Istopadesa The Golden Discourse

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/007695/1

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Ācārya Pujyapada's
Iştopadeśa - THE GOLDEN DISCOURSE
आचार्य पूज्यपाद विरचित इष्टोपदेश
PO DOO
INN
Tape
SEO
BAGUS
Foreword by: Ācārya 108 Vidyanand Muni
VIJAY K. JAIN

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Acārya Pujyapada's
Istopadesa - The Golden Discourse
आचार्य पूज्यपाद विरचित
इष्टोपदेश

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Ācārya Pujyapada's
Istopadesa - The Golden Discourse
आचार्य पूज्यपाद विरचित
इष्टोपदेश
Foreword by: a 108 Vidyanand Muni
Vijay K. Jain
विकल्प

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Front cover: The eye-catching, palm-size, black idol of Lord Parshvanatha, the 23rd Tīrthankara,
in Jain Temple, Jalalabad. This antique idol is considered to be endowed with miraculous powers. Jalalabad is a small historical town situated on Delhi-Saharanpur Road, 41 km from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Pic by Vijay K. Jain (2002)
Ācārya Pujyapada's
Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
Vijay K. Jain
Non-Copyright This work may be reproduced, translated and published in
any language without any special permission, provided that it is true to the original and that a mention
is made of the source.
ISBN 81-903639-6-4
Rs. 450/
Published, in the year 2014, by:
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Tel.: (0135) 2658971
Printed at: Vikalp Printers, Dehradun
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आद्य मिताक्षर
आचार्य विद्यानन्द मुनि
कवि, वैयाकरण और दार्शनिक इन तीनों व्यक्तित्वों का एकत्र समवाय आचार्य देवनन्दि-पूज्यपाद में पाया जाता है। आदिपुराण के रचयिता आचार्य जिनसेन ने इन्हें कवियों में तीर्थकृत लिखा है
कवीनां तीर्थकृद्देवः किंतरां तत्र वर्ण्यते । विदुषां वाङ्मलध्वंसि तीर्थं यस्य वचोमयम् ॥1-52॥ जो कवियों में तीर्थंकर के समान थे अथवा जिन्होंने कवियों का पथ-प्रदर्शन करने के लिए लक्षण ग्रन्थ की रचना की थी और जिनका वचनरूपी तीर्थ विद्वानों के शब्द सम्बन्धी दोषों को नष्ट करनेवाला है, ऐसे उन देवनन्दि आचार्य का कौन वर्णन कर सकता है!
ज्ञानार्णवः के रचयिता आचार्य शुभचन्द्र ने इनकी प्रतिभा और वैशिष्ठ्य का निरूपण करते हुए स्मरण किया है
अपाकुर्वन्ति यद्वाचः कायवाञ्चित्तसम्भवम् । कलङ्कमङ्गिनां सोऽयं देवनन्दी नमस्यते ॥1-15॥ जिनकी शास्त्र पद्धति प्राणियों के शरीर, वचन और चित्त के सभी प्रकार के मल को दूर करने में समर्थ है, उन देवनन्दि आचार्य को मैं प्रणाम करता हूँ। आचार्य देवनन्दि-पूज्यपाद का स्मरण हरिवंशपुराण के रचयिता जिनसेन प्रथम ने भी किया

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है। उन्होंने लिखा है
इन्द्रचन्द्रार्कजैनेन्द्रव्याडिव्याकरणेक्षिणः ।
देवस्य देववन्द्यस्य न वन्द्यन्ते गिरः कथम् ॥
अर्थात् जो इन्द्र, चन्द्र, अर्क और जैनेन्द्र व्याकरण का अवलोकन करनेवाली है, ऐसी देववन्द्य देवनन्दि आचार्य की वाणी क्यों नहीं वन्दनीय है !
उनके साहित्य की यह स्तुति - परम्परा धनंजय, वादिराज आदि प्रमुख आचार्यों द्वारा भी अनुभूति हुई। आचार्य पूज्यपाद की ज्ञानगरिमा और महत्ता का उल्लेख उक्त स्तुतियों में विस्तृत रूप से आया है। इस प्रकार आचार्य पूज्यपाद अपने समय में एक प्रसिद्ध आचार्य हुए, जिन्होंने अनेक ग्रन्थों की रचना कर स्व-पर कल्याण किया है। 'इष्टोपदेश' नामक ग्रन्थ में 51 श्लोकों द्वारा जिन-अध्यात्म का सार समझाया गया है, इसमें व्यक्त किए गए भाव बहुत गम्भीर एवं चिंतन-मनन करने योग्य हैं। जैसे कि
यज्जीवस्योपकाराय तद्देहस्यापकारकम् ।
यद्देहस्योपकाराय तज्जीवस्यापकारकम् ॥19॥
जो जीव के लिए उपकारी है वह देह के लिए अपकारक है और जो देह के लिए अपकारक है वह जीव के लिए उपकारी है।
‘इष्टोपदेश' नामक ग्रन्थ को सामान्य व्यक्ति भी पढ़ कर आत्मकल्याण कर सकता है। जीवन और जगत् के रहस्यों की व्याख्या करते हुए, मानवीय व्यापार के प्रेरक, प्रयोजनों और उसके उत्तरदायित्व की सांगोपांग विवेचना आचार्य पूज्यपाद के ग्रन्थों का मूल विषय है। उनके वैदुष्य का अनुमान ‘सर्वार्थसिद्धि' ग्रन्थ से किया जा सकता है। नैयायिक, वैशेषिक, सांख्य, वेदान्त, बौद्ध आदि विभिन्न दर्शनों की समीक्षा कर इन्होंने अपनी विद्वत्ता प्रकट की है। निर्वचन और पदों सार्थकता के विवेचन में आचार्य पूज्यपाद की समकक्षता कोई नहीं कर सकता है। आचार्य पूज्यपाद अपने समय के एक प्रसिद्ध कवि, लेखक, व्याकरणाचार्य हुए। इन्होंने स्तोत्र, स्तुति, जैनेन्द्र व्याकरण, इष्टोपदेश आदि अनेक ग्रन्थों की रचना कर मुमुक्षु जीवों का कल्याण किया है। ‘इष्टोपदेश' नामक ग्रन्थ का अंग्रेजी भाषा में अनुवाद श्री विजय कुमार जैन एवं प्रकाशक विकल्प प्रिंटर्स द्वारा किया जा रहा है। यह आध्यात्मिक जिज्ञासु के लिए अध्ययन-अध्यापन में एक महत्त्वपूर्ण कृति होगी। इस प्रकाशन कार्य हेतु अनुवादक और प्रकाशक को मेरा मंगल शुभाशीर्वाद ।
मार्च 2014
कुन्दकुन्द भारती, नई दिल्ली
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शुभाशीर्वाद आचार्य विद्यानन्द मुनि

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
All
Il that is contained in this book has been excerpted, translated or
taken to conserve the essence of the sacred scriptures. The contribution of the following publications in the preparation of the present volume is gratefully acknowledged:
1. आचार्य जिनसेन विरचित आदिपुराण (2004), भारतीय ज्ञानपीठ, नयी दिल्ली, दसवाँ संस्करण.
2. श्री शुभचन्द्राचार्य विरचित ज्ञानार्णवः (1981), श्री परमश्रुत-प्रभावकमण्डल, श्रीमद् राजचन्द्र आश्रम, अगास, पञ्चम संस्करण.
3. सिद्धान्ताचार्य पं. फूलचन्द्र शास्त्री द्वारा सम्पादित, आचार्य पूज्यपाद विरचित सर्वार्थसिद्धि (2010), भारतीय ज्ञानपीठ, नयी दिल्ली, सोलहवाँ संस्करण. 4. श्री मन्नेमिचन्द्र सिद्धान्तचक्रवर्ति विरचित त्रिलोकसार (1974), श्री शान्तिवीर दिगम्बर जैन संस्थान, श्रीमहावीरजी.
5. श्रीमद् देवनन्दि - अपरनाम - पूज्यपादस्वामि विरचित इष्टोपदेश (1986), श्री परमश्रुत-प्रभावक-मण्डल, श्रीमद् राजचन्द्र आश्रम, अगास, तृतीय संस्करण.
6. श्री समन्तभद्राचार्य विरचित रत्नकरण्डक श्रावकाचार, श्री भारतवर्षीय अनेकान्त विद्वद् परिषद्, सोनागिर (म.प्र.).
7. Ajit Prasada (1933), "Purushārtha-Siddhyupāya by Shrimat Amrita Chandra Suri", The Central Jaina Publishing House, Lucknow.
8. Chakravarti Nayanar, A. (Prof.) (2009), “ācārya Kundakunda's Pancästikāya-Sãära", Bharatiya Jnanpith, 18 Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi, Third Edition.
9. Chakravarti, A. (Ed. & Tr.) (2008), “ Acārya Kundakunda's Samayasāra”, Bharatiya Jnanpith, 18 Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi, Fifth Edition.
10. Ghoshal, Sarat Chandra (Ed.) (1986), “Dravya - Samgraha by Muni Nemichandra Siddhantideva", Shri Chandraprabh Digamber Jain Mandir Trust, Bombay.
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11. Ghoshal, Sarat Chandra (2010), “Āpta Mīmāmsā of Āchārya Samantabhadra", Bharatiya Jnanpith, 18 Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi.
12. Jain, Champat Rai (1986), "Ishtopadesha' By Acarya Devanandi alias Pujyapada and commented as 'The Divine Discourse"", Shri Paramashruta Prabhavaka Mandal, St. Agas, Post Boria, Via Anand (Gujarat).
13. Jain, Champat Rai (1975), "The Key of Knowledge", Today & Tomorrow's Printers & Publishers, New Delhi, Fourth Edition. 14. Jain, S.A. (1960), "Reality: English Translation of Shri
Pujyapada's Sarvarthasiddhi", Vira Sasana Sangha, Calcutta-37. 15. Jain, S.C. (Dr.) (2003), "Vimaladasa's Saptabhangi Tarangini",
Bharatiya Jnanpith, 18 Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi. 16. Jain, S.C. (Dr.) (2008), "Yogasāra Prabhṛta", Bharatiya Jnanpith, 18 Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi, 2003.
17. Jain, Vijay K. (Ed.) (2012), "Acharya Kundkund's Samayasara - with Hindi and English Translation", Vikalp Printers, Dehradun. 18. Jain, Vijay K. (Ed.) (2013), “Ācārya Nemichandra's
Dravyasamgraha - with Authentic Explanatory Notes", Vikalp Printers, Dehradun, 2013.
19. Jain, Vijay K. (Ed.) (2011), "Āchārya Umasvami's Tattvārthasūtra - with Hindi and English Translation", Vikalp Printers, Dehradun. 20. Jain, Vijay K. (Ed.) (2012), "Shri Amritchandra Suri's Puruṣārthasiddhyupaya - with Hindi and English Translation", Vikalp Printers, Dehradun.
21. Jaini, J.L. (1930), "The Sacred Books of the Jainas, Vol. VIII, Samayasara of Shri Kunda Kunda Acharya", The Central Jaina Publishing House, Lucknow.
22. Jhaveri, B.J. (1977), "Consideration of Self in Jaina Philosophy", published in "Mahavira and His Teachings", Bhagvan Mahavira's 2500th Nirvana Mahotsava Samiti, Bombay.
23. Kalghatgi, T.G. (1984), "Jaina View of Life", Lalchand Hirachand Doshi, Jaina Samskriti Samraksaka Sangha, Sholapur, 2nd Edition. 24. Tukol, K.T. (1980), "Compendium of Jainism", Prasaranga, Karnatak University, Dharwad.
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V.K.J.

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE OF VIJAY K. JAIN
aving had his schooling from Mhow and Bhopal in Madhya LI Pradesh, Vijay K. Jain (b. 1951) did his graduation in Electronics Engineering from Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, and Post-Graduation in Management from Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Mr. Jain had been associated, as a visiting faculty teaching marketing management and entrepreneurship, with several institutions including National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), and University of Roorkee (now IIT Roorkee). He is an Ex-President of Dehradun Management Association.
He has written/edited several books: Marketing Management for Small Units, Management Publishing
Co. (1988). Jain Dharma: Mangal Parichaya, Management Publishing Co.,
(1994). From IIM-Ahmedabad to Happiness, Vikalp Printers, Dehradun,
(2006). Āchārya Umasvami's Tattvārthsūtra – with Hindi and English
Translation, Vikalp Printers, Dehradun, (2011). Acharya Kundkund's Samayasāra – with Hindi and English
Translation, Vikalp Printers, Dehradun, (2012). Shri Amritchandra Suri's Puruşārthasiddhyupāya – with Hindi
and English Translation, Vikalp Printers, Dehradun, (2012). Ācārya Nemichandra's Dravyasamgraha - with Authentic
Explanatory Notes, Vikalp Printers, Dehradun, (2013). Mr. Jain is the proprietor of Vikalp Printers, a high-end printing and publishing firm, based in Dehradun.
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PREFACE
The Jaina Scripture – Incontrovertible and Indispensable
he Supreme World Teacher (Lord Jina or Tīrthařkara) is the
embodiment of ultimate bliss - indescribable, beyond the realm of senses - that results due to the union of the Effulgence of Knowledge Divine, that is, all-embracing Omniscience which reveals the reality of all substances and their infinite modes, and victory over attachment and aversion. Omniscience shines like a multitude of rays originating from a single source but revealing the whole universe. Or, it shines like the su coming out of the clouds. The Omniscient Lord is really qualified to preach the gospel to the world. His auspicious body (paramaudārika śarīra) acquires most splendid attributes, free from eighteen imperfections, worthy to be venerated and worshipped by the lords of the men and the four classes of devas. The attributes of His auspicious body include victory over gravitation, no further need of food and water, the eyelids are never closed, no perspiration, no shadow, and the hairs and nails do not grow any more. Peace and plenty must prevail wherever He goes. Naturally hostile animals become as friends in His presence, and flowers and fruits bloom out of season.
The devas erect a heavenly Pavilion (samavasarana) befitting Lord's glory, and there the World Teacher sits, facing the East, a few inches above the huge golden lotus placed on a throne of heavenly gems. The Lord appears to be looking in all the four directions. His voice is without the movements of the glottis or lips, and is, therefore, termed anakşarī (without letters). The Lord's divine voice, as a result of one of the eight splendours (prātihārya), is heard and enjoyed by all present in their respective tongue (ardhamāgadhi bhāśā). The World Teacher is the sun that blossoms the soul-lotus of the worldly beings. His divine discourse is the rain of nectar-water that washes away the dirt of ignorance from all souls. He is a wish-fulfilling tree (kalpavệkşa) for all those aspiring for liberation.
When the life karma of the World Teacher is within one muhurta (48

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minutes), He embraces the highest order of pure concentration and annihilates the four non-destructive (aghātiyā) karmas achieving the ultimate goal that a soul may aspire to reach, i.e. liberation (nirvāṇa). Liberation signifies that there is nothing left to strive for or look forward to. His soul is purged of all karmic impurities and becomes pristine like pure gold, free from dirt and alloys. He crosses the worldly ocean of transmigration. He lives eternally in the supreme state of infinite knowledge and bliss.
Only a disciple of exceptional brilliance and accomplishment (riddhi) is able to fully assimilate, without doubt, delusion, or misapprehension, the irrefutable teachings of a Tīrthankara. The presence of such a worthy disciple or Apostle, called a Ganadhara, is mandatory in the congregation before the Tirthankara delivers His sermon. As per the divine discourse of the World Teacher the Apostle composes the most sacred Scripture comprising twelve departments (Dvādaśānga), also referred to as eleven Angas and fourteen Purvas since the twelfth Anga includes the fourteen Pūrvas, that contain the true description of His teachings. The Scripture composed by the Apostle is a thorough description of the path leading to liberation, contains the true nature of all substances, is incontrovertible as it faithfully reflects the Words of the World Teacher, and has the power to vanquish all anxieties and inquisitiveness of the knowledgeable soul aspiring to tread the same path. The men of ordinary intellect cannot reach the depth of the teachings contained in the Scripture.
After the nirvāṇa of the twenty-fourth Tirthankara Lord Mahavira (599-527 BCE), Ganadhara Gautamasvami, the Apsotle, compiled His teachings in the form of the most sacred Scripture (Dvādaśānga). Subsequently, the knowledge contained in the Scripture was transmitted orally by the teachers to the disciple saints.
It is generally accepted by the Digambara sect of Jainas that the comprehensive knowledge contained in the original Angas and Pūrvas was gradually lost during the course of around six hundred years following the nirvana of Lord Mahavira as it was transmitted orally from one generation of Ācāryas to the next. Acārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic who had partial knowledge (of a single Anga) of the original Scripture.
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Learned Acāryas later on started to restore, compile and put into written words the teachings of Lord Mahavira, that were the subject matter of Dvādaśānga. Acārya Dharasen, during the late first century to early second century CE, guided two Acāryas, Acārya Pushpadant and Ācārya Bhutabali, to put these profound tenets in the written form. The two Ācāryas wrote, on palm leaves, Şațkhandāgama – among the oldest known Digambara Jaina texts. Around the same time, Acārya Gunadhar wrote Kaşāyapāhuda.
Since then an enormous amount of magnificent Jaina literature has been created by the most learned Ācāryas. Only a part of this ocean of literature on various aspects of Jaina faith and philosophy may be available today in readable form. We articulate, with utmost reverence, the names of many distinguished Jaina Ācāryas, and read their works with great devotion. Prominent Jaina Acāryas whose works have exerted the greatest influence on the thinkers as well as the practitioners, ascetics and laymen, include Ācārya Kundkund, Ācārya Umasvami, Ācārya Samantabhadra, Acārya Pujyapada, Acārya Amritchandra, Acārya Nemichandra Siddhānta Cakravarti, Ācārya Jinasen, Ācārya Shubhachandra, and Ācārya Amitagati.
Acāryas themselves practise the five-fold observances in regard to faith (darśanācāra), knowledge (jñānācāra), power (vīryācāra), conduct (cāritrācāra), and austerities (tapācāra) and guide disciples to follow these observances. They are worthy of meditation; I bow my head in reverence to them.
All bhavya souls have the potential to attain liberation, the state of infinite knowledge and bliss. It is pertinent, therefore, to acquire the true knowledge about the divine attributes of the perfected souls and also the path that leads to the attainment of such attributes. By the adoration of the supreme attributes of the World Teacher we confess our deficiencies, on the one hand, and proclaim our aspiration to reach the same supreme status, on the other. Study of the sacred Scripture is recommended to attain purity of faith which leads to the belief that all objects other than the pure Self are alien and worth renouncing. A person with right faith believes in sevenfold realities - the soul, the non-soul, influx, bondage, stoppage, gradual dissociation, and liberation – as ascertained in the Scripture.
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Acārya Pujyapada
Acārya Pujyapada's compositions have been enlightening, since last fifteen centuries, learned ascetics, scholars and the laity, on complex issues including the reality of substances and the path to liberation. He wrote in Sanskrit, in prose as well as verse forms. Over time, the language of his compositions may have lost its mass appeal but the subject matter continues to remain utterly relevant. His expositions reflect a divine understanding of the spiritual subjects and of the objects that are beyond sense-perception. Unmatched brilliance and lucidity mark his writings.
Three other names of Acārya Pujyapada find mention in Jaina literature: Deva, Devanandi, and Jinendrabuddhi.
Acārya Pujyapada was a Digambara ascetic of a high order, abounding in faith, knowledge, and conduct, the cornerstones of the path leading to liberation. He was a master grammarian and an authority on secular subjects including linguistics, poetics and Ayurveda.
Acārya Pujyapada was born in a Brahmin family of Karnataka. His parents were Madhava Bhatta and Shridevi. Kanakagiri, an important Jaina heritage centre situated at a distance of about 50 km from Mysore, Karnataka, was his abode. He lived around 5th century CE. He was a renowned Preceptor of the Nandi Sangha, a part of the lineage of Acarya Kundakunda (circa 1st century BCE to 1st century CE).
His writings reveal both the transcendental and the empirical points of view, and are helpful to the ascetics as well as the laity. He has expounded on the writings of Acarya Kundakunda and Acārya Umasvami (alias Acārya Umaswati). Deep influence of Acarya Samantabhadra is conspicuous in his works.
That Acārya Pujyapada was held in great esteem by the subsequent Jaina pontiffs is evident from the following two excerpts from the writings of learned Jaina Acāryas:
Acarya Shubhachandra in Jñānārṇavaḥ:
अपाकुर्वन्ति यद्वाचः कायवाक्चित्तसम्भवम् ।
कलङ्कमङ्गिनां सोऽयं देवनन्दी नमस्यते ॥1-15॥
We make obeisance to Acarya Devanandi (alias Acārya Pujyapada)
(xiii)

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whose expressions wash away all dirt due to the activities of the body, speech, and mind.
Acārya Jinasena in Ādipurāṇa:
कवीनां तीर्थकृद्देवः किंतरां तत्र वर्ण्यते ।
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How can one portray Acārya Devanandi (alias Acārya Pujyapada) who is like a ford-maker (Tirthankara, the World Teacher) among the poets and whose sacred articulation removes the faults of verbal expression of the scholars?
It is mentioned in Jaina inscriptions and literature that Acārya Pujyapada had the supernatural power to visit the Videha kshetra to make obeisance to the Tirthankara Lord Seemandharasvami. It is believed that on account of his vast scholarship and deep renunciation, his feet were worshiped by the devas and, therefore, the name Pujyapada. The sacred water that anointed his feet could transform iron into gold. He used to visit holy places in celestial carriages and during one such occasion he lost his eyesight. He then composed Santyaṣṭaka and regained his sight. But after this incident, he took to sāmādhī and courted voluntary, pious and passionless death by relinquishing his body.
Acārya Pujyapada authored several important works:
Jainendra Vyakarana - a comprehensive work on Sanskrit
grammar, considered to be an essential reading for the student of Jaina literature.
Sarvarthasiddhi – an authoritative commentary on Tattvärthasūtra by Acārya Umasvami, a compendium of Jaina metaphysics and cosmology.
Samadhitantra (also known as Samadhisataka) – a spiritual work consisting of 105 verses outlining the path to liberation for an inspired soul.
Iṣṭopadeśa - a concise work of 51 didactic verses leading the reader from the empirical to the transcendental, from the mundane to the sublime, through an experiential process of self-realization, rather than through a metaphysical study of the soul-nature.
(xiv)

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Daśabhakti – a collection of the adoration of the essentials that help the soul in acquiring merit. The essentials include the Supreme Beings, the Scripture, the Perfect Conduct, and the sacred places like the Nandīśvara Dvīpa.
Some other works, including śāntyastaka (hymn in praise of Lord Shantinatha), Sārasamgraha, Cikitsāśāstra and Jainābhiseka, are also believed to have been authored by Ācārya Pujyapada.
All his compositions hold a highly revered place in Jaina literature due to their lucid style, precise expression and masterly exposition of the subject.
I make obeisance humble at the holy feet ofĀcārya Pujyapada.
Ācārya Vidyanand Firm in his resolution and deep in the knowledge of the right path as revealed by Lord Jina, Ācārya Vidyanand embraces excellent austerities. The lamp that destroys the darkness of delusion and illuminates the right path burns constantly in his heart. Equipped with the true knowledge of the reality of substances and the ability to discriminate between what is beneficial for the soul and what is not, he commits himself to the observance of the five supreme vows (mahāvrata), three kinds of controls (gupti), and fivefold regulation of activities (samiti). Devoid of the three stings (salya) of deceit (māyā), desire for enjoyment of pleasure and splendour (nidāna), and perverse faith (mithyātva), the Acārya is constantly engaged in the study of the Scripture and the Self. He believes that the pure Self is the only object worth cherishing. The pure Self has no delusion, is distinct from attachment and aversion, and knowledge itself. He is free from all corrupting dispositions. He performs penances with due control of the senses and desires, with full vigour and intensity.
Acārya Vidyanand, at the age of eighty-nine, has the rare ability to endure bodily pain and suffering. Since last fifty-one years, as a Digambara Muni, he has been cheerfully practising the mortification of the body (kāyakleśa tapa) in order to subjugate attachment to pleasures, and proclaim the glory of the teachings of Lord Jina. Knowing that the mortification of the body leads to the control of the senses, he lets his naked body endure extreme weather conditions and hardships. As per the
(xv)

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Scripture, once the senses are controlled it becomes easy to control the straying of the mind and when the straying of the mind is controlled real meditation takes place. Meditation is the cause of the destruction of all obstructive forces, the karmas, which hinder spiritual progress. Meditation, therefore, is said to be the supreme kind of austerity; all other austerities are supplementary to it.
Acarya Vidyanand has deep knowledge of the Scripture, still he continues to devotedly study the profound works of the great Acaryas of the yore not only to attain greater purity of conduct but also to propagate the teachings to the large number of disciples and followers. His unbounded adoration of the Scripture gets manifested in his discourses.
Acārya Vidyanand unreservedly showers his blessings on all undertakings that help in propagating the Truth as revealed by the Scripture. He is the inspiration and the auxiliary cause (nimitta kartā) behind the present work. Though the auxiliary cause by itself doesn't perform the activity, all our actions stand in need of the proper auxiliary cause.
I bow my head to Acārya Vidyanand, the great global Preceptor of the twentieth and the twenty-first century.
Acarya Vidyanand Muni at Kundkund Bharti, New Delhi (2012).
I bow to Elācārya Pragyasagar who, out of his adoration for this great work by Acarya Pujyapada, not only himself read the manuscript with keen interest but also got it proofread by a learned professional.
I must gratefully mention the names of two noble ladies, Ms. Monica DeSouza and Ms. C. Ince, who very kindly read the manuscript and helped me remove many infelicities of expression attributable to my inadequacy and inadvertence.
March 2014
Dehradun, India
(xvi)
Vijay K. Jain
Pic by Vijay K. Jain (2012)

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ॐ नमः सिद्धेभ्यः Ācārya Pujyapada's Istopadesa - The Golden Discourse
आचार्य पूज्यपाद विरचित
इष्टोपदेश
मंगलाचरण
यस्य स्वयं स्वभावाप्तिरभावे कृत्स्नकर्मणः । तस्मै संज्ञानरूपाय नमोऽस्तु परमात्मने ॥
(1)
INVOCATION I make obeisance to the Omniscient Supreme Being who has attained, by own effort, the purity of His soul-nature by destroying all karmas.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul (jīva) is characterized by consciousness – cetanā or upayoga. In its pure form, cetanā is perception and knowledge, perfect and unalloyed. The whole of the reality forms an object of perception and knowledge to the soul. In this pure state the soul is devoid of pain and anguish of the world, and absorbed in everlasting bliss. The state of bliss transcends senses, surpassing all conceivable domains, incomparable, self-generated and

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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
therefore independent of any outside agent, indestructible and divine. The soul becomes clear, incorporeal, free from all karmas (bhava-karma, dravya-karma and nokarma), epitomizing calmness, motionless, self-realized, and the embodiment of perfect knowledge. This is the intrinsic quality (svabhava guna) potentially present in all souls and which manifests explicitly in the Siddha jiva or the realized Self.
The svabhava guna of the soul gets corroded due to the interference of karmas. Karmas make consciousness - perception and knowledge - imperfect and impure. Due to karmas, many extrinsic qualities like delusion, attachment and aversion, set into the soul's disposition. These extrinsic qualities (vibhāva gunas) need to be got rid of to attain purity of the soul. When the four inimical (ghatiyā) karmas deluding (mohaniya), knowledgeobscuring (jñānāvarṇīya), perception-obscuring (darśanavarṇīya), and obstructive (antaraya) are destroyed, omniscience is attained. These four karmas are called destructive (ghatiyā) karmas as these interfere with the four infinitudes - infinite bliss, infinite knowledge, infinite perception, and infinite are the intrinsic characteristics of the soul.
energy- which
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Omniscience is the infinite, all-embracing knowledge that reflects, as it were in a mirror, all substances and their infinite modes, extending through the past, the present and the future. Omniscience is the natural attribute of the pure souls. The Self attaining omniscience becomes an Arhat, the true guide to put us on the right path and worthy to be venerated and worshipped by the lords of the world.
The Arhat, the World Teacher or 'Jina', is free from eighteen imperfections, and possessed of forty-six distinctive attributes. The divine attributes and splendours of the Arhat are described thus in the Scripture:
The Arhat is free from these eighteen imperfections:
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Verse 1
1. janma - (re)birth; 2. żarā -old-age; 3. trişā - thirst; 4. kşudhā-hunger; 5. vismaya - astonishment; 6. arati – displeasure; 7. kheda – regret; 8. roga - sickness; 9. śoka - grief; 10. mada-pride*; 11. moha - delusion; 12. bhaya – fear**; 13. nidrā - sleep; 14. cintā - anxiety; 15. sveda - perspiration; 16. rāga - attachment; 17. dveşa - aversion; and 18. maraņa - death.
Forty-six divine attributes of the Arhat comprise four infinitudes (ananta catusțaya), thirty-four miraculous happenings (atiśaya), and eight splendours (prātihārya).
* Pride is of eight kinds: pride of knowledge (jñāna mada), veneration
(pūjā mada), lineage (kula mada), caste (jāti mada), strength (bala mada), accomplishments (riddhi mada), austerities (tapa mada),
and beauty (śarīra mada). * Fear is of seven kinds: fear relating to this life (ihaloka bhaya), of
the life beyond (paraloka bhaya), of death (maraņa bhaya), of pain and suffering (vedanā bhaya), of being without protection (atrāņa bhaya), of divulgence of one's deeds (agupti bhaya), and of the unexpected (ākasmika bhaya).

