Essence Of Jaina Scriptures

SR No.: 022313
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jagdish Prasad Jain
Publisher: Kaveri Books
Publication Year: 2014
Total Pages: 508
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 38 MB

Page 258

THE ESSENCE OF JAINA SCRIPTURES
32. The Holy Omniscient Lord or the Absolute Knower does not seize (accept) or release and does not evolve into anything else; but without exception he sees and knows everything all around. · This self, because according to its innate nature no seizing, no releasing, no evolution into anything else takes place, evolves owing to its characteristic nature of absolute (kevala) knowledge, which is its own principle (tattva), and thus, standing forth like a genuine jewel of motionless and radiant light, it possesses an everywhere glittering efficacy of vision and knowledge; so then it becomes by itself in itself aware of the self in its entirety without remainder. Or, to explain otherwise, by a simultaneous, intuitive-perception (sakshat-karana) of the multitude of all things wavering of notion is excluded, and there is cessation of all supposed acts such as grasping or releasing; in this way (the self as Omniscient Lord or the Absolute Knower), by firstly evolving into all distinguishable appearances and then again not evolving into any appearance, yet sees and knows everything without exception everywhere, whilst remaining in isolation (read vivikta eva).
Now he makes an end to the craving (akanksha) to know the difference between a kevala-jnanin (possessor of absolute-knowledge) and a shruta-jnanin (possessor of scriptural-knowledge), by showing that there is non-difference:
33. He who by means of scripture knows the self, which in innate nature is something-knowing (jnayaka), is called by the rshis (sages), the lights of this world, a shruta-kevalin (possessor of absolute knowledge, due to the knowledge of scripture).
In the same way as the Holy One is a kevalin (possessor of absolute-knowledge) by means of his realization (samchetana) — by the aid of his absolute-knowledge, amply provided with all the particular forms of consciousness (chaitanya) simultaneously evolved of the self in the self by the self, which self is absolute because it is one with its natural knowing capacity (chetaka-svabhava), and which is (the same as) the great general consciousness (chaitanya), realized by him (sva-samchetyamana) as beginningless and endless, uncaused and unparalleled, likewise is this man a shruta-kevalin by means of his realization—by the aid of his scripture-knowledge, amply provided with several particular forms of consciousness successively evolved of the self in the self by the self, which self is absolute because it is one with its natural knowing capacity (chetaka-svabhava), and which is (the