur ga) 4. Revival of past pleasure (sukhanubandha) 5. Expectation of future prosperity (nid na)
We explain below the atic ras of Sallekhan
vrata:
o
o
Jvt sms : Pujyap da explains it is reluctance to leave this body. Dhara thinks that the desire to listen to one's own praise from those who surround the dying person constitutes this atic ra. Maran sms : Pujyap da explains it as desire for quick death. Mitranur ga: This includes remembering one's friends, games of childhood, merry festivities etc. the vet mbaras do not recognize this atic ra. Sukhanubandha: This means recollection of past comforts and pleasures. Nid na: One should not desire sensual satisfaction in the next life as a reward for performance.
o
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5.7
Sam dhimara a (Sa th r/Sallekhan) Justice N. K. Jain
Sallekhan, sa y sa, sam dhi, nirup dhi and v riyamara a are all synonyms of Sallekhan.
According to religious texts, it is an eternal law that an entity, which is born, has to die also. One can die prematurely also due to the activation of inauspicious karmas (p pa karma).
One can earn auspicious or meritorious karmas by practicing religious austerities intelligently and die peacefully when one is faced with incurable diseases or old age makes it clear that the end is approaching fast. If one does not practice religious austerities, then he/she earns inauspicious karmas. In this way death is inevitable in both situations and according to the philosophy of rebirth, he/she has to enjoy the fruits accordingly in their next birth/s.
All living beings know that body and soul are different and distinct but from eternity the belief that body and soul are one has taken root. He is busy enjoying the subjects of five senses and four passions (anger, deceit, greed and pride) and hence could never understand the real nature of the soul /self. Until one understands the true nature of self i.e. intuition, knowledge and bliss; he will continue to be deluded in attachments and aversions with other living and non living beings and hence keep on accumulating karmas resulting in the endless cycle of birth-death. Until one experiences the true nature of pure soul, he cannot eliminate the attachment and aversion with other living and non-living beings. By eliminating attachment and aversion, we will have neither enemies nor friends and a state of equanimity will develop instead. Equanimity will result in dissociation of accumulated karmas and further bondage will be stopped. But it is not easy to suppress or destroy desire. Until we acquire complete knowledge about the nature of self, we cannot understand this fact / reality. By taking a vow not to indulge in sinful and ill activities along with repenting upon the wrong deeds done, and contemplating on the nature of the self; developing belief in it (nature of self) and practicing right conduct can stop influx and bondage of new karmas; penance /austerities will then dissociate all existing karmas resulting in attaining the pure state of the self. This knowledge of the true nature of self is possible only in the company and with the blessings of the monks and holy teachers.
Here I will like to emphasize that till recently, knowledge of yoga, pr y ma, meditation etc was available to a privileged few even though these were explained in details in the holy texts of various Indian philosophies. But now the situation has changed. Yoga, its practice and such techniques had been taught to common persons for whom the credit goes to our s dhus, c ryas and teachers. As a result a number of people tried to understand Yoga and then started practicing it to maintain good health, concentrate their mind on useful and productive activities and move forward on the spiritual path of purification. Hence it is important to know correct and specific spiritual purification activities.
Till now, even I was ignorant about Sallekhan and Sa thr. Now after some efforts, I have found detailed and crisp description of these two doctrines and techniques in Jain literature. Keeping these in mind, I am making a humble attempt of writing this paper to arouse interest of others also on the subject.
Jain philosophy has detailed discussion on the doctrine and practice of Sallekhan. True and eternal nature of the self is knowledge and perception (jn t -d). By accepting body and self as same, one cannot understand the true nature of self. But he is an intelligent one who understands body, sensual organs as distinct from the self /soul. By suppressing the desires, the soul gets purified easily. Virtues (dharma) can exist in a pure soul only and it helps in making the self purer. Soul, which is free from the k rmika bondage, is called param tm. Once the soul achieves this pure state, it stays happy in all lives to come.
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Jain religion is one of the ancient religions that prescribe the human values. This religion not only talks about human welfare but also extends it to the animal world. Jain religion asserts that consciousness is present not only in humans, but in all animal world, for example elephant and even ant. This has been emphatically stated on the basis of experience by the first t rtha kara Rabhadevand reemphasized by the 24th trtha kara lord Mah v ra. All this knowledge was traditionally handed to the rutakevalis and finally to the cryas who codified it. This tradition is still maintained by the c ryas, monks, spiritual leaders, intelligible beings etc.
None of the trtha karas were born in the Jain tradition. There were from the K atriya / Y dava class. They traversed the path themselves and showed the path of winning oneself. The one who wins his own self is the Jina and who is worshipper and follower of Jina is Jain.
Sam dhimara a (Sa thr / Sallekhan) is the path that changes the life of the individual and is mentioned in the Jain philosophical scriptures and other literature. The issue of death is also discussed in other religious and philosophical system, but does not discuss as the rite of the end. They discuss it only from the point of view of attaining siddhis (divine powers) and to know the self (tma k tak ra). In Vedic literature this path is one among the 16 sa sk ras (rituals of life) and also known as M ty Sa sk ra. Even if this is the last ritual of life, even any lay follower performs this. It is worth noticing that this rite by Hindus is performed for the pleasures and the gifts are given in the name of the dead one. We get a little insight about such death as a spiritual death, or for Mok a. There is less information on the nature of liberation, that is, to liberate oneself from life and death. In Jainism, on the other hand the importance is wholly on the spiritual death and liberation. In this rite, since there are no passions involved, there is no bondage on the soul.
There are many such examples of lay followers, monks, saints, who after renouncing (dik a), undertake the rite of Sallekhan. They destroy their attachments, cravings and hatred; along with it they also destroy craving for food etc and do tapa with equanimity to give up their body. They free themselves from Karmas and attain liberation. Not all are fortunate to follow this path.
Pa dita dhara in his Sag radharm mrta has extensively written on this issue and has mentioned that Sallekhan is under taken when a person lives his life with a holistic approach. Kundkund c rya (1st cent.A.D.) has mentioned in his Caritra P huda (G th No: 26) about the special rite of Sallekhan Samantabhadra (2nd cent A.D) in his Ratnakara dar vak c ra (Sloka No: 122) shows that this type of death is necessary:
Upasarge durbhik e, jarasi ruj yan ca nihi prat k re\\ dharm ya tanuvimocanam hu sallekhan m ry h.\\
i.e. when faced with hurdles, famine, old age, or disease; one should for religion observe Sallekhan. To discard ones body in this way is called Sallekan. Further he states,
Antakriradhikara a tapahafalam Sakaladarshinha stuvate\ Tasm ty vadvibhavan Sam dhimarana Prayatitanvyam\\
At the end of life when one attains such a death it is considered as the fruit of tapa. That is why to attain such a death should be the aim of one's life. With this the Indian seers have attained the heights of knowledge of the self. At the point of death if there are no passions the person discards body without any pain and does not have any fear of death and dies calmly. One who is capable to attain a good destiny (gati) on his own, attains so; and when he attains so, the previous bad karmas cannot do anything, but if at the moment of death there is a mental distress even the good karmas will not help him for a good gati (state of existence). In this manner a series of bad destinies continues. Hence it is worth to notice the significance of Sallekhan.
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Taptasya tapasa c pip litasya vratasya ca Pathitasya rutasy pi falam m tyu sam dhina M ty Mahotsava-16
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It means penance, followed by observing vows, and reading scriptures give the fruits when one attains the Sam dhimara a, otherwise all is futile.
One should not therefore doubt that, "when all things happen with Sam dhimara a, only, than why should one do japa-tapa, one will attain Sam dhi at the end of life." But one should not think likewise, instead engaging oneself in tapa, lessening ones passion, will lead to a proper Samadhi death. Probably this is the reason that Kundakunda has given this death a place in ik Vrata. In Sam dhimara a and the tapa as a form of conduct there is a cause-effect relationship. When difficulties arise or sudden death arises or if any wild animal attacks or fire or storm occurs, the practice of tapa alone helps. If one spends his whole life in conduct and at the moment of death deviates from the self, then the do a does not fall on conduct, but possibly lack of self-effort on his part and the lack of self-discipline.
c rya ivakoti says, "When there is no rescue, when wild animals approach you, on proper conducive food is attained in famine, when no proper rules of conduct can be followed or when old age appears or when disease are there, in such a case it is necessary to take Sallekhan and abandon the body."
One who does s dhan is a seeker. At the time of death one who engages in his soul is also a seeker. At the end of life, to see body and soul as different and to overcome attachment to the body one has to take refuge in Sallekhan. If for the whole life one does tapa, but at the end engages in attachment and hatred, his life goes a waste.
crya ivakoti says, "One attains many lives if he cannot sustain a proper death even if he in his whole life works for Jñ na, dar ana, caritra. But on the other hand if Sallekhan is pursued the seeker enjoys the bliss."
Up sakadhyayana (896) says, "Aspirant who is doing fasting etc and engaged in studying to overcome passions, such a person should come to the sangha and undertake Sallekhan.
crya ivakoti has highly envisaged Sallekhan says, one who dies at instant that is at that moment with sallekhan, he never lives more than 7to 8 lives. Expressing the importance of sallekhan he further writes, "One who is fully engaged in service of a sallekhan practitioner also attains the pleasures of the devagati or heavenly destiny and than attains the highest place (liberation).
Similarly Pujyp da Devanandi (6th Cent A.D.) in his Sarvathasiddhi highlights the importance and necessity of Sallekhan and says death is not liked by all. If at all the disease attacks the body, one a seeker who takes sallekhan, automatically is liberated from the effect of the disease.
crya Amrtacandra, in his Puru rthasiddhaup ya (10th Cent A.D.), Wrote, "When death is nearing and it is confirmed at that time when the aspirant is on the path of liberating from passions, how is it that the self is destroyed. One who is engaged in activities with anger, his self is definitely destroyed.
All the trtha karas, c ryas, saints, monks, gurus, have asserted this path as necessary for the wellbeing of all humans.
S gradharmarta has the following numbers of g th s 8/1, 8/6, 8/7-8, 8/9. 8/12, 9/2 vividly describing sallekhan.
In Bhagavatisutra r dhan there are around 2500 g th s, and there are reflections on sallekhan in numbers 25, 28, 64, 65 and others. In this text there is a vast description on one of the death called Bhakta Praty khy na.
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A sinner who has committed sins throughout his life; even if he asks forgiveness at the end he liberates himself from the guilt. In the similar manner a sinner if undertakes sallekhan at the end of his life can attain a good state of existence. Even Vedic literature mentions that one who repents for sins attains a place near God (vaikuntha). Aj m la, committed sins through out his life; but towards the end repented by taking the name of N r ya a he attained Vaikuntha. J vandharakum ra, said Namok ra Mantra to a dying dog and t rtha kara Pr van tha uttered this mantra to snakes dying in fire. The snakes attained the devagati. Even Manusmrti mentions about sallekhan. Sant K lidasa, Kabir, Tuk r ma also have mentioned about it.
After the war of Mah bh rata, Bhi ma also asked for voluntary death.
Sallekhan is a special tapa, which is done for spiritual growth and self development. Hence after attaining such a death only very few births are left for the person to attain liberation. Once all the karmas are gone liberation is attained Sallekhan
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6.0
1.1
INTRODUCTION
Jain religion has, over many centuries, survived the vicissities of history and the competing space claimed by other faiths in multi-religious and multi-cultural India. It may have today a limited following of around 10 million people only, but it has made an abiding impact on India's cultural heritage with its central focus on the practice of non-violence as life ethics. Jain religion has not been a proselytizing religion, but its compassionate philosophy has inspired ethical and humanitarian values in thought and conduct on individual as well as collective level.
GLOBAL RELEVANCE OF JAIN RELIGION Dr. N.P. Jain
Global relevance of Jain religion and philosophy in contemporary times could perhaps be more fully appreciated if one looks at it broadly from six angles:
(1) (2)
1.2
Jainism as a Religion of 'Ahi s' (Non-violence).
Jainism as a Religion of 'Aparigraha' (Restraint and Detachment).
Jainism as a Religion of Environment.
Jainism as a Religion of Live and Let Live.
Jainism as a Religion of 'Anek nta' (Multifaceted Reality / Non-absolutism.
Jainism as a Religion of Vegetarianism.
VERSAC
RELIGION OF NON-VIOLENCE
Jain scriptures describe Non-violence as a supreme religion (Ahi s Parmo Dharma). Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of Ahimsa in the 20th century once said that there is no other religion which has explained and espoused non-violence as systematically and comprehensively in depth and detail in its applicability to life as Jainism. He interpreted Jain concept of Ahimsa as one bearing the courage of practising it. That is how he mustered the courage to take on the mighty British Empire, and successfully led India's unique non-violent struggle for freedom from colonial rule.
Martin Luther King was inspired by Gandhi's experiment with truth and non-violence. In his bus campaign at Montogomery, USA, Martin Luther King said:
"The chronicle of 50,000 negroes who took to heart the principles of non-violence, who learnt to fight for their rights with the weapon of love and who in the process acquired a new estimate of their own human worth"
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Gandhi was himself greatly encouraged from the outcome of his non-violent protest against apartheid in South Africa, and felt emboldened to launch a countrywide non-violent movement in India for freedom. But non-violence was not a tactical weapon for him. In keeping with the Jain concept of Ahimsa, he practised it in his personal life as well. His moral fibre was strengthened because he embraced the comprehensive Jain view that non-violence has first to be fully ingrained in one's thoughts, emotions, psychology and intellectual outlook. It should then with the same consistency and transparency find an echo in one's behaviour as well as expressions.
In contemporary times, humanity that is disraught with escalating violence at all levels of life and is hankering for stable peace may have a lot to learn from Jain concept of Ahi s. Jain scripture "Yoga stra" says:
"Reverence for life is the supreme religious teaching,
Non-injury to life is the supreme moral guidance,
Giving freedom from fear to life is the supreme act of giving,
Non-violence to life is the supreme renunciation."
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Carl Sagan, the renowned American scientist summed it up succinctly. About Jain view of Non - Violence.
"There is no right to life in any society on earth today nor has there been at any time with a few rare exceptions such as the Jains of India."
Romain Rolland has thoughtfully observed in this context that the sages who discovered the law of non-violence in the midst of violence, were greater geniuses than Newton and greater warriors than Wellington. Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of the brute.
The growing and increasingly terrifying spectre of terrorist violence and cruelty has become a matter of grave concern. Tackling terrorism has been likened by U.S. President George Bush to waging a III World War. However, violence cannot be defeated by more violence. The way out, in the ultimate analysis, is spreading the culture and practice of non-violence. Non-violence in Jain vocabulary is not the mere opposite or negation of violence. It is the point of origin of all good virtues like forgiveness, friendliness, tolerance, self-control, fearlessness. It is the very anti-thesis of ego, anger, envy, hatred, vanity, lust, avarice, hoarding, selfishness, revenge and retaliation. Thus, the Jain doctrine of Ahimsa is relevant for every sphere of human existence for promoting progress with peace, growth with serenity, and happiness with equanimity.
What the world needs today and would need even more tomorrow is increasing global commitment to the culture of non-violence. As Martin Luther King put it aptly:
"The choice is no longer between
Non-violence and violence;
It is between Non-violence and non-existence"
The global relevance of Jainism today lies in the need to bring home to the wider strata of global human society that Ahi s has to become the bedrock of our individual as well as collective survival. Violence only fouls the atmosphere and nurtures more conflict, suspicion, hatred and intolerance. Non-violence has a tremendous potentiality to be the catalyst and the core civilizing principle of the new global order. After all it is only during periods of peace that culture, literature, fine arts, music and other humanities have flourished and taken humanity to elevated levels of sensitivity and appreciation.
Lord Mah vra has very eloquently elucidated the concept of Ahi s Dharma covering thought, conduct and expression. He says:
"I cannot take what I cannot give back. No one can give back life. So no one should take it. In happiness and suffering, in joy or grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self.
We should refrain from inflicting upon others such injury, suffering or pain as would be undesirable or unbearable if inflicted upon ourselves. We must endeavour to develop equanimity towards all living beings and elements of nature in this universe." Jain scripture c ra ga, 12/3/63 says:
"The instinct of self-preservation is universal. All beings are fond of life and like pleasure. They hate pain, shun destruction like life, love to live and avoid untimely death. To all life is dear. Hence all breathing, exciting, living sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused nor tormented or driven away."
Mah v ra has also explained the concept of Ahi s in deeper philosophical terms as follows: "There is nothing so small and subtle as the atom nor any element so vast as space. Similarly, there is no quality of soul more subtle than non-violence, and no virtue of spirit greater than reverence for life."
crya Candan j of Vr yatana has interpreted Ahi s thus:
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"Ahis is a true and unconditional surrender of our own identity for the welfare of others. Ahis is not a mere principle of a particular religion; it is in consonance with the true nature (Vast Svabh va) of all living beings."
1.3
RELIGION OF RESTRAINT AND DETACHMENT
Aparigraha the spirit and practice of restraint and detachment leading upto renunciation is very central to the Jain philosophy. Jain religion does not make renunciation as a compulsive principle for all followers, but offers a road map for it through steady progress towards limitation of one's wants, desires, needs and growing pace of detachment. The culture of Aparigraha is rapidly acquiring global relevance.
Humanity is caught up in the whirlpool of ever increasing wants, needs and comforts, interalia, on account of rapid strides in science and technology. This has increased human greed and envy, and has led to over-consumption as well as wasteful consumption and rapid depletion of earth's precious non-renewable natural resources.
Practice of "Sa yama" (self-restraint) is vital in this age of unbridled consumerism, which often leads to over-indulgence, waste and abuse of resources. With increasing pressure of world population (which has already crossed the six billion mark) on limited global natural resources, the future holds out very grim prospects for survival. This is even more so when 75% of world's resources are benefiting only 25% of world's population living in highly developed countries.
Voluntary self-restraint is also imperative for fencing in the otherwise uncontrollable craving, passions and lust. Jain scriptures say that it is owing to attachment that a person commits violence, speaks lies, commits theft, indulges in lust, and develops yearning for unlimited possessions. Possessiveness and greed are the main causes of creating tensions in the life of individuals and societies.
Uttar dhyana Sutra says, "If somebody gives the whole earth to one man, it would be enough. The more you get, the more you want. Your desires increase with your means." Samantabhadra writes in Ratnakara dar vak c ra, that "just as no fire is ever satiated with any amount of wood, no sea is ever content even with waters of thousands of rivers, similarly no human being is ever content with satisfaction of his wants."
The Jain techniques of practising self-restraint comprise of fasts, abstinence, restricted quantum or total giving up consumption of specific food and other items for a certain period or even for the entire life, eating below full appetite level, giving up eating after sunset and so on. Jains observe fasts without any food or water intake from one to a number of days. A renowned Jain monk Sahaj Muni created a record of 365 days of continuous fasting with intake of only boiled water drops daily. Clare Rosenfield, an American votary of non-violence and non-possessiveness writes:
"Through fasting one day a week, I too, in my own way, am gaining confidence in my health, in being able to be free from the need for food atleast one or two days at a time - from food - freedom from attachment."
In addition to the foregoing outer forms of self restraint, Jain scriptures also highlight internal forms of restraint by way of repentance (Pr ya cita), humility (Vinaya), Serving others (Vaiy vratti), selfstudy (Sv dhy ya), Meditation (dhy na), giving up attachment with one's body or other possessions, bearing with patience and fortitude physical ailments or sufferings and keeping equanimity in the face of tensions, and disturbances.
The possessive instinct becomes so powerful in the midst of material attractions that acquisition of more and more comforts or commodities becomes almost a habit. Overcoming of possessive instincts is possible only with resolve, conviction, self-control and strong will power. In this context, Jain religion should not be interpreted as very austere, compulsive and demanding Dasvaik lika Sutra says, "Balam thamam ca pehaye", meaning one has to undertake the spiritual practices according to ones capacity and competence. Aparigraha should be proceeded with in steady and gradual stages with a sense of delight and enthusiasm and not being compelled to it because of any ritualistic dictat.
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Thus, the Jain concept of Aparigraha has tremendous relevance in the contemporary times, when ever-increasing availability of newer and newer commodities, comforts and conveniences are multiplying human wants multifold. Man is caught up in the whirlpool of never satiated desires. That is what has caused tensions and stress even after enjoying limitless comforts and luxuries. Practice of voluntary self-restraint in steadily increasing measure can bring to human beings much solace and contentment. It is individual as well as collective practice of self-restraint that can eliminate exploitation, egoistic domination and accumulative culture. Thus, aparigraha can emerge as the sensitivity medium of growing spirituality.
JAINISM AS A RELIGION OF ENVIRONMENT
1.4
Jain ecological consciousness is grounded in a judicious blend of divine holism and vision of nonexploitative science and technology. This scientific approach, reasoning and practices prescribed by the Jain religion are highly relevant today when environmental concerns are on the top of human agenda. The survival of earth along with all the spices on it is dependent upon the harmony of its existence with forces of nature. Human beings are a species among millions of other species on earth. Philosophically one could even say that whatever be the tremendous achievements or superior capabilities of human beings, we are just one of the players in the infinite universe of infinite time and space. We have to learn to respect and safeguard the divine balance of nature. The more we disturb it by polluting the atmosphere and degrading the environment, the more we are moving towards our own annihilation.
Jain religion's emphasis on treating environment as sacred is on the same wavelength as the view expressed by the renowned western thinker T.H. Huxley, who said,
"The question of all questions for humanity is the determination of man's place in nature, and his relation to the cosmos. Whence our race came, what sort of limits are set to our power over nature and to nature's power over us, to what goals are we striving; these are the problems which present themselves afresh with undiminished interest to every human being on earth."
Jain religion has analysed different aspects of environment in great depth, with sound logic and scientific approach. There are seven basic constituents of the environment (1) Living beings, (2) Earth with its surface as well as underground properties and resource-potential, (3) the water resources in the form of vast oceans, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and underground water tables, (4) the air around us, (5) the sound factor, (6) the fire, and (7) the vegetation in the form of plants, trees, fruits, vegetables and herbs. All these constituents are vital elements in a 'living' environment, which supports and nourishes life.
Jain philosophy also puts focus on the need to remove mental, thought-based, expression-based and body movement based pollution. This is internal environment in a human being, which shapes his personality, psychology and attitudinal culture. Jain religion highlights how 17 types of internal restraint (samyam) could enhance serenity in human personality.
Jain saint c rya Mah praj aj has very thoughtfully observed:
"To establish harmonious coexistence behaviour with birds, animals, insects, earth, water, fire, air and vegetation is for human beings a devoted pursuit of Ahimsa. Ahimsa comprises in protecting the legacy of nature. The creation of the universe is a mutually supportive web. If a single strand of the divine web is touched, it would sensitize the entire web. All the animate as well as inanimate elements in the universe are inter-linked precisely as pearls in a chain."
Jain religion as a religion of environment reflects ethical sensitivity towards the nature, which is on the same wave length as its focus on reverence for all life, and the imperative of living harmoniously in a world of contradiction and pain, selfishness and exploitation, greed and cruelty. Michael Tobias, a noted American Jain scholar has profoundly observed in his book, "Life Force - The World of Jainism":
"Jainism is a momentous example to all of us that there can and does exist a successful, ecologically responsible way of life, which is abundantly non-violent in thought, action and deed."
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He has further added, "We cannot vouchsafe the lunacy, under any name, or any guise, which hails the abuse of this earth and all her goodness. This life force within us, this frenzy to be born and reborn, to live and to die, to love and to understand. Short of these freedoms, our life is nothing. Without extending that hand of freedom to every other organism, there can be no solace nor can there be a moment's respite. Jains were undoubtedly among the first people to focus upon this incantation, these basic rights, this animal and plant liberation, upon the multifaceted realm of what today we term environmentalism."
The farsighted vision in regard to environment ingrained in Jain philosophy from its early beginnings is aptly mirrored in Mah vra's famous words" "One who neglects or disregards the existence of earth, fire, air, water and vegetation disregards his own existence which is entwined with them."
1.5
RELIGION OF LIVE AND LET LIVE
"Tattv rtha Sutra" by Um sv ti written between 15 and 3rd centuries AD deals at great length interalia, with the characteristics of different life forms and their interdependence as well as interconnection. The soul passes through several incarnations in the ongoing cycle of life and death. Depending on its Karmic attributes - good or bad, life form is changed in each incarnation. The central theme of Tattv rtha Sutra is summed up in the phrase, "Parasparopgraho Jv n ma (Tattv rtha Sutra Uma Swami V/22)" meaning that all forms of life are mutually supportive. The Jain Trtha karas have all along invoked and inspired an intense and constant awareness of communion and interdependence of human beings both with all living beings as well as elements of nature. Yoga stra written by Hemacandrasuri in the 15th century AD elucidates this by saying "Atmavat Sarva Bhute u" - treat all souls like you would treat your soul.
In Jainology to be human being is a gift in the evolution of life as it enables him to bring out his humanity towards other fellow living beings and nature - thereby achieve oneness with all life. It is human beings alone who are endowed with all the six senses of touching, seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and thinking. They can with their power of reasoning: judgment and discriminating faculty develop the culture of coexistence by being compassionate, loving, friendly, forgiving, tolerant and broad-minded to the universe around them.
Far from being dogmatic, Jain religion has a well-defined and clearly articulated scientific base, which elucidates inter-related properties and qualities of animate and inanimate substances in terms of evolution and growth of atoms in time and space.
The one-sensed life entities have the sense of touch but are immobile. They include Earth bodies, Air bodies, Water bodies, Fire bodies and Vegetation. The mobile two sensed sense of touch and taste), three-sensed (sense of touch, test and smell), four sensed (sense of touch, taste, smell and seeing), five sensed (sense of touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing) but without mind, and five sensed with mind (sense of touch, taste, smell, seeing and hearing). The concept of live and let live applies not merely to the inter-human relationships, but also to all these life bodies with varying degrees of sensitivity, awareness and feeling. In Jain philosophy, this is an integral part of the feeling of compassion for all life forms. Michael Tobias analyses it in the following words:
"Jainism - India's and possibly the world's oldest religion is a quiet, overwhelmingly serious way of life, a cultural insistence on compassion, a sociology of aesthetics that has dramatically changed the world and will continue to effect change."
The Jain concept of live and let live helps in removing the delusion crowding human minds engrossed as they are in material progress for themselves without caring for the interests of other lesser privileged human beings, as well as other living beings. Exploitation of cruelty, towards and insensitivity to other living beings arises out of narrow centric selfishness, greed and ego. But if one realises how entire life on earth is interdependent, one would avoid getting tied to evil karmas, and through live and let live move towards discovering the divine within. It is through live and let live' that humanity can tackle the rampant fear, hatred, deceipt and oppression at all levels.
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Thus, "Live and let live" encompasses the virtues of tolerance (sahi a uta), coexistence (sahaastitva), compassion (karu ), large-heartedness (Sahridayat ), sympathy (Sah nubhuti), kindness (Day ) and forgiveness (K am ). It is due to the diminishing focus on such attributes that the humanity is drifting towards escalating violence in all walks of life, annihilating terrorism and rapidly disappearing ethical values.
The true essence of the Jain art of living is "be happy and make others happy", and one can be happy only when one makes others happy. The fountain source for the ethical art of living is the trinity of Ahis, Aparigraha and Anek nta. Together in an integrated manner they provide the framework for life ethics. Together they fortify the foundations of synthesis, equanimity and tolerance.
1.6
JAINISM - THE RELIGION OF anek nta
In the search for 'Satya' and in the effort to achieve Samyak Dar ana (Right and Rational perception), Samyak j na (Right and Rational knowledge), and Samyak C ritra (Right and Rational conduct), Jain philosophy lays fundamental emphasis on truth not being absolute, but relative. For gaining access to pure knowledge and wisdom, one needs to rationally take into account multiple arguments, interpretation and view points concerning any issue. One should not proceed that one's point of view is the only correct one. One should not harbour prejudiced and prejudged conception of any reality
c rya Sushil Kumar observes:
"If knowledge is complimented by liberal, impartial and polite outlook, positive inquisitiveness, then it can become the source of tremendous self-confidence. On the other hand if knowledge is accompanied by a narrow, partial, intolerant and uncompromising attitude, then it leads to ethical and moral weakness. The Jain philosophy of Anekant promotes synthesis between conflicting viewpoints, helps in discovering the complete truth, and inculcates in one's knowledge and wisdom elements of liberalism, politeness, tolerance and positivism. For the world of philosophy, Anekant is a great boon."
Simply explained anek ntv da represents multiple views of a reality. It is a doctrine of manifold predications and of relative pluralism. Some one who is a father to someone can also be a husband, son, brother or friend of some one else. All relationships are in their own place. If a person understands multiple aspects of truth, he will realize more fully his multiple duties and responsibilities as well. Thus, in anek nta and sy dv da, we analyze and take into account all possibilities and implications of a given object or a person without changing them. This is indeed the reflection of the theory of relativity and an identification of unity in diversity. Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, former President of India once observed that:
"Jain concept of anek ntv da is indeed a reflection of a open-minded attitude towards life and its constituent elements. It helps in promoting synthesis and avoids needless conflicts. In a Parliamentary democracy, anek nta assumes relevance because of the existence of a ruling party and an opposition. The work can go on smoothly if the two sides make an effort to understand each other's point of view on a given situation, and endeavour to reach an agreed view based on mutual accommodation and synthesis."
Anek nta concept has considerable global relevance in the world of today often torn with conflicting viewpoints, prejudiced attitudes and desire to impose one's point of view on others. In so far as spiritual orientation is concerned the philosophy of anek nta helps in shaping human thinking based on appreciation of others viewpoints, while searching for the path of truth. Anek nta promotes harmony, tranquility and rational balance in one's thoughts, conduct and expressions.
1.7
JAINISM - RELIGION OF VEGETARIANISM
The foundation of vegetarianism is kindness towards other living beings (Jeev Daya). All life is precious. Why deprive any one from one's right to live only to satisfy one's appetite buds. In the Jain religion, vegetarianism is not just a food habit, but an entire way of life grounded on the concept of
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Ahimsa, tolerance, piety, and compassion. Connected with vegetarianism are not only religious and spiritual angles, but also ethical, emotional, nutritional and health promotional aspects.
Vegetarianism has the potential of shaping a more balanced life style, and promoting more judicious use of available food resources. Vegetarianism has the emotional and ethical perspective, environmental perspective and health perspective.
The sight of slaughterhouses could make one realise the ordeal of the animal being slaughtered for human consumption. The intense feeling of horror, anger, hurt, pain and suffering goes into the meat of freshly killed animals. When eaten such meat could shape in the emotional fibres of human beings a psychology of callousness, anger, revenge, hate, disgust and intolerance.
The environmental aspect is among other things, related to the rapid extinction of many species at the rate of almost 1000 species a year. This is seriously disturbing the life system pattern. A vegetarian diet becomes an integral part of human intake (hra) of what is simultaneously nourishing for the body as well as a tonic for the soul. It becomes an element in the spiritual uplift of human beings while serving to satisfy their appetite as well as taste buds.
1.8
CONCLUSION
As a humanitarian and compassionate philosophy, Jain religion has the potential of attracting universal appeal. The religious doctrines and rituals are for the adherents of the religion to follow. However, Jain principles have an abiding relevance for shaping global human values in the right direction of promoting stable inner and outer peace, well preserved environment, climate of tolerance and accommodation, attitude of restraint and detachment, psychology of compassion and piety and above all a non-violent world free from not only the destructive and terrorizing violence, but also the stress, tension, hostility and hatred that it arouses.
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6.0.a
COMPREHENSIVE CONCEPT OF AHI S AND IT'S APPLICATION IN REAL LIFE Dr. D.R. MEHTA
1.0 Introduction
Ours is the age of reason. Asymmetrically ours is also the age of violence. Never before in the human history there was so much of violence. Relationships at individual, social, national and international levels are often afflicted by violence, in degrees large or small. In such situation generally the reactive remedy adopted is violence without realizing that violence begets violence, which in turn, generates further violence. Therefore, there is a need for a workable and effective alternative to break this chain of violence. Ahi s or the opposite of violence, properly understood and sincerely implemented, may be such a relevant option for ensuring harmony, survival and dignified living. Ahis is also a way of conflict resolution.
While many philosophical and religious systems have referred to Ahi s or some of its forms and essence; Jainism developed this principle of Ahi s adopted it as the primary doctrine and detailed it to the minutest levels or practice. The growth and content of Ahi s in Jainism is such that Albert Schweitzer, one of the greatest humanitarians that the world has produced, state thus in his book - Indian Through and its development.
"The lying down of the commandment not to kill and not to damage is one of the greatest events in the spiritual history of man kind.... So far as we know it is for the first time clearly expressed by Jainism".
Late Dr. D.S. Kothari, a great Indian scientist, in a similar vein, observed that the history of Ahis is also the evolutionary history of mankind.
2.0 Concept of Ahi s
Before proceeding further it may be appropriate to dwell on the concept of Ahi s and its applications to real life situations. Ahis is a benign and benevolent concept. It is an expression of compassion. It means reverence for life. It is recognition of the personality and accompanying dignity, naturally due to all living beings. Alongside this lofty and altruistic connotation, Ahi s on the other negative implies non-killing and non-harming. This is equally important. Ahi s is a combination of empathy and abstention. Thus it is a comprehensive concept. However, quite mistakenly some of the thinkers, and believers, ignoring the original treatises, references and their true spirit, tend to take a lopsided view and reduce Ahi s into a mere negative principle or practice, depriving it of its humaneness and nobility.
2.1 Definitions and interpretations of Ahi s
The glory of non-violence as a doctrine of religion has arisen from the vision of similiarity of souls. This doctrine is narrated and analyzed in the gamas as follows:
1. All violence deserves to be discarded because it leads to sorrow and fear. This is the basic argument of the doctrine of non-violence.
2. Violence means ending somebody's life or torturing others. Still, the blemishes born of violence depend only on infatuation or attachment and jealousy etc. If there is no infatuation or attachment, mere ending cannot come under the category of violence. This constitutes an analysis of non-violence.
3. The purports of the blemish do not depend upon the relative importance of the size, number and senses of the living beings that are killed. It depends upon the result of the violating persons or the intensity or the otherwise, his knowing or unknowing action or the use of force. This constitutes the purport of non-violence.
The three matters mentioned above became fruitful in the thought and conduct of lord Mah vra and are woven in the gamas. Howsoever spiritual an individual or a group of individual's may be, when they ponder over the question of sustaining life with self-control, the above mention analysis and stages naturally arise from it.
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SORS OF JAN
However so let us see how non-violence developed further on in the light of various sects of Jainism.
Jainism has two broad sects namely vet mbara and Digambara. Both these sects are further splintered into large number of sub-sects, which are headed by different c ryas, many of whom have defined Ahi s in their own way, unmindful of canon and original texts. Some of them brazenly describe the positive aspects of Ahi s, like saving the lives of man and other creatures, feeding the hungry, providing water to thirsty, helping the sick with medicines etc, as undesirable, because in their view, these activities result in generating of karmas, which inhibit one's liberation. They treat such activities as an expression of attachment, which according to them is the cause of bondage and not salvation.
VRU
One of the sub-sects of Jainas has even gone to the extent of describing the act of saving the life of a man or animal in distress, as violence. "(Page 191 "Tirthankar" of "Mahaveer Aur Unka Sarvodya Tirth by Hukam Chand Bharill of Todarmal Smarak). There could not have been a greater travesty or distortion. The problem gets further compounded when such scholars try to project such views as a part of the Jaina religion. Such views, when picked up by scholars, particularly the western ones, lead to their wrong presentation of Jainism. One such example is the book - Heart of Jainism - by Stevenson, who, perhaps getting such erroneous views concluded that Jainism had no heart at all.
When such scholars or c ryas are asked to provide the canonical or original references in support of their unusual stony views, either refer to some texts of much later times or conveniently just parry such questions. Both for the sake of purity of thought and practicability such views need to be questioned and corrected to present an authentic picture of Ahi s in Jainism.
cr nga Sutra, a vet mbara canon comprising the first discourse of Mah vra the 24th and the last Trtha kara of the Jains, delivered about 2550 years ago, defines Ahi s thus:
"The saint with true vision conceives compassion for all the world, in east and west and south and north, and so, knowing the scared lore, he will preach and spread and proclaim it, among those who strive and those who do not, in fact among all those who are willing to hear him...He should do no injury to himself or any one else...The great sage becomes a refuge for injured creatures like an island which the can not overwhelm."
- cr nga Sutra (1.6.5)
In another verse cr nga sutra spells out Ahi s as:
"Thus say all the perfect souls and blessed ones, weather past, present or to come- thus hey speak, thus they declare, thus they proclaim: All things breathing, all things existing, all things living, all beings whatever, should not be slain or treated with violence, or insulted, or tortured, or driven away. This is the pure unchanging eternal low, which the wise ones who know the world have proclaimed, among the earnest and the non-earnest, among the loyal and the non-loyal, among those who have given up punishing others and those who have not done so, among those who are weak and those who are not, among those who delight in worldly ties and those who do not. This is the truth. So it is. Thus it is declared in this religion".
Tattv rtha Sutra of Um sw ti / Um sw mi (7/6), a treatise acceptable to both vet mbara and Digambara sects of Jainas, has also stressed the positive side of Ahi s:
"One should cultivate the feelings of fraternity toward all beings, pleasantness toward the proficient, compassion toward the destitute and equanimity toward the disrespectful unbelievers".
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V rasena, the renowned Digambara sage, who lived about 1200 years ago, described compassion as the intrinsic nature of soul in his voluminous commentary of atkhand gama popularly known as Dhaval.
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Kundakunda another great Digamber sage, who lived about 2000 years ago, and who is known more for stress on abstract spiritual path for the soul, enjoined that one should provide food to the hungry and water to the thirsty as it constituted Anukamp or Compassion (Pa c stik ya- 137). It may be noted that according to Tatty rtha S tra, liberation of the soul is possible only through the composite path of Samyak Dar ana (right doctrine). Samyak na (right knowledge) and Samyak Critra (right conduct). Further Bha ya (commentary) on Tattv rtha Sutra enumerates five characteristics of Samyak Dar ana of which the prominent one is Anukamp or Compassion. In short, according to canons, liberation of soul is not possible in the absence of compassion. A human quality like compassion, which according to Tattv rtha Sutra and its commentary helps the process of liberation, obviously cannot be the cause of bondage.
c rya Kundakunda in his book - Bodha P huda stated that only that is Dharma, which is leavened with compassion.
There are even more positive and emphatic directions in the original canons of vet mbara Jainas which promote humanism and compassionate action, which are synonyms of Ahis. For example Sth n nga Sutra - (eight chapter) ordains the following:
Be ready to listen to hither to unknown noble doctrine. Be ready to follow noble conduct. Be ready to block inflow of Papa - Karmas through practice of austerities. Be ready to help and provide refuge to the destitute and helpless. Be ready to educate the uneducated. Be ready to serve the ailing with joy. Be ready to resolve differences, strife, conflicts etc. among the colleagues and bring about harmony.
Similarly the following dialogue between Mah vira and ga adhara Gautama reported in: va yaka sutra, Commentary by Haribhadra, leaves 661-662 requires in similar commitment:
Bhagv na! Who is to be commended, the one who serves the ailing and distressed? Gautama. He who serves the ailing and distressed is to be commended. Bhagw na! Why is it so? Gautama! He who serves the ailing distressed, serves me. He who serves me serves the ailing
and distressed. This is the pith and substances of the doctrine of Arihantas. Therefore, O Gautama! I say - he who serves the ailing and distressed, serves the ailing and distressed. Therefore, one who serves it to be commended?
In fact the Jaina scriptures are replete with large number of equally effective references, which highlight the need of compassion along with non-killing and non-harming. Recently a book "Sakr tmaka Ahis: striya aur C ritrika dh ra" authored by Mr. K. L. Lodha and published by Prakrit Bharti Academy, Jaipur (India) has extensively gleaned verses from vet mbara gamas and Digambara sources to put across this aspect of the wholeness of the concept of Ahims.
Both of the Jaina clergy and laity, great and minor vows (Vratas) are mandated by Jaina canons. These are common to all sects of Jainas. Among them, the first vow or Vrata is for Ahis. The classical definitions of these vows for Ahi s are as under (mainly for clergy)
"I renounce all killing (included hurting) of living beings, whether subtle or gross, whether movable or immovable. Neither shall I myself kill (not hurt) living beings, nor cause others to do it, nor consent to it".
( va yaka sutra)
Anuvrata for Ahis : (mainly for laity) "I renounce all intentional killing (including hurting) of gross (mobile) living beings. Neither shall I myself kill (nor hurt) living beings nor cause others to o it".
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(Up akada nga sutra - 1/13 and Ratnakaranda rvak c ra
Apart from being both positive and negative, Ahis is a comprehensive concept from another angel as well. Ahis does not mean mere absence of physical violence. It is also a psychic phenomenon. Ahis has to be practiced at levels of "mana" (thought) "vacana" (speech) and "k ya" (body). In fact the basis of violence is "Bh va" (thought and feeling). There is a possibility that there may be no Hi sa (Violence) even if there is physical harm, as in case of the death of a patient in an operation in the absence of the intent to kill. On the other hand, even without physical violence, an adverse or unwholesome thought may be tantamount to violence Jainism has extend the idea of culpability regarding violence to a situation where the person has abetted pr approved the harm or killing. No loophole is left out. This approach adds to the fullness of the concept of Ahims
According to Jainism, the concept and practice of Ahis transcends the human beings and covers even the smallest of the creatures. All life is sacred and as such cannot be tortured, maimed, or destroyed and instead has to be respected. This is a unique feature that further enlarges the range and intensity of this idea and conduct of Ahi s.
Mah vra also emphasized friendship (maitr or mitty) with all the beings at all levels over the entire universe. He said, "May I be the friend of all beings. Further I should not harbor any ill-will with any being anywhere". (Pratikramana Sutra / va yaka Sutra). Friendship is nothing but the positive aspect of Ahi s. Maitr and Ahis are two sides of the same coin
Vi es va yaka sutra provides sixty synonymous of Ahis including anukamp (compassion) and Day (piety). Some of these aspects have been specially brought out because they exhibit the keenness of the Jaina scholars to delve deep into the physical and psychological nature of man and his actions, and present a philosophy and practice which is all-embracing and beneficial. Additionally these facts have a bearing on the actual practice of Ahis in real life, an aspect that would be dwelt with later
Shorn of the arguments based on religiosity, the commonsensical and rational basis of Ahis is provided both by Mah v ra and Buddha. cr nga Sutra states:
"...... in support of this truth (Ahis ) I ask you a question. "Is sorrow or pain desirable to
you?"
"If you say, 'yes it is,' it would be a lie as it is against the evident reality. If you say, 'no it is not. You will be telling the truth. What I want to add to the truth expressed by you is that as the sorrow or pain is not desirable to you, so it is to all which breath, exists, lives or have any essence of life. To you and all it is undesirable, painful and repugnant".
This brings out the universal abhorrence to pain or sorrow and leads to the conclusion that since nobody wants pain or sorrow, we should not cause pain or sorrow to anyone. Similarly canons also stress that since all beings desire happiness, our efforts should be to work towards the happiness to all. Kant, the great western philosopher, was one asked whether he knew what the truth was. He, with his humility, replied in the negative. Further on being asked whether he could at least suggest the path of reaching the truth, he mentioned one of his categorical imperatives namely that something which is truth must be universal. Using this Kantian touchstone, Ahis emerges as the truth, because of its universality in terms of revulsion to pain or killing and common desire for happiness among all the living beings. Buddha also preaches similar views.
The other support for Ahis is ethical. Jainism believes in plurality and equality of souls. No soul has an ethical right to dominate or harm the other beings. All souls deserve similar treatment. By harming another soul, in a way, we are harming our own similar souls. cr nga Sutra again sums up this idea:
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"That which you consider destroyable is (like) yourself. That which you consider disciplinable is (like) yourself. That which you consider worth harming is (like) yourself That which you consider worth subjugating is (like) yourself. That which you consider worth killing is (like) yourself. The result of action done by you has to be borne by you, so do not destroy anything".
►
The principle of equality of souls however is at times applied wrongly. In Jaina canons the synonyms of "Hi sa" or violence is the expression "prtip ta" which means that the sin of killing is in proportion to the "prs" taken. It is a subtle aspect, which needs to be explained. Soul or Jva" is indestructible and what can be killed is only the body. For bodies Mah vra gives a five-fold classification. According to him bodies are one - sensed, two-sensed, three-sensed, four-sensed and five-sensed. The micro level creatures in air, water earths etc are one-sensed. On the other hand man or other large creatures have five-senses. The level of "pr " in these categories of life forms increases with the number of senses. For example man has ten "prs". According to Mah vra the killing of a man is far more sinful than the killing of lower forms of lives possessing lesser number of "Karmas" by being a vegetarian rather than a meat eater.
There is yet another aspect. Violence is an expression of power and not ethics. Violence is possible with means of confinement, punishment, destruction etc. but such instrumentalities have little ethical justification except possibly in case of self-defence. Taking a subjective and insular view, some philosophies and doctrine tried to make man the center of universe and reduced all other beings as subordinate ones, required to subserve him only. However there is no ethical or rational basis of such a proposition. But resultant rituals (as distinguished from ethics) arising out of such man-centric arrogant views are unfortunately projected as mandatory principals to be followed and even fought for
Rhetorically Max Heindel asks, "We can not create so much as one particle of dust, therefore what right have we to destroy the very least form?"
2.2 Science of Ahi S Ahis also receives science-based commendation. This is a new development. Science, as the source of instruments and weapons of destruction and mass killing and violence, has been the cause of maximum and unprecedented violence in the world. But paradoxically science now is providing the most cogent and convincing conceptual basis of Ahis. The emerging science of Genetics unravels the ultimate structure and combination of genes in form of chromosomes. The results are amazing. The difference between the genes of a man and chimpanzee is hardly 0.6 percent. The swine and man again may not differ by more than 5 percent in their genes. Many more such parallels have been given by science. In fact the genetic code of life is similar from the smallest bacteria of man. With this kind of closeness and similarity between man and other living beings, violence against the latter is scientifically indefensible. Just as man is not allowed to kill another man on the ground of similarity and closeness, killing of animal by man should also come to an end. However such old habits, particularly dietary ones, die-hard. But like racialism, ill-treatment and, even worse, killing of animals, which some of the proponents of ethics call specie-ism should also come to an end. But we will have to face a long and bitter resistance and fight from conservative and vested interests.
The science of Neurology clearly brings out the existence of neurons, their networking and the feeling of pain among the animals. Thus from this angle, these other creatures are not different from man. Non- expression of pain in some cases of animals is no justification for their killing. On the other hand, even the life of man starts from a single cell that also does not have any neuron. But that cell develops into human beings that sense pain and pleasure. Therefore, it will be incorrect to think that living organism which do not have nerve cells do not experience the feeling of pain or hurt.
Science of Environment also enjoins that one should be acutely conscious of life in other animals, plants, other components of nature and microbes. Further there is strong factor of interdependence between living organism as well as the abiotic part of the environment. The damaged caused to the
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environment leading to denudation of forests, global warming, drying up of glaciers, rivers, lakes and other water resources and pollution of air, water and land has already caused catastrophic effects on the existence of life on Earth.
Amazingly, the first formal and detailed declaration on environmental protection covering air, earth, water, fire, vegetation and other increasingly higher forms of life reaching up to the level of man, was made by Mah v ra in his first set of discourses delivered more than 2550 years ago and embodied in cr nga sutra. There are seven sections in the first chapter of cr nga Sutra dealing with the subject of environment only. Mah vra strongly pleads for recognition of life in air, earth, water, vegetation etc. and desires that one should be careful not to damage it. To give a flavour of what he said, it may be apposite to quote aphorisms 113 to 117 of cr nga Sutra as under:
"Comparison of plant life with Human life - 113
(a) This (i.e. human being) is born; (b) This grows;
(c) This possesses consciousness; (d) On being cut this becomes sad;
(e) This takes nourishment;
(f) This is mortal;
(g) This not eternal;
(h) There is metabolism (anabolism;
(i) This undergoes various transformations (such as ageing etc.).
this (i.e. plant) too is born. this too grows
this too possesses consciousness this too becomes sad (i.e. withers) on being cut.
this too takes nourishment.
this too is mortal.
this too is not eternal.
there is metabolism in this too and catabolism) in this (i.e. building up of new cells and decaying of old cells);
this too undergoes various transformations (such as ageing etc.)
He who uses a weapon on the beings of vegetable body has neither comprehended nor forsworn actions (causing violence to the beings of vegetable body and other beings residing in the vegetable). 114.
(On the contrary) he, who does not use any weapon on the beings of vegetable body, has comprehended and forsworn actions (causing violence to the beings of vegetable body, and other beings residing in it).115
Having discerned this, a sage should neither use weapon-causing violence to the beings of vegetable body, nor cause others to use it, nor approve of others using it. 116
He who discerns (i.e. comprehends and forswears) the actions that cause violence to the beings of vegetable body, can be regarded as a (true) ascetic (for a true ascetic is he) who has discerningly forsworn actions". 117
Modern science discovered life or consciousness in plants life only about a hundred years ago, whereas Mah vra, without the aid of scientific instruments, could discern life in plants more than 2550 years ago. His teaching, if followed, will go long way in preserving the environment.
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Ahis is also necessary for practical reasons. As mentioned earlier violence begets violence. Besides, violence does not solve problems in the long run. Further all life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence. (Parasparopagraho Jiv nam)
3.0
Application of Ahi s
We may now consider the application of Ahi s in day today life of common man.
As already stated, normal life at individual, social, national and international level is rife with violence ranging from pretty one to horrendous levels. For the sake of mutual safety and comfort, social amity and international peace, action of various types, at different levels, may be necessary.
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Undoubtedly one has to be seriously concerned about the weapons of mass destructions that might wipe out the entire life from our planet, or other grave forms of violence. But to concentrate exclusively on the larger issue of disarmament or other measures dealing with high dimensional violence is unlikely to lead to any real and meaningful change in the situation. Opinions on these aspects, though well meaning, may be high-sounding but hollow in terms of practicability and efficacy. Many of the movements for peace in the world, though needed, have at best been vapory. What is required is to focus on individual, however ordinary he might be. In fact, to obtain positive results, even though insignificant, one has to think of the application of Ahi s in day-to-day life of
common man.
प्र
The root cause of all violence is invariably to be sited in the mind of the smallest component of human society, an individual. It is at this level that proper education and ensuring action is required.
3.1
Ahi s at individual level
Individuals would have to truly and sincerely practice Ahi s in their daily life. With personal commitment to Ahi s and personal transformation of individual, the real remedy to violence could be found. One of the major problems with many of the protest groups, trying to fight against violence at national and international levels, is that personally they are not non-violent. One of the reasons why Gandhiji also could not succeed many a time was that a large number of his followers advocated non-violence at the social level but did not practice non-violence at the personal level.
Mah vra realized this during his time and stressed upon reformation of the individual and prescribed a detailed code of conduct of good and peaceful behavior. Mahatma Gandhi also emphasized it and made the individual mind as his focus of address and action.
Even at the expense of repetition, it needs to be stated that the violence at the level of the nationstates or comity of mations is not a matter of unconcern but if we only talk of that and ignore Ahi s at the individual level, we are unlikely to obtain positive results.
There could be many practical and concrete steps to promote harmony peace and Ahi s. Some of the suggestions in these regards are mentioned below.
As a primary step, human welfare projects should be planned at individual, social national or international levels. It does not matter if these projects are small. If they are bigger and serve larger number of people, the effort is equally welcome. The quality and intent of service is even more important. Such projects should first take care of the basic needs including those of water, food, housing, education and medicine. Generally when somebody is fed or given water or treated, his immediate response is one of happiness and gratitude. The spontaneous smile on his face is selfexpressive and touching. A new type and level of communication is established between the giver and the receiver. It is a mutually satisfying experience. It is beneficial to the helper as to the receiver. It is, to use a modern cliché, a win-win situation. Negative thoughts and actions are dispelled. It is not for nothing that Mother Teresa was called the apostle of kindness and Calcutta (or now Kolkota) is named the City of Joy. This is the most effective method of bringing diverse individuals and groups together. Here, instead of indifference there is a concern. Hatred, if any, is replaced by harmony. And sadness is substituted with joy. This is the real alchemy of Ahimsa. If this idea is extended to the individuals of other faiths or countries, results are increasingly satisfying. Recently a free heart surgery of a resource-less girl from Pakistan in a well-known hospital in Bangalore in India generated an unusual goodwill between the peoples of India and Pakistan, generally not considered to be the best of the friends. Many of the diplomatic moves could not match it.
Incidentally despite the efforts of some Jaina scholars and c ryas beset with their own sectarian thinking, to deprive Ahi s of its true positive meaning, Jainas in India and abroad do charity on a large scale. In India few can match them. They run several schools, hospitals orphanages, food and water distribution centers, animal sanctuaries etc. It is a case of heart getting the better of sterile and inhuman concepts, wrongly propounded by some of the sub-sects of Jainas.
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One example of such compassion action is Bhagw na Mah vra Vikl nga Sah yat Samiti (BMVSS), which was set up in 1975 to provide artificial limbs/ calipers others aid and appliances to the handicapped. It is my privilege to be is founder and now its chief patron. BMVSS provides free artificial limbs to the amputees, calipers to the polio patients and others aids and appliances to the handicapped. By now BMVSS has provided over 8, 00, 000 aids and appliances totally free of charge in last 30 years. It is the largest limb / caliper fitting organization in the world. For example in the financial years 2004-2005 BMVSS fitted over 17,000 handicapped with artificial limbs in a year. 90% of the patients of BMVSS are below the poverty line. Beneficiaries belong to different faiths and regions. They speak of Mah vra as the lord of compassion. BMVSS also held camps in 18 countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, where the impact is equally complimentary. For example Dawn, the leading newspaper of Pakistan and generally a critic of India, in its issue of 19th January 2002 said this for our third on-the-spot limb fitment camp at Kabul:
"As aid pours into Afghanistan, a special consignment from India is probably bringing more happiness to Kabul than the rest of the world's cargo combined. The consignment consists of thousand pieces of Jaipur Foot. Along with the consignment went a team from BMVSS, a Jaipur charity that provide artificial legs for the poor----"
In October 2003 BMVSS held a limb-fitment camp in the compound of the second largest mosque of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir where extremists are still active. The banners of BMVSS, which highlighted the words "Bhagw na Mah vra", were displayed in the compound of the mosque. We were told that this was an unusual event. The naming of Hindu or Jaina Lord in mosque or Allah in a temple was unthinkable without sparking off communal riots in India. But we were welcome. Such is the soothing impact of compassion and Ahi s
Similar is the response in other parts of the country and the world.
Mother Teresa personally visited our center and used to send all her amputees to us. One of her nuns, who had lost her leg was provided with an artificial leg by us. We saw the same nun praying and kneeling before the cross in Mother Teresa home in Kolkota. The present Sisters of Charity Kolkota also sends her cases to us. We hold camps with Ramakrishna Mission, ankar c rya rams and others without any distinction. This kind of wide support again is the result of compassionate activity transcending all differences.
The compassionate projects small or big should also extend to animals. Compassion like peace is indivisible. One cannot be cruel to animals and compassionate to man. Once brutalization starts, its impact is not limited. The mechanized slaughterhouses, inhuman animal farms and other organized torture and killing need to be exposed so that individuals can make informed choices about their conduct and food. The industrial lobbies in these sectors however are reported to be so strong that even the media is virtually silent on these matters. Dietary habits are one's own choices but what is needed is transparency about the process. Besides on the positive side, the value of compassion towards animals needs to be inculcated among the younger generations. Compassion clubs and such other institutions need to be set up and encouraged. An extensive educational drive is needed.
3.2 Ahi s at interpersonal level
Application of Ahi s to inter-personal relationships is equally important. Because of ego, the other person's viewpoint is not appreciated and this becomes the origin of all conflicts. Additionally, earlier the rigidity in thought was often because of ignorance. Now we have a new phenomenon and the rigidity is, at times, on account of blind rationality.
Thought human knowledge is relative but, if people treat it as absolute, and make it the basis of Anek nta, has great relevance. This principle has many dimensions. It has seven-fold logic. It is a theory of relativity. It is a principle of ethics and human relationship. Under this principle I may be right or wrong as much as the other person. The moment I recognize that I could be wrong from one perspective, may conduct can never be dogmatic or fundamentalist and my behavior is bound to be amicable. Some profound scholars have pointed out that the Semitic philosophies and cultures suffer from the concept of the excluded middle: things are either good or bad or white or black with no intermediate stages or gray colours. This may not be conducive to tolerance and hence may give birth
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to religious concept of Ahis and is also, in a way, partly subsumed by Ahis permits thousands of flowers to bloom.
Keeping the above in view as also recognizing the equality of all souls, the cardinal core of Ahis one has to be considerate to and appreciative of the views of other persons. In practical terms, at the level of individuals, what is needed is that lines of communications between man and man, husband and wife, parents and children, friends and foes must remain open. Further, the communication must be non-violent by being proper in its language and thoughtful in respecting the other person and his view. Those who have tried this know that this is the best way of conflict resolution.
The same principle applies to inter- faith relationships. If the leaders and followers of different religious starts knowing the other faiths and talking to their leaders and believers, things would be different. Most of the problems arise because people live in their religious cocoons. Dara Shukoh, the heir apparent of Shahajahan, the great Moghul who built Taj Mahal, was a great scholar. He was a liberal and tolerant person. In his book - The Meeting of Oceans, he observed that the day pundits i.e. Hindu priests and maulvies i.e. Muslim religious leaders, could sit together and talk, most of the differences between the followers of these two religions would not even arise. His further comment was more practical. He felt that the interested parties would however not let such meetings take place. With the present state of intolerance and terrorism, efforts have to be made for inter-faith dialogues to be conducted in non-violent, non accusive, non-dominent and in an appreciative language.
There is also a need for having greater interaction with the scholars and practiseners of Christianity, which is known for its concern for the poor and the service it renders to them.
3.3 Dos and Don'ts Yet another way to achieve proper and harmonious conduct is to follow the basic principle of carefulness and restraint in thought, speech and conduct. For this Jainism has provided the concepts of samiti and guptis.
Samiti includes carefulness and caution in all activities and guptis include restrain in through and conduct. There has to be training and discipline for these so that they become the part of our second nature. For this, the modern psychological techniques could be used to instill these ideas not only in the individual's conscious mind that habit formation takes place. It is also particularly necessary that our response to any verbal comment or physical act must not be immediately reactive: it must be a paused and restrained one. The moment there is an intervening time element; the violent response may become muted. In short, sa yama (another expression for restrain) and viveka (discretion) should guide our thought and conduct.
The other pertinent and important idea is that of Pratikrama a, which is followed by devout Jainas. It means a daily critical self-appraisal and confession with the commitment to make an effort not to repeat the wrongs including violence towards man and other creatures. As is common, such practices tend to become mere formalities and rituals. But if Pratikrama a practiced in its true spirit, overtime, a person is likely to be considerate and non-violent in his daily life. When we are talking of restraint, another primary principle of Jainism namely Aparigraha comes to the fore. At times violence at individual, social, national and international levels is rooted in greed and related economic causes.
While for laity, economic endeavor is inevitable and permitted; it has to be qualified by certain norms. In the first place undue possessiveness needs to be restrained and regulated. Mammon should not be allowed to become God. Secondly there must be the concept of sharing: call it giving, tithe, zak ta, d na or visarjan. As the wise say, living is giving.
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6.0.a Ahis / Non violence; its dimensions and practices
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain Preamble: Ahis is the sum and substance of Jain philosophy and its path of spiritual purification. It is not just non-killing as commonly understood but also includes non injury not only to others but more important to self also. Equating his to sin (p pa) gives special status to Ahis in Jainism as it enhanes not only happiness in the present life but even to attain heavenly destiny and the ultimate liberation from the cycles of transmigration. Ahi s starts from the thought activity and then moves to the verbose expressions and lastly to the physical actions of committing violence. Picture-l shows the thought colourations of an individual in different states of mental dispositions while picture-IT depicts the Jain slogan of Live and let live. In this paper we shall briefly discuss the evolution of Ahis to its essentiality for our very survival as humanity and the ways we can practice it to make this world at least a non-killing society
1.0 1.1
Evolution and definition of Ahis in India's philosophical system: Evolution of Ahis:
From the Vedic texts (app. 1500BC), we find that yajñas were the primary religious practices in India. Animal sacrifice and non vegetarian food were the popular religious and social customs. 22nd Jain tirathankara Nemin th renounced the world and the family on the eve of his marriage to R jul to show compassion to animals brought for slaughtering and serving at his wedding. He was the cousin of Lord Krishna. Around 1000BC we find cow's sanctity creeping in more for social and material benefits rather than spiritual. Thus passages on love of men and kindness to animals are found. 230 Jain tirthankara P rsvan tha showed compassion to the snake couple who were dieing in fire; saved their life and the couple became Dhare dra and Padm vati as heavenly beings Around 800 B.C. animal sacrifice disappeared. Emphasis on inwardness of morality and significance of motives in conduct. Self-control, charity and compassion established as virtues. Meat eating denounced. Ahis parmodharma or non violence is the supreme austerity concept in Mah bh rata Around 550 B.C. 24h Jain tirthankara Mah vra established the concepts of soul, karma and assigns responsibility for actions and results to individuals. Under his guidance, Jainism took Ahis to its extreme form whereby the entire Jain religion, its philosophy and ethics are based on Ahis only. Around 500-300 B.C, influenced by Mah vra and Buddha, Patanjali called Ahis as supreme virtue and de-emphasized yajñas. He said Ahis is unconditional and universally applicable."
The above shows briefly the evolution of non violence in India. Jainism is credited of being the main propounding religion of non violence in its subtlest from. We shall therefore discuss non violence here with main focus on its discussion and implementation in Jainism.
1.2 Definition of Ahi s. In an unprecedented way Mah vra clarified Ahi s. Incr ga he says, "none of the living beings ought to be killed or deprived of life, ought to be ordered or ruled, ought to be enslaved or possessed, ought to be distressed or afflicted and ought to be put to unrest or disquiet. (savve p
a ha tavva ajj vetavva, a ajj vetavy a parighettavy, a parit veyavy a uddveyaw). Thus the y ro (arga) conclusively pronounces that after understanding the importance of kindness to beings, the enlightened person should preach, disseminate and applaud it at all places in East-West and North-South directions. (daya logassa j itta pia padi a d hina udi a aikkhe vihae kitte vedavi)
Later on in The Pra navy kara a S tra he designates Social Ahi s as kindness (day ), security (raks ), salutariness (kall a), fearlessness (abhaya), non-killer (am dh ), equanimity (samat ), forgiveness (kşam ) and so on by 64 different names.'
The coverage of Ahis is so vast that it does not refer only to our external activities (like hurting or
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killing by physical means only) but it refers more strongly to the internal activities of mind, both physical and psychic. Thus Ahi s is defined as:
'Knowingly or unknowingly not causing pain or killing of any living being by activities of mind, body or speech; or not asking others to do so or not to admire or support those who do so is Ahi s'.
To be non violent, Amrit Candra in Puruş rtha Siddhi Up yå'beautifully discusses and describes the following four elements and show how they are directed towards the one who is committing violence and indirectly towards the one on whom violence is being committed:
Hi sya or the one on whom the violence is to be committed.
Hi saka or the one who commits the act of violence
His or the act of committing violence
Hisk fala or the results of committing violence
1.3
Types of Ahi s and results
Ahi s can be of many types depending on the type of living being subjected to his called hi sya; agent (called hi saka); the act of committing his and the result of committing his. Similarly from the conduct / practice viewpoint, it can be complete for ascetics or partial for householders. From the hi sya view we can say ahi s is of two types namely gross (of 2 to 5 sensed living beings) and subtle (of one sensed living beings). From the hi saka viewpoint we can say ahis is of 432 types as detailed below:
1
Hi saka or the agent /doer of his (3): krta, karita and anumodita "doing oneself, making someone else to do, and appreciating one who does it"
Activities involved in committing his (3): samarambha, sam rambha and rambha 'intend to commit, preparation to do and actual doing'.
Motive behind his (4): krodha, m na, m y and lobha 'anger, pride, deceit and greed". Intensity of motive behind his (4): anant nubandhi, apraty kh na, praty kh na and sanjavalana 'intense, mild, moderate or gleaming' like line drawn on rock, mud, sand and water.
Media/ instruments of committing his (3): mana, vacana and k ya 'mind, speech and body' c ra ga in its first chapter talks of six types of living beings; air bodied, water bodied, fire bodied, earth bodied and plant bodied that are with one sense organ and stationery i.e. cannot move on their own; and trasa or the living being, which can move to achieve their objectives and have 2 to 5 sense organs. It suggests that the souls of all living being are similar to our own soul.
2
3
4
5
When we think of the source or origin of violence, we come to our thought process first. What ever we do in our life, we first think through either hastily or in a planned manner all the activities we are going to undertake along with their consequences. Thus the beginning of any violent activity starts with our thinking or mind. Jains say that the thinking of violence is directly related to our feelings of attachment or aversion to those against whom we wish to be violent. Hence we first use our mind and then to implement His by body and speech. We thus see that if we think of his we have committed it already even if we do not implement/ express it by body or speech due to our inadequacies or other circumstances. Similarly the motive behind our thought and the intensity thereof also contribute to the type of violence we commit.