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Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
The four infinitudes (ananta catuṣtaya) comprise: 1. ananta jñāna - infinite knowledge; 2. ananta darśana - infinite perception; 3. ananta sukha-infinite bliss; and 4. ananta vīrya -infinite energy.
Of the thirty-four miraculous happenings (atiśaya), ten appear naturally at the time of birth, ten on attainment of infinite knowledge (kevalajñāna), and the remaining fourteen are fashioned by the celestial devas.
The eight splendours (prātihārya) are: 1. aśoka vrkņa – the Ashoka tree; 2. simhāsana – bejeweled throne; 3. chatra – three-tier canopy; 4. bhāmandal – halo of unmatched luminance; 5. divya dhvani – divine voice of the Lord without
lip movement; 6. puspa-varşā – shower of fragrant flowers; 7. camara – waving of sixty-four majestic hand-fans; and 8. dundubhi – dulcet sound of kettle-drums and other
musical instruments. The Omniscient ultimately destroys, with the powerful fire of concentration, the other four main types of karmas, called nondestructive (aghātiyā) karmas – the feeling (vedanīya), the agedetermining (āyuḥ), the physique-making (nāma), and the statusdetermining (gotra). He then attains complete emancipation or final liberation. The released pure soul (Siddha jīva), in the absence of karmas which lead to wandering in different states of worldly existence, darts up to the summit of the universe and remains there for eternity.
The eight supreme qualities of the liberated souls, indicating perfection par excellence, are:
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Verse 1
1. kṣayika-samyaktva - infinite faith or belief in the tattvas or essential principles of reality. It is manifested on the destruction of the faith-deluding (darśana mohaniya) karma.
2. kevalajñāna - infinite knowledge, manifested on the destruction of the knowledge-obscuring (jñānāvarṇīya) karma.
3. kevaladarśana - infinite perception, manifested on the destruction of the perception-obscuring (darśanāvarṇīya) karma.
4. anantavirya - literally, infinite power; it is the absence of fatigue in having knowledge of infinite substances. It is manifested on the destruction of the obstructive (antaraya) karma.
5. sūkṣmatva - literally, fineness; it means that the liberated soul is beyond sense-perception and its knowledge of the substances is direct, without the use of the senses and the mind. It is manifested on the destruction of the lifedetermining (ayuḥ) karma.
6. avagahan - inter-penetrability; it means that the
liberated jīva does not hinder the existence of other such jīvas in the same space. It is manifested on the destruction of the name-determining (nama) karma. 7. agurulaghutva - literally, neither heavy nor light. Due to this quality of agurulaghutva, the jiva continues to manifest through its form, complete and perfect. This supreme quality is manifested on the destruction of the status-determining (gotra) karma.
8. avyābādha - it is undisturbed, infinite bliss, manifested on the destruction of the feeling-producing (vedaniya) karma.
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Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
योग्योपादानयोगेन दृषदः स्वर्णता मता । द्रव्यादिस्वादिसम्पत्तावात्मनोऽप्यात्मता मता ॥
(2)
As particular ore, on the availability of proper purifying agents, gets to its intrinsic identity, that is, gold, similarly, the soul, on the manifestation of its aspects like substance, attains self-identity (emancipation).
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Jaina logicians describe every fact of reality according to four different aspects: its substance (dravya), space of its existence (kşetra), time of its existence (kāla), and its nature (bhāva). Every object admits of a four-fold affirmative predication (svacatusțaya) with reference to its own substance (svadravya), own space (svakşetra), own time (svakāla), and own nature (svabhāva). Simultaneously a four-fold negative predication is implied with reference to other substance (paradravya), other space (paraksetra), other time (parakāla), and other nature (parabhāva). The substance of an object not only implies its svadravya but differentiates it from paradravya. It becomes logically necessary to locate a negation for every affirmation and vice-versa. We must not only perceive a thing but also perceive it as distinct from other things. Without this distinction there cannot be true and clear perception of an object. When the soul, on the availability of suitable means, admits of the four-fold affirmation with respect to svadravya, svakşetra, svakāla, and svabhāva, it also admits of the four-fold negation with respect to paradravya, parakşetra, parakāla, and parabhāva.
The substance of the emancipated soul is incorporeal (amūrta)

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Verse 2
with consciousness (upayoga) as its differentia; it is devoid of any corporeal substance. It has a form slightly less than that of the final, superior body and resides at the summit of the universe; it is not of any other shape or size, and is not to be found anywhere else. Its existence is eternal; it is free from any future liability of transmigration. It is possessed of eight supreme qualities; it is devoid of the influence of eight kinds of karmas.
So long as the soul is associated with karmic bondage and it remains in the company of the non-self, which includes the body, it is not possible to make these four predications about it.
There is difference between the body and the soul as these are perceived by different types of cognition. The body is known through the instruments of senses and the soul is known by selfexperience. The soul has consciousness (cetană) and is incorporeal (amūrta), whereas the body has no consciousness and is corporeal. In its worldly state a soul is always accompanied by a body. This perhaps is the cause of confusion about the relationship between the two.
The term body, in association with the soul, implies the gross body (audarika śarīra) as of human beings and plants and animals, transformable body (vaikriyika sarira) as of celestial and infernal beings, the projectable or assimilative body (ahāraka śarīra) as originating in a saint of the sixth stage in order to resolve a doubt or to ascertain the nature of a minute object or to dispel non-restraint, the luminous (electric) body (taijasa śarīra) which is the cause of brilliance or which is caused by brilliance, and the karmic body (kārmaṇa śarīra) which is composed of subtle, very fine karmic matter. The last two bodies are a constant companion of the soul in all its transmigrating wanderings and are destroyed only at the time of final emancipation. Though karma is the cause of all types of bodies, the last is the storehouse of karmic matter arising due to the effects of all our actions, desires and passions, virtuous or evil.
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The kārmaņa śarīra is the compound arising from the union or fusion of spirit and matter and is subject to modification from time to time.
Every organism or a samsārī jīva, thus, is an organic unity of two distinct entities, soul (jīva) and matter (pudgala). The entire universe is full of molecules of fine matter, technically called vargaņā, that possess the capacity for transforming themselves into karmic matter. Through the disturbance caused to the soul by its modifications, these molecules are attracted and get bound with the soul as karmic matter. The soul and the karmic matter have distinct characteristics of their own. The karmic matter, by itself, does not destroy the attributes of the soul, nor does the soul destroy the attributes of the karmic matter. There is no mutual relation of the destroyer and destroyed between the two. These are not mutually hostile or inimical. A crystal, which is pure, does not alter its colour by itself, but when in proximity with a coloured (say, red) object seems to acquire a red tinge; similarly, the soul is pure and does not acquire modifications like attachment by itself. But due to dispositions like attachment, its purity gets tainted.
In discussing the relation between the soul and the karmic matter, Jainism makes an important distinction between the material or substantial cause (upādāna kartā) and the auxiliary or external cause (nimitta kartā). The Self is the substantial cause of psychical states and matter is the substantial cause of organic states. And yet psychical states and organic states are external causes of each other. One psychical state is produced by an immediately preceding psychical state, and determined externally by an organic state. In like manner, one organic state is determined by immediately preceding organic state and conditioned externally by a psychical state. There is similar parallelism that explains the causal inter-relation between the Self and the body. The Self is the substantial cause of an emotion while karmic matter is the

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Verse 2
auxiliary or external cause. The former is the entity that is transformed from the cause to the effect and the latter assists the process. As is evident, the importance of the material or substantial cause is far greater than that of the auxiliary cause. A strong auxiliary cause is unable to produce the change in the absence of the material cause, though the material cause itself always stands in need of the proper auxiliary cause. The karmic matter cannot get itself bound with the soul unless the soul first gets into a state of 'weakness', overcome by passions. The passionate states of the soul are themselves generated by the operative karmas associated with the soul in the form of the kärmaṇa sarīra. The psychical states of the soul are produced and destroyed by the operation of various species of karmas bound with it. Also, various species of karmas bound with the soul are produced and destroyed by the psychical states of the soul. In this way, the soul and various species of karmas get bound to each other. This bond is the cause of the worldly cycle of births and deaths. Thus, the psychical states of the soul are held to be the substantial cause of bondage. On account of these psychical states the karmic matter gets attracted and deposited on to the soul, shrouding its light and glory.
All karmic matter associated with the soul turns into bonds of various kinds of karmas. These bonds are of four kinds according to the nature or species of karma, duration of karma, intensity of fruition of karma, and the quantity of space-points of karma. The bonds have an expiry date after which the karmas 'fall off' or disappear. But before the expiry of that period, due to the activities of the body, mind and speech, and the passions and emotions, these create a fertile ground for fresh karmic matter to get associated with the soul. Thus the process of falling off of old and bondage of new karmas goes on incessantly.
The wise, after knowing the true nature of the soul and the karmic matter, engages himself in the practice of ridding his soul of
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Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
the bondage of karmic shackles. He reckons that the soul is pure consciousness and all other dispositions are alien to it; only the various forms of karmas have kept it confined to and whirling in the mire of the world. After completely annihilating karmas associated with the soul, there is no cause for the soul to further wander in worldly existence. He turns his soul inwards and avoids all outward concerns. Once the pure Self is realized, there is no fear of coming back to samsāra as no force, no influence, no power, howsoever strong, can affect it. The soul gets to its pure, pristine state characterized by supreme bliss, omniscience and other inherent attributes, and remains as such for ever.
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वरं व्रतैः पदं दैवं नाव्रतैर्वत नारकम् । छायातपस्थयोर्भेदः प्रतिपालयतोर्महान् ॥
Verse 3
EXPLANATORY NOTES
(3)
It is better to observe vows and austerities that lead to birth as a celestial being than to lead a vowless life of sensual pleasures that leads to birth as an infernal being. The difference between the two can be summed up by an analogy: when two persons have to wait for the arrival of another person, one spends his time in the comfort of the shade, while the other in the heat of the sun.
Desisting from injury, falsehood, stealing, unchastity, and attachment are the five vows. The householder observes these vows partially but the ascetic to a very large extent. We know that our activities of the body, mind, and speech, when actuated by passion, result into bondage of karmas to our soul. Virtuous activity is the cause of merit (punya) and wicked activity is the cause of demerit (papa). Bondage of karmas that cause merit provides us with pleasant feeling, propitious life-span, auspicious rebirth, and high status. Although our ultimate goal is to attain liberation for our soul, but many a time we are not able to give up our desires completely. Still we restrain ourselves from undesirable activities by observing vows. In other words, we follow restraint with attachment. Such restraint is among the causes of influx of karmas leading to the celestial birth. Right belief is also the cause of influx of life-karma leading to the celestial birth.
The ultimate destination of all bhavya souls (having potential
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to attain liberation) is the supreme and everlasting state of knowledge, faith, bliss and power. Who in his senses would opt for this short life as a human being to be withered away in just acquiring, and then indulging in, the objects of sense-pleasures? The man well-versed in the Scripture is aware that the ultimate goal of liberation may be far away in time. Life as a human being, though short, provides a great opportunity to mould the future course of the soul for an exceedingly long period of time. As an instance, the minimum life-span in the heaven of Saudharma kalpa is a little over one palyopama and the maximum lifetime is little over two sāgaropamas. The term palyopama is defined in detail in the Jaina scriptures; suffice it to say here that from the worldly standards it is an exceedingly long period of time. And a sāgaropama is 1015 times a palyopama! Life-spans in the hells too are very long; the maximum duration of life in the seven infernal regions is one, three, seven, ten, seventeen, twenty-two, and thirtythree sägaropamas, respectively. The only way to rid the soul of its associated karmic filth and thus make it suitable for pious incarnations like celestial life, or birth in the regions of enjoyment (bhogabhūmi), is by cheerfully accepting the observance of the vows and leading a well-regulated life. It, therefore, makes great sense to lead a seemingly difficult life of observing vows and austerities during one's incarnation as a human being.
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यत्र भावः शिवं दत्ते द्यौः कियद् दूरवर्तिनी । यो नयत्याशु गव्यूतिं क्रोशार्द्धे किं स सीदति ॥
Verse 4
EXPLANATORY NOTES
(4)
When through meditation on the soul a man can attain the supreme status, that is, liberation, how far can the heavens be from him? Will a person accustomed to carrying a load to a distance of four miles get tired if he has to carry it just one mile?
The Three Jewels (ratnatraya) of right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct, together, constitute the path to liberation. Belief in the nine substances as these are is right faith. Knowledge of these substances without doubt, delusion or misapprehension is right knowledge. Being free from delusion and passions is right conduct. As mentioned earlier, omniscience is attained on the destruction of the deluding, the knowledge-obscuring, the perception-obscuring and the obstructive karmas. As long as the deluding karmas are very powerful, spiritual progress is very slow, if not impossible. How are the deluding karmas destroyed? The potential soul becomes a right believer and with growing purity of thought activity, starts its journey of spiritual progress.
From the empirical point of view, souls are divided into fourteen classes or spiritual stages (gunasthāna).
Ācārya Pujyapada's Sarvārthasiddhi delineates the fourteen spiritual stages (gunasthana) as under:
1. mithyadṛṣṭi - deluded
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2. sāsādanasamyagdysţi – downfall 3. samyagmithyādrsţi – mixed right and wrong belief 4. asamyatasamyagdrsţi – vowless right belief 5. samyatāsamyata – partial vows 6. pramattasamyata – imperfect vows 7. apramattasamyata – perfect vows 8. apūrvakaraṇa – new thought-activity
9. anivịttibādara-sāmparāya – advanced thought-activity 10. sūkşmasāmparāya – slightest delusion 11. upaśānta-kaşāya - subsided delusion 12. kşīņa-kaṣāya - destroyed delusion 13. sayogakevali – Omniscient with vibration 14. ayogakevalī - non-vibratory Omniscient
It is clear that real spiritual progress starts only after the acquisition of right faith. Right faith arises from innate disposition or by acquisition of knowledge. In both instances of right faith the internal cause is the same, namely the subsidence, destruction, or destruction-cum-subsidence of faith deluding karmas. Right faith is characterized by eight qualities: freedom from doubt (niḥsankita), freedom from worldly desire (niņkānkşita), freedom from revulsion (nirvicikitsā), freedom from superstitions (amūdhadrsti), charitable forbearance and concealment of defects in others (upagūhana), ensuring steadfastness of right faith and
o swerve from the path to liberation (sthitikaraņa), propagation of the true path (prabhāvanā), and joy and affection towards the right path and its followers (vātsalya).
The Three Jewels (ratnatraya) of right faith, knowledge, and
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Verse 4
conduct certainly lead to liberation, and not to any other state of existence. However, due to the Self getting involved in virtuous dispositions (śubhopayoga), bondage of virtuous karmas takes place leading to birth in auspicious abodes including the heavens.
Only those who are born in the middle world in the regions of labour attain liberation, as liberation is possible only in this terrestrial world of human effort. In the lands of paradise and in celestial regions, the desires are fulfilled instantaneously without any effort. Hence there is no room for observing right conduct, one of the three prerequisites to attain liberation.
Persons with right faith, till they finally attain liberation, are destined to superior states of existence thereby getting reborn in auspicious environments only. It is said in the Scripture that persons with right faith will be reborn among the fourth order of devas – heavenly (vaimānika) devas – and not among the three lower orders, namely the residential (bhavanavāsī), the peripatetic (vyantara), and the stellar (jyotişka) devas. Those persons who are characterized by right belief and practice restraint with attachment, and restraint-cum-non-restraint, will also be reborn in the higher heavens of Saudharma kalpa and so on and not among the three lower orders of celestial beings.
Adapted from: Jain, S.A. (1960), “Reality: English Translation of Shri Pujyapada's
Sarvārthasiddhi”, Vira Sasana Sangha, Calcutta-37, p. 183.
Ācārya Samantabhadra in Ratnakarandaka-Śrāvakācāra highlights the propitious outcomes of being endowed with right faith:
ओजस्तेजोविद्यावीर्य्ययशोवृद्धिविजयविभवसनाथाः । महाकुला महार्था मानवतिलकाभवन्ति दर्शनपूताः ॥
(36)
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Those whose hearts have become pure through right faith are endowed with splendour, physical strength, knowledge, valour, fame, happiness, superiority and wealth. They are born in noble families, possess the ability to realize the highest ideals of life and are among the best of men.
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अष्टगुणपुष्टितुष्टा दृष्टिविशिष्टाः प्रकृष्टशोभाजुष्टाः । अमराप्सरसां परिषदि चिरं रमन्ते जिनेन्द्रभक्ताः स्वर्गे ॥
(37)
Those who have the right faith are born in the heavens, become devotees of Lord Jina (the Victor), are endowed with eight kinds of miraculous powers and great splendour. They enjoy themselves for long millenniums in the company of the devas and the devis.
देवेन्द्रचक्रमहिमानममेयमानम् राजेन्द्रचक्रमवनीन्द्रशिरोर्चनीयम् ।
धर्मेन्द्रचक्रमधरीकृतसर्वलोकम्
लब्ध्वा शिवं च जिनभक्तिरुपैति भव्यः ॥
(41)
A bhavya devotee of Lord Jina who has the right faith acquires immense glory as the lord of the congregation of the celestial beings, as the king of kings (cakravarti) owning the divine discus, the lords of the earth must worship him with their heads, and finally after attaining to the supremely worshipful status of godhood reaches nirvana.

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हृषीकजमनातङ्कं दीर्घकालोपलालितम् ।
नाके नाकौकसां सौख्यं नाके नाकौकसामिव ॥
Verse 5
(5)
The residents of the heavens enjoy happiness that appertains to the senses, free from disruptions, lasts for an exceedingly long period of time and has no parallel outside the heavens.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Devas are born in special beds (upapada) and possess transformable bodies. Just like the rising of the sun, they get to the auspicious completion (paryapti) of organs and capacities within 48 minutes (antarmuhurta) of their birth. Completion is of six kinds - taking in of the molecules to form the body, development of the body, development of the sense organs, development of the respiratory organs, development of the organ of speech, and development of the mind. Other devas flock to celebrate the arrival of a new deva with music and beating of drums. Elated with his glory, the deva, through the power of clairvoyance, recollects his past virtuous deeds because of which he has acquired such a status. Extolling the virtues of the true religion, he goes to worship Lord Jina with sacred substances.
Heavenly beings, up to those born in the sixteen heavens derive extreme happiness by attending to and celebrating with gusto the five most auspicious and principal events (pañcakalyāṇaka) in the life of the World Teacher (Tirthankara).
Acarya Umasvami's Tattvärthasūtra and its commentary, Sarvarthasiddhi by Acarya Pujyapada, have ascertained that the
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Residential devas and others up to those in Aiśāna kalpa enjoy sexual pleasure like human beings as they are actuated by karmas causing affliction and unease. Engrossed always in happiness, devas do not realize the passage of time. In Sānatkumāra and Māhendra kalpas the devas as well as the devis derive the highest pleasure by mere touch of the body. In Brahma, Brahmottara, Lāntava and Kāpiştha kalpas the devas experience the highest pleasure by looking at the charming and lovely forms and the beautiful and attractive dresses of the devis. In Sukra, Mahāśukra, Śatāra and Sahasrāra kalpas the devas derive the highest enjoyment by listening to the sweet songs, the gentle laughter, the lovely words and the pleasant sounds of the ornaments of their devis. In Ānata, Prāṇata, Āraña and Acyuta kalpas the devas get the utmost pleasure the moment they think of their devis. The rest of the devas – in nine Graiveyaka, nine Anudisa and five Anuttara vimānas – are without sexual desire. Copulation (pravīcāra) is merely a palliative for pain caused by the sexual desire. In the absence of such pain or unease, they have no need for a palliative.
Ācārya Nemichandra's Trilokasāra depicts the extreme happiness appertaining to the lords of the men and the devas but holds it as insignificant as compared to the supreme happiness enjoyed by the Siddha Parameşthi:
चक्किकुरुफणिसुरेंदेसहमिंदे जं सुहं तिकालभवं । तत्तो अणंतगुणिदं सिद्धाणं खणसुहं होदि ॥
(560) The happiness appertaining to the king of kings (cakravarti), the resident of the regions of enjoyment (bhogabhūmi), the lord of the lower celestials, the lord of the heavenly kalpas, and the lord of the heavens beyond the kalpas, is successively infinitely more. The supreme happiness or bliss that appertains to the Siddha Parameșthi, however, can only be described as: “Just
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one instant of bliss that the Siddha Parameṣṭhi enjoys is infinitely more than the combined happiness that all the above mentioned worldly jīvas enjoy during the course of their past, present and future lives."
The above statement, though made metaphorically, is sufficient to suggest that the supreme happiness of the Siddha Parameṣṭhī is indescribable; it is beyond the senses, self-dependent, and devoid of fluctuations or impediments whatsoever. The happiness of the worldly jivas, on the other hand, is sense-perceived, dependent on outside objects, and characterized by unease or anxiety. As the tongue of a man suffering from acid reflux is not able to savour the most delectable food, similarly, the soul which is soiled with karmic dirt is not able to feel or depict the supreme, unbounded happiness that appertains to the liberated soul.
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वासनामात्रमेवैतत्सुखं दुःखं च देहिनाम् । तथा ह्युद्वेजयन्त्येते भोगा रोगा इवापदि ॥
(6)
Pleasure and pain that appertain to the body are only notional; these are aberrations in the natural state of bliss that appertains to the soul. In an agitated state of the mind, sensual pleasures result into disquiet like that caused by an illness.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
For long, we have been led to believe that we are the enjoyers of worldly pleasures and pains. We do our utmost to attract pleasures and repel pains. Our passionate thought activities cause bondage of karmas, good or bad, virtuous or wicked. Merit bondage is like fetters made of gold and demerit bondage is like fetters made of iron. On account of our desires we experience happiness or misery. Our desires create in our souls a disposition favourable for the karmic molecules to settle in. Due to our ignorance, the process of passionately reacting to happiness or misery and settling in of fresh karmic molecules in our souls goes on, till snapped by self-exertion. The knowledgeable soul is aware of the fruits of karmas but does not enjoy them. A wise person, therefore, does not get particularly elated on the approach of desirable objects or circumstances and dejected when undesirable conditions supervene.
It is only from the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya) that the soul is said to be the enjoyer of the fruits of karmas in the form of pleasure and pain; from the transcendental point of view (niscaya naya), the soul experiences only consciousness (cetanā),
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concomitant with perception (darśana) and knowledge (jñāna).
The statement that pleasure and pain that appertain to the body are only notional requires a little elaboration. Those who have achieved success in worldly affairs have been able to search for happiness in many objects and places. In each new object and place they found a sense of enjoyment for a while but were soon back to square one. As soon as the novelty was over and the force of contrast dulled, it no longer remained charming, and they had to search for something afresh. The fact of the matter is that happiness comes not from without; it depends on ourselves. We are responsible for our happiness and really no outside help or device is needed to get it. It follows that worldly success is not the same as happiness.
The question arises as to what is the proper object for us to cherish. Money has failed to procure happiness whenever it has been put to test. There are many millions of people of money who are unhappy. Can it be status, family, children, fame and the like which are known to have afforded pleasure in the past? Surely not, for what they provide us with is ephemeral, and adulterated with suffering as their parting is certain. It can be shown with respect to every worldly object that it cannot be happiness itself. Happiness cannot be found in any object that we zealously seek.
The highest aspiration of man can only be to attain Divinity for his soul which gives rise to unalloyed bliss and happiness, and freedom from pain and suffering. The realization of this supreme status is possible with own exertion, never by favour or grace of another. The reason for this is that Divinity is the essential nature of the soul, which, in the condition of impurity, or imperfection, is not manifested owing to the bondage of different kinds of karmas. So long as a soul does not have faith in its true nature, it cannot exert itself to realize its natural perfection and joy. Right faith,
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right knowledge, accompanied by right conduct, that is, exertion in the right direction for the destruction of the karmic bonds is the sure way which leads to the attainment of the goal of supreme bliss.
Joy, or happiness, has the element of freedom in it. It is a state of gladness or exultation, and indicates exhilaration of spirits. Joy is a state of exhilaration which is manifested in consequence of some lasting and permanent good, i.e., by removal of some fetters of bondage. The idea of pleasure cannot keep pace, in any sense, with that of joy. While true joy is the sense of permanent freedom from some irksome liability or limitation, pleasure is only temporary, and conveys no idea of freedom. The emotion of joy springs up in consequence to the belief that never again the same thing be striven for. The sense of freedom from future straining and striving is the direct and immediate cause of joy. Feeling of delight and joy signifies mental ease, i.e., freedom from care, hence the state of buoyancy and light-heartedness, which is a necessary concomitant of release from anxiety.
It can easily be seen that pleasure and pain are both in the nature of affection or modification of the soul, since nothing corresponding to these has ever been known to exist in the external world, and also since nothing but own states or affections can be felt by an individual. Indian classical music can be a source of much delight to a connoisseur, and the same music may be repulsive for a glitzy high-flyer. Also, the extent of grief that a five-year old girl would experience at the loss of her favourite doll can be far greater than that experienced by a rich, fifty-year old man at the loss of his car. It is clear, therefore, that pleasure and pain both are emotions and depend on our internal state rather than on any outside object. An agreeable disposition of the soul-substance occasions a feeling of pleasure while an opposite kind of sensation arises from a disagreeable affection. Pleasure is essentially fleeting, transient, full of trouble in its procurement, and liable to give birth to
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suffering and pain. Pleasure and pain are two sides of a coin; neither can be had alone by itself, and the latter being mostly the lot of living beings in the world.
Man alone, of all beings in the world, is endowed with the capacity, and enjoys the opportunity, to think of his destiny. He alone has the power of shaping his future, for weal or woe, as he pleases. But this capacity is hopelessly crippled by his wrong desires - the sensual desires. The greatest defect of materialism is that it prevents man from the realization of his divine nature by unduly developing the sensual side of life.
If sense-gratification be the only form of enjoyment to be found in Nature, perfection in happiness cannot be thought of in connection with the soul. Fortunately, however, there is another kind of joy which is possible for living beings. This consists in the natural 'pulsation' of pure delight, which becomes an inseparable companion of the soul the moment the individual establishes himself fully in own pure Self.
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मोहेन संवृतं ज्ञानं स्वभावं लभते न हि । मत्तः पुमान् पदार्थानां यथा मदनकोद्रवैः ॥
After consuming intoxicating grain called 'kodrava', the man loses his power to know, with due discrimination, the real nature of things; in the same way, the knowing Self, when covered with delusion, fails to comprehend the true nature of substances.
(7)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Knowledge becomes fallacious without the power of discrimination between the right and the wrong. In an inebriated state, a man may consider the mother as the wife and the wife as the mother. This knowledge is obviously untrue. On some other occasion he may consider the mother as the mother and the wife as the wife according to his whims. Even this knowledge is untrue as it is only accidental, not based on the power of discrimination.
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To be able to ascend the spiritual ladder, the potential Self first becomes a right believer and with growing purity of thoughtactivity the deluding (mohaniya) karmas are destroyed progressively. Deluding karmas are of two kinds, faith deluding (darśana mohaniya), which delude right belief, and conduct deluding (căritra mohaniya), which hinder right conduct. Faith deluding karmas are subdivided into wrong belief (mithyātva), mixed right and wrong belief (samyagmithyātva), and right belief slightly clouded with false belief (samyaktva). On the rise of the first kind of karma, wrong belief, the individual turns away from the path revealed by the Omniscient Lord, becomes indifferent to

