Jain Journal 2008 01 No 03

SR No.: 520269
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publication Year: 2008
Total Pages: 56
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India
File Size: 3 MB

Page 19

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
123
mādhyasthya-bhāvam viparita-vrttau,
sadā mamātmā vidadhātu deva // "Lord, may my atmā ever entertain friendship towards all living beings, rejoicing at (the right of) the virtues, highest compasion for the suffering souls and an attitude of detachment towards all ill-behaved:”
By this prayer Amitagait wanted to inculcate a sense of friendship and tolerance with all living beings. VII. Dāna, śīla, Tapas and Bhāvanā :
It is, indeed, in this connection I can say that Jainism also asserts the four important religious practices for the laymen and women. These are dāna, sila, tapas and bhāvanā. Dāna is defined by Umāsvāti (3rd/5th cent. A.D.) as - anugrahārthaṁ svasyātisargo dānam (VII. 38), i.e. "Charity is the giving of one's wealth to another for mutual benefit.” Pūjyapāda explains this aphorism as follows : Anugraha means beneficial to both the giver and the recipient. The giver accumulates merit, and the gift promotes right knowledge and so on in the recipient. Sva means wealth, possessions or belongings. Be
Bestowing one's possession on another for mutual benefit is charity. (S.A. Jain, ibid, p. 213).
Sila is virtue. Sīla is self-restraint or discipline. It is mentioned among the ten moral virtues or duties. In various Jain literature sila (conduct) is variously eulogised and there are many stories which tell us how character triumphs over all hardships and difficulties. In one of the Rājasthānī texts, Kāṇhada Kathiyārā ri Caupai (1690 A.D.), edited by me, the effects of śīla is nicely described:
dāna sila tapa bhāvanā, iname idhako śīla / sevijai bhavīyaņa sadā, inabhava parabhava lila //3// silai sura sānidha karai, silai siha siyāla / silai sankața sabi ţalai, phaņadhara huvai phula māla //4/1 silai sukha saṁpada milai, silai bhoga rasāla/
kathiyārā kāņhadataņā, phalai manoratha māla //5// “Gift, character, penance and spiritual attitude (bhāvanā) - of these (four) character is prime importance. If the beings always serve it, then people get pleasure in this world and in the other world. //3//