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THE ESSENCE OF JAINA SCRIPTURES
Kanji's Distortion of Pure Psychic-attention Bharill, however, distorts the meanings of shuddhatma and conduct, etc. when he tries to prove that the method to get rid of attachment and aversion is “experiencing of pure self” (shuddha atmanubhuti) or/ and meditation of self (atma dhyana). Conduct, he adds, “completely devoid of attachment (veetraga) is of the nature of experiencing of the pure self”. This is “restrictive or obstructive (pratibandhak) of attachment and aversion, thereby getting rid of them.194 He seems to rely upon Kanji Svami's interpretation of Pravachanasara verse 14 that “pure psychic-attention (shuddha upayoga) is attention-oriented towards the nature of self, moving away from good and evil (punya and papa)”, and that “stability or constancy (sthirata) in the nature of self is austerity (tapa)."195 Kanji is deliberately distorting the meanings of pure psychic-attention and austerity (tapa).
The twelve kinds of external and internal austerities are referred by Jayasena (PS 14 JS) and are described in detail in Jain texts, including Tattvartha Sutra.196 Kundakunda has also explained austerities (tapa) both from an external, other-referential (vyavahara) point of view and internal, self-referential (nishchaya) point of view in detail in Niyamsara (NS 56-70 and 77-158), which are also said to be vyavahara and nishchaya conduct. 197
The concept of pure psychic-attention (shuddha upayoga) is described in clear terms in these words: “A shramana is called a man of pure psychic-attention, when he knows well the categories (padarthas), [including self and non-self, and their interaction), and the sutras (the scriptures) (for the definition of Sutra, see PS 34] which explain them, when he possesses self-restraint (samyam) and practices austerities (tapas), gives up attachment and considers pleasure and pain the same (sama)” (PS 14).
Bharill's description of meditation of the self (atma dhyana), which is said to be the method and path of getting rid of attachment and aversion and attaining liberation, viz. “knowing and continuing to know the self”198 is also a distortion of what Kundakunda has written. Kundakunda states: “He, who observes rules of self-restraint, niyam and austerities, and meditates on his true self through virtuous concentration (dharma-dhyana) and pure concentration (shukla dhyana), (is said) to have supreme equanimity (param samadhi)” (NS 123). This cannot be divorced from atma-dhyana. Virtuous and pure