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the true nature of reality and is incapable of discriminating between what is beneficial to him and what is not. Such perverse attitude, owing to partial cleansing or purification, appears along with its purified state and becomes mixed right and wrong belief. When perverse attitude is restrained by virtuous thought activity, the faith deluding karmas become quiescent and no longer obstruct right belief. The individual then is said to be having right belief with slight or occasional wrong belief. The Jainas liken the three classes of faith deluding karmas to the results arising from eating the grain ‘kodrava' by a man. If the grain be eaten without any preparation it causes the most intense giddiness, enough to bewilder the man; such is the effect of wrong belief (mithyātva). If the husk of the grain be removed before eating, the effect is less stupefying; akin to mixed right and wrong belief (samyagmithyātva). If the grain be thoroughly cleansed, the occasional slight uneasiness it may cause is comparable to right belief slightly clouded with false belief (samyaktva).
Wrong belief may be innate or acquired. The manifestation of disbelief in the true nature of reality, on the rise of perversity karma, without teaching by others, is the first variety. The second variety, which is based on the teaching by others, is described as consisting of five perversities: absolutistic attitude (ekānta), contrary attitude (viparīta), doubtful attitude (samsaya), nondiscriminatory attitude (vainayika), and ignorant attitude (ajñānika).
The identification of a thing and its attributes as 'this alone' or ‘thus alone' is absolutistic attitude. 'Everything is permanent,' or ‘Everything is momentary,' are example of absolutistic attitude. ‘An ascetic with material possessions is a passionless saint,' or 'The Omniscient Lord takes morsels of food,' are contrary attitudes. The indecisive view, whether the three gems of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct lead to liberation or not, is doubtful
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attitude. ‘All gods are one,' and 'All religions are the same,' are nondiscriminating attitudes. Incapacity to examine what is good and what is bad for oneself is the ignorant attitude.
Sensory knowledge, scriptural knowledge, and clairvoyance become erroneous when these coexist in the soul with wrong belief. It is similar to the milk kept in a bitter gourd. The milk becomes unpalatable on account of the defect of the receptacle. In the same manner, even right sensory knowledge, scriptural knowledge, and clairvoyance become erroneous when conditioned by wrong belief.
The conduct deluding karmas are subdivided into passions (kaşāya), and quasi-passions (nokaṣāya) – those that have the tendency to colour or stain the purity of the soul, and those that do no not have that tendency, respectively. There are four primary passions: anger (krodha), pride (māna), deceitfulness (māyā), and greed (lobha). The quasi-passions are nine: laughter (hāsya), attraction (rati), displeasure or repulsion (arati), grief (śoka), fear (bhaya), disgust (jugupsā), male sex passion (pumveda), female sex passion (strīveda), and neuter sex passion (napumsakaveda).
Belief in substances, souls and non-souls, as these actually are, is right faith. The Omniscient Lord has called right knowledge (samyagjñāna) as the effect and right faith (samyagdarśana) as the cause. Therefore, it is appropriate to venerate and acquire right knowledge after the acquisition of right faith. Having acquired right faith, detailed cognition of substances, without fallacies of doubt (samśaya), perversity (vimoha or viparyaya), and indefiniteness (vibhrama or anadhyavasāya), is right knowledge.
Doubt (samsaya) means swaying of the mind without being able to assert the true nature of a thing. After acquiring the belief that bondage of virtuous karmas leads to birth in the heavens, entertaining skepticism about its validity is an instance of doubt. The cognition of an object as something which is contrary to its true
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nature is perversity (vimoha). For example, if we perceive nacre to be silver, we have knowledge vitiated by perversity. Indefiniteness (uibhrama) is vacillation about the real nature of a thing due to the shrouding of the intellect. For example, when we touch something while moving, we may be conscious that we have touched something but are unable to say, with any certainty, what it was, our knowledge is enshrouded in indefiniteness.
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वपुहं धनं दाराः पुत्रा मित्राणि शत्रवः । सर्वथान्यस्वभावानि मूढः स्वानि प्रपद्यते ॥
(8)
Entities, like the body, the house, the wealth, the wife, the son, the friend, and the foe, have attributes which are distinct from the soul; still, a deluded person considers these as his own.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul (jīva) is eternal. It is incorporeal and formless (amūrta). It is different from the body or the sense organs. But it is coextensive with the body it occupies. The term jīva represents a living being. It denotes a spiritual entity. Its essential nature is cetanā or consciousness. It has lived in the past, lives in the present and will continue to live in the future. Thus it is beginningless and has an unending continuous existence of a spiritual nature. The soul that lives in the concrete world of biological kingdom, associated with a gross body as well as the subtle karmic body, is the samsārījīva. The soul that has transcended the cycle of samsāra and has attained its nature of intrinsic purity as a result of the destruction of the associated karmic mire is the liberated soul, the Siddha jīva. This conception of jīva may be said to be the central doctrine of the Jaina philosophy.
All samsārī jīvas are embodied according to their individual spiritual status, and are subject to the cycle of births and deaths. The body, associated with each soul, is subject to growth, old age, decay and death. Death entails that the soul must quit the existing
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body to acquire a fresh body consistent with and determined by the record of the karmic conditions, of which the soul itself is a repository.
One of the most contentious issues in metaphysics is the relationship between the soul and the body. The Jaina metaphysics holds that the two are entirely different entities but live together for a certain period of time and then depart.
The forms of physical matter are characterized by touch, taste, smell and colour. The soul of a samsārījīva is associated with bodies - gross and subtle - fashioned by the karmic matter which is essentially physical in nature. Owing to the presence of internal causes due to karmas, and with the instrumentality of external causes that are seen in the external world, the feelings of delight or anguish, amenity or affliction, and pleasure or pain, are produced. The soul and the physical karmic matter are so intricately woven that we fail to distinguish between the functions or attributes of the two. The soul is non-material from a non-absolutistic sense only. It is not true that the soul is only non-material. From the point of view of the modes in bondage, owing to the influence of karmas, the soul is corporeal in the embodied state. From the point of view of its pure nature, the soul is incorporeal. Though the soul is one with the body in the embodied state, it is different from the body because of its distinctive characteristics. The corporeal nature of the soul is predicated in the non-absolutistic or relativistic sense only. From one point of view the soul is incorporeal, but from another point of view it is corporeal.
A person is deluded when he identifies an animate object, soul (jīva), as inanimate, and an inanimate object, non-soul (ajīva), as animate. The consciousness of different classes of jīvas manifests in different degrees. Earth, water, fire, air, and plants have the lowest level of consciousness - only tactual sensation. Their
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consciousness level is so low that to many these beings may seem to be lifeless. The Omniscients and the liberated souls possess the highest degree of consciousness. In between these two extremes, there are jīvas having senses from two to five, such as the worm, the ant, the bee, and the man, each manifesting successively higher degree of consciousness.
Ācārya Kundakunda’s Samayasāra explains beautifully the difference between the Self and the non-self:
(1-20-20)
अहमेदं एदमहं अहमेदस्सेव होमि मम एदं । अण्णं जं परदव्वं सच्चित्ताचित्तमिस्सं वा ॥ आसि मम पुव्वमेदं अहमेदं चावि पुव्वकालम्हि । होहिदि पुणो वि मझं अहमेदं चावि होस्सामि ॥ एवं तु असंभूदं आदवियप्पं करेदि संमूढो। भूदत्थं जाणंतो ण करेदि दु तं असंमूढो ॥
(1-21-21)
(1-22-22)
One who erroneously considers any alien objects such as an animate being (wife, son), an inanimate thing (riches such as gold and silver), and mixed animate-inanimate object (land, cattle) as 'I am this substance,' or 'It is I,' or 'I am its,' or 'It is mine,' or 'It was mine in the past,' or 'I was identical to it in the past,' or 'It shall be mine in future also,' and 'I shall also be like it in future,' has only superficial awareness (bahirātmā). But one who understands the real nature of the Self does not entertain such erroneous notions and, therefore, possesses intimate knowledge (antarātmā).
अण्णाणमोहिदमदी मज्झमिणं भणदि पोंग्गलं दव्वं । बद्धमबद्धं च तहा जीवो बहुभावसंजुत्तो ॥
(1-23-23)
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(1-24-24)
सव्वण्हुणाणदिट्ठो जीवो उवओगलक्खणो णिच्चं । किह सो पोंग्गलदव्वीभूदो जं भणसि मज्झमिणं ॥ जदि सो पोंग्गलदव्वीभूदो जीवत्तमागदं इदरं । तो सक्का वोत्तु जे मज्झमिणं पोंग्गलं दव्वं ॥
(1-25-25)
The Self, deluded with wrong knowledge and influenced by wrong belief and passions, declares that physical objects like the ones intimately bound to him (the body) and the ones not so bound to him (the wife, the son), belong to him. The Omniscient Lord has declared that consciousness is soul's distinctive characteristic. How can such an entity be regarded as physical matter? How can one say that a particular physical matter belongs to him? If it were possible for the soul to become a physical matter and for the physical matter to become a soul (having consciousness), then only it would have been right to say that a particular physical object belongs to the soul. Jain, Vijay K. (2012), “Achārya Kundkund's Samayasāra”,
Vikalp Printers, p. 14-15.
A deluded person breeds attachment to the body which is intimately bound to him, and with persons or objects like friends, clothes, houses, riches and geographical territories, which are not so bound to him. He desires their possession, ownership and company, and their separation brings about grief to him. He spends his whole life in acquiring and then protecting them, and their inevitable separation causes unbearable misery to him.
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दिग्देशेभ्यः खगा एत्य संवसन्ति नगे नगे । स्वस्वकार्यवशाद्यान्ति देशे दिक्षु प्रगे प्रगे ||
At dusk, birds from different directions and regions get themselves perched on trees, but at the break of the day, fly off, in their pursuits, to different directions and destinations.
(9)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
In the present verse, Acārya Pujyapada provides us with an insight into the life of a transmigrating (samsări) soul. Transmigration means metempsychosis - a new birth after death.
A particular state of existence in the transmigrating life of a soul is like a bird spending the night, with fellow birds, on a tree. At the break of the day, they all leave their resting place and proceed to onward destinations.
Due to our wrong beliefs we give undue and misplaced importance to our so-called possessions, animate and inanimate, of the present life. These possessions include our body, relations like husband or wife, sons, daughters, friends and peers, and things that we acquire with great effort, like land, business and wealth.
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A transmigrating soul can be in any of the four states of existence, technically called caturgati. These four states of existence are the infernal state, the subhuman state of animals and plants, the human state, and the celestial state. All transmigrating souls remain embodied according to their individual spiritual

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status. It has been said in the Scripture:
The soul indeed has taken in (enjoyed) successively all the molecules of matter in the entire universe and has cast them off. And the soul has been revolving many times over in the cycles of matter.
There is no point in the entire space of the universe which has not been the seat of birth of the soul. In this way, the soul has wandered in the entire universe space many times over.
The transmigrating soul has been born and dead many times, in the ascending as well as in the descending aeons.
Owing to its association with wrong belief, the soul has wandered, with different lifetimes, in all the states of existence, from the infernal regions up to the upper Graiveyaka heavens. Owing to its association with wrong belief, the soul is plunged in all the stages of the four types of bondage - nature, duration, intensity, and space and wanders in the cycle of thought
activity.
Adapted from: Jain, S.A. (1960), "Reality: English Translation of Shri Pujyapada's Sarvarthasiddhi", Vira Sasana Sangha, Calcutta-37, p. 57-60.
It is owing to the influence of the associated material impurities that the soul wanders about in the samsara, seeking pleasure and happiness. Under the blinding influence of the karmic matter, it identifies itself with the body. Its natural rhythm of freedom is consequently lost and it undergoes all kinds of changes of form and state in the course of transmigration. Although characterized by pure knowledge and perception, it wanders about, over and over, without a break, in places inhabitable and uninhabitable.
We have lived lives with life-spans ranging from inside 48 minutes (antarmuhurta) to innumerable millions of years. Some
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incarnations must have provided us with exceptional status and glory. What material possessions have we been able to accumulate over such a long journey of our existence? Our present life, with a maximum life-span of just a few scores of years, has to come to an end in due course of time. None of our so-called “possessions' - body, friends, clothes, houses, riches – is going to accompany us to our next birth. The Acārya, therefore, has likened our present incarnation to a migratory bird spending the night on a tree.
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Verse 10
विराधकः कथं हन्त्रे जनाय परिकुप्यति । 25:1Ini ya usz Falei Gusa uradi
(10)
There is no reason why a person who inflicts pain or suffering on someone else should get angry when that individual does the same to him. He who knocks down the 'trayangura’ with both his feet is himself bound to be felled due to the nature of the equipment.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The law of Natural Justice, with which we all are governed, is allencompassing, astute, precise, infallible, and ruthless. The law encompasses all embodied beings as they are bound with the karmic matter. It puts to scrutiny all our actions - of mind, speech, and body - and, thus, takes into account our thought-activities too whether or not we are able to implement these. It delivers exactly the required reward or punishment that our activities entail. It is a foolproof system as it does not hinge on external evidences or arguments. The verdicts are implemented ruthlessly; if not during this birth, during the next birth or births.
There is the principle of causality in the region of karmas which is independent of all human and divine intervention. The man who denies what he has seen with his eyes is punished by nature with as unerring a judgment as he who puts his hand on fire. Only in the former case we are not able to see the causality of the punishment meted out; may be his eyes should be deprived of normal vision in the life to come. When we dispense cruel propensities like slaughtering helpless and dumb animals for food or trade, we may
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be opening the doorway of the animal kingdom for our future incarnations. Humane tendencies, like mildness in disposition, make us suitable for reincarnation as a human being. All our actions of mind, speech and body, under the influence of passions that may manifest in the form of anger, pride, deceitfulness, and greed, attract subtle particles of karmic matter which find lodgment in our soul, clogging its natural tendencies. And when the time comes, these particles of karmic matter play a crucial role in not only determining the form and state of existence that must be enforced on us, but remain clung to our soul till shed through our own effort, or on fruition.
There is reciprocity of action between living beings; they are the cause of pleasure and pain to one another. Our interactions with other living beings, while influencing the purity of own soul, have a corresponding influence on the other souls. Love begets love. The same is true of our other emotions. When we hurt someone out of anger, we are likely to engender the same negative emotion of anger in that person. A victim of such negative emotion, his soul attracts subtle particles of karmic matter which, sooner or later, implore it to take revenge upon us. The reaction may fructify in the current birth or in some future incarnation. How sometimes we encounter a stranger exhibiting strong positive or negative emotions towards us, much to our bewilderment!
We are thus subjected to rewards and punishments for all our actions. It is in this context that we say, "As you sow, so shall you reap." The cycle of action and reaction goes on incessantly over many births. The only way out of this degenerating cycle is by ridding our soul of passions and observing equanimity. So far as our interaction with other living beings is concerned, the golden rule is, "Don't hurt anyone and maintain composure if someone hurts you."
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Verse 11
रागद्वेषद्वयी दीर्घनेत्राकर्षणकर्मणा । अज्ञानात् सुचिरं जीवः संसाराब्धौ भ्रमत्यसौ ॥
(11)
Our soul, due to nescience (ajñāna), keeps on pulling either end of the long rope – one end symbolizing attachment (rāga) and the other aversion (dveşa) - and, as a consequence, whirls round in the cycle of births and deaths (samsāra) for a very long time.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Attachment and aversion are the soul's own psychical modes brought about by nescience which, in turn, is due to the soul's association with karmic matter. Psychical modes are the sole province of the soul and are not present in any physical matter. Karmic bondage causes dispositions like attachment, and such dispositions cause karmic bondage. Harmful psychical dispositions (bhāva), brought about by delusion (moha) are those that mislead cognition, i.e., the faculty of perception and belief (darśana mohanīya), and those that mislead the will or conduct (caritra mohanīya). Cognition and will, together, manifest in volitional states, marked by virtue or vice. If the object of cognition and will is desirable and good, the volitional state is virtuous, resulting into happiness. If the object be undesirable and bad, the volitional state is evil, resulting into misery.
To a worldly soul with nescience, psychical modes of attachment and aversion will occur naturally. On account of these psychical modes, the soul is driven into a state of weakness and karmic matter, virtuous or vicious, clings to it, causing karmic
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bondage. Karmic bondage leads the soul into any of the four states of worldly existence (caturgati). Life as an infernal being, as plant or animal, as a human being, and as a celestial being, are the four states of existence. The class of karmas that determines the physique is the name karma (nămakarma) and the subclass is the state of existence (gati-namakarma).
The change of the state of existence does not presuppose the loss of the identity of the soul. The very same soul survives after each change, maintaining its self-identity. Entering into a state of existence, the soul builds up its own appropriate body. As every embodied being is endowed with one or more senses, the environment becomes an object of perception. From perception emanates attachment or aversion towards the object of perception and thus the cycle of karmic bondage, to state of existence, to body, to senses, to perception, to attachment and aversion, and to karmic bondage, continues ad infinitum. It is a beginningless cycle which ends only in the case of the souls that have the potential to attain liberation (bhavya jivas), in due course of time.
The bhavya jiva, through his own effort, destroys the dirt of karmic matter that clings to his soul, attaining thereby its pure, effulgent state characterized by omniscience and other divine attributes.
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विपद्भवपदावर्ते पदिकेवातिवाह्यते । यावत्तावद्भवन्त्यन्याः प्रचुरा विपदः पुरः ॥
Verse 12
(12)
In a water-wheel used to hoist water, as one bucket is emptied many others are ready to be emptied; in the same way, in our worldly life, before we get over one misery, many more are ready to overtake us.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Due to ignorance and consequent delusion we engender in our souls emotions of attachment and aversion. Attachment causes us to seek association of desirable objects, and aversion dissociation of undesirable ones. When desirable objects such as the son, the wife or the wealth are lost we are grieved. Contact of undesirable objects such as a foul or hostile environment causes us pain. On deprivation of desirable objects, we think repeatedly of regaining them and on association of undesirable objects, of getting rid of them. When there is pain caused by disease such as gout and rheumatism, we think continually about the means to subdue it, and get cured. Engrossing oneself in pleasures not attained is another kind of sorrowful thought activity. We also spoil our tranquility by causing injury to others, telling lies, stealing, and thoughts of safeguarding of wealth and other possessions. All the above mentioned thought activities are evil or inauspicious, cause sorrow, and extend transmigration.
The wrong believer is perennially beset with fear, a harbinger of worldly pain. Jaina texts classify fear (bhaya) into seven kinds (see
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footnote on p. 3). Fear relates to the imagined outcomes not only pertaining to this life but also the life beyond.
All kinds of sufferings result into the feeling of pain. Different kinds of sufferings manifest different affective expressions. The feeling of sadness at the loss of something desirable causes sorrow. The feeling of distress owing to disgrace causes agony. Howling out of anguish is moaning. Damage to vitalities or physical injury causes discomfort and painful sensation. Loud outcry or wailing when afflicted is lamentation.
All the above mentioned sorrowful and painful conditions are but the destiny of a typical worldly man, considered to be one of the prized states of existence. It is in this context that the Acārya says that the worldly life is so full of pain and suffering that before we get over one misery, many more are ready to overtake us.
Only our karmas enshroud the natural attributes of the soul. The right believer knows that the soul reaps the fruits of the past karmas in many forms including body formation, state of existence, duration of life, and feelings of pleasure and pain. Determined to regain the lost purity of his soul, he allows neither the riches nor the calamities to cast their shadow on it. Neither does he get overflowed with pride or joy on the gain of desired objects, nor downcast with sorrow or grief on the loss of agreeable objects and on contact with disagreeable ones.
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Verse 13
दुर]नासुरक्ष्येण नश्वरेण धनादिना । स्वस्थंमन्यो जनः कोऽपि ज्वरवानिव सर्पिषा ॥
(13)
The man who considers wealth, which involves hardship in its acquisition and protection, and perishes ultimately, as a source of well-being is like the man who, down with a fever, erroneously imagines to have regained vigour after consuming clarified butter (ghee).
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Modern-day behavioural scientists, on the basis of studies involving sample groups, have concluded that money, at least up to a certain level, can make one happy. Divergent views have been put forward about the level of income after which money seems not to contribute much to an increase in happiness. Suggestions have been made about the way one should spend disposable income to buy happiness. These include spending money on others in the form of shared experiences, buying all sorts of insurances, going on stress-free vacations, having expensive and lavish dinners, and gaining more leisure time by hiring people to help around. All these suggestions presuppose that the main purpose in life is to make it ‘rosier' through pleasant experiences, and retaining fond memories to live with. There is absolutely no vision beyond the present life. Profound ideas like acquiring faith and knowledge, observing vows such as non-injury and limiting possessions, fasting, giving up of external and internal attachments, selfrestraint, enduring afflictions, austerities, concentration and meditation are foreign to these studies. Those who proclaim that
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money can buy happiness know neither the true nature of happiness nor the true value of money.
Not knowing the true nature of happiness, we wrongly assume that wealth can be a source of happiness. We need to correct this by first knowing the truth and then making efforts to provide our souls with a breath of fresh air. We have to think beyond the superficial challenge of competitiveness, as the yardstick for measuring happiness is not the performance and achievement of others but our own inherent potential in this majestic challenge of life. It is any day better to be happy inside and a pauper outside, than to be a wreck inside and a potentate outside.
Our career-oriented education system and societal norms lead us to believe that the amount of wealth a person owns is the safest, most trustworthy parameter to assess his level of success and, therefore, happiness. Driven by this delusion, we start exerting ourselves in the pursuit of wealth at an early age. Our lust keeps on increasing and we do not mind using any means, fair and foul, to get more. As we make more money, our expectations and desires rise in tandem. Not knowing where to stop in our mission to make more money, we work even harder, not to be daunted by the insane working hours or the symptoms of ailments making inroads in our bodies. We are so enamoured by our notion of success that we fail to realize that a terrible compromise with happiness is surreptitiously being worked out within us. Trying to be happier, we keep on doing those very things which go against the idea of realizing our soul's natural perfection and joy. We are, at best, on a hedonic treadmill – we have to keep on working just to stay in the same place.
We may feel 'great' counting the money that we have amassed, notwithstanding the harm that we may have caused to our soul and body. Safe-keeping of the assets acquired must now attract our attention. We rack our brains devising means to not only protect
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these from burglars but also from decay, depreciation, and decomposition. But the inevitable cannot be averted. With the passage of time, as our senses debilitate, a feeling of utter helplessness starts overtaking us. The folly of our efforts becomes clear, albeit too late. Stark reality that we must leave behind, voluntarily, all material possessions strikes in our face. There is no escape from this plain truth; if we do not volunteer to do it ourselves, death will perform the act for us, rather ruthlessly. The idea of separation from our prized possessions leaves us in great pain and misery. Enjoyment of a few pleasures in the past is no solace to a grieving soul. Realization of this basic truth early in life can save us from much hardship and agony later on.
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विपत्तिमात्मनो मूढः परेषामिव नेक्षते ।
दह्यमानमृगाकीर्णवनान्तरतरुस्थवत् ॥
The man who fails to realize that afflictions that befall others will one day run into him is like the man who, sitting on the top of a tree in a burning forest, feels safe while the deer and other animals are being consumed by the fire.
(14)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
We are extremely fortunate to be in a position to ponder over matters pertaining to life and death. In the present era and in this part of the cosmos, human beings have a life expectancy at birth of around three to four score years depending largely on the conditions of public health, medical care and economic circumstances prevailing in different parts of the world. Globally, cessation of a very large number of pregnancies takes place each year because of causes natural or induced, and millions of infants and children die before their fifth birthday. Many live in condition of bare subsistence and it is not expected of them to think beyond the necessities of life, their immediate needs. Even today, a large number of people ever remain shrouded in absurd superstitions due to reasons beyond their control, includng lack of education, and cultural and religious inheritances.
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All human beings who have not met with an untimely death pass through eight experiential stages in life - birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, old age, and death. We are mostly dependent on others till we reach the stage of youth. In