Talking of the results of hi s, karma doctrine of Jains say the one who commits violence will also be caused pain suitably either immediately or in future. We observe this in our own life as 'when we think of committing violence we are preoccupied with the cruel thoughts as love, compassion etc disappear and our body starts showing ill effects like hypertension, anxiety, sleeplessness etc'. The hi sya naturally is a victim who suffers the results even though not involved in the act. Thus Jains have classified his as demerit/p pa or sin.
2.0
Dimensions of His :
Historical evidence is available from religious parables like Adi Purana, Ramayana, and Mahabharata and other Jain pur nas. Our own observations of recent times show the deadly and at times devastating results of violence committed as the coverage of violence and mass killing is increasing
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regularly.
1
Adi pur na: Bharat Bahubali dual;
2 Ramayana: Killing of individual/s
3
Mahabharat: Killing of a family/s.
4
1965-75: Community or countries affected
5 1980s-: The entire world getting affected.
The advent of technology has enhanced significantly the impact and method of committing his. We see its impact in the deaths of Nehruji (sickness), Sanjay Gandhi in plane crash, Indira Gandhi was murdered in her own protected home and Rajiv Gandhi was murdered by suicide attackers. India (claim to be peaceful nation) spends enormous amount to protect its leaders and suffer losses due to terrorism and violence alone. In our present day world also, we can see that use of force to win a war or eliminate discord or differences in religious-political ideologies results in escalation of violence causing more miseries than reducing them (Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Indo-Pak troubles etc.). Some facts about his are given below:
I.
II.
III.
His affects the doer i.e. hi saka more than the hi sya (the victim). So even for our own selfish gains we must observe non-violence. We can see enhanced cruelty in our thinking, anger and uneasiness all through our body and mind causing stress and associated problems. Once committed, the hi sya starts getting ready to take revenge and hence the hi saka has to be involved in amassing more violent tools and devices and becomes more and more engrossed in hi sa. Terrorism in various forms is the result of violence committed by the state or the ones who are powerful.
Ecology: Killing the five types of living beings i.e. those with air or water or fire or earth or plant as their bodies, is called environment pollution. Even killing animals and other living beings cause natural / ecological imbalances.
Social ills: Girl child killing in the womb, use of cosmetics and leather products from unborn and newly born animals, foods causing thousands of living beings getting killed for just one meal, class system dividing the society in low caste, middle casts or high castes etc on the basis of birth, race or colour are different ways of committing violence. Growing intolerance, selfishness are some of the social ills caused by enhanced his
We thus see that violence affects individuals /societies / countries and the whole humanity resulting in total destruction. Violence has assumed ghastly dimensions with the advent of technology and hence necessitating the adoption of an Ahi saka or non-killing society and the whole world.
3.0 Practicing Ahi s
Jain resources for exploration of potentials for non-killing societies are abundant. At the core are spiritual, philosophical, scientific, social and other aspects of Jain thought and practice that can be and are being creatively adapted to promote non-killing conditions of 21st century life all over the world'.
3.1
Spiritual practice of Ahi s
Ahi s in Jainism is primarily for self (internal which is eliminating or avoiding attachment and aversion) as well as for others (not giving pain to others). Causing pain to one's own self is even his and is to be avoided. Jains say the attachment is the root cause of transmigration and all pains associated. As Jain path of spiritual purification is called the science of detachment, so internal Ahi s can be equated to equanimity or detachment; the fundamental requirement of eliminating attachment. It can be termed as having no attraction even towards one's body or to have equal attachment with every living being. Actually internal Ahis is not possible without developing equanimity to all. In Jain terminology, the internal Ahi s is from transcendental viewpoint while the external is from practical viewpoint. Internal Ahi s i.e. total abstinence from his is practiced by ascetics as they withdraw themselves completely from worldly indulgences and spend all their time for spiritual beneficiation.
For the ascetics the essential duties are (S m yika or State of equanimity of the self, Caturvi atistva or reciting the virtues of the 24 tirtha karas: Vand n or veneration of the holy
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teacher/s; Pratikrama a or visiting the mistakes committed during the day and seek forgiveness and punishment; K yostarga or relaxation i.e. developing a feeling of separateness of body and self; Praty kh na or determination to not commit the fault again), the five major (or total observance) vows or mah vratas (Ahi s, satya, acaurya, aparigraha and b hmacarya), five attitudes of carefulness (samiti) and three attitudes of restraint (gupti) along with 27/28 primary attributes and twenty two afflictions to be won (parişaha jai).
For the householders, the six essential duties are (devap j (worshipping the omniscient), gur - up sati (veneration of the holy teachers), sv dhy ya (self study), sa yama (self restraint), d na (charity), tapa (austerities), praty kh na or vowing not to make mistakes or practice), five minor vows called a uvratas (Ahi s, satya, acaurya, aparigraha and b hmacarya, three gu avratas and four iks vratas. vet mbara Jains observe the six essential duties of the ascetics only.
3.2 Philosophical / ethical practice of Ahi s 11
Jain philosophy says that the inherent nature of soul is to be in its own nature of knowledge and bliss i.e. no body wants to die or have pain. Being happy or Bliss is the nature of soul and everybody wants to attain this state. If this is so then not killing or not giving pain to anybody is GOOD or moral and the reverse is no GOOD and hence is to be avoided. This is the basis of all moral and ethical postulates of Jainism from the practical viewpoint. Convergent validation for this non-killing thesis can be found in the first global survey by the World Health Organization of deaths by suicide, homicide, and war which conclude that "violence is a preventable disease" (WHO, 2005).
Jain ethical practices are based on the six essential duties ( va yakas), five vows and several supplementary vows. The essential duties are primarily to indulge in spiritual practices and to review the daily's activities and seek corrections for flaws committed while the vows are actual practices/conduct to avoid hi s
For householders, the emphasis is on minimization of his. Accordingly Jain texts10 talk of four types of his namely:
1
rambh or that associated with lifestyle.
2 Udyog or that associated with professional activities, e.g. agriculture
3
Virodh or Self-defense i.e. to protect oneself from the enemies
4 Sa kalp or premeditated done due feelings of attachment and aversion towards others.
The first three types are such that a common man cannot avoid them completely. Violence against two to five sensed beings is to be avoided completely except in a few situations. The first two types are basically addressed to living beings having one sense organ only namely with air, fire, water, earth and plants bodies living beings. Therefore the householder is advised to practice carefulness and minimize such violence towards them. The third type is primarily for self-defense and for correcting the violent or wrong tendencies of others and is allowed in a limited manner. The fourth type is completely prohibited even to him/ her as it is simply to satisfy one's ego or interest and committed due to ignorance or wrong knowledge and attachment/ aversion.
It is important to talk a little about the ways of practicing the above while minimizing violence. Here the emphasis in Jainism is on prevention through the attitude of carefulness in all our activities and putting restrains on our activities of mind, body and speech. Some examples of practicing these are given below:
ii.
iii.
iv.
Keeping the house and our environment clean and as germ free as possible. This will ensure that insects / germs, ants do not bother us by there presence. If we do not keep our environment clean, then cockroaches, ants, flies, mosquitoes etc will pervade our home and force us to get rid of them.
Straining or making the water germ free by using technology (RO, boiling, other technologies).
Eating plant based food. Here efforts need to be made to each such plant based food which does not harm or kill the plants as much as possible. Avoid toxic foods, drinks and
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V.
vi.
vii.
1
2
3
those derived from animal kingdom.
Minimize abuse of environment by not disturbing fauna and flora or causing emission of pollutants in the air /water.
In order to avoid and reduce his, we have to keep in mind the three deterring forces to his namely:
Avoiding business or professional activities involving harming /injuring or killing living beings.
3.2
Understanding others viewpoints before creating conflicts. Try finding solutions through dialogue before using force to impose solution.
Expression of his by body is deterred or punished by the government or legal system. Expression of his by speech is deterred by the society. If we utter any unpleasant words, we immediately get a reprimand from the society. The government can hardly do anything. Expression of his by mind is deterred only by you i.e. the individual only because it hurts the individual the most. Therefore Jain scriptures lay emphasizes mental purity the most. In the judicial system, the law awards severe punishment for pre planned or intentional crimes and at times let the accused be free if it is accidental or just circumstantial. Thus the most important method is to develop control on ourselves to be ahi saka.
Scientific practice of Ahi s?
Unprecedented self-understanding of not killing human capabilities is becoming possible from bioneuroscience to every field of knowledge. Scientific knowledge of the causes of killing, the causes of non-killing, the causes of transition between killing and non-killing, and of the characteristics of completely killing-free societies can assist human liberation from lethality and practicing the ethical postulates of Ahi s.
Similarly the contribution of science in ecology and its various conservancy policies and practices are a direct corollary to Mah v ra's definition of Ahi s and living beings (specially his unique emphasis on one sensed living beings). Plants have life by Sir J.C. Basu, global warming, self rejuvenating nature of air/water from certain levels of pollution are all based on the concept of such resources as similar to being organic in nature or as living beings and supporting the practice of ethical postulates of Ahi s.
3.4
Social practice of Ahi s
Lord Mah vra designates social Ahis by sixty four synonyms such as kindness (day), security (raks), salutariness (kall a), fearlessness (abhaya), non-killer (am dh ), equanimity (samat ), forgiveness (kşam) and so on by sixty four different names.' this is the basis of social Ahi s as per Jains. On closer analysis, we find almost all other religions in the world emphasize these which are mere applications of social Ahi s. Live and let live slogan of Jains is based on equality of all living beings to live and enjoy the fruits of their actions. Sharing our wealth, helping the destitute in particular and others in general are the applications of Ahi s. Jains are known for their philanthropic activities associated with establishing institutions like school, orphanages, homes of destitute, hospitals and other health services. 12 practicing these sixty four applications of Ahi s will result in a peaceful and friendly society.
In our own life time, we see Mahatma Gandhi implementing Saty graha based on the application of Ahi s to free India from the mighty British Empire. Martin Luther King and Neilson Mandela in USA and South Africa are other popular leaders who practiced Ahi s propagated by Mahatma Gandhi to successfully fight for their oppressed communities.
Vegetarian diet can be seen as another example of practicing social Ahi s which takes the benefit not only to us vegetarians but to others as well (like the animal kingdom, ecology, economics and in the reduction of cruel activities rampant in the society) 13. In recent times we find the number of people switching over to vegetarian diet is exponentially increasing based on their educated choices. Similarly reciting and contemplating on prayers like Meri Bh van by Jugal Kishore and locan P tha
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daily can help us become more mentally alert in being non violent. On the other hand lack of practicing Ahi s by few is causing havoc in the form terrorism, insecurity, intolerance and no value for life of others perhaps leading us all to extinction.
Other consideration of Ahi s
Parasparopagraha jv n ma 14 or living beings help each other is the doctrine leading us to practice co-existence at least as human community, smallest to largest, local to global, characterized by no killing of humans, at least; no threats to kill; no weapons designed to kill humans and no justifications for using them; and no social conditions that are dependent upon threat or use of killing force for maintenance or change. We thus see emergence of special interest groups like Non-violent communications, ecology preservation, human and animal rights, and setting up departments in universities all over the world to teach and research on Ahi s and even setting up a university on Ahi s. The United Nations has declared October 2nd as the World Non Violence Day to be celebrated all over the world.
3.5
In the end, I conclude that there are no choices left except to understand, preach, practice and put all efforts to make this world a non-killing society else? Thus Mah vra's conclusive pronouncement that after understanding the importance of kindness to beings, the enlightened person should preach, disseminate and applaud it at all places in East-West and North-South directions is very timely for us who understand Ahi s.
References
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7
8.
9.
10
11.
12.
13.
14.
Evolution of Nov Violence by Dr.Manoj Jain MD, MPH. He is the convener of Non violence forum in Memphis Tenn USA.
24 Tirthanakara Maha Purana by Br. Hari Lal Songarh.
Mahabharat verse /page
Patanjali Sutra 2/35 'Ahi s pratisth ya
tatsannidau vairaty gah'
cr gas tra, 132, (gama Prak
ana Samiti, Beawer) from Paper by Prof K.C.Sogani
cr
ga S tra, 196, (gama Prak ana Samiti, Beawer) from Paper by Prof K.C.Sogani
Pra navy kara a S tra, 6.1.3, Pages 683-684, (Jaina Vishva Bh rati, Ladnun, under the title "Angasutt ni" (3)). From Paper by Prof K.C.Sogani
Amrit Candra in Puruş rtha Siddhi Up ya'
Nonkilling Global Political Science (2002). by Prof emeritus Glenn Paige Univ of Hawaii.
Rattan Karanda Sravkacara by Samanta Bhadra
Study Notes published on www.jainstudies.org published by International School for Jain Studies New Delhi.
Social aspects of Jain religion by Shugan C Jain
Jain Diet by Shugan C. Jain
Tattv rath Sutra by Um Sv ti V.29
Bibliography (courtesy Prof Glen Paige for ISSJS 2008.)
Glenn D Paige, professor emeritus of political science, University of Hawai'i, is founder president of the Center for Global Nonviolence in Honolulu, Hawai'i (1994-). In 2008 it is in transition to become a Center for Global Non-killing. He published Non-killing Global Political Science (2002). By 2008 the book had been translated into fifteen languages all over the world including Hindi and Tamil. A number of articles on various aspects of Ahi s in www.globalnonviolence.org. Kool, V.K. 2007. Psychology of Non-violence and Aggression. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Nobel Peace Laureates. 2007. Charter for a World without Violence. Rome: December 13-15, 2007. www.nobelforpeace-summits.org/ENG/PDF/2007/CHARTER ULTIMATE.pdf.
2005. "Nonkilling Global Society." In Peace Section edited by Ada Aharoni, Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). Developed under the auspices of UNESCO, Eolss Publishers, Oxford, U.K. http:www.eolss.net.
Ram, Senthil and Ralph Summy, eds. 2007. Nonviolence: An Alternative for Defeating Global Terror (ism). Hauppage, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
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World Health Organization (WHO). 2002. World Report on Violence and Health. Geneva: WHO.
Picture
લય
ની
ખT જવરની ઉપમા
ઉપાંત તેયા
(
૬
ટે
સૌથી
The six men are painted in six different colours to show different thoughts /dispositions (called le y in Jain philosophy) and the resulting action.
Picture 11

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6.0.b
Aparigrahav da :Doctrine of non-possession
Prof. Kalpana Jain
Like the doctrines of non-violence (Ahi s ), Multiplicity of viewpoints (Anek ntav da); doctrine of non-possession is another significant and well doctrine of Jain philosophy. Doctrine of Non-possession is such by practicing it, one is said to be practicing the entire code Jain ethics and vows. Doctrine of Non-possession or aparigraha includes:
Considering all desires or expectations, be they internal or external as harmful, Finding ways and means of reducing the possessions and Setting the limits for them.
1.0 Characteristics of Possessions:
c rya Um Sv mi in Tattv rthas tra has crisply described the nature and characteristics of parigraha. According to him, the characteristic of parigraha is 'murch parigraha i.e. infatuation (murch ) or feeling of mine (mamatva) are possessions. Writing the commentary of this in Sarv rtha Siddhi, Pujya P da says that owning and indulging in activities associated with cows, buffalos, pearls, diamonds etc living and non-living beings as external and internal manifestations of self like attachments /aversions are infatuations. It is clear from this that external objects (par-pad rtha) by themselves are not possessions but the feelings of their ownership and associated activities are indeed attachment and is parigraha. It is a rule that the possession of external objects is automatically eliminated as soon as our feelings of ownership or their belonging to us is gone or nonexistent but the other way around i.e. giving up external objects by itself does not guarantee elimination of attachment or desire for them. This is so as due to absence of active meritorious (punya) karmas and active state of de-meritorious karmas (p pa) results in automatic absence of all other object but the attachment or longing for them continue to exist.
By giving up external objects one does become free from their possessions (aparigrah). On the other hand the thought of not owning them and eliminating attachment with them make one free from their possession (i.e. he becomes aparigrah).
2.0 Definition of parigraha / possessions. Parigraha had been defined by different cryas but the sum and substance of all definitions is one that described the pitiable condition of both parigraha and its owner. Jain Cryas defined parigraha as 'parito grahanati tm nayiti parihrahah' i.e. the entity, which binds its owner from all side'. c rya Pjya P da viewpoint is 'mameda b ddhi-lak anah parigrahah' i.e. the feeling of mine towards other objects is possession. Akala ka in Rjav rtika on the other hand says, "due to the existence of greed and passions owning things is parigraha 'mameda vastu ahamasya sy mity tmiy bhim nah sa kalpah parigraha ety cyate' feelings like this is mine, I am its owner and similar feelings of attachment is possession.
According to Dhaval, "praigrahyata eti parigraha b hy rthah k etr dih parigrahyate anenoti ca pragirahahb hy rtha grahnaheturaja parin mah eti parigrahah " i.e. what we own or what is owned by us is parigraha. Thus according to this statement area or other such external objects are parigraha. And 'parigrahyate anenoti ca pragirahah' implies the entity by which such external objects are owned is parigraha. Both put together lead us to think that the psychic states which are the causes of developing he feelings of ownership of external objects is parigraha.Samayas ra
tmakhy ti says 'Icch parigrahah' i.e. the desire is parigraha itself.' Crya ayyambhava also has defined parigraha on the same lines 'mucch parigraha vutto n yap tre ati 110 To get attached or to develop bondage to a particular entity or by developing attraction towards external objects resulting in the loss of clear thinking faculty (viveka) are parigraha. In this way in a state of delusion developing infatuation towards an entity and then owning it is parigraha'. While criticizing the ownership of things, Jesus Christ had condemned the same and said in sermons of the mount You can take a camel out of the needle's eye but you cannot take a rich man through the gates of heaven'. This is so because parigraha is the root cause of infatuation and presence of infatuation means absence of freedom or detachment and in such a state no one can attain auspicious state of being.
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2.1 Types of Aparigraha
Jain c ryas have identified twenty-four types of aparigraha that are grouped as external (10 types) and internal (14 types). These are as per Bhagavati r dhan (BA):
i.
ii.
External: 'k etra vast dhana dh nya dvipada ca cat pada, y na ayy sana k pya bh nda sang vahirdasa" BA 156
Meaning: Land, house, money, agriculture produce, two legged and four legged animals, beds, furniture, vehicles, utensils and wells, are all external possession.
Internal: 'micchatravedar g taheva h sadiya ya dhaddhos, catt ri taha kas y udasa antabha tar ga dha' BA 118
Meaning: Wrong or perverted beliefs, nescience, anger, pride, deceit, greed, joking and laughter, lust (rati), disenchantment in good activities (arati), fear, (jugups ), feeling of sorrow, feelings for male, female and neutral genders are all internal possessions.
Feelings of want or desire are the synonyms for internal possessions. To set limits in all external objects for the above twenty-four types of possessions and then to give up all objects outside these limits is called limiting the possessions vow (Parigraha parim a vrata). The other name for this vow is icch parim a vrata or limiting the desires / expectations vow. Extension of our desires is infinite. As Mahatma Gandhi said 'There is enough land on this earth to satisfy the needs of living beings but there is not enough land to satisfy the desires of even one living being'. If we do not control our desires, then they make a devil out of us who is without common sense and wisdom.
Like psychic and material violence, we should also discriminate between psychic and material parigraha. To be attracted towards external objects or to be lost in their possession and enjoyment is psychic parigraha. To be able to acquire desired physical objects and become their owner is material parigraha. It is not possible for the owner to develop detachment towards material possessions while he continues to be their owner. Therefore it is important for the practitioner to give up material possessions. It is not a rule that all the objects towards whom we have a desire to won or have a feeling of attraction will become our possessions; but it is definite that objects which are our possessions and for which we are making all efforts to maintain, preserve, protect and enhance them, will definitely create feelings of attachment for them in our mind. The Jain texts cite the example of rice grain for which it is not possible to remove the internal peel/ leaf while still maintaining the external peel/cover.
Jain texts have included parigraha as a part and parcel of five sins (p pa) viz Ahi s (non violence), speaking the truth, stealing, possessions and bad character (k la). Further they say that infatuation is the primary cause of all these five sins. One who is the owner of external and internal objects and is busy in their enhancements, enjoyment and protection can never be free of these five sins. As per Sarv rtha Siddhi, all sins or bad deeds are due to parigraha only. Feelings like 'this is mine' give rise o feeling o protecting them resulting in definite violence. For this the owner starts telling lies, steals and indulges in undesirable sexual overtones, which ultimately result in experience hellish pains. crya G abhadra says,' we never see the wealth of even noble persons enhance with good and just means. Do we ever find oceans with fresh and pure water?
ddhaidhanaivivardhante sat mapi na sampadah, na hi svacch msubhih purn h kad cidapi sindhavah
According to crya Amrta candra, violence is committed in parigraha: 'His payyatvisiddh his ntara gasa e Bahira get niyata pray t mucchevi hi s tvam'16
15
i.e. by definition of internal possessions being passions causing defilement of self, violence is thus inevitable. Similarly the feeling of attachment towards the external objects possessed affecting the self and is thus cause of violence definitely.
In Jain ethics, while describing the effects of parigraha, it is said to be the root cause of all sins namely: 'man commits violence for parigraha only, tells lies only to amass objects, steals or performs similar acts only to enhance or retain his possessions and lastly performs undesired sexual activities using or for enhancing his possessions'.
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In this way parigraha or desire to own external objects is the biggest sin and root cause of all other sins committed by us. Accordingly in Sama as ttam it is said:
Sa ga nimittam rai bha ai al ka sarejja corikka,
Savai meh a miccha apari mo k adij vo'
2.2 Significance of internal possessions When we discuss the virtues (dharma) and vices (adharma) of the soul, then these definitions should be such that are uniformly applicable to all. Due to this reason, Jain c ryas have emphasized internal possessions more. In K rtikeyan prek Sv mi Kum ra says:
bahira gadha vihi daliddma v sah vado ho ti, avbhya tara gadha pa a sakkadeko viha ded -387
i.e. a man without external possessions is naturally poor but no body is able to get rid of internal possessions. Similarly in Aap huda Kunda kunda says:
bh va vi ddhininitta b hira gadhassa kirae y o,
v hirac o vihalo avbha tara gadhaj ttassa -3i.e. external possessions are given up to purify the psychic thoughts. But without giving up internal possessions like attachment etc, giving up external possessions is useless. Further it is not essential that giving up external possessions will definitely result in elimination of internal possessions. It is also possible that one dos not have an iota of external possession, yet all the fourteen internal possessions are existent. This is the case with monks with wrong beliefs and practicing external appearances of non-possessions only. Since their self is still in the first stage of spiritual purification (
g asth na) i.e. Mithy tva, they are full of internal possessions but externally they practice nude monk hood.
Bhagavati rdhan in its verses 916 and 917 clearly says 'as a rule practice and achievement of internal non-possessions definitely results in giving up external possessions. Impurities in the psychic nature or flaws in internal non-possessions generate flaws in the activities of speech and body i.e. by purification of internal flaws we definitely achieve detachment from external objects.
In fact external possessions like material wealth etc. in themselves are not possessions but the thoughts of their ownership and acquisition is possession. Until the desire to acquire or own external objects is born, existence of external objects is immaterial, otherwise existence of body and religious congregations etc of t rtha karas in the 13th g asth na will become their external possessions while the possessions are absent from 10h asth na onwards.
Emphasizing the giving up of internal possessions does not mean giving up external possessions is not essential but the former definitely leads to the later activity and its utility is same as that of the former. But we are so obsessed with external possessions that we ignore or even do not think of giving up internal possessions.
3.0 Method of practicing aparigraha: To be free of both internal and external possessions, Jain c ryas have prescribed a vratas (small vows) and pratim s (stages of spiritual duties) for householders and mah vratas (major vows) for monks.
3.1 Parigraha parim a vrata or vow to limit the possessions: We find discussions on attaining freedom from desire / lust / obsession in almost all-Indian philosophical literature. However Jain texts give detailed description about their nature and results thereof. From the time of Lord P r van th C turay ma dharma till the texts of Jain ethical practices by Sdhara having five small vows, we find detailed and lucid discussions under the fifth vow Parigraha parim a vrata. To emphasize the importance of giving up possessions, Jain c ryas have kept it under a vratas (small vows) and pratim s (stages of spiritual duties) for householders and mah vratas (major vows) for monks for practice.
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To protect one from the pains associated with possessions, Jain c ryas have included limiting possessions under a vratas. Jain householders while practicing the vows of non violence, speaking the truth, non-stealing and celibacy should also observe this vow of limiting his possessions. Actually this fifth vow is a yardstick for both the laity and monks alike. Validity of practicing the first four vows by both laity and monks is automatic if the fifth vow is practiced. Being possessed or parigraha, one cannot practice the other four vows. The pitiable state of today's society is visible in the context of aparigraha.
As per Sarv rtha Siddhi, a householder sets limits to his possession and acquisition of wealth, houses or real estate on his own sweet will leading to his practice of the fifth a vrata. On the other hand Krtikeyan prek (g th 18) says, one who reduces the passion greed, enjoying the stimulant of contentment, knowing all external possessions as perishable and sets limits on their possessions, is a practitioner of the fifth small vow'. Samanta Bhadra in Ratnakara dar vak c ra (19) is says, 'to accept limits on the possessions and acquisition of ten types of external possessions and not more than the limit and then practice it is Parigraha parim a vrata. Gunabhadra in tm nu sana says, 'every living being in this world has such a large and deep well of desires that all the wealth and objects of the world cannot fill it. In such a situation what can be given to anyone to make him contented? Desire or lust for worldly possessions will keep on giving pain to them'. Similarly Daulat Ram in Adhyat ma Pad vali says, 'Even acquiring the entire wealth of all the three worlds is insufficient to make one satisfied. One can only accrue the benefits of knowledge only after enjoying the nectar of contentment'.
Gita (g th 4.22) also says about protecting one from the ills of karmic bondage, 'A person, who tries to acquire material wealth in a normal manner, feeling contented with the same, not being affected by the occurrences of pains and pleasures, free from jealousies, maintaining equanimity is successes and failures; does not bind karmas. Kautilya also in his doctrine of economics has justified only that much acquisition and possessions which are essential to discharge our worldly duties.
Jain c ryas, by equating the fifth small vow i.e. Parigraha parim a vrata as icch parim a vrata (vow to limit the desires), say, 'a person should limit his desires and then acquire possessions to satisfy them'. The golden rule for a laity to be happy is to limit his expenses within his income. To live within one's means is a big art. To emphasize this point, Kabir, Rahim and other Indian philosopher poets have written similar verses and even poems
The only way to free oneself from the ills of possessions is to develop contentment i.e. until we set limits to our desires we cannot live happily. Possessions enhance attachment with them resulting in increased desires. Samanta Bhadra in Ratnakara dar vak c ra (27) echoes similar statements.
4.0 Aparigrahav da or doctrine of non-possession. Doctrine of non-possessions is a significant and unique contribution of lord Mah vra to the world. It generates peace and harmony in the society; equanimity in the nation and sense of belonging in the family. Its practice in letter and spirit only can result in the welfare of humanity. Buddhist philosopher Dr Indra Dattstri while discussing aparigraha says, 'One should keep on reducing the self / ego (sva) to such a miniscule existence that only non-self (para) remains and the ego is extinguished'. Vedanta philosophers project eh same thing in a different manner as 'Make the self (sva) so large that the non-self (para) does not exist and only sva exists.' The ultimate objective of both philosophical streams is to eliminate the difference between self and non-self and this is the spiritual non possession. Jain philosophy, being a believe in all existences as real presents the same philosophy as infatuation and says, 'differences between individuals exist and will continue to exist; existence of these differences cannot stop the development process but to get fixed to only one or few objects / things is the biggest hurdle for development. This very hurdle had been given the name of infatuation by Jains. In this manner the doctrine of non-possession has become the alphabet of development.
To promote world peace, preaching and practicing the doctrine of non-possession has become a necessity. A closer analysis of today's burning issues like individual or social exploitation, consumerism and economic imbalances reveals lack of the doctrine of non-possession practiced. In
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fact all mental energies of the entire world and individuals are focused on acquisitions and possessions. In Aparigraha one has to free oneself from both activities (acquisition and possession) only the nature of self is left for enjoyment. As per Jain philosophy, this is the ultimate objective of all beings.
Lord Mah vra was fully conversant with the results of possessions. He realised that until an individual gained full control over his oneself, the non-self will prevail over him. The non-self will make him so infatuated that he will not be able to recognize his own nature and self. O eliminate his infatuation, lord Mah vra's sermons become very useful. He established the path from minor vows to major vows for individuals to practice according to their own needs and capabilities. He emphasize that one should established his cherished goal and path to follow. One has to live equally and maintaining equanimity both in terms of internal and external possessions and only thus his knowledge about self and its nature will accrue. By knowing the nature of self, one will follow the first step i.e. path of non-violence. By accepting all living beings as similar to you, you cannot lie to them, cannot deceive them, cannot steal others possessions after developing detachment with the body and finally in the purification of your soul, expectation of other things does not arise. This is aparigraha in the views of lord Mah vra.
Even though Jain philosophy propagates the path of detachment and giving up, still it cannot be said to be separate from the philosophy of engagement. In this not only detachment is proposed but also the social uplift is equally propagated. Practicing small vows is not possible without the involvement of society. All the qualities, which a laity acquires, the same are expressed in the society only.
While leading the life of a householder, one cannot totally avoid violence or telling lies etc. Lord Mah vra therefore said, 'the laity should be cautious and keep his vision right; whatever he /she does, one should be fully conversant with the results of their actions. One should be knowledgeable about one's essential needs. Practice of five a vratas and eleven pratim s are enshrined to enable the practitioner develop these skills. Consciousness about giving up while earning is the indicator of aparigraha in the daily lives of the householders. The second essential condition for being an aparigraha householder is that his practice should be valid /validated. For this he/she has to set limits which can be gauged by himself and others while practicing the a vrata. If a Jain householder conducts his business this way then the whole country will also get validated as aparigrah.
Social ills such as hoarding, exploitation prevailing cannot be eliminated overnight. First an individual has to change himself and become aparigrah. Then his conduct will shine and its rays will affect the society and definitely affect change and improvement. Aparigraha does not mean that an individual should become poor but its real meaning is to avoid his obsession to accumulate wealth. To limit desires and infatuation is the practical aspect of aparigraha. Welfare of the society is possible only when aparigraha becomes the belief and vision of all its members and enforces the desire and practice of giving up (or sharing with others), consumerism reduces and aparigrahav da increases as a way of life. Aparigraha is not opposed to production, consumption and existence of material wealth; however aparigraha is opposed to the development of attachment and infatuation with the ownership and consumption of material wealth.
5.0
Conclusion:
Those who are determined find it easier to control their wandering mind and its activities. Doubts and worries arise when we expand our desires. Expansion is like a journey that leads one away from his inner self to external non-self, while contraction or limiting desires is the reverse of withdrawing from external non-self to inner self.
Still there is time for us to limit our desires and withdraw from this painful journey safely. Expansion results in just uneasiness and discomfort and nothing else. Lord Mah v ra made himself separate from both inner and outer selves and then he became the great and powerful. Only the one who is an expert in this art of withdrawing from both internal and external wants and desires can guide his world effectively. Effectively when the aparigrahav da erodes itself completely from the mind set of the people, at that time the social and the national problems will get resolved and the human beings will attain the highest peace. The principles of aparigrahav da are in front of us from 1000 of years,
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but we fail to follow it in the correct and right spirit. If it would have been followed properly than, there would not have been any violence in the world.
The principle of aparigraha helps the humans to overcome greed, attachment, and cravings. Not only for the monks abut also for the lay followers this vrata, is a mulavrata and and important one. It helps us to follow the other vratas. Not only for the individual, but also for the society and nations it is very helpful.
References:
Brhat Hindi ko a. Pg 680 Tattv rtha S tra .7/17 c rya Pujyap da Sarv rtha siddhi
c rya Pujyap da Sarv rtha siddhi 7/17/695 Rjav rtika 4/21/3/326 Rjav rtika 6/15/3/525 Dhaval. 1274,2,8,6/282/9 Jainendra Siddh nta ko a, 3/24 Samayas ra Atmakhy ti 210 Da avaik lika. Parsamant ta Mohabuddhay grhyate Sa Parigraha Sutrakt ga Tattv rtha Sutra 6/15 Tattv rtha Sutra 6/17 Mah bh rata Gandha Aura Viswa Santi- Devadutta Sharma, pg -70 sarv rthsiddhi 7/20/701 Krtikey nuprek a , 31 Ratnakaranda r vak c ra
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6.0.e
Discipline for Spiritual, Social and Family Welfare
Dr. Meenal Katarnikar
Introduction:The Jain community is known as the 'Cat rvidha Sa gha', i.e. the fourfold community. But this 'community' denotes a unique concept. It is neither merely a social group nor association, nor is it a multitude of sages. In the Jaina context, community or samgha consists of monks, nuns, and laymale and female followers. Categorically, the followers are divided into two, viz. the ascetics and the householders, and these two groups in turn are divided into two, viz. male and female. This two-fold classification into the ascetics and householder is detrimental in deciding the ethical standards, code of conduct, and religious-spiritual authority of the followers. Whereas the monks and nuns are supposed to practice all the rules of conduct in absolute discipline without any single concession, the householder males and females can practice these rules with some 'concession'. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss the discipline in Jainism in two different, though related contexts, viz. spiritual and mundane.
Discipline for Spiritual Welfare:Being the ascetic tradition, Monks and Nuns do possess central position in the Jaina community. Absolute renunciation is regarded as the only ideal path of life to achieve the goal of liberation, and the one who follow this path, are technically termed as ramana'. The Sanskrit word S'ramana turns as 'Samana' in Pr krit. Samana is the one who has feeling of equanimity towards all living beings, regards himself responsible for his/her self-emancipation and is successful in extinguishing all emotions, passions etc. The only goal of the life of a' ramana' is the spiritual liberation, i. e. the total annihilation of all activities. In order to achieve this goal, the Jaina religious tradition has prescribed a set of rules which is known as Vinaya', i. e. the code of conduct for Ascetics'. This set of rules includes: Five Great Vows
: Mah vratas. Three Controls
: G ptis. Five kinds of Carefulness : Samitis.
The systematization of this code of conduct occurs in Tattv rtha Sutra of V caka Um sv ti in various chapters. However, in Agama Literature, especially in Uttaradhyayana Sutra, the discipline for the Homeless Monks is documented in very elaborate, though unclassified manner. The first chapter of Uttar dhyayana Sutra is devoted to Vinaya' i. e. the discipline for the monks and contains the verses. (The verses that are relevant for present discussion are attached as Appendix 1). The verses speak about the rigorous rules of discipline expected off the ascetics. Even though the classification of these rules into Mah vratas, G ptis and Samitis is not offered, the emphasis of those rules on the practice of non-violence, truth celibacy, carefulness about talking and eating, and on self-control and penance is quite obvious. In Tattvartha Sutra, the description of these rules is presented in more organized form.
1) Five Mah vratas: Tattv rtha Sutra defines Mah vrata as total renunciation or major-scale vow (VII. 2). Refraining one-self from all forms of defilements like violence, untruth etc. through mind, speech and body, is to follow the major-scale vow. Jainism holds that there are five major defilements, viz. violence, false-speech, stealing other's possessions, sexual passion and acquisitiveness. Accordingly, there are five major vows as follows:
a)
b)
Non-violence:- Refraining from the destruction of life due to an act involving negligence. Truth: - Refraining from speaking false or improper Non-stealing: - Refraining from taking anything what is not been given. Incontinence / Celibacy: - Refraining from the act of copulation impelled by sexual passion. Non-possessiveness:- Refraining from getting entangled with and losing all sense of discrimination out of a pinning for any object.
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It is emphatically stated that a mere formal acceptance of the vows does not qualify one as a true votary. In order to become a true votary, one has to observe some conditions, viz. renunciation of a thorn. These thorns are three in number:
1) False pretension, deception or a tendency to cheat.
2)
Greed for worldly enjoyment.
3) Not to have any faith in what is true or to insist on what is false.
2] Guptis: The auspicious restriction related to the activity of body and mind is called 'Gupti'. An auspicious restriction means a restriction that has been accepted after proper comprehension and in right faith, i. e. impelled by right understanding and right faith to keep the body, speech and mind on the right path. In accordance with the three kinds of activities the Auspicious Restrictions are of three kinds:
a)
b)
c)
Restriction pertaining to body: Restricting bodily operations so as to discriminate between what is to be done and what is not to be done.
Restriction pertaining to body: - Restricting speech activity so as to keep silence altogether and speak only if and when necessary.
Restriction pertaining to mind: - Restricting mental activity so as to give up evil volitions and cultivate good volitions.
3] Samiti: Samiti is a form of an activity inspired by a sense of discrimination, and it acts as a means for the stoppage of the inflow of karma. Samitis are five in number:
a) Iry Samiti: To move cautiously so as not to cause trouble to any living beings.
b) Bh s Samiti: - To speak what is true, beneficial, measured and free from doubt.
c) Esan Samiti: To act cautiously while seeking to procure the means necessary for living. d) d na-niksepa Samiti: - To receive and place anything after a proper inspection and a proper cleaning of dust.
e) Utsarga Samiti: - To dispose of things that are of no use at a place free from living bodies and after proper inspection.
The difference between Gupti and Samiti is that in Gupti, the aspect of refraining from what is wrong is dominant, while in Samiti, the aspect of understanding what is right is dominant.
Thus, the three wings of spiritual discipline aim at keeping the person on the path of virtues and leading him to the goal of Spiritual liberation.
Discipline for Social and Family Welfare:
The householder males and females constitute the other kind of the followers of Jainism. The code of conduct prescribed for these people gives the guidelines for the social and family welfare. Being the ascetic Religion, the scriptures of Jainism are silent about the householders' code of conduct. The earliest documentation is available in the text 'Ratnakarandakar vak c ra' by Samantabhadra (3-4th century A. D.) The main categories of this code of conduct are as follows:
1. Anuvratas, i. e. small vows: These are the five vows as mentioned in the Great vows of the ascetic, but the difference is that the householders are supposed to follow these vows, not in exclusive manner, but in accordance with the limitations and requirements of their family life and social status.
b)
2. Gunavratas / Multiplicative Vows: - These are three in numbers:
a)
Digvirati vrata: In conformity to one's capacity to refrain from the worldly enjoyment, to fix a limit in all directions, and not to undertake any un-virtuous act whatsoever beyond that limit.
De avirati vrata: Even when a limit has been fixed in a particular direction, to impose from time to time a further limit within this limit and not to undertake any un-virtuous act whatsoever beyond the inner limit thus imposed.
Anarthadondavirati vrata: To refrain from all un-virtuous act that serves no purpose.
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3. iks vratas / Disciplinary Vows:- These are four in numbers:
Sm yika vrata: Making a mental fixation of time to refrain from all un-virtuous act whatsoever and to remain engaged in a virtuous such as meditation, contemplation etc. Pau adhopav sa vrata: To keep fast on 8th, 14th or full-moon date of the lunar month, to refrain from bodily decoration and to keep awake during night time engaged in virtuous acts. Upabhoga-paribhoga parim na vrata: Limiting the enjoyment of one's daily consumable or non-consumable things. Atithisamvibh ga vrata: To donate with a feeling of pure devotion to a worthy recipient things of daily need like food and drink, such as have been earned legitimately, and are in a usable condition, a donation so made as to prove advantageous to both the parties concerned.
From these rules of conduct for both spiritual and social welfare, it becomes clear that emphasis of Jainism is on controlled life and not on any sort of enjoyment. Any person, belonging to any group whatsoever, is expected to live a life with minimum passions as appropriate for his/her category. when monks and nuns are supposed to live a life of strict discipline and exclusive control of passions, householders are expected to pay due attention to the requirements of social, cultural and political requirements. Thus, social concern is relevant in the context of householders, not that of the ascetics. The religion which is well aware of this distinction and itself has set the rules for them has shown the depth of thought in matters of socio-spiritual welfare of the whole society as such.
Appendix Discipline for the homeless monks (The relevant verses from Uttaradhyayana Sutra chap. 1)
•
•
A monk, who on receiving an order from his superior, walks up to him, watching his nods and motions, is called well-behaved (2) One should always be meek and not be talkative in the presence of the wise, one should acquire valuable knowledge and avoid what is worthless. (8) When reprimanded a wise man should not be angry, but he should be of a forbearing mood, he should not associate laugh and play with mean men (9) He should do nothing mean, nor talk much, but after having learned his lesson, he should meditate by himself.(10) If he by chance does anything mean, he should never deny it.(11) He should not speak unasked and asked he should not tell a lie; he should not give way to his anger and bear with indifference pleasant and unpleasant occurrences.(14) Subdue yourself, for the self is difficult to subdue. If your self is subdued, you will be happy in this world and in the next.(15) (He) should subdue the self by self-control and penance.... (16) He should never do anything disagreeable to the wise, neither in words, neither openly, nor secretly (17) A monk should avoid untruth, nor should he speak positively (about future things, his plans etc). he should avoid sinful speech and always keep free from deceit (24) He should not tell anything meaningless or hurtful, neither for his own sake, nor for anybody else's, nor without such a motive. (25) ...... a single monk should not stand with a single woman, nor should he converse with her. (26) A monk should not approach dining people sitting in a row, but should collect alms that are freely given; having begged according to the sanctioned rules, he should eat a moderate portion at the proper time.(32) .....a monk should accept permitted food that was prepared for somebody else(34)
List of references: 1. Tattvartha sutra of V caka Um sv ti, Chap.s 7 and 9. 2. Uttaradhyana sutra chap. 1
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b.
Introduction:
Jain Theory of Tolerance Dr.Meenal Katarnikar
The four cardinal principles of Jain way of life are: ➤ Ahi s or non violence in conduct
➤ Aparigraha or Non-possession in life and society
Anek nta or multiplicity of view points in thoughts Sy dv da or Conditional dialectic in speech.
Oxford American Desk dictionary defines Tolerance as:
1. Willingness or ability to tolerate
2.
Forbearance
3. Capacity to tolerate
4. Allowable variation in any measurable property
And 'To tolerate' is defined as "to allow the existence or occurrence of others without interference". We shall review tolerance as per different Jain doctrines as identified above..
A.
Doctrine of Anek
ta:
A systematic formulation of Anek ntav da is found in Samantabhadra's pta Mm s (3-4th cen. A. D.). However, the doctrine is so assimilating that it has given rise to various interpretations. It will be interesting to see a few of them:
a) Anek ntav da: - An + eka + anta + v da i. e. not -one-sided - statement., i.e. many sided exposition. It is a statement made after taking into account all possible angles of vision regarding any object or idea. In this sense, Anek ntav da is a theory of many-sidedness or manifoldness of reality.
b) Anek ntav da: - An + ek nta + v da i. e. not categorically asserted philosophical position. In this sense, it stands for the philosophy of non-absolutism.
c) In some other sense, it stands for the theory of manifoldness, which is different from a philosophy of indetermination or that of dubiety.
In order to understand the scope and denotation of Anek ntav da, it is useful to make a distinction between two senses of the term. In the first place, the term is used to denote the Jain metaphysical doctrine, or the Jaina view of Reality. The Jains hold that Reality is manifold; each substance does have infinite qualities and modifications. According to them, each substance has a multi-faceted nature, consists of diverse forms and modes, of innumerable aspects. In this sense, the term can be correctly translated as 'the theory of manifoldness of reality'.
However, the term Anek ntav da is also used for the Jaina philosophical method, which allows for reconciliation, integrations and synthesis of conflicting philosophic views. Jains argue that different philosophers, when they construct different philosophical systems, emphasize different 'standpoints'. They further point out that as long as we emphasize one aspect or standpoint., while being fully aware that this is only one out of many, equally viable standpoints, we employ a right philosophical method. But when we emphasize only one standpoint by excluding all others, we employ an incorrect philosophic method. The aim of Anek nta philosophy is to expose an incorrect philosophic method and isolate and identify the right philosophical method.
To use other words, Anek ntav da is that method of philosophy, which recognizes all the philosophical theories to be the partially true expressions of reality (S.S. Divakara's Sanmati Tarka). As every theory is true partially, and not exclusively, there is no perfect theory of reality. The perfect view of Reality will be obtained only by recognizing that our theory is one of the many theories that are equally (partially) true. In this sense, Anek ntav da advocates a sort of relativistic approach to reality and denies supremacy to any one view about reality.
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Anek ntav da as A Method:
In the light of the twofold exposition of Anek ntav da viz theory of multiple aspects of a substance and the other as the theory of non-exclusiveness of any theory/expression about reality, it is significant to see the relation of Anek ntav da to the doctrine of Tolerance.
ATU
In the first exposition, Anek ntav da represents the metaphysical view of Jainism. In this sense, it is one of the many metaphysical theories, trying to reconcile the extremes of permanence and charge, one and many, but at the same time having its own limitations. In the second exposition, Anek ntav da stands for a metaphilosophical approach that vouches for a method, which allows for reconciliation, integration and synthesis of conflicting philosophical views.
The philosophical roots of the doctrine of Anek ntav da can be traced backed to a very ancient theory called vibhajya-v da. It is an indirect method of answering metaphysical questions through analysis and classification of the senses of words contained in those questions. It is a method of 'breaking up' the whole questions into parts and seeking answer to all of them, thereby to the whole questions. vibhajya-v da however takes into consideration the relativity of each part to the whole and looks at each part independently.
The method of Anek ntav da is to analyze the different senses of, and thereby clarify the ambiguity contained in those predicate - expressions. Further, the possible alternatives are accepted with proper qualifications and conditionalization. Thus, it is a view that adopts non-dogmatic and exploratory approach to philosophical and metaphysical questions. It is a method of partial acceptance of both the extremes. In this, the seemingly contradictory predictions are not rejected, but are accepted with qualifications, and the apparent contradiction is avoided by bringing out the different senses in which these predictions could be used. This is how it cannot be, strictly speaking, the acceptance of a real contradiction, as there is no contradiction at all! To give an example, the world from the point of view of continuity, may be called eternal, but from the point of view of change of its states, it is non-eternal. Thus, the world can be regarded as both eternal and noneternal without being contradictory. Thus, Anek ntav da is a method of synthesis and toleration. The essence of Anek ntav da lies in exposing and making explicit the standpoints of different philosophical schools and the existence of opposites at the same time in the same entity or environment.
Anek ntav da and Tolerance:
The dictionary meaning of 'Tolerance' exposes the negative aspect of acceptance in a dominant manner. If tolerance is taken to mean 'ability or capacity to tolerate', it will point to toleration out of compulsion, out of helplessness or out of dire need of survival. For example, tolerating the baddies in the classroom or undisciplined behavior or even the notorious people in the society. It may even indicate the attitude of treating the other person with condemnation or the attitude of superiority complex and treating other as inferior, e.g. rich people tolerating poor people, scholars in the class tolerating the mediocre students, powerful nations tolerating weak, underdeveloped countries etc. However the doctrine of Anek ntav da is based on the definition of reality as existent (substance is the indication of existent, existent is with origination, destruction and permanence and substance is with attributes and modes). Thus Anek ntav da is a philosophy of intermixture and tolerance (better known as reconciliation to the existence of opposite attributes simultaneously) and presupposes balanced and equitable thinking rather than from a position of strength or weakness.
Thus it would be wrong to equate Anek ntav da with such negativity, because, Anek ntav da does not reflect negativity. It does not indicate the falsity or invalidity of any theory, but emphasizes the element of truth in every theory. Its focus is on pointing out the extent of acceptability of every view rather than bringing out the reasons for denial. And the reason for the emphasis on positivism is that, every theory, according to Anek ntav da, is only a partial description/exposition of reality. Hence, it cannot be regarded as the view that holds the capacity to 'tolerate' the other views, but rather it can correctly be described as that view which treats all other views, including itself, with equanimity. In holding such temper of equanimity, Anek ntav da demands surrender of undue pride in one's own existence and supremacy and tend to develop humility and senses of respect towards other perspectives.
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Applications of Anek ntav da:
Historically, Anek ntav da developed through two theories, Nayav da, i.e. the doctrine of standpoints, and Sy dv da, i. e. the three-valued logic, including the value of indescribability. Through these two theories, Anek ntav da throws light on the relativity in the use of language and the truth-values of the statements, and emphasizes the non-dogmatic approach in both the fields. Both these theories could be very helpful in solving the battles on the ground of metaphysics. The prime intention of Anek ntav da was to bring to an end the rivalry among various metaphysical theories by pointing out that every theory is a partial expression of Reality like every other theory. In the present circumstances of communal disturbances and religious tensions everywhere, Anek ntav da can be applied as a paradigm to solve these battles. It can be convinced to the classes and masses that all religions are different pathways to the same goal, and that there is no room for superiority or inferiority of any religion. All religious faiths are equally respectable. The theory can be applied to many spheres of life where there are battles arising out of misunderstanding. And it can be well understood that it is the theory advocating equanimity among and respect towards all the possible alternatives, rather than the ability to 'tolerate'. Similarly in our democratic form of government, doctrine of Anek ntav da is very important for both the ruling and opposition parties to accept existence of each as real and learn to live with each other in a logical and peaceful manner.
Samantbahdra gave an excellent example to show application of Anek ntav da to develop tolerance. "The king wanted his crown of gold to be melted and made into bangles for princes. The prince became sad and the princess became happy but the king was neither happy nor sad as he saw gold in both the situations while the prince saw loss of crown and the princess gain of bangles.' Thus Anek ntav da is a theory of tolerance in the broadest sense of the term.
B. Ahi s
Ahis is the first alphabet of Jain doctrine. Mah vra tells Gautam in cr ga (first chapter) 'the one whom you give pain or torment is none other than you. All living beings are equal and want happiness. No one wants pain. Such sermons by Mah v ra create a feeling in our mind of accepting the existence of everybody, be he or she is a friend or foe, and controlling actions even when provoked. If this is not practiced, then the bigger looser is us and not the other party towards whom we become intolerant. Later Jain thinkers like Um Sv ti and others gave 'Live and let live' and All living beings cooperate or help each other' as the main slogans or principles of Jains. The first slogan asks us to accept the principle of coexistence and the second to help and cooperate with others to help them during the period of troubles so that they can come out of it and live happily. Doctrine of karma also help us in being tolerant as we start seeing the intolerance of others towards as an effect of our previous such deeds and should be washed away now lest we continue to suffer with intolerance in future also.
Today we see terrorism and violence becoming rampant and promoted even by governments of some of the powerful countries. Rather than understand and rehabilitate, we see development and use of newer and more potent means of destruction and using them to combat violence. The results are however more destructive and even the countries or communities who promote violence become the biggest victims of violence themselves. On the other hand we see countries like Netherlands, which became almost totally destroyed after foreign occupation, accepted existence of all natural, location, size problems and then devised solutions incorporating these in their planning. We see today the same country becoming one of the most prosperous and desired places to live. Similarly we see the countries who promoted terrorism and violence have become victims of the same themselves.
In our own lives, we see children who are raised in a family environment of anger, intolerance or neglect grow as violent and intolerant adults while children brought with love, care and understanding make the same children as tolerant and happy citizens.
C. Ethics postulates of Jains
In Jain literature, we find a number of terms, like vinaya (modesty), sa yama (self restraint), tapa (austerities, penance), samat (equanimity) etc. used to represent the practice of the principle of Ahi s. Jain ethical postulates, defined clearly for householders and monks are meant as the norms
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or commandments to progress towards achieving excellence, be it for spiritual or worldly beneficence.
The rules start from basic virtues (mulag as), giving up evil habits/ addictions (seven vyasanas), observing six essential duties ( va yakas) to start with. An important aspect of va yakas is to practice pratik ama a, locan and pr ya cita, which require the practitioner to review his/her daily activities performed, seek forgiveness for the wrongs and promise not to repeat them again so that the self imposed discipline improves on a daily basis. At the stage when a Jain develops firm belief in Jain metaphysics, then he/she accepts vows (major for ascetics) and minor for householders) and performs twelve fold austerities (tapa). All these practices help develop equanimity and tolerance towards one and all while making ourselves stronger. Concept of winning over 22 afflictions (par ahas) by monks offer an excellent example of emphasizing tolerance in the Jain code of conduct for spiritual purification.
Main References
1. "The Central Philosophy of Jainism (Anek ntav da)" By. B. K. Matilal, Pub. By L.D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, 1981.
2. "Anek ntav da as a Meta-philosophy" By S. Gopalan
3.
cr ga
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Concepts Of Freedom, Law and Justice in Jainism
Dr. Meenal Katarnikar.
Introduction: In order to understand the notions of law and justice in any society, it is very essential to understand the theoretical framework of freedom as has been established in or granted by that society. And the reason is very simple. The notions of law and justice make sense only in and for the society of free human beings.
At the face value, the title of the presentation creates the impression that it is a discussion of the relation between freedom and the other legal concepts at spiritual level as explored in the Jaina religio-philosophic tradition. Even though this impression is not completely incorrect, the emphasis of the present discussion will be on the relation between freedom and the legal concepts in the politicalsocial context as conceived in the Jain tradition. And here, there may be some conceptual problem. Political concepts are in themselves, incompatible with, or at least far away from any system of religion, or for that matter, even ethics. All religions conceive man as a moral, spiritual agent. None of them, or very few of them conceive the life of the state as independent of moral faith, or as the highest kind of life for man. As a consequence, any purely formalistic, secular concept of freedom and its relation to legal concepts would be irreligious or in other words non-derivable from the religious tenets. In short, deriving any secular notion of freedom from the religious doctrines of Jainism appears to be inconceivable.
Apart from this general problem of the relation between religion and political theory, there is a specific problem with reference to Jainism.
Jainism belongs to an ascetic tradition. According to its basic tenets, the highest goal of human life is spiritual liberation, which can be obtained by the entire denial, renunciation of the mundane life. In human society, there is a large group of non-ascetic people, but they do not have any right to spiritual liberation unless and until the embrace the ascetic life. Mundane life, or to use a proper Jaina word, a householder's life can be pious, but not worthy of spiritual liberation. On the background of such a radical negative attitude towards ordinary, non-spiritual life, it seems inconceivable to have any significant social-political theory referring to freedom.
Moreover, the concept of spiritual freedom is defined as total empting of the active life that can be obtained by radically non-violent way of living. The extreme emphasis on extreme non-violence and on inactive life is theoretically in contradiction with any secular idea of freedom that involves freedom to do something along with freedom from something, and also with any possibility of political freedom that embeds a partial coercion if not complete.
Although these conceptual difficulties are there in chalking out any socio-political concept of freedom in Jaina theoretical framework, there is one major reason to find out the threads of such notions, and the reason comes from the history of India. During the medieval period, there were a number of kingdoms that patronized Jaina religion and there were few kings who adopted Jainism. This is an attempt to find out those thought- constructions of individual and state freedom of Jainism that might have attracted these rulers, who were technically the Sravakas, the householders, and also to see the relation between such freedom and violence - which is inevitable aspect of state and which is the first and foremost taboo in the Jaina tradition.
Jain Concept of Freedom:As a sramanic tradition, Jainism rejects a socio-centric or any other type of secular view in which the society and the state stand as the externally available saviors of man. According to it human happiness is determined by a transcendent cause, i. e. the past karmas of the individual. Each individual is subject to his own separate destiny.
As a philosophy, Jainism stands on the four pillars: viz Atmavada, Lokavada, Karmavada and Kriyavada. Soul by itself is imperceptible, it is perceived only through the medium of body. The word
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is also an ultimate Reality just as the soul is. The whole system of karma, in its turn is governed by kriya-action. The fundamental cause of diversities, changes in the world is action. So long as there are vibrations, disturbances in soul, it will result in continuous transmigrations. Cultivating discipline in our bahaviour towards other souls and material substances is the fundamental basis of nonviolence.
The Jain conception of freedom is thus, that of the autonomy of the spiritual will which is characterized by selflessness, tranquility, steadfastness and energy, in the face of temptations posed by egoistic impulses and external objects. In other words, freedom can only be gained by a moral discipline, that too by following the praxis of non-violence in a radical manner. Any other conception of freedom can only be a perversion of truth and an abuse of words.
In ancient Indian society, a varied system of traditional rights, civil and political, existed which was largely of popular origin and was fundamental in Brahmanical law codes. The Jainas did not seek to replace this traditional system of law and institutions by any comprehensive alternative. It may also be admitted that the early Jaina canon does not evince any systematic interest in the reformulation of legal and political institutions. However, it does reflect over ideas and values which involve the state and connect it with a general philosophy of life.
The Indian faith recognizes one absolute and unconditional right, that of life. It is not a right created or recognize by law. To a certain extent, respect for life is admitted by all ethical, social and political systems but many of them subject it to significant restrictions such as the context of human life. Indeed, all political systems presuppose the justification of killing as punishment and of killing as part of a soldier's duty. Practically all legal systems recognize the right to kill in self-defense.
In Jainism, that respect to a life includes its life, happiness and freedom. Killing, inflicting injury and pain, compulsion abusing, all these are modes of violence and violate the respect to living beings of all orders, from the microscopic to the human. The Jaina principle of ahimsa has a characteristic and unique comprehensiveness since it prohibits the use of force in any manner against any form of life.
In this comprehensiveness, the principle is apparently inconsistent with ordinary secular life. The Jainas themselves realized this, and held that while the monks ought to seek to realize ahimsa fully, the man of world or householder could follow it with limitations. It is this limited principle of ahimsa which ought to form the guiding principle of legislation and policy. By following this upasakadharma, i. e. limited principles of conduct; the householder has an opportunity of training himself till he gets matured for renouncing the world. The essential principle of human conduct and society is the recognition of the self as value lying beyond the instinctive process of nature and the recognition of similarity between oneself and others. In their ignorance, men tend to disregard these principles, but rational reflection prepares them for such recognition and spiritually enlightened persons guide them in this regard.
Thus, in the wider society, the sense of 'T' and 'mine' coupled together with passions like pride etc. that indicate violence hold together family: lead to economic life as well. The human society which is driven by the conflicts and violence will be saved by the force and authority of the state. Orderly and peaceful human society would necessarily require the use of supreme force of sovereign power in society. The canons attribute the origin of punishment and coercion to the simultaneous growth of greed in men and niggardliness in nature. The close relation between the origin of coercive power in society and the fallen nature of man, according to Jainism, is not temporal but transcendent, and the state along with other institutions is a support to the life of virtue which leads man to rise from the fallen nature.
Violence continues in civil society, and even assumes greater proportions by becoming organized. The very institutions of family and property, which seek the protection of the state, themselves flourish on violence. Thus, within the imperfect conditions of human life, even though state is indirectly good, it is at the same time necessarily evil on account of its coercive nature.
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The above discussion makes it clear that political power in its various forms was recognized as one among several preconditions of moral and religious life. Following from this, it was further recognized that obedience is rightfully due to political authority where relevant. It is important to note one point. It is true that kings and officers at that time tended to follow a system of cruel punishments and we must remember that despite modern penal reforms there is still no limit to the ferocity of the state when it feels itself threatened or is moved by an inhumane ideology. Nevertheless, the attitude in early Jaina canon deprecates such cruelty in the penal system, and tends to place the policemen and executioners as parallel to the robbers and murderers.
Thus, according to the canon although kings are required for the practice of dharma, their own practice is tainted by dharma. The Jainas did seek to advise the rulers and hoped that enlightened rulers would help to the cause of dharma.
Thus, the king should follow the right faith and do his duty without regarding himself as a morally privileged person. The people should follow the example of the king. The laws of the state should not be contrary to the principles of spiritual wisdom which decree non-violence, equality and nonpossessiveness. If the political life of man ceases to function as a support for his spiritual life, it can only promote evil.
Jain Concepts of Law & Justice:On the background of this notion of freedom and the rule of the state, the concepts of law and justice in the Jaina tradition will be understood better. Moreover, these terms, which are the keyconcepts in legal matters can be analysed properly on the background of the modern secular political concept of freedom even though they have wider application in moral and religious realm of human life.
In the British rule India, it was decided by the British administration that all sects and creeds in India would be governed by their own laws. At that time, attempts were made to compile the Jaina law on the basis of the texts available dating 9th century A.D to 16th century A.D. These attempts have resulted into the production of the book "Selections from the Jaina Law'. This book contains the exposition of the laws prescribed by the Jaina texts on the following topics: -
1. Adoption and Sonship 2. Property 3. Inheritance 4. Stridhana 5. Maintenance 6. Guardianship
The Jaina Law was originally a part of "Upasakadhyayana Anga" which is now lost. The exiting other sources of the Jaina Law are the following texts:
1. The Bhadrabahu Samhita 2. The Arhan Niti 3. The Vardhamana Niti 4. The Indranandi Jina Samhita 5. The Adi Purana
It has been observed by the scholars that none of these texts contains the entire law. And it is quite evident from the list of topics too, as they cover only 'civil procedure code and not the 'criminal procedure code'.
It is open to the scholars to find out the injunctions regarding various types of punishments for various types of crimes as found in Jaina texts.
The aim of this lecture is not to enlist various laws related to the above-mentioned topics, but to find out the basic principles of Jaina Law and Justice.
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Following observations can be made regarding these basic principles: -
1.
2.
3.
4.
1.
Jaina Law is not the off-shoot of either the Hindu Law or the Buddhist Law.
2.
Both, the notion of Justice and the nation of Law are fundamentally based on religions sanction rather than mundane social or legal sanction. 'Just' means that which is sanctioned by religion and 'Law' means the prescription/ injunction of religion in the interest of maintaining the religious order.
VERSAC
Gender equality or more correctly, respect for women is reflected quite sufficiently in this code, but there are discrepancies. A lot of respect is shown for Mother and Wife, but somehow a daughter is not been given that due share.
Main Source-books:
Selections from the Jaina Law", pub. By Jaina Vidya SansthanaDigambara Jaina Atisaya Khsetra Shri Mah v raji, Rajasthan
"Jaina Political Thought" by G.C. Pande, Pub. By Prakrit Bharati Sansthan, Dept. Of Jainism, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, 1984.
The basic principles of the religion are maintained properly through these codes. For instance, the necessity of donation, social undertaking, and reverence to the monks has been considered properly.
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6.0.9
Yoga in Jain Tradition
Dr. Priyadarshana Jain
Introduction
India is a spiritual land. It has been a birthplace for innumerable spiritual, philosophical and religions traditions since time immemorial. Unlike in the west, the eastern philosophical schools developed simultaneously, be it Brahma ika or rama ika. But in both traditions and in almost every Indian School of Philosophical thought, the terms Yoga and dhy na find an important place. According to Vedic is the originator of Yoga concepts is supposed to be Hira yagarbha, the personified form of God or the Ultimate Energy. According to the Jainas it is the first trthankara abhadeva. In India, Philosophy and Yoga have not developed independently of each other, as they are not separate entities. Generally every system of philosophy has a corresponding Yoga technique for the practical application of the doctrines 11. Yoga was a way of life in Ancient India; spiritual and religious exercises, which lead towards liberation, are termed as Yoga. References of Yoga in Atharvaveda, Upani adas, Mah bh rata, Bhagavad Gt, Sm tis, Pur as, Yogava i a, etc., go to prove the popularity of Yoga in the Brahma ika tradition.
However it was Maha i Ptañjali who systematically presented the eight-fold Yoga in his Yoga Sutra. The Yoga styled naked monuments in the k yotsarga posture in Mohenjad ro too are a pointer to this fact, besides we find references of Avadhuta and Tapasas. The Bauddha path of purification is spelt through la conduct) sam dhi (peace) and prajn (enlightenment) and its practical Yoga philosophy is the popular Vip san Meditation. The Jaina path of purification is a synthesis of Right faith, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct ".e. tmadar ana, tmajn na and
tmarama a", in other words faith in the ayoga transcendental state of the soul, knowledge of transcending the mundane conditioning of mind, body and speech. The way of transcending materialism and manifestation of the spiritual personality within is termed as Mok a marg. Whether it is the Yoga Mrga of S nkhya, Visuddhi of Buddhism or Mok a marg of Jainism, all are intimately related and have influenced each other. It is worthwhile to see the unity of their expositions 12). The four basic doctrines acceptable to all these systems of Yoga are:
The existence of soul or consciousness as an independent entity. The soul or conscious entity is pure but is covered by a curtain of ignorance or kle as or karmas. The origin of such ignorance is unknowable, still there is a possibility of removing it by human efforts and lastly Self-stabilization of the soul or consciousness after getting rid of ignorance.
Although the four basic principles are the same, they are termed and named differently in each system. The following table summarizes the above four principles (3)
Details
S nkhya
Ny ya Vai e ika
Subject
Jain
Buddhist Independent existence Independent of consciousness consciousness named named j va or tm citta
Pure consciousness named Puru a
Consciousness named Atman or J va.
Cause of Bondage
Veiled by perverse attitude, delusion and karmas
Ignorance named samudaya and t i.e. desire
Avidhy or ignorance
False knowledge, veil of maya
la,
Path of liberation
Right Faith, Knowledge & Conduct
Eight-fold path sam dhi, prajn sa vara, nirjar
Discrimination and eight fold Yoga m rga
Right Knowledge and Yoga m rga
Mok a
Nirva
State of Liberation
Kaivalya videha mukti
Mukti or nih reyas
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The above table enumerates the reflections of the ancient saints and seers, who experienced reality but expressed it in different terminology. They did s dhan and through tapa i.e. austerity purified their souls just as gold was purified when subject to fire. Thus we see that the term 'tapa' was more in vogue than Yoga. The rama a is indicative of rama i.e. effort ama i.e. subduing of passions or sama i.e. balance of mind. The ramanas as well as Tapasas and Yogis saw the limitation of physical penance like fasting, mortification of the flesh, etc., and realized that conquer of senses and inner passions was important for liberation. The term tapa fell short of positive connotation; hence the term Yoga became popular, at least in the Vedic tradition. The term Yoga became indicative of the realization of the ultimate reality. It came to be considered as the best and short cut to reality.
