Jain Digest 2001 07 Vol 19 No 03

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 11

SPIRITUAL PURSUIT OF LORD MAHÄVEER AND HIS MISSION (Cont..)
Ächäräng Sutra, the first and the foremost Shwetämbar Ägam, clearly states that the cloth, which was put on his shoulder by Indra at the time of renunciation, was discarded after one year. It means that the Lord did not put on any cloth during the remain ing 41 years of his life. Thus the difference between Shwetämbar and Digambar concepts is narrowed down to his remaining unclad for 41 years or 42 years. The question that arises is why did he decide to go unclad. It needs to be remembered that spiritual pursuit is not meant to gain anything from outside. All the required attributes are inherent within the soul. They are not to be gained; they are simply to be manifested. That can be done by getting rid of all the internal as well as external aspects that obscure the true nature of soul. The spiritual pursuit involves divesting of every thing unrelated to soul. The Lord's uncladness was a part of that divesting process.
At the end of his spiritual pursuit when the Lord realized the Self, he gained thorough insight and could see the truth in all its perspectives. He therefore wanted to set up the truth as the essence of spiritualism. During his time there were many thinkers who advocated futility of the spiritual activities. The Lord wanted to counter such thinking and to establish truth as the foundation of spiritual endeavor. For him truth and liberation were indivisible. He therefore laid down that false beliefs and wrong thinking are the source of the misery and evils. He was, however, aware that the people tend to resort to such beliefs and thinking out of ignorance and wrong perception. He therefore laid down the attainment of right perception as the basis of spiritual development.
In Jain tradition, right perception is known as Samyaktva. That can arise either by destruction or pacification of the long lasting defilements. The former is known as Kshäyik Samyaktva and the latter as Aupashamic. In either of the cases, the defilements are not in the operative stage. In the latter case, however, the defilements are not destroyed. They stay settled down and can arise again whenever opportunity occurs. As such, the spiritual aspirant going ahead with the Aupashamic Samyaktva is liable to fall. The Lord therefore insisted on gaining Kshäyik Samyaktva.
Whatever exists in the universe can either be animate or inanimate. The most significant category of the inanimate matters is termed as Pudgal. In a way that term is unique to Jainism. It literally means that which continues to gain and lose and that is exactly the property of Pudgal. The worldly life arises on account of interaction of Pudgal on the soul. Prior to the birth of science, the Lord could state about the existence of subatomic particles of Pudgal which are known as Paramänu.
The primary concern of the Lord, however, was regarding soul that abides in every living being. That is the only matter, which has the capability to experience the pleasure and pain. The Lord has stipulated that every being wants to live happily and no one is therefore entitled to hurt or inflict pain to other beings. He called
for reverence for every living being and raised his hand against hurting other beings on any ground. He therefore laid down nonviolence as the basic tenet. He exhorted his followers to behave in a way that would make others happy and urged them to sacrifice their own comforts and convenience for the sake of others. This involves adoption of restraints and of an austere mode of living. Therefore, nonviolence, restraint and austerity constitute the anchor sheets of his teaching.
The Lord's main emphasis was on realizing the true nature of soul. He knew that truth is inherent within every matter. He therefore defined religion as Vatthu Sahävo Dhammo. It means that religion is the nature of matter. Every soul is imbibed with infinite knowledge, perception, happiness and vigor. These attributes are not manifest at present, because worldly souls are under the impact of undesirable instincts. Those instincts are the outcome of Karma acquired by indulging in likes and dislikes. If one overcomes his likes and dislikes and stays equanimous in every situation, he would not acquire new Karma. Since old Karmas give way after bearing the consequences, such person can attain the Karmaless state. That is the state of liberation and everlasting happiness, which can be attained by every soul. This shows the thoroughly democratic approach of Jainism. No other religion stipulates such potentialities for every one.
Another important aspect of Lord's teaching that has not received proper attention pertains to tolerance. It is noticed that distrust, discords and disputes are the source of the strife and unrest. They arise from the intolerance of differing views. The Lord has said that every view can have some element of truth. His teaching urges respect for even the partial truth of every one. This is known as Syädväd. It calls for tolerating the differing views and thus strikes at the root of all discords. If his teaching is properly heeded to, all unnecessary quarrels and disputes would come to the end and an era of lasting peace can prevail.
By propounding Syädväd, the Lord has presented the most ef fective method to end all disputes. He laid down that all the view points are subjective and every one of them is likely to have some validity. If we examine others' views from their standpoints and accept the element of truth therein, they would feel at ease and may be inclined to examine our view. In that case it becomes easier to get to the real truth which can be a synthesis of the partial and relative truths.
As followers of Lord Mahaveer, it is our duty to study and comprehend the concepts of truth, tolerance and temperance. They can also be termed as Satya, Syädväd and Sanyam. If we take them beyond the narrow confines of Jainism, that would do much good to the world at large and that would be the best thing that we can do as the follower of the Lord's tenets. This message needs to be adopted particularly in this year of 26th centenary of Lord's birth.
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