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these formative years, most decisions pertaining to our upbringing are taken by others. As we reach adulthood, we become aware of our inherent likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, and start pondering over matters like our objectives and goals in life. We take decisions on our career, family, and social life. By the time we reach the stage of advanced adulthood we have enough experience to look back to and vision to look forward to. We are mature enough to understand the meaning of life, its pleasures and pains. We are able to observe the ups and downs in the lives of people around us. More importantly, we are able to reflect on whether there is something we must do regarding the direction of our life, or live life just as it comes.
In our worldly life we seek pleasure and try to avoid pain and suffering. No sooner do we make headway in acquiring and then using an object of pleasure than a feeling of its inadequacy creeps into our mind. We want something superior in terms of both, the quality and the quantum of pleasure. We become slaves of pleasure. Typically, we over-indulge at night, get a terrible hangover the next morning, but crave for the same thing again at the fall of night. We get overpowered by the senses and become addicted to pleasure. As the harmful effects of this addiction on our mind and body surface in due course of time, the realization dawns that perhaps we have moved too far ahead in the wrong direction. We get disheartened to see that pleasure is short-lived and is followed, sooner or later, by pain and suffering. Despondency sets in; we wish to do something about it but it is too late by then.
Wise men start looking at the realities of life and ways to cope with these as soon as the realization dawns that they have just one or two score years of the present life left. They clearly apprehend that the worldly existence is full of misery; disease, old age, separation from kith and kin, accident, natural disaster, failure, and death are but some of the realities of life that one has to run into. They
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take corrective actions to make the best use of the remaining years. While they commiserate with people living in conditions of poverty, deprivation, impairment or disease, they do not allow despondency to set within themselves. They are not particularly attracted towards the pleasures that worldly objects have to offer. They realize that pain and suffering are inextricably linked to the worldly life and are attributed to our karmas.
Our virtuous karmas in the past have provided us with whatever good and enjoyable we have in this life and we must now make efforts to engage ourselves only in actions that will provide us with joyous feelings in the remaining years of this life, and the next.
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Verse 15
आयुर्वृद्धिक्षयोत्कर्षहेतुं कालस्य निर्गमम् । वाञ्छतां धनिनामिष्टं जीवितात्सुतरां धनम् ॥
(15)
The passage of time increases wealth due to the accrual of interest but draws nearer the end of life. Those who look forward to increasing wealth, therefore, have no love for their lives.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
It is in the nature of most worldly men to daydream and become restive thereby. When in school, how we wish to go to college and ‘enjoy life! When in college, we wish to finish our studies soon and become a doctor, an engineer, a bureaucrat, a businessman, or whatever. When we become what we had wished for, growth becomes the watchword. The concept of growth keeps us occupied for a major part of our working lives. As we climb the hierarchical ladder, a stage must arrive when we should feel contented in having everything that we had ever wished for but, ironically, that does not happen. Our passion to reach even higher rungs of the ladder, in fact, intensifies. To take examples from the higher echelons of society, a brigadier wishes to become a general, a secretary wishes to become a chief secretary, and a chief engineer wishes to become an engineer-in-chief. A businessman's yearning for expansion and increase in profits continues unabated. A politician's desire to do good to the people remains ever unfulfilled and in order to assume a bigger, more important role in ‘nation-building' he keeps on trying to improve his image and popularity. We all keep on working harder
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and smarter to make our dreams come true.
As water flows into the lake by means of streams, so does the karmic matter flow into the soul through the channel or medium of activity. The inflow of the karmic matter into the soul is called influx (āsrava). Karmas are said to be of two kinds, namely, merit (punya) and demerit (pāpa). Virtuous activity is the cause of merit and wicked activity is the cause of demerit. The threefold nature of activity is admitted: bodily-activity, speech-activity and thoughtactivity. Killing, stealing, and copulation are some wicked activities of the body. Harsh and uncivil language is a wicked speech-activity. Thoughts of violence, envy, calumny are examples of wicked thought-activities. The opposites of these are virtuous activities. That activity which is performed with good intention is virtuous and that which is performed with evil intention is wicked. From the empirical point of view, activity which purifies the soul is merit (punya) resulting, among other things, in happy feeling. Activity which keeps the soul away from good is demerit (pāpa) resulting, among other things, in unhappy feeling. There are three ways an individual may be involved in performing an activity. He may perform it himself. Or he may get it performed by someone else. Or he may approve of what has been done by someone else. In all three cases, the responsibility of the action lies, partly or fully, on the individual and he is liable to attract karmic bondage.
The nature of influx and its consequence in terms of bondage (bandha) differ from person to person. For a person actuated by passions it extends transmigration and for a person free from passions it prevents or shortens it. Passions are primarily of four kinds - anger (krodha), pride (māna), deceitfulness (māyā), and greed (lobha). Passions are the cause of the union of the karmic matter with the soul. The soul gets bound with karmas of different kinds depending on the intensity and the nature of passions. In other words, physical matter present coextensive with the soul gets
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transformed into karmas, owing to our activities and passions.
It is thus clear that as we advance in life we must be able to control and restrain our activities and passions as these lead to bondage of karmas. By the stage of advanced adulthood we must be in a position to understand the harmful effects of our activities and passions. All activities, hitherto performed by us with great passion, need to be curtailed. With each passing day we have less time on hand to rectify the situation as life is getting shorter by the moment.
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cınızı serà fanufanı: ufurifa u: 1 स्वशरीरं स पङ्केन स्नास्यामीति विलिम्पति ॥
The poor man who accumulates wealth so as to be able to spend it in future on virtuous activities, like giving of gifts, is like the man who deliberately soils his body with mud thinking that he will clean it later on by bathing.
(16)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The process of money-earning involves activities - of the mind, the speech and the body - and passions. Activities and passions cause bondage of karmas. As we desire something intensely we become passionate and, as a consequence, anger, pride, deceitfulness, and greed, stream out. Due to passions we indulge in many kinds of sinful activities including hurting others, telling lies, stealing, unchaste conduct, and excessive attachment to worldly objects. We play tricks upon others, speak what is not true or laudable, use wrong weights and measures, pry upon others' faults or weaknesses, promote dissatisfaction in others, subvert laws, rules and regulations, and become slack in the observance of vows. A large heap of evil karmas is thus engendered while we engage ourselves in the money-earning process.
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If we entertain the idea of 'owning' an object, we become anxious not to lose it; fear sets in, and we must resort to safeguarding the object. Fear paralyzes healthy action, generates worry, and is exceedingly pernicious to life. Fear is the antithesis of self-composure, and the cause of cowardice and terror. In

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safeguarding anything, violence, mental or physical, is bound to result. Under such an environment, mutual trust, goodwill, and fellow-feeling, cease to exist. By entertaining such emotions in our minds we not only make our present unpleasant and distressing but also make our future liable to suffer from the same kinds of feelings due to the influx of karmas.
The man who, in spite of possessing great self-esteem, a magnificent body, and noble virtues, loses his composure and independence for the sake of money is like the majestic elephant which has been tamed for use as a carrier. As per an old dictum, virtue does not come from money, but from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. It is futile to try to turn around the sequence of this flowchart. Let virtue be your priority; health, goodwill, status, and, most importantly, joyous feelings will follow. There is no point soiling your happiness in pursuit of something that you must ultimately leave in a flash.
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आरम्भे तापकान् प्राप्तावतृप्तिप्रतिपादकान् । BR Hotel 5114 1417 Galei to: Had meit: 11
(17)
Which wise man would relish sense-gratifying objects, consumable and non-consumable, that cause unease in acquisition, insatiateness on enjoyment, and despair on separation, with unbridled infatuation?
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Human effort in the field of science and technology, particularly over the last one hundred years, has largely been concentrated on providing mankind with advanced gadgets for physical well-being, comfort, and entertainment. Most mundane activities can now be performed at incredibly faster speeds than before, giving us much more free time. Innovative ways to please our senses have been discovered. Finest objects of indulgence, including clothing, cuisine, resorts, cars, smartphones, internet, and cinema, are on hand to divert our minds away from boredom. And all these objects are getting obsolete at an amazing pace.
The acquisition of such objects of indulgence becomes the driving force in our lives. We spend an awful amount of time and energy to acquire these, indulge for a while, but soon get disenchanted and yearn for something superior. We progressively move from a compact car to a luxury car, from a bed-a-night resort to a five-star hotel, from a shantytown to a large city, from a neighbourhood grocery store to a shopping mall, and from a humble man to a self-aggrandizer. We make extraordinary effort to
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accumulate all possible paraphernalia of physical well-being that is on sale. Over time, while our senses debilitate the lust for more and newer objects remains unabated. Not being able to keep pace with the flood of products and services that are launched everyday in the market, disquiet sets in. This, in a nutshell, is the life of a typical worldly man.
Medicine has provided us with tranquilizers that can reduce stress and tension, but not with a drug that can rejuvenate and help us move towards positive thinking, inner peace, and purity of the Self. All these attributes have to come from within. The very essence of Divinity consists in freedom from worry, anxiety and boredom. The man who is happy has no time for gossip and teaparty chit-chats; he does not look outside to bring him recreation. Renunciation rather than acquisition is a source of inner peace.
What can a man do to get himself unmoved by the strong current of disquiet that the alien sense-perceived objects cause?
Acārya Kundakunda in Samayasāra pronounces the proper approach for non-indulgence in alien objects:
जह मज्जं पिवमाणो अरदिभावेण ण मज्जदे पुरिसो। दव्वुवभोगे अरदो णाणी वि ण बज्झदे तहेण ॥ (7-4-196) A person consuming alcoholic drink can still remain sober due to his strong sense of non-indulgence, similarly, the knowledgeable person, remaining detached from the enjoyment of alien substances, does not attract bondage.
सेवंतो वि ण सेवदि असेवमाणो वि सेवगो को वि। YRUIDIGT cho thy fa up a repuit f H afc 11 (7-5-197) The right believer (due to the absence of attachment), while getting involved in sensualities, really does not indulge in them,
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but an ignorant person (due to the presence of attachment), even if not involved in sensualities, really indulges in them. This is akin to a person performing certain acts but, in reality, is not responsible for them.
Note: An assistant, on behalf of the owner of a business, performs all duties, but is neither the owner of the business, nor shares its profit or loss. In the same way, the right believer, due to the absence of attachment, is non-indulgent, and the wrong believer, due to the presence of attachment, is indulgent.
Jain, Vijay K. (2012), "Acharya Kundkund's Samayasara", Vikalp Printers, p. 93-94.
The knowledgeable man runs the affairs of his life with a sense of detachment, not abandoning himself to sense-gratification. He indifferently experiences the pleasant or painful feelings due to the fruition of karmas and, in due course of time, the karmas wear themselves down.
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Jaina religious texts are replete with the examples of kings and emperors, possessing unmatched glory, power and wealth, taking recourse to renunciation, and absorbing themselves in the task of self-purification that leads to liberation. Emperor Bharata, the illustrious son of Lord Rishabha Deva, the First Tirthankara, was undoubtedly one of the greatest rulers on this earth, enjoying unimaginable splendour, power and influence. He ruled his kingdom with a strong sense of justice for many years, never abandoning himself to sense-gratification. One day he discovered a white hair in his head and taking it to be the messenger and herald of old age, immediately decided to become a Digambara ascetic (muni). Because of his growing renunciation over the years, he destroyed his inimical karmas in an antarmuhurta (less than 48 minutes) and became Omniscient. He attained to the Supreme Purity (nirvāṇa) at the end of his worldly life.

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भवन्ति प्राप्य यत्सङ्गमशुचीनि शुचीन्यपि । स कायः सन्ततापायस्तदर्थं प्रार्थना वृथा ॥
(18)
Knowing that on contact with the body even pure objects are rendered impure, and that the body is home to many afflictions and woes, to provide it with the objects of pleasure makes no sense.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Jaina thinkers consider the soul (jīva) and the non-soul (ajīva) as two distinct substances. The former is conscious and incorporeal while the latter is unconscious and corporeal. The soul is an eternal, spiritual substance; it has neither beginning nor end. The body is perishable. Every embodied being has a soul as well as a gross body. The soul, although coextensive with the body it occupies, is different from the body or the sense organs. In our worldly existence we are identified with our body and this, perhaps, is the cause of all the confusion. This identification of the soul with the body is the outcome of our delusion. Consciousness is the essence of the soul. The body is unconscious physical matter.
Depending on the life-span that has been assigned to us by our karmas, our soul inhabits the body, our worldly identity. What we are able to see is the gross body. There are two other kinds of bodies, the luminous body, and the karmic body, which accompany the soul throughout its transmigratory journey. That which is the cause of brilliance or which is caused by brilliance is the luminous body. The body composed of karmic matter is the karmic body. These two
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bodies are extremely fine and face no impediment anywhere up to the end of the universe.
Each of our senses - touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing - is of two kinds, physical and psychical. The physical sense consists of the accomplishment of the organ itself (nirvṛtti), and its completion by means or instruments (upakarana). The psychical sense consists of attainment of capacity (labdhi), and attention or active consciousness (upayoga). The soul makes use of the physical sense to gain knowledge in the presence of the attainment of capacity. Attentive disposition of the soul for that purpose is the active consciousness. A physical sense has 'life' and meaning only till the time it is complemented by the psychical sense. Only so long as the body is in the company of the soul does it have charm and worth. A corpse generates repugnance; it requires soon to be suitably cast aside as its shelf-life is very little.
Acārya Amitagati, in Yogasāra Prabhṛta, distinguishes thus between the body and the soul:
देह-संहति-संस्थान-गति-जाति-पुरोगमाः ।
विकाराः कर्मजा सर्वे चैतन्येन विवर्जिताः ॥
56
(2-35)
The body, its molecular interfusion, its structure, its state of existence, and its class, are all karma-generated transformations that cause aberrations in the consciousness of the soul.
It is thus clear that the body is karma-generated physical matter. It is home to numerous diseases, and objects like urine, faeces, saliva, mucus, and blood, the sight of which can easily turn one squeamish. Unrestrained sense-indulgence is the cause of many ailments that our body is subjected to, besides of filling it up with stinking refuse.
There can be no objective in life more laudable than soul