Meaning of the Word Yoga
The word Yoga is derived from the root word 'yuj' which means to join' and it also means stability of mind. The ultimate aim of all Indian philosophies except C rv ka is liberation and this is possible by conquering the mind and transcending it. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, Yoga is defined as Yoga cittav ttinirodah ile giving up the activities of the citta i.e. consciousness (4) Gt says "Samatvam yoga ucyate" i.e. equanimity is Yoga. In Jainism it indicates the activities of body, speech and mind i.e. K yavanma ah karma yogah 15. The vibrations of the soul are termed as Yoga Haribhadhra says that what leads one to emancipation is Yoga [Mokke a joya o joggo savvo vi dhamma v v ro]
Tattv rtha Sutra further says the three-fold activity causes influx of karma' and when it is auspicious it is punya i.e. merit or virtue and when it is inauspicious it is p pa i.e. demerit or sin 8. One has to first give up all inauspicious activity (a ubha yoga); substitute them with auspicious activity ( ubha yoga) and then learn the art of uddhopayaga i.e. pure contemplation to be emancipated. The soul that is engrossed in a ubha yoga is the external self i.e. bahir tm, the one in ubha yoga is the internal self and the one absorbed in uddha yoga is the transcendental or pure self. In other words one has to check all the activities of the mind, body and speech for spiritual welfare and this is termed as sa vara i.e. stoppage of influx of karma. Just as water flows into a pond through the inlets, k rmika influx takes place through the three channels of activity (i.e. yoga). Hence the purpose of Jaina Yoga is to transcend all mundane activities and reach the ayoga state i.e. the state of soul without activities of mind speech and body, also called transcendental state of enlightenment and bliss. This state is inherent in all jv tm s and those who pursue and exert in the right direction eventually become param tm s or supreme self 9). In Jainism the term c ritra i.e. right conduct is the exact equivalent of the general term Yoga (10). It is said:
sravo ba dha hetusyat sa varo mok a k ra am,
Itiyam arhatid ti, anayat sarva prapanca am.
i.e. influx is the cause of bondage and sa vara is the cause of emancipation. This is Arhat faith in a nutshell; and rest is an elaboration of this. The five-fold regulations (samitis), the three-fold selfcontrol (guptis), ten-fold virtues (yati dharma), twelve-fold contemplations (anuprek s), conquest of twenty-two afflictions (pari ahas) and five-fold conduct (caritra) constitute the sa vara tattva i.e. stoppage of influx of karma. Besides the above 57 divisions, the twelve-fold austerities constitute the nirjar tattva 11 or annihilation of karmas. Fasting (an ana), regulated diet (unodari), taking alms (bhik cari), giving up of tasty diet (rasparity ga), physical postures (k yakle a) and control of senses (pratisaml nat ) are the six-fold external austerities. The six-fold internal austerities are:
Nine-fold expiation (pr ya citta): confession, repentance, penitential retreat etc. Four-fold reverences (vinaya) of faith, knowledge, conduct etc. Respectful service (vaiy v ttya) to ten supreme personalities. Five-fold study (sv dhy ya) teaching, enquiry, revising, contemplation and preaching Concentration (dhy na) i.e. meditation. Detachment (vyutsarga) i.e. renunciation
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Besides the practice of the above divisions of sa vara and nirjar which are the essential constituents of Jaina Yoga i.e. giving up the activities of mind, body and speech, perverse attitude, vow-less-ness, non-vigilance and passions which bind the soul have to be substituted with right attitude, taking to complete or partial vows, vigilance and conquering of passions respectively only then inauspicious yoga can be conquered and the objective of Yoga i.e. emancipation or freedom from afflictions be achieved. The above happen gradually as the soul advances on the 14 stages of spiritual development (gu asth na). The journey begins with right attitude or samyag dar ana, passes through right knowledge and right conduct and culminates in manifestation of infinite knowledge, vision, bliss and power.
The three Karmas and Gu asth nas Even though the soul has inherent capacity for emancipation, spiritual progress is not possible until the love for truth becomes a conscious pursuit. There is a tendency in the soul to run away from the circle of worldly existence. But this centrifugal tendency is thwarted by a centripetal force that keeps the soul tracing the circumference of the world process. The centripetal force consists in the passion of attraction and aversion rooted in perverse attitude 112. To conquer this centripetal force is the purpose of Yoga. The centripetal force is due to perversity and passions and has to be replaced by the centrifugal force which is love for the pure self and a deep spiritual insight.
The seat of Jaina Yoga is the self, the purpose of it is the purification of the self and the means of purification is the establishment of supremacy and full control by the self on its manifestation that has hitherto been conditioned by the senses and the mind. When the soul is ignorant of its pure state, it suffers from the Gordian knot of intense attachment and aversion. When it comes face to face with this Gordian knot of mithy tva i.e. perversity, it is termed as yath prav ttikara a. When it breaks the knot and experiences spiritual purification it is termed as apurvakara a.
The soul awakens and becomes self-conscious and this is the state of aniv ttikara a. The soul then enjoys the first dawn of enlightenment or spiritual insight (Samyag Dar ana). The journey that begins in the 4th gu asth na culminates in the 13th gu asth na that is sayoga kevali gu asth na, where the soul has become omniscient, perfect, pure, without blemish, enlightened and awakened. The three yogas of mind body, and speech are thus transcended and the soul passes through the 14th gu asth na which is the ayoga Kevali gu asth na to reach mok a which is a state of complete freedom from birth, death, old-age, disease, fear, sorrow, poverty, karmas, body, delusion, perversion, ignorance, passion etc. (13), Thus we see that the journey which begins with right faith is nourished through sa vara and nirjar and culminates in the ayoga state. Yoga according to Hemachandra is the cause of final emancipation and consists in the three fold jewels of right knowledge, right attitude and right conduct'14). It is the comprehension of the self in the self by the self on account of disappearance of the eternal delusion 15)
gamika References of Yoga Jaina tradition is an ascetic tradition and has stressed upon self-control and self-conquer for spiritual welfare. Lord Mah v ra the 24th t rtha kara underwent rigorous austere and yogic practices for twelve and a half years and exercised complete silence, stillness, equanimity, compassion, renunciation, inward looking, contemplation, detachment with right attitude and right knowledge. The purpose of his yogic practices was to discover the peace within, which he eventually did after steadfast faith and total absorption of the self in the self. The c ra ga Sutra book I chapter 9 gives detailed information of the dhy na Yoga of Lord Mah vra wherein he has been called as ayatayogi i.e. he lived in the present moment. His mind, senses, intellect, feelings and subtle dispositions were all directed towards the discovery of the self 16. The values that he propounded after becoming enlightened are, non-violence, compassion, spirituality, self-esteem, steadfastness, equanimity, tolerance, multi-dimensional viewpoint, detachment etc. His teachings emphasized the physiological, psychological, sociological, environmental, emotional and spiritual well-being of a person. The Samavay ga Sutra enumerates the 32 aspects of Yoga and they are as follows (17)
To confess one's sins before the spiritual master. Not to reveal the confessions of others
•
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To be steadfast in righteousness/ Dharma. To take to austere practices with detachment. To be well versed in scriptural knowledge and put the same to practice Not to adorn the body. Taking to austere practices and not publicizing them. Giving up greed. To practice tolerance. To be efficient in practicing self-control. To be simple, simplicity is an important trait of a Yogi. Purification of right faith. Being calm and poised. To be straightforward in practicing the vows. Being devoted to arihantas and other spiritual personages. To be firm and enduring. Fear of transmigration and desire for freedom Giving up deceitfulness. Being dedicated to the path so taken. Giving up influx of karma. Purification of sins and blemishes. Complete renunciation of pleasures. Steadfast practice of the vows. Steadfast practice of other disciplinary regulations. Complete bodily detachment. Giving up non-vigilance i.e. carelessness To be alert and aware. Taking to virtuous and pure contemplations. Giving up the fear of death. Being alone in the company of the self. To expiate for one's sins and shortcomings. To be constantly engaged in the study of the self and scriptures, even at the time of death.
Thus we see that in Jaina Agamas the term Yoga connotes different meanings:
Meditation (dhy na) Tapa (austerity) Caritra (conduct) Samvara (stoppage of influx of karma) Nirjar (annihilation of karma) Adhy tma (spirituality) Bh van (contemplation) Samata (equanimity) etc.
The Jaina Agamas give a detailed description of dhy na, which is the 7th A ga of the eight-fold P tanjali Yoga. Dhy na may be inauspicious and auspicious. rta Dhy na and Raudra Dhy na are mournful and cruel concentrations, which are inauspicious, and Dharma Dhy na and ukla Dhy na are virtuous and pure concentrations, which are auspicious. Each has been further subdivided into four and the aspirant is cautioned and advised to give up the former and pursue the latter (18)
Four divisions of mournful
contemplation
Contact with undesirable and unpleasant things and people Separation from the loved ones and dear things. Anxiety about health and illness. Craving for sensual pleasures
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Four divisions of cruel
contemplation
Thoughts of violence Thoughts of falsehood Thoughts of theft Thoughts of protecting material possessions and people
Four divisions of virtuous
contemplation
Reflections on the teachings of the Jinas Reflections on the shortcomings of passion Reflections on the fruit of karma Reflections on the universe
Four divisions of pure
contemplation
Contemplation on different aspects of a substance Contemplation on one aspect of a substance Cessation of the yogas of a mind and speech Cessation of the yoga of subtle bodily activities
•
The first two types are inauspicious dhy na or Yoga and the last two are auspicious. Both dhy na or Yoga are used as synonyms and convey the same meaning in this context. Thus the system of Yoga in Jaina gamas has been discussed through triple jewels, nine tattvas, two types of conduct, fourteen stages of spiritual development, twelve fold nirjar, advanced spiritual practices (pratim s). sallekhan etc.
6th
8th
The following table gives a list of some important post- gamika Yoga works19). Century Author
Text 1st crya Kumkakunda
Samayasara Pravacanasara 2nd and 3rd crya Umaswati
Tattvartha Sutra 4th and 5th Bhadrabahu II
va yaka Niryukti 4th and 5th Pujyapada Devanandi Samadhi Tantra, I topade a Jinabhadragani
Dhyana ataka c rya Haribhadra
Yoga Grantha Catu aya 9th c rya Jinasena
Mahapurana 11th c rya Ramasena
Tattv nu asana 11th c rya ubhachandra
Jn nar ava 11th Somadeva Suri
Yogasara 12th c rya Hemachandra Yogashastra 13th Pandit. shadharji
Athy tma Rahasya 15th Sundarasuri
Athy tma Kalpadruma 18th Vinayavijayji
Shantasudharasa 18th Upadhyaya
YashovijayajiAthyatmopanishad, etc. 20th and 21st crya Tulsi and Mahaprajna Manonu asanam, 60 books on Prek
Dhy na
In the spiritual tradition of India, Yoga occupies an important place and in the yogic tradition, dhy na or meditation occupies an important place, and the Jaina gamas are confined to the discussion of
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Yoga as dhy na. But the above table speaks at great length of the various yogic traditions of Jainism, enumerated and discussed by the illustrious cryas from time to time. Based on the available gamika and post gamika literature, we can broadly classify the Jaina dhy na yoga s dhan practices in four periods [20] viz:
1.
Period
2.
1.
In the first period K yotsarga, Bh van, Vip san and Vicaya were important. People practised meditation, contemplation not for days but for months and years together to accomplish selfrealization and emancipation. Lord Mah v ra himself fasted and meditated for 12.5 years; so did his 50,000 monks, nuns and other lay followers.
3.
2.
After the 1st Century A.D, philosophical speculation paved way for scriptural study and so Dhy na s dhan took back seat. In the 3rd period c rya Haribhadra and others made a comparative study of Jaina Yoga and P tanjali Yoga and numerous texts on Yoga were written during this period.
4.
3.
During the 18th century works we can see the impact of devotion (bhakti) on Yoga and so many Yoga works were written based on bhakti. The modern age is an age of scientific research and speculation, hence Yoga and meditation practices have been scientifically interpreted and thus we have Prek Dhy na, A peh Dhy na, deep rooted in spirituality for spiritual health and welfare.
Eight d is of Haribhadra's Yoga
Haribhadra made a very valuable contribution to the comparative study of Yoga. He composed a number of works on the subject [21]. He wrote Yogabindu and Yogad isamuccaya in Sanskrit and Yoga ataka and Yogavim ik in Prak ta. In the Yogad isamuccaya he talks of two types of attitudes towards truth viz. Ogha d i and Yoga d i. Ogha d i is the attitude of the souls, which have not cut the knot of perversion, or ignorance, and Yoga di is the attitude of the spiritually advanced souls. The following table enumerates the comparison of Patanjali's A nga Yoga and Haribhadra's Yoga di [22]
4.
Di Translation Patanjali
Haribhadra
6.
c rya
Century
From Lord Mah vra to c rya Kundakunda
6th C B.C to 1st C.A.D
From crya Kundakunda to c rya Haribhadra 1st C.A.D to 8th C.A.D
From crya Haribhadra to c rya Ya ovijaya
8th C.A.D to 18th C.A.D
From
c rya Ya ovijaya to date
18th C.A.D to date
Vows
Self-control
Posture
Regulation of Breadth
5. Withdrawal of senses
Fixing of Mind
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Free from
Yama Mitr Inerita
Niyama Tar - Anxiety sana Bal - Unsteadiness Pr y ma - Dipr - Distraction
Praty h ra - Sthir - Lapse of memory
Accompanied with
Freedom from prejudice Inquisitiveness Love for listening
Attentive hearing
Comprehension
Dh ra - K nt - Attraction for Critical Evaluation something else
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Straw
Cowdung
Firewood
Lamp
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7.
Concentration
Clear Conviction
Dhy na - Prabh - Mental disturbance
Sun
8.
Ecstasy
Sam dhi- Par - Attachment
Moon
The first four d is are unsteady and fallible. The last four are steady and infallible. In the first d i called Mitr, the soul has indistinct enlightenment like a flash. In this stage it accumulates the seeds of Yoga. It is in front of the Gordian knot and is noble in character. In the second d i the soul exercises a bit of self control and becomes steady in spirituality. It desires to get rid of the worldly existence. In the third d i the desire deepens and the soul gains control over posture and in the fourth d i it gets control over breath. Although real spiritual progress has not yet set in, the soul tries to capture the image of the truth instead of the truth itself [23]. When the soul cultivates the right faith and cuts the knot it is said to reach the fifth stage of Sthir and enlightenment has now dawned on it. In the sixth stage the soul is engrossed in spiritual contemplation and the worldly pleasures do not allure him any longer. The seventh d i is Prabh where the soul has developed concentration and is free from mental disturbances and the eighth d i called Par is the consummation of dhy na, where the soul experiences spiritual joy ie ecstasy (Samadhi). It is pure, blemish-less and perfect. This is perfection of Yoga and by means of the last Yoga known as ayoga the soul achieves emancipation 124). All the knots are cut, karmas annihilated, mission fulfilled, vision and knowledge shine in clarity and nothing more remains to be achieved after this.
Haribhadra also discusses the three names of Yoga viz. Icch -Yoga i.e. Yoga by intention, stra Yoga i.e. Yoga by scripture and S marthya Yoga i.e. Yoga by exertion (25). He also talks of four types of Yogis i.e. Gotrayogi, Kulayogi, Pravrttacakrayogi, Nispannayogi 261. Yogabindu discusses about the preparation for perfection through spirituality. (Adhyatma), contemplation (bh van ), concentration (dhy na), equanimity (samat ) and annihilation of residual karmas (v ttisamk aya). He discusses 2 forms of Yoga, Ni caya Yoga and Vyavah ra Yoga in his Yoga ataka and four categories of s dhaka i.e. aspirants. Viz.
1. Apunarbandhaka. 2. Samyagdi 3. De avirati, 4. Sarvavirati.
Undoubtedly Haribhadra is influenced by P tanjali but through his works he has neatly interwoven the Jaina beliefs and practices for the common man to understand and relate with. Haribhadra compares Yoga to a kalpataru i.e. wish-fulfilling tree and says that whosoever turns inward and searches the truth, shall find it and eventually be liberated.
un narnava of ubhacandra is another beautiful thought provoking text, which discusses the 16-fold contemplations and reveals that when one wakes up from the slumber of delusion and practices the virtues, supreme ecstasy sets in and truth then reveals itself (27) He also distinguishes the three states of the soul as discussed earlier. He draws a very beautiful picture of a yogi engrossed in spirituality. A spiritual yogi dives deep into the ocean of compassion and loving kindness and is absolutely free from attachment and hatred. His body is steady and his mind is purified by the waves of enlightenment 28). He discusses four types of dhy na viz. Pindastha, Padastha, Rupastha and Rup tita129)
According to crya Hemachandra Yoga is the cause of final emancipation and he has discussed Yoga through right character and distinguishes four kinds of mental states viz. scattered (vik ipta). scattered cum collected (y t y ta), collected ( li ta) and merged (sulina) (30) R. William has discussed Muni c ra and rvak c ra in his book titled Jaina Yoga.
In modern times meditation on the Namas ra sutra, Navapada r dhan through colours, Prek meditation and also Vip san seem to be commonly practiced by Jains worldwide. But all Jain c ryas
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stress the need for right understanding and right knowledge for the right practice of Yoga. The attitude is of prime importance for it is the right attitude that makes the Yoga right and leads to realizing the ayoga state. For a thorough study of Jain Yoga it is recommended to acquire a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of Jainism, which include Jaina metaphysics, ethics, Karma theory, gu asth na etc.
The entire study of Yoga in the words of Sankar c rya can be summed up as follows:
Satsangatve NihsA gatvam, Nihsa gatve Nirmohatvam,
Nirmohatve Ni calitatvam, Ni calitatve J vanmuktih
(through steady devotion of the supreme consciousness, complete detachment is possible, through detachment delusion is dissolved, and then complete stability in the supreme consciousness can be attained, which eventually leads to emancipation).S. M. Desai lays down the parallels and benefits of Yoga in his book 'Haribhadra's works and psycho-synthesis'. His broad conclusions are noteworthy:
1. Yoga renders a great service both to philosophy and psychology and is a psycho
philosophic system and has a dynamics of its own. 2. It provides a technique for the search of reality by all psychic means. 3. It is an exercise of consciousness on consciousness itself and attempts to find keys to peep
into the recesses of the consciousness too. Yoga heightens consciousness and tries to get
rid of Avidy (ignorance). 4. Yoga unfolds human psyche, enlivens it, expands it, strengthens it, makes it dynamic and
thereby transforms it completely by means of meditation, spiritual ethics and special inner
processes. 5. It provides the highest goal of life and prepares the s dhaka for its quickest achievement.
Yoga is not satisfied with a smaller goal nor is it content with higher siddhi in the form of spiritual powers. It rests content only with the achievement of the highest of the high, the
supreme goal of self-realisation or God-Realisation. 6. Yoga provides the shortest cut to reach this goal but this is possible only for the s dhaka
with very intense efforts. But even a s dhaka with mild efforts uplifts his life. Every effort in
yoga is comparatively speedier in enabling the upliftment of the s dhaka's life. 7. Such potency of Yoga is due to its empirical and operational character. Its operation is
more psychic than physical. 8. Yoga is an art as well as a science. It is an art because it teaches the art of living on higher
levels of consciousness. It is a science as it teaches ways to research the truths of life and
how consciously practice by experiencing them. 9. Yoga is a spiritual science of human psyche and human life and reality itself. 10. Yoga-works and processes need a constant approach of synthesis, as general human
tendency is to fragment everything. Yoga requires a holistic approach as needed in the present times (31)
References:
[1] Haribhadra's Yoga works and Psychosynthesis [2] Ibid Pg. 12. [3] Ibid Pg.12. [4] Yogadarsana 1.2. [5] Tattv rtha Sutra. [6] Sth nA ga Sutra. [7] Yogavim ik
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[8] Tattv rtha Sutra 6.2, 6.3
[9] Brahad loyana.
[10] Studies in Jaina Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia Pg. 262.
[11] Uthar dhyayana Sutra.
[12] Studies in Jaina Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia Pg.269.
[13] Ava yaka Sutra.
[14] Yoga stra 1.15.
[15] Ibid 4.2.
[16]
c ranga Sutra Chapter 9.4, 322.
[17] Samav yA ga Sutra 32nd Samavaya.
[18] Tattv rtha Sutra, Sth nA ga Sutra.
[19] Jaina Yoga and S dhan, Jain Vishwa Bharati Lessons.
[20] Ibid
[21] Studies in Jaina Philosophy Pg.293.
[22] Yogad isamuccaya by Ac rya Haribhadra.
[23] Studies in Jaina Philosophy by Nathmal Tatia. Pg.302.
[24] Yogad isamuccaya by Ac rya Haribhadra.
[25] Ibid
[26] Ibid Svopajñav tti
[27] Jn arava 27
[28] Ibid 28
[29] Ibid 37-40.
[30] Yoga stra 12.4
[31] Haribhadra's Yoga Works and Psycho synthesis by S.M. Desai
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6.0.h
Relevance of Sallekhan in Today's Society and Euthanasia Dr. D. S. Baya
1.0 Introduction
The literature in all languages, the scriptures of all religions and preachers of all faiths have vexed themselves eloquent to emphasize the inevitability of death but, at the same time they have also said that the death is one of the most fearsome, painful, sorrowful, miserable and frightening happening. The Uttar dhyayanasutra says that birth, death, decay and disease are sorrows; the mundane existence itself is full of sorrow, where the living beings feel miserable. [1] In the same vein di ankar c rya says that repeated births and deaths and lying in the wombs of mothers are very painful. [2
It has, therefore, been the endeavor of all the great and noble saints and prophets down the ages to find a way to free the living beings in general and the humanity in particular from this pain, sorrow and misery. Sallekhan is one of such means to meet death squarely without fear or misery.
Presentation and Discussion
The presentation and discussion are proposed to centre on the following points:
1. Inevitability of death and the fear of death.
2. Can fear and misery associated with death be overcome? If yes, how?
3. The concept and practice of Sallekhan.
4. Sallekhan as 'Voluntary Peaceful Death' or the death sans fear and misery.
5. Relevance of Sallekhan in today's society.
6. Euthanasia: comparison with Sallekhan.
1.1 Inevitability and Fear of Death
That the Death is inevitable needs no proof. We all see people dying around us all the time. All that are born have to die, sooner or later. Bhagvadg t says, "One who takes birth must die some day and one who dies must be reborn somewhere. [3] However, it is not the death but the fear of death that is the point of discussion here. Though death is so natural that it comes to all without any distinction, the dying very seldom take it so naturally. The reason behind the fear of death, basically, lies in two things:
1. The love for life,
2.
The uncertainty associated with the afterlife.
The love for life: No matter what the quality of life that a living being enjoys or suffers, it does not wish to die but to live on. Even the poor and the miserable who can be heard as wishing to die all the time, back out when the death stares them in the face and beg to live on. Life is the dearest thing and one wants to hold on to it as long as possible. As death means dissociation from life or the termination of life, it frightens.
Uncertainty Associated with Afterlife: One is never sure of what lies in store for him in the afterlife. This uncertainty is also a potent cause of the fear of death.
1.2 Can the Fear and Misery associated with Death be overcome?
The fear and misery associated with death can be overcome if we can address the causes that result in such fear and misery.
Firstly, the love of life and the desire to live on springs from a lack of appreciation of the purpose of life as well as a lack of belief in a life after death. The believers of rebirth and afterlife, to that extent, feel less frightened and miserable as compared to those who believe that there is nothing but perpetual darkness after this life. Also, an appreciation of the purpose of life gives one a balanced outlook towards life and when one feels that, due to a variety of reasons, the body is unable to fulfil the purpose of life, one is prepared to face death with dignity in the hope of a suitable rebirth and of regaining a body capable of achieving the purpose of life better in the next birth. For such believers, present life is one in a continuum of lives in which the purpose of life is to be fulfilled. For such believers the death ceases to be frightening.
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Secondly, for a reasoning being, that the human being is, the afterlife is also not such an absolutely uncertain commodity after all. The quality of afterlife largely depends on the activities of the present life and if one has led a pious life, he can be reasonably sure of a good afterlife and it certainly reduces the fear of death just like in the case of a traveller who has made all the necessary reservations and, consequently, can travel arrangements and, consequently, can hope to have a good trip.
2.1 The Concept and Practice of Sallekhan
As this subject has already been covered, at length in a previous lecture discussion, I shall skip it with minimal reference. The very purpose of Sallekhan is to reduce the fear and anxiety associated with death and to prepare the dying, psychologically, to face death with equanimity in a peaceful state of mind. It does so by drawing his attention to the purpose of life that is to be fulfilled in a number of lives in a continuum.
I am sure; you have been exposed to the three different regimens, at three different levels of rigor, which have been in vogue for the practice of Sallekhan. I shall just name them for a quick recall. The three regimens are:
1. The longest one of twelve years' duration
2.
The medium one of one year's duration, and
3. The short one of anything up to six months' duration.
Three levels of rigor are: 1. Bhaktapraty khy na, 2. I gin, and 3. Pr yopagamana.
Sallekhan as Voluntary Peaceful Death' or the death without fear and misery: As has been hinted earlier, Sallekhan enjoys the distinctions of being voluntary and of being peaceful and, therefore, can be justly termed as the 'Voluntary Peaceful Death.' As it is the death in a state of equanimity and peace of mind, it is the death without fear and misery.
2.2 Relevance of Sallekhan in Today's Society -
This is the most pertinent part of this discussion. The answer to the question: 'Is Sallekhan relevant in today's society?' is the most sought after answer. Actually, the question of death is so personal that each one has to find the answer to this question by oneself and no generalization can be made. However, if we carefully look at today's society, the point cannot miss us that in the present run for material goodies, the peace and tranquility eludes most of us and we cannot help feeling miserable and fearful when we come face to face with death.
As has been brought out earlier, in spite of all the causes of fear associated with death, one may not die a frightened and miserable death. As the death can be rationalized and steps taken to reduce the fear and misery, it is within everyone's reach to die a peaceful, tranquil death in a state of equanimity of mind. Because Sallekhan is such death, it never becomes irrelevant but remains relevant in all ages and at all times. It is, therefore, relevant for today's society as well.
As a part of my study of Sallekhan for my PhD. thesis, I had gathered data on the Sallekhan s undertaken over a period of ten years from 01 January, 1994 to 31 December, 2003. It will be an eye opener for most of us to know that nearly twenty persons embrace Sallekhan every month. The data is presented hereunder for ready reference:
1. Period of Study: Jan 1994 to Dec 2003.
2. Sample Size: 350 cases.
3. Extrapolated figure for the incidence of 'Voluntary Peaceful Death' in the last ten years: 2400.
4. Average incidence of 'Voluntary Peaceful Death'
1. Per year: 240
2. Per month: 20
5. Sources of Information:
1. Newspapers:
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. Rajasthan Patrik , Daily, Udaipur Edition.
• Dainik Bhaskar, Daily, Udaipur Edition. 2. Periodicals:
. Jaina Gazette, Weekly, Lucknow. - Jaina Mitra, Weekly, Surat.
Jaina Sandesh, Weekly, Mathura.
Jaina Prakash, Mumbai. 3. Magazines and Journals:
· Jaina Dharma Jyoti, Monthly, Bhilwara. . Jinavani, Monthly, Jaipur. • Sramanopasak, Monthly, Bikaner.
. Sramana Samskriti, Monthly, Beawar. 6. Limitations Of The Study: Though all possible efforts were made to gather as much
information about the practitioners of Voluntary Peaceful Death from as authentic sources as possible, the following limitations have been noticed: 1. Only about 750 issues out of 1500 possible issues of the newspapers,
periodicals, magazines and journals could be accessed for a sample of 350 cases of Voluntary Peaceful Death'. In most cases, the reporting of the cases is incomplete and does not carry most vital information about the aspirant practitioner such as age, period of preparatory penance and period of fast unto death, the supervising monk, etc. In most cases it only mentions that such and such person has died a peaceful death (Sam dhimara a) without any further elaboration. In all such cases it has been assumed that the aspirant practitioner had taken the vow
of Voluntary Peaceful Death' and died on the same day. 3. c. It has been assumed that the person embracing Voluntary Peaceful Death
had forgiven all and sought forgiveness of all, especially those with whom he
was inimical earlier. 4. In 81 cases out of 350, the age of the aspirant practitioner had not been
indicated. These cases have been distributed in proportion to the age group
wise distribution arrived at from the remaining 269 cases. 5. In cases where no specific mention of the preparatory penance (Sallekhan )
has been made, it has been assumed that no preparatory penance was undertaken.
2.3 The Findings of the Study Incidence of Sam dhimara a
The sample of 350 cases analysed here is, at best, only a part sample. Extrapolation has been resorted to arrive at the more plausible figure of 700 cases in the last ten years for the sections of Jaina (especially the vet mbara sect) represented by them. Also, the periodicals referred to P represent only some sections of the Jaina society and, as such, the figure of 700 cases of Voluntary Peaceful Death is also only a part of the total figure. A conservative estimate arrived at by extrapolating these figures is that nearly 2400 cases of Sam dhimara a must have taken place in the last ten years, which account for almost 240 cases per year or twenty cases per month. This is, by no means a mean figure and it shows the importance attached to this practice in the Jaina scheme of spiritual practices. This figure also holds well with an estimated figure reported in the 'India Today dated 18 February, 2001 wherein it has been claimed that only two sections of vet mbara (Sth nakav s and Ter panth) Jainas report 170 cases of Sam dhimara a per year.
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Digambara Tradition Svetambara Tradition Total
%
No. %
350 100
No.
90
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Tradition
Total
Digambara 41
140 120
Tradition-wise Distribution of Cases
vet mbara 11
100
ឌ ន
80
26
40
20
0
Status-wise Distribution Of Cases
Monks Nuns 35
46,1% 39,3% 1,0% 97
26 10,3% 38,3% 63
4,3%
54
No.
260
I
Nuns
Monks
Status
Lay male Lay female
9
4
Average incidence of 'Voluntary Peaceful Death'
108
%
74
Per year 240
Per month
20
Lay Males
Monks
0,6%
119
47%
125
27
42,6%
Lay Females
Total
Digambara vet mbara Total
36
63
57,4%
100%
89
100%
253
100%
This distribution shows that overall the householders, both males and females; embrace the vow of 'Voluntary Peaceful Death' in much greater number than their ascetics counter parts. However, there seems to be a complete shift of emphasis as far as the two major Jain traditions (sky-clad and whiteclad) are concerned. While the monks and nuns rule the field in the former, it is the householders in the latter. This is clearly visible in the graphic alongside as well as in the tabulated data given below.
350
Sky-clad White-clad
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No.
%
Digambara vet mbara Total 27
36
63
57,4%
42,6% 100%
Nuns
Lay Male Followers
Digambara vet mbara Total
10
108
8,5%
100%
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Lay Female Followers
Digambara vet mbara Total
5
125
120 96,0% 100%
4,0%
Urban Area
98
91,5%
Area-Wise Distribution of Cases
AgeGroup 21-30 31-40 41-50
4
3
3
1,1
0,8
0,8
More people from the urban areas take to the vow of Voluntary Peaceful Death' as compared to those from the rural areas. This is probably due to the fact that firstly, the people from the urban areas are; generally, more conscious and can appreciate the spiritual benefit that might accrue from such a practice. Secondly, as compared to the villages, better support by way of continued presence of the monks and nuns and other infrastructure is available in the towns.
Age-Group-Wise Distribution of Cases
Rural Area
Number
% Number %
Number %
220 62,9% 13 37,1% 350 100%
Total
51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 >100 Total 14 135 28 350 38,9 8,0 100
4,0
52
99
17,0 28,3
Average age (at the time of death) of the sample group: 77 years and four months. The model age group of the distribution is 81-90. This is the age group in which maximum number of cases of Sam dhimara a occurs. The medium age group is 71-80. The mean deviation of the distribution is 3.1. The Standard Deviation of the distribution is 12.4 meaning that the distribution is quite deviated from normal. This is quite apparent from the graph, which is far from the bell-shaped curve of normal distribution. This is quite logical also as the practitioners of Sam dhimara a are generally in higher age groups and the distribution has to be heavily skewed towards that direction.
4 1,1
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From this data (also graphically represented in the line-graph given below) it is obvious that maximum incidence of embracing Voluntary Peaceful Death' is in the age group of 61-100 years. This fact is also supported by the finding of this study that the average age of the practitioners of Voluntary Peaceful Death' is 77 years.
Series 1
M
21-40 41-60 61-80 81-100 > 100 YRS YRS YRS YRS YRS
Reasons for embracing 'Voluntary Peaceful Death'
Reason
Number
Accident or Emergency Old-age / Incurable Disease Total
337
350 3,6
96,4
100
Percentage
This data and the graph alongside clearly show that there are only a few cases of accidental deaths in which the dying takes the vow of 'Santh ra-', assume a disposition of equanimity and dies a peaceful death. Most cases of embracing of Voluntary Peaceful Death' are due to one's inability to carry on with the religious practices owing to weakness and infirmity of old age and sufferings wrought by incurable diseases.
Distribution of Cases of Sam dhimara a with and without Sallekhan With Sallekhan - 26 (7.4 % of the sample)
Period Of Sallekhan Tradition 12 Years
Over 1 year Under 1 year Digambara
Total
vet mbara
Without Sallekhan - 324 (92.6 % of the sample) From this distribution, it is apparent that winter season is the most favourite season for the practitioners of 'Voluntary Peaceful Death'. It stands to reason, as the winter does not take kindly to the old, weak and the feeble.
3.1 Euthanasia The life - own or other's - is sacred and taking it away either by accident or by design is considered as a sin by all the religious philosophies of the world. The Jaina Prophets and preceptors down the ages have considered life, not only human but also of the lowliest of the low creatures, as sacred and inviolable. Even then man has resorted to killing others in the name of wars or game or otherwise
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and taking his own life away under various pretexts. Also life is very dear and all the thinkers, preceptors and philosophers have vexed themselves eloquent in saying that 'all living beings want to live and none wants to die'. On the other hand there is death, which can be natural (Cyut), forced (Cy vit) and voluntary (Tyakta). Whatever be its form, in most cases it has always evoked fear. Even then the history of human race is replete with the incidents of death inflicted on oneself and the others on one pretext or the other.
Among the voluntary deaths also there are deaths by personal choice under widely varying circumstances and those that are part of religious rituals or practices. Amidst this line of thought, there are quite a few religions that consider voluntary death, embraced under suitable frame of mind, as soul-liberating and recommend it for their followers. Jainism is one such religious philosophy that glorifies voluntary peaceful death (Sallekhan or Sam dhimara a) as a very potent means of shedding the karmic encumbrance that the soul has been carrying since time immemorial and, hence, a way to seeking spiritual emancipation and final liberation from the mundane existence. So much so that all the incidents mentioned in Jaina scriptures where an aspirant practitioner has liberated, he has done so by embracing voluntary death in a state of equanimity of mind, with his soul free from desire, passions and attachment and aversion and at peace with itself.
However, all is not well with 'voluntary deaths' and these very religions consider many of such deaths as not only not liberating but positively soul-shackling. Jainism is no exception to this distinction amongst various forms of voluntary deaths that can be grouped under the following heads:
1. Sallekhan or Sam dhimara a or 'Voluntary Peaceful Death',
2. Other religious deaths,
3.
Honour deaths,
4. Euthanasia, and
5. Suicide.
In this lecture cum discussion, it will be my Endeavour to discuss various facets of Euthanasia and to compare it with Sallekhan.
3.2 Euthanasia and Sallekhan or Sam dhimara a
The question of the right of the humans, the most thoughtful and intelligent beings on planet Earth, to decide for themselves as to when and how to die has been debated ever since they suffered intolerable and incurable maladies and wanted no more of it. However, the advocates of Euthanasia or gift of death to the suffering and terminally ill people to mitigate their misery considered the human life as a personal affair and disregarded its religious and socio-cultural aspects. In any cultured society a human life is not only a personal matter but also a social one. Human death does not affect only the dying and the dead but also his family, friends, kith and kin and the whole society at large. When a person dies he leaves behind bereaved survivors with whom he has emotional relationships, who feel his absence and mourn for him. There are funeral rites that are attended by others. He leaves behind a society - his business associates, co-workers, those with whom he has had financial dealings like the lenders, borrowers, bankers, etc. that are affected in one way or the other. However, the question arises that how much is his obligation to the society at large and to what extent he should suffer for its sake. All his obligations except the emotional ones can be taken care of with due planning and there must come a time when even his near and dear ones and the society must feel that he has suffered enough and call a halt to it by allowing him to get a gift of a painless, peaceful and dignified death.
Painless, peaceful and dignified death to the incurably diseased and immitigably suffering is what is intended by 'Euthanasia', which means 'good death' or 'dying well. The Oxford Dictionary defines euthanasia as "(bringing about of a) gentle and painless death for a person suffering from a painful incurable disease, extreme old-age, etc". [4] Yet another definition says, "Euthanasia is simply to be able to die with dignity at a moment when life is devoid of it. It is a purely voluntary choice, both on the part of the owner of this life and on the part of the doctor who knows that this is no longer a life. [5] When the gift of death is made, with all good intentions, at the sufferer's own request it is
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referred to as "voluntary euthanasia' or 'active euthanasia'. However, good intentions not withstanding, the term is also equally applied to what is known as 'mercy-killing' or 'involuntary euthanasia' or 'assive euthanasia'. In this sense, too, it is intended to ease the sufferings of those sufferers such as the mind-dead victims of accidents, physically deformed and mentally incapacitated babies and others who are not in a position to make a request. On the other hand the tyrannical regimes apply it to take the lives of the old, the mentally retarded and other unwanted members of society, which are nothing but culpable homicides amounting to murders.
Not withstanding all the hype and hoopla, this issue is not as simple as it looks on the surface. This issue has two clear cur sides each with their own very strong arguments. In what follows we present a balanced view on its two sides and compared the practice of euthanasia with the practice of Sallekhan Sam dhi-mara a.
The Arguments for (Voluntary) Euthanasia:
1. It upholds the sufferer's right to die a painless and dignified death as and when he
chooses to die. 2. It shortens the life but also shortens the suffering, which is of vital concern from the
sufferer's point of view. 3. It is applied only on voluntary specific request from the suffering when the doctor
also feels that the disease is incurable and the suffering is immitigable. 4. It is applied in the cases of extremely old and persons suffering from incurable
diseases like advanced stages of AIDS, Cancer, Kidney failure, Alzheimer's disease,
Nervous disorders, etc only. 5. It upholds human dignity, which is compromised in the cases of old-age and
suffering. 6. It is voluntary on the parts of both the sufferer and the doctor to whom the request
is made.
In The Case Of Passive Euthanasia (Mercy-Killing):
1. It is the case of humane killing and when applied with discretion in the case of the
brain dead persons etc, it is an act of mercy to end the suffering of those who cannot even tell. In most cases the doctor just has to discontinue the life support systems such as the ventilator, feeding tubes etc and the patient passes away without any suffering and pain.
Arguments against Euthanasia:
1. The God giveth and the God taketh'; no one else has a right to intervene in the
divine process of life and death. The man cannot give life so he must not take life,
voluntarily or otherwise. 2. Though humane it is still killing. 3. It does not enjoy any religious approval. 4. It has legal implications. 5. It can be grossly misused by the vested interests and irresponsible regimes.
Comparison This description of voluntary and involuntary euthanasia and the arguments for and against its practice give us enough grounds to draw a comparison between this practice and the practice of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a. They are as follows:
1. Euthanasia is practiced from purely personal and medical points of view while
Sallekhan Sam dhimara a from that of spiritual emancipation point of view. 2. In euthanasia the person surrenders to the pain and suffering and wishes to
die while in the practice of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a he braves the suffering while patiently waiting the death to visit him.
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3. The seeker of euthanasia is not at all calm and composed while that of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a is in a state of peace and equanimity of mind.
4. Euthanasia is pure desire to die while Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a is the practice of immortality.
5. The practice of euthanasia is aided by the doctor who simply administers the lethal dose of chemical to ease life out. He is least concerned about the psychic state of the patient at the time of death while the practice of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a is aided and assisted by the Niry pakas who constantly endeavour to maintain the kṣapaka's peace of mind.
6. The practice of euthanasia is attended by despondence and anger (rtadhy na and Raudradhy na) while that of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a. is attended by pious thoughts (Dharmadhy na).
7. The practice of euthanasia is sought by the cowards that cannot bear the fruits of their karma while that of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a by those brave and patient aspirants who bear them with courage and fortitude.
8. The result of euthanasia is spiritually unrewarding death while that of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a is spiritually rewarding one.
9. In the case of passive euthanasia the subject cannot make a decision for himself he is simply killed, albeit mercifully, while the practice of Sallekhan - Sam dhimara a cannot proceed without the voluntary consent of the aspirant practitioner.
10. The practitioner of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a sets his sights on the ultimate good of achieving nirv na or immortality while euthanasia aims at a very narrow concept of painless death, which may also be only an euphemism.
11. The concept of euthanasia is only about dying well while that of Sallekhan - Sam dhimara a is also about living well. "One who lives a pious life, dies a peaceful death", it proclaims.
12. The practice of euthanasia is fraught with legal complications while that of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a is not.
13. Killing how-so-ever painlessly is a violent activity so euthanasia may look merciful at the surface but it is violent in nature. Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a, on the other hand, is non-violent from the beginning to the end.
14. The practice of euthanasia does nothing to improve the quality of life of the subject by way of de-addiction, psychological strengthening, prayers etc while these are a part of the practice of Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a.
This comparison clearly shows that there is nothing in common between the practices of euthanasia and Sallekhan -Sam dhimara a except that both may be voluntary. No spiritual benefit can ensue from the practice of euthanasia.
4.0 Conclusion
From the presentation made, the following conclusions can be drawn:
1. Sallekhan is the most sought after peaceful death, which can relieve the human being from the fear and misery of death.
2. Sallekhan is relevant in all ages and in all times. It is very much relevant in today's society as well.
3. Euthanasia is a form of voluntary death that may be resorted to relieve the terminally ill and miserably suffering human beings from their painful life but it does not compare well with Sallekhan, which is death in a state of equanimity and peace of mind. Euthanasia has its merits and drawbacks.
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References:
[1] Uttaradhyayanasutra, 19/16.
[2] Adi Shankaracharya, Mohamudgarastotra, 21.
[3] Srimadbhagvadgita, 2/27.
[4] Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary Of Current English, Oxford, 1990, p. 411.
[5] Face To Face, John and Perry, p. 515. (Q. Philosophical Study Of Sallekhana), Chougule P.B., Ph. D. Thesis, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 2001, p. 221.
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6.0.j
Women Ascetics in Jaina Tradition
Dr. Mrs. K. Majumdar
1.0 Introduction Jainism is a non-vedic, ramanic religion, which denies the existence of a creator God and instead, accepts the authority of its own gamas. The ideas and practices expounded by the Trtha karas were continuously preached and developed by the ascetics of the Jaina tradition; and asceticism and renunciation have been the hallmark of the Jaina tradition. All the Trtha karas were believed to have established a four- fold religious community, caturvidha sa gha, of monks, nuns and of layfollowers, male and female. The ascetic community and the laity have always lived in harmony and interdependence; and the former, who live a hard and austere life of total renunciation, has always enjoyed a superior and respectful position in Jaina society.
One of the important characteristic features of Jaina asceticism is the liberal attitude towards women who are permitted to embrace the ascetic life. They are given the full scope in matters of spiritual aspiration right from the beginning. During the period of all the T rtha karas, women ascetics have always featured in a vital manner and have also exceeded in number the male ascetics. The ascetic practice and the codes of conduct are more or less the same for the nuns and the monks, characterized by severe mortificatory practices like fasting, putting up with all sorts of bodily troubles by complete indifference to it.
The women monastic tradition in Jainism is the most ancient in the history of monasticism throughout the world, which is exclusively Indian. Although it has been affected by historical circumstances and has undergone some modifications in the course of the centuries, it has remained surprisingly the same. The Jaina nuns were very numerous in the past and still number almost ten thousand. Most are in the Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra and Punjab regions, but one comes across them on all the main roads. It is a unique monastic tradition in India, for the other, Hindu religious traditions has no female monasticism. There have been a few isolated cases of holy women leading an ascetical life, but not a monastic tradition. The Buddhist nuns began at a later period than the Jaina nuns; they quickly disappeared from India, and the original tradition was considerably modified according to time and place
An encounter with these ascetics arouses in us a desire to discover a little of their history, the essence of their doctrine and their way of life. To what epoch does this community of women ascetics trace its beginnings? This question has no easy answer, for the origins of the Jaina dharma - which is probably exceedingly ancient - are little known. According to tradition there was, under the twenty-third Trtha kara, P r van tha (8th Century B.C.) a noteworthy community of women with Pu pacula at its head. We know that the twenty-fourth Trtha kara, Mah vra (second half of the 6th, century until the beginning of the 5th Century B.C.), whose teaching is preserved in the gamas (Scriptures), had a very liberal attitude towards women and permitted them to embrace the ascetic life. He was an innovator in this respect, for Hindus had never evidenced such a liberal attitude and the Buddha himself, though he was persuaded to accept women in his community, did so only with certain reluctance. Tradition recounts the life of several women disciples of Mah vra - former princesses in almost every case - including that of their spiritual Mother, Candana.
Whatever their doctrinal differences may be, all these ascetics have this in common: their life in essentially an itinerant one, grounded in sam yika (avoidance of all blameworthy action) and in Ahis (abstinence from all injurious activity). Who, then, are these pilgrims who are always on the march. Scripture and certain later texts describe them in words that give clear indication of their spiritual way and their conditions of life. They are nirgranthis (free from attachments), a ag ris (without a home), bhik unis (ones who beg for their daily food, their lodging and their clothing),
ramanis (those whose daily toil is to detach themselves from every form of possession; therein lies their sole task and they perform no other activity). They are also called yatinis (those who make strenuous efforts, are vigilant), s dhvis (virtuous, chaste), satis or mah satis (of genuine and proven virtue), ryas or ryikas (worthy of respect and esteem). Their basic monastic lives proceed along the same lines embodying the Pa camah vratas (the five great ascetic vows) and other ascetic practices. The life of the Jaina woman ascetic is essentially an itinerant one, and correspondingly one
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of total detachment. The main objectives are of those Ahis , aparigraha and bramhacarya, along with several subsidiary principles and norms relating to self-control through bodily mortifications. The main principles are followed to the farthest extent in their daily practices like refraining from cooking, and thus begging for their sustenance (gocari): not partaking of food and water after sunset; not using modern urinals and toilets (though some sects have started using them in city life): not bathing, nor brushing teeth; not using, electricity: not consuming raw vegetables, fruits, water.
The Jaina woman ascetics are seen as articulate and vital representatives of the religious order; and the laity considers interaction with them a great honour. This age old practice of gocari followed by the s dhvis induces a significant bounding between themselves and those who feel privileged to be able to provide the rudiments of worldly sustenance to them in exchange of a consistent and continuous flow of spiritual sustenance.
The motivations for joining the ascetic life can be varied. In Jainism a high premium is given to the very idea of renunciation and the ascetic life as the path of salvation, especially in the upbringing of the female child. This philosophy thus becomes deeply ingrained and is augmented through regular exposures to the discourses of contemporary, itinerant ascetics of both sects. The moment comes when a young girl, without any overt pressure, may quite simply slip into the mental frame of a vair gan (the potential women ascetic) and thus measure her prospects for a destiny of asceticism that simultaneously opens up various other avenues as well. There are avenues like higher education: a wider parameter of functioning than that faced by a married woman; social respectability in the context of young and old alike; a dynamic alternative to a materialistic way of life, etc. It is significant to note that the motivations and reasons for a woman to join the ranks of the s dhvis are normally more positive than negative. That is, motivations is not usually based on poverty or old age or social marginality; but rather on the volitional desire to explore a better, more dynamic way of life that is founded on an age-old faith of non-violence. Ninety per cent of women initiates are therefore unmarried women. Some belong to highly rich and cultured families; some have a large number of ascetic antecedents - e.g. sisters, brothers, parents, as well as other kin joining together or one following the other. The idea of motivation for the ascetic life joins the ground for identification between the s dhvis and the laywomen, because they both belong to the same contexts and only a thin line separates them.
The woman ascetics, the s dhvis or the ryikas, who have renounced their personal materialistic, desires so as to achieve a common goal of lasting peace-, is worthy to be given a very special place. Because it is on her gentle yet energetic shoulders that rests the hope of humanizing a society that has forgotten to be self-reliant in the real spiritual sense, despite its economic and political power. Perhaps, no less worthily than the Trtha kara, the s dhvi assists the true Jaina believer to ford the river of life without asking for anything in return, except, perhaps, his upholding of the spirit of ahimsa all times.
Topics to be discussed during interactive session:
Social role and significance of woman ascetics. Deviancy and Innovations: Modifications in some Groups Contemporary woman ascetics in both the traditions. Characteristics features and ascetic practices. Birth of a woman ascetic: Diksha ceremonies.
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Suggested Reading
Babb. Lawrence A. 1998. Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Caillat, C. 1975. Atonements in The Ancient Ritual of the Jain Monks. Ahmedabad: L. D. Institute.
Chakraborti, H. 1973. Asceticism in Ancient India. Calcutta: Punthi Pustak.
Cort, John E. 1991. "The Svetambar Murtipujak Jain Mendicant", in Man, (N.S.) 26:651-671.
Deo, S. B. 1956. The History of Jaina Monachism From Inscriptions and Literature. Poona: Deccan College
Desai, Kumarpal. 1987. "Women in Jainism" in N. K. Singhi, Ideal, Ideology and Practice. Jaipur: Printwell Publisher
Dumont, Louis. 1970. "World Renunciation in Indian Religion" in Louis Dumont, Religion, Politics and History in India. Paris: Mouton.
Jaini, Padmanabh S. 1992. Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the Spiritual Liberation of Women. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
King, Ursula (ed.). 1995. Religion and Gender. Oxford: Blackwell.
Ramaswamy, Vijaya. 1997. Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
Shanta, N. 1985. "Women Ascetics in the Jama tradition". La Voie Jaina, Paris, O.E.I.L., pp. 1-19.
Shanta, N. 1997. The Unknown Pilgrims: The Voice of Sadhvis: The History, Spirituality and Life of the Jaina Women Ascetics. (Translated from French by Mary Rogers). Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications. (French title: La voice jaina, 1985).
Thomas, P. 1964. "Ancient Jain Texts on Women" in Indian Women thought Ages. Asia Pub. House, pp. 102-117.
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6.0.j
Gender discussions in Jainism and its texts
Dr. Shugan C Jain
The subject of gender is reviewed primarily in the context of inequalities between man and woman over the ages in India. These differences will be reviewed with the concept itself and the assignment of their rights and duties, dos and donts in the society by Vedic and Non Vedic traditions in India. The analysis will start from early times say 2600 years ago till now with major emphasis on views in Jainism on the subject and the impact on today's society. The paper will discuss the following as per Jain texts and the society today:
1.0 Preamble: Historically speaking, whether it was in ancient India or medieval India, or even the whole world; the status of women was never good. A present day woman would feel outraged, and rightly so, if she goes through the contents of the Manusmriti, which is particularly harsh against women and treats them with disdain and suspicion as indicated below:
Her father protects (her) in childhood, her husband protects (her) in youth, and her sons protect (her) in old age: a woman is never fit for independence. Manusmriti 9.3
According to Hinduism we also find mention as a woman is a form of energy (shaktiswarupini) or an aspect of Shakti. She is mata, the Mother Goddess, or devi the auspicious one. As a young child she is kanya, the goddess Durga. As a wife she is patni and saha dharma charini, a partner in her husband's religious duties. As a mother she is worthy of worship (matrudevobhava)'. Accordingly we find several eminent scholars and poets saying different things about women as are clear from the following:
Yatra n ryastu p jyante ramante tatra devat h Yatrait stu n p jyante sarvaustatr falah kry h
Meaning: Where a woman is worshipped, gods live there. Where they are not worshipped, then all the activities performed there are worthless.
Kryesu mantra kara aşu dāsi bhojyesu mātā sayanesu rambhā Hrso(a)nuk I kşamay dharitri m vi ca s d gu ya vaviha durlabh
The women having six virtues namely; in the worldly matters, she is like a minister / adviser, as his servant (d si ) in duty, as a mother (mt) to feed him, as a lover (rambh ) in his bed, partner in his religious duties, as mother earth in forgiveness is rare
The great poet Tulsi Das wrote the following concerning women (debated though as his writing).
udra dhola pa u aura n ri ye Sabat dana ke adhk ri
Meaning: The untouchables, drum, animals and the women are all worthy of beating.
All the above verses and statements show the woman as ABL or destitute, helpless and dependent on others (men) for her existence. Same is the case when we go through the ancient classical literature of India where the king, the highly placed ministers, elder-men in the royal court, and the wise men (Br hminas) speak in Sanskrit and the women and children and the servants clubbed together speak in Pr krat. Sometimes even in Jain literature also we find mention of women treated as mere possessions.
The literature of Christians and even Islam also is similar. In Judaism and Christianity we find the barbaric conception when it declared woman to have been made for man., first in sin and
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commanded to be under obedience; holding as its chief tenet a belief in the inherent wickedness of woman, the originator of sin.
The above statements give a picture of the women in general. But we have no evidence to believe that these were followed by all sections of the society. However we know that as late as nineteenth century AD, when a Hindu man died, his wife either committed sati on his funeral pyre or retired into a life of social damnation, religious contemplation and perennial solitude till Raja Mohan Roy started and succeeded in abolishing this custom legally. Similarly the desire for a male child appears especially insatiable as without the male child the family lineage is prone to elimination and the father is not fit to go to heaven.
On the other hand, we find Hindu mythology is full of goddesses (several reincarnations of P rvati like Kāli, Durgā etc, Laksmi, Saraswati each being benevolent and able to protect or gift those in need of her specialist virtues. However we find a big vacuum from women with super natural powers on the one hand and ordinary Abl on the other (in masses). We may infer here that such considerations of women depended on the author and the individuals in society. Mostly the literally persons called women as great, the mother of most important and virtuous people, icon of compassion and love and the first teacher to imbibe the culture and civic sense in the child and thus the men and women of future. Some authors have even compared the woman to a river which flows smoothly and giving life on the way as long as it flows within its two borders /embankments and than equating the women of bringing name and fame to the two families (of her father and husband). The problem with woman arise (like in the river) when she crosses the two embankments i.e. the two families and cause disrepute to herself and the entire female class.
Status today:
In India we find a dichotomy where on the one hand women are treated better than men. They enjoy special legal status and have the right to attain the highest position in the country (examples: Indira Gandhi as prime minister, Pratibha Patil as president, MayaVati, Rabri Devi and Jayalalitha as powerful chief ministers and so on) and on the other we still find plenty of cases of women abuse (girl child fetus elimination, girls not sent to schools and colleges for education, dowry deaths). The situation is gradually changing. In a changing world, Indian society is trying to redefine the role of women in the institution of family and society. The government of India takes special measures by enacting legal framework to provide opportunities to women to move ahead in their chosen sphere of activities (through reservations, inheritance in parental property, stiff dowry acts and now bestowing special privileges to the girl child etc). Politically Indian women today enjoy an equal status with men and wider opportunities then their counterparts in many western countries. There is a talk to provide them with new privileges and rights including inheritance rights. But a lot still needs to be done on the social and economic front, because women in Indian society still suffer from gender bias and a number of other problems such as dowry, inheritance, domestic abuse, sexual exploitation, rape and harassment.
Having reviewed the status of women in India, we shall now focus on their role and status in Jainism.
Role of women in Jain pur as (from the first fordmaker din th onwards).
Jainism is a religion of religious equality to all. Therefore it gives equal status to women to get education and practice religion. However we find some sectarian differences concerning attainment of liberation by women amongst Jains. Setting such differences aside, we find Jain texts full of stories and incidences involving women deeply involved in the uplift of society and practice / preaching Jainism.
2.
Lord din th, the first fordmaker of Jains of the preset time era emphasized the extreme importance of education for women. He therefore taught 18 scripts to his elder daughter Br hmi and mathematics to his younger daughter Sundari ( di Pur a 96-115). This is perhaps the first mention found in Jain pur as of the women being taught thereby giving equal status to women to receive education.
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The 19th tirathankara Malli N th is considered to be a woman by one sect of Jains while the other sect strongly refutes this statement.
Similarly we find mention of women in the life sketches of 22 fordmaker Nemin th. Just at the time of his marriage, renounced marriage and became an ascetic. His fiancé, R jula a princess, also renounced the household and became a renouncer. The ninth canonical limb, called J tadh rma kath mentions thousands of women going to Lord Neminath to seek blessings to renounce the world and practice religion. We also find similarly a number of women going to the congregation of Lord Mah vra to seek blessings to renounce world and practice religion. Special mention during Mah vra's time is made of Celan and Candan
3.
Social reforms brought by Mah vra to elevate the status of women
He affected tremendous social change through the promulgation of the socio-ethical values of Ahinsa, Aparigraha and Anek ta.
Ahi s: In c ranga he says 'None of the living beings ought to be killed or deprived of life ought to be ruled or enslaved or possessed or put to unrest'. Further in Pra navy karan he designates social Ahis as kindness, compassion, security, fearlessness and so on. Social ahinsa of Mah vra begins with the awareness of the existence of others and their right to exist like one's own. He says that all living beings, like you, do not wish to have pain nor do they wish to die resulting in the current Jain slogan 'Live and let live'. Paraspargraho jiv n ma' or living beings cooperate with each other is another Jain slogan reflecting this doctrine of social ahinsa of Mah vra. So Mah vra indirectly propounded equal status to women as men.
Aparigraha: Mah vra knew that the root cause of all ills associated with economic inequalities is disproportionate possession of wealth by few individuals. Thus he gave religious cum social overtones to non possession and asked his householder disciples to limit their possessions and share the rest (surplus) with others; while monks were asked to be free of any type of possessions (external or internal).
Anek nta: Mah vira realized that differences in opinions / viewpoints amongst different people emanate from their intellectual capabilities. These affect the social harmony more than economic or social inequalities. He thus said that differences in viewpoints emanate from the differences in the nature of things. These different aspects of things are to be understood as different aspects of the TRUTH giving rise to his doctrine of Nayav da or Anek nta.
3.1
Uplift of women/ according them and downtrodden freedom for religious pursuits
His acceptance of food from a slave and destitute woman and making her the head of her nun community plus creating a separate community of nuns to practice religious activities was revolutionary in giving women:
• •
Equal status as men by abolishing slavery and treating women as mere possessions. The right to study and freedom to practice religion which was till then denied to them. He extended the four fold vows (i.e. Ahis, satya, acaurya and aparigraha) to five fold i.e. bifurcate aparigraha into aparigraha and brhamcarya. He realized the importance of stressing celibacy as the men and women were becoming more prone to sexual attractions and indulgences. He used Pr krat language or the language of commoners and women, to deliver his sermons so as to make them accessible to the masses and not just a few learned scholars. Mah vra propagated the doctrine of Karma to hold the individuals responsible for their acts and the results thereof rather than someone else up above. Establish the four fold congregation i.e. male and female ascetics and male and female householders. Women far outnumbered (30000) compared to men (14000) in is congregation.
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These acts greatly enhanced the prestige of women in the society and diverted the oppressed widows from the ills like self burning (sati prath ) on husband's pyre or leading an oppressed life. Similarly he declared that all living beings are equal rejecting the prevailing thinking of four fold societies into warriors, br hmanas, traders and udras by birth. He said one becomes great by his acts and not by birth. He opened his creed to all classes of not only human beings but all living beings. Samantabhadra rightly described his doctrine as Sarvodaya i.e. enlightenment of all.
Jainism as seen earlier has promoted equal status to women since Lord Adinath's time. However from time to time such reforms keep on getting marginalized and the series of Jain fordmakers keep on reestablishing them again as per the time prevailing. Mah vra did the same as can be reaffirmed from historical facts of the society prevailing at that time.
4. Influential women in Jain texts. Jain texts are full of women who became eminent primarily as:
Mother, wife and daughter; who practiced Jain vows and dedicated to their families uplift and enhancing moral, ethical values as per Jain scriptures.
We find mention of MaruDevi (mother of Lord Adin th), Sunand and Sumangal, wives of Lord
din th and mothers of Bharat & Br hmi and B hubali & Sundari respectively. Mothers of other twenty three fordmaker are also mentioned. Except Tr al , mother of Lord Mah vra, others names are mentioned only
We also find details of R jul or R imati, fiancé of 22nd fordmaker Nemi N th who on the eve of wedding became a renouncer along with Lord Nemin th.
Tr al , mother of Lord Mah v ra is described in details in the texts. Similarly we find detailed mention of Candana (slave and aunt of Mah vra) appointed as head of the nun's wing of the congregation and Celan (aunt of Mah vra and wife of King re ka, staunch Buddhist and later converted to Jainism) and head of women householder wing of the congregation.
Jain women becoming good administrators and causing Jain ethos and practices to proper by building temples, writing holy texts and showing their mettle as excellent administrators.
History off medieval Karnataka is full of women who supported their husbands engaged as prime ministers or even kings in the just rule and administration and later on when needed to take over the reigns in their own hand. Detailed accounts can be seen from 7th century AD till 14h century AD with names like Kandacchi wife of Paramagula of Nirgunda family in 8 century AD, Jakkiyabbe widow of Kalivittarasa of Keki devaysa-ont in 911AD, mother of Camaunda Rai, Chief of Calukya king (981 AD) who had the great idol of Bahubali built at Sravanbelgola. The history of Karnataka is full of many more such women.
iii.
Jain women ascetics
The ninth Jain canon J tadh rma kath is full of thousands of women who became renouncers during the times of 22nd and 24th fordmaker Nemi Nath and Mah vra. These women practiced extreme austerities and are said to even have attained liberation.
We also find stories of sixteen renouncers (popularly known as Satis) like Sita, Damayanti, Anjana, Sulocana, Maina Sundri, Soma, Anantmati etc who are widely read and admired in the community.
We also find stories of householders like Manomati (famous for Gajmoti), Rohini (for five vows) etc who practiced Jain vows and lead an exemplary life.
In the modern times we know of HH Mrgavati, Gyan mati, Candanaji and a number of other Jain nuns who are respected and admired more than Jain monks.
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iv.
Deities
Jain texts give details of yaksa and yaksini associated with each of the twenty four fordmaker. These couples are said to have been in service of the fordmaker and later on became a vehicle to bestow special favours on the devotees. Ambik of 22nd fordmaker Nemin tha and Padm vati of 23rd fordmaker P rasvan tha are very popular deities and worshipped almost like the fordmaker.
5. Social and family engagements of women in Jain communities today.
51. Literacy and Gender Gap (in percentage)
Jain Christians Buddhist Sikh
Hindu Muslim
India Average
Literacy
94.1
80.3
72.7
69.4
65. 1
59.1
65
We thus find Jains emphasizing education most for both male as well as females. This emphasis on education comes from the Jain philosophy itself where omniscience (or perfect knowledge) is a prerequisite even to achieve liberation besides practicing the right conduct.
On the average Jain women are better educated than men as the men generally join family business at an early age and their lax attitude towards education due to their assured employment in family business.
5.2 Economic activities. Outside work participation rates amongst Jain women is extremely low at just 7%. It is at 14% for Muslim women, 20% for Sikh women, and 27.5 % for Hindu women (as opposed to 52.4% for men) and higher for Christian, Buddhist and other (most likely certain categories of ST or SC) women. Some sociologists interpret this as a negative aspect of Jain women. However actual observations and interaction with the community will revel, that a sizable number of them are involved in own business (Jains being primarily a believer of self employment and trade) and their involvement in social and charitable works (since most of them come from economically well of family background and going out to work is frowned upon). Also because of the latest trends and the world entering into Information age, we will find Jain women adopting more and more knowledge based professions also working for others as well as in self employed format.
5.3 Family and social works Traditionally Jain and Sikh families are much smaller than Hindu or Muslim families. This is not surprising due to the trend in educated and prosperous communities' world over. We also observe far greater social engagements of Jain women in charitable, cultural and social transformation activities than other communities. This Trend can also be attributed to religion, knowledge and family background of Jains. It might also be worth emphasizing certain positive aspects of India's Jain communities. Almost throughout Indian history, India's Jains have played a leading role in the intellectual life of the country. They have contributed in no small measure to the progress of science and mathematics in the subcontinent, and have also made significant contributions in the cultural realm. Particularly concerned about living in harmony with nature and other living beings, some of their value systems can teach other Indians much about how life ought to be lived. Women have always been an equal partner in such activities.
