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the chief means of salvation, as might be expected in a religion of ascetics. The denotation of the word 'taps' in Jainismi is soinewhat different from its usual meaning. There is tapas of the body (bahya tapas ) and tapas of the mind ( abhyantara tapas ). The former consists in fasting, or eating scanty and tasteless food, in want of comfort and in mortification of the flesh. The mental tapas contains various items as confession of sins and penance, monastic duties, obedience, modesty, self-restraint and meditation (dhyana). I wish to lay stress on the fact that in the course of asce ticism taught by the Jainas meditation is only one of many steps leading to the ultimate goal.
Though Nirvana is immediately prtoeded by the two purest stages of meditation, yet all other parts of tapas appear of equal importance. We shall see the significance of this fact more clearly, when we compare the Jaina tapas with what corresponds to it in Saukhya-Yoga. Their Yoga contains some of the varieties of Jaina tapas; but they are regarded as inferior to meditation or contemplatiory. kudeed, the whole Yoga centres in contemplation; mull other aseetic practices are subordinate und subservient to contemplation- dharans, dhyanis and samadhi. This is but natural in: a system
which madees tho; reaching of shat sunanie na bodawane Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com