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development. The karmas cannot be destroyed so long as attention is not completely withdrawn from the physical body and the senses, and directed inwardly, without wavering or hesitancy. It makes no sense to use our body as an instrument of sense-indulgence rather than as an aid to soul-development.
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यज्जीवस्योपकाराय तद्देहस्यापकारकम् । यद्देहस्योपकाराय तज्जीवस्यापकारकम् ॥
(19)
Actions that are intended for the enrichment of the soul discard the welfare of the body, and the actions intended for the welfare of the body undermine soul-enrichment.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul and the body are two distinct entities; the soul is a spiritual substance with consciousness as its primary attribute and the body is an inanimate object comprising physical matter. All our actions in the direction of enriching the soul would, as a corollary, undermine the well-being of the body. Fasting and meditation are helpful aids to purify the soul but ignore the immediate needs of the body. Renunciation and austerities help the soul by saving it from harmful desires but deprive the body of the objects of its guard and embellishment. An ascetic striving after emancipation endures, without regret or remorse, bodily hardships and afflictions. He unreservedly endures the torments of extreme hunger, parching thirst, biting cold, and oppressive heat of the sun. Afflictions caused by insect-bites, roaming bare-foot on thorny roads, sitting in a particular posture for a long time, lying down on uneven and hard ground, and even serious disease, do not swerve him from the path. He embraces blameless nakedness like that of the child and is always free from the excitement of passions and agitations of the senses. Engaged continually in cleansing the soul from the mire of
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karmic impurities, he has no desire left to take bath and cleanse his body.
Having learnt the truth about bondage and emancipation, the saint is indifferent to the pleasures of the senses. He has no thought or desire for the well-being of the body and does not adorn it. For him the body is just an aid for acquiring the Three Jewels (ratnatraya) of merit – right faith, right knowledge and right conduct - and safeguarding them. He accepts pure, properly prepared food only once in a day, that too less than his fill, in order to keep his body intact, just as lubrication is indispensable to the running of the wheel. Although his physical frame reduces to a mere assemblage of skin, bones, and arteries, it becomes auspicious, adorable and worshipful. Due to severe austerities, he may have even developed extraordinary powers of cure but being devoid of passions, attachment and aversion, he does not use these powers to cure himself. No wonder, with the passage of time, the purity of his soul increases manifold as his karmic body is purged of many kinds of harmful karmic matter.
Our gross body must undergo changes due to the substance of time (kāla). Gradual, imperceptible changes take place in it incessantly, every instant. If gradual, imperceptible changes do not take place there can be no perceptible change either. We do not develop wrinkles or grey hair all of a sudden. When we perceive major transformations or changes in our body, which truly are results of minute changes taking place every instant, we term these changes as due to 'aging'. The substance of time, which itself is without activity, is the auxiliary cause of the minute changes taking place in all substances. Conventionally, however, we talk of time as the past, the present and the future, or years, days and hours. Changes, minute as well as perceptible, must take place in our body and this process cannot be subverted. The body must undergo transformations due to the substance of time. And on the
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completion of the age-karma the soul must depart from the body to its new abode. Our efforts to nourish the body at the expense of the soul, therefore, are short-sighted and are bound to result into suffering.
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Verse 20
इतश्चिन्तामणिर्दिव्य इतः पिण्याकखण्डकम् । ध्यानेन चेदभे लभ्ये क्वाद्रियन्तां विवेकिनः ॥
(20)
One can obtain either the divine, wish-fulfilling jewel (cintāmaņi) or the pieces of oilcake (khalī) through the power of meditation; which of these will a man of discrimination wish for?
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Concentration of thought on one particular object is meditation (dhyāna). In other words, checking the ramblings of the mind is meditation. Thought is characterized by throbbing or quivering, as it embraces several objects. Concentration is turning the thought away from several objects and fixing it on one.
There are four types of meditation: (1) the sorrowful (ārta), (2) the cruel (raudra), (3) the virtuous (dharmya), and (4) the pure (śukla). These four types of meditation are divided into two classes, inauspicious and auspicious. The former two are inauspicious as these lead to the influx of evil karmas and, therefore, causes of transmigration. The latter two are auspicious as these are capable of destroying karmas and lead to liberation.
Sorrowful concentration consists in thinking again and again for removal from proximity disagreeable objects like an enemy; for regaining the lost agreeable objects like wealth; for removal of the pain caused such as by a disease; and enjoyment in future of pleasures not attained.
Cruel concentration consists in thinking again and again of
........................
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injuring others; telling lies; stealing; and safeguarding of possessions.
Virtuous concentration consists in deliberating on the reality of substances as revealed by Lord Jina; misfortune on the adoption of wrong faith, knowledge and conduct; fruition of karmas; and the structure of the universe.
Pure concentration is of four kinds; the first two kinds are attained by the spiritually advanced saints, well-versed in the Scripture, and the last two kinds arise in Omniscients with and without activity, who have destroyed the entire obscuring karmas. With the help of the first two kinds of pure concentration, the four inimical karmas are burnt by the Self and the effulgent omniscience sparkles. The pure Self shines like the sun coming out of the clouds. The Omniscient is worthy to be venerated and worshipped by the lords of the world. When the duration of His life, feeling, body-making, and status-determining karmas is within one muhūrta, He attains remarkable exertion and embraces the third and then the fourth kind of pure concentration in order to annihilate all remaining karmas. The Self then becomes utterly pure, gets liberated, and attains eternal bliss
While the sorrowful and cruel concentrations cause the influx and bondage of karmas, the virtuous and pure concentrations cause the stoppage of the influx of new karmas as well as the dissociation of the existing karmas.
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स्वसंवेदनसुव्यक्तस्तनुमात्रो निरत्ययः । अत्यन्तसौख्यवानात्मा लोकालोकविलोकन: ॥
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Verse 21
The soul is the knower of the universe (loka) and the nonuniverse (aloka), of the nature of infinite bliss, coextensive with the body, eternal, and is known adequately through self-realization.
(21)
जीवो उवओगमओ अमुत्ति कत्ता सदेहपरिमाणो ।
भोत्ता संसारत्थो सिद्धो सो विस्ससोड्डगदि ॥
Acārya Nemichandra, in Dravyasamgraha, has defined the nature of the soul as under:
(2)
Jiva is characterized by consciousness (cetana) that is concomitant with upayoga perception (darśana) and knowledge (jñāna), is incorporeal (amūrta), a causal agent (kartā), coextensive with the body, enjoyer of the fruits of karmas (bhoktā), having the world as its abode, emancipated (Siddha), and of the nature of darting upwards.
First and foremost, consciousness is the distinctive characteristic of the soul. The manifestation of consciousness follows two channels, one of conation and the other of knowledge. It is due to this characteristic of active or attentive consciousness that the soul is distinguished from the body, though it is one with the body from the point of view of bondage. Gold and silver remain
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distinct by their attributes although mixed together. The soul which is non-material somehow assumes material form on account of its beginningless bondage with karmic matter. It dwells in small and big bodies by contraction and expansion, as the light of the lamp. As a lamp illumines the whole of the room in which it is placed, so does a soul contract or expand according to the size of the body it inhabits. From the pure, transcendental point of view (niścaya naya), the soul is devoid of five colours, five kinds of taste, two kinds of smell, and eight kinds of touch and, therefore, it is incorporeal. When it is sullied with the karmic dirt, only then, from the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya), the soul is said to be having corporeal form. Attachment, aversion, pride, anger and similar psychical attributes belong only to an embodied soul.
The experience of the pure soul results into the attainment of perfect knowledge which involves the knowledge of the universe - the three worlds (loka) - and the non-universe (aloka), along with the knowledge of the soul. Perfect knowledge does not require the instrumentality of the senses and the mind as we notice in case of the worldly souls. A perfect soul, thus, comprehends itself with its perfect knowledge. But the soul that has not yet attained perfect knowledge and is still on the path to attain it, can also get the knowledge of the pure soul with the help of the scriptural knowledge, free from all blemishes. The difference between the two kinds of comprehension is that the former is direct, completely vivid, errorless, and encompasses all substances, while the latter is indirect and vivid only partially. The experience of the identity of the pure soul is possible only when one is well able to control the senses against sensual perceptions, and the mind against mental ramblings.
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Verse 22
संयम्य करणग्राममेकाग्रत्वेन चेतसः । आत्मानमात्मवान् ध्यायेदात्मनैवात्मनि स्थितम् ॥
(22)
The man who has overpowered his senses through the fire of concentration of the mind should, seated in his own Self, contemplate on the Self, through the medium of the Self.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul is characterized by its essential attribute of knowledge, and the knowledge and the knowable have equal extension and magnitude. The soul when characterized by knowledge remains at its own place but it emanates its brilliance so as to cover the entire range of knowables. This relationship between the soul and the knowledge on the one hand, and between the knowledge and the knowable on the other, is nature-born. As an eye catches the form of an object but does not get transformed into the form of that object, in the same way, knowledge knows the knowable without getting transformed into the identity of the knowable. When perfect and full knowledge dawns in a soul as a result of the total destruction of the obstructive karmas, it continues to shine endlessly enlightening the contents of the universe - all objects of the past, the present, and the future. Such knowledge knows no obstruction and it is par excellence; it comprehends all objects directly and simultaneously and does not suffer from successive manifestation of knowledge.
The pure and conscious identity of the soul can be felt, albeit
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momentarily, by one who is attentive to it and has completely suspended the activity of the senses and the mind. Such a shortlived glimpse of the Ideal can be experienced by a practitioner in the course of his effort in the direction of self-realization. The ideal soul, free from attachment and aversion, can also be known through unblemished scriptural knowledge by those who possess such inclination and also the cognitive capacity to think about the reality. The association of attachment and aversion with the soul vitiates its purity and, therefore, the quality of knowledge. And, as a result, the purity of conduct also gets vitiated. Hence, to attain the purity of conduct in the soul, knowledge must not be contaminated with attachment and aversion and also delusion, manifested in the form of passions like anger, pride, deceitfulness and greed.
Violence, falsehood, theft, unchastity, and attachment for possessions flee, without leaving a trace behind, from knowledge which has attained the form of the pure soul. Passions are highly inimical to the pure functioning of knowledge. Hence, elimination of passions from knowledge is a prerequisite to attain the purity of the soul. It is a grave mistake to lose interest in the spiritual purity of the soul and get allured by the outside objects of sensegratification. Only the Three Jewels (ratnatraya) comprising right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, have the power to lead the soul to its final goal of emancipation.
The man who aims at realizing the purity of his soul must steadfastly remain engaged in meditating on the pure Self. Then alone will he be able to cast off the dust of karmas clung to his soul from beginningless time. Meditating on the pure Self is the only certain and unfailing means to achieve the highest aim of human life. Life in other forms is not sufficiently evolved to achieve the supreme status of self-realization.
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Verse 23
अज्ञानोपास्तिरज्ञानं ज्ञानिसमाश्रयः । ददाति यत्तु यस्यास्ति सुप्रसिद्धमिदं वचः ॥
(23)
Devotion to ignorance imparts nescience, and devotion to learning imparts knowledge; it is a well known fact that only that which one possesses can be given to the other.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Jainism lays great emphasis on the acquisition of right faith to be able to make any progress on the path leading to liberation. When accompanied by wrong faith, knowledge and conduct too get vitiated. Faith and knowledge arise in the soul simultaneously. For instance, when the clouds disappear, both the heat and the light of the sun are manifested simultaneously. Similarly, when right faith is attained by the soul owing to the subsidence, destruction, or destruction-cum-subsidence of faith-deluding karmas, right sensory knowledge and right scriptural knowledge are attained by the soul at the same time by the removal of wrong sensory and wrong scriptural knowledge. It is on the basis of right faith that knowledge acquires the attribute 'right'. Knowing substances, souls and non-souls, as these actually are is right knowledge. The attribute 'right' is intended to ward off uncertainty, doubt and error in knowledge. Right knowledge provides the foundation that is necessary for the conduct to be 'right'.
It is clear that wrong knowledge results due to the soul's association with wrong faith, and right knowledge results from the
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soul's association with right faith. What causes the comprehension of reality otherwise is wrong faith. Wrong faith irrigates the garden of karmas and extends transmigration. The Self overwhelmed by wrong faith considers the true nature of a substance as a wrong one, falters in his assessment of the reality, and engages in conduct that is harmful to spiritual progress. Just as an inebriated man loses his power of discrimination, wrong faith distorts ocular perception. Those who do not understand the difference between the soul and the non-soul become blind to discrimination between the beneficial and the non-beneficial and yearn for the pleasures of the present alone.
The very first requisite for self-exertion that leads to removal of the veils of karmic matter from the soul is right faith, since people live up to their beliefs. The most malignant passions (kaṣāya) prevent the acquisition of right faith and, as a consequence, right knowledge. Without right faith and right knowledge, conduct cannot be thought of as 'right'.
It is thus mandatory to venerate and adore right faith which is like a beacon light to guide the barge of life. Right faith involves an unwavering mental assent and belief in the nature of substances, soul and non-soul, as per the teachings of Lord Jina. Only through the devotion to the Ideal, and not through fanatical doting on a chimerical idol, can one ever hope to acquire right faith. The Tirthankaras, who not only have Themselves achieved the divine status of omniscience and supreme bliss but also shown the world the right path to reach to the same status, are just the right Ideals to receive our devotion and daily adoration. Right faith needs to be reinforced by right knowledge derived from study, meditation and listening to the discourses of the true saints.
Acarya Amitagati, in Yogasāra Prabhṛta, has emphasized the importance of proper discrimination between the right and the wrong while acquiring knowledge:
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Verse 23
ज्ञानस्य ज्ञानमज्ञानमज्ञानस्य प्रयच्छति । आराधना कृता यस्माद् विद्यमानं प्रदीयते ॥
(6-34) Adoration of (right) knowledge results in the gain of (right) knowledge and adoration of wrong knowledge results in the gain of wrong knowledge for only that can be given which one possesses.
No man endowed with the capacity of thinking and the power of discrimination will ever want to make prolonged, concerted efforts for accomplishing a goal in a particular direction only to realize later that the efforts were misdirected. We must, therefore, earnestly seek right faith and right knowledge as we embark on the spiritual path. In the life of the man who has acquired right faith and right knowledge, the observance of the prescribed rules of conduct becomes a natural course.
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परीषहाद्यविज्ञानादास्रवस्य निरोधिनी । जायतेऽध्यात्मयोगेन कर्मणामाशु निर्जरा ॥
(24)
When one meditates on the soul, unmindful of the trials and tribulations of life, the influx of karmas gets blocked and their shedding takes place.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The activities of the mind, the speech and the body find correspondence in the substance of the soul in the form of the vibrations of the soul-units. The activities, technically called 'yoga', are the auxiliary cause of the inflow of three types of fine matter into the soul through the channels of mind, speech, and body – mano vargaņā, bhāṣā vargaņā, and kāya vargaņā. The vibratory activity on the part of the soul, under the influence of its passionate manifestations, is the cause of bondage of karmic matter with the soul. Wrong faith, non-restraint, negligence, passions and activities are passionate manifestations that assist the vibratory activity of the soul. Owing to the potency of these passionate manifestations, the soul attracts subtle matter capable of turning into karmic matter, which then interpenetrates the space-points of the soul causing bondage. Thus, the subtle matter present coextensive with the soul becomes transformed into karmic matter owing to the presence of activities and passions.
Sinful activities that prompt one to indulge in violence, untruth, theft, unchastity and possessions are the gateway for the
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inflow of karmic matter towards the soul and subsequent bondage. Passions in the form of anger, pride, deceitfulness, and greed are manifestations of the soul due to its bondage with karmic matter.
Karmas obscure the purity of the soul as the clouds cover the bright sun. The soul suffers obscuration of its natural attributes due to the associated karmic dirt. Redemption and purification of the soul is possible if the gateway for the inflow of karmic matter is closed and the karmas already associated with it are allowed to be cast off by blocking new passionate manifestations. The obstruction of the inflow of karmic matter is called stoppage (samvara). It is of two kinds, psychic stoppage (bhāva samvara) and material stoppage (dravya samvara). The cessation of activities that lead to transmigration is psychic stoppage; it is followed by material stoppage as the taking in of karmic matter is cut off.
Ācārya Kundakunda's Pañcāstikāya-Sāra explains the nature of stoppage of karmas (samvara) as under:
जस्स जदा खलु पुण्णं जोगे पावं च णत्थि विरदस्स।
सवरणं तस्स तदा सुहासुहकदस्स कम्मस्स ॥
(143) As long as a person pure in life is really free from action conducive to pleasure or pain through thought, speech and body, he is protected from karmas, beneficial and harmful, that is, these karmas are prevented from approaching him.
Chakravarti Nayanar, A. (2009), “Ācārya Kundakunda's Pañcāstikāya-Sāra”, Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi,
Third Edition, p. 117.
The soul is the most worthy object to meditate on. Affective states of desire and aversion, and activities of thought, speech and body are the conditions that attract karmas, good and evil, towards the soul. A seasoned practitioner observes several restraints and controls in order to attain purity of meditation. He curbs his
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activities, embraces moral virtues, reflects constantly on the world realities, endures afflictions and hardships, and practises external and internal austerities. He does not swerve from the path taught by Lord Jina, and by following the path aright he blocks the influx of karmas. He experiences the fruits of maturing karmas without passions, destroys these gradually, and attains emancipation.
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Verse 25
कटस्य कर्ताहमिति सम्बन्धः स्याद्वयोर्द्वयोः । ध्यानं ध्येयं यदात्मैव सम्बन्धः कीदृशस्तदा ॥
(25)
When someone says, “I am the maker of the mat,” the interrelationship between two different entities, the doer of activity and the object of activity, is clear. But in real meditation, as the soul becomes the instrument as well as the object of meditation, how can there be any duality?
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Jainism recognizes that the theory of karmas is adequate to explain the whole world of experiences that a transmigratory soul is subjected to. It throws on the individual himself, without the intervention of any outside agency, divine or mundane, the responsibility of what he thinks, speaks, and does. As a corollary, the man has unqualified religious independence and freedom and, as such, he only is the architect of his fortune. With right effort in the right direction, he is potentially capable of attaining perfection.
The man who distinguishes between the substance of the soul and all other substances meditates on the pure, effulgent state of the soul through the instrument of the soul imbued with the Three Jewels (ratnatraya) of the path to liberation. He reckons that no substance other than the soul is potent to either assist or obstruct the functioning of the soul.
Our body, relations, friends, appurtenances, attachments and aversions, passions, and so many adjuncts of worldly life are but substances other than the soul. The meditator builds a shield around his soul to protect it from the influence of these extraneous
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substances. The question of deriving pleasure or pain from these substances does not arise.
The greatest obstacle in the way of spiritual progress of the soul is delusion which is due to its association with karmas. The soul's pure faculties of faith, knowledge and conduct get perverted; its understanding of what is desirable and what is not gets clouded. As soon as delusion is liquidated, the soul is fit to regain its purity. On the removal of delusion, riddance of the soul from all extraneous substances becomes easy. Realization dawns that nothing but the pure soul is the truly worthy object to reflect and meditate upon.
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बध्यते मुच्यते जीवः सममो निर्ममः क्रमात् । तस्मात्सर्वप्रयत्नेन निर्ममत्वं विचिन्तयेत् ॥
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Acarya Kundakunda has expounded in Samayasara:
जह णाम को वि पुरिसो रायाणं जाणिदूण सद्दहदि । तो तं अणुचरदि पुणो अत्थत्थीओ पयत्तेण ॥
Verse 26
The soul that entertains infatuation with the outside objects gets into bondage of karmas and the soul that entertains no such infatuation is freed from bondage. Try persistently, therefore, to renounce all infatuation.
एवं हि जीवराया णादव्वो तह य सद्दहेदव्वो । अणुचरिदव्वो य पुणो सो चेव दु मोंक्खकामेण ॥
(26)
(1-17-17)
(1-18-18)
The man desirous of monetary benefits, after identifying the king by his crown and other insignia of royalty, exerts to serve him faithfully; in the same way, one who desires emancipation should know the soul as a king, put faith in it, and attend to it in right earnest.
Further,
कम्मे णोकम्मम्हि य अहमिदि अहकं च कम्मणोकम्मं ।
जा एसा खलु बुद्धी अप्पडिबुद्धो हवदि ताव ॥
(1-19-19)
So long as the soul believes that it comprises the karmic matter
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- the subtle karmic matter (dravya karma), the psycho-physical karmic matter (bhava karma), and the quasi-karmic matter (particles of matter fit for the three kinds of bodies and the six kinds of completion and development) (nokarma) - and that the subtle karmic matter and the body building karmic matter are its constituent parts, it remains lacking in discriminatory knowledge.
Jain, Vijay K. (2012), "Acharya Kundkund's Samayasara", Vikalp Printers, p. 12-13.
The pure soul with right knowledge neither assimilates nor renounces the karmas; the soul vitiated by wrong knowledge assimilates and renounces the karmas. Karmas and their fruits are material and hence other than the soul. While stationed in the midst of karmas, the man of discrimination is not soiled by the karma-dirt.
As infatuation caused by attachment to possessions (parigraha), internal and external, gets vanquished, and as the mind becomes steady through constant practice, one becomes capable of meditating on the pure soul.
Ten kinds of external possessions and fourteen kinds of internal possessions are said to be the causes of infatuation. The external possessions are (1) land, (2) houses, (3) gold, (4) silver, (5) cattle, (6) grain, (7) maid-servants, (8) male-servants, (9) clothes, and (10) utensils.
The fourteen internal possessions are (1) wrong belief, (2) malesex passion, (3) female-sex passion, (4) neuter-sex passion, (5) joking, (6) zest, (7) boredom, (8) grief, (9) fear, (10) disgust, (11) anger, (12) pride, (13) deceitfulness, and (14) greed.
These possessions cause the loss of equilibrium of the mind. The man void of such possessions can concentrate his mind on the pure soul and attain excellent meditation.
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Verse 26
Meditation which is directed towards the pure Self is the means of self-realization. Ignorance that stupefies the faculties of perception and will must be got rid of. There should be neither attachment nor hatred towards the objects of the environment. There should be unruffled peace in thought, speech and body. Meditation attended by such circumstances manifests like the fire that destroys the rubbish heap of the karmas.
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एकोऽहं निर्ममः शुद्धो ज्ञानी योगीन्द्रगोचरः । GEM: FATIGT HAT HT: Hasfu Hafen 11
(27)
I am one, without infatuation, pure, all-knowing, and capable to be known by the Master Ascetics. All attachments, internal and external, are totally foreign to my nature.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul in its pure nature is recognized to be entirely free from karmic shackles and yet in the worldly state it is always found in association with karmic matter from beginningless time. Due to the operation of deluding karmas, it has got so intimately attached to karmic matter and impure thought-activities that, oblivious to reality, it is absorbed in mundane pleasures. A soul which is absorbed in right belief, knowledge and conduct is 'svasamaya' - the real Self, and the one degraded to an empirical ego enmeshed in karmic conditions is ‘parasamaya'– the impure self. The challenge before the man is to reach to the beautiful Ideal that is the real Self, the sublime reality of every soul. Recognition of the true nature of the soul, therefore, is the most desirable thing in this grand pilgrimage to the land of peace and purity.
Conduct, faith, and knowledge have been said to be the attributes of the soul from the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya). From the transcendental point of view (niscaya naya) the soul has no compartmentalized knowledge, conduct or faith, it just has pure consciousness. The empirical point of view does not reveal the
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ultimate truth; only the pure, transcendental point of view reveals the ultimate truth. As per the teachings of Lord Jina, the pure, transcendental point of view is worth knowing as the soul which takes refuge in the ultimate truth is surely the right believer. For the man who is in the impure state, like the householder engaged in virtuous activity, the empirical point of view is recommended.
In order to facilitate proper understanding, the wise teacher (Acārya) emphasizes on some special qualities of a substance to describe it so that the pupil is able to distinguish it from other substances. This division of the qualities of a substance is done only for practical purposes to make it understood. The substance is really an indivisible whole, and can be known truly only by the realization of its entire wholeness. For practical purposes we speak of the attributes of the soul of which the most important are the Three Jewels (ratnatraya) of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. He who realizes this does not lose himself in distinctions but becomes absorbed in the pure Self and enjoys the nectar of the soul's eternal essence.
The practical standpoint explains that the path to liberation is a combination of right faith, knowledge and conduct, while the real standpoint insists on real meditation that entails absorption in the pure Self. A soul having capabilities so high should remain true to its nature. To become subject to karmic bondage is against the nature of the soul. Absolute oneness of the soul can be realized when it is freed from karmic bondage. It then becomes distinct, untouched by others, not other than itself, indivisible whole (incorporeal), and absorbed in own blessedness.
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दुःखसन्दोहभागित्वं संयोगादिह देहिनाम् । त्यजाम्येनं ततः सर्वं मनोवाक्कायकर्मभिः ॥
(28)
The soul, due to its association with the non-soul body and the like, has to live through many afflictions. I, therefore, renounce all such association, along with the activities of the mind, speech and body.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
From the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya), the soul is said to be the enjoyer of the fruits of karmas in the form of pleasure and pain, but from the transcendental point of view (niscaya naya), the soul experiences only consciousness (cetană), concomitant with perception (darśana) and knowledge (jñāna). The ignorant, engrossed in the nature of various species of karmas, enjoys the fruits of karmas (in the form of pleasure and pain), and the knowledgeable is aware of the fruits of karmas but does not enjoy them. The right believer calmly bears the fruits of karmas and is not affected by them. Experiencing the fruits of karmas, the Self who identifies himself with those fruits of karmas, thereby getting happy or miserable, bonds himself again with the seeds of misery in the form of eight kinds of karmas.
To attain excellent meditation one should turn all one's faculties inwards. To reach this stage it is necessary to check the activities of the body, mind and speech which produce disquietude of the soul. Clinging to the idea of self-realization and fortified against the influx of karmas, the Self meditates, with due control of
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the senses, on the pure soul with a view to wash off the karmic dust. The man has to be equipped with 'samvara’or fortification round the Self against the influx of karmas, desirable and undesirable. Instead of diverting attention to environmental objects, thought is to be fixed on the Self. This reflection upon the Self is to be made secure enough by controlling the senses. The man meditating on the pure Self under such circumstances is sure to attain the purity of the Self by completely washing off the karmic dust. In the man who has neither desire nor aversion, and who is free from ignorant attachment to sense pleasures and, therefore, from the activity of the thought, speech and body, there flames forth the fire of meditation that burns out all karmas, beneficial and baneful.
Such a man, through own enterprise, which manifests in the form of right faith and knowledge, gets protection from virtuous as well as wicked activities that cause merit and demerit. He remains detached from the body and, devoid of external and internal attachments, conquers desires. He contemplates on the Self, through own Self. He does not reflect upon the karmas and the quasi-karmic matter (nokarma), which are external to him. The Self with such distinctive qualities experiences oneness with the Self. Such a Self, contemplating on the Self, becomes of the nature of right faith and knowledge, and being immersed in the Self, attains, in a short span of time, the status of the pure Self that is free from all karmas.
Acārya Nemichandra, in Dravyasamgraha, outlines the essential requirements for real meditation:
मा चिट्ठह मा जंपह मा चिंतह किंवि जेण होइ थिरो। अप्पा अप्पम्मि रओ इणमेव परं हवे ज्झाणं ॥
(56) Do not make bodily movements, nor utter any words, nor dilute the focus of mind; remaining engrossed in your pure Self is real meditation.
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When the threefold activity of the body, the sense-organ of speech, and the mind is curbed well, there is no room for passionate dispositions in the soul. Without passion and activity, complete stoppage of karmic influxes takes place. Without influxes, there can be no karmic bondage. Without karmic bondage there can be no quasi-karmic matter (nokarma). And without quasi-karmic matter, the cycle of births and deaths ceases to exist.
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न मे
मृत्युः कुतो भीतिर्न मे व्याधिः कुतो व्यथा । नाहं बालो न वृद्धोऽहं न युवैतानि पुद्गले ॥
Verse 29
(29)
I do not die; what should I fear death for? I do not suffer from disease; what can cause me pain? I am not a child; I am not an old man; I am not a young man. All these attributes are found only in physical matter.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Acarya in this verse highlights that the modifications that our body is subjected to are not the modifications of the soul and, as such, he marks the body and the soul as two entirely distinct substances. The body is made up of sense organs but the soul is devoid of the senses. The body is devoid of knowledge but the soul is the essence of knowledge. The body is perishable but the soul is imperishable. The body experiences birth, survival and extinction. It has a beginning and an end but the soul has neither beginning nor end.
Our desires for the gratification of the senses - touch, taste, and the rest - cause us injury, bondage, disgrace, and anguish, which are responsible for plunging the soul into the ocean of misery. In different incarnations, due to bondage, the soul has suffered millions of afflictions. In the course of its mundane existence, innumerable bodies have been discarded by the soul. He who contemplates thus is alarmed at the transient nature of the body and miseries of transmigration.
When a man turns his consciousness exclusively to the Ideal of
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the pure soul, he is saved from indulging in activities that result in perennial entrapment in the world. Knowing the body as unconscious, mortal, and a product of karmas, one who does not undertake activities pertaining to the body performs the essentials of detachment from the body. The soul has the intrinsic attribute of darting upward and the body, being physical matter, is an instrument of pulling the soul downward. The body, being a direct outcome of karmas, is absolutely worth dissociation and detachment for anyone who is treading the path to liberation. Only with such discrimination between the soul and the body can one develop interest and inclination towards the soul and disinterest and disinclination towards anything that is antithetical to the soul.
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Verse 30
भुक्तोज्झिता मुहुर्मोहान्मया सर्वेऽपि पुद्गलाः । उच्छिष्टेष्विव तेष्वद्य मम विज्ञस्य का स्पृहा ॥
(30)
Owing to delusion, I have enjoyed and then discarded, many times over, all existing material objects. Now that I have acquired wisdom, what wish could I have to enjoy those leftovers again?
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The soul and the karmic matter have been together in worldly existence from beginningless time. If we hold that this relationship must have a beginning, then the soul must have been pure before the time the bondage took place. But then there must have been some cause for the pure soul to fall into the labyrinth of the world. Only karmas can drag back the soul into the worldly embodiments; without karmas the fall is impossible. So both logically and existentially the beginningless relationship between the soul and the matter is the only consistent position. It is, however, admitted that in spite of their beginningless association neither the soul nor the matter gains the attributes of the other. Their relationship is explained by the theory of material or substantial cause (upādāna kartā) and the auxiliary or external cause (nimitta kartā) in Jaina philosophy.
In the past innumerable millions of years, our soul has taken in (enjoyed) successively all the molecules of matter in the entire universe and has cast them off. It has been born and dead many times, in the entire space of the universe. It has experienced all four
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states of existence the infernal state, the subhuman state of animals and plants, the human state, and the celestial state, many times over. It has indulged in all objects of sense-gratification. And it has suffered unimaginable torments in its states of existence.
We can choose to continue with existence that is perennially subjugated by karmas. Or, we can choose to subjugate karmas by adopting the path of right faith, knowledge and conduct. It is rare to get birth as a five-sensed being; greater is the difficulty to get human birth. Even if human birth is attained, it is difficult to attain a good family, keen senses, health, and suitable environment. When all these are attained, if right belief is not acquired, human birth becomes useless. If one loses the condition of a human being due to negligence or over-indulgence, it is difficult to attain it once again. The way to make human birth meaningful for all times to come is through renunciation of worldly pleasures, meditation accompanied by austerities, propagation of true faith, and finally attaining an auspicious death.
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Verse 31
कर्म कर्महिताबन्धि जीवो जीवहितस्पृहः । Faltayhtar Fallef ont at 7 alwayfa 11
(31)
Karmas work in their interest and the soul works in its interest. It is but natural; who does not wish to expand own influence?
EXPLANATORY NOTES
In this verse, the Acārya has metaphorically expressed the functioning of the karmas vis-à-vis the soul. Karmas bound with the soul have the tendency to interfere with its natural functioning. Due to the influence of the karmas, the soul gets into a state of weakness and then acts in a manner inimical to its natural tendencies. The affinity between the soul and the karmic matter may be explained by the fact that the former is the knower and enjoyer of the latter. The soul is the enjoyer, and the matter, the object of enjoyment; hence the relation between them is that of the subject and the object. The interaction between the soul and the matter can take place only when the former is actuated by a desire for the enjoyment of sense objects, and, conversely, matter can affect the soul only when the soul is rendered vulnerable by its passions. The man under the influence of karmas cannot resist temptations and falls prey to four types of passions - anger, pride, deceitfulness, and greed. As a consequence of the rise of passions in the soul, physical matter gets bonded with it, transforming itself into karmic matter, which then becomes known as the karmas of
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various kinds.
The four types of passions, mentioned above, are subdivided into four classes each according to their potency:
1. anantănubandhi - most malignant: that which leads to endless cycle of worldly existence owing to wrong faith. 2. apratyakhyāna - highly malignant: that which arrests even partial abstinence of the householder.
3. pratyakhyāna - malignant: that which enables the
householder's vows to be observed but stands in the way of the more rigorous vows of the ascetic.
4. sañjvalana - gleaming: that which disturbs perfect conduct. It gleams along with self-restraint or even in its presence self-restraint shines. It only debars the soul from pure self-concentration.
The potency of the four classes of passions has been likened to a line drawn on stone, on earth, on dust, and on water, respectively.
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The task in the path of spiritual progress, essentially, is to rid the soul of all karmic dirt already associated with it, while ensuring that no fresh particles of dirt are able to settle in. There are in all fourteen stages of spiritual progress (guṇasthāna) which constitute the journey of the soul from the lowest stage of bondage and ignorance to that of full illumination and godhood. (see p. 13-14)
The last stage of ayogakevali accomplishes complete liberation. On the termination of the ayuḥ karma, which determines the association of the soul with the body, the ayogakevali is freed from all kinds of fetters of matter and immediately ascends to the Holy Abode of Gods Siddha Silā to reside there in everlasting enjoyment of omniscience, infinite bliss, and all other divine attributes.
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Verse 32
परोपकृतिमुत्सृज्य स्वोपकारपरो भव । उपकुर्वन्परस्याज्ञो दृश्यमानस्य लोकवत् ॥
(32)
Engage in doing own good rather than of others; this is the way of the world. It is out of ignorance that you engage in the service of visible objects like the body, and not the Self.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The experience of the soul, on one hand, and of the objects of the external world, on the other, is altogether different. When the attention is turned inward, one gets the overwhelming experience of the soul without the help of the sense organs. The knower becomes the object of knowledge; the distinction between the knower and the known vanishes. Outward attention, through the instruments of the senses, reveals the body and other objects of the external world. Such knowledge is temporal and transient; it fades out as the senses die away. Nothing but woe is in store for the man who spends all his time and energy on visible objects like the body, family, friends, business, home, and all other paraphernalia of the external world. All these objects appear very attractive and pleasant at first and few, indeed, appreciate that there could be a more sublime goal in life than their acquisition and enjoyment. Fewer still are those who secure freedom and happiness by renouncing desires for such objects.
We all perform work for worldly gains and to avoid stagnation. A transition must take place in our lives when the purpose of work
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shifts from enjoyment of worldly objects to enjoyment of the true Self. This transition can take place only when we renounce our desires since these keep us entangled in delusion. Desires, which truly are confessions of our deficiencies, cause us to work for those objects which hinder our freedom and, therefore, keep us away from real happiness. If we do not renounce our worldly attachments ourselves, Nature will compel us to do so, sooner or later, causing us terrible anguish. He only is wise who, at an appropriate stage in life, uses his freedom and power to cheerfully detach himself from the worldly objects of attachment and enjoyment, and seek blessedness that appertains to the true Self.
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Verse 33
गुरूपदेशादभ्यासात्संवित्तेः स्वपरान्तरम् । जानाति यः स जानाति मोक्षसौख्यं निरन्तरम् ॥
(33)
The one who has understood the distinction between the Self and the non-self through the teachings of the preceptor, constant practice, and self-reflection, foresees constantly the happiness that appertains to the liberated soul.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The notion that the man who practises renunciation and austerity leads a difficult life of deprivation and hardship is not true; in fact, it is utterly misplaced. Renunciation and austerity are voluntary dispositions resulting from an understanding of the true nature of the worldly objects, freedom from attachment and, consequently, from desire for their acquisition and enjoyment. The attention of the practitioner of renunciation is directed towards the Self rather than the environmental objects.
The state of pure bliss is within us and only due to ignorance we cover it up with layers and layers of impurities. As soon as we recognize the enormity of harm done to our souls through vicious living, we start appreciating the idea of giving up and renunciation. The process of renunciation is full of exhilaration and joy as it draws the soul nearer the goal of power and blessedness. All attachment, including that for laudable ideals which cause the influx of meritorious karmas, leads to contamination of the purity of the soul. Meritorious karmas may provide pleasant outcome but the soul gets scarred. It is like burning sandalwood for fire; it smells
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sweet nevertheless burns. Only when the man gets rid of attachment to all external objects will he be able to conquer the miseries of life and inherit the Kingdom of Liberation (nirvāņa).
Real meditation is based on right belief, right knowledge and right conduct, and unrelated to objects alien to the soul. It is the cause of shedding of karmas. The superficiality of any relation of the soul to alien objects is well understood, and severed. There is no possibility of desire springing up in the heart for the acquisition and enjoyment of alien objects. A state of desirelessness means the absence of spiritual discord; spiritual harmony repels the influx of karmas and as the already existing karmas are destroyed by meditation, the destruction of ignorance is imminent. Inner purity is thus gained. The soul makes significant strides in its voyage to the hitherto unseen and unexplored haven that leads to liberty and bliss.
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Verse 34
स्वस्मिन् सदभिलाषित्वादभीष्टज्ञापकत्वतः । स्वयं हितप्रयोक्तृत्वादात्मैव गुरुरात्मनः ॥
(34)
As the soul longs for own well-being (liberation), promulgates the path that leads to it, and engages in its realization, therefore, it is its own preceptor.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
In the true sense, the soul indeed is the real path to liberation. Well established in itself, it neither perceives alien objects as its own, nor gives up its intrinsic nature. Faith, knowledge and conduct, together, constitute the intrinsic nature of the soul. As the object and its qualities are not distinct, the soul is described as identical with the constitutive elements of faith, knowledge and conduct. These elements also constitute the path to liberation. Hence the intrinsic nature of the soul is the real path to liberation; it does not stand in need of an outside preceptor to either know the truth or the path to be followed. The perfected soul becomes all-knowing and all-perceiving.
Right understanding of the pure soul is attained by the soul itself, not by any other means. Those who expect the purity of the soul to come from anything outside entertain perverted vision. The soul is absolutely not touched or purified by other substances howsoever propitious these may seem. It is in this context that the practice of renunciation of all external concomitances of the soul is considered so worthwhile.
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We all experience knowledge in our souls. There is no distinction between knowledge and the owner of knowledge. The soul is known by itself and not by the indirect, sensory knowledge as the senses do not constitute knowledge. Persons with vitiated intellect know the knowable but not the knower. How can a lamp not be perceived by the light it emits? Knowledge and soul are indistinguishably identical to one another as heat to the sun. It is the nature of the soul to enlighten the Self as well as the outside objects simultaneously. All learning of the Scripture leads to this one conclusion: meditation on the Self is the only sure means to achieve the goal of self-realization.
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नाज्ञो विज्ञत्वमायाति विज्ञो नाज्ञत्वमृच्छति । निमित्तमात्रमन्यस्तु गतेर्धर्मास्तिकायवत् ॥
Verse 35
(35)
It is not possible for the Truth to be acquired by those not qualified for its acquisition, and the knower of the Truth cannot become devoid of it. Teaching by others is an external facilitator just as the medium of motion (dharma) is to the movement of objects.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Jaina metaphysics divides souls into two distinct classes: 1) those having potential to attain liberation (bhavya), and 2) those incapable of attaining liberation (abhavya). The bhavya souls possess the capacity for liberation as they, at some point of time, are destined to follow the path shown by Lord Jina. The abhavya souls are so fated that they will never make the necessary effort to attain liberation. The distinction among the souls is based on the possibility of their choosing the right path for liberation. The abhavya souls will never choose the right path and, therefore, wander in the labyrinth of mundane life for all time to come.
A prerequisite for choosing the right path for liberation is to acquire right faith. The soul that will acquire right faith is bhavya, and is endowed with the capacity for liberation. The soul that will not attain right faith is abhavya, and is not endowed with the capacity for liberation. The question of cherishing right faith does not arise in the case of the abhavya soul.
The man incapable of attaining liberation, even after the study of the Scripture, derives no good from the lesson because of the
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want of right faith. As he is devoid of right faith, right knowledge is a distant dream for him. Without right faith and right knowledge, his mastery of the Scripture cannot make him knowledgeable. Such a person takes interest in religious conduct with the sole aim of attaining worldly enjoyments. He does not have faith or interest in the true religion that is instrumental in the dissociation of karmas. In the depth of his heart there lingers a desire for sense-pleasures. His religious conduct may cause him bondage of meritorious karmas, and endow him with birth in the heavens but never the ultimate state of self-realization. He may become well-versed in the Scripture and may even follow the practical conduct of a layman or a saint, yet all this is useless so far as liberation is concerned. It is only the correct knowledge of the real point of view which is the cause of self-realization.
The Truth that infinite knowledge, infinite perception, and infinite bliss are inseparable from the pure Self is understood only by the faithful (bhavya). The unfaithful (abhavya) is not capable of appreciating the Truth and, therefore, not fit to attain the ultimate state of self-realization. He remains far from the nectar-beverage of the supremely real joy of liberation and is engrossed perpetually in the water-mass of a mirage fashioned by sense-pleasures.
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Verse 36
अभवच्चित्तविक्षेप एकान्ते तत्त्वसंस्थितः । अभ्यस्येदभियोगेन योगी तत्त्वं निजात्मनः ॥
(36)
The Yogi whose mind is without perturbation and is established in the knowledge of the Self should diligently practice meditation on the nature of the soul, in solitude.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
In the primary stage of meditation it may be necessary to concentrate on objects other than the Self. The five Supreme Beings (Pañca Parameşthi) or the supreme mantra of thirty-five letters, are of great help in steadying the mind. When the mind becomes steady through constant practice as aforesaid, the Yogi arrives at a stage when he meditates on the nature of the soul. He is void of all possessions, external and internal. His mind is free from agitation caused by the desire for sense-pleasures. He overcomes disposi
as based on delusion, and attachment and aversion in respect of desirable and undesirable objects.
Ācārya Shubhachandra has enumerated eight virtues required of the meditator.
He should: 1. be an aspirant after liberation, it being the ultimate object
of meditation; 2. be free from worldly attachments; 3. keep his mind calm, free from all anxiety;
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4. have control over wanderings of the mind;
5. have a stable body which can stay firm in postures of meditation;
6. have control over senses as sense-pleasures and meditation lead to opposite directions;
7. observe vows as these help in steadying the mind; 8. remain steadfast in the face of afflictions or hardships. Adapted from:
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"Acarya Shubhachandra's Jñānārṇavaḥ", Shrimad Rajachandra Ashram, Agasa, Fifth Edition (1981), p. 65.
Environmental disturbances can generate disquiet in the mind of the Yogi and, therefore, solitude is recommended. The Masters have stipulated full control of the mind, speech, and body for real self-contemplation.
Acārya Jinasena in Ādipurāṇa has recommended that the physical environment as well as the posture of the Yogi should be conducive for meditation:
The Yogi, well-versed in the Scripture, chooses for meditation a place that is not a thoroughfare and free from disturbances. A vacant house, a burial ground, a thin forest, the bank of a river, a hilltop, a cave, the hollow of a tree, or any other place which is pious and pleasant like a temple, can be chosen. The place should be free from excessive sunlight, heat or cold, strong wind, persistent rain, small creatures, and waterfall. Gentle breeze is a help.
Seated on an even ground in the paryanka asana (also known as padmāsana), the Yogi keeps his body relaxed and still during the course of meditation. In the sitting posture of paryanka āsana, the legs are interlocked, with the right one placed on the left thigh and the left on the right. The open right hand is placed on the open left hand and the palms face upwards. Keeping the