5.4 Asceticism The women monastic tradition in Jainism is the most ancient in the history of monasticism throughout the world, which is exclusively Indian. Although it has been affected by historical circumstances and has undergone some modifications in the course of the centuries, it has remained surprisingly the same. The Jaina nuns were very numerous in the past and still number almost ten thousand out of a total ascetic population of 13000. Most are in the Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra, Delhi and vicinity
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and Punjab regions, but one comes across them on all the main roads. It is a unique monastic tradition in India as Hindu religious traditions have no female monasticism. There have been a few isolated cases of holy women leading an ascetical life, but not a monastic tradition. The Buddhist nuns began at a later period than the Jaina nuns; they quickly disappeared from India, and the original tradition was considerably modified according to time and place.
The Jaina woman ascetics are seen as articulate and vital representatives of the religious order; and the laity considers interaction with them a great honour. Recently MrgaVati (Swetambara murtipujak), crya Chandana (Swetambara shankavasi) and Aryika Gyna Mati (Digambaras) assume even more influential positions in their respective communities than male c ryas. This age old practice of sadhvis induces a significant bounding between themselves and those who feel privileged to be able to provide the rudiments of worldly sustenance to them in exchange of a consistent and continuous flow of spiritual sustenance.
The motivations for joining the ascetic life can be varied. In Jainism a high premium is given to the very idea of renunciation and the ascetic life as the path of salvation, especially in the upbringing of the female child. The woman ascetics, the sadhvis or the aryikas, who have renounced their personal materialistic, desires so as to achieve a common goal of lasting peace is worthy to be given a very special place. Because it is on her gentle yet energetic shoulders that rests the hope of humanizing a society that has forgotten to be self-reliant in the real spiritual sense, despite its economic and political power.
References
Hinduism and Women: Hindu view on the Woman. www.hinduwebsite.com
www.jainheritagecentres.com/census2001/censusindex.htm
Social engagements of Jains by Shugan C Jain ISJS Study Notes version 3.0
Jain women ascetics' tradition; PhD thesis by Dr K. Majumdar.
Suggested readings
Babb, Lawrence A. 1998. Ascetics and Kings in a Jain Ritual Culture. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
Desai, Kumarpal. 1987. "Women in Jainism" in N. K. Singhi, Ideal, Ideology and Practice. Jaipur: Printwell Publisher.
Jaini, Padmanabh S. 1992. Gender and Salvation: Jaina Debates on the Spiritual Liberation of Women. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Ramaswamy, Vijaya. 1997. Walking Naked: Women, Society, Spirituality in South India. Shimla: Indian Institute of Advanced Study.
Shanta, N. 1997. The Unknown Pilgrims: The Voice of Sadhvis: The History, Spirituality and Life of the Jaina Women Ascetics. (Translated from French by Mary Rogers). Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications. (French title: La voice jaina, 1985).
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6.0.k
Healing in Jainism
Shugan C Jain PhD
Healing is generally understood as the act or process of curing or of restoring to health. Assessed physically, healing is the process by which the cells in the body regenerate and repair to reduce the size of a damaged or narcotic area. Healing incorporates both the removal of necrotic tissue (demolition), and the replacement of this tissue. For centuries, people of faith have offered prayers for the sick, often with dramatic results. More recently, medical research has shown consistent proof that healing prayers definitely have positive results for the sick. But this is nothing new.
Jains on the other hand talk of holistic healing as healing of the body is a by-product of the total process. Further being atheists, Jains do not pray to some external agency to heal, rather it focuses on the patient to cure himself and asks his family /friends to help him heal (parasparopragraho jivånama or living beings help each other). The Jain doctrine and way of life and the attending family and friends act as healing factors to enable recovery from bodily injuries /sicknesses at super human rate.
Jains consider soul and body as separate entities. Soul is sentient and eternal with knowledge and bliss as its main attributes. On the other hand body is matter which is insentient and keep on changing (fusion and fission). Even though soul and body are different, Jains place very high importance on the health of the body as this is the primary organ / entity which soul uses to achieve its ultimate objective of being supreme soul or just soul i.e. liberation of the soul from matter association (karmas) which is the cause of transmigration and pain. We shall review Jain philosophy, literature to see how healing is achieved.
Literature: The earliest sacred literature of Jains called Purva, fourteen in number existed even before Mahavira (and hence called Purva). The twelfth Purva is called Prâoâvaya (or science of health). It deals with ways and means of keeping the body fit. It became a part of the 12th limb called Dropivada during Mahavira's time. However both Pradavaya and Dropivåda are now extinct. Still we find traces about keeping physically fit in all Jain sacred texts. Literature on health and curing diseases did not become popular in earlier days as they were considered having false (mithya) knowledge i.e. not about purification of the soul but about keeping the body fit. So Jain monks and scholars did not write much on the subject. From 21 century AD onwards, Jain ascetics considered it essential for their followers to know about ways and means of keeping themselves physically fit so that they can perform their spiritual uplift and religious duties properly. So we see acaryas Nagarjuna, Samantabhadra, Pujyapada in 2 to 5 centuries AD writing texts exclusively on sickness, causes and treatments. Uditåcårya in 11th century AD wrote detailed texts called Kalyanakäraks which are claimed to be derived from Pråòåvaya.
During the period of Bhaktivada's popularity, Jain acaryas like Ác Mångtunga (Bhaktámabra stotra), Ác Kumudacandra (Kalyadamandir stotra), Ác Vadiraj (Ekibhävastora) and many more wrote hymns seeking relief from worldly pains and curing different ailments of the body. These all became very popular (and are so todate). Later on more than 1000 texts on health, sickness, curing etc have been written by Jain ascetics and scholars who are quoted frequently.
Similarly the story literature of Jains has several stories like Mainasundari which talk of sicknesses inflicting the Jain practitioners and how they got rid of the same to ultimately achieve liberation. Then we have Ac Samantabhadra (suffering from endless urge to eat), Ac. Pujya Pada and Ac Vadiraj (a leper himself getting rid of his as well others leprosy), 23rd tirthankara Pároewanath (who is credited with removing the worldly pains of snake couple (Padmavati and Dhareòadra gods etc)), the four Dadagurus, now Ac MahaPrajóa spearheading healing of physical ailment through Prekoa meditation. Now a day's almost all the monks and nuns have started offering healing touch to their followers also We find use of meditation, prayers, charity, tantras and mantras being used as the factors of healing.
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Metaphysical considerations Jains believe in the duality of existence i.e. living beings (jiva or sentient beings) and non living beings (ajiva or insentient beings). Jiva in pure form is called siddha or pure soul, and when it is associated or defiled with matter impurities called karmas, it is called empirical soul or sansari jiva. So a Jain considers, 'I am the soul and am immortal and responsible for all my acts and actions - reactions'. Diseases or even death are momentary stages of the body associated with me. Hence both do not disturb my state of equanimity. I am the master of my own self and have the capability to remove all impurities associated with me and achieve my nature of infinite knowledge and bliss. Right faith-knowledge-conduct together is the path of attaining this pure state of my soul.
Jiva suffers pains /sicknesses due to de-meritorious karmas or enjoy good health and pleasures due to meritorious karmas associated with it. One of the karma types called body building or Nama karma (93 sub types) details each sub type responsible for different types and ailments of the physical body associated with sansari jiva. Similarly life span or death is determined by another type of karma called Ayu. The karma literature, (Karaoànuyoga), is full of explanations of the cause and effect i.e. influx, bondage, stoppage of influx and dissociation of existing karmas.
The karmas can be in ten states (Bandha or bondage, Satta or existence, Udaya or activation / realization, Udiraða or premature fruition, Udvartana or increasing the duration and/or intensity of the karma, Apavartana or reducing the duration of existence and activity, Saokramaòa or interchange of nature, Upaoeama or subsidence, Nidhatti or immunization of karmas against certain external activities and Nikacana or immunization of karmas against all external activities). Most of these states, except the last one, can be changed to suit the owner by following strenuous Jain code of conduct. In fact complete annihilation of karmas from the body is the highest ideal (liberation) desired by all Jains.
Sickness of the body is therefore the direct result of the past karmas and our present actions. The present actions include the food (tamasika and rajasika) we eat, the activities we perform for living, stress and strains (called passions or Kasayas in Jainism) we develop or build, role ego (ahama in Jainism) plays and finally unbridled desires we harbour for worldly wealth and comfort. Jains assign all these causes to perverted views (mithyåtva) and hence prescribe developing right faith first (as given in the path of purification) then with right knowledge about self (causes of disease and its prevention and cure) and then practice the path to be healthy. Thus with wrong faith we necessarily are asking for pain in one form or the other
Ethical considerations
We have seen earlier that karmas bonded with the soul are the root cause of all pains. Further it is said that the karmika bondage takes place when the soul has perverted views and tainted with passions (anger, pride, deceit and greed). Kundkund talks of three types of manifestations of the soul, namely auspicious (oeubha), inauspicious (aoeubha) and pure (oeudha). The pure manifestation is the ideal which is attempted by the monks by observing the vows fully. However the householders or lay-people are not able to practice the vows fully. So tirthankars and ascetics have laid down the regimen of minor vows (aouvrata) to maximize the auspicious manifestation of soul (resulting in comforts, pleasures and heavenly happiness) and minimize the inauspicious manifestation of the soul. So the Jain code of conduct emphasizes prevention (which can be considered as synonymous with stoppage (influx) or self restraint (sanyama) and when inflicted with pain to practice penance (tapa) for dissociation of karmas /pain.
Dhammo mangala mukkibbhan ahinsa sanjamo tavo Devå vi tan namansanti jassa dhamme saya maoo
This verse from Dasavalkalika sutra describes this doctrine of Jain code of conduct.
The concept of aura (leoeyå in Jainism) is affected by our karmas and practice of code of conduct. Omniscient has pure aura while a cruel person has black aura. A good person forms a protective aura around his body, a sort of energetic immune system that defends & guards him from all negative
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energy (thoughts, deeds or words) & diseases. When we learn to control our Aura we can keep it purified (free of hatred, ignorance & desire) & we will be capable of self-healing. Reading your aura can also encourage you to discover your spiritual cures & purposes in life.
Treatment / healing process
The code of conduct and philosophy given above is a mix of faith healing as well as backed by modern medical system. Faith here relates to the metaphysical considerations and conduct relate to modern medical systems. The following paragraphs briefly describe the lifestyle to be observed to keep one free from diseases and cure them when inflicted.
1.
Lead a stress free life as they generate activities and vibrations of body, speech and mind resulting in bondage of karmas and hence pain. This implies leading a well balanced systematic daily routine to perform one's duties and giving up activities which cause stress and strains (e.g. give up the seven bad habits called vyasanas in Jainism which are prostitution, gambling, eating meat, drinking, hunting, stealing, casting an evil eye on other women) To accrue auspicious karmas, Jains talk of six essential duties (avaoeyakas) to be performed daily. These essential duties are; worship the true God, veneration of the holy teacher, self study of the holy texts, charity, self restraint and penance.
Eat non violent and pure food. Food is the primary external input we take to sustain our body. Food directly affects our mind, body and speech. In Jainism highest importance is placed to food (type, quantity, and timing). This will be clear as the first sign of a Jain is to use pure and strained water and eat before sunset followed by acquiring eight primary virtues ( i.e. consume ahinsaka or non violent food or give up consuming meat, alcohol, honey along with fruits and vegetables which are infested with insect).
Practice the five minor vows (aouvratas) namely non violence, non stealing, speaking the truth, limited celibacy and limited possession. These are the causes to stop accrual of inauspicious karmas as well as earn auspicious karmas.
The above are all preventive measures to stop the practitioner from getting sick. These have to be followed even when inflicted with sickness.
To cure the sickness, Jainism talks of the regimen of penance (tapa) which is almost synonymous with nature cure for the practitioner. The penance in Jainism is classified as external (which can be observed by others) and internal (experienced by the practitioner). The first three sub types of external penance namely fasting, eating less than the full stomach and giving up a specific taste (bitter, salt, sweet, acidic and spicy) on regular intervals are essential for curing as well as being healthy. In the internal type, the sub types humility and meditation are extremely important to cure the inflicted diseases.
For the others i.e. family, friends and society in general, Jains propagate the concepts of living beings help each other and live and let live (both derivatives of its principle of ahinsa) and the four characteristics of right belief or samyag daroeana namely: Not to hate a meritorious being inflicted with disease or looks(Nirvicikitsa); Develop positive condition of loving others (Vatsalya );To reestablish the fallen on the right path(Sthitikaranòa: To propagate ethical-spiritual values (Prabhavana). To promote the concept of patient care / person inflicted with disease, Jainism talks of the following incentives to those (doing so not for greed /money /ego or attachment) caring the patients.
. •
May be Religion i.e. to destroy Karmas May bring prosperity, friends and respect Giving or helping life is the best act of compassion or charity It is a kind of penance
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Some examples of popular healing systems being used by Jains these days
Meditation: Ac Mahapragya has developed a systematic method of Preksha dhyana (based on Jain doctrine) which is gaining popularity in curing even such deadly diseases like heart attacks, high blood press and chlororestral levels, diabetes, stress etc. This method is being taught and patients treated at hundreds of centres all over the world. Similar methods of meditation have also been developed by other Jain acaryas and practiced at many Jain centres in India.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Use of tantras, mañtras, yantras and pujas: Now a days the idol worshipping Jains are seen organizing and performing group pujas (like Yajoas) for freeing the society from various calamities and diseases. The monks and nuns have started coming up with mantras (navakara, for overall prosperity, for eliminating the effects of poison etc etc) as well as rosaries, metal plates (called yantras) etc to their followers to keep the evils and sickness away or eliminate them.
6.
Training and Research institute for holistic treatment Nagpur. They have devised an integrates system of treatment for almost all the diseases based on Bhaktambar stotra and developingn, meditation methods, environmental needs etc for healing.
Mahavira Vikalank (Jaipur foot). They have embarked on a massive movement to provide artificial limbs to those whose legs have been amputated. They have branches all over the world and have enhanced services for rehabilitation of such people, providing hearing aids
etc.
Hospitals for cancer, eyes and general. Jains have set up several hundred hospitals and thousands of dispensaries to provide treatment to the patients.
Health camps by local Jain groups. This is a method whereby small local groups of Jains organize health check up and treatment camps to bring health to the neighbours (primarily in remote and slum areas. These are extremely popular and we see them almost on a daily basis. The latest and the largest camp is being organized at Palitana for ten days where they plan to provide health services by specialists as well as offer 25000 sets of Jaipur foots and hearing aids to the needy person.
A few stories from Jain literature on healing
Mainasundari (by Raj Bahadur Jain Anubhava Prakashan 946A Nehru Road Kotla Mubarakpur Delhi)
Long long ago, before Mahavira's time, there was a beautiful, prosperous and peaceful city called Champanagari. It was ruled by a brave, religious (Jain) and benefactor of his subjects. His name was Aridaman. He had a beautiful and religious wife Kundanprabha, a young brave handsome and virtuous son Shripal. Everything in the kingdom and its protectorate was ideal and people loved their king and his administration. However King Aridaman had a younger brother Birdaman who was exactly opposite of Aridmana in nature and was a source of continuous worry to Aridaman.
On a fateful night of lunar eclipse, Kind Aridaman called his son to his bedroom and gave a sermon bout Jain doctrine (Karma and its significance, Ahinsa parmo dharma and Live and let live etc). He told his son that he has to go as a result of his karmas leaving his empire in his (son) hand and guidance of his wife Kundanprabha. However he was worried about his younger brother and cautioned his son about him. He then died leaving everything to his adolescent son Shripal.
Death of king Aridaman brought a strong feeling of detachment from worldly affairs in Shripal's mind. He started going to Jain monks to learn about its karma doctrine and path of spiritual purification and lead a life of a sage. Worried, his mother wrote a letter to King of Ujjaini in Malwa district, Pahupal, who was a childhood friend of Aridaman and sought his advice to bring back Shripal back to normalcy
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and rule the kingdom. As per his advice Kiundanaprabha asked her son Shripal to proceed to Ujjaini alongwith 700 soldiers to learn the intricacies of kingship.
Obeying his mother, Shripal left for Ujjaini with his soldiers. He was so handsome and charismatic that every king and their princess's on route to Ujjaini were attracted towards him. On the way, he met a learned Jain monk and so he stopped to pay respects to him and seek his blessings. The monk told Shripal that he is a very auspicious person, destined to rule the world and ultimately attain salvation in this life. However his path to salvation is full of difficulties which he will overcome through strenuous efforts and belief in him to be able to achieve his ob objectives of being the emperor of the entire world first and then achieve salvation. In the congregation, younger daughter of Pahupal, Mainasundari was also there. She was also very beautiful, virtuous religious and firm believer in Jain doctrine. When both Shripal and Mainasundari saw each other, they realized that they were made for each other (through their remembrances of past lives). After having the blessings of the monk, Shripal and his soldiers left for Ujjaini.
On arrival at Ujjaini, King Pahupal accorded a royal welcome to Shripal and introduced him to his wife queen Nipunasundari and daughters Sursandari (elder and with bad character) and Mainasundari (younger). Pahupal offered his guidance and assistance to Shripal to rule Champa. Also Shripal and Mainasundari started liking each other and solemnized to be married after return of Shripal to his kingdom Champanagari.
While prince Shripal and his 700 soldiers were returning to Champanagari, somehow they all contracted leprosy. Their bodies were full of oozing spots and emitting foul odour. When they arrived in Champanagari, Queen Kiundanaprabha had the entire town decorated with flowers. However as the prince and his entourage approached the town Champanagari, the foul smell from their bodies overshadowed the fragrance of all the flowers. Seeing his son Shripal and his entourage as lepers, she ordered them to leave Champanagari and live elsewhere in a forest. Shripal became very sad and in spite of his utmost persuasion and reminding his mother about the Jain monks blessings and prophecy, had to leave the town. Shripal and his soldiers decided to live in a forest which was known to have trees with medicinal qualities. This forest was closer to Ujjaini also. The news of Shripal's leprosy reached Ujjaini also and king Pahupal asked his daughter Mainasundari to forget Shripal and marry someone else. However Mainasundari, a firm believer in Jain doctrine of Karma and its path of spiritual purification, decided to be with Shripal only. Her father tried his best to persuade her otherwise but in vain. She had very heated arguments with her father on the subject to the extent that the father lost his good values and conduct. So she left her father to be with Shripal. On the other hand her elder sister married a prince Harivahan of Kaushambi, who was handsome but ill reputed and notorious for his vices. Harivahan died within a month of his marriage after leaving his wife Sursundari pregnant.
On seeing Mainasundari, Shripal requested Maina to return to her father as he is a leper and cannot provide any worldly comfort to her. They both had long arguments based on Jain doctrine and ultimately decided to be together as husband and wife. She was a firm believer of the following values taught to her by Jain monks.
•
Every soul has the capability to become super soul i.e. one can get rid of all his pains etc and achieve his highest objective. Body and soul are different entities. Soul is eternal. I am the soul and different from body or its states. Diseases are a part of body and both accrue as a result of our past karmas. They are momentary and can be eliminated completely. Karma can be extinguished completely or their results can be made less or more effective by pious conduct.
With full faith in the above values, Maina started taking care of Shripal, nursed his body by keeping it clean, giving some medicines from the forest trees, narrating Jain doctrine to Shripal regularly. Besides she also started giving pure wholesome vegetarian food to Shripal and his soldiers. Finally she organized a big puja under the auspices of a congregation of visiting Jain monks and had Shripal and his soldiers also join the puja. At the end of the puja, she had the sandalwood water collected
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after giving bath to Jain idols (called gandhodaka) and put them on the body or Shripal. The miracle happened and Shripal regained his old charismatic body and became perfectly well. She then applied the same to all the soldiers and everyone became well.
Now Shripal and Maina started planning how to regain their empire of Champanagari. King Pahupal offered his army to Shripal but the same was refused by Shripal, So they started building a town in the forest with beautiful buildings, facilities etc. They invited people of all castes and creeds to work and live in it. When the town was ready it was named as Mainanagari after Mainasundari. Main conceived and gave birth to twin handsome sons also, Life was going on well for some time. Then one day Shripal told Maina that he must go overseas to expand his empire and ultimately win Champanagari also. On insistent pressure from Shripal, Maina agreed. Shripal left for a tour of twelve long ears and on the route won most of the kingdoms, married beautiful princesses also and ultimately returned and conquered Champanagari and all other rival kingdoms.
Shripal started ruling Champanagari with Maina as the queen. By now Maina had two more sons. He initiated a lot of activities for the welfare of his subjects and brought the rule based on equality, love, and live and let live principles. Life was going on smoothly till one day a Sangh of Jain monks and nuns came to Chama. Shripal and Maina also started going to the Sangh to serve the visiting monks and nuns and listen to their sermons. So one day the leader of the Sangh told Shripal that the time has come for him to relinquish his empire and spend time for self realization and achieve salvation. Maina was also listening and both were greatly inspired. So they gave their empire to their sons and became Jain monk and nun. After lot of penance, Shripal achieved salvation i.e. Moksha.
Acarya Vadiraj (Pujanpatha Pradip edited by Pt Hiralal Jain published by Shri Parshwnath Digambar Jain Mandir Subzi Mandi Delhi).
He was an exceptionally intelligent Jain monk and was considered as a conqueror of all religious cum philosophical debates with renowned scholars of all religions. He was thus known as Vadiraj or the king of debaters'. He belonged to the Chalukya kingdom (King Jai Singh 1 in 12th century AD. Even though he was inflicted with leprosy, he had a very large following of disciples.
One day in the court of King Jai Singh some courtiers made fun of Vadiraj as a leper and ridiculed all the Jain naked monks. Angered by such statements, the treasurer who was a staunch follower of Vadiraj said that Vadiraj has a body of gold and the courtier is lying. The king decided to visit Vadiraj himself next day to verify the truth.
Immediately the treasure went to Vadiraj and told the entire episode to him. Vadiraj consoled the treasure and asked the treasure not to worry. At night Vadiraj composed the devotional poem known as Ekibhavastortra and had his body completely free from leprosy. Next day the king visited Vadiraj and was amazed at the lustrous golden body of Vadiraj. He ordered the courtiers who defamed Vadiraj to be punished and extricated from his kingdom. However Vadiraj asked the king to forgive all by introducing the king to the Jain doctrine of karma, devotion, right faith etc. The king became a firm believer of Jain doctrine and forgave all the culprits. Ekibhavastotra is to date also considered like a panacea for eliminating all the diseases including leprosy by Jains. I give below two stanzas which talk about leprosy.
आनंद-आंसू वदन धोंय जो तुम चित आने । गदगद सुर सों सुया मन्त्र पढि पूजा ठानें ।। ताके बहुविधि व्याधि व्याल चिरकाल निवासी। भाजै थानक छोड़ देह बांबइ के वासी ।।3।।
Your thoughts pervading the mind, the tears of happiness and happy recitation of the mantras during the prayers result in the departure of deeply entrenched dreadful diseases and leave the body healthy and happy.
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प्रभुतन पर्वत परस पवन उर में निबहै है । तासों ततछिन सकल रोगरज वाहिर ह्वै है । जाके ध्यानाहूत बसो उर अंबुज माहीं ।। कौन जगत उपकार करन समरथ सो नाहीं ।।10।।
The touch of the wind (flowing after touching Lord's body) causes all the diseases from the body disappear. When the mind is meditating on Thee, there is nothing impossible which cannot be cured.
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6.0.k
1.0 Introduction
Ethics is a branch of philosophy. It is the science of conduct that evaluates morality and moral code of conduct logically. Although initially they were practiced for spiritual development and salvation; this concept became in the modern times as an applied field of ethics and when applied in the field of medical practice it became known as bio-ethics.
Bio Medical Ethics in Jainism
Dr. D. K. Bobra
Bioethics is the ethics for the application of biological Science & Medicine to the living beings. Some bio-ethicists would narrow bioethics only to morality of medical treatment, technological innovations, and the timing of medical treatment of humans, while others include all organisms capable of feeling fear & pain. The problem becomes more complicated due to the explosion of scientific knowledge and technology of the late twentieth century, advances in life support therapies and possibilities of test tube babies, organ transplant and gene therapy to name a few, brought in religious and political forces in the picture. Hippocratic medical ethics of 1960 is not enough to deal with present day and future possibilities. Bioethics is not a new set of principles but the same old ethics applied to a particular realm of concerns.
Religious bio-ethicists have developed rules & guidelines on how to deal with these issues from within the viewpoint of their respective faith. Many religious bio-ethicists are Jewish or Christian scholars. However a growing number of religious scholars from other religions have become involved in this field as well. Islamic clerics have begun to write on this topic. A naturalistic outlook that leads to a rationalistic, pragmatic approach, in general characterizes Buddhist bioethics. In many Asian cultures there are lively discussions on these issues.
As for Jain religion, the twelfth p rva, out of 14 p rvas (canonical literature of Jains prior to Mah vra) is called Pr v ya and dedicated to science of life. However it is extinct. Still we find description of medical science in c ra ga, BRhatkalpa, Pinda Nijjutti, Ni itha-cur etc. Later on a descriptive works by Ugradit c rya called kaly nak raka were written which are supposed to be based on the Pr v ya. Later on we have excellent works by Samanta Bhadra, Pujyap da, Hema Candra etc detailing specific aspects of medical science. Besides, the entire ethical doctrine of Jains is given in details in various c ras, like c rA ga, Mul c ra, Ratna Kara dasr vak c ra etc. Overall there are more than 1000 texts written by Jain c ryas, s dhus, laymen, practitioners etc.
I am neither a Jain scholar nor an expert in bioethics; I have tried to make a sincere effort to bring few points for purpose of discussion on this topic.
1.1 Bioethical Issues, which need Attention as per Jain Ethics
• Abortion
• Artificial Insemination
Artificial Womb
• Assisted Suicide
Blood/blood plasma (Trade)
Cloning
Contraception
Euthanasia (human, animal)
Gene Therapy
Human Cloning
Human Genetic Engineering
Infertility (Treatments)
Life support
Life Extension
Organ Donation
Population Control
Procreative Beneficence Procreative Liberty
Sperm & eggs (Donation)
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Stem cell Suicide Surrogacy
1.2 List of Eminent International Bio-Ethicists Referred
Abdulaziz Sachedina
Arthur Caplan
Barnard Nethanson
Damien Keown
James Hughes James Rachels
John Robertson
Joseph Fletcher Julian Savulescu Leon Kass
Peter Singer Ruth Faden
2.0 Foundations: Jaina Ethical-Moral Doctrines
Jain scriptures have clearly described the foundations of moral and spiritual doctrines and categorized them according to the status of the person, being a monk, semi- monk or a householder. These moral doctrines will help us derive inferences regarding bioethical issues.
Aristotle equates being ethical to being good and being good is to become virtuous i.e. moral virtue or excellence, as it has to do with passions and actions. In Jainism virtues are not limited to being good morally but are also helpful in spiritual pursuit leading to liberation mok a. Though Jainism originated in pre-historical, pre-modern and pre-technological era, yet we can easily draw inferences from its foundations and spiritual cum moral doctrines and relate them to advances in medicine. There are no direct guidelines in scriptures, however. The cardinal virtue as per Jainism is Ahi s (do no harm or do not cause pain to self and others). It therefore should be the basic guideline for understanding Jain view relating to bioethics. Accordingly Jains said that the motivation or the thought process behind bioethics rather then the actual act is the deciding factor in being ethically valid.
2.1 Social, Personal and Spiritual Ethics or Virtues in Jainism
All virtues / ethics in Jainism are based on its founding principle Ahi s (nonviolence). Rather then separating virtues of body, speech and mind all virtues need to be followed by body, speech and mind together.
2.2 Moral and Spiritual Virtues
2.2.1 Eight Basic Duties (mulagu as) for Jainas
As a primary requirement, every Jain must practice the following eight basic duties so that he can exercise self-control and lead a good, ethical and moral life before starting his journey for spiritual purification.
1. Avoiding use of all addictive (mind perverting) substances including but not limited to alcohol, opium, marijuana, cocaine, cigarettes, tobacco etc.
2. Have meatless diet even excluding fish and eggs i.e. be vegetarian.
3. Avoid use of honey.
4. Avoid five non-edible fruits belonging to fig family as growth of infinite microorganism takes place in them.
5. Always use filtered and purified water.
6.
Eat before sunset.
7. Always keep attributes of five auspicious beings (Pañca Paramesthis) in mind and when applicable visit temple for veneration and devotion.
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8. Compassion towards all living beings.
2.2.2 The Five Vows The following five vows called vratas are to be followed by all. For laity, these are called A uvratas (small vows) and asking the practitioner to minimize the five ills i.e. violence, stealing, telling lies, owning possessions and adultery in relations; while for the monks the same are called Mah vratas (major vows) and are to be practiced completely by them all the time.
1. Non-Violence 2. Non-Stealing 3. Truthfulness 4. Non-Possession 5. Celibacy (No Adultery)
Since all ethical postulates of Jainas are derived from non-violence (Ahi s ), we give below the four sub divisions of violence, which householder should try to minimize. These are:
Intentional Related to daily life (like food to sustained life) Business related. Relating to protection of nation, society and family
2.2.3 Vows supporting the miner Vows (Gu avrata) for Householders
1. Limiting travel 2. Avoiding purpose less on unnecessary activities. 3. Avoiding businesses involving violence. 4. Avoid donating articles relating to violence 5. Avoid involvement with others for gain or loss 6. Avoid unnecessarily cutting trees, start fire, waste water or electricity or pollute the
atmosphere 7. Avoid watching or reading or hearing mind polluting sexual or criminal
stories/episodes. 8. Limiting use and possession of things of one time use or multiple uses.
2.2.4 Vows that Stimulate Householders towards Monkhood ( ik - vrata)
1. Finer level of limitation of travel. 2. Reading scriptures, leading to meditation, relating to spiritual purification 3. Giving up partially or completely (i.e. fasting) food on 8th and 14th day every
fortnight. 4. Offering charity and food to others
2.2.5. Ten Types of Ethical-Spiritual and Moral Values (dharma)
1. Forgiveness 2. Politeness 3. Straight forwardness 4. Inner and outer cleanliness 5. Truthfulness 6. Self restrain 7. Penance 8. Renunciation 9. Limiting desires 10. Limiting pleasure of senses
All living beings are interdependent (Parasaparograha-jvn ma) from one-sensed bacteria to fully developed five-sensed human life with analytical and reasoning ability. This elicits feelings of
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gratitude and responsibility. All living beings are created equal especially with respect to their soul that is capable of reaching liberation - mok a.
3.0 Theory of Karma Jainism defines cause of disease or suffering to be past or present action (Karma). There are eight different types of karmas described.
1. Perception obscuring Karma 2. Knowledge obscuring Karma 3. Deluding Karma 4. Obstructing Karma 5. Age determining Karma 6. Pain and pleasure producing Karma 7. Status determining Karma 8. Body determining Karma
Karmas are bound with the soul, like the files stored in the computer, which are downloaded for writing the text of each and every act of ones mind, speech and body in the present life and each new life.
3.1 Concept of Existence of Soul and Belief of Reincarnation Jainism believes in the concept of existence of soul as the center of each living being. This soul is polluted with karmic particles from eternity and that this soul will continue to occupy a new body upon death of the present body till it is completely freed of these karmic particles and attains liberation - mok a. Therefore in Jainism the importance of body & its health is temporary.
3.3 Concept of Destiny (krambaddha pary ya) and Co-factors (five samav ya): Destiny is described in Jainism very differently then commonly expected definition. In Jaina concept one is destined to pain, pleasure, disease, disability, death and so on according to previous and present karmas and their fruitions. This destiny is in one's own control as one's deeds are as per one's free will. Therefore indirectly one can control his/her disease & disability. For any act or process to be completed following co-factors will come in to play:
One's own efforts (puru rtha) Proper time (k la) Ability of one's own soul (up d na) Destiny (niyati) Association of a catalyst (nimitta)
.
4.0 Modern Ethical Issues The modern day life style, changing paradigms of pleasure has given rise to many issues. Some of these shall be discussed below with Jain view.
4.1 Ethics of Contraception and Population Control Jainism prescribes vow of limited celibacy for householders and complete celibacy for monks and nuns. For householders gth & 14th day of every fortnight (4 days a month), complete celibacy is recommended. Householders are also supposed to observe complete celibacy on Jaina festivals like Mah vra Jayanti, Mah vra Nirvana Day, and Paryu ana Days. Concept is to teach control of pleasure of senses in order to decrease influx of avoidable karmas.
Secondly each sperm is considered to have life and is capable to produce life. Therefore unnecessary killing of sperms should be considered violence, and therefore limited celibacy not only avoids killing of sperms but also becomes a means of contraception. Similar to rhythm method, contraception as such can be said to be generally acceptable to Jainas not only because of violence towards sperm, but Jainas believe that more the number of children more the attachment and aversions resulting in influx of karmas and related consequences. Therefore population control is indirectly prescribed
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specially in the interest of domestic felicity and welfare of society, along with minimizing bondage of additional karma with the soul (sanvara).
4.2 Ethics of Womb and Embryo Methods of artificial procreation
• In-vitro fertilization • Surrogate motherhood
4.2.1 In vitro fertilization: When a female is given hormone treatment to stimulate ovarian follicles and eggs are produced, these eggs are surgically removed. Sperms are then added to the eggs and fertilization occurs in the laboratory. Fertilized egg is then implanted in the uterus to grow till delivery of the baby. Sperm for this process of fertilization is usually obtained from sperm bank; some times husband's sperms are also used.
A recent story of a sperm donor in US was shocking where this medical student's sperms were picked by at least 20 women and had 20 successful pregnancies. These 20 children found out about this, through internet and had a union. They felt a different type of relationship though they never met the sperm donor. Question is as to which family do they belong? Jain literature while talking of celibacy refutes unnatural sex and polygamy and hence does not support this form of fertilization.
4.2.2 Surrogate Motherhood The female egg is fertilized in the laboratory using donor sperm or the egg and sperm are taken from couples implanted in the uterus of some other female who is willing to have the child for some one else grow in her womb and deliver the child to give the child away to the donor couple at a price. There is one good side of this process that some one who really wants a child and cannot have of their own, can have with their own egg or sperm. There are rare cases where such child is conceived for the purpose of bone marrow transplant or other such reasons. But I see many issues:
Purpose of institution of marriage & meaning of family. Exploitation of poor women for money. Question of successes in full implantation of fertilizes egg or the women naturally got pregnant due to her sexual activity. Is it buying or selling children. Are we making child a commodity? Should the child be told of real mother or what if child finds out later in life?
Jainism probably will not care how the child was brought into this world because this child was to be born regardless of the ways and means. There is mythological story concerning transfer of Mah vira's embryo from the womb of Devaki to Trishla in vet mbara tradition, Digambaras question the validity of the story. The question is, 'Will Jainism considers this to be a physical and emotional violence to the surrogate mother?'
Jain view on artificial procreation would point us to the fact that children are the cause of attachments and aversions leading to influx of karmas and therefore a follower should be satisfied if they can have children by natural means. If not, then they have to accept it as a result of their past karmas and childless experience provides them a chance to accumulate less karma to improve future and future births like we see the life of a monk or a Sadhvi is of renunciation of family and children for spiritual progress.
4.3 Ethics of Abortion, Birth Defects and Sex Selection In general Jainism prohibits abortion because of the basic principal of non-violence regardless of the reasons. As there are possibilities of life to be born, killing that life is high level of violence (equal to killing a human being) especially if abortion is done for the reasons of sex selection (elimination of female child to be born). Though statistics are mounting towards shortage of females of marriageable age by year 2010, this issue of sex selection will hopefully disappear.
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In case of birth defects Jainism will bring in Karma of that child to be born in play and decide against abortion, stating that if that child has to suffer because of his / her own past karmas, child will live or die of natural causes. Therefore Jainism will not favor abortion for the reason of birth defects.
Should pre-mature delivery of child born under 3.0 lbs or child born with physical and / or mental disabilities be saved? With advent of neonatal intensive care units every attempt is made to save every child at least in western world. These children do grow up with disabilities from slow learning to obvious physical disabilities. Cost of such treatment is about an average of $160,000 per child.
SORS OF JAN
Jainism will definitely support such treatment as every life has same rights to live. As far as disabilities are concerned, Jainism will explain the same on the theory of karma.
4.4 Should Animal Transplant Be Given to Humans?
Five-pound infant baby Fae was given a heart transplant of a seven-month-old female baboon by Dr. Leonard Baily of Loma Linda University in California. Baby Fae survived 21 days.
Animal rights group protested against use of baboon as organ factories. Jaina view is very clear here that life of the baboon is equally precious as the life of baby Fae and that this will be an act of murder, violation of the principle of nonviolence. My personal view is that this is one life sacrificed for saving one life; this is not an experiment on animal to save disease process or entire humanity at large and therefore is not acceptable.
4.5 Ethics of Gene Therapy and Genetic Engineering
With completion of human genome project 100,000 genes were identified and DNA straight in the nucleus and put into sequence gave scientist the ability to read nature's complete blue print for understanding disease process and may be for creating a human being. Dr. W. French Anderson the father of gene therapy predicts that human genetic engineering will not only profoundly change the practice of medicines, but will impact every aspect of our culture. Down the road doctors will be able to give us DNA finger prints of genes that predispose us to common kinds of diseases, a computer will then be able to read genetic profile, and help doctors some day diagnose diseases before they occur and dispense medical directives. Gene therapy is based on an understanding of the body in which genes provide the system of defence and healing. Genes protect the body, repair damage, and restore it to health. There are two types of gene therapy:
Somatic Cell Gene Therapy: Implied solely for treatment of diseases like sickle - Cell anaemia, haemophilia and Gaucher's disease caused by a defect in a single gene. Somatic Cell Engineering: Used solely for a possible enhancement rather then treatment like increasing the height or make people brainier.
Jain bioethics will welcome such progress towards setting the stage for:
A new era of preventive medicines
New insights to treat patient as a person, having a unique genetic profile Affirm belief in Puru rtha (activity in control of destiny)
Jainism believes in preserving health of physical and mental body in order to pursue spiritual progress while keeping the principal of non violence in the fore front, especially considering unnecessary experiments on animals and humans. But if these techniques are utilized for the betterment of the humanity as a whole and not solely for purpose of financial gain, Jainism will accept it.
Jainism will definitely oppose enhancement gene treatment for betterment of vanity rather than values, as enhancement gene treatment could become an exclusive right of the rich.
Somatic cell enhancement engineering threatens human values especially at our present understanding of such technology is limited and we yet have a limited understanding specially in understanding the passes of thoughts, reasoning, logic and consciousness.
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4.6 The Ethics of Cloning On July 5, 1996 Scottish scientist Ian Willmut cloned a sheep named Dolly, he explained that he had replaced the genetic material of a sheep's egg with the DNA from an adult sheep and created a lamb that is a clone of the adult. He wanted to create new animals for medical research, and has devised the idea of cloning humans.
Yanaqimachi of the University of Hawaii and his team was able to make more then 50 copies of a mouse. Therefore we can see that the technology of somatic cloning is here.
Jains perceive the body of a living being consisting of:
A physical body: as we see body from outside A karmic body: consist of karmic imprints on the soul that get transferred with the soul in to the new body after the death of present physical body. A fiery body: consist of the body that gives energy for growth and function a physical body, which also gets transferred with the soul in to the new body.
Jain belief is that the process of cloning is limited to physical body and that individuality of a person is determined by karmic and fiery body that cannot be cloned. A duplicate body does not make a duplicate person as the clone's brain would be far deferent from that of the donor. Identical twins become different individuals though their physical body is identical.
Therefore Jain view is that the science of cloning may have produced a physical body but has not created a living being, a physical body produced through artificial scientific methods or produced through natural means the individuality of that living being will always be a natural process.
Another Jain view would neither approve nor disapprove cloning but would feel that this living being's physical body was meant to be born while the karmic and fiery body came into this physical body with the migration of soul in this body and cannot be cloned.
4.7 The Ethics of End of Life i.e. Death and Dying. (Sallekhan ) In USA a good death is when one has executed a legal document relating to his / her wants and wishes after death. A person is kept alive because of some legality or absence of some such directive. Case of Terry Schiavo in USA is well known, as she was kept alive by artificial means for several years in vegetative state.
Questions of life and death are fundamentally matters of religion philosophy and ethics.
Jain philosophy believes in transgression of soul i.e. soul reincarnates into another living being, until liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth (mok a). Quality of this new life is dependent upon the sum of accumulated good and bad karmas in the past lives. These accumulated Karma are carried with the soul into the new acquired body and give appropriate fruitions.
In Jainism value is placed to the soul and not to the physical body, as one will continue to carry the soul into a new body till liberation. Therefore when the physical body can no longer function towards spiritual progress a planed death is prescribed called sallekhan.
Sallekhan can be defined as planned detachment with the present body under special circumstances, for the purpose of decreasing the accumulated bad karmas, leading to purity in the thoughts. Person with right perception can only make such decision and per Jain scriptures is distend to liberation within maximum of eight lives. Death thus is a celebration. This therefore is not a suicide. Suicide is when one does a direct and deliberate act with the intention voluntarily to kill oneself for selfregarding motives. Jainism condones suicide.
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4.7.1 Circumstances under which Planned End of Life Justified in Jaina Philosophy
• Untreatable diseases where death is inevitable and where all possible medical
remedies have been tried. • Extreme old age where life is physically not livable. • Irremediable natural calamity like fire, plane crash, drowning
4.7.2 Process Depending upon the time available at ones disposal the following process is prescribed.
1. Mentally, physically and verbally giving up:
• All attachments and aversions (except basic needs) from all family and friends. • All anger, ego, deceit and greed.
. All violence, lying, stealing, passions and sensual desires. 2. Have feeling of equanimity and compassion with all living beings. 3. Analyse and repent of all bad deeds done during the lifetime. 4. Give up feeling of fear, animosity, hatred and unhappiness. 5. Keep silence as much as possible. 6. Gradually decrease the intake of food:
• From 3 meals a day to 2 meals to 1 meal • Then limit intake to milk, juices and water
. Then gradually water only and finally nothing. 7. Spend maximum time reciting verses.
Jainism tries to answer the questions of physician assisted suicide and death with dignity by voluntarily making the decision to plan Sallekhan . This is very similar to a non-written directive, after the opinion of physician that there are no possible options of treatment.
Comments Jain philosophy bases its ethics on principal doctrine of non-violence and so all ethical questions are validates according to the level and intention of the act. Similarly when we analyze any issue, Jains will use the doctrine o multiplicity of viewpoints (Anek nta) to analyze the problem and then come up with conflict resolution.
References:
[1]
1. Sarv rtha-siddhi verses 7/22 pages 363-374 Bhartiya Jn napith Delhi 1955. 2. Bhagwati Aradhna By Sakharam Doshi 1935 pages 71-74, 204-423.
Ratnakaranda Shravakachar Verses 202 to 221.
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6.0.K
Bio-Ethics and Medical Science in Jaina Texts
Dr. Meenal Katarnikar
Introduction The ethical system contains
Beliefs about the nature of man, Beliefs about ideals, about what is good or desirable or worthy of pursuit for its own sake, Rules laying down what ought to be done and what ought not to be done, and Motives that incline us to choose the right or wrong course.
The issues arising about what is good, desirable or worthy of pursuit, the standard of goodness and so, arising out of the development of biomedical sciences are the main subject of bio-ethics. And very specifically, the response of Jainism to these bio-ethical issues is the subject matter of present lecture.
It is a matter of debate whether ethics, either pure or applied, should be religion-free or is it always based on religious or metaphysical doctrines. The polemics in this context is relevant even today, because the present global society is divided in at least two groups, viz. religious and a-religious. And whenever any ethical issue related to any sphere of life arises, the religious authorities or advocates of religious ethics attempt to find out the solutions on the basis of the teachings of religion. For example, due to the advancements in medical sciences, society is availed of the treatments life artificial womb, test-tube-baby or even gene therapy. No doubt theses issues give rise to ethical questions. However, whether the response to these questions should be from a religious group or from a neutral group essentially depends on the mind-set of people living in society. Frequently it is found that religious group responds to these issues on the basis of certain ideas of merit and sin, good and bad as determined by the religious doctrines. And the response of Jainism to these issues is such a type of response. Keeping at background the Jaina ideals of non-violence, non-collectivism and ascetic life, Jainism responds to the bio-ethical issues.
In this lecture, the case study of following bio-ethical issues will be done, not all the issues will be discussed. The reason for being selective is that the focus of the lecture is on Jaina response to bioethical issues and not the elaborate description and discussion of bio-ethical issues. The issues for present lecture are:
1. Abortion 2. Artificial womb 3. Contraception 4. Euthanasia 5. Organ donation
The changing set of values, varied ideas of pleasure and enjoyment, individual freedom, social status etc. have given rise to a different theorization of human life and consequently the issues related to span of human life, unwanted birth or craving for baby etc. have arisen.
1. Abortion In the light of the emphasis on absolute non-violence, Jainism repudiates and prohibits abortion regardless of reasons. The Jaina explanation of this approach of non-violence could be as follows:
As the possibility of new birth exists, killing that life is high level of violence and cannot be justified under any reason.
If the intention of abortion is to get rid of the female child, Jainism will respond on the backdrop of equality of all life, and condemn the killing of a female child.
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If possibility of defective delivery is the reason of abortion, Jainism will take into account the theory of karma and will argue that as the child will have to suffer because of his-her own past karmas, child will live or die of natural causes and hence deliberate killing of a child is not justified.
Jainism will also support saving the pre-maturely delivered babies at any cost even though there is every possibility that such a child does grow with disabilities from slow learning to overt physical disabilities.
If the reason of abortion is social, e.g. poverty or getting rid of un-wanted or illegal child, Jainism will respond with the support of two principles of non-violence and doctrine of karma and argue that as the child has to bear the fruits of past karmas and hence aborting the child will be a sin of interfering with other karma.
2. Artificial Womb This device is adopted when the natural pregnancy is not possible due to the organic defects either in male or female. In-vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood is some ways that can be adopted when the wife in the couple cannot give birth to a child in a natural way. For the couple, which is craving for a child and cannot get it naturally, these medical inventions are like a boon. It would be interesting to see what Jainism would think about this.
First of all, arguing on the basis of the theory of karma, Jainism will entirely repudiate the idea of artificial procreation. It will point out that due to the past karmas of either wife or husband or both of them, natural pregnancy is not possible and hence the couple should accept it as their destiny.
Secondly, it will also oppose using either eggs or sperms or a womb of any other mother as a commodity for anyone's selfish purpose.
3. Contraception The idea of contraception, specifically is to prevent an unwanted pregnancy, and in general to control the population.
Jainism might see the use of contraceptives as redundant in the light of the vow of celibacy. According to the fourth vow, Monks and Nuns are supposed to control their sexual passions completely, while householder males and females are supposed to control the same to a certain extent. For example, sexual relation with anyone other than spouse, or sexual relations when there is no motive for a child etc. is prohibited by Jainism. In this context, a true follower of Jainism will not require any contraceptive as he/she would have been already controlling the sexual passions. Jainism will prefer one's own decision to control the passion rather than any external means to fulfil that passion without bearing the results of the same.
4. Euthanasia Euthanasia means voluntary death. Specifically, when a person is suffering from some incurable disease, there being no possibility of his/her living, for long and moreover the same person is either undergoing enormous quantity of physical pain or is in no position to give any response to any stimuli, a doctor may help this person, with either the permission of that person or a family member, to die peacefully. The issue of euthanasia is a highly discussed and debated bio-ethical issue and in the religion-neutral field like medical science also there is no unanimity about the sanction or opposition to voluntary death. Jainism definitely rules out any possibility of giving any sanction to euthanasia for at least two reasons: O Birth and death of a person is determined by his/her previous karmas, and hence no
artificial means or deliberate attempt could be employed for either preparing or postponing
the death O No living being has right to take away the life of any other being for any reason whatsoever.
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In Jaina tradition, there is a vow called Sallekhana which is always mistakenly, compared with euthanasia. Sallekhana means spiritual death and is has no connection with biomedical progress, its discussion here would be inappropriate.
5. Organ- Donation / Transplant
If organ donation / transplant is done at the cost of other life or exploitation of other life, Jainism does not approve it even though it is helpful to some other J va. In case of voluntary donating of the organ, e.g. kidney transplant from mother to child or vice versa; Jainism should not have any problem as the donor has not taken the decision out of any external force or compulsion or helplessness.
This list can be extended as the bio-medical sciences have done magnificent progress even to the extent of cloning. But a few cases are sufficient to draw inferences about the Jaina position regarding bio-ethical issues.
Jainism would consider all these issues from purely religious perspectives. The evaluations of any of the above problems will be done in the measurement of sin and merit, following or transgressing the vows, especially the vow of non-violence and some such religious norm. But while maintaining the noble ethical and spiritual values, the social aspect of these issues has been ignored and therefore, Jaina position about bio-ethical issues appears to be highly spiritual and less social.
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6.0.k
Applications of Jaina Ethics in Daily Life Issues Dr. Dhayanand Bhargava
Introduction
The Jain life style is respected by the vows, which a householder or a monk adopts. However, beyond this, there are certain others characteristics of Jain life style. While we are dealing with the formal vows for the householders and the monks in separate lessons, in this lesson we propose to deal with such aspects of Jain life style, which do not generally fall within the domain of vows. For this we have to understand some basic concepts.
The Concept of Righteousness
This first point is regarding the concept of righteousness. The Jainas hold that any person should have right attitude towards life. In the first place, this means that he aims at the achievement of right goal. Wealth or health may be necessary for a worldly life but they do not lead to the achievement of Summon Bonum of life. The Summon Bonum of life is self realization. When we have this end in view, certain type of life style follows automatically.
Bad Habits
In the first place, one would avoid the following bad habits.
Drinking
Eating meat
Gambling
Hunting
Theft
Having illicit sexual relations with the wife of others.
SOS OF JAN
It would be clear that these bad habits are hindrance not only in spiritual life but in worldly life also. It is just possible that a person may find that business in wine or meat could bring more money. But even than a Jain is not expected to enter into such business.
A Balanced View
Secondly, Jain attitude towards life is that of non-absolutism. He cannot therefore. Be a fatalist, even through he believes that fate also play its own role. Similarly, he believes that one should help each other in social as well as spiritual life, but he should not be dependent on other for his success, because success depends mainly on one's own efforts. The role of others and circumstances is only marginal. A Jain should, therefore, be independent. This concept of independent leads to the belief that no external super - natural entity like God interferes in our life, even through devotion to perfected souls brings about purity.
Dignity of Labour
Thirdly, as the Jains believe in exertion (shram) they are called shramanas. It implies that whatever is not in our hand is of little significance. For example, the birth if a person is not in his own hands. Therefore, a person is to be judged not by birth but by his action. Looking down upon any person, because he is born in a so-called low family, is not permissible. Casteism therefore, has no place in Jain view of life. In fact humanity belongs to one caste. In fact the basis of casteism is the profession which one follows. Spiritualism has nothing to do with the profession. Therefore, caste has no role in Jainism as it is pre-dominantly spiritualistic. We know what havoc has been wrought upon by casteism, particularly in our country. The matter of the fact is that socially every profession fulfils one or the other necessity of the social and as such no profession should be considered as inferior.
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Physical labour came to be looked upon in our country. Therefore those who could afford avoiding physical labour did so. They thought themselves to be superior to others. This led to a class struggle. The matter of the fact is that physical labour is not only a social necessity but also an individual necessity. This Jain monk does all physical work by himself. In a society however division of labour should not result in discrimination against those who are given to manual work. Therefore
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exploitation, injustice, cruelty, dependence, selfishness and non-confidence and ego have no place in Jain life style. This means that a Jain believes in a civilized society based on equality, fraternity and freedom.
प्र
Freedom from Excitement
The second characteristic of Jain life style is freedom from excitement. Excitement leads to indiscrimination. Detachment means remaining unperturbed and calm under any circumstances. One should respect the views of others and try to make adjustments with those with whom one does not agree. Uniformity in thought or way of life is not possible. One has to see unity in diversity. Nonabsolutism is the guiding principle in this direction.
Fearlessness
Non-violence is the cardinal moral virtue. One can observe non-violence only if one is fearless. A fearful will always think of eliminating those from whom there is danger. Only a fearless person can give freedom to others. In social context non-violence does not mean that one has not to defend his country. It only means that one should not be warmonger. It also needs preservation of environment by not exploiting the nature. Life is dear to everyone and we must have respect for life of not only human being but also even the animals.
Necessity and Desire
A distinction must be made between necessity and desire. Necessities are always limited, desires are unlimited. A social being has right to fulfil his necessities but a check must be exercised on the desires. One would find that one desire is not necessary. It may also be pointed out that an austere way of living is always preferable to a luxurious way of life because luxury makes one weak whereas austerity makes one strong. Exploitation leads to inequality and dissatisfaction. Exploitation of a nation by any another nation is also bad.
Spirit of a Dialogue
One has to be free from prejudices. Truth has no boundaries. It can be approached from different angels. One has to others view point also. Truth is multi-dimensional. A dialogue between those who have different viewpoint is necessary to have a approach towards life.
Equanimity
Equanimity is the highest virtue. In life one has to face favourable as well as unfavourable circumstances. If one is disturbed in these circumstances one cannot retain his balance of mind. He loses his peace of mind. When there is no peace of mind one cannot follow the right path because in fact, he cannot distinguish right and wrong.
Helpfulness
Out of the eight essential qualities of a right believer, which have been described in the lesson, the last three have social implications. They are re-establishing in truth those who debate from it, sense of brotherhood amongst the follower of right faith and preaching the importance of spiritualism. This means that a Jain has not only to be satisfied with his own progress he-has also to help others in their spiritual journey.
The very foundation of four-fold Jain order is an example of inter-dependence of the monks and the householders on each other. The monk has to depend on the householders for his physical necessities as food whereas the monk serves as a living example of spiritual life for a householder.
Three-fold Path of S dhn
The Jain view of life is not lopsided. It gives equal importance to faith, knowledge and conduct. Those, who believe that only devotion will do, are wrong. Devotion does help in purification but this purification should lead to purity in conduct also. Similarly knowledge of the metaphysical reality is necessary to have a proper view of morality. For example, if we believe that all life is one, just as the Vedantists do, or everything is absolutely transitory, as the Buddhist believes, then the very basis of ethics will be shaken. Samantrabhadra says that without knowing the real nature of things which is
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permanency in transitoriness, all moral distinction between the anti-thesis of bondage and liberation, punya and papa, heaven and hell, pleasure and plain will be blurred. Belief, for example, in the metaphysical view that the nature of things is absolutely transitory would make it impossible to carry on any financial transaction, or to explain the fact of memory, or to have any relation like that of husband and wife. This brings out the importance of right knowledge.
The Third Dimension of Supra-morality
Another characteristic of Jain view of life, which shares with other system of India, is too distinguished between the practical path and transcendental morality. What we call as good is only a path and not the goal. Good leads to favourable circumstances but not to liberation. Bad leads to unfavourable circumstances, which means that good should be preferred to bad. But in both the cases, the attachment is there. Both of them have to be abandoned in favour of a life of pure consciousness. The consciousness is neither good nor bad. It is knowledge. Simple and pure. Good and bad lose their importance at that transcendental stage. In practical terms, it means that one should not entertain any idea of superiority while performing a good action.
Secular Society
Another characteristic if Jain view of life is that they accept all social institutions and rules which do not come in contradiction to his right attitude and observance of vows. This makes one socially acceptable in spite of his own way of spiritual life.
Necessary Evils
As the Jains are known for their devotion to non-violence, it may be pointed out that a Jain householder has his own limitations. He has to share the responsibilities towards his family of earning livelihood and procuring necessities of life for them, as also to defend himself and his country from the offenders. For fulfilling his responsibilities towards his family, he has to adopt a profession. He has to be careful that he chooses a profession in which there is the least violence. In spite of this, it is not possible to avoid every kind of violence. Such a violence, which is involved in his profession, is accepted evil for him. Similarly, one has to be careful that while performing the daily routine of a householder like cooking. He takes maximum precaution against violence but still he is bound to commit certain violence. Which is the second necessary evil? As regards the right of self-defence, a householder has never to be offensive but as he has to defend himself, the violence involved in such a situation is the third necessary evil.
All the above necessary evils cannot be a householder but he can certainly avoid intentional violence, which means he should not commit violence for the sake of fun or satisfying his intense passions. Thus, he can lead a worldly life and still start journey towards spiritualism.
Relevance of Jain Way of Life
From what has been said above, we can safely conclude that Jain way of life leads to a civilized society on the collective level and a peaceful life at the individual level. It would be relevant to analyse as to how this way of life can universally solve the problems of human life. Conclusion
It may be noted here that through the rules of conduct as prescribed by Jainism and recorded by us appear to be too elaborate and sometimes even superfluous, yet basic idea behind these rules is that of self-realization. When there is a feeling-realization of the true nature of the self and when one is completely lost in the bliss self-meditation, the observance of all the moral rules becomes spontaneous, coming from within and not being an imposition from without. The problems of human life arise out of various factors, which can be classified under the following board heads:
o Scarcity
o Injustice
o Ignorance
o Selfishness
Scarcity
In spite of the great strides of science and technology we know that humanity suffers from scarcity. Science tries to solve this problem in its own way by inventing tools for increasing production, by importing means of comforts and luxuries, and by developing new means of fighting against the
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furies of nature. But we know that apart from the scarcity caused by natural circumstances, there is also an artificial scarcity created by indulgence into such selfish tendencies as hoarding and profiteering not only by individuals but by nations also, trying to expend and wanting to occupy others territories by force.
"The greater the possessions, the greater the happiness" is the motto of many. Jainism teaches us quite the opposite: "the lesser the possessions the greater the happiness". Happiness comes from what we are and not from what we possess. We should realize the blissful nature of the self, become free and be not the selves of worldly objects. This puts an end to the struggle for wealth and other possessions. For those who can reach the highest stage of monkhood, scarcity becomes a selfimposed virtue followed voluntarily in pursuance, of complete freedom from bondage; for those who cannot attain that height, limitations of possessions, coupled with a sense of detachment towards what one has, is recommended. The idea behind the vow of non-possession is not a morbid feeling of self-mortification but a sense of, and belief in the inherent bliss of the self.
The answer of Jainism to the problem of scarcity is; Be not attached to the worldly objects; be not their selves; turn to the self within wherefrom comes the true happiness. Has does not imply a life of inertia, but that a contemplation and contentment.
What is true of the individual is true of the nations. The glorifications of a king who desire to conquer others territory (vijigisu), through very commen in other ancient Indian literature, is foreign to Jaina literature; the greed for expansion is unmistakably condemned in the too well known story of Bharata and Bahubali.
Injustice
The bigger fish swallow the smaller ones. The mighty and the aggressive prosper; the humble and the meek suffer. The result is the rule of jungle. In the sphere of politics, we kill and crush in the name of caste, creed and colour. The result is war and bloodshed.
Jainism brings us hope of justice in the form of doctrine of karman. As we sow, so shall we reap? Through there is no God who sits upon judgement on us, there is a law, based on the theory of cause and effect, which works automatically and unfailingly.
All life is equal and the stronger have no right to do any injustice to the weaker; and if they do, they do not harm anybody but themselves. Ill feeling vitiates our morals structure first; it harms anybody else afterwards. To kill a man with a hot rod of iron, the killer will burn his own hands first before he can kill the other. It is not so much out of regard for the life of others that we are forbidden to kill, as out of regard for our own selves.
We should meet an injustice not with force but with forbearance. Enmity leads to enmity; but if we do not retaliate, it subsides. Parsva's attitude of equanimity to Dharanindra and Kamatha beautifully illustrates the Jaina attitude, when the former tried to save him from the latter who tried to kill him.
Jainism has also opposed from the beginning any social injustice arising out of casteism or racialism. 'Mankind is one community', says Jinasena. Mahatma Gandhi successfully applied the creed of nonviolence to redress the injustice of one nation against another. The creed of non-violence, if applied to the international problems, has the potentially of wiping out the institution of war from the surface of earth. Thus, the answer of Jainism to the problem of injustice is four-fold: doctrine of Karman, equality of life, non-violence and equanimity.
Ignorance
In spite of the spread of education in modern times, the problems of life seem to multiply rather than decrease. Of what use in knowledge, which binds us rather than liberate? Jainism teaches us that all knowledge is relative and co-related. Let us be respective to every thought. Let us not assume the attitude of finality about our knowledge. One-sided attitude only complicates problems rather than solve them. It does not give us any solution to such ethical questions as 'determinism' and 'freedom
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of will'. Non-absolutism shows us the path of synthesis between fate and human effort; knowledge and action; and supra-moral plane of life and practical code of morality.
The answer of Jainism to the problem of knowledge is represented in its doctrine of non-absolutism.
Much of misunderstanding between one nation and the other could be solved it we could adopt the attitude of non-absolutism on political problems.
Selfishness Selfishness lies at the root of all problems. All immoral practices arise out of selfishness nature of man. Selfish can be overcome by realizing the true nature of self. According to Vedanta, the individual self (atman) is identical, with the universal self (Brahman); and the summum bonum of life is to realize this identify. This broadens our outlook and lifts us above selfishness. Buddhism, on the other hand, asks us not only to destroy our ego but also to believe that the self, for which we struggle so much, is a non-entity. Both of these views represent entity and that each should have a distinct existence. What Jainism lays down is neither a belief in the unity of life nor in the non-entity of the self, but a distinction between the self (J va) and the non-self (aj va) and a victory over passion which are based on a false conception of the identity of the two.
An ordinary Jaina (samyagdrsti) is no allowed to indulge in feelings of anger, pride, hypocrisy and greed continuously for more than a year, a householder at an advanced stage (sravaka) for more than four months, and a monk for more than fifteen days. Perfection or libration is attained when these feelings are completely overcome; and not, as the Vedanta will have us believe, when the self merges into the universal self; as the Buddhism believes, when it is annihilated. We need not discard commonly experienced, separate, existence of the self.
The above ethical idea, which Jainism gave with reference to individual sadhana, could be interpreted afresh in the context of modern day problems to suggest that all nations could also maintain their individuality, and yet live in peace and harmony if negative ideas of anger, pride, hypocrisy and greed could be renounced. It could, thus, teach the possibility and utility of coexistence in modern times and bring the hope of a brighter future for war-ridden humanity of today. If Jaina ethics could bring home to us that alone, its purpose will be more than achieved.
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6.0.m
Religion and Morality (Ethics) - Jaina Perspective Prof. Dr. Kamal Chand Sogani
1.0 Introduction
Jainism is one of the oldest living religions of the world. It represents the continuation of indigenous rama ic culture that is at least as old as the Vedas themselves, so far as the literary evidence goes, though the archaeological evidence takes rama ism far back to Harappan civilization, which is regarded as non-Vedic in origin and outlook. The Jaina faith has, no doubt, influenced Vedism on the one hand and Buddhism on the other, though being influenced by them in the course of its gradual development.
1.1 Religion and Morality not Identical
There is no denying the fact that Jainism is humanistic in its approach and spiritualistic in its depth. An unbiased eye can look into it religious fervour and moral earnestness. These two elements are so greatly intertwined in it that one is apt to confuse religion with morality and vice versa. The fact is that one cannot be reduced to the other. In practice, though the two are closely associated, yet, they are quite distinguishable. Jainism subscribes to the view that "religion if taken seriously and rationally will be deeply moral; but it is not morality" [1]. The two are not identical. Thus it will not be contradictory to aver that a religious man will be necessarily moral. But a moral man may not be necessarily religious. In other words, religion is coextensive with morality, but morality is not always coextensive with religion. A man may be moral without being religious. All this shows that the realms of religion and morality are theoretically distinguishable. The Jain faith vehemently criticizes the view which identifies religion with personal and social morality, and which defines it merely as "the consciousness of the highest social values". The Jain saints and sages have always exhorted us to look beyond the mere moral nature of man to transcendental horizons of life, thereby justifying that social righteousness is not the be-all and end-all of human life. This is not to decry social morality, but to save religion from being identified with it, and to keep the domain of religion as quite distinct from that of morality.
1.2 Religion and Theology not Identical
Side by side with the tendency of identifying religion with morality, there is witnessed another tendency of defining religion in theological terms, i. e. with reference to God, the creator of the universe. Since Jainism does not uphold the idea of God as the creator, sustainer and destroyer of the world, the above definition does not bring forth the characteristic feature of religion. If this definition of religion is adhered to, Jainism, Buddhism, S khya, Yoga and Mim s are excluded without any justification. Now the question arises: What constitutes the universal core of religion? The question can be answered by considering the utterances of the saints and mystics all over the world, in all cultures, religions, places and ages. Pratt rightly concludes, "Religion is not so much theology as life it is to be lived rather than reasoned about". [2 [2]
1.3 Religion as a Transcendental Mystical Experience
Religion is a transcendental mystical experience, which is permanent, trans-subjective, blissful, intuitive, super sensuous, infinite, incommunicable and ineffable. It is the non-conceptual state of existence wherein all differentiations disappear. "To be emptied of all empirical contents is the universal character of that experience."[3] "What is left is the pure ego, the self itself, seeing itself as reflected in itself."[4] Brightman rightly remarks, "Mystical experience is immediate, but cannot be called immediate experience of God, it is rather an immediate experience of the self, which may be taken as a sign of the reality of God, provided philosophical thought finds this idea tenable.[5] Thus the Jain view of religion lays stress on realizing the transcendental nature of the self, which the individual feels as his own. This shows that theology does not find favour with Jainism, so is the case with theological definition of religion.
