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SixEssentials ForBlissfulLiving.
28082014
इस मामल
RICHAR सागर राता कल्प
નાનીધામ Sage and innandpasta
૬ આવશ્યક
Sin essentials for blissful living
based on Jaina Knowledge an interpretation by mihir gajrawala
www.mihrgarawala.com
SixEssentialsforBlissfulLiving
BasedonJainaKnowledge AninterpretationbyMihirGajrawala
©MihirGajrawala
Publishedonhttp://www.mihirgajrawala.comon28.8.14
PIET
Note:ManyofthenounsandverbsusedinSanskrit, PrakritandArdhmagdhidonothavesynonymsin English.Jaina knowledgedocumentsexistsintheabovethreelanguages. Historiansand Translators (of Englishlanguage)overc enturieshavecreatedcertainsynonyms, whichaspermy understandingaremisguiding. Foreg. Vratismadesynon ymouswithfastingand Mayawithmagicorallure. Similarly YogaistodayatermwhichmeansIndianexercisesyste
m.Therecouldbeseveralsuchexamples. Totrulyunderstandthiswordsalotofefforthastobeputinunderstandingt
hecontextoftheIndianknowledgebase.Howeverlwouldn'tsaythesameforvernaculartranslationworks.
context.Whereverrequired have madeuseoftheoriginalwords.
a
Inmypiecelhavetriednottoproduceatranslation Insteadtheattemptistosharethecruxofthesubjectinatotallynew
Eachoneofusisaspiringtobecontended. Inotherwordseachonewantsapermanentstateofhappiness. Puttingitsi mplyweallaspiretobeblissful. Thecurrentorderofworld hasprescribedusacertainwayofliving, acertainsetofactiv itiestobedoneatspecifictimesofourlives.Weallhavesubscribedtothis prescriptionofschooling, economicpursuit s,materialachievements, wealthaccumulation etc. Ourcommonsenseisenoughtotellusthatthisprescriptionisn
otworking. Thanwhatcouldbethewaytoblissfulliving?Howdoesoneachieveapermanentstateofbliss? Jainaknowledgehas,manyeonsback, discoveredSIXessential activitiesorritualswhichifexecutedonregularba
nhasalwaysgameredstiffresistanceandithaspeakedinthecurrentera Beforegettingontothemainsubjectletust
akeasmalldigressionhere.
siswithhonestyandbeliefhasthepotentialtoleadeachseekertoablissfulstateofbeing. Howeversuchasuggestio
Thetwomainargumentsinsupportofresistanceare: 1)thefeeling that' rituals'areuselessand2) theimportanceoft
heoryoverpractice, whenitcomestothedomainoftraditionalwisdom.
Thesecanbearguedagainstasfollows:Wefailtounderstandthatwhateverwearedoingtoday, forourlivingisalsoa
ritual.ARitualisnotaboutareligiouspractice,itisaboutacertainsetofprescribedactivitiestobedoneinacertainspe
cificmanner.
Secondly Knowing' perseisnotthepath, but conduct'acquired from knowing'isthepathtobliss! Inotherwordsitisn otknowledge, buttheconductbasedonthatknowledgethatleadstoblissfulexistence!Theessenceofallknowledg
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eisconductandessenceofallconductisliberation.Knowledgeacquiredwithoutintentforgoodconductisignoranc eandanyformofconductexecutedwithouttheintentofliberationisanillusion.Knowledgethatdoesnotleadtorightc onductandconductthatdoesnotleadtopathofliberationarerenderedfruitlessandmeaningless,inthepursuitofbli ssfulliving. Inotherwordsifonepracticescertainprescribedconduct,itwouldleadtheseekertothefruitsthatarelinkedwiththat conduct. Simplyput, aritualisknowledgeinaction. Thisformsthebaseforalltheprescribedactivitiesthataseekermustsubscribetoo.Forallthosedemandinganexpla nationforexistenceofritualsshouldconsidertheabove. Nowletuscomebacktothepoint. Theactivitiesorritualswhich havethepotentialtoleadaseekertoablissfulstateofbeingarethe SIXEssentials. Befo rewemovefurtherletusdefine'Blissfulstate'.Fromaspiritualperspectiveweareaimingat‘liberation'or'moksha'.F romamoreworldlyperspectivewemeanHealthybody,healthymind, healthyrelationsandhealthycareer, ac ombinationofthesecanbeconsideredasablissfulstateofbeing. Sotheessentialsareawaytoattainandsustainthe abovementionedfourstates. InSanskrittheseessentialsarereferredas'shadavashyak (4519921).Shad(95)means SIXandavashyak(3119 927)meansessentialrequirements. Thesixessentialsprescribedare:
1. Samayik-Toexperienceequanimity 2. Chauvisathao-Tocultivatehigheraspirations 3. Vandana-Todevelopgratitude 4. Pratikramana-Tore-calibratetheself 5. Kayotsarga-Totreatatransgressedmind
6. Pratyakhyan-Todevelopdiscipline Thesesixessentialsaresameforboththemonks(whohaverenouncedworldlylife)andthecommoner. Thelifestyle ofamonkandacommonerisextremely different,yetthe SIXEssentialsaresaidtobenefitbothofthem. Letusunderstandonemorefactbeforemovingahead.Anyacthasthreeparts, 1)object/goal2) doerand3)method. Certaineligibilityofallthethreeisnecessaryforthesuccessfulaccomplishmentofanyact. Weshalltryandundersta ndeachofthesixessentialswithrespecttoitsobjectiveanditsmethod. Thefocusofthisarticleisthe'ritual'andhence weshallnotspendmuchtimeontheeligibilityofthedoer. Thoughitisofequalimportanceweshallnotbeabletotouch uponithere. The SixEssentials 1.Samayik Objective:theinstallationofthedoctrine'lambetterthannoneandlamlessertonone'ontheseekersmind. Therootofallourconflictsis'fear'and'insecurity'.Fearexistsinmindasitisconditionedtobelieveincomparisons.C omparisonsleadtofeelingsofsuperiorityorinferiority.Unlessoneisfreedofthese complexesitisimpossibletofinds uccessinthejourneytodiscoverbliss. Inmanagementcontext, unlessonegainsequanimityafairandobjectiveanalysisofworkdoneisimpossible.Inano rganizationthereareonlyafewwhoare eligibleforobjectiveanalysis. Inotherwordstobeinastateofanewbornchildistheobjectiveofthisact. Allthetools, techniques, ritualsandactivities thatcouldhelptheeffortofbeinginthisstateare'Samayik'.Equanimityisthetruenatureofeverybeing;itremainshid deninunawarenessandignorance. 'Samayik'istheritualormethodortechniquetodiscoverthisnatureofself. HHEITS-4à(bhavadgita,2-48)
11:44-2751H (bhagvadgita,2-50) Taraf TET:(patanjaliyogsutra, 1-2)
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चतुर्वेगग्रनिर्मक्षोयोगस्तस्यचकारणम्। RE-TG- 7644677:11(Yogshastra,1-15) Manywillfinditradicalwhen say'Samayik'isanequivalentof Yoga'. Toprovethepointlhavequotedthreesages/sc holarswhoareundisputedasfarastheirabilityofcomprehensionisconcerned. SageVedVyasainBhagvad Gitaha sdescribed Yoga'asequanimityanddeftnessofaction; SagePatanjali, helmedasfatherof Yoga'hasdescribedce ssationoftheperturbationsofthemindas'Yoga':SageHemchandracharyainhiswork'Yogashastra'hasdescribe d'Yoga'asthetechniquetoattain'moksha'or Liberation. Allthesedefinitionsof Yoga'arecomparabletotheconcep tof'Samayik'. Toattainliberation,tolearnrightconduct,todevelopequanimity,tofreemindfrompresenceofconflict sanddevelopstillnessboth SamayikandYogahavepracticallysameresults,whichistransformingthemindofthedoer. Yogahasfourtypes:Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Raja YogaandHathyoga. Samayik fallsunderthe'Rajayog'catego rywhichfocusesonmindbywayofself-discipline. Tosumitup'Samayik'isaformof Yogacalled 'Raja Yoga',thepracticalformof'Raja Yoga'is'Samayik' 2.Chauvisathao Objective: Tocultivateandinstallaspirationsofhigherdegrees. Menhavethetendencytobecomewhattheybelievein. Soitisimportanttohaverightbeliefs. Ifforsomeone,asmallhi Iltopistheonlypeaktovisit,s/hewillonlyreachtillthere, butifsomeoneknowsabouttheexistenceof Mt. Everest,theh ighestpeak, thans/hemightstrivetoreachthere. Thismeansthatthequalityofone'spursuitdependsonthequalityo fone'saspirations.Giventhis,eachoneshouldunderstandandimbibethehighestpossibleaspirationsonone'smi nd. Thisleadsustotheinquirythatwhatisthe peak ofblissfulliving?Thepeakofblissfullivingarethe24Tirtankaras,wh ohadachievedthemostanyindividualcanevercomprehend. Henceknowingaboutthem,andacceptingthemasp eakofexistenceisthesecondessentialtostrivefor.A Tirthankarisabeingwhohasbecome Arihantdevoidofallconflicts. Therecannotbeahigherstateofbeingthanthis.Eachofthe24Tirthankarashaveexhibited12 distinctqualities. 