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eyes just about open and fixed on the nose, breathing softly, and aligning the lower jaw with the upper jaw, the Yogi controls the ramblings of the mind. As per his convenience and training, he may fix his mind on the heart, top of the head, forehead, navel, or any other place. He remains unmoved by the afflictions or sufferings and, with a tranquil mind, concentrates on the nature of substances, souls and non-souls, as revealed by the Scripture. The Yogi should get himself perched on an even ground which allows the body to remain steady and the mind to concentrate on the desired object. The sitting posture, the paryanka āsana, is recommended. The standing posture, the kāyotsarga āsana, is also recommended. In this āsana, the Yogi stands upright with feet firmly planted on the ground, at a distance of about two inches from each other. The arms, with open hands, hang naturally by the sides maintaining a slender distance from the body. Both these postures are most conducive to bodily steadiness and firmness.
Adapted from: “Ācārya Jinasena's Adipurāņa”, Bharatiya Jnanpith,
Tenth Edition (2004), p. 480-481.
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यथा यथा समायाति संवित्तौ तत्त्वमुत्तमम् । तथा तथा न रोचन्ते विषयाः सुलभा अपि ॥
यथा यथा न रोचन्ते विषयाः सुलभा अपि । तथा तथा समायाति संवित्तौ तत्त्वमुत्तमम् ॥
(37)
As the Yogi advances in the realization of the pure nature of his soul, even close at hand objects of sense-indulgence appear increasingly unattractive.
(38)
As even the close at hand objects of sense-indulgence start appearing unattractive, the Yogi increasingly comes closer to the realization of the pure Self.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
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The realization of the pure Self cannot be attained without shedding attachment to external objects. Even the traditional religious reverence for the Ideal is only a stepping stone for the spiritual goal; a means to an end. At the highest level, the soul only is of eternal value and the absolute object of realization.
Deluded by the objects of worldly pleasures, the man runs after these and wastes long years in their indulgence. As his appetite remains unsatiated, he longs for greater and greater indulgence. Such is the nature of worldly pleasures. The Yogi, in contrast, may appear to be in proximity to and indulging in worldly objects, but in reality he is detached from them and neither enjoys pleasure nor

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suffers pain due to these objects. He considers wealth and other worldly objects as the friends of karmas and, therefore, not in a position to grant happiness to the soul.
The experience of the worldly objects depends on the limited and indirect knowing capacity of the senses; the experience of the inner Self depends on the unlimited and direct knowing capacity of the soul. When the individual's whole attention is turned inward, there results an overwhelming experience of the pure Self. The outside objects of sense-indulgence then appear totally unattractive and inconsequential.
Victory over passions and senses is achieved through the observance of the rules of conduct, as prescribed by Lord Jina. As passions and senses are subdued, interest in the study of the soul is enkindled and that is followed by meditation. Meditation is the culmination of the process of self-study and consists in fixation of the mind on the Ideal of the pure soul. With full detachment from all worldly objects, the Yogi centres his attention on the purity of the soul. He renounces all concerns with worldly activity, the source of the contamination of the purity of the soul.
Meditation secures him against allurements of the objects of the world. He loses all interest in them and if approached by such objects, he remains inattentive to them. The pleasures of the world no longer are able to attract and vitiate his mind. The purity of the soul becomes the subject as well as the object of meditation.
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निशामयति निश्शेषमिन्द्रजालोपमं जगत् । स्पृहयत्यात्मलाभाय गत्वान्यत्रानुतप्यते ॥
(39)
The whole world appears illusory to the Yogi engaged in the process of self-realization. If ever he gets entangled in any worldly object, he expiates his transgression.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
To be able to undertake the noble task of meditating on the pure soul, the Yogi has to first train his mind by following certain rules of conduct as laid down in the Scripture.
Ācārya Nemichandra pronounces in Dravyasamgraha: तवसुदवदवं चेदा ज्झाणरहधुरंधरो हवे जम्हा । तम्हा तत्तियणिरदा तल्लद्धीए सदा होह ॥
(57) The soul which practises austerities (tapas), acquires knowledge of the Scripture (śruta), and observes vows (urata), becomes capable of controlling the axle of the chariot of meditation. So always be engrossed in these three to attain that state of real meditation.
The Yogi thus prepares for fixing his thought on the Self rather than on the environmental objects. He holds neither attachment nor aversion towards the objects of the environment. He controls his senses, gets rid of delusion, and attachment and aversion in respect of desirable and undesirable objects. He gets void of all
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desires. He does not make bodily movements, does not utter any words, and does not dilute the focus of his mind. He becomes the embodiment of unruffled peace, in thought, speech and body. Meditation attended by such circumstances manifests as the fire that destroys the rubbish heap of karmas and reveals the sterling beauty of the pure Self.
The path is difficult and transgressions are liable to take place in the journey. The Yogi is ever eager to preserve the purity of his mind undefiled and resorts to corrective measures as soon as a taint of blemish is noticed in thought, word or deed. Expiation is very pleasing to him as proper conduct cannot be attained without the rectifying penance. He washes away all taints of evil by selfcontemplation, repentance, confession, and renunciation, i.e., the determination not to do it again in the future.
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इच्छत्येकान्तसंवासं निर्जनं जनितादरः । निजकार्यवशात्किञ्चिदुक्त्वा विस्मरति द्रुतम् ॥
(40)
The Yogi longs for solitude and distances himself from interaction with men. If due to some reason he has to communicate with them, he soon puts it out of his mind.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Through gradual practice of self-concentration the Yogi excludes everything that is extraneous to the soul, bringing him nearer the goal of self-realization. He eulogizes the pure soul, and its attributes. He pays homage and respect to the pure souls that have actually attained final release from the world. This humility imparts firmness to his steps on the right path. He renounces all relation with the karmas done in the past and maturing at present, thus stopping the inflow of fresh karmic matter to the soul. He does not engage in activities relating to his body or physical well-being. He withdraws from the ways of the world, both externally and internally.
The soul gets engrossed in emotional states of attachment and aversion only due to delusion, a result of ignorance. When an individual's mind is not absorbed in the pure soul, he takes interest in objects external bringing about intemperate reactions of pleasantness and unpleasantness. Only the impure state of the soul allows the dispositions of attachment and aversion to set in.
The Yogi engaged in self-realization has no time or inclination
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to interact with the external environment. The external objects generally remain unnoticed by him as he pays no attention to them. His interaction with the people is minimal and without passions. For the few people he has to interact with occasionally, he engenders no lasting emotions of attachment or aversion.
The Yogi is a man of few words and the words he chooses are sweet, positive and helpful. As soon as his interaction with the outside world is over, he presents himself again to the service of the King, the pure Self.
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ब्रुवन्नपि हि न ब्रूते गच्छन्नपि न गच्छति । स्थिरीकृतात्मतत्त्वस्तु पश्यन्नपि न पश्यति ॥
The Yogi who is established firmly in self-identity does not speak while speaking, does not walk while walking, and does not see while seeing.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Yogi, established in self-identity, devoid of attachment and aversion, knows the sweet-bitter taste of the fruition of karmas but remains a non-enjoyer. He knows the nature of different kinds of karmic bondage involving merit (punya) and demerit (pāpa), and their fruition, but never produces or enjoys them.
Acārya Kundakunda expounds in Samayasara:
जह सिप्पिओ दु कम्मं कुव्वदि ण य सो दु तम्मओ होदि । तह जीवो वि य कम्मं कुव्वदि ण य तम्मओ होदि ॥ जह सिप्पिड करणेहिं कुव्वदि ण य सो दु तम्मओ होदि । तह जीवो करणेहिं कुव्वदि ण य तम्मओ होदि ॥
(41)
106
(10-42-349)
(10-43-350)
जह सिप्पिड करणाणि य गिण्हदि ण य सो दु तम्मओ होदि । तह जीवो करणाणि य गिण्हदि ण य तम्मओ होदि ॥ ( 10-44-351)
जह सिप्पिउ कम्मफलं भुंजदि ण य सो दु तम्मओ होदि । तह जीवो कम्मफलं भुंजदि ण य तम्मओ होदि ॥
(10-45-352)

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As an artisan (a goldsmith, for example), does his work to produce earrings but does not become identical with it, so also the Self produces karmic matter like knowledge-obscuring karma, but does not become identical with it. As an artisan (a goldsmith, for example), uses tools like a mallet to produce earrings but does not become identical with them, so also the Self acts through the instruments of mind-, speech-and physical-activity to produce karmic matter like knowledgeobscuring karma, but does not become identical with them. As an artisan (a goldsmith, for example), takes up tools but does not become identical with them, so also the Self adopts the instruments of mind-, speech- and physical-activity but does not become identical with them. As an artisan (a goldsmith, for example) enjoys the fruits of his work (earrings) but does not become identical with the fruits, so also the Self enjoys the fruits of karmas (in the form of pleasure and pain) but does not become identical with them. Jain, Vijay K. (2012), "Achārya Kundkund's Samayasāra”,
Vikalp Printers, p. 165-166.
The same is true of the Yogi. After realizing that only the Self, and nothing else, belongs to him, he disowns all alien substances. He renounces attachment to all alien substances, animate and inanimate. Even while stationed in the midst of karmas he is not soiled by the karmic dirt, just as gold remains uncontaminated in the midst of mire. His apparent activities of speaking, walking and seeing are performed mechanically, without passions, and, therefore, do not cause bondage of karmas.
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किमिदं कीदृशं कस्य कस्मात्क्वेत्यविशेषयन् । स्वदेहमपि नावैति योगी योगपरायणः ॥
(42)
The Yogi engrossed in self-realization is far removed from all inquisitive dispositions about the soul, such as, what is it? what is its nature? whom does it belong to? where does it come from? and where does it reside? He is free from the awareness of even his body.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Self and the karmic bondage are differentiated on the basis of their own intrinsic nature. These two are chiselled (separated) with the help of the instrument of self-discrimination. The karmic bondage should be discarded and the pure soul ought to be realized. Through self-discrimination, the Yogi realizes that 'I' is really the ‘pure consciousness' and all other dispositions are alien to him. He contemplates that the object of self-realization is just the Self. All thoughts on any other object, including the body, disappear. The soul ventures into the depth of its own pure nature where there are no wavering thoughts. Immersed in the deep and vast ocean of soulhappiness, unruffled by any thoughts or passions, the self-absorbed soul enjoys rapturous rhythm of bliss indescribable. No outside
ency, not even one's own body, can be of any help in reaching to this state of soul-happiness.
The soul devoid of devotion to the Self is not in its pristine nature. Any lapse from the condition of self-devotion is necessarily a fault, which becomes the cause of the inflow and bondage of karmic matter, virtuous and wicked. From the pure point of view,
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good and bad are equally undesirable, equally mundane, and worthy of renunciation. The soul's safety lies in itself, in loneliness. Meditation on the oneness of the Self accomplishes the goal of getting absorbed in self-devotion. Any intermission in this selfdevotion is the means to wander in the mundane world.
The knowing soul transcends inquisitiveness, analysis and logical arguments which are employed by the intellect to reach at the truth. Knowledge is intrinsic to the soul. Because the soul always knows, therefore, the knower soul is enlightened. The knowledge is not separate from the knower. Those who establish themselves on to the path to liberation, meditate only on the pure soul. The Yogi, therefore, leaving all attachments, meditates on the pure soul and attains real happiness.
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यो यत्र निवसन्नास्ते स तत्र कुरुते रतिम् । यो यत्र रमते तस्मादन्यत्र स न गच्छति ॥
(43)
Wherever the man sets his abode, he gets attached to the place and thereafter does not wish to go elsewhere.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Typically, the man gets attached to his place of residence and does not entertain the idea of leaving it. The same is true of the Yogi who, having experienced the joy of self-realization, does not wish to go back to worldly pursuits. Having acquired right faith, he regards all external objects as alien and does not wish for the company of these objects. Fixed in non-attachment, he knows the sweet-bitter taste of fruition of karmas but remains a non-enjoyer. He does not desire virtue or merit, food or drink, family or friends. There is neither attachment nor aversion towards the objects of the environment.
The Yogi directs all his efforts towards increasing the purity of meditation, thereby reaching a step nearer the goal of selfrealization. He practises austerities, acquires knowledge of the Scripture, and observes vows, with a view to reaching that state of real meditation. Austerities, external and internal, are the means of stopping the influx of new karmas and the destruction of existing karmas. Study of the intricate nature of reality on the authority of Lord Jina is essential for bringing home the truth of the worldly
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existence as well as the ways and means to attain liberation. Observance of the vows is essential to self-control and regulation of activities, without which the influx and bondage of karmas cannot be checked.
The Yogi, thus regimented, enjoys unruffled peace of mind, speech and body. He becomes capable of meditating on the Self. He attains still greater purity of the mind, destroys the entire conductdeluding karmas and becomes free from passions. And when he destroys all the four types of destructive karmas with the help of pure concentration, he becomes a Jina, the Conqueror. The radiance of meditation reveals to him the unrivalled beauty of the pure Self, infinite knowledge, and perception of unimaginable splendour and magnificence.
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अगच्छंस्तद्विशेषाणामनभिज्ञश्च जायते । अज्ञाततद्विशेषस्तु बध्यते न विमुच्यते ॥
(44)
The Yogi, not digressing from the contemplation of the Self, does not think about the nature of alien objects, and, as he remains inattentive to alien objects, not only is he not bound by karmas but gets released from them.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The idea of meditation is to reach a stage of spiritual excellence where the faults and obstructions associated with the soul are destroyed. This can be likened to purifying a piece of gold which might have external impurities like dross and internal impurities like silver and copper. By washing and scouring the external impurities can be removed and by melting the internal impurities can be removed. In the soul, karmas externally produce faults such as attachment, delusion and nescience, and internally obstruct right faith and knowledge. When these faults and obstructions are removed the soul becomes pure and fit for attaining omniscience.
To the soul whose stains of infatuation are destroyed, there exists no attachment for sense objects because it abstains from activity towards the 'other' whereof that infatuation is the root. Realization dawns that no external substance could be its resting place. The restraint of the internal faults follows as it has nothing else but only the Self for refuge. Thereupon, through the disappearance of flightiness caused by infatuation as well as internal faults, comes steadfastness in its innate nature of unlimited knowledge
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and perception. And that, because of being an unperturbed, deeply attentive thoughtfulness proceeding from the soul's own nature, is real meditation.
All impurities of the wavering mind, like attachment, aversion and delusion, which disturb concentration, are washed away by being detached from the sense-objects. As the Yogi establishes himself in the innate nature of the soul, the process of its purification begins.
Real meditation, the supreme kind of austerity, is the chief cause of the stoppage of influx as well as the dissociation of karmas. It leads to positions such as the lord of the celestial beings (devas), and, with progressive cleansing of the soul from the mire of karmic impurities, to perfect conduct, faith, and knowledge, which are capable of destroying all kinds of cobwebs of worldly suffering and constitute the immediate cause of complete emancipation of the soul, that is, liberation.
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परः परस्ततो दुःखमात्मैवात्मा ततः सुखम् । अत एव महात्मानस्तन्निमित्तं कृतोद्यमाः ॥
An alien object is always alien and is the cause of suffering; the soul is always own and is the cause of happiness. All great sages, therefore, have exerted themselves only for the sake of the soul.
(45)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The senses are the indirect means of knowledge and whatever these comprehend is partial like the perception of an elephant by several blind persons, each of whom touches only different parts of its body and forms a wrong idea of the animal. Based on the senses, the comprehension of reality by the ordinary human beings, similarly, is partial and is valid only from a particular point of view. A substance (dravya) is subjected to constant flux of modifications and while looking at its present state, we must not absolutely deny its past or future states.
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The Jaina view considers the soul's journey to be a continuous process which necessarily extends beyond its present incarnation. All our actions, while impacting the present life have a bearing on our future incarnations too. If we take such a far-sighted and enduring view of life, many of our perceptions on issues like self and non-self, merit and demerit, pleasure and pain, rich and poor, friend and foe, beneficial and harmful, are bound to get reassessed and redefined.
Acārya Amitagati, in Yogasāra Prābhṛta, avers:

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बडिशाभिषवच्छेदो दारुणो भोगशर्मणि । सक्तास्त्यजन्ति सद्ध्यानं धिगहो ! मोहतामस् ॥
Verse 45
(7-46)
In the course of pleasure born of worldly enjoyments there is extremely unbearable pain like that caused to the fish by the cut of the fish-hook fitted with a piece of meat. Unfortunately, those engrossed in pleasure abandon the way of right meditation. Oh, damn the darkness (ignorance) caused by delusion!
आत्मतत्त्वमजानाना विपर्यासपरायणाः । हिताहितविवेकान्धाः खिद्यन्ते साम्प्रतेक्षणाः ॥
(7-47)
Those who do not know the principle of the soul, who are experts in the opposite (principle of the non-soul), who are blind to discrimination between the beneficial and the nonbeneficial, and who perceive the pleasures of the present alone, suffer restlessness.
Jain, S.C. (Dr.) (2003), “Ācārya Amitagati's Yogasāra Prabhṛta", Bharatiya Jnanpith, p. 167.
The Yogi who has rid himself of all delusion regards everything alien, howsoever attractive it may appear in the present, as the harbinger of suffering. He relies solely on the Self to attain the everlasting bliss that essentially appertains to the Self, cannot be found anywhere else, and is, therefore, independent of all outside agencies.
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अविद्वान् पुद्गलद्रव्यं योऽभिनन्दति तस्य तत् । न जातु जन्तोः सामीप्यं चतुर्गतिषु मुञ्चति ॥
(46)
Believing the matter to be the soul, the ignorant gets attached to it and, as a result, the matter does not leave the soul in its four states of existence (caturgati).
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Every soul present in the three worlds - the lower world, the transverse world, and the upper world – has been in transmigratory existence since beginningless time. Being propelled by the mechanism of karmas, the soul wanders in the cycle of births and deaths, undergoing millions of afflictions. There are four states of worldly existence (caturgati) – the infernal state, the subhuman (plants and animals) state, the celestial state, and the human state.
Ācārya Amritchandra elucidates in Puruşārthasiddhyupāya: जीवकृतं परिणामं निमित्तमात्रं प्रपद्य पुनरन्ये । स्वयमेव परिणमन्तेऽत्र पुद्गलाः कर्मभावेन ॥ As a consequence of the rise of passions like attachment in the soul, physical matter gets bonded with the soul, transforming itself into karmic matter, like knowledge-obscuring karma.
(12)
परिणममानस्य चितश्चिदात्मकैः स्वयमपि स्वकैर्भावैः। भवति हि निमित्तमात्रं पौद्गलिकं कर्म तस्यापि ॥
(13)
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The soul loses its pure consciousness as a result of bondage with karmic matter, like knowledge-obscuring karma, and, as a consequence, entertains passions like attachment.
Jain, Vijay K. (2012), "Shri Amritchandra Suri's
Puruşārthasiddhyupāya”, Vikalp Printers, p. 10-11. This cycle of passions causing bondage of karmas, and bondage of karmas causing passions, continues incessantly unless snapped by own effort.
There are two ways by which karmas get dissociated from the soul.
First, karmas fall off on fruition in natural course at the end of their duration, after yielding the fruits – pain or pleasure. The auspicious as well as the inauspicious karmas reach the stage of fruition gradually and then dissociate from the soul. This is involuntary dissociation of karmas. As per the Scripture, the maximum duration of the four inimical types of karmas, the deluding, the knowledge-obscuring, the perception-obscuring, and the obstructive karmas, is seventy, thirty, thirty, and thirty sāgaropama kotīkotī, respectively. The minimum duration of these four inimical types of karmas is up to one muhūrta. The minimum duration of the deluding karmas occurs in case of the ascetic in the ninth stage of development. The minimum duration of the knowledge-obscuring, the perception-obscuring, and the obstructive karmas is obtained in case of the ascetic in the tenth stage of development.
Second, karmas are being made to ripen prematurely by one's own effort, just as mango or other fruits are made to ripen through special contrivances. This type of dissociation does not wait for the ripening of karmas in natural course of things and is achieved through penance and other austerities. The knowledgeable soul strives to attain its purity through this method.
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आत्मानुष्ठाननिष्ठस्य व्यवहारबहिः स्थिते: । जायते परमानन्दः कश्चिद्योगेन योगिनः ॥
The Yogi established firmly in the Self, away from worldly occupations, experiences supreme kind of happiness in his being.
(47)
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Meditation on the soul, without diversion of the mind to anything else, is essential for the expulsion of karmas from the soul. One who has left all possessions, external and internal, who does not engage himself in any activity, who has conquered his senses, and who has lost all interest in the worldly conduct of life, washes off the dirt of karmas in its entirety.
The true Yogi disentangles the bonds of karmas existing with the soul in no time, just as the strong wind drives away the expanse of dense clouds. The yoga which results into the comprehension of the pure soul has been described as the real yoga. Such yoga is the way that leads to the gain of the pure soul through the comprehension of the soul free from all that is foreign to it. Such a rare comprehension of the pure soul is possible only on the destruction of the obstructive karmas. Thus, yoga performs two functions: first, it destroys the obstructive karmas and, second, it leads to the comprehension of the pure soul.
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itself, and grants riddance to the soul from birth, old age and death. These characteristics mark a release of the soul from the turmoil of worldly existence.
Worldly occupations of all kinds are not in any way connected with the soul and therefore termed 'other' than the soul. All that is dependent on the 'other' is distress and all that is dependent on the soul is bliss. As such, the enjoyments generated by the rise of meritorious karmas too are distress on account of dependence on the 'other'. The knowledge of the pure soul through the Self is bliss. Such knowledge drifts towards meditation; in fact, the knowledge itself is transformed into meditation. As the Yogi ascends the stages of meditation, he reaches nearer and nearer the aim of uniting and identifying himself with the pure soul. As the karmas associated with the soul are washed away, there remains nothing to disturb the rhythmic pulsation of the soul. The pure soul, with bliss as one of its innate attributes, shines in its pristine glory.
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आनन्दो निर्दहत्युद्धं कर्मेन्धनमनारतम् । न चासौ खिद्यते योगी बहिर्दुःखेष्वचेतनः ॥
(48)
The supreme happiness that is generated in the soul acts like the fire that burns the accumulated karmic fuel, and the Yogi remains impervious to external pain, maintaining tranquility.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The purpose of meditation is to get complete release from the bondage of karmas. Observing vows and tenfold virtues, controlling and regulating activities, contemplating on the true nature of reality, enduring pain and suffering, carrying out external and internal austerities, and following the rules of conduct, help in the stoppage and shedding of karmas. The Yogi, with the help of these essentials, goes deeper and deeper into the Self and achieves greater purity of meditation as he purges his soul of the karmic mire.
The Yogi endures twenty-two hardships or afflictions (pariṣaha) involving bodily discomfort and mental disquiet. He subjugates these afflictions so as not to swerve from the path of stoppage and shedding of karmas. The twenty-two afflictions are hunger, thirst, cold weather, hot weather, insect-bite, nakedness, displeasure, disturbance due to feminine attraction, discomfort arising from roaming, discomfort of posture, uncomfortable couch, insult (scolding), assault (injury), not to beg for favours, lack of gain (not getting food for several days in several homes), illness, pain
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inflicted by blades of grass, unclean body, (absence of) reverence and honour, (conceit of) learning, despair or uneasiness arising from failure to acquire knowledge, and disbelief due to delay in the fruition of meritorious deeds. He endures these afflictions without evil thoughts thereby attaining great stoppage of karmas as influx caused by attachment and aversion is obstructed.
The Yogi striving after the purity of the soul makes absolutely no compromise with his own mental state while enduring these afflictions. He does not surrender his tranquility in order to save himself from pain and unrest caused by such assaults. In fact, as he advances on the path to self-realization and as he starts getting a first-hand experience of the happiness that appertains to the Self, he raises his concentration level to the extent that it acts as an impregnable shield against all assaults. He concentrates only on the Self, impervious to all worldly anxieties.
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अविद्याभिदुरं ज्योतिः परं ज्ञानमयं महत् । तत्प्रष्टव्यं तदेष्टव्यं तद्रष्टव्यं मुमुक्षुभिः ॥
(49)
Self-knowledge is the excellent and supreme light that destroys the darkness of ignorance. It is pertinent, therefore, that the aspirant after liberation should query about it, long for it, and live through it.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
The Self is knowledge, absolute and without differentiation. When the karmic clouds disperse gradually, self-knowledge increases in its brilliance and ultimately reaches its unmatched luminance. When such knowledge is obtained, it is self-realization. Nescience gets destroyed and all that which pertains to the non-self disappears from reckoning. There is no more inflow of karmic matter, the previously bound karmas are destroyed and the soul regains its pristine nature.
Ācārya Kundakunda explains the virtue of self-knowledge with matchless lucidity in Samayasāra:
णाणगुणेहि विहीणा एदं तु पदं बहू वि ण लहंते। तं गिण्ह णियदमेदं जदि इच्छसि कम्मपरिमोक्खं॥ (7-13-205) Bereft of the virtue of knowledge, many people, even though they make several efforts, are not able to attain this knowledge. As such (O bhavya - potential aspirant to liberation!) if you wish to be free from karmic bondage, embrace this eternal knowledge.
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wafte zal furazi zigeot alfe forcanafte i देण होहि तित्तो होहिदि तुह उत्तमं सोक्खं ॥
Verse 49
(7-14-206)
(O bhavya - potential aspirant to liberation!) Always adore this knowledge, in this only always remain contented, and fulfilled. You will attain supreme bliss (through knowledge-adoration, knowledge-contentment, and knowledge-fulfillment).
Jain, Vijay K. (2012), "Acharya Kundkund's Samayasara", Vikalp Printers, p. 99-100.
All learned Acāryas lay great emphasis on the importance of acquiring self-knowledge. Following the strict rules of discipline as well as observing the austerities, without the virtue of selfabsorption, are of no avail for the man who wishes to acquire selfknowledge. The aspirant after liberation must discard all thoughtactivities and take shelter in the knowledge of the pure soul with firm and unshakeable conviction. Self-knowledge is the bright fire that burns material karmas to ashes and frees the soul from karmic bondage. Self-knowledge should be the foundation of all practices, rituals and conduct. The path to self-realization unmistakably passes through self-knowledge.
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जीवोऽन्यः पुद्गलश्चान्य इत्यसौ तत्त्वसंग्रहः । यदन्यदुच्यते किञ्चित् सोऽस्तु तस्यैव विस्तरः ॥
(50)
The soul is distinct from the matter and the matter is distinct from the soul; this is the quintessence of reality. All the rest of articulation is but an elaboration of the same.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
From the transcendental point of view (niscaya naya) the soul is free from bondage, untouched by others, distinct, steady, inseparable from its attributes of knowledge and faith, and free from union with any other substance. It is devoid of colour, taste, smell, and touch, and, therefore, incorporeal. It is beyond perception through the senses, without sound, cannot be apprehended through a symbol, and its form or shape cannot be portrayed. It is characterized by consciousness - knowledge and perception. When it is sullied with karmic dirt, only then, from the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya), the soul is said to be having corporeal form. Due to its intimate bond with the karmic matter, which includes the body, we say, from a particular point of view, that the soul is the producer of karmic matter, and from another point of view that it gets involved in psychic dispositions like attachment and aversion.
Ācārya Nemichandra asserts in Dravyasamgraha: पोंग्गलकम्मादीणं कत्ता ववहारदो दु णिच्छयदो। चेदणकम्माणादा सुद्धणया सुद्धभावाणं ॥
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From the empirical point of view (vyavahāra naya), the soul is said to be the producer of karmic matter (like knowledgeobscuring karma); from the impure transcendental point of view (aśuddha niscaya naya), the soul is responsible for its psychic dispositions (like attachment and aversion); but from the pure transcendental point of view (śuddha niscaya naya), the soul is consciousness - pure perception and knowledge.
Let us look through this elaborate and highly relevant discussion on how the soul is viewed from different points of view:
To start with there are two main aspects of Nayas: Niscaya and Vyavahāra. The former represents the true and complete point of view. There is no distinction between the dravya and its guņas. The self is looked at as a whole with all the wealth of its attributes. The latter represents the partial point of view. The complex nature of the self is analyzed into its diverse qualities, and our attention may be directed to any particular attribute with which the self may be identified at the moment. Further the former, Niscaya Naya, is divided into Suddha Niscaya Naya and Aśuddha Niscaya Naya. Suddha Niscaya Naya holds the self in its pure and unconditioned nirupādhi state. Disentangled from all its material environment and limitation the self radiates in its pristine glory through all its wealth of infinite qualities. This aspect where the self is in its qualities and its qualities are pure and unalloyed expression of the nature of this self is the topic of Suddha Niscaya Naya. The second, Aśuddha Niscaya Naya, contemplates the self as caught in the meshes of the material environment, the sopādhi state. The presence of upādhi makes it impure or aśuddha. Its intrinsic glory is dimmed but still it is viewed as a whole with its complete nature as expressed in its attributes though somewhat warped by alien influences. This is the self according to
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the Asuddha Niścaya Naya.
Similarly, the Vyavahāra point of view is divided into two main heads: Sadbhūta Vyavahāra and Asadbhūta Vyavahāra. The term sadbhūta implies the intrinsic nature of the thing. Here the question is not about the purity or impurity of the thing. The term Vyavahāra as already explained implies the analysis and differentiation of attributes from the underlying dravya. Jñāna or thought is certainly an attribute of the self. To speak of jñāna as identical with the self is to adopt Sadbhūta Vyavahāra Naya. The term asadbhūta implies the importation of alien qualities into the self. Some of the organic instincts and emotions are distinctly due to the physical constitution. Nevertheless such instincts and emotions are associated with the self from the point of view of Asadbhuta Vyavahara Naya. Similarly the karmic constituents which are intrinsically physical may be said to belong to the self and modify its manifestations.
Each of these two again is divided into two other minor kinds upacarita and anupacarita. Upacarita is usage sanctified by convention but having no other intrinsic justification. It is a sort of metaphorical application; whereas anupacārita is just the opposite of the above. It stands on its own intrinsic merit and has no metaphorical and transferred import. Thus finally we have four kinds of Vyavahāra Naya: 1. anupacărita sadbhūta vyavahāra naya, 2. upacarita sadbhūta vyavahāra naya, 3. anupacarita asadbhūta vyavahāra naya, and 4. upacarita asadbhuta vyavahara naya.
Now the first is mainly vyavahāra inasmuch as it analyzes the attributes of the thing, is sadbhūta inasmuch as it emphasizes the genuine and intrinsic attributes, and is anupacārita inasmuch as it is free from figurative and transferred implication. The illustration of this: The self is of the nature of
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jñāna or knowledge. The second Naya is vyavahāra for the reason stated above and sadbhūta for the same reason and upacārita because the epithet is figurative and transferred. When we speak of jñāna or knowledge as Pramāņa or the criterion of truth we are thinking of the objects of knowledge or artha. Artha itself may be spoken of as a manifestation of knowledge or jñāna-vikalpa. To speak of artha or the object as a manifestation of knowledge is only figuratively true in the case of external objects. These being physical in nature are acetana and yet as objects of knowledge may be spoken of as manifestation of jñāna. What intrinsically belongs to the self is transferred to the object because of the relation brought about by the process of knowledge. The third Naya is anupacārita asadbhūta vyavahāra. The only term that demands explanation is asadbhūta here. It refers to the identification of the Self with some alien properties. For example, to consider one's own body as oneself which is generally done in ordinary life is Asadbhūta Vyavahāra. This is not merely figurative as the statement is sanctioned by the intimate interrelation that exists between the soul and the body. Hence 'This body is mine,' or 'I am this,' pointing to the body is justified according to anupacarita asadbhūta vyavahāra nava. The last Nava is the upacārita form of the same. Here the alien quality or the thing with which the self is identified lacks that intimate relation that exists between the soul and the body. To call the ornaments as one's own, to claim certain individuals as one's relatives, to possess certain things as one's own property, in short, to identify one's personality with alien things and persons is possible only in a figurative sense. Each personality is distinct from and alien to the others, though all by coexisting together may partake of common environment and enter into definite relations. Still from the metaphysical point of view, one's
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destiny is in one's own hands. Therefore the popular identification of the self with the other things said to be owned by it is a figurative and transferred predication or upacarita asadbhuta vyavahāra naya. These four kinds of Vyavahāra Naya together with the two Niścaya Naya constitute the six Nayas which are specially employed to fathom the depth of human personality.
Chakravarti Nayanar, A. (2009), “Ācārya Kundakunda's Pañcāstikāya-Sara", Bharatiya Jnanpith, New Delhi, Third Edition, Introduction, p. lxx-lxxii.
The right believer knows that the soul is distinct from all surrounding objects, animate or inanimate, and these objects cannot be his possessions. He takes his body also in the same light. His passionate thoughts are impermanent and are due to material causes. These also cannot be his possessions. His only possession is his soul, eternal and pure.
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Verse 51
इष्टोपदेशमिति सम्यगधीत्य धीमान्, मानापमानसमतां स्वमताद्वितन्य । मुक्ताग्रहो विनिवसन् सजने वने वा, मुक्तिश्रियं निरुपमामुपयाति भव्यः ॥
(51)
Thus, on reading and understanding the essence of this Istopadeśa – The Golden Discourse – the potential aspirant to liberation (bhavya), the city-dweller or the woodsdweller, through self-knowledge, maintaining equanimity in honour and disgrace, obtains the matchless treasure of liberation (mokşa).
EXPLANATORY NOTES
Ācārya Pujyapada concludes this treatise with a mention of its significance; read and assimilated properly it will lead every potential soul that follows the proper rules of conduct to the ultimate goal of liberation.
Mull over, from all angles, the following salient messages derived out of this charming composition, Iştopadeśa:
1. The purity of the soul-nature is attained only through
self-effort, on the destruction of the associated karmic
matter. 2. The karmic matter gets bound with the soul as it gets into
a state of 'weakness', overcome by passions.
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3. It makes great sense to lead a seemingly difficult life of observing vows and austerities rather than a vowless life of sensual pleasures.
4. Persons with right faith are destined to be reborn only in superior states of existence till they finally attain liberation.
5. The supreme happiness of the liberated soul is beyond description.
6. Sense-gratification and worldly prosperity are not the same as happiness.
7. Belief in substances, souls and non-souls, as these actually are, is right faith. The man with wrong belief fails to comprehend the true nature of substances.
8. Though the soul is coextensive with the body it occupies, the two are entirely different entities. These remain together for a certain period of time and then depart.
9. Our present life as a human being is short and none of our possessions is going to accompany us to our next birth.
10. We are subjected to internal as well as external rewards and punishments for all our actions; as you sow, so shall you reap.
11. On account of psychical modes of attachment and
aversion, the soul is driven into a state of weakness, and karmic matter, virtuous or vicious, clings to it.
12. The transmigrating life is full of pain and suffering; before we get over one misery many more are ready to overtake us.
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13. It is better to be happy inside and a pauper outside, than
to be a wreck inside and a potentate outside. 14. Wise men clearly apprehend the miseries of worldly
existence and take steps which will provide them succour
in this life, and the next. 15. As we advance in life we must be in a hurry to control and
restrain our activities and passions as these lead to the
bondage of karmas. 16. A large heap of evil karmas is engendered while we
engage ourselves in the money-earning process. 17. The wise man does not abandon himself to sense
gratification. Renunciation rather than acquisition is a
source of inner peace. 18. It makes no sense to abandon our body, home to
numerous diseases and refuse, to sense-indulgence. 19. Our efforts to nourish the body at the expense of the soul
are short-sighted and are bound to result into suffering. 20. Inauspicious meditation leads to the influx of evil karmas
and the auspicious meditation to the destruction of
karmas. 21. The soul is of the nature of perfect knowledge and infinite
bliss, coextensive with the body, and eternal. 22. Meditating on the pure Self through the medium of the
Self is the only certain and unfailing means to achieve the
highest aim of self-realization. 23. The very first requisite for self-exertion that leads to the
removal of the veils of karmic matter from the soul is the acquisition of right faith.
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24. When one meditates on the soul, the influx of karmas gets
blocked and their shedding takes place. 25. Nothing but the pure soul is a truly worthy object to
meditate upon. The soul should be the instrument as well
as the object of meditation. 26. The soul that entertains infatuation with the objects of
the environment gets into bondage of karmas. 27. Recognition of the true nature of the soul is the most
desirable thing in the grand pilgrimage to the land of
peace and purity. 28. Free from ignorant attachment to sense pleasures and
activities of the thought, speech and body, the knowledgeable person is aware of the fruits of karmas but does not
enjoy them. 29. The body, being a direct outcome of karmas, is absolutely
worth detachment for anyone who is treading the path to
liberation. 30. The way to make human birth meaningful is through
renunciation of worldly pleasures, meditation, austerities, propagation of true faith, and finally attaining an
auspicious death. 31. Due to the influence of karmas, the soul gets into a state
of weakness and acts in a manner inimical to its natural
tendencies. 32. He only is wise who uses his freedom and power to
cheerfully detach himself from the worldly objects of
attachment and enjoyment. 33. The process of renunciation is full of exhilaration and joy
as it draws the soul nearer the goal of power and blessedness.
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34. The intrinsic nature of the soul demonstrates the real
path to liberation; it does not stand in need of an outside preceptor to either know the truth or the path to be
followed. 35. The bhavya soul possesses the capacity for liberation as it
is destined to follow the path shown by Lord Jina. The abhavya soul is so fated that it will never choose the right path and, therefore, wander in the labyrinth of mundane
life for all time to come. 36. The Masters have recommended solitude besides full
control of the mind, the speech, and the body for real self
contemplation. 37. The Yogi may appear to be indulging in worldly objects,
but in reality he is detached from them and neither enjoys
pleasure nor suffers pain due to these objects. 38. When the Yogi's whole attention is turned inward, the
outside objects of sense-indulgence appear totally
unattractive and inconsequential. 39. The Yogi is ever eager to preserve the purity of his mind
undefiled and resorts to corrective measures as soon as a
taint of blemish is noticed in thought, word or deed. 40. The Yogi's interaction with the people is minimal and
without passions; he engenders no lasting emotions of
attachment and aversion for them. 41. Even while stationed in the midst of karmas, the Yogi is
not soiled by the karmic dirt, just as gold remains
uncontaminated in the midst of mire. 42. The Yogi engrossed in self-realization meditates on the all
knowing, pure soul and transcends inquisitiveness, analysis, and logical arguments to reach at the truth.
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43. The Yogi who has experienced the joy of self-realization
does not wish to go back to worldly pursuits. 44. The Yogi washes away all impurities of the wavering
mind, like attachment, aversion and delusion, by being
detached from the sense-objects. 45. The Yogi relies solely on the Self to attain the everlasting
bliss that essentially appertains to the Self, cannot be found anywhere else, and is, therefore, independent of all
outside agencies. 46. Propelled by the mechanism of karmas, the soul wanders
in the cycle of births and deaths indefinitely, till it finally
exerts to get rid of all karmas. 47. The Yogi, away from worldly occupations, experiences
supreme kind of happiness that is free from the terror of
sensuality, and is identical with tranquility. 48. The Yogi goes deeper and deeper into the Self and
achieves greater purity of meditation as he purges his soul
of karmic mire. 49. Self-knowledge is the bright fire that burns material
karmas to ashes and frees the soul from karmic bondage. 50. The right believer knows that his only possession is his
soul, eternal and pure. All other objects, animate or inanimate, cannot be his possessions.
In Istopadeśa, Ācārya Pujyapada has shown the experiential path leading to the ultimate goal of self-realization. It appears a distant dream and unattainable goal only so long as the passions and desires continue to impair the natural tendencies of the soul. As the soul gradually gets rid of these negative emotions, positive outcomes can be perceived in terms of increased serenity and
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moderation of worldly anxieties pertaining to health and wealth, kith and kin. Such outcomes are unfailing indication that the grand pilgrimage to reach the goal of the divine happiness that appertains to the liberated soul has begun. On the way, the ephemeral happiness of the lords of the men and the long-lasting happiness of the devas await unsolicitedly to garland and embrace the pilgrim.
Victory to the World Teacher; victory to the Apostle; victory to the Preceptor; victory to the Scripture; victory to the Three Jewels; victory to the Self; victory to the Reader!
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Page #154

GENERAL INDEX
abhavya - not having potential for liberation 95, 96, 132 absolutistic attitude 25 Acarya(s) - Preceptor xi, xii, xvi, 34, 40, 79, 83, 87, 123 Acarya Amitagati xii, 56, 68, 114,
115
Acarya Amritchandra xii, 116, 117 Acārya Bhutabali xi, xii Acarya Devanandi xiii, xiv Acarya Dharasen xii Acarya Gunadhar xii Acārya Jinasena xii, xiii, 98 Acārya Kundakunda (also Acharya Kundkund) xii, 30, 31, 53, 54, 71, 75, 76, 106, 107, 122, 123, 127
Acarya Nemichandra xii, 18, 63, 81, 102, 124 Acarya Pujyapada v, vi, xii-xvi, 1,
13, 17, 32, 128, 133
Acarya Pushpadant xii Acārya Samantabhadra xii, 15 Acarya Shubhachandra xii, xiii, 97,
98
Acārya Umasvami xii, 17 Acarya Vidyanand v, vi, xv, xvi Acyuta kalpa 18 Ādipurāna xiv, 98
affliction(s) vi, 18, 29, 41, 44, 55, 58, 72, 80, 83, 98, 99, 116, 120, 121 aghatiya - non-destructive (karmas) xi, 4
agupti bhaya - fear of divulgence of one's deeds 3 agurulaghutvalight 5
- neither heavy nor
āhāraka śarīra - projectable or assimilative body 7
Aiśāna kalpa 18
ajñāna - nescience 37 ajñānika - ignorant attitude 25 akasmika bhaya - fear of the
unexpected 3
aloka - non-universe 63, 64 amuḍhadrsti - freedom from
superstitions 14
amurta - incorporeal, formless 6, 7, 28, 63
anadhyavasaya - indefiniteness 26 anakṣari - Lord's divine voice without the movement of glottis or lips x
ananta catuṣṭaya - the infinitudes 3, 4
ananta darśana - infinite
perception 4
ananta jñāna - infinite knowledge 4, 5
ananta sukha - infinite bliss 4, 5 ananta virya - infinite energy 4, 5 anantanubandhi - most malignant
(passions) 88
Anata kalpa 18
anger 26, 36, 48, 50, 64, 66, 71, 76,
87
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animate 29, 30, 32, 58, 127, 133 anivṛttibādara-sāmparāya ·
advanced thought-activity 14 antarātmā - intimate knowledge 30 antaraya - obstructive (karmas) 2 antarmuhurta - within 48 minutes 17, 33, 54
Anudiśa vimānas 18
anupacarita asadbhūta vyavahāra naya 126, 127
anupacarita sadbhūta vyavahara naya 126
Anuttara vimānas 18 Apostle xi, 135 apramattasamyata - perfect vows
14
apratyākhyāna - highly malignant (passions) 88
apūrvakarana - new thoughtactivity 14 Ārana kalpa 18
arati - displeasure 3, 26 ardhamagadhi bhāśā - Lord's
divine voice heard by all in their respective tongue x
Arhat the World Teacher or 'Jina'
2, 3
arta dhyana - the sorrowful
meditation 61
asadbhuta vyavahara naya - 126 asamyatasamyagdrsti - vowless right belief 14
āsana - a posture in yoga 98, 99 ascetic(s) 11, 25, 54, 58, 78, 88, 117 asrava influx 48
atisaya - miraculous happenings 3, 4
138
atrāna bhaya - fear of being without protection 3 attachment 2, 3, 8, 11, 13, 15, 31, 37-39, 41, 50, 53, 54, 59, 64, 66, 73, 76-78, 81, 90-92, 97, 100, 102, 104-106, 109, 110, 112, 113, 116, 117, 121, 124, 125, 130, 131-133
audărika sarira - gross body 7 austerity(ies) xv, 3, 11, 12, 41, 58, 59, 72, 86, 91, 102, 110, 113, 117, 120, 123, 130, 132 aśuddha niscaya naya - impure transcendental point of view 125, 126
auxiliary cause 8, 9, 59, 70, 85 avagahan - inter-penetrability 5 aversion 2, 3, 37-39, 59, 64, 66, 71,
73, 81, 97, 102, 104-106, 110,
113, 121, 124, 125, 130, 133, 134 avyābādha - undisturbed, infinite bliss 5
ayogakevali - non-vibratory Omniscient 14, 88
ayuḥ- age-determining karmas 4, 5, 88
bahirātmā - superficial awareness 30
bala mada - pride of strength 3 bandha - bondage 48
bhāṣā vargaṇā - fine matter that inflows through the channel of speech 70
Bharata, the Emperor 54 bhāva - nature, psychical disposition 6, 37, 71, 76