After setting aside the sociological and theological definitions of religion let us now proceed to discuss the characteristic features of Jainism as a religion. The question now confronts us: What are the constitutive factors that endow Jain faith with religious fervour? In other words, how Jainism has occupied itself with religious outlook? The answer can be searched in delineating.
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1. The nature of self. 2. The goal of human pursuance. 3. The doctrine of Karma. 4. The meaning of spiritual awakening (Samyagdar ana). 5. The incentives to spiritual life. 6. The spiritual perspective of Ahi s. 7. The practice of devotion. 8. The observance of Sallekhan as the spiritual welcome to death. 9. The stages of spiritual development known as G asth nas. 10. Moral practices like A vrata, Mah vrata etc.
2.1 Ethics Now the question is: Is ethics possible without religion in Jainism? According to Jainism those who are not spiritually awakened can lead a moral life. Thus in Jainism ethical living is possible without religious living. The equivalent expression in Jaina ethics for the term 'right' and 'good' is ubha. We all know that ethics deals with right and wrong, good and bad. Here the question that confronts us is this: How to determine according to Jainism, what is morally right for a certain agent in a certain situation? Or what is the criterion of the rightness of action? The interrelated question is what we ought to do in a certain situation or how duty is to be determined? The answer of Jaina ethics is that right, ought and duty cannot be separated from the good.
2.2 Teleological Theory of Right Accepted in Jaina Ethics The criterion of what is right etc. is the greater balance of good over bad that is brought into being than any alternative. Thus, the view that regards goodness of the consequences of actions as the right-making characteristic is termed the teleological theory of right as distinguished from the deontological theory of right which regards an action as right simply because of its own nature regardless of the consequences it may bring into being. The Jaina ethics holds the teleological theory of right (Maximum balance of Ahi s over his as the right-making characteristic).
2.3 Act-Teleology accepted: Rules as Guiding Moral principles The question now arises whether Jaina ethics subscribes to act-approach or rule-approach in deciding the rightness or wrongness of actions. It seems to me that though the Jaina C ryas have given us moral rules, yet in principle they have followed that every action is to be judged on the goodness of the consequences expected to be produced. Since to calculate the consequences of each and every action is not practically possible, Jaina have given us guiding moral principles in the form of A vratas and Mah vratas, G avratas and ik vratas and so on. This means that Jaina ethics accepts the possibility that sometimes these general moral principles may be inadequate to the complexities of the situation and in this case a direct consideration of the particular action without reference to general principles is necessary.
May be, keeping this in view, Samantabhadra argues that truth is not to be spoken when by so doing the other is entangled in miseries: Sv mi Kum r in the K rttikey nuprek disallows the purchase of things at low price in order to maintain the vow of non-stealing. According to moral rules exceptions can not be allowed. This implies that Jaina ethics does not allow superstitious rule-worship but at the same time, prescribes that utmost caution is to be taken in breaking the rule, which has been built up and tested by the experience of generations. Thus according to Jaina ethics, acts are logically prior to rules and the rightness of the action is situational.
2.4 Teleological Nature of Duty: It is of capital importance to note here that according to Jaina ethics, duty is not self-justifying; it is not an end in itself. "The very nature of duty is to aim beyond itself. There can no more be a duty to act, if there is no good to attain by it." Thus, duty is an extrinsic good, good as a means; this does not deprive duty of its importance in ethical life, just as health does not become unimportant by its being extrinsic good. (The pursuance of A uvratas for the householder and Mah vratas for the Muni may be regarded as dutiful actions)
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2.5 Evaluation of the Moral Worth of an Action
We have so far considered the criterion by which we are to determine what we morally ought to do in a given situation, how the rightness or wrongness of action is to be decided. But the question that remains to be discussed is: How the moral worth of an action is to be evaluated? How does, in Jaina terminology, an action become pu ya and p pa engendering? In other words, how does an act become virtuous or vicious, praiseworthy or blameworthy, morally good or bad?
1. It is likely that an act by the criterion of rightness may be externally right but internally immorally motivated. A man may seem to be doing things according to a moral rule, but it may be with a bad motive.
2. Again, an act by the standard of rightness may be externally wrong, but it may be done with a good motive. For example, one may kill the rich in order to serve the poor.
An act may be externally right and done with good motive.
An act may be externally wrong and done with a bad motive.
3.
4.
Thus there are four possibilities:
1.
2. Wrong act and good motive,
3.
Right act and good motive
4. Wrong act and bad motive.
Right act and bad motive,
The third and fourth category of acts according to Jaina ethics may be called ubha (auspicious) and A ubha (inauspicious) acts. The first category of acts (right act and bad motive) may look proper externally but its moral significance is zero. All deceptions are of this nature. The moral worth of the second category of acts (wrong act and good motive) is complicated and can be decided only on the nature of the case.
Though in Jaina ethical works, importance of good motive is recognised as contributing towards the moral merit of an action yet the Jaina c ryas have clearly stated that he who exclusively emphasised the internal at the expense of the external forgets the significance of outward behaviour. In consequence, both the internal and external aspects should occupy their due places. Ewing rightly observes, "They (good motives) lead us into evil courses on occasion if there is not at the back of our minds a moral consciousness which prevents this, so the strictly moral motive should always in a sense be present potentially." [8]
2.6 ubha (Good) and the ubha (the Good) to be distinguished
We have said above that according to Jaina ethics right, ought and duty cannot be separated from the good. Now the question that confronts us is: what is intrinsically desirable, good or worthwhile in life according to Jaina ethics? What intrinsic values are to be pursued according to it? The answer that may be given is this: What is intrinsically good and valuable or what ought to be chosen for its own sake is the achievement of 'Ahi s of all living beings', the attainment of knowledge etc.
But the basic question that remains to be discussed is the definition of good or ubha. The question 'what is good?' is different from the question, as Moore says, 'what is the good?' i.e. what things are good? In order to understand 'the good' or the ubha the first step is to understand, what is good or what is ubha?
2.7 Definition of ubha in Ethics and of Dravya in Metaphysics
What, then, is good or ubha? How is ubha or good to be defined? According to the Jinist, ubha is an experience in tune with Ahi s. We can better understand the nature and importance of the question, 'What is good or ubha in the realm of ethics?' when we find that it is like the question, 'What is Dravya (substance) in the realm of metaphysics?'
The definition of Dravya given by the Jaina c ryas is: Dravya is that which is Sat[9] (being).' Here 'being' is used in a comprehensive sense*) and not in any particular sense**). But no particular thing can be apart from 'being'. Logically speaking, we may say that 'being' is the highest genus, whereas
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particulars are its species and the relation between the two is of identity indifference. Similarly, when I say that ubha is an experience in tune with Ahi s, I am using the term 'Ahi s' in the comprehensive sense and not in any particular sense. But no particular ubha can be separated from Ahi s and Ahis manifests itself in all particular ubhas.
Comprehensive meaning of Ahi s: The oldest Jaina gama y ro (cr ga) remarkably pronounces that none of the living beings ought to be killed, ought to be ordered, ought to be enslaved, ought to be distressed and ought to be put to unrest. [10] It is a unique and unparalleled statement in the entire Jinist literature. I need not say that it basically embraces all the aspects of social experience in its normative perspective. The political organisation, the economic orientation and the institutional set up can easily derive inspiration from this ethically significant statement. Owing to the all-inclusive nature of Ahi s the Puru rthasidhyup ya seeks to explain falsehood - truth, stealing non-stealing, non-chastity chastity, possession - non-possession etc. as forms of His - Ahi s. This way of expression regards Ahi s as the essence of all virtues, thus giving the supreme status to Ahi s it deserves.
In a Particular sense, Ahi s means only non-killing.
In a logical sense it can be said that Ahis is the highest genus and particular Ahi s s are its species, and the relation between generic Ahi s and particular Ahis is a relation of identity indifference. As for example, in non-killing and non-exploitation, though the identical element of Ahi s is present, yet the two are different. So the above is the most general definition of ubha just like the definition of Dravya. It may be noted that we can understand 'being' only through the particulars, similarly, the understanding of general Ahis is possible only through the particular examples of Ahi se.g. non-killing, non-exploitation, non-enmity, non-cruelty, etc. Ahi s is the most general definition like the definition of Dravya as that what is Sat. The former can be thought of evaluative, just as the latter can be thought of factually i.e. value neutrally.
2.8 Does definition of ubha (Good) Require the Definition of Ahi s ?
It is all right that good is definable as the experience in tune with Ahi s, but it may be asked: what is Ahi s? Now the question 'Ahi s?' in the value-world is like the question 'What is Sat?' in the factual world. Just as Sat is understandable through the particular examples of things like pen, table, book etc., so also Ahis is understandable through the particular examples of Ahi s, like non-killing, non-exploitation, non-enmity, non-cruelty etc. When it is so easily understandable through examples, the craving for the definition of Ahis is pedantry, serving no purpose. Ahi s can be taught by examples, just as in arithmetic 2+2 = 4 can be taught to a child with the help of an example like two balls + two balls = 4 balls and gradually the child learns to do big sums without examples. In the same way Ahi s can be understood gradually. The argument of understandability cannot be adduced in the case of ubha without definition. For understanding ubha, definition is a necessity, but a similar necessity does not exist for Ahi s in view of the above-mentioned facts.
2.9 Intrinsic Goodness as Ahi s -Utilitarianism
The question that confronts us is: what is intrinsically desirable, good or worthwhile in life, according to the Jaina? What intrinsic values are to be pursued according to him? The answer that may be given is this: What is intrinsically good or valuable or what ought to be chosen for its own sake is the achievement of Ahi s of all living beings, the attainment of knowledge, the leading of a virtuous life, and the experiencing of freedom and good emotions. Thus the criterion of intrinsic goodness shall be the fulfilment of ends, like Ahi s, knowledge, virtues etc. We may say here that realization of goodness or ubha is a matter of degree and this depends on the degree of fulfilment of ends.
An altogether good shall be wholly fulfilling the ends and wholly satisfying the seeker. The Jaina texts speak of the partial realisation of Ahi s and the complete realisation of Ahi s and of other ends. This theory of intrinsic goodness may be called Ahi s -Utilitarianism. This means that this theory considers Ahi s and other ends to be the general good.
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2.10 Ahi s as a Means and as an End The Jaina recognises that Ahis can be both good as a means and good as an end. This means that both means and ends are to be tested by the criterion of Ahi s. Whenever we judge that a thing is
good as a means', we judge both that it will have a particular kind of effect, and that effect will be good in itself. It may be noted that ethical judgments regarding good as a means', may not be universally true; and many, though generally true at one period, will be generally false at another , whereas ethical judgments regarding good in itself are universally true.
In both these kinds of good, the criterion of good as Ahis is to be adhered to. I may say in passing that the principle that the end justifies the means" need not be rejected as immoral if the above criterion of means and ends is conceded. It may look paradoxical that Ahis is an end. But it is not so. Perhaps in order to avoid this misunderstanding that Ahis cannot be an end the S trakt ga has pronounced that Ahis is the highest good. In a similar vein, Samantabhadra has also said that Ahis of all living beings is equivalent to the realisation of the highest good. (12] This shows that there is no inconsistency in saying that Ahis is both an end and a means. Thus, the expression Ahi s Utilitarianism seems to me to be the most apt one to represent the Jaina theory of intrinsic goodness.
References: [1] Religious Consciousness by Pratt. Page 10 (Macmillan, New York). [2] Ibid, Page 7 [3] Mysticism and Philosophy by Stace, Page 109 (Macmillan, New York). [4] Ibid. [5] Philosophy of Religion by Brightman, Page 171 (Prentice Hall, New York). [6] Ratnakara da ravak c ra of Samantabhadra, 155, (Vra Sev Mandira, Delhi). [7] Krttikeyanuprek , 335, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [8] Ewing, Ethics, P. 129. [9] Pa c stik ya of Kundakunda, 10, (R jacandra rama, g sa). [10] cr ga s tra, 132, (Agama Prakana Samiti, Beawer). [11] Moore, Principia Ethica P. 22.
[12] Svayambh stotra: Tattvaprad pik, 119; (Shri Ganesvarni Digambara Jaina Sodha Samsthana,
Nariya, Varansai).
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6.0.p
1.1 Historical Perspective: Religious diversity
History is full of stories as to how various religions tried to proselytize using various violent means. We also see how kings or various governments of the day tried to bring religious harmony amongst their subjects. Some examples are:
Doctrine and ethics in Jainism, religious harmony Dr. Shugan C. Jain
• To enforce their own religious beliefs with momentary success but created long term problems (Aurangjeb, Hitler, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Israel-Arab war, Jnana Sambandhar etc).
• Different sects of the same religion trying to eliminate each other (Digambar and Swetambar Jains, Shia and Sunni, Catholic and Protestants etc)1
• To evolve a consensus amongst various religious with a common code of ethics and failed (Bhoj, Akbar)1
• To maintain equanimity towards all religions and created peace (Ashoka, Jain rulers in south from 5001200AD)1.
1.2
Religion
Religion is a set of community specific beliefs and practices, rituals, study of ancestral or cultural traditions, mythology and personal faith etc. Due to its external acts and experiences, we find many reformers or prophets who established their own cult of followers to resolve some prevailing socio cultural and bring reform/ harmony with others. The problem starts when one leader or his follower tries to enforce his/her views by force or any other means saying 'I am only right and others are not.' This can be seen while attending or interacting with religious leaders who venture saying 'others are heretics and he/she is only right; so eliminate or hate others'
Religion
Abrahamic
On the other hand, religion also includes mystical experience termed as spirituality which refers to internal experience. This internal experience is generally not a source of discord.
Religious traditions fall into following four super-groups arranged by their historical origin and mutual influence2.
Indian
East Asian
Local
1.3
VERSAC
Origin Middle East Greater India
China, Japan Africa etc
* considered so by many philosophers and scholars.
Main constituents
Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Baha'i faith Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism Taoism & Confucianism; Do
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Today we see that Abrahmac religions dominate the world. However the biggest problems we face are generated by the problems of supremacy amongst different groupings/ religions of this group.
Religious harmony/ peace
In music the term harmony refers to tuning of various musical chords and instruments to generate a pleasing experience to the listeners and producers. Like in an orchestra with 1000 or so musicians, each musician plays his/her own note and yet the overall impact of the orchestra is extremely pleasing and sweet to one and all thereby imparting a feeling of peace and tranquillity in the musicians and the listeners as well. In general harmony also refers to an agreement to co-exist peacefully. Eighteenth century German philosopher Liebnitz even said that God had established pre-determined harmony in all monads (conscious elements) as indicated in the following.
'I will say that this concomitance which I maintain is comparable to several different bands or musicians of choirs playing their parts separately, and so placed that they do not see or even hear one another, which can nevertheless keep harmony perfectly together by each following their own notes, in such a way that he who hears them all finds in them a harmony that is wonderful, and much more surprising than if there had been any connection between them."3
Faith Monotheism
Karma & Dharma
Non religious*
Earlier harmony or peace /tranquillity meant primarily peaceful co-existence amongst fellow human beings. However with rapid growth of science and technology, knowledge about us and our universe, this term also refers to the entire eco system which even includes environment, animal kingdom and ultimately the entire
cosmos.
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Today due to the advent of technology and Knowledge industry, the world is becoming a Global village with open borders. We hear the cry from all corners of the world for a harmonious, peaceful and non violent NEW ORDER for co existence amongst various religions and nations.
1.4
Current situation
In the twentieth century we saw a number of countries getting independence from their colonial rulers. The local governments had to learn to rule, affect economic and social development for their subjects and ensure religious harmony amongst their subjects. We also saw partitions based on religion (India Pakistan), and even states within India. Even though India was divided according to religion, still India opted for a secular constitution. A number of developed countries opted for a secular constitution while a number of under developed countries moved to the extreme religion based constitution as well. Major religion group tried to be bold and set up their own religious political entities wielding influence. Intelligentsia on the other hand tried to organize Inter faith groups. However my own experience of some of the Inter faith groups is different than what is intended. The interests of the main religious system spearheading a particular group are promoted by inducting members of different religions and so could not make much progress. Examples are the efforts of Dalai Lama, the MillionMarch in Washington in March 2010 (Farrakhan called for black Muslim in US to unite for a separate black USA. Dan Fefferman of Unification Church of US not agreeing and asking for a God centred family, interracial harmony, inter religious unity and moral revival) etc and a large number of inter faith groups all over the world. The result is for all of us to see.
Where do we go to succeed in developing harmony (and not unity) amongst religions? In this paper I propose agreeing to certain basic values (non violence, multiplicity of viewpoints and limiting possessions) for adoption, practice and to live by them. Each person is free to practice the religion of his choice without any coercion or superstition.
2.
Jain canons define religion as follows:
Jain doctrine ahinsa, anekanta, aparigraha
Dhammo mangala mukkhitam ahinsa sanjamo tavo Deva vi tam namasanti jassa dhamme saya mane
i.e. that which is non-violence, self restraint and austerity is Dharma (spiritual values). It is by virtue of spiritual values that supreme beneficence results. To him whose mind is absorbed in spiritual values even gods pay homage. Here we say non violence and its method to be so i.e. self restraint or awareness to be careful in causing harm to any living being including the oneself also and finally austerities to achieve the highest goal i.e. bliss is the religion.
Later on Jain preceptors stated defining religions from many different aspects as indicated below:
Dhammo vatthu sahavo khamadi-bhavo ya das viho dhammo Rayanattayam ca dhammo jivanam rakkhanam dhammo
i.e. Nature of an entity is its religion, forgiveness etc tenfold virtues is religion, Right belief-knowledge-conduct is religion and protecting the living beings is religions.
Thus philosophically Jains talk of the nature of an entity as its religion. Further they say that the nature of all living beings is to be happy and stay in a state of bliss forever. To enjoy one's nature, the path is also said as the religion which consists of ten virtues (forgiveness, humility, straightforwardness, truthfulness, cleanliness, giving up, penance, detachment and stay in one's own nature or celibacy) and to achieve bliss it consists of right belief-knowledge-conduct together. Protecting the lives of all living beings is also said to be the religion. The Jain slogans 'Live and let live' and 'Living beings cooperate with each other' present the Jain doctrine and its practice to common followers.
From the above two statements, we can see that Jains put lot of emphasis on effort to improve oneself as well as the karma doctrine i.e. as you sow, so shall you reap. These definitions give way to the three cardinal principles of Jain way of life (or engagement as indicated above), namely:"
1. Ahinsa or non violence in conduct
2. Aparigraha or Non-possession in life and society
3. Anekanta or multiplicity of viewpoints in thoughts
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The entire moral and spiritual ethical postulates of Jainism are based on Ahinsa. We shall discuss non violence in details later but here it suffices to say that non violence is all pervasive to include non- killing, non-hurting and non-causing pain to any living being (including you the doer). The first Jain canonical text Acharanga defines and describes the philosophy of non violence beautifully while Puruşartha Siddhi Upaya by Amrta Chandra proves that all the ethical tenets of Jainism are derived from non violence. Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest practitioner of Ahinsa of our times and achieved independence for India using it as his weapon (Bravery at its optimum). In fact he used the concept of non violence to achieve social transformation rather than spiritual purification. Indian constitution recognizes non violence and its association with Jainism appropriately.
Aparigraha is described basically as 'absence of a feeling of mine'. First eight verses of Sutrakrtanga describe the concept of Aparigraha and its importance in achieving the ultimate objective in life i.e. liberation. Parigraha means to be entrapped from all sides i.e. is the feeling of possession/attachment/bondage, expectation, desire etc. An analysis of our own life will show that; first we spend our entire life in amassing material wealth; then in protecting it from leaving us before we realize such wealth is of no use and cannot give happiness. Similarly we do everything for our family even to extent of living for them and see ultimately how the very family is unable to give us happiness. In earlier times we know how Jains used to share their wealth in building temples / dharamashalas, serving the monks, setting up educational and health services institutions and secretly support the needy members of the community. Aparigraha means work hard to earn merit, but do not develop attachment to the results / benefits accrues, i.e. share it with others without any expectation in return.
Anekanta is based on the principle that truth is infinite and it is not possible for us, who are not omniscient, to know it completely. We always know a part of it as per our requirements or objectives while there are many more aspects to it than known to us. Therefore we should not insist on our viewpoint as the only and complete truth. Examples of 40 persons photographing a large banyan tree or the seven blind men trying to define an elephant explain the concept of Anekanta. The three pillars of Anekanta doctrine are:
• Relativity • Reconciliation
• Co-existence i.e. opposites co-exist The principle of Anekanta is based on the doctrine that our knowledge is relative i.e. opposite of what we know also exists and our knowledge is relative to our own objective. Knowledge of others is also true from a particular view point i.e. reconciliation. Even if we know the entire truth we cannot express it completely at the same time. Therefore Jains talk of Svadvada (conditional dialectic) as a method of speaking the partial truth without negating the existence of more features or facts existing. The entire judicial system, if analyzed will be seen based on the doctrine of Anekanta. Similarly the fundamental principles of democracy i.e. existence of opposition is based on Anekanta. Basis of all terrorism/violence in the world is the insistence of one's view as the only truth and other as not so. In the last verse of Sanmati Tarka", Siddha Sena Diwakara has used another adjective for Jain doctrine i.e. micchadansanasamuhamaeyassa' meaning that sermons of the Jina / T rthankara is a collection of al monistic philosophies. The idea behind all these discussions is that sermons of Jina are collectivization of different monistic philosophies in a relative manner and not as independent philosophies. Insisting on monistic viewpoint tends to focus on condemning the others viewpoint. Jain philosophy tries to project the monistic philosophies appropriately in relative terms and thus enhances their usefulness. This is the significance of Anekanta.
3. Jain ethics - basis ahinsa Concepts of ethics have been changing since early times. • In 560BC, Mahavira spoke of non violence i.e. non killing, non torture and not causing pain to both
self and others and its application to determine good or bad ethics. Similarly Socrates (469-399BC) encouraged common citizen to change their view from outside world to condition of human kind. Aristotle (389-322BC) termed ethical systems as supporting self realization. These changes have been going on to modern concepts of Consequential, Deontological, teleological and now to applications in specific areas like military, business, administration and our dealings with others. Similarly the definition of consequences being right implying generating peace, tranquillity to pleasure for one or maximizing the same for others has been changing.
Ethics addresses questions about morality i.e. concepts like good & evil; right & wrong: justice and virtue. Here the question that confronts us is this: How to determine what is morally right for a certain agent in a certain situation? Or what is the criterion of the rightness of action? The interrelated question is what we ought to do in
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a certain situation or how duty is to be determined? The answer of Jain ethics is that right, ought and duty cannot be separated from THE GOOD. Based on worldly as primary and transcendental objectives as secondary (but to be always kept in kept as guide), the Jain ethics holds the teleological theory of right (Maximum balance of NON VIOLENCE (Ahinsa) over VIOLENCE (hinsa) as the right-making characteristic'
Jain code of ethics consists of eight primary virtues, avoidance of seven vices, practice of six essential duties, observing five minor vows called anuvratas and seven enhancing vows. When all these are viewed in detailed, we will find observance of ahinsa gradually increasing from being careful in not killing for food to our social interactions and finally to minimize pains / hurt to anyone. Of course, being minor vows, they do have some self defense exceptions and to live in this world peacefully and prosper as well. This is self evident from the statistics available of Jain community being the most educated, socially conscious, non violent and prosperous community in the country.
Discussions ahinsa
Mahavira proclaimed ahinsa in Acharanga as:
'I so pronounce that all omniscient lords of all times state, speak, propagate, and elaborate that nothing which breathes, which exists, which lives, and which has any essence or potential of life, should be destroyed, or ruled, or subjugated, or harmed, or denied of its essence or potential.' "That which you consider destroying or disciplining or harming or subjugating or killing is (like) yourself. The results of your actions have to be borne by you, so do not destroy anything
He further explains living beings of six types, according to the body and number of sense organs they have. These are classified as stationery (those who cannot move on their own to achieve their objective) like the one sensed living beings with air or water or fire or earth or vegetation as their bodies and mobile (i.e. those who can move on their own to achieve their objectives) and having two to five sense organs). So he talks not only of human beings as living beings but even water, earth etc and ants/flies/animals and bird also as living beings. On this basis Samantbhadra talks of his doctrine as Sarvodaya tirth" or for the enlightenment of all living beings. Further in Prashnavyakaran', he proclaims social ahinsa by sixty four different names such as:
"kindness (daya), compassion (anukampa), security (raksa), salutariness (kallana), fearlessness (abhaya). non-killer (amadha), equanimity (samata), forgiveness (ksama), service (seva), friendship (maitri), tolerance
and so on. We thus find Ahinsa being described as a means and an end as well. Sixty four synonyms of Ahinsa in Prashnavyakarana are the means while Sutrakratanga says Ahinsa is the highest good "THE GOOD'. Samantabhadra says that Ahinsa of all living beings is equivalent to realization of the highest GOOD.
The above doctrine preached by Mahavira is based on the eternal truth that, "Nature of all living beings is to be happy, peaceful and enjoy bliss. If this is so then not killing or not giving pain to anybody is GOOD or moral and the reverse is NOT GOOD and hence is to be avoided.' Convergent validation for this non-killing thesis can be found in the first global survey by the World Health Organization of deaths by suicide, homicide, and war which conclude that "violence is a preventable disease" (WHO, 2005). Jains further say that violence is not just committed by physical means alone but greater violence is committed by acts of mind and speech as well. This is proven by our experience that intentional violence is punished harshly and the greatest wars or fights accrue by just using foul or inappropriate speech (Mahabharat). Similarly one who commits violence or asks others to do or even support those who are violent are all committing violence. At the spiritual level Jains have equated violence to sin and the greatest cause of karmika bondage which results in transmigration and pains associated with it. Hence when I commit violence against someone else, the first person to be hurt is I myself as I bind karmas immediately. Immediately one can experience the physical changes occurring in his own body and mind when he thinks or commits a violent act. Jainism emphasises prevention through the attitude of carefulness and restraint in all activities of mind, body and speech. To minimise violence, we have to keep in mind the three deterring forces to hinsa namely:
1. Expression of hinsa by body is deterred or punished by the government or legal system. 2. Expression of hinsa by speech is deterred by the society. If we utter any unpleasant words, we
immediately get a reprimand from the society. The government can hardly do anything. 3. Expression of hinsa by mind is deterred only by you i.e. the individual only because it hurts the individual
the most. Therefore Jain scriptures lay emphasis on mental purity the most. Let us review some of the applications of Ahinsa and its thought process Anekanta in our social engagements: Concept of equanimity: Equanimity implies developing a feeling that all living beings are equal in their life potential, rights and duties. No one can interfere in the life of others to cause pain. The Jain slogan 'Live and let
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live' which is like an insignia of Jainism denotes this concept. It also implies our developing the attitudes of friendship, tolerance and co existence with others. Compassion: Perception of the sufferings of other living beings and the idea of initiating action to remove the sufferings of those living beings is compassion. Activation of this feeling is service (seva). Virasena in his commentary Dhavala! had said 'compassion is the nature of soul and is directly proportional to his sensibility." Undertaking charitable acts like building hospitals, rest homes, centres to take care of destitute etc are all examples of this manifestation of non violence. Concept of multiplicity of viewpoints (Anekanta): This is the thought process of a non violent person. It is based on the metaphysical concept of Jainism (truth is infinite and no one except an omniscient can know it fully) with coexistence, tolerance and relativity as its three pillars. Living beings help each other, you and me and not You or Me imply respect for my independence is relative to other's independence (Interdependence) and are the primary values which greatly enhance not only the development of religious harmony but the entire ecosystem. We can see historically also the ghastly experience of not following non-violence since beginning of our civilization and increasing to destruction of humanity in this global village we live.
1. Adi purana: Bharat Bahubali dual; 2. Ramayana: Killing of individual/s 3. Mahabharat: Killing of a family/s. 4. World war: Religious conflict extending to a community and countries. 5. 1965-75: Community or countries affected 6. 1980s-: The entire world getting affected.
Technology today sparks a local tiff between two individuals into an international conflict immediately. So it is absolutely essential to practice non violence and learn and live in an environment of co-existence, relativity independence and reconciliation (principles of Anekanta doctrine). To cite some examples from Jain code of ethics to practice Ahinsa and Anekant, I give below some popular Jain slogans and a few lines from the daily prayer, called My Wish/prayer written by Pandit Jugal Kishor and recited daily by most of the Jains.
Slogans:
Live and let live Living beings cooperate with each other (parasparopgraha jivanama)' Do not harm anyone as it harms you first.
Prayer called Meri Bhavana (verses 6 and 7)
Maitri bhava jagata mein mera Saba jivo se nitya rahe Dina dukhi jivo para mere ura se Karuna stotra bahe Durjana krura kumargarato pera ksobha nahi mujha ko ave Samyabhava rakhu mein una para esi parinatiho jave
Meaning: May I always maintain a feeling of friendship towards all living beings; May the spring of compassion always flow for those who are in pain and are suffering; May I never get angry with those who are bad cruel and wrongly directed people; May I maintain a sense of equanimity while dealing with such persons.
Guni jano ko dekha hrdaya mein mere prema umada ave Bane jaha taka unaki seva karake yaha mana sukha pave Houn nahi krataghna kabhi main droha na mere ura ave Guna grahana ka bhava rahe nita drsti na doso para jave.
Meaning: May my heart overflow with love at the very sight of virtuous people; May I derive pleasure and happiness in serving these people as much as possible; May I never become ungrateful nor feel jealous of any one; May my longing be always for assimilating the virtues of others and never look at their vices.
5. Road map for enhancing religious harmony
Accept the principles of ahinsa as life style and anekant in thought and implement the following action plan: • Set up legal framework, like Singapore declaration for implementation and enforcement by central,
state and local governments
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..
·
Restrict religious leaders from activities which promote fanaticism or hard core religious separatists. Practice of religious rituals is personal preference. However when they create disharmony, they need to be replaced by accepted social /legal norms.
Excessive show of supremacy /identity of one's religion are to be reduced. Tolerance, fellow feeling and reconciliation to be the tools used to resolve conflicts. Bigger religious groups are to exercise more restraint in their public practices/utterances. To make this concept trickle down into mainstream followers and others, it is necessary that we use a harmonious language in our writings in speeches about our religion or against other religions. Initiate steps to demonstrate our non violent thinking, speech and actions by being beneficial to others also and not just those who belong to my religion. Let us start this at our individual level first and be the CHANGE AGENT
5.1
Setting up departments in universities to teach and research on Religious harmony, Ahinsa and Anekant. ISJS has set up a Global centre for Ahinsa research at Varanasi India also
Like the Singapore declaration who have identified July 22nd to be celebrated as Religious harmony day and UN declaration of October 2nd as World Non Violence Day, India also need to celebrate one day every year as Religion harmony day. We need to build an implementation system to implement this mission.
I salute the organizers of such seminars for their initiative and wish them all success. May non violence prevail on us not only for the development of religious harmony but accompanied by personal well being and the survival of the mankind itself as well.
I close with the prayer composed by Martin Luther King Junior which goes like this
'We shall overcome someday, deep in my heart I do believe....... We shall walk hand in hand, some day...'
So, let us get started by taking a vow to practice non violence as much as possible and minimize violence at least in our own daily life. As the saying goes 'charity begins at home, and a prominent 20th century Jain acarya said *Improve yourself. If you improve, the family improves. If the family improves, the community improves and so on till the whole world improves'.
Singapore declaration: 17
A unique effort named 'Declaration of religious harmony by Singapore government in 2003' was launched. Briefly it states:
We, the people in Singapore, declare that religious harmony is vital for peace, progress and prosperity in our multi-racial and multi-religious Nation. We resolve to strengthen religious harmony through mutual tolerance, confidence, respect, and understanding.
We shall always
•
Recognise the secular nature of our State,
Promote cohesion within our society,
Respect each other's freedom of religion,
Grow our common space while respecting our diversity, Foster inter-religious communications,
and thereby ensure that religion will not be abused to create conflict and disharmony in Singapore' Inter-racial and religious confidence circles (IRCCs), then known as "inter-racial confidence circles", (informal bodies) were first formed to "grow the common space and deepen inter-racial understanding" and formulate strategies and initiatives to promote greater knowledge and understanding among different races and religions. They also assist in inter-racial and inter-religious confidence building. A National Steering Committee (NSC) on IRCCS provides broad guidance for IRCCS to deepen inter-racial and inter-religious rapport within the community. There are currently 84 IRCCS in Singapore, one for each constituency. As at 30 June 2006, the total membership was 1,021, of which 58% were Chinese, 21% Malay, 20% Indian 1% of other races.
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References
Jain Legend, English translation of Jain dharma ka maulika itihasa by AC Hasti Malji, translated and edited by Shugan C Jain and published by Samayak Gyan Prackarak Mandal Jaipur. Wikipedia, religion P. 283 book 'History of philosophy for students' By A.K. Rodgers Wikipedia, religious harmony Verse 82 from Saman Suttam published by Bhagwan Mahavir samiti South Campus New Delhi. Also available as verse 1 in Das Vaikalika Dasavaikalika Sutra (Author: Arya Sayyambhava), Edited By: Kastur Chand Lalwani, Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass Delhi
Verse 478 in Svami Kumars's Karttikeyanupreksa edited by Prof. A.N. Upadhye Published by Shri Raojibhai Chhaganbhai Desai, Shrimad Rajachandra Ashram, Agas STUDY Notes published by International School for Jain Studies New Delhi. Paper 1by Shugan C Jain Acharanga, the first canonical text out of the eleven available now containing sermons of Lord Mahavira. Sutrakratanga is the second canonical text and Prashnavyakarana is the seventh canonical text. Ahinsa is defined in chapter 1 of Acharanaga sutra. Purushartyha Siddhi Upaya by Acarya Amrit Chanda written by Pt Nathu Ram Premi. Published by Shri Rajchand Ashram Agas. Anekanta, reflections and clarifications, by Acarya Maha Pragya published by Jain Vishwa Bharti Institute Ladnun. Sanmati Tarka authored by Acharya Siddha Sena Diwakar published by Religion and morality (ethics): Jaina perspective by Prof K.C.Sogani in Selected Study papers in Jainism by Prof K.C.Sogani published by Prakrat Bharti Academy Jaipur. Samant Bhadra's Brhat Svayambhustotra ... Prashnavyakarana sutra 6.1.3 Pages 683-684 published by Jain Vishwa Bharti Ladnun under the title Anggasuttani (3) Dhavala, commentary on Shatkhandagama by Ac Virasena, its Hindi version as Shatkhandagama Parisheelan edited by Pt Bal Chand Shastri and published by Bhartiya Jnanapeeth New Delhi. Sutra V.21, Tattvarathsutra by Ac Uma Swami, English translation Key to Reality in Jainism by Shugan C Jain and published by Sh Digambar Jain Trilok Shodh Sansthan Hastinapur. Meri bhavana in Pujan Patha Pradeep edited by Pt HiralalJain and published by Shri Parashvanath Digambar Jain Mandir Subzi Mandi Delhi Wikipedia, religious harmony
13.
17.
18.
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Jain Theism and Gun nuv da
Chuck Sapienza Univ of Illinois
Introduction By outsiders and insiders alike, Jainism is considered one of India's atheistic religions. Phrases such as "The Jains are explicitly atheistic, are common place. Anyone spending time with Jains and discussing their religion with them is sure to come across two things: Claims of atheism, but also many references to God. The claim to atheism and the references to God come from laypersons, monks, teachers, and preachers, and can be found in just about any book on Jainism, canonical texts included. This essay seeks to explore "atheism" in a religion that in practice and in theory, in the literature, in the temple, and in the household, there is not just God, but also icons, prayer, puja, bhakti, and all manner of fervent ritualism. "Atheism" turns out to be a messy and relative term, and perhaps Jainism is better categorized as unique type of theism. Pulling from the term gun nuv da, which in this context means "worship of the qualities," which is a central concept in Jain ritual, I present the term gunanutheism as a step in the direction of clarifying the nature of divinity in Jainism.
Basics of Jain Theism Before any attempt to categorize Jainism as a specific type of theism or atheism, a brief explanation of the Jain concept of divinity is in order. In Jainism, the soul is called the J va. The gunas, or qualities that each J va naturally and intrinsically has are infinite knowledge (ananta jnana), infinite perception/faith (ananta darsana), infinite energy/capability/power (ananta virya), and infinite bliss (ananta sukha). These are known as the four divine gunas. "Jainas speak of the 'innumerable qualities of the soul. Nevertheless, it can legitimately be said that the presence of those qualities...perception, knowledge, bliss, and energy - are sufficient to define the soul as a totally distinct and unique entity, an existent separate from all others." Not only does the J va have all those infinite properties, but it also has always existed from a beginning-less past, and it will continue to exist forever. The reason why you and I do not currently have all of these infinite properties is because of karma. In Jainism, J vas and karma are physical things. Actual physical karma particles bind to each J va, and distort and obscure their properties. Through self-effort, austerities, and following Jain doctrine, a human can burn off the karma from the J va and realize its infinite potential
Once an individual burns off the karma and perfects the J va, he does not instantly die or disappear or anything like that. He becomes an Arhat. An Arhat is a human who has attained infinite perception, knowledge, bliss, and energy, but still has a body. Certain Arhats are known as Trthankaras because of the extent to which they propagate the Jain religion, and it is the Trthankaras that have emerged as the most salient object of Jain worship. At death, the Arhat reaches Moksha: the body is lost, no new body is taken, and the four divine gunas are maintained. After death, the bodiless Arhat is now known as a Siddha. Siddhas reside, in complete perfection, at the top of the universe in a place called the Siddha-Loka. It is important to note that in Jainism, souls retain their individuality both before and after liberation. They all share in the same divinity, and there are an infinite number of individual souls sharing in the same divinity, but there is no merging into oneness as in monistic philosophies. These perfected and liberated souls can be collectively called God.
Besides the Arhats and Siddhas, there are various other types of individuals who are well on their way to spiritual perfection. These would be the Acharyas (head monk), the upadhyayas (teacher monk), and all the sadhus (mendicants) in the world.
Jones, Lindsay, "Atheism." Encyclopedia of Religion, Second Edition, Detroit: Thompson Gale, 2005. pp.
576-585 For Jain arguments against theism see: Joshi, L.R. "A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism." Philosophy East and West, Vol. 16, No. 34. (July-Oct., 1966), pp. 199-200
Jaini, Padmanabh S. The Jaina Path of Purification. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 2001. p. 106 * Acharya Amitagait's Yogasara-Prabhrta. Jain, S.C., Trans., Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi.2003. p. 22
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The Arhats and Siddhas are also called Jinas. Jina literally means "conqueror," specifically, conqueror of the senses and the passions. Just to clarify, Jinas are the conquerors, and Jains are the followers of the Jinas.
Jainism has various beings of the heaven and hell realms, such as yakshas and yakshis, that are known as gods, with a lower case "g." But it is God with an uppercase "G" that is the point of contention. If there is a capital "G" God in Jainism, it would be, collectively, the pure and fully realized Arhats and Siddhas. This may not perfectly fit traditional Western concept of God, but such a concept is not well defined, and I argue that Jains do believe in God, and that Jainism is in fact theistic both in practice and in theory.
Worship and Ritual: Jainism is Theistic in Practice.
A great example of how the concept of the Jina plays into everyday life of the Jain is in the phrase "Jai Jinendra." Jai Jinendra is a ubiquitous Jain salutation that is sure to be heard at any Jain gathering. It literally means, "Hail to the Conqueror of the Senses." When it is said to someone, it pays respects to that person's Jva as being a potential Jina, or conqueror of the senses. It is a strikingly powerful and meaning salutation compared with its functional analogues, such as "Hello, how are you doing?" Unlike Jai Jinendra, other greetings tend to engage the surface and temporal aspects of the self.
VRU
The Arhats, Siddhas, c ryas, Upadhyayas, and the Sadhus are considered the PancaParamesthin, or the Five Divinities, or Five Worshipful Ones. The Arhats and Siddhas are God, and the others are well on their way. Paying homage to these Five Divinities makes up the core of the Namaskara-Mantra, which is by far the most commonly practiced form of worship in Jainism. "This mantra is the first thing that a Jaina learns, always remembers, uses as an incantation, tells on the rosary, and recites on leaving bed, entering the temple, starting worship, going to bed, and when beginning any auspicious activity."5
Along with the Namaskara-Mantra, there is also a very intricate puja that many Jains often partake in. The rice, cloves, water, oil, and various other items all have very significant meaning. Jain temple life is very active. There are often pilgrims staying at the dharmashalas on the temple grounds. It is common to see Jains prostrate before an icon of a Tirthankara.
Jain Atheism?
I initially set out to explore Jain atheism. I quickly discovered that what I was really exploring was Jain theism, but my initial misdirection has helped clarify the current thesis. Finding a definition of atheism, and, related to that, finding a definition of God was more difficult than it should have been. The Encyclopedia of Religion defines atheism as "the doctrine that God does not exist, that belief in the existence of God is a false belief. The word God here refers to a divine being regarded as the independent creator of the world, a being superlatively powerful, wise, and good." The God of Jainism is superlatively powerful, wise, and good, He has also existed forever. Not only has every soul always existed, but the whole world has always existed. Because the world is uncreated, the God in Jainism cannot be a creator God, but it is for this reason that this definition of atheism and of God render Jainism atheistic.
Of the many different types of atheism, there are two relevant categories for this discussion: practical atheism and theoretical atheism. A theoretical atheist self-consciously and thoughtfully denies the existence of God. A practical atheist believes God exists, but lives as though God does not exist.' It should be added that to live as though God exists does not just imply the nebulous attribute of "being a good person." Surely there are many theoretical atheists who are good people. To live as though God exists would essentially entail, some form of worship, a code of ethics that reflects the belief in God, and a life that is oriented towards God.
5 Jain, Jyoti Prasad. Religion and Culture of the Jains. Bharatiya Jnanpith. New Delhi, 2006. p. 128
Encyclopedia of Religion, pp. 576-585.
7
Thiselton, Anthony C. "Atheism." A Concise Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Religion. Found on-line at: http://www.enotalone.com/article/5215.html. Oneworld Publications. 2002.
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If Jainism is atheistic, what type of atheism is it? As in theoretical atheism, Jainism self-consciously denies the existence of God. If Jains are theoretical atheists, then they are must comprise a new type of theoretical atheist who self-consciously deny the existence of God but live as though they believe in God. Following the above formulation, this means that while denying the existence of God, Jains not only tend to be good people, but also that they have some form of worship, a code of ethics that reflects the belief in God, and a life that is oriented towards God.
Jains easily meet the criteria for this new type of "Theistic Theoretical Atheism." The main tenant of Jainism is ahimsa, or non-violence, and most Jains choose careers and lifestyles that cause minimal, or at least reduced, ahimsa. Having a relatively small following, about 4.3 million, certain generalizations can be made. Most Jains are vegetarians. Most Jains are hard working and contribute much to the society. Most Jains engage in fervent rituals, with icons, prayers, bhakti, and puja that can be seen at most temples. The point is that Jains distinctively live as though they believe that God exists. They qualify as "good people who have a code of ethics that reflect their belief in God, and they have lives that are oriented towards their concept of God.
But, apparently, Jainism does not believe in God, so what is this "thing" that makes Jains live as though God does exist? The answer, in fact, is God. The Encyclopedia of Jainism says, "The Jains do believe in a God after their own way of thinking." Jainism is not atheistic, but theistic, and it is dissonance between the Jain concept of God and the traditional concept of God that has caused Jainism to be understood as atheistic.
Why Jainism is considered atheistic. The terms astika and nastika are sometimes confounded with theism and atheism. The different interpretations of astika and nastika are outside the scope of this essay, but an extremely brief summery could be as follows: To Panini, nastika is not accepting life after death. According to Nyayakosa, a nastika does not accept the existence of isvara. And to Manu says that a nastika rejects the authority of the Vedas. For the purposes of this essay, nastika can mean the rejection of the Vedas and the Vedic gods. And Jainism surely is a nastika tradition, but that does not imply atheism.
The confusion of the terms astika and nastika pales in comparison to the confusion and relativity of the terms theism and atheism, which is made apparent by the commonly cited examples of Socrates being accused of atheism for not believing in the official Athenian gods, and of early Christians being considered atheists by the Romans because of a lack of idol worship."
It is likely that Jainism is considered atheistic because of a problem with terminology, but redefining such terms is outside the scope of this essay. Jainism is considered atheistic primarily because there is no belief in a creator God. Most current definitions of God place much emphasis on creativity. The Jains believe that the universe has always existed, and thus there is no possibility of a creator god. Another reason that contributes to Jainism's atheistic reputation is a lack of belief in isvara, or a personal god. Given the ritualism so prevalent in Jainism, it might be surprising to know that the God of Jainism cannot intervene, and is completely unresponsive and indifferent to worship, prayer, and human affairs. The non-interventionist attribute of the Jain concept of God is another reason why Jains may be considered atheists.
Devotion to a non-intervening God.
&
The Encyclopedia of Jainism. Volume 9. Ed. Nagendrea Kr. Singh. Indo-European Jain Research Foundation. AnMOL publications PVT. LTD. Delhi, 2001. pp. 2423-2425 The three definitions of Nastika are from: Tukol, T.K. Compendium of Jainism. "Concept of God and of Worship." Dharwad: Prasaranga, Karnatak University. 1980. p. 61 Kothari, Ajay P. The Concept of Divinity in Jainism. Prakrit Bharti Academy, Jaipur, 2000. p. 131 [Kothari and Tukol use very similar paragraphs, neither used citation, assumed general domain] Shah, Hemant. Concept of God in Jainism. From the Harvard University Pluralism Project website: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/-pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/main.htm
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It is of the utmost importance to understand that in Jainism, God is not worshiped in hopes to attain boons or have wishes granted, or even to have assistance on the path towards liberation. Jains are well aware of the non-interventionism of their God. In God, Jains see the qualities they want to foster within themselves. The Trthankaras, arhats, siddhas, acharyas, upadhyayas, and sadhus are role models and sources of inspiration and guidance. Devotion towards the Jinas turns the mind away from the wants of the body, and turns the mind towards divine gunas of God. The following quotes from a canonical text do well do illustrate this point:
"... the meditating yogi, who identifies himself with the omniscient, finds himself to be an omniscient."
"He, who constantly indulges in a certain sentiment, comes to be identified with that particular sentiment, just as a crystal that assumes the color in juxtaposition of which it is placed." 12 This is a very sophisticated concept, but almost all Jains seem to understand it. When Jains are reciting a mantra to a murti of Mah vra, they are not worshiping the murti, and they are not worshiping Mah vra, but they are worshiping the gunas of Mah vra's Jva, in hopes to attain the same gunas in their own J vas. Jains do not call themselves idol-worshipers, "but profess to be idealworshipers. 13
"By meditating about the detached, one himself becomes detached and gets free from the karmic bondage."
This concept of "worship of the gunas" is known as gun nuv da. "Guna" meaning quality, and "anuvada" meaning repetition/translation. In the context of this term, anuvada means the repetition/translation of a specific quality or set of qualities in oneself. Gun nuv da can be understood as being the worship of qualities in hopes to foster them in the self. Most Jains are not familiar with this term, and no one could give me an exact reference to where I could find the actual term gun nuv da in the literature, but it perfectly describes the mechanism in Jain worship. 14
While I could not find term gun nuv da, literature does contain countless examples of the
concept.
"By God, Jainism understands a liberated soul...in this sense God is an example to inspire and to guide" K.P. Singha, as quoted by Sharma15
"To realize my own (pure) nature I eulogize the perfect one..." -Acharya Amitagati's YogasaraPrabhrta1
"Jina-worship promises no reward whatsoever save the turning of one's mind toward the goal of moksa" -Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification17
"I bow to the Lord who is the leader of the path of liberation, the destroyer of the mountains of karmas and the knower of the whole reality, so that I may realize those qualities." -Opening verse of the Tattvartha Sutra18
Definitions of God in Jainism
Giving a succinct definition of God in Jainism is no easy task. Here are a variety of attempts from an array of sources:
12 All three quotes come from The Yoga Shastra of Hemchandracharua, from the 12th C. Bothara, Surendra,
Ed., Gopani, A.S., trans. Jaipur: Prakrit Bharti Academy, 1989. pp. 227-228
Jain, Jyoti Prasad. Religion and Culture of the Jains. P. 126
13
14
15
Discussions with Natalia Zheleznova (Moscow State University), and Dr. Pandey and Dr. S.R. Bhatt (International School for Jain Studies 2007 faculty).
K.P Singh, as quoted by: Sharma, Arvind. A Jaina Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion. Manohar
Book Service. New Delhi, India. 2000. P.4
16
17
18 Srimat Pujyapadadacharya's Sarvarthasiddhi. The oldest extant commentary on Umaswami's TattvarthaSutra. Jwalamalini Trust. Madras, India. 1992. p.1
Acharya Amitagati's Yogasara-Prabhrta. P. 21
Jaini. Jaina Path of Purification. P. 193
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"God is, in short, the coalescence of this spiritual principle emancipated from the bondages of matter in all its purity, perfection, freedom, and blessedness."
-Encyclopedia of Jainism, p. 2425 "The Jaina idea of God is that of a pure soul possessed of infinite faith, knowledge, bliss, and power."
-Compendium of Jainism, p. 64 "Pure Soul is the supreme divine being. They are in reality one and the same, and the final goal of any particular soul is the attainment of infinite knowledge (ananta jnana), infinite faith (ananta darshana), infinite bliss (ananta sukha), and infinite power (ananta virya).
- The Concept of Divinity in Jainismo
A Jain saw me reading the above book and told me that no lay Jains would read a book like that. I thought about what he said, and realized that 99.9% of members of any religion would not read a dense scholarly book on the concept of divinity of their religion. The following quotes from pamphlets that the common Jain would be more likely to read: "Mundane being (soul) - attachment/aversion = Supreme Soul (God) Mundane being (soul) - indulgence in sensory objects (passions) = Supreme Soul (God)"
"The Science of Godhood" "All liberated souls are known as God."
-ABC's of Jainism21 ...atma (soul; self) itself is Paramatma (Supreme soul or being-God)
-1 Myself am Bhagwan22
Taking all of these in to consideration, the Jain God can be defined as the perfected J vas. Acharya Amitagati's Yogasara-Prabhrta is helpful in adding that, "The use of the singular number for the deity is only a collective expression for the plurality of liberated souls. 23
God vs. Godhood If in Jainism there was no Siddha-Loka, so then the infinite number of perfected J vas did not actually exist, then there would be a better case for Jainism being atheistic. Perhaps then the claim would be that Jains believe in Godhood, but not in God. Some Jains actually do say they believe in Godhood, but not God. My response is that believing only in Godhood implies that there is no being that exists that actually has the full characteristics of Godhood. In Jainism, there are an infinite number of beings that have attained Godhood, and thus they are God. Jainism, then, believes in both God and Godhood.
Attributes of the Jain God Divine attributes are properties that are often claimed to be essential and/or unique to God. Very common divine attributes are the omni-properties: omniscience, omnipotence, and omnibenevolence. It is often said that God should be a personal God who created the world and rules over it. Various religions proclaim different divine attributes. There is no ultimate list that compiles all of the possible divine attributes, and there is no minimal number of divine attributes, or one necessary attribute, that a religion's deity must have for that deity to be considered god or God, or for that religion to be considered atheistic or theistic.
I asked many Jains if they believe in God, and the answer is usually "no." But when I press them on the issue, asking "Well then what is being worshiped in the temple?" the reply is usually along the lines of, "Well, Jains don't believe in a creator God." My response is that the creative attribute is not a necessary attribute of God.
Divine attributes of God in Jainism:
Kothari, The Concept of Divinity in Jainism. P. 14 For reference information contact M.L. Mehta (ISSJS faculty, 2007) ABC's of Jainism, S.L. Jain, 2003 Bharill, Hukamchand. I Myself and Bhagwan. Pandit todarmal Smarak Trust, Jaipur, 2005. p.1 Acharya Amitagait's Yogasara-Prabhrta. P.22
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Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnibenevolence: It has been stated numerous times in this essay that the perfected Jva has infinite knowledge and perception, so the point of the Jain God having omniscience does not require additional attention. It has also been stated that the J va has infinite power, but also that it does not intervene in the world. The important connection here is that the perfected J va has infinite bliss, thus it has no need for any action. AJ va could act, it has the power to act, but it has no need or desire to act.? Any action would represent a need or a want, and a liberated J va has no needs or wants. Further more, any J va that did have a desire to act would necessarily not be a perfected J va, thus it would not have infinite power.
Omnibenevolence is also a tricky one. The argument against the Jain God being omnibenevolent is strong, because even though the Jain God is all powerful, He does not intervene to prevent suffering and evil, but theodicy is an issue for all religions that espouse an all powerful and all good God. But of all such religions, theodicy is the least contentious in Jainism because of the position that infinite bliss rules out any motive for action even though the power for action is there.
Personal: Jains deny the existence of Isvara, a personal God, but they often worship God through an individual person, such as Mah vra. In this way the attribute of a personal God enters into Jain worship. Hemachandra says: "Omniscient, with desires and other faults conquered, honored by the triple world, and explaining the true meaning: He is God, Arhat, the Supreme Lord. 25 Here, "Supreme Lord" was translated from "paramesvara," which is the combination of the words "parama" and "isvara, 26 So here is an example of isvara being used in the scriptures.
Eternal: Each J va has been bound by Karma since beginning-less time, and once liberated, each J va will remain liberated forever in the Siddha-Loka.
Transcendent: the liberated J vas are literally above us, at the top of the Universe in the Siddha-Loka, where they cannot intervene in the world.
Eminent: The potential for God is inside each human.27 Oneness: This can go either way. Each soul does maintain its separateness, but it could be said that the Jain God is comprised of an infinite number of separate entities that all share in the same divine qualities. Just as the monistic schools say that there are infinite manifestations of Brahman. But as said before, none of these individual divine qualities make or break the case for theism.
Application of Gun nuv da The concept of gun nuv da was mentioned before as a central mechanism in Jain worship. But gun nuv da is not specific to Jainism. The worship of qualities with the intent to foster them in the self is common in many secular activities. When I was younger, I wanted to be really good at basketball. Not only would I practice all day, but every night as I fell asleep, and every morning when I woke up, I would gaze at large wall posters of my favorite basketball players in hopes of fostering in myself their qualities. They would inspire me, and increase my resolution to practice more. That is a type of secular gun nuv da.
Kurt Vonnegut had been the Honorary President of the American Humanist Association. When he died last year, there was a certain ubiquitous picture of him that seemed to make it into many obituaries and articles about his life. I associate that picture; Vonnegut's big glossy eyes and soft smile, with humanistic values. Looking at that picture fosters within me humanistic values; it makes me view human life the way he viewed human life; both with awe, and with a grain of salt. That is a type of atheist gun nuv da. If gun nuv da does have its locus in Jainism, than Jainism should be
Tukol, Compendium of Jainism. p. 65 Cort, John. Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001. P. 93 Cited by Ellen Gough, The School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Some Jains believe that some souls are abhavya, meaning they are incapable of attaining moksha. See: Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification. p. 140
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very proud of it.28 As atheism is gaining popularity in the current era, gun nuv da has the potential to give modern atheists meaningful rituals toward philosophers, novelists, or any personage: living, historical, or fictional.
In Christianity, even though most worship is towards a God who has the ability to intervene, there is still an aspect of gun nuv da. The ever so popular plastic bracelets that say, "WWJD," "What Would Jesus Do?" are actually a form of gun nuv da. The bracelets remind the wearer to be like Jesus in everyday actions, thus fostering the qualities of Jesus in themselves.
ences
Gun nuv da in Jainism
Gun nuv da in Jainism is distinct from gun nuv da in the secular, atheistic, and religious applications exampled above. In Jainism, the qualities that are being worshiped with the intent to foster them in the self are actually divine attributes. In the example of the basketball gun nuv da, the qualities being worshiped might be physical prowess or accurate throwing of the ball. In the Humanist gun nuv da, the qualities might be full appreciation for all human beings, an appropriate attitude towards life, and faith in reason. Even though Jesus is considered God in Christianity, the WWJD gun nuv da does not focus on Jesus' divine attributes, but on his human attributes. The wearer of the WWJD bracelet is not trying to foster the omni-properties, but just increased morality. In Jain gun nuv da, the qualities are infinite knowledge, perception, bliss, and power. When the qualities being worshiped in gun nuv da are divine attributes, I call this gunanutheism, and while it may be unsatisfactory, it fits better than atheism as a possible classification of Jain divinity.
Other possible classifications
Both Humanism and Jainism place much value on the potential of humans. A main difference is that Jainism gives humans the potential to be God. In the Article "Hindu Titanism," Nicholas Gier quotes Heinrich Zimmer, calling this the "heresy of Titanism," and it is characterized by the "preemption of divine prerogatives and confusion of human and divine attributes. "29 Gier discusses but does not define the term spiritual Titanism. He defines titanism as "a radical humanism that does not recognize that there are limits to what humans can become and what they should do."30 Any religion that takes part in the Titanism discussed by Gier and Zimmer, that is, the attainment of divine attributes by humans, can be considered a type of spiritual Titanism. The spiritual progress of the Arhat and Siddha from human to God is an exemplary form of spiritual Titanism. But spiritual Titanism is not an exclusive categorization, it just descriptive. Jainism can be spiritually titanic and theistic, atheistic, or anything in between.
L.R. Joshi, in "A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism," describes a number of Indian religions, including Jainism, as being semi-theistic. He defines semi-theism as a seemingly atheistic doctrine "which shows clear tendencies towards theism.31 Semi-theism is a very useful term, and while it may, as Joshi argues, perfectly describe what Buddhism has become, the classification does not work as well in Jainism. The term semi-theism implies some sort of partial or incomplete theism. This stems from Joshi's definition of theism: "Theism stands for the doctrine of a personal God (Isvara), who is the ultimate principle of the universe, the primordial guardian of moral values, and lastly, the highest object of our religious worship.32 Joshi uses semi-theism for a religion that has some but not all of the listed aspects. Joshi is implying that there are some essential attributes necessary for a religion to be considered theistic. I had argued earlier that this is not the case. But within the generally accepted definition of theism and of God, Jainism does fit well within the realm of Joshi's semi-theism.
28
I have heard it claimed that gunanuvada originated in Jainism. My limited survey of Jain texts has not yielded any evidence, but this by no means indicates the evidence is not there.
29
Gier, Nicholas F., "Hindu Titanism." Philosophy East and West, Vol. 45, No. 1 (January, 1995) p. 73 Ibid.
30
31 Joshi. "A New Interpretation of Indian Atheism." p. 205
32 Ibid. p. 190
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Another possible classification is as uttar-vada.33 In Hinduism, avatars are God or gods that descend to the level of human. This is known as avatar-vada. In Jainism, the humans rise to the level of God, and can be known as uttar-vada. Uttar meaning "ascend."
Deism is the belief that God exists but does not intervene in the world beyond what is necessary to create it. The obvious issue here is that the God of Jainism is not a creator God. But both deism and Jain theism believe in a non-interventionist God.
Nontheists do not affirm or negate the existence of God. They are likely to understand God as a symbol of human values and aspirations. Similarly, the Jain God is a symbol of human values and aspirations, but the important difference is that in Jainism God actually exists in the Siddha-Loka.
Conclusion
All of these different classifications of religions bring something to the table of Jain theism, but it is gunanutheism, the worship of divine attributes to foster them in the self, that most accurately describes Jainism.
33
Dr. Kusum Jain, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. Conversation on July 4th, 2007.
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6.0.r A Century of Boarding Houses Under Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha
Padmaja. A. Patil
PART-I 1. INTRODUCTION: The Jain community is one of the very ancient communities in India and from hoary antiquity to the present day it has scattered throughout the length and breadth of India. Though the Jains constitute a small minority they have contributed a great deal to the development of art and architecture, logic and philosophy, language and literature, education and learning, charitable and public institutions and political, material and spiritual welfare of the people of different regions of India. Though the Jains have reached the nooks and corners of the entire country the maximum population is concentrated in Western India mainly in the Districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Satara, Belgaum and Dharwad which fall in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Nineteenth Century was the period of Socio-religious renaissance and reformist movements active all over India, Brahmo Samaj (1828), Prarthana Samaj (1867), Satya Shodhak Samaj (1873), Arya Samaj (1875), were the organizations which were doing pioneering work for upbringing the social, educational and religious status of the masses. In the same way educated elites in Jain community in South and North India established Bharat Varsha Digambar Jain Sabha, Mathura Prantik Digambar Jain Sabha, Bombay, weekely Jainbodhak' by Hirachand Nemchand Doshi at Solapur. To implement and bring into practice the work and suggestions of these institutions, Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha was established on 3 April 1899 for the socio-religious and educational development of Jains in South India. Accordingly, it started Boarding Houses for facilitating students to take education and make educational development of Jain (Sangave: 1976:27-30). Present paper is divided into three parts. First part gives introduction about Establishment of D.B. J.S., sources and methodology adopted etc. Second part deals with establishment of boarding houses and their management, third part is devoted to conclusions of the paper.
2. SOURCES AND METHODOLOGY: The Research paper is based on primary sources including proceedings, books, published and unpublished reports and Souveniers of the Jain Boarding Houses, back issues of Pragati and Jinvijay, correspondence of leaders of D.B.J.S., Kolhapur State Archives, Hujur Tharavs, Books and Administrative Reports of Kolhapur State, unpublished Ph.D. Thesis & M.Phil. Dissertations, in Shivaji University Kolhapur, on the topics like those dealt with by 1) Dr. B.D.Khane, (Chh.Shri Shahu: A Study of Socio-Political reforms) 2) Dr.Padmaja. A.Patil, Annasaheb Latthe and This times, 3) Dr. Rutuja Khot, Female Education in Jain Community, books like Dr. Vilas Sangave and Dr. Padmaja Patil, History of Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, (1899-2000), and other books related to the topic.
Historical method is used for this paper and in order to maintain strict objectivity, all kinds of internal and external criticism of various documents was done whenever necessary. Interview and oral history are also used in which important personages associated with D.B.J.S. as well as its present and past office bearers have been interviewed.
PART-II
3. ESTABLISHMENT OF DAKSHIN BHARAT JAIN SABHA: The leaders from the Jain Community in Kolhapur area decided to establish an organization for the socio-educational and socio-religious progress of Jains in South India. A meeting on 3rd April 1899, held at Stavanidhi near Nipani in Karnataka state proved to be the dawn of awareness of the need for the social, educational, religious upliftment of the Jains of South India ( Patil :2006: 72). The Jain Community which once enjoyed supremacy in religious, literary, economic prosperity in the antiquity, had nearly lost its identity during medieaval period. The Deccan Jains were quite backward in religious, social and political arenas, the prime reason for which was the lack of contemporary education and tendency of orthodoxy towards the antiquated traditions and customs. This situation continued to prevail till the 19 Century. With the arrival of the British Raj, a few English educated Jain youths began earnest efforts to modernize the Jain community to make it compatible with the changing times (Sangave: 1976:30).
OBJECTIVES OF THE DAKSHIN BHARAT JAIN SABHA: Annasaheb Latthe with his friend Anna Chougule played an important role in the foundation meeting of Dakshin Maharashtra Jain Sabha, and became head of the education department. The main objectives of the Sabha were 1) The spread of education, collection of funds for the same and effective use of funds, adoption of some necessary methods for imparting education, 2) Inculcating the need for social and religious progressiveness on the minds of the Jain community, 3) To find out ways and means for women's education in Jain community, 4) To Achieve these objectives,
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some movable and immovable property should be occurred to the Sabha with legal authority over the property (Constitution Of D.B.J.S., 1907.1963, 1982). After three years of it's establishment D.B.J.S. started a Jain Boarding House (1902) at Kolhapur followed by a series of boarding houses in Maharashtra and Karnataka in 20h Century.
5. CHH. SHAHU MAHARAJ AND ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARDING HOUSES AT KOLHAPUR: Chh. Shahu (1894-1922) ruler of Kolhapur Princely State started Hostel Movement which was a unique phenomenon in the State for the upliftment of the masses. Of the various successful measures adopted by him for development of education, Hostel movement was a remarkable feature of his educational policy. On one occasion Chh. Shahu himself stated with pride that." With a just sense of pride the British people called the British Parliament the Mother of Parliaments. In the same way Kolhapur has, I venture to say, deservedly come to be called the 'Mother of Students Boarding Houses. There are Boarding Houses of Marathas, Jains, Lingayats, Saraswatas, Mohamedans, Daivadnya, Panchal, Simpi, Kayasthas etc. (Yedekar: 1972, P: 51). In this way some 23 Hostels came up in Kolhapur for the various castes from 1901 to1921 (Khane: 1978: 82-202).