'Chauvisathao'isthetechniquetoknowanddevelopthosequalitieswithinoneself. Iwouldheretakeanotherdigressiontoexplainabasictenetof JainaKnowledge. In Jainaknowledgethereisno crea tor'.Itbelievesthatuniversewas, isandwillremain.InthemostancientofJain Textsonewouldfindreferencetotheter m'Pudgal'.Itismentionedthathe Universeisa'Pudgal':'Pudgalmeansthatwhichiscreatedanddestroyedsimulta neously. Today,inmodernscience, thetwentyfirstcenturydescriptionofvacuumstatesthatinavacuumstatewher ethereissupposedtobenothing, thereisaconstanteruptionofparticlesanddestructionofparticles. CreationandD estructionarehappeningatthesametimeinavacuumstate.Alltheseyearswebelievedthatavacuummeanstotaln othingness thatnothinghappensthere.Butnowweknowavacuumstateisphenomenallydynamic. Creationandd estructionishappeningatthesametime. Modern Scienceissayingthattoday. Thisiswhat JainaKnowledgehasbe ensayingsincethousandsofyearsago. Scientistsnowtalkaboutblackholesomethingwhichisnothingyetpowerful. Thisfundamentalofphysicsisalreadydiscoveredinthemeaningof Pudg al'. Thereisnocreationandhencenocreator. In Jaina Schoolitisnotabout being'itisabout becoming'.Andhenceth eentirefocusshiftsfrom'creator'tothe'doer'.Inthatperspectiveitisanatheist'sreligion.In Jainschool Dharma'isn ottheend, itisameanstoanend;theendisbecomingone'sownself, discoveringone'struenature, totallyfreeofallinfl uencesandimpressions. TheNavkarmantraconsideredamongthemostpowerfulsoundinuniversenevertalksab outanyindividual. Itonlytalksaboutqualitiesandstatesofbeing. Sameisappliedinvarioussuggestionsfrom Jaina Knowledge. Manythinkthat'Chauvisanthao'isaboutworshipingthe Tirthankaras. Thatisagravemisunderstanding. Theentire focusofthisessentialistomemorizethequalitiesthatmakea Tirthankara.ASdiscussedaboveiftherealityisnotabo ut beingsomeone'but becomingsomeone',thepursuitistobemore, tobedeepandtobeconstantlyturningintoso methingmoreandmore. Wecanbemoreonlywhenwedesiremore,tobeatthepeak.a Tirthankaristhepeark,andift hequalitiesof24 Tirthankarasarerememberedregularlyitcanhaveunfathomableimpactontheaspirationsofase ekerwhicheventuallywouldpositivelyimpactthequalityoflifeoftheseeker. Sciencehasprovedthathabitualdoing ofanyacthasaneffectonthemindandbeliefsystem. 'Chauvisathao'istheritualtodothesame.
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3. Vandana
Objective: Todevelopgratitude towardslearnedbeings.
Itisnotpossibletotravelthepathofblisswithouttheguidanceofa'guru'.Agurumeans dispellerofdarkness.Inours
ocietythereareindividualswhohavededicatedtheirbeingtoknowledgeandattainmentoftheultimatestateofliber
ation. Theseindividualshavegiven upontheworldly choressothattheyfocusalltheirenergiesinthesinglepursuitof liberation.Wecallthemmonksor'sadhu'and'sadhvi'. Thequalitiesofrightknowledge,rightperception,rightcondu
ctandpenancearewhatdefineamonk. Thepracticalformofitcanbeseenwhenanindividualexhibitsacoherenceb
etweenhis/herdeeds, wordsandactions.
Respectingandsurrendertosuchamonkisthefirststeptopatholbliss.Gratitudeisthegreatestqualityofaseeker,a
nd Vandana'exploresthisqualityofabeing.
Intoday'sworld, weaskchildrentocelebrate Teachers Day.Weaskthemtodevelopgratitudefortheirteacherswhoi mpartknowledgetothem.Sameappliesforaseekerwhoissetonahigherpursuitofblissfulliving.
