________________
14
Atmanushasan
careful for future. It is however very surprising that a wise sadhu is not afraid of falling down from the immense height where he has reached by per-sistant penance and meditation,' (verse no. 166). The poet expresses deep concern and sadness over the way the sadhu have started coming closer to villages and towns during the night, being afraid of the carnivorous animals and wicked persons,' (verse no. 197).
How to attain the Moksha (the self liberation), is a recurring theme of the whole text. The author has tried to explain this path in a number of ways. Sometimes he gives examples, analogies etc and at other places he goes deep into the principles of Jain Darshan and reveals the intricacies in technical terms. For instance, he Says that 'shubha (auspicious) and ashubha (inauspicious), punya (virtue or, the reward of a good deed) and pāpa (sin), sukha (happiness) and dukh (sorrow), these are the three pairs related to each other. The first three, taking the first one from each of the three pains, i. e. shubha, Punya and sukha are beneficial to Atma and may be practised. The rest three must be discarded. But this is only the begining. One must ultimately renounce the shubha karm (good deeds) too. In doing so one would have renounced the punya and sukha also, since they are merely the consequences of shubha karm. When one has become free from the shubha also, one realizes the purest state of Atma and attains the Moksha, (verse no. 239-240).
These are only few but typical verses from Atmānusasan which allow one to have a glimpse of the actual text and possibly prepare him for a full reading of the whold text. Acharya Gunbhadra has touched almost all the aspects of Atma Darshan and keeps the reader constantly aware of the various pitfalls and difficulties that one may encounter in his pursuit of the self-realisation. The doctrine of Karma has been the most influencing factor in giving shape to the Jain Darshan. This is consistently reflected in the whole text. There in no room for a supreme power (as the concept of God is in most of other religions) which creates, destroys and controls the world. Such a belief automatically rules out the main cause of superstitions
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