As a part of his Hostel Movement Shri. Shahu Maharaj also helped in the establishment of Jain Boarding House at Kolhapur under the leadership of Shri Latthe (1878-1950). He was an eminent educationist-cum-social reformer among Jains and worked for the benefit of Jain Students and community taking inspirations and ideas from Kolhapur Hostel Movement (Patil: 1986: 429). 5. BOARDING HOUSES: AN INSTRUMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS AND SOCIO
CULTURAL CHANGE:
It is to the credit of D.B.J.S. that by establishing hostels for boys and Shravikashrams for girls Sabha brought about an educational revolution in the Jain Community. Annasaheb Latthe inspired Jain social workers for this purpose. The various Boarding Houses, started by D.B.J.S., in today's Maharashtra and Karnataka states are as follows: (Patil: 2006: 117-180)
a. Boarding Houses for Boys
Digambar Jain boarding house Kolhapur 1902 Digambar Jain boarding house , huble 1909 Manikbag Digamber Jain Boarding, Belgaum(1915) R.D.Davda Digambar Jain Boarding house, Sangli (1922) Jain Boarding House , Inchalkarnaji (1986) Digambar Jain boarding house Beed. 1997 S.S. Bhirdi Jain Boading house, Jaysingapur.(1996-1998) Devrukh Jain Boarding house , Devrukh (1982-83) P.P.Aryanandi Maharaj Brahmacharyashram Kesapuri, (1997)
b. JAIN BOARDING OF KOLHAPUR (1902) The Jain Boarding house at Kolhapur, was established in April 1902, but there were no hostel buildings for students; so they stayed in a Jain temple which was not at all suitable for the purpose (R.A.K.S.: 1895-1906: p-57). In 1904, Chh. Shahu paid visit to Hirachand Gumanji, Jain Barding of Bomaby. He suggested to Manikchand. Seth that the Jain community, was quite large in Kolhpaur state but it was backward, in education, and therefore, to enable the Jains to receive higher education he (Seth Manikchand) should construct one boarding house at Kolhapur, and offered necessary help to them from his side (P & J 30th Dec. 1963; Sangave : 1976 :73). This incident greatly inspired the students like Latthe and Chougule studying in the hostel. They took active part in the establishment of Jain Boarding at Kolhapur.
Shri Latthe and Nitve Shastri wrote a letter to Sheth Manikachand Hirachand Javeri, reminding him of Chh.Shahu's request and urging on him to visit Kolhapur. Sheth visited Kolhapur towards the end of year the 1904, and come close contact with Chh. Shahu and workers of D.M.J.S. He promised them to construct a building suitable for 100 students. Chh. Shahu donated the Chouphala Mal' (Place of Nishidis of Jain Sadhus) for construction of building for Jain Boarding.
The Inauguration ceremony of the building was held on 9th August, 1905, at the hands of Chh. Shahu Maharaj. On this occasion Mr. Latthe, the Minister of Education Dept. of D.M.J.S. while stating importance of the Jain Boarding said, "Till now the Jains have constructed many buildings and temples all over the country. But at this place, that is, the Hostel building, the minds of our young men will be prepared to experience human greatness taught by the Jain religion; from the place, will go out promising doctors, lawyers, engineers, and statesmen and also efficient merchants, diligent farmers. We have every hope that thro' their efforts, we will bring back the golden days of our ancient past" (Sangave :1976 :98-105). Chh. Shahu gave an inaugural address and said, "I listened with great attention to your interesting address and felt particularly gratified by your remark that from here we might send forth not only promising
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FOR
doctors, lawyers, engineers and statesmen but talented merchants and skilled agriculturists, who will carry forward to coming ages the hitherto interrupted annals of ancient times with fresh vigor. Now a days you need help from us like other backward communities, but as soon as you are able to stand on your own legs and with all my heart, I wish you success in your endeavurs to do so". The first boarding house started at Kolhapur became the stepping stone for series of Boarding Houses and Shravikashrams under D.B.J.S. in 20th Century.
1) Facultywise Strength chart during the year 1983-84
Sr.No.
Kolhapur
1
2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13.
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Boarding Branch
Medical
Engineering
Diploma
Agriculture
Science
Commerce
Arts
Highschool
Law
Courses
Total
Boarding Branch
Inter
Previous
Metric
English VI
English V
English IV
English III
English II
English I
Technical
1919-1920
1983-1984
1993-1994
1999-2000
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48
250
214
275
5
13
1
2
11
5
4
12
3
1
4
4
1
35
5
54
72
34
23
8
1
250
2) Faculty Wise Strength chart during the year 1919-1920
Sr.No.
Kolhapur
Sangli
30
51
100
163
3
7
1
6
2
6
7
8
6
5
10
9
2
Hubli
30
1
5
3
51
Marathi VII
Marathi VI
Marathi V Total (Records of all Boarding Branches 1919 to 2000)
48
3) STRENGTH OF BOARDING HOUSES, From 1919 to 2000. (Reports of Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, 1919 to 2000)
Year,Boarding Kolhapur
Hubli
Houses
Belgaum
25
89
100
176
3
3
5
4
7
6
Belgaum
Belgaum
25
29
11
14
5
5
24
1
89
Sangli
45
156
230
262
Sangli
3
3
3
3
5
1
5
12
10
45
Hubli
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2
54
32
45
14
6
2
156
Pune
51
Pune
4
11
7
4
8
10
5
1
51
Total
40
33
199
546
644
876
58
5
123
118
105
39
19
6
546
Total
Total Strength
4
9
31
22
16
22
24
41
26
1
4
1
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The growth of figures shown in the chart clearly indicates the contribution of the boarding houses towards the spread of education among Jain community. Another aspect is noteworthy is that the Boarding Houses and Shravikashrams started by D.B.J.S. became the hearts of educational development of Jain community. As of today these Boarding Houses with their vast expansion of land became centres of educational, social and cultural activities in the Jain community in South India. All these boarding Houses are now in the heart of the main cities mentioned above and therefore by today's standard they are worth crores in terms of property. Because of the well planned systems the wealth generated by these centres through commercial complexes will help educational upliftment of the rural Jain community for generations to come.
Management of Boarding Houses:
As per the Constitution (1907 &1963) of D.B.J.S., President was responsible for the work of Sabha and under his guidance all committees were working. The Chairman is an important figure in all the activities and indirect head of D.B.J.S. A man who was from many years actively associated with the work of D.B.J.S. was selected as a Chairman. Treasurer was head of economic activities of the sabha and all boarding Houses are under his control for financial activities. Regional section of sabha has independent Mahamantri who looked after affairs of Boarding Houses in his regions like Pune, Belgaum, Hubli, Mumbai, Aurangabad and Kolhapur.
Every Boarding House had a superintendent, who was responsible for daily routine of the Boarding House such as discipline, office work, problems of students, financial management, correspondence, building and related activities. Every Boarding House had a chairman and a Secretary from local social workers of Sabha. Kolhapur boarding house has long tradition of eminent superintendents like Annasaheb Latthe (1905-1914), Bhaskararao Jadhav (1920-21), Dr. A.N.Upadhye (1946-48), Prin., G.K.Patil (1976-77), D.A.Patil (1986-1997) etc. Kolhapur and Hubli Boarding Houses were celebrated their centuries very successfully.
Management is organizing monthly meetings for maintaining the discipline in every Boarding houses. Management, religious education, earn and learn scheme, mess, gymnasium, library are under the control of student committee and superintendent of Boarding Houses. The social and cultural activities of boarding houses include monetary and other help to the needy, like famine struck people. Many students are involved in the activities include annual Paryushan Parva, Lord Mahaveer's anniversary, Vijaya Dashami celebrations, annual gathering, lectures for personality development of the students, annual sport meets, career guidance and counselling, inter college elocution contests, slide shows on social issues etc.
FINANCIAL ASISTANCE, EDUCATIONAL FUND & SCHOLARSHIPS: Financial Assistance - D. B.J.S. and Boarding Houses were maintained by the financial assistance of the well to do people and on the amount of interest derived from funds voluntarily subscribed by the rich persons in Jain Community. In 1905-1906, Rs 1, 75,000/- were collected as a fund and Chh. of Kolhapur gave grant of Rs 300/-. per annum to institution.(R.A.K.S., 1905-1906, P-57), up to merger of Kolhapur state.
The workers of the Sabha used to go from house to house explaining the aim of the Sabha and appealing to the people for giving help to education fund. For this purpose a novel idea was worked out, in initial stage. The donor declared donation but keep money with him as 'Sabha's deposit and pay interest on that per year at a fixed rate. (Jain Mitra 4th Year, 8th Issue, 1903:12)
Also collection of corn fund' and 'Paisa fund' was implemented by the students of Boarding Houses. For this selected students arranged tours to different villages. They gave lectures on the Jain religion and collected foodgrains and money from farmers for their Education (Sangave: 1976:91-92). Through this programme, a student, Bhau Paygonda Patil (Karmaveer Bahurao Patil) developed himself and established the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha at Satara in 1919. This was a revolution in the educational field of rural Maharashtra. 'Earn and learn scheme' implemented in these hostels was also a unique feature at that time. Afterwards this was used by K.Bhaurao Patil as a special feature of Rayat Shikshan Sanstha Satara and has now become key word in every university of Maharashtra for the education of poor students, the workers of sabha collected funds for students by visiting door to door in every village and the process is still in practice.
Fund and Scholarships: -- From the inception of the Boarding Houses Scholarships are provided to the needy students. After the completion of their education they have to pay all money back to the Sabha after they started earning. Students can use the money without any interest till to the earn. This provision enabled poor and village students to stay at the cities and complete the Higher Education. From 1921-1975, 5 lakhs were used by rotation scholarship fund. In 1975, it moved upto 5 to 16 lakhs of Rupees.
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CONCLUSIONS:The Boarding Houses started by D. B.J.S. provide shelters to poor boys and girls in Jain Community.
Some Hostels are closed because of unavoidable circumstances. Among Boarding Houses at two Jaysingpur and Devrukh were closed, mainly because of lack of local leader's free service and sufficient financial assistance from local community. Central administration is a unique feature. Local management is changing after every three years. After independence because of state governments policy private, medical, engineering and other colleges were developed with their hostels in campus. So students preferred them to Jain boarding Houses. These Boarding Houses many times provided shelters to freedom fighters during freedom movement and helped national cause, e.g. Nagnath Annan Nayakwadi. With a view to inculcate discipline and good behaviour in the students of boarding houses superintendent and the local authorities of Boarding Houses have made rules and regulations. After the establishment of Veer Seva Dal (1979) a young front for social service of D.B.J.S., boarding houses became the centres of their activities and past students from Boarding Houses provided help to *Panchkalyan pooja' all over India. Help to flood affected people was provided through visits from house to house, Blood donation camps, Alumini Association, free food supply centre, a mess ,Tree Plantation, Antiaddiction drive, Yoga shibirs were arranged. These Boarding Houses are arranging programmes of Mahavir Jayanti, Paryushan Parva, and lecture series on various topics for personal development of students. Yearely tournaments, U.P.S.C. and M.P.S.C. exam training camps, yearly gatherings, inter collegiate elocution, competitions, computer centres, etc. After 1980 purposeful Boarding houses were started in Marathawada area, for bringing together and developing the scattered Jain community in Marathawada. The aim of D.B.J.S. was to educate the needy poor Jains students from rural areas which were fulfilled. Today we find Jain doctors, engineers, trained farmers, industrialists in villages who were past students of Jain boarding houses. It was really a revolution in rural Jain community. Now a day the management of Boarding Houses is hampered some times because of lack of social workers and good leadership. Any status in the management of boarding houses was without any financial gain. So many workers are doing this work after retirement. Some past students from the boarding houses served in Rayat Shikshan Sanstha and Swami Vivekanand Shikshan Sanstha developed the new horizon for rural community. Every Boarding house has library, Temple, gymnasium, mess, auditorium etc which provide for overall development and personality, of students. From 1902 to 2010, the tradition of free service to boardings continued to be maintained by workers of Sabha, maintaining side by side their jobs and business. Now a days all boarding Houses maintained by D.B.J.S. were famous for good behaviour, Co-operative attitude, social service and academic development of society. All Boarding houses have temple, so many Jain people are attached with it. So the Boarding Houses are the centres of Socio-cultural activities of Jain community.
While concluding the paper it can humbly be said that the hope expressed by Chh.Shahu during inaugural ceremony of the first boarding House at Kolhapur has now been partially fulfilled, if not fully by D. B.J.S. through its contribution to the educational advancement of Jain community.
References:
1)
1)
ORIGINAL SOURCES Annasaheb Latthe's records in Kasturabai Walchand College Library, Sangli, and in his house at Tilakwadi, Belgaum. Proceedings, books and correspondence of the Boarding Houses at Kolhapur, Sangli, Belgaum, Hubli, Ichalkaranji, Kesapuri and Beed its published reports,circulars,souvenir and the back-issues of its mouthpiece 'Pragati and Jinvijay' (1920-2000). Annual reports of Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha from - 1905-2000.
3)
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1) 2) 3)
UNPUBLISHED Ph.D./M.Phil. DISSERTATIONS, from Shivaji University, Kolhapur. Dr. B.D. Khane, "Chh.Shri Shahu: A Study of Socio-political reforms, (1874-1922)".1978. Dr.Padmaja.A.Patil, "Annasaheb Latthe and his times" 1986. Dr. Patil Padmaja "Latthe's Career in Kolhapur" 1984. Smt. Khot Rutuja "Female Education in Jain Community" 1989. Shri.Shidlale.S.H “Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabhene Chalavalelya Vidyarthi Vastigrahacha Abhayas" 2006.
5)
1)
2)
PUBLISHED BOOKS Dr. Vilas Sangave, “Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabhecha Itihas" (1901-1976), (Marathi), Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, Sangli. Dr. Patil Padmaja. "Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabhecha Itihas" (1976-2000). (Marathi), Dakshin Bharat Jain Sabha, Sangli. Patil B.B., Jain va jain Dharmacha Sankshipt Itihas, 1938. Dr. Akkole, Dr. Kognole, Prof.Balol,Prof.G.K.Patil, Selected Articles, 1995. Prof. Ballol.R.N., Jain Dharmachi Prachinata va Alpasnkhyak Darja, 1997. Dr. Akkole, Samaj Sanwad, Pragati ani Jin vijayymadhil Nivadak Agralekh, 1999. Shri. Paitl. B.B., Prof. Kognole, Prof. R.N.Ballol, Jain Samajache Divangat Nete, Part-II, 2000.
3) 4) 5) 6) 7)
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6.0.5
Leshya and Its Transformation
By Viney Jain, Dr. Nat. Phil.
Contents:
1. Introduction
2. The Jain Metaphysics
2.1. Jeeva (The Conscious Beings) 2.2. The Karma Doctrine 2.3. Bhava as Expression of Consciousness 2.4. Leshya as Bhava-Dhara and its Relation to Kashaya and Yoga 2.5. Colors of Leshya are Indicators of Behavior Dispositions 2.6. Leshya and Spiritual Evolution
2.6.1. Behavioral and Spiritual Correlates of Leshya
2.6.2. Leshya and Rebirth 3. Modification of Behavior through Transmutation of Leshya: Its Relevance Today 3.1. The Six Essentials (Avashyaks)
3.1.1. Equanimity (Samayik)
3.1.2. Introspection and Repentance (Pratikraman) 3.2. Preksha Meditation (Preksha-Dhyan) 4. Possible Scientific Correlates and Areas of Leshya Research 4.1. Leshya and Emission of Biophotons
4.1.1. Correlation of biophotons with the functional state of the living systems
4.1.2. Biophotons and Leshya May be Related 4.2. Leshya , Aura and Behavior Modification 5. Conclusions 6. Bibliography
Abstract:
Leshya, a unique concept in Jain metaphysics denoting light or radiation, links the dynamics of the soul (consciousness) and the karmic body with the psycho-physical activities performed by the physical body, and is believed to be associated with every conscious-being, Jeeva (except Ayoga Kevali and Siddha Jeeva). Jeeva in their mundane existence as worldly living beings, constitute impure states due to association of souls with matter, which profoundly influence their behavior and evolution.
Living Being = F (Subtle body, Gross Body) = F (Soul + Karmic-particles), (Physical Body))
Leshya, is postulated to relate to the Bhava-Dhara or the stream of emotions, passions and instincts, originating from the dynamic interactions of Adhyavasay with karma induced Kashaya (basic instincts and passions) and the resulting psycho-physical activities (Yoga) of the living organism. Dravya-leshya, the material form, in the presence of kashaya and yoga induce bhava-leshya reflecting the state of consciousness. Bhava-leshya blends in turn with kashaya and yoga to attract corresponding Karmic particles. Bhava-leshya is modified by the instant change in the state and power of the consciousness, thus allowing scope for effort (pursharth) in modification of behavior and diluting karmic determinism.
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Behavior dispositions and the spiritual progress of living systems are characterized by 6 different types of leshyas, denoted by different colors: 1. Krsna (black), 2.Nila (blue), 3. Kapot (gray), 4.Taijas (red), 5.Padam (yellow) and 6.Sukla (white). The path of purification of the soul leads from inauspicious leshyas (black, blue and grey) through auspicious leshyas (red, yellow, white) to a stage without Leshya (Aleshi, where there is no Kashaya and Karmic-influx), thus achieving the pure state of consciousness (Ayoga Kevali). During this dynamic process strong correlations between the color of Leshya and the markers of the spiritual development such as Kashaya Intensity, types of Bhava, Dhyan, Gunsthanas and Karma- dynamics have been described.
Leshya also influences the psychophysical activities of the gross physical body and Leshya-Dhyan (color meditation on psychic-centers) is being practiced to improve emotional control and behavior. Associations of Dravya-leshya with the Aghati Karmas viz. Nama- and Gotra-Karma, the determinants of the structure and environment of the physical body, have been described. Since chromosomes and DNA provide the basic genetic information for the development of the physical body, systematic explorations on the precise relationships of Leshya with the structure and functioning of the physical body using the modern scientific methods should be initiated.
Transformation of Leshya from inauspicious (black, blue and grey) to auspicious (red, yellow and white) ones can be brought about by practices directed towards self-realization and soul purification as recommended in the jain philosophy and way of life. The practice of righteous contemplation and virtuous meditation (Samayik) combined with introspection, repentance and forgiveness (Pratikaman) will encourage development of emotional control, self-restraint, tolerance, equanimity, non-violence and compassion as natural personality traits and could be effective in bringing appropriate modifications in human behavior required to meet the challenges in the present day world.
It is further suggested that comprehensive theoretical and experimental studies on the possible correlations of leshya with (a) the pattern of biophotons (emission of very low intensity of coherent light in the wavelength range of 200-900 nm by living organisms) and (b) aura should be undertaken to advance our understanding of leshya and applications of leshya transmutation for behavior modification.
1.
Introduction
Leshya is a Sanskrit word that denotes light or radiation. In Jain metaphysics, Leshya is conceived to provide the crucial linkage of the Subtle-body (sukshama-sharir) with the Gross-physical-body (sthul-sharir). The Subtle-body is assumed to be constituted by the karmic particles enveloping the soul/consciousness. Leshya is related to the spiritual as well as the physical domain involving the interactions of the consciousness (soul enveloped by the Karmic-body) with the psychophysical activities. Leshya, therefore, is an important and useful concept to understand the behavior in relation to the spiritual evolution of the living being. Certain functional aspects of the Subtle-body might be analogous to mind as generally discussed in the western philosophy. Concepts of Leshya and its transformation, as propounded in the Jain philosophy and way of life, are of great relevance in developing effective techniques for behavior modification required to solve major problems facing the world today. Leshya has been mentioned at several places in different contexts in several scriptures. The basic and applied aspects of Leshya discussed in the present discussion are primarily based on the translations and commentaries of Uttardhyana-Sutra and Gommattsar Jeevkand.
To appreciate Leshya from the spiritual perspective, the relevant conceptual framework, provided by the Jain metaphysics, is summarized in section 2, followed by an analysis of its behavioral and spiritual correlates. Important steps recommended in the Jain way of life to transform Leshya and consequent modifications in behavior are briefly outlined in sec. 3. The need for undertaking comprehensive and systematic studies on Leshya from the perspectives of modern science, particularly in the context of mind-body problem, is emphasized. Plausible correlations of Leshya with recently emerging scientific facts and theories that could form potentially useful areas of research are discussed in sec.4.
2. The Jain Metaphysics
Jain thinkers believe in the eternal existence of the Universe functioning according to its own laws, unaided by any supernatural power(s). This universe is basically constituted by 6 fundamental substances (dravyas) viz. (1) Jeeva (Soul), (2) Pudgala (Matter), (3) Akasha (Space), (4) Dharama (Principle of Motion), (5) Adharma (Principle of Rest) and (6) Kala (Time).
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The concept of Jeeva and the doctrine of Karma form the core of the Jain philosophy.
2.1. Jeeva (The Conscious Beings)
Jeeva or soul(s) exist in the pure (Mukta) and impure (Sansarik) states.
The essence of the soul in its pure state is Chetanaya or pure consciousness endowed with attributes such as infinite conation (darshana), knowledge (janana), power (virya) and bliss (sukha, ananda).
Jeeva in their mundane existence, described as Sansarik Jeeva (worldly living beings), present impure states of consciousness due to association of souls with matter. The soul bound with matter (pudgala) constitutes the Karma-Sharira (Karmic-Body) also called the sukshma sharir (subtle body). This sukshma sharir in association with the sthul- sharir (Audarik-sharir or the physical-/gross-body) of the living organisms profoundly influences their behavior and evolution.
2.2. The Karma Doctrine
The underlying karma doctrine postulates that every physical or mental activity by the living being produces some imperceptible effects besides perceptible consequences. The imperceptible effects have the potential of restricting and distorting the attributes of the soul/consciousness. These alterations in the consciousness are bought out by the bondage of the soul to very fine and imperceptible particles of matter called karmic particles. The conscious attributes of pure Jeeva such as infinite perception, knowledge, power and bliss get severely restricted (though not completely) and distorted by the karmic envelope. The degree of restriction and distortion of consciousness depends upon the type and strength of the Karmic bondage.
Thus, to express mathematically, a living-being according to this theory can be represented by the equation:
Living Being = F (Subtle body, Gross Body)
= F (Soul + Karmic-particles), (Physical Body)], or
J =F(S,K)+(k, M)]
............. (1)
where J is the living-being (Jeev); S denotes the soul, K the karmic particles bonded to the soul; k the activated karmons and M represents the physical matter constituting the physical body of the living-being. The form of the function F remains to be determined.
The Karmic particles attached to the soul constituting the Karmic envelope are called the Dravya Karma. Psychic, verbal physical activities (Yoga) in combination with the passions (Kashaya), which lead to karmic bondage, are called the Bhava Karma. The Dravya and Bhava Karma are mutually related as each other's cause and effect. The Bhava Karma attract Dravya Karma (Karmons) and bind them to the soul, while the latter cause vibration in the soul leading to further Yoga and Kashaya or further Bhava Karma.
Depending upon their particular effects on the living beings, 8 primary types of karma grouped into 2 major categories viz. 1) Ghäti (Destructive) and 2) Aghäti (Non-destructive) have been described.
Destructive Karmas obscure, distort, impair or prevent the true and full expressions of the intrinsic attributes of the soul (pure Jeeva). Destructive karmas include: 1) Darshnavarniya (Perception-Obscuring); 2) Jnänavarniya (Knowledge-Obscuring); 3) Antaräy (Energy-Obstructing) and 4), Mohniya (Deluding) karmas.
Non-Destructive karmas include: 5) Vedniya (Pain-Producing); 6) Näma (Physique determining); 7) Gotra (Status-determining) and 8) Ayushya (Age-Determining) karmas. Non-Destructive karmas affect the form, structure and function of the physical body of the living-being and not so much the attributes of its soul.
The origins of the mental, verbal and physical activities (Yoga) of the physical body (sthul-shareer) can be traced to the states of consciousness expressed by the subtle-body (sukshma-shareer constituting soul enveloped
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by the karmic matter). The behavior and evolution of living beings, existing in various physical forms (gross bodies) as plants, microbes, insects, animals and humans, are essentially determined by the complex dynamics of interactions of their souls with the subtle, invisible, sub-atomic material, the Karmic particles.
2.3. Bhava as Expression of Consciousness
The power to act and feel (karanvirya) originates from the complex combination of the subtle body with the physical body. At any instant of time, interactions of adhyavasaya (that power of the soul which remains unobstructed by the karmic body) with the system of kashaya (primal drives, instincts and passions) induced by the karmic-body influence expressions (parinam) of the consciousness (chetna) manifesting as bhava (feelings, emotions, passions, desires) at that moment. The karmic particles decay or fall off after fruition (vipak), however, their dissolution (nirjara) can also be accelerated by self-discipline and meditation (dhyan), which appropriately modify the expression of the existent state of consciousness (bhava). Depending upon the nature of these interactions and their further effects on the dynamics of karmic-body, bhava have been classified into five types: 1. Parinamic bhava (P) due to soul's own natural disposition; 2. Audayik bhava (A) resulting from the fruition of the karma ; 3. Upashamic bhava (U) resulting from cessation of the effect of the karma; 4. Kshayopshamic bhava (SS) resulting from partial cessation and partial annihilation of the effect of the karma : 5. Kshayik bhava (KS) resulting from annihilation of the effect of the karma.
2.4. Leshya as Bhava-Dhara and its Relation to Kashaya and Yoga
Leshya, is postulated to relate to the Bhava-Dhara or the stream of emotions, feelings and instincts, originating from the dynamic interactions of adhyavasay with karma induced kashaya and the resulting psycho-physical activities (Yoga) of the living organism. Adhyavasaya is the motivation power of the soul remaining unobstructed by the karmic body, kashaya are the primal instincts and feelings (such as anger, pride, greed and deceit) induced by the karmic-body and yoga represents the complex of mental, verbal and physical activities performed by the living being.
Thus, Leshya can be considered as a complex entity representing the interaction dynamics of the soul (consciousness) and the karmic body with the psycho-physical actions performed by the physical body. Leshya can be modified by the instant change in the state and power of the consciousness, thus allowing scope for effort (pursharth) in modification of behavior and diluting karmic determinism. This is depicted in a simple model in the figure 1.
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Soul Adhyvasay 1
Purusharth
Bhava
Karmic-Body
| ||Karmons* Kashaya
Invisible Subtle-Body
Leshya
Physical and Social Environment
Genetics Bioenergetics Biocybernetics
Gross Physical-Body
Behavior (Yoga (Thought, Speech, Action)
Fig. 1: A Simple Model depicting interactions between Subtle body and gross physical body mediated via
Leshya Two forms of Leshya viz. (a) dravya-leshya and (b) bhava-leshya have been described. Dravya-leshya is the material (pudgal) form having material attributes influencing the gross physical-body. Dravya-leshya could be associated with Nama- and Gotra—Karma and with Ayush-karma, the respective determinants of the structure, environment and life span of the physical body.
Attributes of a group (varganayen) of dravya-leshya in the presence of Raag-Dwesh (attatchment-hatered) associated psycho-physical activities (yoga) induce bhava-leshya (reflecting and expressing the state of consciousness). Bhava-leshya based on the audayik bhava resulting from the fruition of the karma, blends again with kashaya and yoga to attract corresponding Karmic particles. Thus, the dynamics of this cyclic process continues leading to changes in bhava-leshya from time to time.
In other words, bhava-leshya at any given moment of time reflects the inner personality of the living-system and influences the pattern of the mental, verbal or physical activities of the physical body, which in turn induce fresh inflow of the karmic matter (Asrava) and bondage of the Karmic-particles with the soul; the strength and duration of the bondage being determined by the type of the karma and intensities of primal instincts and emotions associated with these activities.
2.5. Colors of Leshya are Indicators of Behavior Dispositions
Behavior dispositions of living systems have been characterized by six different types of leshya, denoted by different colors: 1. Krsna (black). 2. Nila (blue), 3. Kapot (gray), 4. Taijas (red). 5. Padam (yellow) and 6. Sukla (white).
Behavior of persons with different leshyas has been illustrated by the story about six travelers, who were lost in a forest and felt hungry. On seeing a tree laden with fruits, they contemplated different actions to fulfill their desires to eat the fruits of the tree. The individual with the black leshya (black leshi) thought it appropriate to cut the tree from the very root, the blue leshi to chop off all the branches, the grey leshi to cut only the fruit bearing

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branches, the red leshi to pluck all the fruits, the yellow leshi to pluck only the ripe fruits and the person with the white leshya to collect only the ripe fruits which have fallen to the ground.
Individuals with the black leshya are the most destructive and those with the white leshya the least. The black, blue and gray leshyas are inauspicious and are associated with intense cruel, wicked, revengeful, angry and violent behavior lacking in self-control, while red, yellow and white are auspicious and promote humane, forgiving, equanimous and helpful attitude and non-violent behavior free from evil deeds
2.6. Leshya and Spiritual Evolution
It is believed that spiritual development signifies progress of the living-being (Sansarik Jeeva ) towards the highest goal of achieving Moksha, a state characterized by complete stoppage of the karmic-influx, elimination of all the existing karmic-bondage and perfect expression of all the attributes of the pure consciousness. In this pure state, the soul (Siddha-Jeeva) exists in eternal bliss and omniscience, free from the cycle of death and rebirth.
2.6.1. Behavioral and Spiritual Correlates of Leshya
The colors of lehsya can be related to the spiritual development from the impure to the pure state of consciousness. The path of purification of the soul leads from inauspicious leshyas (black, blue and gray) through auspicious leshyas (red, yellow, white) to a stage without Leshya (Aleshi, where there is no Kashaya and Karmic-influx does not occur), thus achieving the pure state of consciousness (Ayoga Kevali).
Stages of spiritual development in Jain system of thought are generally characterized on the basis of Gunsthanas. The journey of the soul from the impure to the pure state is based on Karma-Dynamics and described in 14 stages termed Gunsthanas. The Gunasthäna, varies from moment to moment depending on the activation (Uday), influx (Ashrav), dissolution and suppression (Nirjara) of Karma. The activities of the Karmicbody in turn are influenced by leshya or the stream of bhava (reflecting the type and intensity of kashaya and the psycho-physical activities).
The transition from one Gunasthäna to another is not linear and proceeds according to certain logical rules. The lowest stage, called Mithya-Drishti, prevails due to the activation of Darshana-Mohiniya-karma (Deludingkarma), and is characterized by false perception and perverse attitude about knowing the truth and reality. The soul achieves the highest state of purity and omniscience in the 14h Gunasthäna called the Ayoga Kevali Gunasthäna. Table 1 depicts the correlations between leshya, Kashaya, bhava, gunsthanas, dhyan and karma dynamics.
It can be seen from Table 1 that the crucial milestone in this long journey from ignorance to omniscience occurs at the transition from gray to red leshya where the moderate intensities of Kashaya enable the flow of Upashamic bhava (U); the raudra bhava is absent and practice of dharma dhyan enables the dissolution of karma to exceed the influx, thus reducing the karmic body. The behavioral disposition of the red leshi is upright and compassionate; the spiritual evolution reaching upto the 7" gunsthana. The path for further spiritual progress can now be continued with the transformation to yellow and white leshya. The further weakening of the kashaya intensities and gradual annihilation of the karmic-body permit the natural attributes of the soul to be expressed more and more in the behavioral dispositions characterized by right knowledge and righteous conduct, forgiveness, equanimity and non-violence.
Table 1: Behavioral and Spiritual Correlates of Leshya
Bhava
Dhyan
Gunsthanas
Leshya Color Black
Kashaya Intensity ++++++
Karma Dynamics I>>>D
Behavioral Characteristics Violent, cruel, passionate Greedy, lazy, deceitful
A,P
Arta, Raudra, Dharma Arta, Raudra, Dharma
Blue
+++++
A, P
I>> D
1
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Gray
++++
AP
I>D
1-4
Arta, Raudra, Dharma Arta, Dharma
Red
+++
A, P, U
D>I
1-7
Jealous, angry arrogant Upright, kind, simple Forgiving, self-sacrificing Non-violent, equanimous
Yellow
++
A, P, U
Dharma
D>>I
1-7
White
+
D>>>I
1 - 13
Dharma, Shukla
A, P, U, SS, KS
Aleshi
For classification of Bhava see sec. 2.3.; classification of Dhyana see sec. 3.1.1.2.:
I: denotes karmic Influx (ashrav): D: denotes Dissolution (nirjara) of Karmas
2.6.2. Leshya and Rebirth
Leshya is considered to relate also to the next birth, since the type of Leshya at the time of death is an important determinant of the new life-form (plant, animal, human, hellish or celestial) and is supposed to persist in the reborn. Celestial-beings, Humans, Animals & Plants (Tiryanch) can have any of the 6 Leshyas, whereas the Hellish-beings have only the Black Leshya. Auspicious Leshya associated with pious feelings (shubh bhava) will lead to rebirth as a human or a celestial being, while inauspicious Leshya associated with negative feelings (ashubh bhava) result in rebirth in a Triyanch Gati or as a hellish being. A detailed description of the rules is provided in Gommatsaar Jeevkand (Gatha:518-529). Spiritually evolved beings (Ayoga Kewali -In 14th Gunsthan stage and liberated souls (Mukta Jeev) are without Leshya (Aleshi).
3. Modification of Behavior through Transmutation of Leshya: Its Relevance Today
Some of the major challenges threatening human welfare today (for example: unsustainable economic disparity, deceit and fraud; increasing violent crimes and terrorism; environmental pollution and global warming) are outcomes of the highly consumptive and hedonistic lifestyles supported by egoistic attitudes resulting in unrestrained violent behaviors. These problems can be solved only by appropriate understanding and modifications of the fundamental psycho-physiological traits underlying the individual and collective human behaviors. The concept of lehya as an important agent linking the psychical domain with the physical body and its activities appears to be of great relevance in this context.
Leshya can be transformed by changing the Karma dynamics. Alterations in (a) the dynamic configurations of the karmons; (b) the induced complex of passions and emotions (kashaya); (c) stoppage of the influx of Karmic matter (ashrav) through self-restraint (sanyam) and (d) destruction of the existing karmic bondage (nirjara) through the practice of austerities (tapasyas) leads to the weakening of the karmic envelope and purification of psychical states.
Table 1 indicates that kashaya-intensities are directly related to the type of leshya; the black leshi have the highest intensities while the white leshi have the lowest. Reduction in the intensities of the kashaya would, therefore, result in the conversion of inauspicious to auspicious leshyas. The actual spiritual transformation commences with the conversion of Kapota to Tejas i.e. grey to red. The index of Tejas leshya is bright red color of sunrise. With the above conversion, there is a remarkable drop in animal instincts, carnal desires and associated emotions. Further progress will result from the change of Tejas Leshya to Padma Leshya and the final change of Padma to Sukla leshya will result in the total eradication of negative emotions such as anger, cruelty and hatred.
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This can be achieved in a number of ways based on self-realization through introspection, meditation and contemplation on the nature of the pure state of the soul. Some of the important and effective practices and rituals recommended in the Jain way of life are mentioned below.
3.1. Six Essentials (avshyakas)
Six essential Practices/ Duties recommended to be performed daily are:
1) Equanimity (Sämäyika) 2) Worship the twenty-four Tirthankars (Chaturvimshati-stava) 3) Salutations to Ascetics (Vandana) 4) Introspection and Repentance (Pratikraman) 5) Non-attachment to the Body (Käyotsarga) 6) Vows of Renunciation (Pratyakhyana / Pachchakhana)
In the present context Samayik and Pratikraman are most important.
3.1.1. Equanimity (Samayik)
The concept of Samayik is unique to Jainism. Samayik has its origin from the word 'sam, meaning equal. It is also related to word 'Samay' (time) and has been used in Jain scriptures to denote Soul. Thus, Samayik is a process of practicing equanimity for purifying the soul (eliminating karmic-bondage) for a period of time. Important components of Samayik are the study of scriptures (Swadhyaya), contemplation (Anupreksha) and meditation (Dhyan). Samayik should be practiced for at least 48 minutes (1 muhurat) every day to eliminate feelings of affection and aversion (Rag and Dvesha) to cultivate a state of detachment and equanimity (Veetragata) free of passions (kashaya).
3.1.1.1. Twelve Contemplations (Barah Anupreksha / Bhavana)
Equanimity comes from non-attachment which, in turn, is cultivated through contemplation on the following twelve aspects of reality:
1. Impermanence: Nothing in this universe is permanent; all worldly objects are subject to constant change. This reflection leads to the feeling of non-attachment.
2. Helplessness: Nothing can protect against death which is unavoidable
3. Solitariness: Every soul comes alone to occupy its individual body. Every individual is born alone and dies alone. The self alone is responsible for one's thoughts, actions and deeds
4. Distinctness: The body and soul are entirely different, distinct and separate entities.
5. Rebirth: Souls bonded by karmic matter transmigrate to various bodies and thus revolve in the cycle of life, death and rebirth in various life forms.
6. Nature of the universe: The universe is eternal and is governed according to its own laws. It consists of entities that evolve continuously according to their intrinsic attributes. New forms appear (Utapada) and old ones disappear (Vyaya) but the basic entity remains unchanged (Dhrauvaya).
7. Impurity of physical body: It is deep delusion to think of our bodies to be pure. The feeling of attachment to the impure body should be discarded since it is only a vehicle for spiritual advancement.
8. Influx of karma: Activities of mind, speech and body associated with delusion, anger, pride, deceit and greed, under the influence of past karmas, induce the influx of new karmas. The karmic influx is responsible for the continued mundane existence of the soul through the cycles of rebirth.
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9. Stoppage of karmic influx: karmic particles do not approach the soul in the absence of desire, attachment and aversion. The twelve contemplations lead to stoppage of karmic influx.
10. Dissolution of karma: Karmic body can be reduced through the practice of austerities and contemplation on the attributes and purity of the soul. Internal and external penances (tapa) are instrumental in intentional shedding of karma even before fruition.
11. Righteous conduct: The following code of virtuous conduct reflects the natural attributes of the soul.
1) Forgiveness (Kshama) 2) Straightforwardness (Aarjav) 3) Humility, Modesty (Mardav) 4) Purity of thought, Contentment (Schauch) 5) Truth (Satya) 6) Self-Restraint (Sanyam) 7) Austerity, Penance (Tapa) 8) Renunciation (Tyag) 9) Non-attachment (Akinchanya) 10) Celibacy (Brahmcharya)
Adherence to the prescribed code of conduct and contemplation on the natural attributes of the pure soul enables weakening of passions, reducing the karmic-body and leading to the goal of self-realization. To celebrate these ten natural attributes of the soul, jains every year observe Das Lakshan Maha Parva (Great Festival of Ten Virtues), also called Paryushan Parva during the months of August/September. Each day is devoted to the contemplation, study, practice and discussions of a single attribute.
12. Rarity of true enlightenment: Among all forms of living beings, humans alone have the greatest capacity for rational knowledge and can control their lives. Hence only humans have the ability to attain enlightenment. A healthy human life blessed with properly developed senses and highly evolved consciousness conducive to attain spiritual enlightenment is rare.
3.1.1.2. Virtuous Meditation (Dharam Dhyan)
Meditation (Dhyan) involves concentration of mind on a single topic. Meditations have been classified according to the subject/object of concentration into 4 types:
1) Sorrowful Meditation (Ärta Dhyan): relates to distress or pain
2) Inclement/Cruel Meditation (Roudra Dhyan): relates to revenge, violence, deceit
3) Virtuous Meditation (Dharma Dhyan): on the real nature of the self and the universe
4) Spiritual Meditation (Shukla Dhyän): on the pure nature of self/soul/consciousness
The first two types of meditations are most common in inauspicious leshyas and induce karmic-influx; however, endeavors to practice virtuous meditation (dharma dhyan) can help to destroy karma and thus transform into the auspicious leshyas (see table 1.).
3.1.2. Introspection and Repentance (Pratikraman)
Pratikraman meaning "introspection" is a process of repentance (prayaschit) and asking for forgiveness during daily activities. Pratikraman is the combination of two words, Pra meaning return and atikraman meaning violation. Jain householders, are supposed to observe twelve minor vows. During Pratikraman any violations that may have occurred in the observation of these vows are reviewed.
Regular practice of Pratikraman helps to minimize the karmic bondage.
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3.2. Preksha-Dhyan
During the last several decades, Jain saints, notably, Acharya Tulsi and Acharya Mahaprajna have developed and established a system of meditation known as Preksha-dhyan, which is now being taught in several centers around the world, as an easy and practical way to affect a transmutation of leshya and thereby to modify behavior. Effectiveness and several benefits of practice of Preksha-Dhyan at the physiological, mental and spiritual levels in normal subjects and patients have been demonstrated.
The word preksa is derived from the root iksa, which means 'to see! Preksa Dhyan is based on the perception of subtle internal and innate phenomena of consciousness. The main purpose of the practice of preksa dhyana is to purify the mental states. Leshya-dhyan, representing meditation on psychic centers and psychic colors, forms an important component of Preksha-dhyan.
To bring about the desired transformations in behavior, leshya-dhyan or the perception of psychic color during meditation, could prove to be a practical means of emotional regulation. The practice of leshya-dhyan can successively diminish intensities of the malevolent leshyas from Krsna to Nila and from Nila to Kapota. And then progressively increase the intensities of the benevolent leshyas.
4. Possible Scientific Correlates and Areas of Leshya Research
The relationships of consciousness with the physical body and behavior have been explored by disciplines such as philosophy and psychology, behavioral and neurosciences, and more recently quantum physics, artificial intelligence and computer sciences. Theories based on different epistemological assumptions employing known neuro-physiological mechanisms and concepts of quantum theory attempt to understand the empirical correlations between mental states (consciousness) and material states of the living systems/ the brain. Though, presently such theories are essentially speculative and unsatisfactory because of deficient formal basis, detailed description and lack of empirical evidence, yet could be valuable since they present interesting ideas for future developments.
Approaches employing quantum theory (which is, at present, the most fundamental theory of matter) to understand consciousness have attracted attention, since quantum events introduce an element of uncertainty or randomness, which is fundamental rather than merely due to ignorance or missing information. The uncertainty of quantum events could provide room for free will" or the possibility of conscious mental acts influencing brain/behavior. The concepts of complementarity and entanglement are additional features of quantum theory relevant to discussions about consciousness.
Leshya, meaning light or radiation, is considered to link the spiritual with the material domains; hence studies on the scientific correlates of leshya should be initiated. Quantum physics demonstrates the duality of light manifesting as particles or wave packets. Interpreting interactions of leshya with consciousness and the physical body using concepts and techniques of quantum physics could be very challenging and useful. Some promising research directions are mentioned in the following.
4.1. Leshya and Emission of Biophotons
Spontaneous emission of very low intensity of coherent light in the wavelength range of 200-900 nm by living organisms (termed ultraweak photon emission (UPE) or biophoton emmission, measured by single photon counting equipment (though invisible to naked eye due to weak intensity) has been shown to be a universal characteristic of the living systems (Popp, FA et al., 1992). Biophoton emission from the human body is less than 100 photons of visual light/cm of human body surface (Van Wijk R, Van Wijk EP, 2004). The emission spectrum differs from that of black-body radiation, it is not a line spectrum but rather flat over the frequency range.
The origin and functions of biophotons are presently unknown, however, the biophoton radiation is emitted from an almost coherent field and demonstrates some very unusual properties, which constitute interesting topics for studies in quantum electrodynamics. Data showing the non-thermal nature and quantum coherence of the biophoton radiation have been presented. A remarkable feature of many biophoton signals is the non-decaying shape of the signal i.e. the average intensity remains constant for a long time, implying that a biophoton signal in a pure quantum state is long lived. According to quantum optics, measurements of the complex amplitude of
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the light field can deliver different values within the region of quantum uncertainty region. The constant average intensity is also a characteristic feature of coherent and squeezed states. Squeezed states of light (or squeezed light) are a kind of nonclassical light with noise below the standard quantum limit in one quadrature component.
4.1.1. Correlation of biophotons with the functional state of the living systems
From the biophysical point of view every living being and its internal and external interactions can also be described in terms of electric and electromagnetic interactions and relationships. Studies of the interaction of coherent electromagnetic fields with living systems and biological materials suggest that living systems produce a characteristic pattern of frequencies of electromagnetic radiations as an expression of their electrochemical activities. The coherent emission of biophotons is associated with the bioenergetic as well as the biocybernetic processes and thus closely correlated with the functioning of the living systems. Biophotons have been reported to correlate with the concentration of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), the products of breathing (Hideg E. 1993), and cell chromatin appears to be the most plausible source of biophotons. Erythrocytes, which lack chromatin do not emit biophotons and correlations between biophoton emission and the intercalation of inert substances like ethidium bromide into the DNA have been observed (M. Ratteme ver et al., 1981: Chwirot. 1986). Excited states of DNA have been investigated as possible sources and the emitted biophotons may be considered as the electromagnetic expression of the genetic information. According to a theory developed by Popp and colleagues, the coherent biophotonic field of the DNA provides the basic communication network that regulates the functioning of the living organism at all levels.
Highly dense coherent electromagnetic fields can be very efficient carriers of information since each molecule in the system has the capacity to get connected to every other one by the coherent fields. Electromagnetic radiations can be easily modulated and thus constitute excellent means for the transmission of information. Experimental evidence supporting the possibility of modulating biological functions and structures in a controlled way by applying electromagnetic fields has been presented. Electromagnetic fields can influence the communication between cells and within cells due to their ability to activate or change the motion of the electrical charges. In fact, specific variations in the configuration and temporal exposure patterns of extremely weak electromagnetic fields can produce highly specific biological responses, similar to pharmaceutical products.
The exact origin of biophotons remains unknown as yet, however, this important discovery by Russian and European scientists may have many interesting implications in several areas including consciousness, mental and physical health. Preliminary studies (Van Wijk et al., 2006) have suggested that practice of meditation could change the pattern of biophoton emission.
4.1.3. Biophotons and Leshya May be Related
Dravya-leshya, the material form of leshya, is supposed to be associated with the Naam-Karma, the determinant of structure and form of the living being, analogous to the DNA, the carrier of genetic information according to modern biology. Experimental evidence pointing to DNA being an important source of biophotons and the coherent biophotonic field of the DNA providing the basic communication network regulating the functioning of the living organism have been discussed. Therefore, possible relation of biophotons with leshya (meaning light/radiation in Sanskrit) could be a fruitful area of research.
4.2. Leshya, Aura and Behavior Modification
The aura is an electromagnetic field that surrounds not only every living organism but also every inanimate object. The aura of a living system represents a blend of 2 components: (1) leshya associated radiations emanating from consciousness and (2) electromagnetic radiations from the physical body. Since leshya and the state of consciousness change with time, the aura of a living system is liable to variations unlike the aura of a physical object, which is static. Under certain conditions the normally invisible aura can be made visible and photographed using special techniques such as Kirlian photography discovered in 1939 by Semyon Kirlian in Russia. It has been suggested that changes in the brightness and patterns of colors in Kirlian photographs of the living beings may correlate with the health and emotional changes.
The color of leshya can be considered as an index reflecting the spiritual development and behavior modification can be brought out by a transmutation of leshya. It is assumed that the aura of living beings is also influenced by leshya and emotions. Change in leshya can, therefore, induce a corresponding change in the color
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of aura. The cause and effect relation between leshyas and colors is reciprocal. In other words, just as any change in lesyas would result in the change in the color of aura, the change in the aura by the influence of the colors of the external environment would also bring about a change in the lesya. This principle has been utilized in leshya-dhyana employing the "perception of the psychic colors" to transform the malevolent leshya into benevolent ones.
In view of its implications for behavior modification, the cause and effect relation between leshyas and colors of the aura is a subject needing further research.
5. Conclusions
Leshya mediates between the psychic and physical domains of the living beings and constitutes an important determinant of their behavior. Transformation of Leshya from inauspicious (black, blue and grey) to auspicious (red, yellow and white) ones can be brought about by practices directed towards self-realization and soul purification as recommended in the Jain philosophy and way of life. In particular, regular study of scriptures, contemplations on the natural attributes of the pure soul, practice of virtuous meditation, daily introspection of one's activities and repentance of wrong doings are very helpful in bringing out the innate goodness in human behavior. These methods will enhance development of emotional control, self-restraint, tolerance, equanimity, non-violence and compassion as natural personality traits and could be effective in meeting the present challenges. In view of the great relevance of applications of leshya transmutation for enhancing personal and social well being, comprehensive and systematic research to study the correlations between the behavioral, spiritual and scientific aspects of leshya are warranted.
6. Bibliography
Bajpai RP: Quantum coherence of biophotons and living systems. Indian J Exp Biol. 41(5):514-27 (2003).
Bharilla H.: Dharam Ke Dashalakshana (Ten Characterstics of Religion), Shri Kund Kund-Kahan Digambar Jain Tirtha Suraksha Trust, Bombay (1981).
Bhattacharya, Hari Satya: Reals in the Jaina Metaphysics, The Seth Santi Das Khetsy Charitable Trust, Bombay (1966).
Chwirot, W. B.: J. Pl. Physiol. 122, 81 (1986).
Cohen S, Popp FA: Biophoton emission of human body. Indian J Exp Biol. 41(5),440-5 (2003).
Gommatsaar- Jeev Kanda of Acharya Nemichandra Siddhantchakravarti: translated by, A.N. Upadhye and Pt. K.C. Siddhantacharya: Bharatiya Jnanpith Publication, New Delhi (1978).
Hideg E.: On the spontaneous ultraweak light-emission of plants. J Photochem Photobiol: B,18 (2-3):239-244 (1993).
Jain Shanta: Leshya Aur Manovigyan, Jain Vishawa Bharti, Ladnun (1996).
Jain S.C.: Structure and Functions of Soul in Jainism, Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi (1999).
Jain, Jyoti Prasad: Religion and Culture of the Jains, Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi (1983).
Jacobi, Hermann (1895): The Uttar dhyayana S tra; The Jaina Sutras, Part II, Translated from Prakrit. Sacred Books of the East, Vol. 45. Oxford: Oxford University Press (Repr. 1968, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass).
Jinendra Varni: Jainendra Siddhant Kosh; Bharatiya Jnanpith, Varanasi.
Kundakunda Acharya: Samayasara, Edited and Translated by Chakaravarti, A., Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi (2001).
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Kundakund Acharya: Barasa Anuvekkha (Twelve Contemplations), Edited by Dharam Raja, M. K., Kund Kund Bharti, New Delhi (2003).
Leshya Kosh: Tawadia, M.L. and Chaurdia, S.C. Editors; Publshed by Banthia, M.L., Calcutta (1966).
Mahaprajna, Yuvacharya: Abha Mandal, Adarsh Sahitya Sangh, Churu (1980).
Mahaprajna, Acharya: Preksha Dhyana: Basic Principles. Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun (2003).
Mahaprajna, Acharya: Preksha Dhyana: Perception of psychic colours. Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun (1995).
Mahaprajna, Acharya: Preksha Dhyana: Theory and Practice. Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun (2004).
Parikh, Vastupal: Jainism and the New Spirituality, Peace Publications, Toronto (2002).
Popp, F. A. et al., Recent Advances in Biophoton Research and its Applications, eds. F. A. Popp et al., World Scientific, Singapore (1992).
Rattemeyer, M. et al., Naturwissenschaften 68, 572 (1981)
Samman-Suttam: Sarva-Seva Sangh Prakashan, Varanasi (982).
Tulsi, Acharya: Transmutation of personality through preksha meditation. Jain Vishva Bharati, Ladnun (1994).
Van Wijk EP, Koch H, Bosman S, Van Wijk R.: Anatomic characterization of human ultra-weak photon emission in practitioners of transcendental meditation(TM) and control subjects. J Altern Complement Med. 12(1): 31-8 (2006).
Van Wijk EP, Van Wijk RV: Multi-site recording and spectral analysis of spontaneous photon emission from human body. Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 12(2):96-106 ((2005).
Van Wijk RV, Van Wijk EP: An introduction to human biophoton emission. Forsch Komplementarmed Klass Naturheilkd. 12(2): 77-83 (2005).
Van Wijk R, Van Wijk EP: Human biophoton emission. Recent Res Devel. Photochem Photobiol, 7:139-173 (2004).
Zaveri, J.L. and Kumar Mahendra Muni: Neuroscience and Karma, Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun (1994).
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7.0.a
Uttar dhyayana S tra Dr. Priyadarshana Jain
Introduction
The Uttar dhyayana S tra occupies an important place in Jaina canonical literature; it is a representative work of rama ika current of thought. It is important for its spiritual fervor, ethical notes, historical references, interesting stories, striking metaphors, inspiring dialogues, besides rituals and code of conduct of an aspirant treading on the path of emancipation. We find in the Uttar dhyayana S tra an in-depth analysis of almost all matters relating to life and living, particularly art of right living. It makes a thorough analysis of the internal mind, which is a storehouse of energy as well as of the external world, which is the work place of all mundane souls. In a way it is the 'G ' of the Jains, hence its importance is non-debatable. The content of the Uttar dhyayana S tra is relevant in all times and is for all people. It is a mini encyclopedia of Jaina faith and practices spread over thirty-six chapters. The depth of Jaina Philosophy and the vastness of contents are two unique features of the Uttar dhyayana S tra. Jaina Philosophy, Epistemology, Metaphysics, Ethics, Sociology, Psychology are some of the heads under which the Uttar dhyayana S tra can be studied.
The gamas (scriptures) are the sacred texts of the Jains. They are revealed by pta i.e. an omniscient considered as an authoritative personages and compiled by the ga adharas i.e. principal disciples of the fordmaker / trtha karas and practiced by ascetics [ + ma + ma). They had been handed down through an oral tradition and were documented nearly 1000 years after Lord Mah v ra's nirva (emancipation). We get four classifications of the gamas:
Classification
14 Purvas and 12 A gas.
Classification II Four An yogas. Classification III A ga Pravi a and A ga B hya Classification IV A ga, Up ga, M la and Cheda Sutras.
The Uttar dhyayana S tra is an A ga B hya M la gama and is not compiled by the ga adharas but revealed by Lord Mah vra before his nirva. M la means fundamental or root. Thus Uttar dhyayana s tra is an m la sutra for the fundamentals of Jaina beliefs and practices are discussed, it is the original revelation of Lord Mah vra and its study is a pre-requisite for the study of the Jaina canonical literature. The Uttar dhyayana s tra is written in Uttar dhyayana S tra style in which the words are less but the meanings they convey are comprehensive and in-depth. Uttara + Adhyayana, Uttara means answers or excellent or last and adhyayana means study or lessons. Thus Uttar dhyayana means the lessons revealed later or last, some chapters are in question and answer style and it also means excellent lessons. Tradition reveals that it is the last sermon of Lord Mah vra discoursed at P v pur, Bihar. It is in Ardham gadhi and it is partly in prose, mostly in poetry and some chapters are a mixture of both. The language of cranga and Sutrakt ga is comparatively archaic and so is that of Uttar dhyayana 2). It is a representative work of 600 B.C to 400 A.D. The subject matter of all the four Anuyogas, Caran nuyoga - ethics, Dharmakath nuyoga - stories, Ganit nuyoga - calculations and Dravyanuyoga - metaphysics are spread throughout Uttar dhyayana s tra.
Commentary Literature
Of all the gamas the Uttar dhyayana S tra is the most popular work and widely commented upon. After the Tattv rthas tra we find so many publications of the Uttar dhyayana S tra and it is because of the contents, parables, illustrations, simple narrative style and the in-depth analysis of the topics discussed. We have its Niryukti by Bhadrabahu II, a Crni by Gop lika Mahattarai ya, Brhadavrtti by Vad - Bet la Shantisuri, Sukhabodh k by Nemichandra Suri and around a dozen other
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commentaries (3) A glance at the 36 chapters of the Uttar dhyayana S tra gives us an idea of the variety of the contents.
Chapterisation of Uttar dhyayana S tra
Chapter
Title
Subject
Vinaya
Discipline
Parisaha
Afflictions
4 Essentials
Caturangiya Asamskruta
Akamamaraniya
Ksulaka Nirgranthiya
Irreparability of life Art of dying Young ascetic Parable of the lamb Conquering greed Jaina spirituality
Urabhriya
Awakened life
Kapilya Namipravrajya Drumapatraka Bahusruta Harikesiya Chitta Sambhuta
The learned one
12
Austerity and Yagna Bitter fruits of volition
Ikkhukariya
Renunciation
14 15
Sabhiksuka
Qualities of an ascetic
16
Brahm c rya
Celibacy
Papa sramaniya
Sanjatiya
19
Mrugaputriya Mahanirgranthiya Samudrapaliya Rathanemiya Keshi Gautama
Sinful sage Fearlessness and King Sanjaya Detachment of the body Biography of Anathi Muni Fruits of deeds done Steadiness in restraint Dialogue between the two Mother of ascetics
Pravacana mata
Yajniya
True Yajna
Samacari
Duties of an ascetic
Khalunkiya
Parable of bullocks Moksa marga gati Path of emancipation Samyaktva Parakrama Right exertion Tapomarga
Austerities Caranavidhi
Conduct
31
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Apramada sthana Karma prakriti Lesya Anagara marga J vaj va vibhakti
Causes of negligence Karma theory Colouring of the soul Asceticism
35
36
Description of soul and matter
Essence of Uttar dhyayana S tra as revealed by Mah v ra
Philosophy of Mah vra is the wisdom of the self, the inner, pure transcendental self. Metaphysics (Tattva Mim s ) enables us to develop faith in it, epistemology (In na Mim S) imparts its knowledge and ethics ( c ra Mim s ) inspires the aspirants to nurture spirituality and take to the prescribed rituals for self-realization and perfection. Faith, knowledge and practice-together they lead the aspirant on the pathway of emancipation. Ethics is the practice for highest good, through metaphysics one believes in the transcendental and knows very well the limitations of the senses, the basis of metaphysics is the Epistemology i.e. revelations of the all-knowing omniscient trtha kara/ Arhat. When the three together are blended in spirituality, they serve the purpose of enlightenment. Thus Spirituality is for the God in man and ethics is for the man in Society and Uttar dhyayana s tra serves both these purposes. Mah vra experienced this spirituality, practiced the ethics thereupon became omniscient and enlightened and lastly revealed the truth; hence his philosophy of Anek nta (multiplicity of viewpoints) and his religion of Ahi s (non violence) are universal and for all times and for all people.
The social evils like slavery, casteism, animal sacrifices etc that were there in the society at the time of Lord Mah v ra, too have been addressed in the Uttar dhyayana S tra. One can see the influence of Mah vra and the rama ika thought on the social, political and also on the philosophical schools of that time. So many verses that appear in the Uttar dhyayana S tra can be traced in the Mahabharata, Bhagavad Gt , Manusm ti, Dhammapada etc. The Uttar dhyayana S tra is a song of the soul, it teaches the art of right living as well as the art of right dying. Winternitz, while introducing the Jaina canons says that "With rare exceptions the sacred books of the Jainas are written in a dryas-dust, matter-of-fact, didactic tone, seldom instinct with that general human interest which so many Buddhist texts possess. Uttar dhyayana S tra is one of his 'rare exceptions'. As a religious poem he holds it to be the most valuable portions of the canon, its oldest nucleus belonging to the ascetic poetry of India and having its parallel in the Buddhist literature such as the Suttanipata and the Dhammapada.
Based on the contents the Uttar dhyayana S tra can be treated under the following heads
Section
Head
Chapters Monastic Teachings
1-8, 10, 11, 15-17, 27, 32, 35. Legendary Tales and Dialogues 9.12 - 14, 18-23, and 25. Dogmatic Discourses
24, 26, 28-31, 33, 34, 36.
III
Let us briefly study the contents of the Uttar dhyayana S tra under the heads given below.
Section 1, Monastic Teachings, Chapters 1-8, 10, 11, 15-17, 27, 32, 35:
Chapter 1 is a sermon on discipline (Vinaya). Vinaya is the root of all virtues. One who is disciplined alone can surrender and shine in life. Humility is a virtue of the wise and arrogance is the root of evil.
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An arrogant disciple is no good for the society. The Uttar dhyayana S tra gives two similes to drive home the significance of humility and discipline. Just as a bitch with rotten ears is shunned from all places, an undisciplined arrogant soul suffers endlessly; and just as a pig shuns the rice grains and feeds itself on excreta, the foolish disciple gives up the teachings of the wise and is a lost case for himself, for the teacher and for society. The discipline of an ascetic who has renounced all mundane bondages is enumerated along with the fruit of the discipline. The spiritual message in Uttar dhyayana S tra is summarized in verse 15 and 16. It is said that it is better to conquer oneself rather than be conquered by others. One who does so will be happy in this world and in the next. One ought to conquer oneself by self-restraint and austere practices instead of being controlled by others.
Chapter Il gives the details of the 22 afflictions faced by an ascetic during the course of this spiritual journey
Chapter III teaches time management and describes the four difficult requisites:
O o o o
Human birth with humanitarian qualities like compassion etc. Opportunity to hear the true sermons Steadfast faith in truth Exertion in self-restraint
The commentary on the Uttar dhyayana S tra informs that due to the following reasons one is not able to have right knowledge: laziness, delusion, disobedience, pride, anger, ignorance, tension, pleasure, gambling, etc. It is said that rational faith is difficult to acquire and it abides in a straightforward soul [6]
Chapter IV inspires us to be awakened and alert in life. Life is ephemeral and the time that passes away can never be got again, hence do not be negligent even for a while reminds the 10th chapter. Money, riches, kith and kin none can save the soul from old age, disease and death. One who conquers his desires can be freed from all miseries.
Chapter V teaches the art of dying and discusses in detail the death of a wise man and that of a fool. Death is inevitable and the brave face it with calm and poise. Chapter VI informs that ignorance is bondage and the ignorant are subject to pain and suffering in the web of transmigration. The wise give up the ten types of external possessions and fourteen types of internal possessions. The purpose of human life is to practice self-restraint in order to annihilate the karmas and to purify oneself. A self-realized ascetic lives like a bird not possessing anything and not saying anything for the morrow. He searches for the truth all by himself and nurtures friendliness towards all creatures 17. This has been revealed by all knowing all-seeing Arhat, Jn taputra Lord Mah vra (8)
Chapter VII reveals the philosophy of Mah v ra through parables. Altogether four parables appear in this chapter and there are around 50 parables in the whole of Uttar dhyayana S tra that makes the reading interesting. The parable of the lamb informs us that as a lamb is fed with rice and green grass only to be slaughtered for a feast, so the deluded people feed themselves on worldly pleasures to suffer the pangs of hell. Gth 7.6 informs us the causes of hell as attachment, taking to nonvegetarian food intense violence and having immense possessions. Just as a fool loses a thousand gold coins for a penny so also the deluded souls lose this precious human birth for mundane pleasures. Just as a king eats the forbidden mango and loses his kingdom so also the ignorant souls fall prey to sense pleasures and lose this precious life. The fourth parable is of three traders who respectively lost, retained and increased their capital. The one who loses the capital of human life symbolizes the evil and sinful people, who land in hell. The one who retains it is the man who is virtuous but not spiritually inclined. Such a person retains his human form in the next birth. The third trader who multiplies his capital symbolizes the man who is noble and spiritual and rises to higher forms of existence. This illustration of three traders has a parallel in the biblical story of the talent and pound (book of Mathews 25, 14-30, Luke 19, 11-26)
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Chapter VIII is of Kapila Kevalin and deals with the evils of worldly life and advises the spiritual aspirants to shun it. Evils of causing injury to life, greed and indulgence in women are particularly elaborated. It says greed increases with every want . The story of how greed was conquered by Kapila is told in the commentary literature as a prelude for this chapter. It is said that when Kapila recited this chapter for 500 thieves, all of them were transformed and later on renounced the world for spiritual perfection. He sang to them that contentment, self-restraint, renunciation and nonviolence are the way to happiness (11]
Chapter X is titled Dummapattayam ie 'leaf of a tree and is in the form of address by Mah vra to Gautama. There are 37 verses in this chapter and Lord Mah v ra gives the admonition of not to be non-vigilant even for a while, 36 times. When Gautama ga adhara sees that he is not being enlightened, Lord Mah vra reveals to him that it is due to attachment for Him, hence in this context explains to him the impediments for perfection and motivates him to give up non-vigilance. Lord Mah v ra says that life is ephemeral like the leaf of a tree and like a dewdrop and there are so many obstacles. It is indeed difficult to get a human birth and difficult it is to be born in a noble family where you get a chance to know yourself. Conquer yourself and realize your pure self. Having got this precious human birth one must exercise complete vigilance and should not be careless even for a while. The chapter can be summarized as:
'O! Children of immortality! Realize, arise and liberate yourself
Your destination is far off, The path is full of obstacles, The resources are limited,
And so is time, hence Be not negligent even for a while.
-Said Mah vra.
Chapter XI is reverence to the Learned and it describes the characteristics of undisciplined and disciplined aspirants. Verse 11.3 informs that due to pride, anger, carelessness, disease and laziness one cannot acquire knowledge. People with the following eight qualities are worthy of acquiring knowledge. Not laughing too much, one with subdued senses, not revealing others' secrets, being chaste, not having a tainted character, not indulging in relishing tasty food, not having a short temper and one who has immense love for truth 12), such people alone can learn and absorb the teachings of the wise and holy. Likewise the text enumerates the 14 qualities of an undisciplined ascetic who is not worthy of learning and nirv a 13 and 15 qualities of a disciplined ascetic worthy of nirv a 14.
Chapter XV is titled Sabhikkhu, i.e. 'He is a true ascetic and it enumerates the virtues of a true ascetic. A Bhik u is one who is devoted to the contemplation of the self, detached, self-restrained, equanimity, spiritually wise and materially selfless, dispassionate, bears all afflictions patiently, does not expect anything from anybody, eats less than required and is committed to the practice of the three jewels. Chapter XVI is related to the practice of chastity. Chapter XVII is in contrast with Chapter XV for it enumerates the qualities of a fake and hypocritical monk who is idle, indolent and least interested in spiritual welfare. Again chapter XXVII too discusses the above theme of Papa ramana and with the illustration of the wicked bullocks informs the readers of the bitterness faced by a teacher whose disciples are arrogant, lazy and undisciplined.
