Jaina View of Life

SR No.: 001622
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: T G Kalghatgi
Publisher: Jain Sanskruti Samrakshak Sangh Solapur
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 260
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Philosophy, & Discourse
File Size: 14 MB

Page 158

The Pathway to Perfection
143
is clearly connected with the various stages of spiritual realization. Dhyāna, in its primary stage is in the seventh Guņasthāna. Steadfastness and concentration gradually develop till one reaches the twelfth stage of Guņasthāna. In this stage, the transcendental self is possible to be realized.
The analysis of Dhyāna so far given has a psychological and moral significance. Body and mind have to work together. Physical strength is the precondition of mental concentration. The Jainas have not been negative in this respect. The body is not merely meant to be cast away as something unholy. Selfmortification is not an end in itself, but is only to be understood as a means to an end for the attainment of perfection. Moral life has also to be emphasised as an important means to the attainment of the highest ideal of perfection. The problem has been looked at from different points of view. In this sense, the spirit of Anekānta pervades the analysis of the psychological conditions of perfection as expressed in Dhyana.
III. Having studied the practice of Yoga as the pathway to perfection in the light of the eightfold principles of Patañjali's Yoga we may add a comparative note on Jaina Yoga and Sivayoga as presented by the Viragaiva philosophers. The object of this study is to present a synoptic picture of the pathway to perfection and to see how the spirit of Anekānta pervades the application of this principle.
As civilization advances, there is a gradual change in the mani festation of thought and action. In the early stages of civilization, life was simple and confined itself to interaction between fewer individuals. The environment was smaller, the material facilities were comparatively meagre. Self-expression could be narrowed to the withdrawal of the mind from external. Yoga was an instrument to attain peace of mind. But as we advanced in external developments, life became complex, and men were rooted and absorbed in the overt activities of life. It was difficult for most men to practise physical and mental discipline