'Vandan'or Bowing'isanactwhichpreparesaseekerforsurrender.Surrendermeansabsenceofstruggle,justfalli ng.Suchasurrendercanexponentiallyopenthereceptivityoftheseekerandmakehimimbibethehigherqualities.
Vandanaistheritualforthesame.
4.Pratikramana
Objective:Torecalibratetheselfthroughintrospectionandretrospection.
Influencedbyindifference (towardsself)thesoulgets displaced, themovementofsoulfromits displacedpositiontoi tsoriginalpositionistermedas pratikramana'injainscience.Insimpletermstheprocessofre
calibratingaselfindulgedindigressionsortheprocessofbringingtheselfbacktoselfiscalled pratikramana.
Manyofusworkingincorporateenvironmentwouldhavestruggledwithfrustration, resultingoutofone'sinabilityto attainone'sgoals. This happensbecauseineverydayactivitieswelosesightofourgoals. Worseiswhenmanyofush avenogoals. Suchaselfremainslostanddissatisfied, irrespectiveofone'spotentialandability.ManagementGuru
ment, whichontimelybasisshouldbere-lookedat,sothatone doesn'tlosesightofwhereoneisheading.
shaveformedatheorythateverycompanyandeveryindividualshouldhavetheirpersonal Visionand Missionstate
Fromotherperspective, themainreasonforthisdisplacementistoomuchfocuson 'future'or'tomorrow'. Thegoallie
sinthefutureandhenceweremainfocusedonfuture, forgettingthatlearningliesinthepast. Learninghappensfrom knowingwhathappened before, whathappenedyesterday. Unlessthisisdone, onecannotgainexperience.Oneju stblindlykeepsondoing.Andinallpossibilitywillkeeponfallinginthesamepuddleeveryday, becauseonehasforgo ttentoretrospect, onehasforgottentointrospect,tolookwithin!
Suchaneffortofintrospectionandretrospection when doneinacertaindisciplinedmannerforlife'sobjectiveofattai ningblissiscalled Pratikramana'.
5.Kayotsarga
Objective treatingatransgressedmind
Inoureverydayroutineswearefocusedonlyonourphysicalbeing.Jainknowledgesaysthatstateofblisscanbeatta
inedoncethefocusshiftsfrommattertonon-matter.Selfismadeupofboththematterandnon-matter;non
matteristrappedwithinthematterthatishowaphysicalbeingisconstructed.Matterisknownas'ajiva'andnon
matteristermedas'jiva. Ajiva'isthatwhichwilldieand Jiva'isthatwhichcannotdie,itisinfinite. KayotsargawordiscombinationofKaya(body)+utsarga(upwardmovement, arising), meaningtheacttoexperien cetheselfbeyondthephysicalboundaries.Ifoneisabletoestablish thisbeliefthats/heismorethanthisbody,acomp
letelynewsetofpossibilitieswouldemerge.
Continuingfromaboveexampleoffrustrationfromcorporatelife,manytimesevenafterhavingavisionormissionst
atement, evenafterregularlyre
lookingatit, onefindsunabletoseeanydirection. Thisisduetoextremenegativehabitualpatternsdevelopedwhich
eonlysolutionofferedare takingabreak', 'asabbatical'or'switchyourjob'kindofnon-descriptacts.
hurttheindividual'sabilityandcapacity.ThemodernManagementguru'shavenogreatsolutionforsuchastate.Th
Howeverifoneisfocusedonattainingablissfulstateoflivingsuchawanderingsoulisofferedatechniquetoovercom
esuchsevereperturbations.