Chapter XXXII titled Pramadasthana enumerates the things one should be careful about and that he must uproot all causes of attachments (15) One, who has acquired the all-knowing, supreme knowledge, has conquered ignorance, delusion, attachment and hatred, alone reaches mok a and enjoys unobstructed happiness and bliss 16. Just as a hen is born from an egg and an egg from a hen, so also delusion springs from desire and desire from delusion!17! The seeds of karma are attachment and hatred and it springs from delusion and is the cause of birth and death and verily both birth and death are termed as misery 18). Hence there is no pain for one who has no delusion,
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no delusion for one who has no desire, no desire for one who is not greedy and no greed for one who possesses nothing[19]. The same can be revealed as follows:
Question
What is misery?
What is the cause of birth and death? Karmas
What are the seeds of Karma?
What causes Karma?
Answer
Birth and Death
Attachment and aversion
Delusion
Sensual pleasures and other worldly temptations allure the soul and are the root cause of delusion and bondage. The chapter reveals that a firefly meets with death due to its attraction for light, a deer due to the temptation of sound, a snake is trapped due to its attraction for smell, a fish is hooked due to the attraction for taste, a buffalo meets with death due to its liking for touch, an elephant is trapped due to its attraction for sexual pleasure. Attraction for one sensual pleasure or the other becomes the cause of misery for each creature, what then to say of man who leads a beastly life absorbed in sensual and sexual pleasures. The verses reveal that the senses and the mind are not the cause of bondage and suffering but the attitude of the deluded soul is the cause of bondage, and there is no fear for one who is not deluded and is a vitar g i.e. conqueror of attachment (and hatred)
Chapter XXXV gives a glimpse of the life of a rama a who is totally committed to self-restraint, detachment and renunciation. The last verse of this chapter heralds that one who is detached, devoid of pride, is a vitar g i.e. conqueror of attachment and for whom the influx of karma has been arrested, and in him manifests Kevalajñana i.e. omniscience and he alone finally attains nirv a.
Section II, Legendary Tales and Dialogues, Chapters 9, 12-14, 18-23, 25:
It is held by critics that this portion constitutes the earliest nucleus of the Uttarjjhayana. Some of these legends have their parallels in the Buddhist J takas. They have also intersections with the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Therefore Winternitz ascribes this portion to the common heritage of ancient Indian Ascetic Poetry [21]
Chapter IX is a brief biography of Nami R ja i who was a self-enlightened soul (pratyeka Buddha). He ruled over Mithil before renouncing the world. Indra appeared before him disguised as a Brahmin priest and and put before him ten challenging questions for which Nami gave profound spiritual answers. Their conversation throws light on the Var rama Dharma of the Br hma ika tradition, the sacrificial practices and social order at that time besides the spiritual message of the ancient rama ika tradition which is universally relevant and is an eternal message for all spiritual aspirants. The conversation is allegorical, the questions are practical and the answers are inspiring and noteworthy.
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Chapter XII is about an outcaste Harike who rose in spiritual excellence due to austerities and righteous conduct. rama a conduct signifies the greatest of sacrifices (Yajña). Here austerities are the fire, the soul is the fire place, converging thought, word and action is the ladle for pouring oblations and one's accumulated karmas are the oblations to be thrown into the sacrificial fire and burnt. This sacrifice is really efficient in bringing about liberation and not the material one which involves injury to life[22]. The ceremonial sacrifices of the Vedic tradition are condemned and this legendary tale is important for censuring and challenging casteism and sacrifices and for giving spiritual interpretation of the same which is non-violence in thought, word and deed.
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Chapter XIII tells us the story of the lives of Citta and Sambhuta. The story is found under the same title in the J taka stories (No. 498). The story supports the concept of karma and rebirth and the futility of casteism for spiritual welfare is again showcased.
Chapter XIV is titled I uk rya in which the renunciation of six people of a place called I uk ra is told. It is narrated how the king, the queen, the priest and his wife are inspired by the latter's two sons. The sons tell their Brahmin parents that no son can redeem the parents for everybody is responsible for his deeds. Nobody can be saved by Study of the Vedas or feeding Brahmins in a ceremonial sacrifice. They lead the doer of false actions from darkness to more darkness. Similarities of this tale can be seen in the J taka (509) on one hand and antiparvan (175/217) on the other.
Chapter XVIII tells us about the renunciation of a king called Sanjaya. The king was inspired by a monk in a forest who gives him a sermon on the sin of killing and on the ephemeral nature of life and on the insignificance of power and possession 23. The chapter also gives a list of twenty sovereign monarchs who renounced the world in spite of enjoying such reputed sovereignty. The four kinds of different philosophical schools too are enumerated here and the superiority of the Nirgrantha, Anek ta order is established. It also declares the practice of non-violence superior to all world orders.
Chapter XIX is about the renunciation of the Son of Mg i.e. Mg putra which reveals that the pleasures of life are like sweet poison, dreadful and painful ultimately. One who embarks on a long journey without sufficient stuff for the way, comes to grief, so does a person who lives without righteousness. The chapter also says that, 'Birth and old age are miserable, so are the diseases and death, the world is full of miseries, where all living beings experience pain 24. Verse 19.5 mentions about the 18,000- ile ga chariot and other virtues of an ascetic. Just as one cannot fill a bag with air and one can't weigh Mt. Meru in a balance, crossing the ocean by oneself is difficult, so is restraint difficult 125. The chapter also enumerates the kinds of tortures afflicted in hell and inspires one and all to give up the Bhoga M rga and tread on the Mok a Mrga.
Chapter XX is a beautiful chapter and reveals a brief life history of Anathi Muni, a great spiritual saint who inspired renika Bimbis ra to become a devoted follower of Mah vra. Jaina literature has scores of references of King renika and it was revealed by Lord Mah vra later on that King renika is going to be the first fordmaker of the forthcoming ascending era (Utsarpi i K la). The narrative reveals the shelterless nature of the world and that all are An tha ie shelterless in this world. Neither riches nor kith and kin can save a person from old age, disease and death. Verse 37 of this chapter reveals that the soul is the doer and enjoyer of its own karmas. When the soul treads on the right path it is its friend and when it treads on the wrong path it is its own foe.
Chapter XXI tells us about a lay and handsome householder Samudrap la, who saw a criminal being taken for execution and was inspired to search the secrets of birth and death, of reward and punishment. Through his story the Uttar dhyayana preaches the essence of karma theory. As you Sow, so you reap, is a natural universal law, and none can escape this law except those who have transcended the inferior self and become the supreme selves. The purpose of this precious and auspicious human life is to purify oneself and to free oneself from karmas, and the first step towards this is to know the nature of 18 fold sins and renounce them, if not minimize them to the extent possible. The chapter gives an insight into the austere and spiritual life of Samudrap la who ultimately destroyed all karmas and became an Arhat.
Chapter XXII is another beautiful narrative which tells us about the legendary Ari anemi, the 22nd Tirthankara, Raj mati his eternal lover and his brother Rathanemi. It is said that both Ari anemi and Raj mati had been man and wife for the past nine births, but in this birth Neminatha renounced the world to seek enlightenment, but Raj mati too followed his footsteps and attained Nirv na before him. The chapter also tells us about the compassionate nature of Ari anemi and his love for animals. It also tells us about his brother Rathanemi who was tempted by the worldly pleasures even though he had embraced asceticism; later he was cautioned by Raj mati and saved from sin. The commentary gives information about the Yadava clan, K a V sudeva and others.
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Chapter XXIII is a dialogue between Ke i and Gautama and is important for its historical content. Ke i was a follower of the Pr va order and Gautama was the first disciple of Lord Mah vra. The two great leaders met and discussed the differences of Caturyama Dharma of Pr va and the five Mahavrata order of Mah vra besides scores of philosophical, religious and spiritual details. Ke i enquired and Gautama replied and the people listened with devotion and faith and rejoiced. Ultimately Ke i accepted the five vows and became a follower of Lord Mah vra. During the conversation Gautama clarifies the little doubts of Ke i and enlightens him of the spiritual path of the Trthankaras, which is pure, logical, practical, eternal, universal and utmost simple.
Chapter XXV highlights the rama ika culture and the Br hma ika culture and establishes the supremacy of spirituality over Vedic rituals, non-violence over violence, wisdom over ignorance, equanimity over incoherent practices and austerities over external appearances. In the city of Varanasi, Jayagho a enlightens his brother Vijayagho a about the true nature of spiritual yajña and the futility of animal sacrifices and ceremonial practices. Verses 31 and 32 inform us: 'Not by Tonsurebut by Equanimity one becomes a rama a, not by Chanting of Om, but by Celibacy one is a Br hma a, not by staying in a Forest but by Wisdom one becomes a Muni, not by external Appearances but by Austeritiesone becomes a T pas.' The spiritual and practical meanings of Yajña, M hana, rama a, Muni, Br hma a, K atriya etc are revealed. The dreadfulness of the world, sorrows of birth and death, karmas as the cause of transmigration are preached and the message of spirituality, detachment, contentment, self-restraint, significance of vows, righteousness etc is imparted for one and all with loving kindness.
Section III, Dogmatic Discourses, Chapters 24, 26, 28-31, 33, 34, 36:
Section III discusses the dogmatic discourses revealed in chapter 24, 26, 28-31, 33, 34 and 36. Although other lessons also contain dogmatic discourses they were interwoven with narratives and often monastic details are predominant. Chapter II, which narrates the twenty-two afflictions can be included in both sections of monastic teachings and dogmatic discourses besides Chapter XXIV, which elaborates the 5 fold samiti i.e. regulatory practices and the three fold guptis i.e. restraints. The two together make up the spiritual and physical discipline of an ascetic. The former guides the ascetic's conduct in society and the latter teaches him how to master oneself. The eight together are titled 'Pravacana-Mt, the mother of all teachings. Right Conduct is stressed and elaborated in this chapter whereas the other chapters of this section are important for Right Knowledge and Right Faith.
Dr. Poddar remarks, 'Historians of literature and critics of the Uttarajjhaya a hold the opinion that these pieces are of comparatively recent origin. Dogmatisms must have been a later formulation of the religious renaissance that gave birth to the Ardham gadh (and also Pali) religious literature, its first preferences naturally being religious teachings through discourses and appropriate narratives and not stuffing the audience with dogmatism. Therefore, the opinion of the historians and the critics seems plausible. [26]
Chapter XXVI is titled sam cr and reveals rules and regulations of an ascetic order. Besides ten points of code of conduct an ascetic should beginning with sunrise divide his day into four parts. The first part is for scriptural study, the second for meditation, the third for collecting alms and the fourth again for scriptural study. Likewise in the four parts of the night beginning from sunset he should study, meditate, and sleep then study in the fourth again. He should regularly practice penitential retreat (pratik ma a), expiation (pr ya citta), examination of his belongings (pratilekhan) etc.
Chapter XXVIII titled Mok a M rga gati elaborates Right Austerity on the path of emancipation as well as the constituents of Right Knowledge, Right Faith and Right Conduct. The significance of each and a fine blend of all are important for emancipation. Five types of knowledge, six substances (dravyas), nine fundamentals (tattvas), description of right faith, its characteristics, its types, its significance and its eight limbs, five kinds of conduct are discussed in detail.
Chapter XIII is titled Tapom rga and discusses in detail the twelve-fold austerities. Through Tapas i.e. austerities one can destroy the karmas accumulated over crores (millions) of births [27]. The
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divisions and sub-divisions of the six-fold eternal austerities and six-fold internal austerities are enumerated.
Chapter XXIX is Samyaktva Par krama and contains 73 questions and answers on Right Exertion. The chapter is very important for understanding right exertion and illustrates the fruit of each act of exertion enumerated and their spiritual significance. The soul has been exerting since time immemorial but it has always been in the wrong direction. This chapter gives minute details of exerting in the right direction with right understanding and right faith.
Chapter XXXI is Cara avidhi and is like a mini encyclopedia of Right Conduct. Beginning with one to number thirty three it enumerates the strengths and the impediments on the path of emancipation as follows, 1 kind of non-restraint, 2 types of bondages, 3 kinds of punishments etc, 4 kinds of contemplations etc, 5-fold passions etc., 6-fold life forms etc., 7 types of fears etc., 8 kinds of pride, 9-fold celibacy, 10-fold virtues, 11-fold advanced spiritual practices of a householder, 12-fold advanced spiritual practices of an ascetic, 13 kinds of activities, 14 kinds of life forms, 15 kinds of evil gods, 16 chapters of Samay y nga, 17 types of non-restraint, 18-fold celibacy, 19 chapters of Jn tadharma kath, 20 places of disturbances, 21 defilements, 22 afflictions, 23 remaining chapters of Sutrak tanga, 24 kinds of celestial beings, 25 contemplations of five Mah vratas, 26 chapters of three agamas viz Da asrutaskandha, Brhatkalpa and Vyavahara Sutra, 27 qualities of an ascetic, 28 chapters of crA ga, 29 subjects of false knowledge, 30 places of delusion producing karma, 31 qualities of Siddhas, 32 points on Yoga and 33 disrespects are mentioned. Notes on these are spread in different gamas particularly Samay y nga, va yaka, etc.
Chapter XXXIII is an exposition of the eight-fold karma theory with its multifold divisions (148). The concept of karma has been thoroughly analyzed and enumerated with the minutest details in Jaina canonical literature and also in post canonical literature and Digambara literature. Knowledge and right understanding of the karma theory inspires one to be responsible and to exert for self-realization and purification without delay. The Arihantas and Siddhas serve as role models and inspire the aspirants to discover and tap the latent potential of Godhood.
Chapter XXXIV elucidates the six kinds of le y s under eleven heads. Le y s are painting thoughts or colouring the soul in transmigration. Passions and vibrations of mind, body and speech build the aura of every individual. Colour taste, smell, touch etc. of each le y is cited by various similes. Black le y (K a) is associated with violence, cruelty and lack of restraint: blue (Nila) with jealousy, anger, ignorance, deceit and greed: grey (Kapota) with crookedness, hypocrisy and impoliteness; red (Tejo) with humility, calmness, righteousness; yellow (Padma) with gradual disappearance of passions such as anger, conceit, deceit and greed 28), white (ukla) with purity, spotlessness, equanimity and passionless state.
Chapter XXXVI is about living and non-living and is the longest of all the chapters containing 268 verses. It begins with a mention of the universe (Loka) and its six constituents, viz principle of motion (Dharm stik ya), principle of rest (Adharm stik ya), space (Ak s stik ya), time (Kala), matter (Pudgal stikaya) and living beings (Jiv stik ya) and goes to elaborate each one in detail. The discussion on non-living and matter begins with verse 10 and ends with verse 47 and the elaboration on living things begin with verse 48 and ends with 249. The characteristics of liberated and bonded beings are enumerated at great length. The 249th verse says that knowing the nature of living and non-living, one must logically understand them from different aspects and exercise self-restraint. Thus progressing from right knowledge, one is advised to have faith in the above revelations and take to rational conduct in order to realize and release oneself. The chapter concludes with a note on Sallekhan i.e. the art of dying. It discusses the contemplations associated with death that are to be nurtured to make death meaningful and life successful.
The last verse of this chapter and of the Uttar dhyayana S tra records that thus the enlightened allknowing omniscient of the Jñ tra van a expounded the above teachings for the welfare of all living beings so that they may all accomplish and manifest their true potential and achieve eternal happiness and bliss. Thus we see that Jainism starts with a pessimistic note, progresses through
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optimism and culminates in pragmatism. The Uttar dhyayana S tra gives a comprehensive picture of Jaina asceticism and ramanika culture, besides Jaina spirituality, beliefs and practices. It is indeed a great work of Ardham gadhi Pr krata and is an immortal song of the soul.
References:
[1] Uttarajjhayan ni - Introduction by Mahapraj a
[2] An Introduction to Uttarajjhayana by R.P. Poddar
[3] Uttarajjhayan ni - Introduction by Mahapraj a
[4] An Introduction to Uttarajjhayana by R.P. Poddar [5] Uttar dhyayana S tra 3.1
[6] Ibid 3.9, 12
[7] Ibid 6.2
[8] An Introduction to Uttar dhyayana S tra. Pg.23.
[9] Brahad loyana.
[10] Uttar dhyayana S tra 8.17
[11] Uttar dhyayana S tra Vol.I by Hastimalji Maharaj Pg. 269.
[12] Uttar dhyayana S tra 11.4,5
[13] Ibid 11.6-9
[14] Ibid 11-10-13
[15] Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg.30.
[16] Uttar dhyayana S tra 32.2
[17] Ibid 32.6
[18] Ibid 32.7
[19] Ibid 32.8
[20] Ibid 32, 21.
[21] Introduction to Uttarjjhayana Pg. 34
[22] Ibid Pg 39-40
[23] Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg.57.
[24] Uttar dhyayana S tra 19.15
[25] Ibid 19. 40-42.
[26] Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg.66.
[27] Uttar dhyayana S tra 30.6
[28] Uttar dhyayana S tra and An Introduction to Uttarajjhayana Pg 72-73
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7.0.b
Ratnakara dar vak c ra is a work of crya Samantabhadra of about second third c.A.D. It is basically a code of conduct prescribed traditionally to a householder. The correct definition of Dharma has been provided in the Text. In fact, the author showed a path as to how the householder should lead a life. This is the unique feature of this text as it is exclusively devoted to the conduct of householders only. Accordingly Ratnakara dar vak c ra is also called Up sak dhyayana. It consists of 150 verses in Sanskrit and is divided in five chapters as follows:
Chapter
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ratna Kara dar vak c ra
Prof. Bhagchandra Jain
5.
Subject
Right belief /samyakdar ana
Right knowledge
Right conduct
Sik vratas or vows to enhance the effectiveness of minor vows described in chapter 3.
Sallekhan and eleven stages of householder's stages of spiritual purification.
Prabh candra in Sanskrit wrote its most prominent commentary and the same had been translated in Hindi by Dr Panna Lal. A number of other commentaries, like by Sadasukh Lal etc are also popular amongst Jain households who study it literally on a daily basis and repeatedly. There is also a Kannada commentary where about 50 verses from other sources are included. The text is also there divided into seven chapters.
The background of the Ratnakara dar vak c ra is to foster understanding of religion in perspective of humanistic approach. Religion is the main source of encouragement to all who share the spirituality of enlightened teachers and their vision of humanity as one global family and the earth as one homeland. This humanitarian concept created awareness in the society particularly the under privileged and down trodden groups or classes for protection and development.
I shall highlight the important features of Jainism in general and the principles of human life in particular along with its positive contribution to human life concerned with the comprehension of rich heritage of social, cultural, religious, spiritual and human values in the light of Ratnakara da r vak c ra of c rya Samantabhadra. Its antiquity, esoteric philosophy and spirituality, ritualistic aspects in practice, literature, language and culture will manifest its contribution to the human values. Jainism is therefore called rama ism. Samantabhadra nicely dealt with the principle of humanity and human rights in the Ratnakara dar vak c ra on the basis of old Jain tradition. Apparently the works of c rya Kundakunda and Um sw mi have affected his thinking.
Meaning of rama ism
Samantabhadra used the word rama a in the Ratnakara dar vak c ra. Accordingly, we can state that Jainism is one of the most ancient religions based on non-violent and humanitarian approach towards all beings. It is an indigenous religion originated and developed on Indian soil with a profound progressive attitude and judicial understanding and philosophical indispensable necessities of the time. Jinas and Trtha karas who conquered the senses and worldly desires and attained the perfect knowledge and eternal happiness through observing the right asceticism for welfare of all animate. They are the builders of the ford, which leads across the ocean of suffering. They taught moral causation stating that have a humanitarian attitude and exhaust the bad actions of past by severe practices and asceticism. The only persons who can be helpful advisors in this sphere are those who have reached to a stage of complete moral perfection. Their religion is called Jainism and its followers are called Jains. In early period they were called rama as (Ascetics) and their tradition is named as rama ika tradition.
Sama a which means- equanimity, self-control, and rama a means strive. There is no spiritual improvement without persistent and sincere efforts in the right direction. This has been mentioned in the P li Tripi aka and its commentaries at length. Jain asceticism is not a self-torturing religion, but it
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is the religion of penance rested on right faith, right knowledge and right conduct (Ratnatraya) which is the path of purification and emancipation from all karmas .The etymology of word "Tapa" itself means self-mortification through right actions. Non-violence along with chastity was its fundamental characteristic based on asceticism from the very start. It is not only associated with T rtha kara Mah vra or Niga tha N taputta but his predecessors Pr van tha and abhadeva also.
The term "Jainism" itself connotes the meaning of asceticism. It is derived from "Jina" meaning conqueror of the pleasures of senses, the spiritual victor, and free from all flaws; and the followers of Jina are called Jains. In fact, Jainism has been in existence as an independent religion even before Vedic religion came to India. It also co-existed with Vedic religion and Buddhism. Therefore, its interaction between them finds ample references to in the early literature like gveda, Atharvaveda, Samhit s, Upani ads, Pur as and P li, Pr krat and Buddhist Sa skrat, literature. c rya Samantabhadra prescribed the definition of and rama a in his work in the verse No.3. 20
Madhyam samadh ty gai sah A au mulag n h rgrahi
Jainism as a Religion
Jainism is a dharma, synonymous with English word religion, as religion is to impose binding duties and required observances on its adherents. Hundreds of definitions of dharma and religion have been made in different perspectives. I need not go into them. As regards the Jain tradition, it has two broad meanings: one is generic in usage and the other, technical and specific to the use of the term. Dharma in technical sense is the basis for dynamism in life that helps in our movement or motion. It is opposed to adharma, stillness or rest. No other system of thought in India has conceived these two terms in such a fashion as in Jain system. It is possible that these two terms may signify the moral connotations of life with its movement and death.
vratapa cakam.
rama ottam. RKSC 3.20
The generic term dharma has two levels of meaning: one is metaphysical and the other one is ethical and moral. All the definitions are related to each other with different aspects. Kundakunda, for instance, defined the dharma in several ways: Vatth s h vo dhammo;, Rayannatayam ca dhammo, Carittam khal dhammo, kham didasaviho hh vo dhammo and so on. These definitions are associated with right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, which are called Ratnatraya. The Ratnatrayas constitute together the path of emancipation from all karmas or attaining Mok a. The religion cannot be observed without Ratnatraya. Here the observation of ten kinds of religion becomes essential in Jain tradition namely: K am (forbearance), M rdava (humility), rjava (uprightness), Satya (truthfulness), auca (desirelessness), Sa yama (self-discipline), Tapa (selfmortification), Ty ga (renunciation), Aki canya (poverty), and B hm c rya (celibacy) (Tattv rthas tra, 9.6; Th na ga, 10.16 etc.).
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This is the generic meaning of Dharma indicating the metaphysical, ethical and moral attitude to human values standpoint (Ni cayanaya). Any one could achieve this goal by one's own efforts. Nonpossession, non-violence and vegetarianism have their roots in such efforts. This is the humanistic approach to the goal of life. The religion in Jain rama a cultural system is of two types: one is pertaining to individual, and the other one is concerned with the society. Individualistic religion is meant for spiritual aggrandizement and pleasure of temporal and next world of all beings whereas the other one confines to the prosperity of the society or community for mundane gratification and nation as well. It is of view that the caste system depends on one's deeds (Kamma aj ti) and not on birth. Maitri friendship), Kar (compassion), M dit or Pramoda (sympathetic joy), and Madhyasthabh va (impartiality) are the cultivation of the social emotions. Samantabhadra gives the actual meaning of Religion in the following verse:
De ay mi sam c na Sams rad kkhata
dharma karmanibarha am.
sattv n yo dharaty ttame s khe. RKSC Verse 2
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Ecology and Spirituality
Samantabhadra during his deliberation to householder prescribed a number of rules, which are prone to ecology. The observence of A vratas is the observation of ecology. The environmental protection in modern times of industrialization became a serious concern. The indiscriminate exploitation of natural resources is increasing day by day. The global ecological crisis in fact cannot be solved until spiritual relationship is established between humanity as the whole and its natural environment. Jainism has been staunch protector of nature since inception of the Jain faith. The religion of nature, Jainism paves the way to understanding nature's utility and the essential nature of plants, worms, animals, and all sorts of creatures that have their own importance for maintaining ecological balance. Jainism therefore says that the function of souls is to help one another (Parasparopagraho Jv nm, Tattv rthas tra, 5.21). This principle is connected to the entire life system. It includes humans and other creatures. The plant, animal, and human populations are merely part of the landscape. For Jainism, the landscape is protection of lives, breathes and merits.
Jain ecology is based on spirituality and equality. Each life form, plant, or animal, has an inherent worth and each must be respected. Within Jainism, the term for ecology might be Sarvodayavada, or the concern for up-lift of all life forms, as articulated by Samantabhadra (third c. A. D. in the Yuktyan sana, Verse 62). Jinasena explained the same view of social equality by saying that the entire human world is one because of the interconnectedness of different aspects of the human community (Man yajatirekaiva, dip a, 38.45). Seeing other people as connected with oneself develops the spiritual perspective through which all life takes on sanctity that can and must be protected by observing the principles of ecology. The real task of religion consists in removing bitterness between people, between races, between religions, and between nations. That nature of religion has been discussed in Jain scriptures in various ways in the form of Non-violence (Ah s ). That Ah s can be summarized: Aspire for yourself. Do not aspire for others. This is the fundamental principle of Jainism (Sama a S ttam, G th , 24). Samantabhadra prescribed the eight types of Mulag as (fundamental virtues) for the householders, which are quite relevant to the protection of ecological balance:
Madhyam samadh ty gai sah vratapa cakam. A au mulag n h rgrahi rama ottam .
RKSC 3.20
Jainism holds that the entire world, including plants, trees, birds, animals, water, and so forth, is possessed of life. It is our prime duty to protect all this. We are to treat others, as we want to be treated, and this refers not only to other people but also to the entirety of our planet. One is therefore expected to respect the land and its natural beauty. Jainism does so philosophically by accepting the principle of the interdependent existence of nature and animals.
Ecology sees the individual as interconnected with both nature and the fabric of society. Ecological theory considers the community the supra-organism, the complex social organism. Therefore, the Jain tradition instructs the Jain laity to keep the community very pure and pious. They are supposed not to indulge in obnoxious habits (Vyasanas), which make life disastrous. A Jain should be a strict vegetarian. He should not indulge in professions related to violence, such as dealing in weapons. Jain laymen also practice the twelve types of vratas, which assist us in eliminating corruption from society and in purifying ourselves in the process.
Nonviolence, the humanistic element is based on the principles of equality and equanimity as applied in society. Nonviolence still may allow for the theory of caste, but one based on one's own deeds and not on one's birth. Jainism tries to shape our attitude toward nature by prescribing humane and nonviolent approaches to everyday behavior. Jainism inspired its followers to safeguard what in contemporary discourse would be called the ecological perspective. Jains even today practice these principles and religious traditions prescribed for the protection of nature. Through its philosophy, its ascetic practices, and in its narrative arts and architecture, Jainism and its leaders have made efforts to create the society dedicated to love for all creatures.
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In the pursuit of truth, Anek ntav da is the foremost important theory of Jainism, which pacifies the internal clashes of individual and society at national and international level. Truth is not any man's monopoly. It is universal and objective. The Jain philosophers and the seers from times immemorial have striven to reach the highest truth through the means of reason and intuition. It is not the only philosophical conception but it is an instrument to protect the human rites of personal liberty and social justice. Anek ntav da pacifies the gulf of conceptual conflicts and strives to establish the peaceful atmosphere at even global level.
Jain Social Ethics There have been a number of conflicts across the world due to this or that reason. Human beings have known terror since the time immemorial. Lightening, floods, earthquakes, social injustice, poverty, inhuman treatment, religious mania and so on caused terror. If one follows the way of humanity and spirituality, the terrorism will never arise. The man discovered on one hand the true nature of the elements and he evolved arrangements on the other hand to protect himself against such terror. The observation of true nature of religion and spirituality is one of the non-violent ways and means, which may solve the basic social problems. Jainism did it through its social observations. The ik vratas of Jain tradition keeps one to observe the social responsibility.
Sa yama or self-restraint is the basis of Jain ethics. It is seen in the various vows, disciplines, codes of conduct and other doctrines propounded by Jain c ryas. Modesty, discipline, compassion, charity and other such good qualities are essence of Jainism and Jainism is to have a Right faith (Samyagdar ana) as its foundation. Right faith means right vision. Self-confidence, faith, trust and fidelity are its ingredients. Without realizing the self, it is aimless wandering in the undiscovered caves of fallacious reasoning.
The Fundamental Human Rights and Jainism Jainism observed the fundamental human rites by observing the vows of householder's life. This aspect may be divided into three stages. The first is the commencement stage termed as P kika
r vaka and the second one is the superior stage termed as Nai thika rvaka. The third is the S dhakar vaka who observes the Sallekhan at the time of death.
The Householder (r vaka or ramanop saka) is one who listens the Dharma with full faith from
c ryas and Parame this. He is one whose sins flow away from him (ravanti yasya p p ni) on hearing these sermons. He is also called g ri or Sg ri because he stays in the house. He prepares himself gradually and steadily to renounce the world with right faith by observing the rules prescribed and then fulfils the responsibilities for the welfare of the family, ascetics, society, nation and mankind. The Up sakadaga, Sr vakapraj apti, Ratnakara dar vak c ra, Vasunandi
r vak c ra, Sg radharm mrita, and so many other Jain Texts explain these characteristics of laity.
Some of the important attributes of the householder may be mentioned as follows:- observation of non-violence, compassion, legitimate earning, hospitality, refraining from unnecessary criticism of Government, keeping good accompany, paying respect to parents, service of people, observing religious preaching, firm in conduct, right character, gratefulness, generosity, being afraid of sin, meditation, celibacy, no food at night, refusal of food with life, giving up possessions, honesty, appreciating conduct, life and activities of spiritually advanced people, avoiding expenditures exceeding income and so on. Such rules make life pleasant. These attributes consider the ecology and indispensable part of spirituality and life as well. Possessed of such qualities the votary will reform not only himself but also his society. The spiritual status of the Householder is decided on his performance as jaghanya (lower), madhyama (middle), and utkra a (best) or P kika, Nai thika and S dhaka. These are the different categories of religious observation, which protect the human rites of the individual liberty and social responsibilities. Of these the observance of the duties of P kika r vaka keeps more importance in terms of Human Rights.
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i) P k ikar vaka
The observance of P k ikar vaka is in fact a Jain way of life. Accordingly, P k ikar vaka is he who has an inclination (P k a) towards Ah s. This is the first spiritual status of the Jain laity in which he first takes the vow with right faith not to eat meat, not to drink alcohol or wine and not to relish honey or any of the five kinds of figs containing multiple souls. These are called basic virtues. Then he desists from injury, falsehood, stealing, unchastely, and attachment to wealth. The P k ika r vaka also takes the vow not to indulge in seven types of obnoxious habits (Vyasanas) or habits resulting in sins, which make the life disastrous. They are gambling and betting, meat-eating, alcoholic drink, prostitution, hunting, stealing, and sexual intercourse with another's wife or husband. These are the addictions, which make a hell of an addict's life. Addiction is the deep muddy pit. They create social disturbances, fear and destruction. Religion diverts their destructive power to the constructive side. The ordinary Jain layman should also not indulge in violence-based professions.
dhara enumerated fifteen types of such professions in the S g radharm mrita (v.21-23): 1) livelihood from charcoal, 2) livelihood from destroying plants, 3) livelihood from carts, 4) livelihood from transport fees, 5) livelihood from hewing and digging, 6) trade in animal by-products, 7) trade in lac and similar substances, 8) trade in alcohol and forbidden foodstuffs, 9) trade in men and land animals, 10) trade in destructive/poisonous articles, 11) work involving milling, 12)work involving mutilation, 13) work involving the use of fire, 14) work involving the use of water, and 15) work involving breeding and rearing.
The legitimate earning sources according to Jinasena are agriculture (K i), study, teaching and clerical occupation (Masi), art or craft profession (ilpa), trade (V nijya), military occupation (Asi), practice of medicine (Vidy). However the pursuit of the profession should be positively in the pure way. These observations create communal harmony and peace in society and in the nation.
Vegetarian diet and Human Rites
I could not find any impressive reference where the advocacy for vegetarian diet has been made. Jainism did it by including into fundamental duties of the layman. It stressed more and more on vegetarian diet since inception. According to it, the object of man's food is not just to fill his stomach, to maintain health or to satisfy his taste but to properly develop his mind, character and spirituality too. Our intake of food is closely related with our thinking, character and deeds. There is high truth in ancient saying that the kind of food you eat determines the kind of man you are. The taste of the man in different types of food reflects his behavior and character. In fact, it is an indicator of one's innermost self. Meat eating is totally against human nature. Jain thinkers discussed the subject at length in their works about its demerits. The very constitution of man does not warrant it. Man's habit of taking meat is not natural. It is the result of perverted taste, which becomes a sort of addiction. As such it should be completely discarded.
Our food should contain all those ingredients, which produce energy, health and heat. Our food should have proteins, sugar, vitamins, minerals and fats in adequate quantities and right proportions so that good quality of new cells and red blood corpuscles are produced continuously. It is a misunderstanding that meat is invigorator. In fact it is medically proved that vegetarianism gives more lasting strength. Vasunandi and other Jain monks /scholars explained the fact in detailed. Meat does not contain calcium, and carbohydrates with the result that meat-eaters are irritable, angry, and intolerant and pessimists. In vegetarian diets they are present in greater measure and so vegetarians are just the reverse in their nature. Animal proteins do not have additional value in the human nutrition rather it forms the potential risk for the development of the large number of serious meat borne diseases like cysticercus's, hydrated cuts, trichinosis which do not have any permanent treatment. Some of these diseases may be lethal.
ii) The Nai thikar vaka (Allegiant Layman)
The Nai thikar vaka follows the twelve vows (five A vratas, three G avratas, and four ik vratas). Under the A vratas, (Ratnakara dar vak c ra Verse 52) the principle of Nonviolence or non-injury is the first and foremost vow that teaches us to avoid the injury by mind, speech, and body. He does not trade in flesh and skin, nor does he incite others to do it. He also avoids the bonding, killing or torturing, maiming, overloading and carelessness in giving food and water to animals and persons living under him (ibid. verse 53-54). The second vow Satyavrata
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teaches us that the layman should not speak a lie. He is also expected not to reveal the secrets of others, accusing somebody without any justification, writing counterfeit documents, playing tricks in weighing and measuring and so on. (ibid. 55-56).
The third vow is Acaurya vrata, which means not to appropriate to him what belongs to somebody else without his express permission. He should not purchase the stolen property, should not encourage and praise thieves, should not purchase the property in cheaper rates, should not indulge in illegal export and import business, should not adulterate at all and so on. (ibid. 57-58). The 4th vow is Svad rasanto avrata, which means to keep satisfaction with one's own wife or husband without any sexual craving for other women or men. Celibacy is the great force and potential aid to selfrealization. He is expected to avoid irrepressible yearning for sexual intercourse etc. (59-60). The 5th vow is Aparigraha vrata, which means to have the limited possessions, which are root cause of sins. Such possessions are like territories, houses, ornaments, utensils, gold, silver coins, grains, animals, men, women, quadrupeds, clothes, conveyances etc. (ibid.61-62).
The G avratas are three, namely Diigvrata, Anarthadandavrata, and Bhogopabhogaparim avrata (ibid. 67-90). Of these, the Anarthadandavrata is not to commit unnecessary of purposeless moral offence, such as talking ill of others, preaching evil, facilitation of destruction (His-prad na). purposeless mischief (Pram dacarita), and faulty reading (Duhsruti). In fact, it would include all acts which denigrate others or through which others are hurt or deprived of liberty. (ibid. 67-81).
The four Siksvratasbid. 91-121) are intended to prepare the aspirant gradually for the discipline of ascetic life. They are: 1) Sm yika (to contemplate on the self and attainment of equanimity), 2) Proşadhopav sa (to keep fast on the eighth and the fourteenth day of each fortnight of the month, 3) Bhogopabhoga parim avrata (Putting the limit daily on enjoyment of consumable and nonconsumable things for that day), and 4) Atithisa vibh gavrata (to entertain some ascetic or needy person with a portion of food who happens to come uninvited.). Samantabhadra prescribed the four
ik vratas in a slight different form: De avak ika, Sm yika, Pro adhopav sa, and Vaiyavrtya. In Ratnakara dar vak c ra, verse 90. There is no much difference. These ik vratas are to practice the ascetic life. The cryas show their progressive trends in fixing them depending on the various regions, their needs, and times. D na or gift is one of them. It has played the significant role all along the course of the history of Jainism Somadevasuri in his Yasastilakacampu (43.765-852) considered at length regarding p tra (the recipient), D tra (the giver), D tavya (the thing to given, D navidh na (the method of giving), and D naphala (the fruit of giving). All the Jain thinkers are of view that what is given should be for the pleasure of giving or for the spiritual rise and self-restraint of ascetics. The householders may also be considered for charity purpose on their genuine needs.
iii). The third category is of the S dhakar vaka. The S dhakar vaka is expected to observe the Sallekhan, the spiritual death in Jain tradition. This third stage is very close to that of an ascetic where the subjugation of the senses is conducive to the removal of passions. Samantabhdara says in the Ratnakara dar vak c ra that
Upasarge d rbhik e jarasir jyca nihpratik re. Dharm ya tan vimocanam h sallekhan m ry (5.1)
Who observes the Sallekhan is called mahr vaka. He is defined as making the physical body and the internal passions emaciated by abandoning their sources gradually at the approach of death with pleasure and not by force for various reasons one decides to perform Sallekhan . According to the Ratnakara dar vak c ra and Bhagavati rdhan, the old age, physical weakness, famine, incurable disease, calamities etc, are such reasons, which render the performance of va yakas impossible. It is also called Sam dhimara a. Samantabhadra has dealt with the concept in fifth chapter in 15 verses.
This is an important and interesting feature of the Jain householder and spiritual aspirants. Some scholars are of opinion that Sallekhan is a sort of suicide, since there is voluntary severance of life etc, but this is not correct, as there is no passion. The person who kills himself by means of passion, weapon etc. swayed by attachment, aversion or infatuation etc. commits suicide. But he who
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practices holy death is free from desire, anger, and delusion. Hence, it is not suicide. . In modern days it is named "Euthanasia" or "Right to die" which is a sort of suicide and not the spiritual death.
These observations should be in practice to make justice and create congenial atmosphere and relationship between fundamental rights and directive principles of state policy. Ordering someone to bring something illegally from outside the country is also prohibited for householders. Rendering help to one another is the basis to the formula of Jain discipline. Jainism is also dead against terrorism of any kind.
The human Rites are related with observing the humanity. The aforesaid duties of Jain householder are totally based on humanity covering the religious curtain. It is not confined to only human but it is extended to all the souls. Jainism advocated for protection of forest, water, air etc. Ecological imbalance is considered as a serious threat to the life of human beings and therefore the Supreme Court considered a right to a pollution free environment as an integral part of Article 21 of the constitution. The mining operations are also included into the act. Jainism might have understood the disturbance of ecology and pollution and affectation of air, water and environment by reason of mining operations and therefore prevented the householder for engaging the mining business and also such industries that involve any kind of violence and pollution. Deforestation of forests that affects the climate and cause global warning is also highly objectionable.
The concept of human rites is neither entirely western in origin nor so modern. It is in fact the common heritage of mankind. Jainism, the most ancient religion observed it to a great length. It organized the Human Rites as a religion and includes them as fundamental rights and duties not only of individuals but of classes and communities. Better education, better service to children and childlabour class, better humanitarian dealing with servants, women, down trodden communities, poor communities, animals and all other souls should be made available on human background. There is no recognition and permission for keeping bounded labour in Jainism. One should treat them all as himself. This is the fundamental principle of Jainism.
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7.0.c
SAMA A SUTTA Dr. D.N. Bhargava
1.0 Introduction
Religion is a transcendental spiritual experience which is permanent, trans-subjective, blissful, intuitive, supersensuous, infinite, incommunicable and ineffable. It is the non-conceptual state of existence wherein all differentiations disappear. The Jaina view of religion lays stress on realizing the transcendental nature of self, which the individual feels as his own.
VERSAC
It should be borne in mind that the present book, Sama asutta is the central book of Jainism. It is a compendium of Jaina teachings. It presents gamas in a nut-shell. It is as sacred as the gamas themselves. It comprises the essence of Mah v ra's philosophical thinking. Just as the Gt, the Bible, the Dhammapada, the Koran and the like represents the teachings of K a, Christ, Buddha and Mohammad respectively, similarly the Sama asutta stands for Jainism. It consists of 756 Pr k ta verses divided into 44 chapters dealing with various aspects of Jainism. It is called Sama asutta because it contains suttas, delineated by the great rama a Mah vra along with other rama as following the tradition of Mah vra.
Sama a sutta is a unified text of the Jainas in which the essence of Jainism is given in the original words of Lord Mah vira and in ancient Jaina c ryas belonging to both the major sects - the Digambaras and the vet mbaras.
It was at the initiative of c rya Vinoba Bhave, a direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, that the c ryas belonging to all the four sub sects of Jainism that sat together to make a collection of the G th s from different scriptures of their sects so as to present a volume which will represent the essence of Jainism in the most authentic way and at the same time shall be acceptable to all the sects of the Jainas. It beautifully summarizes the teachings and philosophy of the Jainas in a lucid fashion.
Below we shall quote a few statements from this Text to give an idea of the approach of the Jaina thinkers to life. As these sentences are faithful translations of the original, they may appear to the archaic at places, but this is their beauty that they take you back to the ethos of the original Jaina world. We are giving only a few representative sentences with the advice that the students should read the whole Text for themselves because the Text is quite handy and yet pregnant with great meaning. Let us have a taste of the original to some extant.
2.0 Suttas from the text
Obeisance to all saintly persons of the world.
He, who takes recourse to reality as it is, has right vision.
Momentary are the pleasures of senses resulting in prolonged suffering. They obstruct liberation and are mines of all trouble.
One knows the pains of birth, old age and death and yet does not leave the sensuous pleasures. Oh! How strongly tied is the knot of conceit?
Attached to wealth and women, negligent in physical and vocal activities, accumulates dirt form both sides as an earth-worm accumulates mud from both the mouths.
Neither the friends, nor sons, nor relatives share ones misery. He has to suffer all alone. The action invariably follows the agent.
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The agent is free while action, but helpless, while enjoying the fruits of his actions. Just one is free while climbing a tree but helpless while falling from it.
Who else is with a wrong vision other than one who does not act according to what he preaches?
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Attachment and aversion are the seeds of karma, which is turn, originates from infatuation; Karma is the cause of birth and death, which are the cause of misery
If you wish to cross the terrible oceans of mundane existence, then O virtuous one! Quickly catch the boat of austerity and self-control.
One should practice with respect that all which produces detachment, one, who is detached, is verily emancipated; one who is attached wanders is mundane existence endlessly.
Asserting that body is different from soul; shake off attachment to body, which is the cause of suffering and root of misery.
Supreme forgiveness, humbleness, simplicity, truth, purity, self-control, austerity renunciation, nonpossessiveness, and celibacy are the ten ethico-spiritual qualities.
One has taken birth several times in high as well as low families; none is high and low. After knowing this, who shall be proud of his (high) caste?
One, who neither thinks crookedly, nor acts crookedly, nor speaks crookedly and nor does hide his faults, his conduct is simple and straight forward.
A saintly person, avoiding speech which may hurt others speaks what is beneficial to the self and others, observes truthfulness.
More the gain, more the greed; gain increases greed (for a greedy person) what could be achieved by two grams cannot be achieved by crores of grams.
Restraining the senses and passions, one who absorbs himself in meditation and self-study, he verily performs penance.
(A realized soul says) We possess nothing and live in bliss. Nothing is agreeable or disagreeable to us.
One who is free from delusion is free from misery, one who is free from desire is free delusion, one who is free from greed is free from desire and one who owns nothing is free from greed.
Just as women are to be avoided by celibate men, similarly men are to be avoided by celibate women.
Blessed are those who are not burnt by fire of sexual desire, which burns the forest of all the three worlds, enkindled is the tree of sensual pleasures and encompassing the grass of youthfulness.
The self does and undoes the pain and pleasure. Self, on right path, is the friend and self is enemy when on the wrong path.
Restrain your own self, why fight with others? One, conquering the self by self, progresses with ease.
Desist from one side and act on the other withdraw from licensciousness and adopt self-discipline.
Attachment and aversion are two such sins which lead one to sinful activities. A saintly person who controls these two does not wonder in the circle of mundane existence.
Anger kills love, pride destroys modesty, deceitfulness destroys friendship and greed annihilates all.
Overcome anger by calmness, pride by humbleness and deceitfulness by simplicity of heart and greed by contentment.
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Because of attachment, one kills, tells lie, commits theft, indulges in sex and entertains desire for unlimited possessiveness.
The essence of wisdom is not to torture any body. Just know that non-violence consists in equanimity.
A vigilant person is non-violent, all others are violent.
No happiness with laziness, no knowledge with sleep, no detachment with possessiveness and non compassion with negligent activities.
A lamp lights hundreds of others lamps and himself also remains lighted; so are the preceptors; like a lamp they enlighten others and themselves also remain enlighten.
Know that the self is devoid of taste, colour, smell and word, unmanifest and possessed of consciousness, having no profane and physical structure.
I am neither the body, nor the mind, nor speech, nor their cause. Nor am I the agent, nor the inspirer nor the approver of the action.
The saints have proclaimed that vision, knowledge and conduct lead to liberation. They lead to liberation (if right) and to bondage (if wrong).
Just as a fetter, whether made of gold or iron, binds, similarly an action, whether good or bad, binds the person.
Yet, it is better to attain heaven by observance of vows and penance than to suffer in hell by violation. There is a lot of difference between the two one waiting in shade and the other in hot sun.
One knows the reality by knowledge, establishes faith in it by (right) vision, grasps it by conduct and purifies it by austerity.
Just as a lotus leaf remains aloof from water (even thought very much in it) by its very nature, the righteous person remains mentally unaffected by passions and objects of senses.
He is to be considered a person with right perspective, who with a detached mind does not aspire for the fruits of his actions or for the attributes of worldly objects.
He is the seeker of self, meritorious, self-controlled and observer of vows and penances who, not to speak of praise, does not aspire even for respect, worship or salutation (from others).
Knowledge is that by which reality is comprehended, mind is pacified, self is purified, and attachment is severed. Like for goodness is developed and sense of friendship is strengthened.
He knows all the scriptures who know the self as witness by nature is actually different from the impure body.
One, who knows the internal, knows the external and one who knows the external, knows the internal.
He, who knows one, knows all and one who knows all, knows one.
Character means withdrawal from the inauspicious and engagement in the auspicious. Of what use is the vast knowledge of scriptures for one who is characterless. Million of lighted lamps are useless for one without eyesight.
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Character means righteousness. Righteousness means equanimity and equanimity is that state of soul which is free from infatuation and perturbance.
One who takes beneficial food is small quantity: need no physician to treat them. They treat themselves on their own.
One should practice right course of conduct well before old age inflicts him, diseases overcome him and senses become weak.
Abstinence from torturing creatures, falsehood, theft, incontinence and limitless desire for possession are the small rules of conduct.
Equanimity makes one, rama a, celibacy makes one Br hma a, knowledge makes one saint and austerity makes one ascetic.
One should keep equanimity in gain land loss, pleasure and pain, life and death, censure and praise and honour and insult.
Dress (of a monk) does not verify the authenticity of a person who is devoid of self-control. Is not one killed by swallowing poison even if he changes his dress?
External objects are relinquished for inner purification. External renunciation is futile for one who is bound internally.
A real saint is one who is unattached to his body, who is completely free from passions like ego etc. and who is engrossed in one self.
All such vows are great where there is no reservation of desire for return, perverted vision and hypocrisy. A vow is polluted by these three reservations.
A negligent person always commits violence, whether his activities kill some one or not. A vigilant is not bound merely because his activity may happen to injure somebody.
One should cautiously walk, stand, sit, sleep, eat and speak. He is not bounded by evil in this way.
He is self-disciplined, who forsaking the alien modifications, remains engrossed in his pure nature.
A realized soul should think that I am that who never leaves his own nature and does not assume the nature of others; who knows and sees all.
He practices penance who takes food in small quantity for the study of scriptures. Penance without study is just starving one self.
Just as a fire in the forest consumes the heap of grass the fire of penance, set ablaze by right character and accompanied by the wind of right knowledge burns the cause of mundane existence.
The fire of meditation consumes all good or bad for him who is free from attachment, aversions and evil mental, vocal and physical activities.
No physical movement, no speech, no thought, self engrossed in self... this is the meditation par excellence.
Birth is accompanied by death, young by old age, wealth by transitoriness-thus one should reflect that everything is perishable.
All objects are perishable-reflecting on this, forsake great infatuation and detach the mind from objects of pleasure.
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A wicked person does not give up deep-rooted enmity, is quarrelsome, devoid of goodness and mercy and is of licentious nature.
A gentle person is not partial, is free from desire of any return of his actions, is equal to all and free from attachment, aversion and affection.
The body is said to be the boat, the soul is the boatman, and the mundane existence is the ocean. The great sects cross over it.
The man of calm disposition must die, so must one possessed of cowardly disposition; death, thus, being inevitable, it is preferable to die with calmness.
All ignorant persons undergo suffering. The confounded wander endlessly in mundane existence.
The bondage in brief is like this: Attachment binds detachment liberates.
The same bondage which an ignorant person gets rid of in million of years, is go rid of by an illuminated person in single breath by controlling his body mind and speech.
All words withdraw, all logic suspends, and all intelligence fails where there is no pain or pleasure, no torture, no obstacle, no death, no birth.... Such is the state of liberation.
The knowledge which grasps in proper way nature of things as they are is valid.
Those who shower praise on their own views and condemn the views of others, exhibit pedantry and wander in the transmigratory circle of mundane existence.
The whole approach of this philosophy and tradition is to overcome passions and have a balanced approach to life. The aphorisms of this text are simple and lucid in manner.
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7.0.d
cr ga Dr. Shugan C Jain
The oldest holy texts of Jains are called canons or gama consisting of twelve limbs (Dv da ngas) and considered as direct compilations of Mah vira's sermons by his chief disciples known as ga adharas. cr ga, or sometimes called as S m yika or y ro in Prak ta, is the first of these Dv da ngas. Beginning with the inquisitiveness about the soul, this is the basic holy text of Jains about the conduct of the Jain ascetics. Soul is an existent and it is eternal and going through transformation continuously also (i.e. not inert). Further soul is the doer and enjoyer of its actions, there is bondage and liberation of karmas associated with the soul which are all basic elements of Jain ethical postulates and described in details in this text. cr ga defines right conduct, based on non-violence as activities of mind, body and speech without attachment and aversion.
Samav ya, another limb of the canons, indicates cr ga comprising two volumes but it appears that in the beginning there was only one volume. The second volume, written in different style and having appendices appear to have been created by Bhadrab hu-II who indicated the name of first volume as cr ga while the second volume was named as Navab ham c rya. cr ga consists of nine sections named as Satthapari a; Loka vijay; itosa ijja; Sammatta; va ti; Dhy ta; Vimoh ya a; Uvah ya as ya and Mah pari a sequentially. However later writers of commentaries etc have indicate different sequences and at times names of these sections /chapters. Further there are 51 subsections of these nine chapters with ninth chapter reported as missing. Bhadrab hu-Il and Digambara writers indicate the size of cr ga as 18000 words which are substantially more than available today.
Commentaries and other texts on cr ga
The text itself is supposed to be composed by ga adhara S dharm while listening to Mah vra. Hence its time can be estimated to be approximately 550BC. cr ga is composed in Ardham gadhi (Pr krta, language of the common man of Magadh). However its composition as text, as available today is assigned to Dev rdhaga i in 5th century AD and further commented by la ka in the 8th century AD. The text is composed in prose, sutra, verse and mixed forms at different places.
The oldest description treatise on cr ga is Niryukti written by Bhadra Bahu-II (in 6th century vikram). This is followed by curni written by Jina Dass Mahattara. The third treatise is tik or commentary written by la ka. Later on a number of other treatises were written by a large number of c ryas with the latest being written by Mah Pragya. Commentaries give detailed description of each concept written in the original text.
Subject of cr ga
The subject of cr ga is the conduct of the practitioner of the path of purification and discuss the progress of the faithful to the highest perfection i.e. mok a or liberation. It starts with the inquisitiveness of the soul and its nature. It is a complete text of the entire Jain path of spiritual purification and hence it is claimed to be the essence of all the other Jain canons. cr ga is the basic texts for the ascetics to start his /her ascetic life, to the extent that a new ascetic entering the order was first examined by his guru about his knowledge of this text. Only after reading cr ga, the other texts of ethics, life sketches, karma etc are read by the ascetic.
cr ga is divided in nine chapters as indicated below.
astra Parij
Loka vijay
ito iya Samyaktva. S ra
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Weapons or arms of destruction or giving pain to living beings. Six types of living beings according to their body form, (a j vanik ya).
Conquest of the world i.e. give up the pride /attachment of the family and non self objects.
Hot and cold. Winning over the bodily afflictions (pari aha jaya). Righteousness. Knowing the universal truth and to practice the same. Essence of the world i.e. non violence, laziness, non possession, self study, carefulness and giving up the wrong beliefs.
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Dhy tav da
Vimok a Up dh na
Mah pari
Chapter wise brief is given below:
astra Parij: Knowledge of the weapons of violence.
Six types of living beings according to their body form, (a j vanik ya).
The first chapter has a unique description about life in different beings from stationery/ immobile (sth vara) living beings with one sense organ and those with tras /mobile bodies having two to five sense organs and mind. These six types of living beings, namely those with earth, water, fire, air and vegetation as their bodies and belonging to sth vara category and the rest to the mobile category (ants, mosquitoes, animals, birds, human beings etc.).
The cleaning i.e. methods to dissociate the karmas from the soul, service to the ascetics.
The life /soul in sth vara beings is justified and explained based on their ability to get born, grow and decay, breath, feelings, subtle body, concrete or being cognizable by senses. cr ga proves life in these beings by a number of examples and logical discussions e.g.
Liberation i.e. methods of performing austerities /penance.
Pillow of righteousness i.e. conduct of Mah v ra during penance in erring state (chadmastha).
Lost.
·
A human being, who is devoid of his speech and eye senses, feels the pains of pricking/cutting etc of his body and. yet he cannot express these. Similar is the situation of the sth vara beings.
A healthy human being, when inflicted with 32 types of pains simultaneously, cannot express the same. Similarly the sth vara beings even though they feel cannot express their feelings. When a person is made unconscious by others, the unconscious person cannot express his feelings, similarly the sth vara beings cannot express their feelings.
Air and water get polluted and decay by different types of effluents like human beings get suffocated or even die by different types of effluents.
Fire grows when fuel is added to it. It dies when it is starved of fuel like human beings grow with the food they eat and die in the absence of food for long periods.
Like human beings, plans are seen to be born, grow, express feelings and die.
Mah vra, in the end invokes his listeners to believe in omniscient who can cognize subtle things that life exposits in one sensed beings. To support his claim, he even provides anti bodies of each type of living being belonging to sth vara category.
Concerning the living beings with mobile bodies, it talks of three ways in which such beings are born e.g. those born out of some liquids /sweat and by cracking the earth (all three put in the category called sammurchama or unconscious beings like bacteria, virus, live cells in sperm or body etc); out of the egg born with naked body or in a shell through a birth place called garbhaj and finally with celestial body like heavenly and hellish beings i.e. without a specific place from where they are born. Mobile beings are those who have the knowledge to move i.e. to be comfortable they move from place to place in search of food, pleasure or avoiding pain etc. cr ga talks of a number of reasons due to which the mobile beings are killed or hurt by others, e.g.
⚫ Medicinal and cosmetic effect i.e. by using the body or eating the flesh/ using urine or using teeth of some type of beings, the disease can be cured or enhance the potency or beauty of he user /killer.
For using the skin of living beings for use as clothing, shoes etc.
Fearing that such and such types of beings will kill or had killed / hurt me or my loved ones.
For entertainment like bull fight, riding, transport of goods and people etc.
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Ahi s or non violence:
The arhats and the bhagawats of the past, present and future, all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with
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violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure, unchangeable, eternal law, which the clever ones, who understand the world, have declared.
Pa aya vir mah vih i.e. only strong people can practice be dedicated to Ahis the path of Ahis is the path of strong and not of the cowards. Ahi s niu a ditth savvabhuesu sa jamo i.e. self restraint towards all types of living beings is Ahi s. Thus Ahis implies the path of self restraint /sa yama. Those ascetics, who wish to protect from the ills of the world, purify to attain liberation, make it of auspicious nature to avoid pains, their souls of the sins should free should follows self restraint towards all. crga says 'Do not kill, discipline, enslave, give pain to other living beings. Consider them all as equal or same like yourself. Just remember that the one whom you wish to kill /give pain /enslave etc., has similar desires to live and enjoy as you do."
Then crga proceeds to say 'Jasa tthi im ia a tasa kao siy i.e. how can a person who does not have the knowledge of Ahis can acquire the knowledge o other basic elements i.e. one who does no know that allurement to sensual pleasures and attachment to worldly objects is his or the one who does not practice restraint towards sensual cravings as done by others, that person cannot practice Ahi Siarga thus identifies two hurdles in the practice of Ahis namely craving for sensual pleasures (vi ay sakti), and. lokai a or to act and have desires for objects of sensual cognition because others do so also. A person after accepting the vow of Ahis should observe it carefully and not develop flaws in his practice. The practitioner of Ahis should be fearless and should neither commit himself nor ask others to commit or admire those who commit his.
Conquest of the world This chapter describes the world (sa s ra) and ways of conquering it. Quality in the qualities of other things lies the primary cause of the sa s ra viz. sin; the qualities produce sin and sinfulness makes us apt to enjoy the qualities) is the seat of the root. He who longs for the qualities is overcome by pain and he is careless (i.e. gives way to love, hate etc.) as he starts thinking that he is savior of his family, property etc. and continues to be engrossed in them. Those who are of steady conduct, do not desire this wealth, family etc.). Knowing birth and death, one should firmly walk the path (right conduct) and not wait for the old age to commence a religious life.
Winning body afflictions The unwise sleep, the sages are always awake 'sutt amu i mu i o say j gara ti'. Know that in this world that misery (ignorance and delusion) bring forth evil consequences. Thus the monk (nirgrantha) should cease from violent acts, not mind heat and cold and maintain equanimity against pains and pleasures. He thus does not feel the austerity of penance. Awake and free from hostilities, a wise man gets liberated from miseries.
Essence of the world: Samyaktva Many entertain cruel thoughts against the world with a motive or without one; they entertain cruel thoughts against these (six classes of living beings). To them pleasures are dear. Therefore they are near death. Because they are near death, they are far from liberation. But those who are neither near death nor far from liberation, consider the life of a slow and ignorant fool as similar to the dew drop trembling on the blade of grass which falls down when shaken by the wind. A fool, doing cruel acts, comes ignorantly to grief. Through delusion he is born and dies. Many do not live by injurious deeds against the world of living beings and cease from them. They perceive This is a favourable opportunity and search for the right moment for their body (should never be careless). This right conduct is the road taught by the noble ones.
The cleaning: Dhuta As in a lake a greedy leaf covered tortoise cannot rise up; as the trees do not leave their place (though shaken by storm etc); so men born in various families cry bitterly because they are attached to the objects of the senses. Thus on account of their sinfulness they do not reach liberation. Such persons are seen to suffer like from leprosy, blindness, lameness, hunchback etc. Those whom lust conquers sink; therefore do not shrink from the hard control. Thus a man who exerts himself, and is of a steady mind, without attachment, unmoved by passion but restless in wandering about, having no worldly desires, should lead the life of an ascetic.
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Liberation The difference between a heretic and a wise is indicated as. Noble and tranquil men who are enlightened and exert themselves in these (1. to kill no living beings, ii. to speak no untruth, iii. to abstain from forbidden things like theft and sexual pleasures are called free from sinful acts.. Mah vra calls a person unfettered who is without desires and does not harm any living being in the whole world Based on this, the mendicant should not exhort others or accept things specifically made for him or are stolen by the giver, or obtained by hurting or killing some one. Thus the mendicant with full faith in his teaching should thoroughly and in all respects conform to it. He should develop indifference to various bodily afflictions like thorns and grass pricking, heat and cold attacks, mosquito bites etc. Still in the erring state, in the end knowing that the death has come, he observes sallekhan (religious death) by totally subduing the passions and living on little or no food, neither longing for death nor for life continuing his contemplation on self, should strive for absolute purity.
Pillow of righteousness. Always well controlled and like a hero at the head of the battle surrounded on all sides during the erring state (i.e. as chadmasta), he bore different sorts of feelings overcoming carelessness and pleasure, wandered about speaking but little, eating but very little the unsavoury food, wore nothing to protect from vagaries of the weather or shame, lodged in places like cremation grounds, gardens or dilapidated cottages, factories etc, not reacting to the unpleasant or pleasant gestures of people, not distracted by family or women. Thus, himself understanding the truth and restraining the impulses for the purification of the soul finally liberated and free from delusion, the venerable one was well guarded during his whole life.
The second volume It has details of the practices for the ascetics concerning begging for food, place for stay, personal effects like bed /seat, books, bowls and broom etc, daily routine, hygiene etc, walking carefully and choice of the route for pilgrimage, speaking(without pride or deception) and choice of words to be precise, interaction with the laity.
References:
cr ga Sutra Published by Beaver Rajasthan Jain gama s hitya. Manana aur mim S - Ac. Devendra muni The sacred books of the east (vol.xxii) - Jain sutras part-1 translated by Herman Jacobi and Max Muller
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7.0.f
Bhagavati Sutra Dr. Priyadarshana Jain
Introduction
The great ancient saints and seers in India have propounded three great traditions, Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism, represented in sacred canons called gamas, Pi akas and Vedas respectively
The seeds of the great tradition of Jaina religion and culture are the fruits of insights, experiences and revelations of the omniscient (Kevalis) i.e. trtha karas or fordmaker. The gamas or scriptures of the Jains in ancient times were called Ga pi aka or A gas and were revealed by Lord Mah v ra, the 24th fordmaker. The sacred texts reveal the essence of life, the nature of bondage and liberation, the path of liberation, the meaning of life and the art of right living, the causes of misery, pain and happiness, the world order, various religious and philosophical concepts, the nature of conscious and material energy, the nature of tm (soul) and Param tm (supreme soul) besides the views of other philosophical schools propounded at that time.
The scriptures have been handed down through an oral tradition and are written in aphorism (Stra) style, i.e. where words are limited, but pregnant with profound meaning and depth of knowledge. Sutra, Grantha, Siddh nta, Pravacana, jn, Upade a, Prajn pan, Agama, ptavacana and ruta are some of the synonyms of Jaina scriptural texts. The Trtha karas reveal the trio (tripadi), i.e. Upaneyev, Vigameyav, Dhuveyev , i.e. all substances originate, undergo change and still remain permanent. Based on this tripadi, the ga adharas construct the twelve fold, i.e. Dvada ga scriptural literature.
Bhagavati is the fifth of the Dvada ga scriptural literature and one of the most important works of the Ardha-M gadhi canonical literature. It is the largest in volume, encyclopedic in its contents and covers a variety of aspects of Jaina Philosophy and practices. It gives valuable information on history and culture such as political, social and economic condition of India at that time, its political history, evolution of Jaina philosophical thought and other philosophical schools prevalent at that time. It is in a conversation form between Lord Mah vra and his principal disciples other than Indrabhuti Gautama also.
The Bhagavati Sutra mentions heterodox sects as:
o o o O o o o o
jivika, Vainayikas, Parivrajakas' V naprasthas, Tapasas, Jam lis Followers of Lord P r van tha and other more.
The Bhagavati Sutra contains the varied contents scattered in other canons and touches upon various aspects of Jaina Philosophy. To mention some of the aspects under which the Bhagavati Sutra can be studied:
o Metaphysics o Ethics
Epistemology O Logic o History o Sociology
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o Philosophy o Psychology
Fine Arts
Biology o Education O Mathematics
Astrology O Agriculture o Trade and Commerce o Cosmology o Geology
The Title of the Text
It is in the form of questions and answers and popularly known as Bhagavati Sutra, because of the clarifications it reveals. Its original name is Vih yapa ati, Viv hapa ati or Vyakhy prajñapti.
Samav yA ga and Nandi state that the text carries 36,000 answers to the queries put forward by Gautama, the first ga adhara, i.e. principal disciple of Mah vra, and others, and later on revealed by Sudharma Sv mi to Jambu Sv mil. It came to be called Bhagavati because of its importance among the canonical scriptures. Bhagavati means divine and holy and so the original name was substituted by the adjective used to reveal its sacredness.
Structure
Bhagavati Sutra is the most voluminous of all available Agamas. It is divided into 138 atakas (chapters) that are further subdivided into 1923 Udde akas (sub-chapters) containing 15,751 Slokas (verses). We do not come across any commentaries like Niryukti or Bhasya on the Bhagavati Sutra, but only a small Crni besides a Vrtti by Abhayadevasuri, and a few Hindi and Gujarati translations. The language of the Bhagavati Sutra is Ardhamagadhi. In its question-and-answer-style the latent intellectual curiosity of man is reflected. Sri Amarmuni has divided the contents of the Bhagavati Sutra in ten sections:
1. Acara Khanda Ethics 2. Dravya Khanda Metaphysics 3. Siddhanta Khanda Philosophy & Principles 4. Paraloka Khanda Rebirth 5. Bhugola Khanda Geography 6. Khagola Khanda Astronomy, Cosmology 7. Ganita astra Mathematics 8. Garbha astra Genetics 9. Caritra Khanda Biographies 10. Vividha
Miscellaneous
c rya Devendramuni has written an exhaustive foreword of almost 100 pages to the fourth volume of the text published by Agam Prakasan Samiti, Beawar, Rajasthan. The Sailana publication Vol VII carries a list of the contents of the Bhagavati Sutra in an alphabetical order that runs to around 27 pages.
