Aspects of Jaina Monasticism

Author(s): Nathmal Tatia, Mahendramuni
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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totality of the duties and responsibilities of varṇa and aśrama, varṇāśramadharma-jātam), when they are coordinated. One who appreciates the validity of vidya and avidya as the two mutually coordinated essential aspects of the path of liberation does not enter into the blinding darkness as mentioned above.2 There is thus the equipollence of vidya and avidya, that is, knowledge and action. Neither is to be discarded at the cost of the other. In other words, an ascetic can pursue his path without interfering in or undervaluing the importance of the householder's life. In fact, a householder also can attain the highest liberation by honestly pursuing his vocation and simultaneously cultivating self-knowledge and comprehension of the uitimate essence of the Vedas (Vedanta). This equipollence is illustrated by the incompetence of a bird to fly with one wing (na hy ekapakṣo vihagaḥ prayāti). In the Hārīta Smrti,4 the coordinated practice of tapas (austerity) and vidya (knowledge) is explained as the path of liberation by means of two illustrations as follows:
yatha ratho'śvahīnas tu yathāśvo rathihinakaḥ/ evam tapaś ca vidya ca samyutam bhaiṣajam bhavet// yathannam madhusamyuktam madhu va'nnena samyutam/ ubhābhyām api pakṣābhyām yatha khe pakṣiņām gatiḥ// yathaiva jñānakarmabhyām präpyate brahma śāśvatam/ vidyatapobhyam sampanno brāhmaṇo yoga-tatparah// dehadvayam vihāyāśu mukto bhavati bandhanat/
na tatha kṣīņa-dehasya vināśo vidyate kvacit//
Even as a chariot without a horse or a horse without a charioteer is inoperative (while both together are capable of the desired movement), so austerity and knowledge together prove an effective medicine for the patient involved in samsara. Even as food mixed with honey or honey mixed with food is conducive to health, even as a bird can fly in the sky by means of both the wings, or even as knowledge and action jointly lead to the realization of Brahman, similarly does a brāhmaṇa endowed with knowledge and austerity and by being engaged in meditation immediately attain liberation from bondage, leaving