Sramana 2000 10

SR No.: 525042
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Shivprasad
Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram Varanasi
Publication Year: 2000
Total Pages: 204
Language: Hindi
Classification: Magazine, India_Sramana, & India
File Size: 9 MB

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in its ideal state of pure knower, for, in this state, the mind constantly sways between "either-or i.e. alternative feelings of pleasure and pain or alternative desires. Hence the mental equanimity of self is disturbed. But when consciousness appears as the pure knower it can lead the self to a deep seated trance and free it from sufferings. A pure knower is not enamored of the objects of pleasure which come to him. He enjoys them indifferently, and is therefore not subject to attachment or bondage. It is mentioned in Samavasära :
Jaha phaliyamaņi suddho na sayam pariņamadi rāgāmadihim. Rāijjadi annehiṁ du so rattadihim davvehin. Evarri ņāņi suddho na sayam parinamadi rāgamadihim. Rājjadi annehim du so rāgādihim dosehirn. (300-301)
Just as the quartz crystal gem is by nature pure and while and it itself does not really become coloured in the presence of coloured objects but it appears to be coloured for it reflects the coloured of the mear object, similarly the pure knower does not modify itself into love etc. But by attachment and other defects it appears affected. Love, hatred and other thought activities are not the souls own modifications. They are due to kārmic matter or external objects. Really the soul is pure knower.
(b) Samatā as a Nature of Self : Sāmāyika (samatā) is the principal concept of Jainism. It is the pivot on which the ethics of jainism revolves. In English, we can translate it as equality, equanimity, harmony, integration and rightness. But none of these terms convey the complete meaning of the word Samată (Samāika or Samāhi) in which it is used in Indian philosophy. And so it will be better to use it without translating into English. The word Samatā has different meanings in different contexts. Sometimes it means a balanced state of mind which is undisturbed by any kind of sorrow, emotional excitement, pleasures, pains, achievements or disappointments. Sometimes it refers to the kind of a personality which is completely free from the vectors of aversion and attachment, that is a dispassionate personality with a mental equanimity. The word Samatā also means the feeling of equality with the fellow beings. Loosely speaking, it
also conveys the meaning of social equality and social integration.