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Theritualtodothesameistermed'Kayotsarga';whereinoneismadetoexperiencethenonphysicalpartofself. Simplyputitisadeeperformofmeditation. 6.Pratyakhyan Objective:Todevelopdiscipline Thepathtoblissisthepathtogradually'notdo'. Slowlyandsilentlyastheseekerstartsrealizingthefruitlessnessofhi sactions, heshouldstartto'notdo'thoseactions. Thereareinnumerableactionsthataselfperforms.Andthisrealiza tionmayhappenoveracertainbreadthoftime.Giventhisitisimportanttobuildtomorrowupontoday'srealization. T hemethodtodothisisbywaytotakingvowsofselfcontrol. Eveninmoderncorporatecontext,amanagementexecutiveisaskedtokeepalogofhis/herlearning'sandbuildhis/ herfuturestrategiesbasedonthoselearning's. Sameifappliedtospiritualcontextcantakeoneaheadinhis/herpath tobliss. 'Pratyakhyan'istheritualtobuildselfcontrol. Noneoftheessentialswouldgivebenefitunlessdisciplineandselfcontrolispracticed. Therearesystemati Ctoolsprovidedtohelponedevelopsuchdiscipline. Ihaven'tgoneintothedetailsoftheproceduresofeachritual. Asdiscussedaboveforsuccessfulaccomplishmentof anyact-eligibilityoftheobjective,thedoerandthemethodallthreeareimportant. Inthispiecewehaveattemptedtounderstandtheobjectiveandknowtheconceptbehindthe method.Wearenottouchingthedetailsofmethodnorarewediscussingtheeligibilityofthedoer. Manywillhavequestion, thatifaboveisdoneinritualisticmanner willoneattainbliss? Theresponsetothatisapartfromtheefficiencyoftechnologytheeligibilityoftheuserisalsoimportant. Atablet'sefficiencyandutility chang esfromusertouser,eveniftheyallhavethesameoperatingsystem. Sameappliestothisblissattainmenttechnologi es. Thesesixritualsarethesixessentialactivitiestobeperformedtoattainapermanentstateofblissfulliving. Therecoul dbeotheractivitiestoo, butthese SIXaretheessentialmost;thecompulsoryones. Letussumitup: 1.Equanimity 2.Higheraspirations 3. Gratitude 4.Re-calibration 5.Meditation 6.Self-discipline. These Sixtermsaretobetattooedonone'smind.Ifthese SIXwordsareincorporatedinone'slife, thereisnostopping toachieveahealthybody,ahealthymind, healthyrelationsandhealthycareer. Theseactions(essentials)puttogetheriswhatinlaymantermsweknowas'pratikramana'.A'pratikramana'isactua llyacombinationofthesesixessentialritualstobeperformedinasequentialmanneraspartofaregularritualpractice
Itissuggestedtoperformthisatfollowingintervals: •Everymorningatdawn:Rayasipratikramana •Everyeveningaftersunset:Devasipratikramana •Everymonth:Pakhipratikramana •Everyfourmonths:Chaumasipratikramana(onfullmoondayofkartk, Fagunandashadhmonthsof Jaincalendar) •Everyyear:Samvatsaripratikramana Importanceisgiventodifferentessentialsinthisdifferentpratikramana's.Itisadeepscience;havingsaidthatmoret hanscientificexploration, thebetterwaytounderstanditwouldbethewayofdoing. Eachofthisessentialcanalsobeperformedindividually.Importantisdisciplineandregularexecution. Inourworkandbusinesseswedokeepauditsatregularintervals, inordertoknowwherethebusinessisgoing. Even employeesgothroughappraisalsatregularintervals. Thepointisregularcheckpointsareprerequisiteforsuccessfulgoalachievement. Similarlyifthegoalisapermanentstateofbliss, theabovediscussedritu alswouldactascheckpoints, onthepathofspiritualprogression.
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________________ PostScript: wouldnotwanttocategorizetheaboveasapieceofresearch.Andhencelamnotofferingthebibliograp hy. Howeverthestrengthandqualityoftheinterpretationattemptediscapabletowithstandseverecriticalanalysis. Thereisnoclaimaboutmyauthorityonthesubject. Theabovepieceisanoutcomeofvariousreadings, variousdiscu ssionswithscholarsandmyownobservationofritualpracticesthatlhavebeenpartofinmyfamilytradition. Hencelc allitan'Interpretation'andnotanessay.Ihavedeliberatelykeptitconcisetogarnergreaterengagement. Thispiece shallformthebasisoffurtherresearchandanalysisworkwhichlintendtotakeup,wherebylshalllookateachofthese essentialsingreaterdetail. Withthis humblyacceptmylimitedcapacityofcomprehensionandapologizeforanype rtinenterrors. APRE-IGICI (Toacceptinfinite beingsmadefrominfiniteexpectationsandinfiniteperceptionsis Syadvad'. Thisacceptanceis whatleadsonetoultimateknowledgeandglory) Abouttheseads Related "lwishtodie,now"-availableonamazon Kindleln"BookReviews" FanMailtoDevduttPattanaikIn"pleasure" Paradoxofdoingandnotdoing.In"Entrepreneurship" <<'hgangindharamshala'thefilm-nowon Youtube!Guru'sposition-adisciple'sperspective.>> Actions omments RSS . Trackback Information * Date:August28,2014 * Tags:bliss, blissfulliving, easternreligions, essentials,gratitude, india jain, jainphilosophy,jainscience,i aina, jainism, mihir,mihirgajrawala, paryushan,philosophy,samayik,samvatsari * Categories:religion/religioussystems, spirituality