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I am the Soul
809 Here a question arises as to why Srimadji, while saluting the Arihant Paramatma, did not recall any of his other qualities except the dehatit state? The ananta chatushtaya of the Arihant Parmatma are awakened. In addition, there is also the rise of the infinite characteristics like anant kshama, anant santosh, anant nirved etc., which are not only worthy of our respect and salutation, but are also to be emulated. Then why did Srimadji not give an importance to any one of those and picked up only the dehatit state?
Srimadji is placing this Shastra before jivas like us who possess a body, in whom there lies dehabhava. In our soul too, there are the same qualities as those in the Arihant paramatma. His qualities are expressed, while ours are concealed. These qualities being concealed cannot be experienced. But our body and the dehabhava is so expressed that it can be experienced every moment. The dehabhava does not disappear even for a moment. Whether in sleep or awakened state, the transformations taking place in the body are experienced. Anything that happens even in the minute-most pore of the body is immediately registered. The joy or sorrow arising out of that is experienced. But we are unaware as to who it is that experiences. If we look a little deeper and think, then we realise that the one who realises the vibrations in the body is somebody else. And we understand that it is different from the body. However, we do not look deep. We think only on superficial levels. Hence, we do not come out of the dehabhava. Thus there is a constant feeling of the deha. That feeling is the deha-adhyas. As long as the deha-adhyas is not removed, the atma cannot proceed on the path of progress.
Therefore, Srimadji has referred to the dehatit state of Arihant, firstly to draw us away from the dehabhava and start us off on the path of spiritual progress, and secondly, because we recognise the body very well, to tell us that it is equally essential to recognise the dehatit state too.
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