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Essence of the Bhagavati Sutra
Lord Mah vra gave equal importance to both, knowledge and action for emancipation13). Just as a bird needs two wings to fly, an aspirant should have both, knowledge and action, to be liberated from the shackles of birth and death. He says r dhana (accomplishment) should be of three essentials namely:
。 Knowledge
o Faith
Conduct
One who accomplishes the three can be liberated and relieved from the web of transmigration [4]. This inner journey of accomplishment sets in when one comes in contact with the saintly and self-realized souls. Thereupon the fruit of listening to the truth is revealed to be knowledge, from knowledge springs scientific spiritual discriminatory knowledge of the soul, and then the soul takes to renunciation and exercises self-control as a result of which the influx of karma is terminated. After this the soul takes to austere practices and annihilates the karmas and becomes perfect and accomplished. The Sutra which reveals the above is as follows [5];
Sava e evi a e, paccakkh e yasanjame a a haye tave ceva, vod ne akiriy siddhi
Through the above revelation we understand that Atman alone is Sat, i.e. real. To know it, to have faith in it is called "SatsA ga". Since time immemorial the soul has never come in association with itself, but has perpetually been in association with men, matter and money. The author of the Bhagavati Sutra through various topics and discussions has tried hard to drive the message that freedom from all this non-self, be it body, senses, mind, thoughts, etc., is real happiness. Jaina pathfinders stressed more on righteousness and virtuous conduct than miracles.
Although an aspirant or Yogi who progresses steadily on the path of liberation, acquires certain labdhis, riddhis and vidyas, (extra-ordinary powers) he has been cautioned not to exercise them for it will deviate him from the path of accomplishment. Man in his quest for happiness and perfection has searched the atom and researched almost on everything. In the universe, he soared the skies and measured the oceans and mountains, scientific and technological advancements have made the entire world look like a global village. He has invented one dreadful weapon after another and has virtually brought the world to the edge of destruction. This is in total contrast with what the ancient saints and seers practiced and preached.
In olden days they also have done research work, but the focus was on the subject and not on the object. Their research was subjective and spiritually oriented. Through spirituality they discovered the hidden truths inside them-selves, others and the universe. The Bhagavati Sutra records many incidents of soul power. It says that when the powers of the soul are awakened, it can cognize anything and everything in the universe, and all the secrets of the universe are unfolded [6]
Regarding demerit i.e. sin; the Bhagavati Sutra has made thought-provoking revelations. 1.8, 1.9, 12.2, 12.5 etc., of the text reveal that sin is what binds and burdens the soul, distorts the latent potential of happiness and freedom and deprives the soul of them. Sin is not determined by an activity, but by the attitude of an ignorant, unrealized soul steeped in delusion.
When Kalod i enquires why is the fruit of sin inauspicious, Lord Mah v ra is said to have revealed that when one consumes tasty food mixed with poison, the consequences are dreadful, so also sinful activities allure the soul but its consequences are inauspicious and sorrowful. On the other hand when one takes the food that is bitter and medicinal, he enjoys good health, although the taste is not fulfilling. So also all auspicious activities of merit i.e. pu ya seem to be difficult to accomplish but its fruit is auspicious",
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When Gautama Ga adhara observes many people being enlightened by omniscience (kevalajn na). he becomes sorrowful and grief stricken and asks Lord Mah vra as to why he has not yet become enlightened. Then Lord Mah vra reveals to him, "You are humble and virtuous, without blemish and noble, the little attachment you have for me is an impediment for your enlightenment! This incident goes to show that none can grant liberation to another. Each one is responsible for his actions and the fruits thereof; hence one ought to judiciously exert that at every stage in life.
Ga adhara Gautama
Bhagavati Sutra begins with the curiosity of ga adhara Gautama. If Gautama is curiosity personified, Mah vra is the solution provider. What Arjuna is to K a and nand to Buddha, is Gautama to Mah v ra. Bhagavati Sutra begins with salutations to the five parame his (supreme auspicious beings), Brahmi script, scriptural knowledge and then throws light on the personality of ga adhara Gautama. His respect for Mah v ra, his humility, his attitude, his curiosity to learn, the How's and Why's of life and his thirst for knowledge are reflected in his questions, which he puts to Mah vra to seek solutions. He remained indebted to Mah vra and was faithful to him till his last breath. Besides Gautama; Bhagavati Sutra also records the questions put forth by Skandaka Parivr jaka, Somila, K lodai, Jayanti, Roha A ag ra and others.
A Study of the Bhagavati Sutra through the Fundamentals of Jainism
The Tattvartha Sutra reveals, "Jv v sravaba dhasa varanirjar mok stattvam" 19"i.e. the soul, non soul, influx, bondage, stoppage, annihilation of karma and liberation are the basic elements (the realitiess). The soul is characterized by consciousness and is said to be one as well as many. The nonsoul is opposed to the nature of consciousness. The association of the soul with non-soul causes the influx of karmic matter (a rava) and their mutual intermingling, i.e. of soul and karma is termed as bondage (ba dha). The arrest of the karmic influx is sa vara, i.e. stoppage, partial removal of the karmas is nirjar , i.e. annihilation, and complete disassociation is mo sa, i.e. liberation. When Punya and p pa, i.e. virtue and sin respectively are added to the above list, there are nine verities (realities) i.e. tattvas. Some of these nine are knowable, others are to be discarded and still others are acquirable:
Knowables (jñeya)
•
Soul (j va) Non-soul (aj va)
Sin (p pa) Influx ( srava) Bondage (ba dha)
Discardables (heya)
Virtue (punya) Acquirables (up deya) . Stoppage (sa vara)
• Annihilation (nirjar )
Liberation (mok a) One remarkable feature of Bhagavati Sutra is that it discusses different topics from different aspects i.e. Anek nta or multidimensional approach to reality. When Somila asked whether he was one or many, Lord Mah vra replied that essentially as pure soul he was one, but characteristically multidimensional and many When Jayanti asked Lord Mah vra, whether a person who was sleeping or a person who was awake was better, Lord Mah vra replied that one who took to a sinful life, it is better that he is asleep and for a person who took to righteous life, it is good that he is awake . Likewise Lord Mah vra has discussed the fundamentals of Jainism, i.e. the nine verities or realities and other topics in similar fashion so as to give a comprehensive picture of reality. Thus we find the rudiments of Anek ntav da and Sy dv da as Vibhajyav da in the gamas.
J va Tattva or Soul
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We get a detailed discussion of the concept of the soul but is scattered in many chapters and subchapters. Bhagavati Sutra 12/10 reveals that there are eight kinds of souls, i.e. tm : 1 Dravya tm
Soul characterized by consciousness 2 Ka ya tm
Soul characterized by passions 3 Yoga tm
Soul characterized by actions 4 Upayoga tm Soul characterized by functions 5 Jn na tm
Soul characterized by knowledge 6. Dar ana tm
Soul characterized by vision 7 C ritra tm
Soul characterized by conduct 8 Vrya tm
Soul characterized by element of power
In Bhagavati the j vas are classified in many ways. The bonded souls are of two types, mobile and immobile, wandering in four existences, developed and at times undeveloped with mind or without mind; having one, two or five kinds of bodies; one, two, or five senses, one, two or five kinds of dispositions (bh vas); one two or three yogas, i.e. channels of activity: four-fold passions; two-fold upayoga: six colours of thoughts (le y s) and is bonded by the eight kinds of karmas.
In chapter 7.8 of Bhagavati it is revealed that the soul has the characteristic of contracting and expanding. When an elephant dies its soul can leave that body and occupy a worm's body and viceversa. Just as the light of a lamp fills the room in which it is kept, the soul pervades the body it occupies. Chapter 12.2 records the questions and answers of Jayanti rama op sik wherein she has raised important spiritual questions that are very ardently studied in the Jaina sy dhy ya circles.
Chapter 7.1 reveals the characteristic of the J va to move upwards hence the liberated souls move upwards to the tip of the universe. Chapter 1.1 reveals that the knowledge of the soul travels with it in the next birth, but not the conduct and the austere practices although their fruit as the karma body follows the doer. Chapter 6.1 reveals that some souls experience great pain (mah vedan ) whereas some others do great nirjar i.e. annihilation of large heaps of karmas.
Chapter 6.3 says that the souls are in this world since beginning-less time but they can terminate their stay and reach the abode of final beatitude. Chapter 14.4 reveals the changing cum eternal nature of both living and non-living. Likewise we find ample matter on the concept of soul, characteristics of liberated as well as bounded souls. Chapter 5.8 says that the number of living beings and non-living beings is constant; they can neither be created nor destroyed, only their form keeps on changing.
Aj va Tattva or Non-Soul
The non-living things are of two types, without form and with form. The medium of motion and rest, space and time are formless whereas matter is with form. Those without form are designated as nonconcrete or non physical (am rta or ar p) and those with form are called physical or concrete (m rta or p). One can observe the parallel remarks made by the Jaina philosophers and Albert Einstein regarding the principle of motion, [for more details please refer Source Book in Jaina Philosophy, pg 126, 127 and Bhagavati Sutra 18.7/7.10]. But for the two mediums of motion and rest all things would either be at rest or in motion forever. Bhagavati Sutra reveals that all that is steady and at rest are due to the above mediums of motion and rest. Where these two mediums operate, it is termed as cosmos /universe (loka) and where they do not is called as void (aloka) or just space. Likewise chapter 13.4 reveals that Space or k a is the one that accommodates all things. It is all pervading, formless having infinite space points.
Chapter 25.4 records the discussion on time as an independent substance. Bhagavati Sutra has given
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(smallest indivisible part of matter) and matter, which are very
minutest details of paramu scientific
Karma Theory
Besides the above non-living substances, Bhagavati Sutra records exhaustive details regarding the karma theory. These karmas are of two types psychic and substantial. The former is the cause for the latter. The first conditions the soul spiritually, the latter physically. Just as milk and water and iron and fire are melted together, the bounded souls and karmas are intermingled. In Bhagavati Sutra 1.2, Lord Mah vra clearly states that each one experiences and enjoys the fruit of karma done by himself and cannot do so of others or for others.
Chapters 6.9 and 8.1 elaborate the eight-fold karma theory, and based on these and other chapters, we come across one hundred thousand lokas on karma theory in the vet mbara tradition and two hundred lokas on the same in the Digambara tradition 12). Bhagavati Sutra heralds and warns that without experiencing the fruit of one's karmas one cannot attain liberation. The soul becomes burdened by the 18 kinds of sins and is unburdened when it gives up the 18 kinds of sins. 13. More on Karma theory is discussed through the concept of influx and bondage.
srava and Ba dha - Influx and Bondage of Karma
Indian Philosophers have discussed at great length the concepts of bondage and liberation, but besides the concepts of bondage and liberation Jaina Philosophy has discussed the causes of bondage and the causes of liberation at great length. All spiritual reflection and speculation is to free the soul from bondage. Due to the operation of attachment and aversion the soul attracts karmic particles, which are spread in the entire universe. They are so subtle that one can neither see them with the eyes, nor through the finest microscope. Only the omniscient can cognize them, and so the Jaina karma theory is based on the revelations of the omniscient Lords.
Bhagavati says that influx of karma is the cause of bondage, as a result of which the soul is bound to the non-soul matter, the conscious energy of the eternal soul is veiled and becomes conditioned in a physical body..1! Passions and activities of mind, body and speech are the root causes for influx of karma. The passionate mind causes the influx and bondage more than the physical activity hence it is rightly said that freedom from passion is liberation (Kas yamuktih kila muktireva). Six people on different stages of the spiritual ladder may commit the same sin, but influx and bondage of the fruit of sin is determined by attitude, restraint, passion, etc of each person. The Jaina scriptures give a detailed description of the 25 kinds of activities (kriy), which cause karmic influx and bondage. Chapter 3.3 and 18.8 throw light on the relation between action and bondage.
Sa vara and Nirjar-Stoppage and Annihilation of Karma
Sa vara is stoppage of the influx of karma and therefore the most important tattva, as true spiritual advancement begins with the stoppage of influx of karma. Only after being watchful, the influx of karma can be stopped and annihilated, and then one can be liberated. When one keeps on binding fresh stock of karma, along with partially removing the old stock, there is no freedom from karmic conditioning. Perverse attitude, vowless-ness, non-vigilance, passions and inauspicious activities cause karmic influx. They should be given up and replaced by right attitude, taking of vows, vigilance, assionless-ness and auspicious activity respectively.
Bhagavati Sutra chapter 25.7 reveals that one must first become aware of the defilements, then must confess and condemn them either in front of the spiritual masters or in private with the Self and supreme Godhead as witness. Then he must embrace the right conduct, i.e. righteousness, and thereupon expiate for the past sins. After doing so an aspirant takes to austere practices to annihilate the existing stock of karmas and to purify the self. We get a detailed discussion of the 12-fold Nirjara, i.e. austerity in this context. They are explained with their sub-divisions and are important for spiritual progress.
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Jainism has never given importance to blind faith and blind practices of austerities. Austerity should be accompanied with spirituality, only then it can serve the purpose of emancipation. Throughout the discussion of stoppage and annihilation of karma the Bhagavati Sutra has stressed the need for giving up passion, delusion and attachment. One ought to renounce food and also check the causes of karmic bondage immediately for spiritual progress.),
Mok a or Emancipation
B hma Sutra begins with 'Athato B hmajijn s , for the Mim ms Sutra and Vai esika it is 'Athato Dharmajijň sa'for Jainism it can be said 'Athato Tattvajijjñs, i.e. philosophical speculations are rooted in curiosity for B hma, Dharma and Tattvas respectively. The purpose of Indian philosophy is not only knowledge of the reality, but also realization of it for attaining freedom from misery. It is not merely an academic pursuit of knowledge, but has the aim of realization of the truth in life16
The Bhagavati Sutra chapter 12.7 reveals that in this entire loka there is not a single space point where the soul has not experienced birth and death, there is not a single soul with whom all kinds of relation have not been established, be it of friend, foe, parent, offspring, husband, wife, partner, master, servant, etc. The world is eternal, it is beginning-less, the soul too is eternal, but is bound by karmas and subject to birth and death. Just as one cannot say whether the hen came first or the egg, none can reveal about the origin of the living and non-living. Those who realize the purity of their souls and conduct accordingly are able to annihilate the karmas to finally ascend to Mok a, enjoying infinite knowledge,
vision, bliss
power.
and
Chapter 14.10 records the differences between the embodied perfect omniscient and the disembodied perfect souls in Mok a. Chapter 12.2 reveals that since beginning-less time infinite souls have reached Mok a and will continue to do so in future, but still the world will never become empty of souls. Those who are subject to sensual pleasures tighten the knot of karmas, extend their duration, intensify them and wander endlessly in the worldly sojourn. Those who conquer the sensual pleasures and themselves attain Mok a and enjoy complete freedom and bliss. Chapter 12.9 tells us about five kinds of Gods and says that the Arhats who preach the eternal path of purification and emancipation and the siddhas who have attained Mok a are the Gods of the Gods and supreme redeemers.
Some other important Notes on the Bhagavati Sutra
•
Of all the A gas and Up gas it is the most voluminous one exhaustive in contents. The topics of living, non-living, universe and its constituents, different philosophical concepts, etc are discussed in depth. The minutest details of life, breath, food, genetics, etc are thoroughly analysed. The discussion about atom and the atomic theory are very scientific. The topics discussed from different aspects reveal the Anek ta style of presentation. Most of the enquiries were made by Gautama ga adhara but we come across people of other faiths who came and discussed freely with Lord Mah vra. Details of the various hells, heavens and celestial beings also figure here. Description of the plant-bodied beings, i.e. the vanaspati jagat is made in chapters 11, 22, 23, etc. A detailed description of Makkhaliputra Go laka is done in ataka 15, of Jam li in 9.33, 22, 11.9, 11.11, 13.6. Details of the Karma Theory, the cause of influx of bondage etc give new insight on the topic. For the first time ma gal cara a or salutation is found in the A ga literature in Bhagavati Sutra The greatness and sublime features of ascetic life are extolled in many places. Bhagavati Sutra is important for its contents of spirituality. A detailed analysis of tapas i.e. austerities is made in Chapter 25.7 which includes the various divisions and subdivisions of fasting, expiation, scriptural study, meditation etc. These explanations give an insight of Jaina beliefs and practices
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Chapter 8.8 discusses the 22 kinds of afflictions faced by an ascetic and reveals the significance of patience, tolerance and perseverance. The death of a wise man and the death of a fool are discussed in chapter 13.7 The extra-ordinary powers acquired through austerity are explained in chapter 3.1 in the context of l nendra. Detailed discussion on time, features in Chapter 11.11 Reference of many cities and kings too feature in the Bhagavati Sutra and give us an insight of the political, social and cultural India at that time. Discussion on yoga, upayoga, le y passion, body, mind, senses, language etc enable us to understand the dynamic nature of the soul. Throughout the text we get to understand the curiosity of Gautama and others which enabled them to search the truth 2600 years ago A detailed discussion of the yu ya karma features in Chapter 5 and 6. Concept of karma and kriy i.e. action features in many places. Description of life in the 6th spoke of the Klachakra is made in Chapter 7.6. The same chapter reveals the fruit of sin as Karka avedaniya and the renunciation of sin as Akarka avedaniya. It also says that by practising compassion on all pr na, bhuta, jva and sattva and by not torturing them one binds pleasure producing karma i.e. S t vedaniya karma The condition of life in the womb, their nourishment etc, is revealed in Chapter 1.7, 2.5. The relation, of the thought paints i.e. le ya and the future births, is revealed in Chapter 3.4. Chapter 5.4 informs us about embryo transplantation. It is told in chapter 5.4 that the celestial beings converse in Ardham gadhi language. Chapter 8.10 informs us about four kinds of people Those with conduct but no knowledge Those with knowledge but no conduct. Those without both knowledge and conduct. Those with knowledge and conduct.
•
Lord Mah vra says, "O Gautama! The first category of people is any day better than the second and the third category, but the people of the fourth are the best and praiseworthy."
Thus the Bhagavati Sutra enjoys a unique place and it is considered very auspicious to study this text.
References: [1] Introduction to Bhagavati Sutra [2] Samav yanga Sutra 93, Nandi Sutra 85. [3] Bhagavati Sutra 7.2 [4] Ibid 8.10. [5] Ibid 2.5. [6] Introduction to Bhagavati Sutra Volume 4,Pg 40 [7] Bhagavati Sutra 7.10 [8] Ibid 14.7 [9] Tattvartha Sutra 1.4 [10] Bhagavati Sutra 18.10 [11] Ibid 12.2 [12] Introduction to Bhagavati Sutra pg 93 [13] Bhagavati Sutra 1.1.280/281
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[14] Bhagavati Sutra - Ek Parisilana by DMS. [15] Bhagavati 25.7.255. [16] S.B in Jaina Philosophy Pg.220. [17] Bhagavati Sutra 1.6.
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7.0.g
Tattv rtha S tra
Dr. Veersagar Jain
1.0 Introduction
Tattv rtha S tra is a very important text of Jaina religion. It has covered all the aspects of Jaina philosophy and is the source to other literary works as it has seeds of all the topics. Jainism is divided into many sects and sub-sects since ancient days, but all the sects accept Tattv rtha S tra faithfully. None have doubted its authenticity. Like Namok ra mantra, Tatty rtha S tra is accepted by all faithfully. There is no other text like Tattv rtha S tra, which is accepted by all. This is the first Jain religious text written in Sansk ta as earlier texts were all written in Pr kata language. Being written in Sansk ta, and in aphorisms form, it holds a unique place in the overall Indian tradition and hence even the other Indian philosophical schools study this text.
1.1 Name
There are two names: 1) Tattv rtha S tra and 2) Mok a stra. Even though its proper name is Tattvartha sutra, yet generally it is known as Mok a stra. It is known as Mok a stra because the work begins by the word mok a and also because it has detailed expositions of mok a and the path to attain mok a. This is also found as the style with other texts like Bhakt mara stotra ( abhadeva stotra) is so called because it begins with the word Bhakt mara; Dev gamastotra (ptamim ms ) is so called because it begins with the word Dev gama.
This text is popularly known as Tattv rtha S tra because it explains the tattvas (basic elements) in the aphoristic style. It is necessary to know that goal of life is mok a and hence to know it, is to know the seven tattvas. Explaining the seven tattvas, there are totally 10 chapters (adhy yas) in this text. They are as follows:
1s' to the 4th - Jva (Sentience) 5th
Aj va (Non-sentience) 6th 7th
rava (inflow) Bandha (bondage)
Samvara- nirjar (stoppage and efflux) 10th Mok a (liberation)
8th 95
The tattvas are explained in the aphoristic style; this is very important. The author has seriously thought about the content of the text. Aphorisms are full of important content and are in simplistic style. The mark of a sutra is:
Alp k ara Mas ndhigdham s ravad G dhanirnayam Nirdosam hetumatathyam sutramityucyate Buddhehall
It means, the sutra is that which is of fewer words, free of doubt, all the essence, deeply decisive, flawless, with logic, complete with facts. It means in very less words, the much more is told in a simple and lucid way.
To write and make others understand the sutras, both are very difficult. One has to be very cautious while writing the sutras. Any irregularities may create misunderstandings. One cannot write more in the aphorisms. You may read my article "32 faults (do as) of s tra".
We can therefore see the name Tattv rtha S tra is so because the tattvas are described in the aphoristic style.
1.2 The author of Tattv rtha S tra:
It is a pity that there is no foolproof data available about the author's place, parents, his teacher, time etc. Even there is a controversy about his name. Digambaras call him Um sw mi and the vet mbaras call him Um sv ti. Who is right or wrong, cannot be established properly and both sects
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claim that the writer belongs to their tradition. Concerning the timing, there are differences and most scholars pur the author in 2nd to 4th century AD.
1.3 Important commentaries of the Tattv rtha S tra:
It has been mentioned that sutras are very serious and full of meanings and it is difficult to understand their meanings. Therefore one has to be very cautious about it. There are many c ryas who have written commentaries on this text. There are more than 100 commentaries on it. It is difficult to talk of all of them, but let us see the following four important ones:
1. Sarv rthasiddhi: c rya Pujyap da has written this commentary in 5th century A.D. This is a very balanced commentary. All the aspects are and topics are covered in a simple manner and the later on c ryas have kept it intact and present it as it is. The following sutra expounds Pujyap da's art of writing:
Pram akalamkasya Pujyap dasya Laksa am\ dhananjayakaverkavyam Ratnatrayamapa cimam\\
2. Tattv rthav rtika: c rya Akla ka has written this commentary in 7th century A.D. In this commentary the author has help of previous commentaries and then he has elaborated those and written his commentary. At several places he has given interesting stories and anecdotes.
3. Tattvarthaslokavartika: c rya Vidhy nandi has written this commentary in 8th century A.D. This is a detailed commentary.
4. Tattv rth dhigamabh ya: The above three commentaries are written by the Digambara authors. But this is a vet mbara commentary. It is believed that the Um sv ti himself has written this commentary.
What ever may be the case, it is necessary to read and understand the commentaries to know the Tattv rtha s tra. The above commentaries are sufficient enough to know and read.
2.0 The content of Tattv rtha S tra :
We have discussed the external matter of the text. Now we will discuss the actual content of the text, which is very important from the point of Jaina philosophy. The external content is important for the historical and the social point of view. But from logical, philosophical and spiritual point of view one need not entangle in the above controversies.
2.1 Mangal cara a (Benediction):
To begin any good work it is necessary to evoke good saying of blessings and all the literary works have so. In all the works they evoke the i a devat and worship them in the benediction. In Tattv rtha S tra the following mangal carana is found:
Mok am rgasya Net ram, Bhett ram Karmabhubhrat m\ Jn t ram Visvatattv n m, vande tadgunalabdhaye\\
It means 'I bow to the qualities of that one who is the leader of the path of liberation, has eradicated the karmas and is the knower of the tattvas.'
This is a very important benediction in the Jaina philosophy, because it is not for the person but the Vitar ga- Sarvaj a (omniscient) who are the shower of the path; they are worshipped so. It is not for any worldly gains but only to attain the best qualities.
It is because of this reason that on the above verse many cryas having written elaborately. Many have also written independent works, for example, crya Vidhy nandi (7th century) has written ptaparik, Samantabhadra (2nd century) has written ptam m ms on the basis of this Verse.
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crya Vidy nandi has said to the extent that this verse is like a tirtha (ford). To recite this verse is equivalent to worshipping the t rthas. Hence one should understand this verse properly.
2.2 Content
1st Adhy ya:
Right faith (Samyak Dar ana), Right Knowledge (Samyak J na) and Right conduct (Samyak Caritra) all three put together constitute the path of liberation. Jva, aj va, rava, bandha, Sanvara, nirjar and mok a - the faith in these tattvas is Samyak Dar ana. The faith thus arises due to two reasons - 1) on its own due to the previous karmas and 2) due to the discourse by other. Full faith arises after the right knowledge; hence the full knowledge of the tattvas etc should be regained first and foremost. This happens with the help of valid knowledge (pram a), standpoints (naya) and presentation (nik epa), direction (Nirde a), ownership (sw mitva), instrument (s dhana), location (adhikara a), duration (stith), classification (vidh na), existence (sat), number (sankhy ), field of occupation (ksetra), field of touch (spar ana), time (k la), interval (antara), condition (bh va), relative numerical strength (alpabahutva) etc are also useful for the cognition of the tattvas. Pram na is right knowledge and is of 5 types- mati, ruta, avadhi, manahparyaya and kevala. Mati and ruta are both parok a pram a and the rest three are pratyk a pram a. Naya is a part of pram a. The difference between naya and pram a is that pram a cognizes the whole truth, while naya cognizes only partial truth. The chart below explains naya and pram a classification easily:
Types and means of acquiring knowledge
Indirect
MIND BASED VERBAL TESTIMONY
Avagraha
Iha
Avaya
Dharana
Pram a
Angapravista Angabahia
Direct
Clairvoyance Telepathy Omniscience
Naya
Naigam figurative / Non-literal Sa graha Class view:
Vyavah ra Distributive view
jusutra- Linear or straight thread.
abda-Literal
2nd Adhy ya:
J va has following five kinds of psychic states / bh vas (thought activities)
1. Aupa amika - that which results from the subsidence of the karma concerned
Sambhir ha-etymological Evambh ta-Determinant
2. K yika - that which results from destruction/annihilation of the karma concerned
3. K yopa amika- that which results from subsidence-cum-destruction of the karma concerned.
4. Audayika- that which results from activation of the karma concerned
5. Pri mika- that which having nothing to do with karma appears naturally.
These five have got 2, 9, 18, 21 and 3 sub-types respectively.
Upayoga or manifestation of consciousness is the defining characteristics of a soul. It is of two types;
1. Dar anopayaga- indeterminate cognitive operation, which is of four types.
a. cak u- indeterminate cognition had through the visual sense-organ
b. ruta
c. Avadhi
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b. acak u- indeterminate cognition had through the non- visual sense-organ c. avadhi- indeterminate cognition of the nature of avadhi d. Kevala- indeterminate cognition that is all - comprehensive.
2. J nopayoga - determinate cognitive operation which is of eight types
a. Mati
- right determinate cognition by mind and sense organs. -right determinate cognition of the nature of verbal testimony - right determinate cognition with limitations of type, place etc.
d. Manahparyaya - right determinate cognition of the nature of thoughts.
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e. Kevala f. ku-mati g. Ku-sruta h. Vibhanga
- right determinate cognition that is all-comprehensive - Wrong determinate cognition by mind and sense organs -wrong determinate cognition of the nature of verbal testimony. - wrong determinate cognition of the nature of avadhi.
J vas are of two types: liberated and worldly. The worldly living beings are of two types namely mobile and immobile, Immobile are of 5 types and are with only one-sense namely:
1. earth bodied2. water bodied3. fire bodied4. air bodied5. plant bodied
The mobile are the two sensed to five sensed living beings, e.g. ant, elephant and humans etc. Five sensed living beings are of two types i.e. with and without mind.
There are five sense organs namely; touch, taste, smell, visual and hear. They are each of two types namely matter (dravya) and psychic (bh va). Dravya indriya are of two types: nivritti and upakarana. Bh va indriya are of two types: attainment/labdhi and manifestation/ upayoga.
The state of transmigration (without gross body) i.e. leaving present body (death) and moving to the next body (rebirth) id of two types namely: of worldly living beings and liberated living beings. Movement of liberated beings is straight from present body to Moksa while of empirical souls it can have a maximum of three turns within a very small time.
Births can be of three types namely garbhaj (i.e. born out womb of female) and upapada (of heavenly and hellish beings) and sammurchana (spontaneous generation).
Gross bodies are of five types namely matter, celestial, communication, electric and karmana. These are in the order of their being gross to subtler state. At any time a living being can have four bodies at a time. Mostly they have karmana and electric plus matter or celestial.
3rd Adhy ya: In this chapter there is a discussion of the nether world (hells) and the middle world. There is a description of 7 layers of hells where the souls live a long life of pain and suffering. There is also the description of the middle world, which consists of concentric rings of continents and oceans with Bharat, Air wat, and Videha etc as continents and Ganga, Sindhu etc as the rivers.
4th Adhy ya: There are four kinds of celestial beings namely Bhavanv si (residential), Vyantara (peripatetic). Jyoti i (stellar or luminary) and Vaim niki (heavenly beings). There are further subdivided into 10, 8, 5 and 16 sub types respectively. Again there are further sub classifications in each sub type. Details of all these are given in commentaries of Tattv rtha S tra and Trilokas ra etc.
5th Adhy ya: This chapter describes insentient (aj va) beings as the first four chapters talk of sentient beings (jva). Aj va is of five types namely pudgala (matter), dharma (principle of motion), adharma (principle of rest)K a (space) and k la (time). Matetr is concrete and the rest are non- concrete. Dharma, adharma and k a are one each in number while matter is infinite and time is innumerable in number. All j vas cooperate with each other. Body, speech, mind, breathe are all matter and results of cooperation between matter and j va. Similarly motion /movement, rest, space to exist and change are the benefits of dharma, adharma, k a and k la respectively. All substances are eternal and existent and with attributes and modes.
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6th Adhy ya:
This chapter describes influx of karmas to soul. Influx is of two types namely auspicious and inauspicious. Activities of mind, body and speech are called yoga and the same are the causes of influx. If the influx is auspicious then it results in inflow of merit and if it is inauspicious, then the inflow is of demerit (p pa). Influx can be described of two other types also, namely s mpr yika (actions of passion tainted living beings) and ry pathika (i.e. actions of persons who are free of passions like walking carefully to avoid violence). Intensity of psychic actions is directly proportional to the intensity of influx. Briefly the causes of influx of all eight types of karmas are as follows:
1.
2.
Knowledge and vision obscuring: hiding flaws in knowledge and faith, jealousy etc. Vedniya or feeling: pain: causing pain, grief, scare etc to self and others; pleasure: compassions, charity, patience, forgiveness etc.
Deluding: faith: disrespect to right god, scripture, teacher and religion; conduct; passion tainted activities.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Life span: Hell: excessive greed, possessions; sub-human: deceit; human: disinterest in possessions, amicable nature; heavenly: self restrain, penance with desire for good results.
Body building: inauspicious: crooked activities of mind, body and speech; auspicious: simplicity of activities; tirthankars: solahk ranabhavan.
Status: high: self-criticism and praise for others. Low: Self-praise and criticism of others. Interference/obstructions: to cause obstructions in others works.
7th Adhy ya:
Description of auspicious influx: Disengagement and disinterest in violence, telling lies, stealing, excessive possessions and infidelity is called vow (vrata). These can be observed partially (by laity) and completely (by monks). Violence is to cause pain /hurt intentionally. To speak the untruth or what is not right is telling lies. To take things without permission or the owner is stealing. To have sexual desires towards others is infidelity. To have attachment in other living and non-living beings is excessive possession. Flaws caused in these vows due to laziness or disinterests are called flaws of the vows. To avoid them one should contemplate or reflect on the vows and in the end should observe sallekhan.
8th Adhy ya
Description of bondage: Jva, in a passion-tainted state, gets bonded with the matter particle, which can become karmas. This is due to five causes namely: perverted faith, disinterest in vows, laziness, passions and activities of mind body and speech. Bondage is of four types namely prakriti (nature), duration, strength /potency and prade a (area or space). Nature relates to eight types of karmas, duration is the time when and how long the karmas will be active, strength relates to the intensity of the results of karmas and prade a related to the firmness with which the karmas are bonded with soul.
9th Adhy ya
Description of stoppage and dissociation of bonded karmas: Stoppage of influx is sa vara or stoppage. This is due to the observance of 3 attitudes of restraints and 5 attitudes of carefulness, 10 dharmas, 12 reflections /contemplations, 22 afflictions and five types of conduct. Restraining activities of mind, body and speech, 5 types of carefulness are in walking, speech, seeking food, excretion and picking up and keeping things; ten dharmas are supreme forgiveness, absence of pride deceit and greed, speaking the truth, penance, charity, detachment and celibacy; twelve reflections relate to impermanence, helplessness, cycle of transmigrations, loneliness, separation of self and non-self, impurity of body, influx of karmas, stoppage of influx, dissociation of karmas, cosmos, rarity of religion and laws expounded by Jinas; 22 afflictions relate to indifference/ perseverance against thirst, hunger, cold, heat, mosquito bites, nudity, lack of interest, women, daily activities, bed, anger, pain, begging, non attainment of knowledge, sickness, straw hurting, dirt, getting respect, wisdom, lack of knowledge and lack of belief; five types of conduct are s m yika, chedopasth niya, parih ravi uddhi, suk mas pr ya and yath khy ta.
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Dissociation is caused by austerities /penance. Penance is of two types namely external and internal and each is further divided in six categories.
10th Adhy ya Description of salvation / Mok a: Annihilation of Knowledge and vision obscuring, deluding and obstruction causing karmas result in attaining omniscience. This state is called Arihanta. After this the remaining karmas which are experienced only namely status determining, life span, feeling and body formation are also annihilated at death when the pure soul becomes absolutely pure and stays at the summit of cosmos.
Conclusion: We thus see that by describing the seven basic elements in Tattv rtha S tra, the entire doctrine of Jain religion are described and the reader can acquire knowledge about them by its study.
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7.0.h
Pa c stik ya "Ancient book of reality"
Dr. Anekant Jain
Pa c thik ya (Pac stik ya) is an ancient and important text of Jain's which is composed in old classical Indian language named 'Pr k ta' and specifically in'aurseni Pr k ta' (an important part of the Pr k ta language). This work is composed by the famous Jain c rya Kunda kunda in 1" century A.D.
The Pa c stik ya, as it is specified by its brief title, is one of the important works of Kunda Kunda who occupies unique position, next only to Lord Mah vra and his Ga adhara Gautam, in the south Indian Jaina tradition. It deals with Jain metaphysics, ontology and ethics, i.e. exposition of the path leading to liberation. The text is in Pr krit g th s/verses and it mentions its title in two places: Pa cattiya - sa gaha (Pa C stika-sa graha) in g th No. 103, and elsewhere, in No. 173, suttam (s tram) is tacked on to it, and in both the places it is qualified by Pavaya asaram (pravacanas ram). Though the brief title is more popular, some have used the title Sanskrit like Pa C stik ya - Sra. In this edition they are allowed to return as they are, inherited from earlier sources.
In Pa C stikaya, the five astik yas or existents (va, pudgala, dharma, adharma and k a), which are different from k la, are explained. In this text there is an authentic explanation of the nature of dravya (substance), division of dravya, Saptabhangi, g a (attributes), pary ya (modes) and in the first section /adhik ra there is an exposition of the substance, attributes and modes. In the second section, there is a clear analysis of the nine entities (pad rthas) called: merit (pu ya), demerit (p pa), living being (j va), non living being (aj va), influx ( arva), bondage (bandha), stoppage (sa vara), dissociation (nirjar ) and liberation (mok a); and the mok a -m rga (path of liberation) is also explained. According to the commentary of Crya Am tacandra, there are 173 g ths in it, whereas according to Ac rya Jayasena, there are 181 g th s.
Commentaries: - A number of commentaries in Sanskrit by Am tacandr ch rya; Brahmadeva, Devajitu, Jayasena, Jnacandra, Malli e a and Prabh candra are known. Those of Am tacandra and Jayasena are already printed and well known. There is a commentary of B lacandra in old - Kannada language; but, so far, it is not published. Some expositions of this work in Hindi have been composed by Hemar ja (Samvat 1700) R jamallu (Samvat 1716), Hr canada (Samvat 1718) and Vidhicanda (Samvat 1891).
About the author - Kunda Kunda, the author of this work, was a very famous Jaina philosopher and theologian. He was also a great organizer of religious institutions. His name is held in great veneration especially by the Digambara section of the Jains. Many great religious teachers claimed it an honour to trace their lineage from the great teacher Kunda kunda. Several inscriptions that are found in south India belong to Kundakund mn ya-or the line of Kunda Kunda. Students of Jaina literature are familiar with such phrases as the following: - Kundakunda - gurupatta - parampar y m;r Kundakunda - sant nam, r - Kundakund khyam n ndra - va a. These are some of the phrases claimed by Jaina writers such as Sakalabh a a, author of Upade aratnam 1, Vasunandi, author of Up sak dhyyana, Brahmanemidatta of rdhan - kath ko a. Instances may be multiplied without number, for showing the important place occupied by our author in the hierarchy of Jaina teachers/preceptors. Some of the epithets employed to characterize him are also significant of his great importance. Sumindra, the Indra among the ascetics, Mnicakravarti the emperor among the m nis, Kaunde a, Lord Ku da, are familiar designations of the great preceptor
The personality of this great preceptor, as is generally the case with world famous individuals, is lost in obscurity and shrouded with traditions to have a glimpse of this great person. The early history of India is but a string of speculations and even as such there are very many gaps. Under these circumstances, we have to be very cautions about the history of our author.' After many discussions a group of scholars decided 1st century A.D. for the Kunda Kunda's period.
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Works of Kunda Kunda All the works of Kunda kunda are in Prak ta verses which are easy to recite and understand. Pr bh tatraya or n aka, i.e. the trilogy of Pac stik yas ra, Pravacanas ra, and Samayas ra or Samayas ra -pr bh ta, Niyamas ra, Aap huda, Raya s ra; Braha A uvekkh are the best creations of kundkund. All these books have been printed. He is said to have written 84 p hudas but they are not as yet found in any library.
Central concept of the textThere are two important concepts in Pa C stikaya which are perplexing to students of Jainism, the astik ya i.e. the existent and the dravya / substance. The term astik ya is a compound name made up of asti and k ya which respectively mean existing and extensive magnitude. Thus astik ya means a real that has extensive magnitude. The other term dravya means the real that is changing like the flow of water.
(1) Existent / Astik ya- The existents are of five types namely j va /living being (soul), aj va, pudgala (matter), dharma (principle of motion), adharma (principle of rest) and k a (space)). These five build up the cosmos. Space and matter are distinctly extended exitents. Dharma and Adharma are indirectly related to space. Their operation is in space and is limited to Lok k sa, Thus they may also be considered as related to space. Lastly life is generally associated with body; the organic body is constituted by pudgala or matter. J va is operative in and conditioned by such a physical medium. In a way therefore j va also is related to space. These five existences which have spatiality either directly or indirectly are the five astik yas. These are the constituent elements of the universe or the world. According to the text, astik yas are described in this way -
Jiv puggalak y dhammadhamma taheva y sam Atth ttamh ya n yad anannamaey a umahamt. (1/4)
Jes m ath sah o gu eh saha pajjarh vv heh. Te hot atthik y nippa am jehi tailokkam. (1/5)
Here the author enumerates the five existents. He describes the number of each and the general and special characteristics of the different astik yas. J vas, pudgalas, the principles of rest and motion, and finally space - these are the astik yas. They are eternal, uncreated and of huge magnitude.
The things, which have the essential nature of manifesting themselves severally through their numerous attributes and modes up to the limits of the three worlds, are the astik yas- they being the constituent part of the world. Another substance which is the main cause for every change / transformation in this world is called k la (time). In the text the author didn't include time dravya in Astik ya. Therefore k la has no extension in space either directly or indirectly. Hence it is not an astik ya. Time has its own definitions. K la or time, though not an element of the physical universe as mentioned in the text; however it is, through its attributes of change and motion, is admitted to be real. So time also must be considered real. The real or absolute time, as contrasted with the relative time, is constituted by simple elements known as kls or instants. Instants, points and atoms are the characteristics conceptions of Jaina thought and in this respect it has a wonderful corroboration from the field of Modern mathematics and physics.
So, k la (time) is not an astik ya. It is distinctly a real entity which accounts for changes in other things. Such are the characteristics of real time. This should not be confounded with Vyavah rak la or relative time which is measured by some conventional units of either long or short duration. These conventional distinctions would have no meaning if they are not coordinated in a single real time series.
Theory of existence: The term dravya (substance) denotes any existence which has the important characteristics of persistence through change. Panc stik ya admits only the dynamic reality or dravya. Dravya then is
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that which has permanence and its manifestations through change of its attributes resulting in is modes. Utp da - origination, Vyaya the destruction are real. Kundakunda in the following very important g th for the explanation of existence 'satt 'says:
Satt savvapayatth sav ssaruv a tapajj y. Bh ngupp ddhuvatt sappadivakkh havad ekk
Existence (substance) is one (as a class). It is inherent essence of all things. It manifests itself through diverse forms. It undergoes infinite modifications. It has the triple characteristics of origination, destruction and permanence. It also has the antithetical qualities, i.e. it may be described by the opposite.
Substance, qualities and Modes The dynamic substance or dravya is always associated with certain intrinsic and inalienable qualities called g as. Thus the yellow colour, mallability, etc, will be the qualities which must exist in some state or form. This is its mode of existence or pary ya. This mode or pary ya is subject to change. It may be destroyed and a new mode may appear. But this origination and destruction are relevant only to pary yas or modes and not to dravyas; the constitutive substance that can neither be destroyed nor created and so is eternal.
Substance exists with the qualities and modes. Without it there is no existence of the substance. Panc stik ya explains the characteristics of dravya -
Davvam sallakkha ayam upp davvayadhuvattasanjutta Gu apajjay sayam va jam tam bha amt savva hu 1/10
Whatever has substantiality, has the dialectical triad of birth, death and permanence, and is the substratum of qualities and modes is dravya. So say the all knowing omniscient.
Explanation of J v stik ya
c rya Kunda Kunda gave very long explanations about Jv stik ya these are in about 46 9 th S - from g th No. 27 to 73. He defines j va:
J vott havad ced uvaogv ses do pahu katt
Bhott ya deha matto a hm tto kammsaj tto. 1/24
The attributes of jva (soul) are- it has life, consciousness, manifestation/upayoga (knowledge and perception), is potent, performs action, and is affected by their results, is conditioned by his body, is incorporeal and ordinarily found with karma. Kunda kunda discussed many subjects which are directly related to j va e.g. state of pure soul; knowledge of soul; size of soul; relation between karma and soul; actions of soul, modes of the soul etc.
Concept of matter - Theory of Atom: Theory of smallest indivisible part of matter called parm i s detailed in great depth in Pa c stik ya. We can compare his description parm with modern science's atom and its further sub divisions. Kunda Kunda mentions four different kinds of material objects -
.
Kha dh ya kha dhades kha dhapades ya ho ti parm
Edi te caduw yapp puggalak y mu eyavv.
These are the four basic modifications out of which the multifarious modes of matter are formed. Be it understood that matter exists in four main modes: skandhas, skandhade as; skandh aprade as and primary atoms. Here skandhs are the aggregates of atoms. This class refers to complete molecular constitution. Skandhade a is said to be incomplete. But still it is an aggregate and so is skhandhaprade a. These three are the differences in molecular constitution. The last class refers smallest unit of matter called parm or the indivisible part of atom that is the constituting the other three classes. And this is explained deeply in next sixteen gth s.
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Similarly Pa c stik ya explained the theory of Dharma and Adharma (medium of motion and rest) and the concept of space astik yas from 9 th 83 to 96.
Path of salvation:
Right faith, right- knowledge and right conduct is the path of salvation. In the next half part of the Pa c stik ya explains nine pad rthas objects or entities (including seven verities) and the path of salvation.
SORS OF JAN
Kunda Kunda explains the three jewels (Right faith, knowledge and conduct) of Jainism. In the following g th (Verse) -
Sammatta saddaha a bh va tes madh gamo Ch rtta sambh vo v syesu v rudhamaagg a
AMC
a.
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Belief in the real existence or tattvas is the right faith, knowledge of their real nature without doubt or hankering is right knowledge. An attitude of neutrality without desire or aversion towards the objects of the external world is right conduct. These three are found in those who know the path.
Kunda Kunda explains these three in very deep and spiritual way. He also defines the seven verities with p yap pa (merit -demerit) called nine pad rth s.
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We can say in short that Pa c stik ya is single text of 1st century A.D. which explains in depth, the Jaina theory of reality.

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7.0.1
Bhagavat r dhan
Mrs. Manjusha Sethi
The whole of the Jaina exegetical literature is comprised in the dvadasangi. The Ganadharas of tirthankara Mah vra, who heard his divine sound, passed on this knowledge to their disciples. The srutjnana of Lord Mah v ra passed on in this fashion for almost 683 years. Due the diminishing power of the memory and lack of concentration this oral tradition could not continue. This led to the loss of the knowledge. The need to procure the knowledge in writing that is in script arose. Those c ryas who did this work were known as srutadhar c ryas. Those c ryas who followed the tradition and composed the works; their works were kept in the category of the agamas.
Bhagavat r dhan - Siv rya is the author of this important work. This work can be kept in the category of agamas. This literary work is a mainly about and on the code of conduct of the monks. Acaranga is an important part of the dvadasangi. This anga is comprised of 18000 padas. Sivarya has asserted that he being a person of a little less knowledge has written his work of 2263 sutras keeping this important work in mind. This radhana is one of the work which is has very vast content in it and this can be known from its content.
From the above mentioned aphorisms it can be said that this literary work is composed by Sivarya. There is hardly any mention of Sivarya in other works, genealogies, inscriptions etc.
Bhagavat rdhan is written in Mah rashtri Prakrta. From the linguistic point of view, from the context and the content it is established that this work is composed in around 2nd or 3rd centuryA.D. Though the original work in lost or is unavailable to us till date; there are many commentaries written on it. Through the commentaries the original work can undisputedly restored back.
Bhagavat r dhan has the following commentaries on it:
1. Vijaodaya Tika- Aparajitasuri has written a commentary in Sanskrit in the 7th century. 2. Mularadhana Darpana- Pandit s dhara has written a commentary in Sanskrit in the 13th
century Aradhana Pancika- The author is unknown. This is written in the 14th century. Bhavartha Dipika Tika- Pandit Siv jilal wrote a commentary in 1818 A.D.
radhana - Crya Amitgati (2nd) has written this commentary in the 16th century. 6. A commentary written by Sad sukhd sa.
The content of Bhagavat r dhan - The main content of this work is the four aradhanas; Samyak Jnana, Samyak Darsana, Samyak caritra, Samyak Tapa. The central point of discussion is the monk and his conduct. The main task of whose is Moksa. To walk on the part of the salvation one has to take refuge in these four aradhanas.
What is radhana? To have knowledge of something or to have faith is incomplete when one does not put in to affect that into conduct. For this self effort (purusartha) is a must. Without conduct, knowledge and faith are unproductive or rather ineffective. The one who desires to attain something he desires to achieve it; and hence sees to it that he finds the correct way of achieving it. In such a manner liberation from the worldly affairs is possible by achieving moksa. To attain moksa therefore one has to do self - effort of these four aradhanas. The knowledge of these aradhanas and its nature is available from the words of the Jinagamas. There is a mention of four types of aradhanas.
Like Pujya, Pujaka, Puja, Pujafala are mentioned. In the similar manner Aradhya, Aradhaka, Aradhana and Aradhana fhala is mentioned.
Types of Aradhana: There is a mention of two types. Faith based and conduct based aradhanas. (G th No: 3) The one who does the aradhana of Faith automatically the aradhana of the knowledge follows. But it may be the case that one who does the aradhana of knowledge the aradhana of faith may happen or may not happen.(G th No:4) For example, one who faith in a particular thing and yet may be ignorant of its nature yet it does not mean he is faithless. Intellectually one has grasped the nature of the subject and hence faith follows. Knowledge is the integrated part of Faith. But
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without knowledge Samyak Darsana is possible. Even in Mithyadrsti has knowledge. Therefore knowledge does not have any connection with Samyak Darsana. (G th No:5)
Within samyak Caritra (conduct) Samyak tapa is inherited. (G th No: 6) Restraint is to follow the 13 fold part of conduct. This conduct is followed when outer and inner tapa (austerities) confine to each other. When they are correlated to each other a perfect conduct is followed and this will lead to the development of a refined character.
Likewise one who does the aradhana of Samyak Caritra: Tapa automatically follows it. But it may not be the case the one who does tapa, caritra follows it.
Even though shortly two types of aradhanas are mentioned but yet there is in detailed discussion of the four types of aradhanas.
1) Samyak Darsana: Amongst the four, this one is the most important and is worth acquiring first and foremost. Sivarya says; try to acquire this one first. It is so because even if one dies while acquiring this it is fruitful because only with Samyak Darsana moksa is achievable. Once Samyak Darsana is achieved Samyak jň na, Caritra, tapa is correctly grasped. Without Samyak Darsana, the J va is ignorant and not restrained. Without Samyak Darsana, the knowledge of 11 Angas is fruitless.
The one who has faith in the six dravyas: Dharma, Adharma, Akasa, Pudgala, kala, and J va is one who is follower of Samyak Darsana. (G th No: 35) A detailed discussion of the flaws, the qualities, the degrees of Samyak Darsana, classifications etc are discussed in detailed.
2) Samyak jň na: That knowledge which has confined to the development of soul is right Knowledge. (G th No: 99) With the right knowledge the knowledge of the tattvas (J va, aj va, srava, etc) is grasped properly. (G tha No 100) To know the subject of these tattvas one needs to read the scriptures continuously. What is the type of knowledge that one has to acquire? Sivarya answers that, 1) which has in its base the nayas and Pramanas. 2) Free from the contradictions and free from 32 defaults, 3) which are based on niksepas, anuyogdv ras, nayas, 4) that which has in it the deeper meaning, 5) that which is the highest, 6) which is useful for all J vas, 7) that which destroys the bad karmas.
One has to such agamas and acquires such knowledge, is what Sivarya tends to say. (G tha No: 98) That which is conducive to the development of the soul is necessarily worth acquiring from the scriptures or from the discourses. A person who is without right knowledge takes lacs of years to free from karmic bondages than a person who has this right knowledge requires only a time less than 48 minutes (antarmuhurata). (G tha No: 107) A person with right knowledge refines himself far better than an ignorant one who does fasting for days together. (G tha No: 108)
3) Samyak Caritra: This work is mainly for the monks, the importance is hence given to Samyak Caritra and samyak Tapa. The importance and other details of Samyak Caritra is expressed in 403 G th s (Nos 775to 1178). In the G th no 9 it has been expressed that "the knowledge that this is duty and this is non-duty: non-is hence left; this is Samyak Caritra". With mind, body and speech one has to engage oneself in the auspicious actions. (G tha No: 9) Caritra is of 13 types,
i. Five Mahavrats Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, Celibacy, and non-possession. ii. Five attitudes of carefulness iii. Three Restraints- Mind, body and speech
5 carefulness and 3 restraint are also known as 8 Pravacanamatas. (G tha No 1199) They are like the mother who guards the children from the bad things. These 8 Pravacanamatas are the guardians of Samyak Jnana, Darsana and Caritra. The one who is engaged in the 13 types of caritra really is one who is one who is doing the sadhana of caritra.
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Each of the Mahavratas have five types of mental thoughts (bhavanas). They help the seeker to remain stable during their inward journey.
4) Samyak Tapa: That which is helpful to remove non-duty is the real tapa. That what is conducive for devopment of caritra is the real tapa. (G th No: 10). There is a mention of 12 types of Tapas- 6 internal and 6 external. To work with efforts for the growth of caritra is the external tapa. The inner tapa helps the seeker to refrain from the inauspicious mental modifications. Tapa is not different from Caritra. The efflux of the previous or past karmas is Tapa. (G th 1444) There is a detailed description of the 12 tapas in this book.
Within the internal tapa, Dhyana (Meditation) which is an internal form of tapa is discussed in detailed. It is because that a seeker always aspires for the highest kind of meditation that is Sukla dhyana. Attaining sukla dhyana is the zenith of the character.
To follow the 4 aradhanas undoubtedly is udhyotana. To constantly engage oneself in them is udhyavan. To bear any hardships during the journey is nirvadan. To restore oneself in these aradhanas when deviated is known as sadhana. To die with samyak darsana is known as niyarana.
To have faith on the tattvas is samyak darsana. To distinguish self and non-self is samyak Jnana. To refrain from inauspicious action is samyak caritra. To restraint 5 senses and mind is called samyak tapa
Other important aspect of Bhagavat r dhan: Death is the main topic dealt in this text. Since the concentration of the text is on monks the issue of Prsasta death is dealt in detail and the other types are dealt shortly. This text discusses in detail the concept of spiritual death than other text of the age. Every aspirant seeks to attain Moksa from the cycle of death and birth. To tread the path of moksa one has to seek refuge in the four aradhanas. Every aspirant therefore seeks a spiritual death. The tranquil death is one which is done under the guidance of these four aradhanas. There are 17 types of deaths mentioned in the scriptures. Sivarya has discussed 5 of them in detail. (G th No: 25) They are as follows:
1) PANDIT PANDIT 2) PANDIT 3) BALA PANDIT 4) BALA 5) BALA BALA
The discussion is as follows:
1. Pandit Pandit Death: Those whose passions are very less and have reached the state of
fourteenth gunasthana. One who crossed the three yogas (activities of mind, speech and body) and one who is about to overcome four aghatiya Karmas with the highest character
meets this kind of death. 2. Pandit Death: This type of death is achieved by the sadhus who are perfected in character.
This death is of three types: 1) padopagamana, 2) Bhaktapratijna, 3) Inginimarana. 3. Bala Pandit Marana: One who fails to be fully restraint who yet partly follows the vratas
attains this type of death. 4. Bala Marana: One who has not taken any vows attains this type of death.
Bala Bala Marana: one one has complete wrong knowledge and has disrespect in the words of the tirthankara meets such a death.
Miscellaneous topics covered in the text: Apart from the above topics there are various topics mentioned shortly. The famous Namokara Mahamantra and its importance, description of the four gatis (states of existence), meditation, description of vows, etc. are discussed
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Other Topics: 1. The Stories: Sivarya has described interestingly philosophical things through stories. There
are around 150 stories and parables found in this text. These stories are made interesting and inspire to attain the goal of life. It can be taken into account that stories were an
important means in the discourses that were given. 2. Physiology: Sivarya must have had the knowledge of ayurveda. In this text refernces to
anatomy, disease, process of body cleansing, gynecology, food habits, diet etc are
mentioned. 3. Warfare: Sivarya must have been a king. It can be asserted that the way he has described
the mechanism of warfare is remarkable. To prepare for war, its mechanism, the instruments, the psychology of the fighters etc are all well discussed. Social Conditions: there is a detailed description of the social conditions around which he was living. He has also mentioned about the killing of cows, Brahmana, women etc. Drinking wine, playing cards, and other bad habits are also mentioned in the text. Injustice on women, the law and justice, robbery has been mentioned by the author
श्रीआउर पच्चक्यानपयन्नासूत्रम्
पंडितमरण
ats TRUT
NCS HEUT

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Faculty - 2011
Dr. Anekant Kumar Jain
Ph.D. in Jainology & Comprative religion. Is a senior lecturer in Jain philosophy at Sri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, (Deemed University): New Delhi. He has published several research articles in national newspapers.
Dr. Anupam Jain
Ph.D Mathematics. He is Associate Professor at the Government Autonomous Holkar Science College in Indore. He is also the Honorary Director of the Ganini Jnanmati Prakrita Sodhapitha Jambudvipa in Hastinapur; Honorary Secretary and Executive Director of Kundakunda Jn napitha Indore. He has published six books and many research papers. He has received several national awards.
Dr. Bhag Chand Jain
PhD (Jainism and Buddhism). Teaching and researching for over thirty five years on Jain and Buddhist philosophies. Now Prof at University of Madras and joint director of National Institute of Prakrat Research at Sravanbelgola.
Dr. D.C.Jain
M.B.B.S., M.D., D.M. from Delhi University. Head of the Department of Neurology and vice Principal of V.M. Medical College & Safdarjang Hospital New Delhi. He is also the Honorary Director at the L.R.S. Institute in New Delhi. Member of Indian Council of Medical Research in Delhi. He has published several research papers and also participated in many conferences & seminars both in India and abroad. Active Jainologist and leader of Jain community
Prof. D.N. Bhargava
Ph.D. Prof emeritus at Jain Vishva Bharti University. Chairman of Visva Sanskrita Pratisthana, Jodhpur. He is an Editor of And Sanskrit Literature. He has participated in more than sixty seminars in India and Abroad. He was awarded the Preksha Puraskar & Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy.
Dr. J.P. Jain
Ph.D. Retired officer of Indian foreign service and now a visiting lecturer at Jawaharlal Nehru Univ, Delhi. Written several books on Jainism and an international speaker on Jainism.
Dr. Jai Kumar Upadhaye
Ph.D. in Prakrit from ML Sukhadia Univ Udaipur. Renowned Jain astrologist, vastru Shastri and pandit to perform religious rituals. is a reader at Sshri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Deemed University. He has visited U.S.A. for several times.
Dr. Kusum Jain
Ph.D in Human Rights from the University of Ottawa, Canada. L.L.B.). Director of the Center for Advanced Study in Philosophy and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. Has written extensively on Jaina Logic in international journals. She is the recipient of many national and international awards.
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Prof. K.C. Sogani
M.A. in Philosophy, B.Sc., Ph.D. in Jaina Philosophy. Professor emeritus of Philosophy at M.L. Sukhadia University in Udaipur and Jain Vishva bharti Univerity, Rajasthan. He is currently the Director of Jaina Vidya Samathan, Director of the Apbhramsa Sahitya Academy, and Chairman of Prakrita Bhasa Samiti, Prakrita Academy in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He is a Member of the Indian Council of Philosophical Reaserch in Delhi and has been internationally recognized for his work in Jain Philosophy. Dr. Sogani has published thirty books and many papers on Jainism.
Prof. Kamal Giri
Ph.D. Director of Jn na-Pravaha, Center for Cultural Studies and Research, Varanasi and editor of "Chhavi", "Khajuraho in Perspective" and "Kala"- The Journal of Indian Art History Congress. She has published more than 100 research papers in seminars on different aspects of Indian Art and Culture in India and abroad. She visited several Asian Countries in connection with academic.
Dr. M.R.Gelra
Ph.D. in Chemistry. Emeritus Professor in Jainology ans was fist vice chancellor of Jain Vishva Bharti University Ladnun, Rajasthan.
Dr. Meenal Katarnikar
Ph.D. in Philosophy with specialization in Indian Philosophy and epistemology. She is a Reader in Jainology, Department of philosophy, University of Mumbai. She has published many research papers and also participated in seminars in India.
Dr. M.N.P. Tiwari
Dr. Tiwari is a Head of the Department of History of Art, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He has visited London in 1995 to work on Jain Sculptures and paintings in the U.K. Museums. Dr. Tiwari has published about hundred research papers in various Indian and foreign research journals. He has supervised fourteen PhD thesis on different aspects of Indian Art. He has ten books to his credit which are titled jaina pratimavijnana, temples and cultures of kashi and jaina kala Tirtha: Deogarh. He was awarded many times by the president of India.
Shri Naresh Kumar Sethi
M.A. in Political Science. Retired as Secretary and Director of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Government of Rajasthan. Now foremost leader of Digambar Jains and manages several institutuions like Digamber Jain Atishaya Kshetra, Shri Mahavirji , Rajasthan, Shri Vardhman Relief Society, Jaipur, Bhagwan Mahavira Smarak Samiti, Vaishali, Kundgram Bihar.
Just. N.K. Jain
Retired chief justice of High court of Tamil Nadu. Now working as chairman Rajasthan Human Rights Commission. Written several papers on human rights with emphasis on Jain philosophy.
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Prof. Prakash C Jain
Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Ottawa, Canada. Senior faculty member at the school of International studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. His area of academic interest is Jain community. Dr. Jain's many publications include Indians in South Africa, Jains in India and Abroad.
Dr. Priyadarshana Jain
PhD in Jainology from University of Madras. Research scholar and faculty at Univ of Madras. She has published many books and research papers on Jain philosophy. Was a member of Interfaith dialogue mission to USA.
Dr. Pratibha Jain
Ph.D. in History, from the University of Jaipur, Rajasthan. V.C.of Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur. She has published several research papers and Books. Dr. Jain is the recipient of many national and international awards. Practicing Gandhian and a renowned scholar on Gandhi.
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Jain
PhD (Jainism from Hamburg. Taught at Munster Univ Germany. Now with JNU Delhi India.
Prof. R.K. Jain
Ph.D. (anthropology). Prof. Anthropology at Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi. Published several papers in leading journals and is an invited speaker to several international seminars all over the world.
Dr. Shugan Chand Jain
BE. M.E. PhD in Jain philosophy. IT specialist with international professional and living experience. After retirment is involved in Jain philosophy study, practice and teaching. Written several paper and delivered talks at seval universities. Director of ISJS India since beginning.
Dr. Sushma Singhvi
Ph.D. Director Vardhman Mahavir Open Univerity Kota Jaipur Branch. Taught and written several paper and books on Jainism. Traveled overseas several times to deliver talks on Jainism
Dr. Sulekh Chand Jain
Ph.D aeronautical engg. retired as research engineering manager at GE Is Chairman Govrnign council ISJS USA. Founding president several Jain centers in USA and Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA). Trustee of ISJS India, Ahinsa Foundation India; Vice President, Mahavir World Vision, Inc. USA & Deputy Secretary General, World Council of Jain Academies.
Prof. Sudarshan Lal Jain
M.A. (Sanskrit), Ph.D., Acharya. Director (Research) of Parshwanath Vidyapeeth, Varanasi. Former Prof. & Head, Deptt. Of Sanskrit, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Former Dean, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Language known- Hindi, English, Prakrit & Pali. SpecializationPhilosophy, Jainism & Prakrit. Teaching Experience - UG, PG, & Research. Book Published- 7, Articles Publish- Above 70, Edited- 8. Honors & Awards- Many times. Foreign Visit- U.S.A.
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Interaction with the Ambassador of Poland, Trinidad, Italy & Thailand etc. for academic exchange program
Dr. Veer Sagar Jain
PhD in Hindi from Rajasthan University. Reader of dept. of Jain philosophy at Shri Lal Bhadur Shastri Sanskrit Vidhyapith, (Deemed University) New Delhi. He has published 21 books and research papers on Jainology. Frequent speaker on Jainism at local Jain fora.
Prof. Viney Jain
A biophysicist and radiation biologist, author of more than 100 original publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. He served on the faculties of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi; National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, Delhi University, Delhi and as a visiting professor/scientist at several institutes in India, Germany, U.K., France, Netherlands and USA. Prof. Jain was elected as President of Indian Photobiology Society and Indian Society for Radiation Biology. He superannuated in 1998 from the post of Director, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi.
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CONTACT US Dr. Shugan C Jain, International School for Jain Studies D-28, Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi 110 017 INDIA Email: svana@vsnl.com Dr. Sulekh C Jain, Mahavir Vision Inc 4502 Saint Michaels Court, Sugar Land TX, 77479, USA Email: scjain@earthlink.net Dr. Atul Shah, UK Diverse Ethics Ltd. 9 Redmill, Colchester, CO3 4RT UK Email: atul@diverseethics.com Mr. Pramod Jain, Thailand AG Union Ltd. Level 6 Liberty Square 287 Silom road Bangkok 10500 Email: jain_pm@hotmail.com Prof. Anne Vallely, Ottawa Associate professor, Dept of classics & Religion studies, University of Ottawa, 7 O Laurier, Ottawa KIN6N5 Email: annevallely@gmail.com Prof. Christopher Chepple,USA Professor Dept of Theology, Loyola Marymount University LMU Extension, 1840, University Hall, One LMU, Drive, LA, California-90045, U.S.A Email: cchapple@lmu.edu Ms. Sarah Hadmack,Hawaii Religious Studies Instructor,W.C. College and University of Hawaii 45-720 Keaahala Road Kaneohe, HI 96744 Email: minnis@hawaii.edu Admission Office International School for Jain Studies D-28,Panchsheel Enclave, New Delhi-110 017 INDIA Email: admission@jainstudies.org, issjs_india@yahoo.co.in www.jainstudies.org