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bhava karma - psycho-physical karmic matter 76
bhava samvara - psychic stoppage (of karmas) 71
bhavanavāsī - residential devas 15 bhavya - having potential for
liberation 11, 16, 38, 95, 96, 122, 123, 128, 132
bhaya - fear 3, 26, 39, 40 bhogabhūmi - regions of enjoyment 12, 18
bhoktā - enjoyer of the fruits of karmas 63
bliss 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 18, 20-22, 62, 63, 68, 88, 91, 92, 96, 108, 115, 118, 119, 123, 130, 133
body 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 17, 18, 20, 21,
28, 29, 31-36, 38, 40, 42, 45, 48, 50, 51, 55-60, 62-64, 70, 71, 73, 76, 77, 80-84, 88, 89, 98, 99, 103, 104, 108, 111, 114, 121, 124, 126, 127, 130-133
boredom 52, 53, 76
Brahma kalpa 18 Brahmottara kalpa 18
cakravarti - king of kings 16, 18 caritra mohaniya - conduct
deluding (karmas) 24, 37 căritrācāra - observance in regard to conduct xii
caturgati - the four states of
worldly existence - 32, 38, 116 celestial birth 11
cetană - consciousness 1, 7, 20, 28, 63, 80
Chakravarti Nayanar, A. 71, 127
General Index
cintă - anxiety 3 cintamani-wish-fulfilling jewel 61
clairvoyance 17, 26
cognition 7, 26, 37 conation 63
concentration 4, 41, 61, 62, 65, 88, 104, 111, 113, 118, 121 conduct deluding karmas 24, 26 consciousness 1, 2, 6, 7, 10, 20, 2831, 55, 56, 58, 63, 78, 80, 83, 108, 117, 124, 125 contrary attitude 25 corporeal 7, 29, 55, 64, 124 cruel concentration 61, 62
darśana - perception 4, 5, 21, 24, 26, 37, 63, 80
darśana mohaniya - faith deluding
(karmas) 5, 24, 37 darśanacăra - observance in regard to faith xii
darśanavarniya - perception obscuring (karmas) 2, 5
death 3, 9, 23, 28, 32, 37, 40, 43, 44, 45, 82, 83, 86, 116, 118, 131, 133 deceitfulness 26, 36, 48, 50, 66, 71, 76, 87
deluding karmas 2, 5, 13, 14, 24-26, 67, 78, 111, 117
delusion vi, 2, 3, 13, 14, 24, 37, 39, 42, 55, 66, 74, 85, 90, 97, 102, 104, 112, 113, 115, 133 demerit bondage 20
desires 7, 11, 15, 20, 23, 31, 42, 58, 75, 81, 89, 90, 102, 133
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destruction (of karmas) 13, 14, 22,
28, 65, 67, 110, 118, 128, 130 destruction-cum-subsidence of
karmas) 14, 67 destructive karmas - ghātiyā
karmas 2, 111 deva(s) – celestial being(s) 4, 15-18,
54, 113, 134 dharma - medium of motion 95 dharmya dhyāna - the virtuous
meditation 61 dhyāna - meditation 61 Digambara muni – an ascetic free
from all vestiges of clothes xv,
equanimity 36, 128 external possessions 76 faith-deluding karmas 14, 24, 25,
67, 117 falsehood 11, 66 fasting 41 fear 3, 10, 26, 39, 50, 76, 83 fruition of karmas 54, 62, 106, 110
54
Gañadhara – the Apostle xi Ganadhara Gauatamasvami xi gati-nāmakarma - karma that
determines the state of
existence 38 ghātiyā - inimical, destructive
(karmas) 2 gotra - status determining karmas
4,5 Graiveyaka 18, 33 greed 26, 36, 48, 50, 66, 71, 76, 87 grief 3, 22, 26, 31, 40, 76 gunasthāna - spiritual stages 13,
Divinity 21, 53 doubt 7, 13, 14, 25, 26, 67 doubtful attitude 25 dravya – substance 2, 6, 71, 76,
114, 125, 126 dravya karma - karmic matter 2,
76 dravya samvara - material
stoppage (of karmas) 71 Dravyasamgraha 63, 81, 102, 124 duration bondage 9, 33 Dvādaśānga - the Scripture
comprising twelve departments
xi, xii dveşa - aversion 3, 37
88
gupti – three kinds of controls xv
happiness 16-23, 33, 37, 41, 42, 51,
89-91, 101, 108, 109, 114, 118,
120, 121, 130, 134, 135 hāsya - laughter 26 heaven, heavenly 12, 13, 15-18, 26,
33, 96 hells 12
ekānta - absolutistic attitude 25 Elācārya Pragyasagar xvi emancipation 4, 6, 7, 58, 59, 66, 72,
75, 113 empirical point of view 13, 20, 48,
64, 78-80, 124, 125
ignorance 20, 39, 67, 77, 88, 89, 91,
92, 104, 115, 122 ignorant attitude 25 ihaloka bhaya - fear relating to
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General Index
this life 3 inanimate 29, 30, 32, 58, 127, 133 incorporeal 2, 6, 7, 28, 29, 55, 63,
64, 79, 124 infatuation 52, 75, 76, 78, 112, 131 infernal 7, 11, 12, 32, 33, 38, 86,
116 infinite bliss 2, 4, 5, 63, 88, 96, 130 infinite energy 2,4 infinite knowledge 2, 4, 5, 96, 111 infinite perception 2, 4, 5, 96 influx 11, 48, 51, 61, 62, 70, 72, 82,
91, 92, 110, 111, 113, 120, 130,
131
injury 11, 39-41, 83, 120 intensity bondage 9, 33 internal possessions 76
Jain, S.A. 15, 33 Jain, Vijay K. vi, 31, 54, 76, 107,
117, 123 Jainism 8, 67, 73 janma - (re)birth 3 jāti mada – pride of caste 3 jñāna - knowledge 3-5, 21, 26, 63,
80, 126 jñāna mada - pride of knoweldge 3 jñānācāra - observance in regard
to knowledge xii Jñānārņavaḥ xiii, 98 jñānāvarnīya - knowledge
obscuring (karmas) 2,5 jīva - soul 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 19, 28-30,
38, 55, 63 jugupsā - disgust 26 jyotiska - stellar devas 15
kasāya - passions 26,68 kāla - substance of time 6, 59 kalpavrksa - the wish-fulfilling
tree x Kāpistha kalpa 18 karma - of four kinds 10 karma(s) 1, 2, 4, 7-11, 13-15, 18,
20, 21, 24-26, 29, 35, 38, 40, 46, 48-51, 54-57, 60-63, 65-68, 7078, 80-82, 84-88, 91, 92, 96, 101, 103, 104, 106, 107, 110-113,
116-123, 125, 130-133 kārmaņa śarīra – karmic body 7-9 karmic body 7, 28, 55, 59, 64 karmic bondage 7, 37, 38, 48, 79,
82, 106, 108, 122, 123, 133 kartā - causal agent 63 kāya vargaņā – fine matter that
inflows through the channel of
body 70 kāyaklesa tapa - mortification of
the body xv kāyotsarga āsana - a standing
posture in yoga 99 kşetra - space of existence 6 ksīna-kasāya - destroyed delusion
14 ksudhā - hunger 3 kevalajñāna - infinite knowledge 4 khali - pieces of oilcake 61 kheda – regret 3 knowledge 1-5, 12-14, 16, 20, 21,
24-27, 30, 31, 33, 41, 53, 54, 56, 59, 62-69, 74, 76, 78-81, 83, 86, 87, 89, 92-94, 96, 97, 102, 107, 109-114, 116, 117, 119, 121-125, 128, 130, 131, 133
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knowledge-obscuring karma 2, 13,
87, 107, 116, 117, 125 kodrava - an intoxicating grain 24,
25 krodha - anger 26, 48 kula mada – pride of lineage 3
73, 76, 77, 79-81, 86, 92, 94, 97, 98, 101-103, 109-113, 115, 119,
120, 130, 131, 133 merit bondage 20 metempsychosis 32 mind 9, 11, 17, 20, 26, 35, 36, 45,
50, 52, 61, 64-66, 70, 76, 80-82, 97-99, 101-104, 107, 111, 113,
118, 121, 132, 133 misery 20, 31, 37, 39, 40, 43, 45, 80,
83, 130 mithyādrsti – deluded 13 mithyātva – wrong belief xv, 24, 25 moha - delusion 3, 37 mohanīya - deluding (karmas) 2,
24, 37 mokṣa - liberation 128 money 21, 41, 42, 50, 51, 130 muhūrta - 48 minutes x, 62, 117 muni - ascetic 54
labdhi – attainment 56 Lāntava kalpa 18 liberated soul(s) 5, 19, 28, 30, 91,
130, 134 liberation 4, 11-15. 25. 38. 54. 61.
67, 73, 79, 84, 88, 92, 93, 95-97, 109, 111, 113, 122, 123, 128,
130, 132, 133 life-span 11, 12, 33, 34, 55 lobha - greed 26, 48 loka - universe 63, 64 Lord Jina x, 16, 17, 62, 68, 72, 79,
95, 101, 110, 132 Lord Mahavira xi, xii luminous body 55
DU
mada - pride 3 Mahāśukra kalpa 18 mahāvrata - supreme vows XV Māhendra kalpa 18 māna - pride 26, 48 mano vargaņā - fine matter that
inflows through the channel of
mind 70 mantra – sacred formula 97 maraņa bhaya - fear relating to
death 3 marana - death 3 māyā - deceitfulness xv, 26, 48 meditation xv, 41, 58, 61, 68, 72,
nakedness 58, 120 nāma karma - physique-making
karma 4, 38 napumsakaveda - neuter sex
passion 26 Natural Justice, law of 35 nature bondage 9, 33 negligence 70, 86 nescience 37, 67, 112, 122 nidāna - desire for future
pleasures xv nidrā - sleep 3 nihkānksita - freedom from
worldly desire 14 nihśankita - freedom from doubt
14
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General Index
nimitta kartā - external cause xvi,
8,85 nirvāna - the state of liberation xi,
16, 54, 92 nirurtti - accomplishment of the
sense organ 56 nirvicikitsā - freedom from
revulsion 14 niscaya naya - transcendental
point of view 20, 64, 78, 80, 124
126, 128 nokaṣāya - quasi-passions 26 nokarma - quasi-karmic matter 2,
76, 81, 82 non-discriminatory attitude 25 non-injury 41 non-restraint 7, 15, 70 non-self 7, 30, 91, 114, 122
events in the life of the World
Teacher (Tirthankara) 17 Pañcāstikāya-Sāra 71, 128 pāpa - demerit 11, 48, 106 paraloka bhaya - fear relating to
the life beyond 3 paramaudārika śarīra - auspicious
body of the Omniscient Lord x parasamaya - the impure self 78 parīsaha - endurance of afflictions
120 parigraha - possessions - 76 paryaňka āsana - a sitting posture
in yoga 98 paryāpti - completion or
development 17 passions vi, 7, 9, 26, 31, 36, 48-50,
58, 59, 66, 68, 70-73, 87, 88, 101, 105, 107, 108, 111, 116,
117, 128, 130, 132, 133 penance 103, 117 perception 1, 2, 4-6, 13, 21, 33, 37,
38, 63, 64, 68, 77, 80, 96, 111,
114, 117, 124, 125 perception-obscuring karma 2, 13,
117 physical matter 29, 31, 37, 48, 55,
56, 58, 83, 84, 87, 116 physical sense 56 pleasure(s) 11, 12, 18, 20-22, 26,
29, 33, 36, 39, 40, 43, 45, 46, 55, 59, 61, 68, 71, 74, 78, 80, 81, 86, 96-98, 100, 101, 107, 114, 115,
117, 120, 130, 132, 133 possessions 25, 32, 34, 39, 41, 43,
62, 66, 70, 76, 97, 118, 127, 130, 134
obscuring karma(s) 2, 13, 62, 87,
107, 116, 117, 125 obstructive karma(s) 2, 13, 65, 117,
118 ocular perception 68 omniscience x, 2, 10, 13, 14, 38, 62,
68, 88, 112 Omniscient Lord x, 24-26, 31 Omniscient(s) x, 1, 4, 14, 24-26, 30,
31, 54, 62
padmāsana - a sitting posture in
yoga 98 palliative 18 palyopama - a measure of time 12 Pañca Paramesthi – the five
Supreme Beings 97 pancakalyānaka - five principal
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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
prabhāvanā - propagation of the true path 14
pramattasamyata - imperfect vows
14
Pranata kalpa 18 prātihārya - splendour x, 3, 4 pratyakhyāna - malignant (passions) 88
pravicāra - copulation 18 pride 3, 26, 36, 40, 48, 50, 64, 66, 71, 76, 87
psychical sense 56
psychical state 8, 9
pudgala - matter 8
pumveda - male sex passion 26 pūjā mada - pride of veneration 3 punya - merit 11, 48, 106
pure concentration 62, 111 pure Self 10, 23, 62, 66, 77, 79-81,
96, 100, 101, 103, 105, 111, 130 pure soul 2, 4, 13, 64, 66, 74, 76,
83, 85, 93, 101, 102, 104, 108, 109, 118, 119, 131, 132 Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya 116, 117
quasi-karmic matter 76, 81, 82 quasi-passions 26
rāga - attachment 3, 37 rati - attraction 26 Ratnakarandaka-Śrāvakācāra 15 ratnatraya - the Three Jewels 13,
14, 59, 66, 73, 79
raudra dhyana - the cruel
meditation 61
renunciation vi, 53, 54, 58, 86, 91, 93, 103, 109, 130, 131
144
restraint-cum-non-restraint 15 riddhi - accomplishment xi riddhi mada - pride of
accomplishments 3
right belief 11, 14, 15, 24, 25, 78, 79, 86, 92
right conduct 13, 15, 21, 24, 25, 59, 66, 79, 92
right faith 13-16, 21, 25, 26, 59, 6669, 79, 81, 86, 95, 96, 110, 112, 130, 131
right knowledge 13, 21, 25, 26, 59,
66-69, 76, 79, 92, 96 Rishabha Deva, Lord 54 roga - sickness 3
sadbhūta vyavahāra naya - 126 samsara - the transmigratory world 10, 28, 33, 37
samsārī jīva - worldly soul 8, 28,
29
samsaya - doubtful attitude 25, 26 samvara - stoppage (of karmas) 71, 81
samyatasamyata - partial vows 14 sāgaropama - an exceedingly large measure of time 12, 117 Sahasrara kalpa 18
Samayasara 30, 31, 53, 54, 75, 76,
106, 107, 122, 123
samiti - fivefold regulation of activities xv
samyagdarśana - right faith 26 samyagjñāna - right knowledge 26 samyagmithyadṛṣṭi - mixed right
and wrong belief 14 samavasarana - Lord's Pavilion x

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samyagmithyatva - mixed right
and wrong belief 24, 25 samyaktva - right belief slightly clouded with false belief 5, 24, 25
Sanatkumāra kalpa 18 sañjvalana - gleaming (passions) 88
śarīra mada - pride of beauty 3 śalya - sting xv
Sarvarthasiddhi vi, xiv, 13, 15, 17,
33
sāsādanasamyagdṛṣṭi - downfall 14 Śatāra kalpa 18
Saudharma kalpa 12, 15 sayogakevali - Omniscient with
vibration 14
scriptural knowledge 26, 64, 66, 67 Scripture(s) 2, 12, 15, 33, 39, 54,
62, 94-96, 98, 99, 102, 110, 117, 135
Self, the 2, 8, 15, 30, 31, 53, 62, 65, 68, 80, 81, 89, 91, 97, 102, 107109, 111, 112, 115, 118-122, 125-127, 131, 134, 135 self-contemplation 13, 98 self-exertion 20, 68, 130 self-identity 6, 38, 106 self-knowledge 122, 123, 128, 133 self-realization 63, 66, 77, 80, 94, 96, 102, 104, 108, 110, 121-123, 131, 133, 134
self-restraint vi, 41, 88 sense(s) 1, 5, 7, 12, 17, 19, 21-23, 28-30, 38, 42, 45, 52-58, 64-66, 81-83, 86, 87, 89, 93, 96-98, 100102, 112-114, 118, 124, 127,
General Index
130-134 sense-gratification 23, 54, 66, 86,
130 sense-indulgence 56, 57, 100, 101, 130, 132
sense-pleasures 12, 96, 98 sensory knowledge 26, 67, 94 sensual pleasures 11, 20, 130 Siddha jiva - liberated soul 2, 4, 28 Siddha Parameṣṭhi 18, 19 Siddha Sila - Holy Abode of Gods
88
simhasana - bejeweled throne 4 sinful activities 50, 70
śoka - grief 3, 26
sorrowful concentration 61, 62 soul 1, 2, 4-13, 19-23, 26, 28-33, 3540, 42, 43, 48, 55-60, 63-68, 70, 71, 73-76, 78-80, 83-85, 87-89, 91-95, 97, 99-102, 104, 108, 109, 112-125, 127-134
soul-enrichment 58 space bondage 9, 33
speech 9, 11, 17, 35, 36, 48, 50, 70, 71, 77, 80-82, 98, 103, 107, 111, 131, 132
spiritual 13, 14, 24, 28, 32, 55, 58, 66, 68, 69, 74, 88, 92, 100, 112 splendour(s) 2-4, 16, 54, 111 śruta - knowledge of the Scripture 102
state of existence 15, 32, 36, 38, 56 status-determining karma 62 stealing 11, 39, 48, 50, 62 sthitikarana - steadfastness of
right faith 14
strīveda - female sex passion 26
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Istopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
śubhopayoga - virtuous
dispositions 15 subsidence (of karmas) 14, 67 substantial cause 8, 9, 85 śuddha niscaya naya - pure
transcendental point of view
125 śukla dhyāna - the pure
meditation 61 Sukra kalpa - 18 sūksmasāmparāya - slightest
delusion 14 sükşmatva - fineness 5 svabhāva guņa - intrinsic quality 2 svacatuştaya - the four-fold
affirmative predication 6 svasamaya - the real Self 78 sveda - perspiration 3
unchastity 11, 66, 70 unconscious 55, 84 universe 4, 7, 8, 33, 56, 62-65, 85 upacarita asadbhūta vyavahāra
naya 126, 127 upacarita sadbhūta vyavahāra
naya 126 upādāna kartā - substantial cause
8,85 upagūhana - concealment of
defects 14 upakaraṇa - completion of the
sense instrument 56 upapāda - the seat of birth of
celestial and infernal beings 17 upaśānta-kaşaya - subsided
delusion 14 upayoga - active consciousness 1,
6, 56, 63
tactual sensation 29 taijasa śarīra - luminous (electric)
body 7 tapa mada - pride of austerities 3 tapas - austerities 102 Tattvārthasūtra 17 Three Jewels 13, 14, 59, 66, 73, 79,
135 Tirthankara x, xi, xiii, xiv, 17, 54,
u
20
68
vaikriyika śarīra - transformable
body 7 vaimānika - heavenly devas 15 vainayika - non-discriminatory
attitude 25 vargaņā - molecules of matter fit
to be transformed into karmic
matter 8 vātsalya - joy and affection
towards the right path and its
followers 14 vedanā bhaya - fear relating to
pain and suffering 3 vedanīya - feeling karmas 4, 5 vibhāva guņa - extrinsic quality 2 vibhrama - indefiniteness 26, 27
transcendental point of view 20,
64, 78-80, 104, 125 transmigration xi, 7, 32, 33, 39, 48,
61, 68, 71, 83 trayangura 35 trişā - thirst 3 Trilokasāra 18
146

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vice 37
vimoha - perversity 26, 27 viparita - contrary attitude 25 viparyaya - perversity 26 virtue(s) 17, 37, 51, 72, 110, 120, 122, 123
virtuous concentration 62 virya - power 4, 5
viryācāra - observance in regard to power xii
vismaya - astonishment 3 vow(s) 11, 12, 14, 41, 50, 88, 98, 102, 110, 111, 120, 130
vrata - observance of vows 102 vyantara - peripatetic devas 15 vyavahāra naya - empirical point
General Index
of view 20, 64, 78, 80, 124, 126128
wealth 16, 28, 32, 39, 41, 42, 47, 54, 61, 101, 125, 134 World Teacher x-xiv, 135 wrong belief 14, 24-26, 31-33, 76, 130
wrong faith 62, 67, 68, 70, 88
yoga 70, 118
Yogasāra Prabhṛta 56, 68, 114, 115 Yogi 97-113, 115, 118-121, 133, 134
żarā - old-age 3 zest 76
**
147

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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
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आचार्यश्री उमास्वामी विरचित
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Tattvärthsūtra is invaluable for understanding life, and pursuit of happiness. The hardships and afflictions that we have to endure are of own making. Our deeds, driven by passions, lead to sufferings and reproach in this world and the next. Virtuous activity alone, which is the cause of merit (punya), leads to joyous feeling, auspicious life, charming and lustrous physique, and high status. Our ultimate goal is the attainment of the divine attributes, in fullness and perfection, of our souls. We can reach the goal only through the three-fold path of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.

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श्रीमदाचार्य कुन्दकुन्द विरचित समयसार
Foreword by: Acharya 108 Vidyanand Muni
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श्रीमदाचार्य कुन्दकुन्द विरचित समयसार
Foreword by: Acharya 108 Vidyanand Muni
English Translation, and Edited by: Vijay K. Jain
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As Acharya Vidyanand writes in the Foreword of Samayasara, it is the ultimate conscious reality. The enlightened soul has infinite glory. It has the innate ability to demolish karmas, both auspicious as well as inauspicious, which constitute the cycle of births and deaths, and are obstacles in the path to liberation.
Samayasara is an essential reading for anyone who wishes to lead a purposeful and contented life. It provides irrefutable and lasting solutions to all our problems, concerning worldly ways as well as spiritual curiosities and misgivings.
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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
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Shri Amritchandra Suri's
Puruṣārthasiddhyupaya
Realization of the Pure Self
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श्री अमृतचन्द्रसूरी विरचित
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Puruşarthasiddhyupaya
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Shri Amritchandra Suri's Puruṣārthasiddhyupaya is a matchless Jaina text that deals with the conduct required of the householder (Śrāvaka). In no other text that deals with the conduct required of the householder we see the same treatment of complex issues such as the transcendental and the empirical points of view, cause and effect relationships, and injury and noninjury, maintaining throughout the spiritual slant. The basic tenet of Jainism - non-injury or Ahimsa - has been explained in detail in the book.

Page #168

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Acārya Nemichandra's Dravyasamgraha
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Dravyasamgraha is one of the finest classical Jaina texts, composed by His Holiness Acarya Nemichandra (c. 10th century CE). It deals primarily with the Realities (tattvas) that contribute to world process. The conduct required for attaining the ultimate goal of liberation follows from the knowledge of these Realities. Both, the transcendental and the empirical points of view, have been considered while explaining the nature of substances, souls and non-souls. It will be of much use to scholars worldwide interested in pursuing the study of Jaina epistemology.
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Iṣṭopadeśa - The Golden Discourse
Devanagari IAST
अ
आ
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152
ओ
औ
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GUIDE TO TRANSLITERATION
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Devanagari IAST
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Devanagari IAST
प
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*IAST: International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration
pa
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kṣa
tra
jña
śra

Page #170
His Holiness Acarya Pujyapada, who graced this earth around 5th century CE, had crafted some valuable gems of Jaina doctrine, including Sarvathasiddhi and Istopadesa. Concise but deep in import, Istopadesa unambiguously establishes the glory of the Self. It is an essential reading for the ascetic. The householder too who ventures to study it stands to benefit much as the work establishes the futility of the worldly objects and pursuits, and strengthens right faith, the basis for all that is good and virtuous. Acarya 108 Vidyanand Muni Istopadesa by Acarya Pujyapada is a concise work of 51 didactic verses leading the reader from the empirical to the transcendental, from the mundane to the sublime, through an experiential process of self-realization, rather than through a metaphysical study of the soul-nature. ISBN 81-903639-6-4 Rs.: 450/ JOULOS WS विकल्प Vikalp Printers