Introduction to Jainism and its Culture

Author(s): Balbhadra Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

Page 86

Happiness without anxiety is in mokśa or liberation. Being in impure state due to fondness and passions a soul embraces misery. Liberation is nothing but to attain perfectly sublime state after all the karmas are destroyed. The process or method of attaining liberation is called the path of liberation. In other words endeavour on the path of liberation leads to the state of liberation.
Different religions have different views about means of liberation like those about the concept of liberation itself. Some say that knowledge (jñāna) leads to liberation. This path is called Jñāna-yoga. Others say that action (karma-yoga) leads to liberation therefore indulge in action without a desire for results and you are sure to attain liberation. Some others say that devotion (bhakti-yoga) is the infallible path of liberation. There are many popular forms of devotion, for example as a slave, as a father, as a friend, and as a beloved. In devotion as a slave a person considers him-self a slave and worships God. Hanumāna, the devotee of Rāma is an example. The second type is worship of God as if he was your son. Nanda and Vasudeva are examples of such devotion. In these two types there is a difference of level between God and the devotee. The third type is with a feeling of friendship as was Sudāmā's for Śrīkļşņa. In this type the devotee considers God to be at the same level. The fourth type is like a beloved. In this type the devotee has a husband-wife type of relationship with God as in the case of Gopis and Śrīksıņa. The devotion of the Sufi saints was slightly different; they considered God to be their beloved. It is said that in this type of devotion there is a feeling of complete union with God. There is another modern concept of devotion. It is called name chanting, like 'Hare Rāma, Hare Krşņa'. Some name-chanting sects have been formed in India and abroad.
However it would not be out of place to say that all these paths are singular or absolutistic. These are accepted as various paths of pleasing the creator and destroyer God. But all these paths are dependent on the other and outwardly oriented. All these varieties of worship are not done for awareness of the virtues of God and thereby acquiring them within the self. Instead they are done to seek boons and favours from God. The beatitude of soul and liberation are not matters of give and take. Shifting one's view from outside to inside effects the beatitude of soul. Removing karmas, the cause of misery, through one's own endeavour, effects it. That is the reason that Jain
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