Jain Journal 1967 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 37

OCTOBER, 1967
Sāmāyika, on the other hand, is the very process which is directly connected with the end in view in a casual way, and is, for that reason, the true method of meditation.
Chapter VII : Yoga
Yoga is the bridge between God and man. With its aid man may not only catch glimpses of the blissful goal, but also cross the yawning
and enter the precincts of the heaven beyond in his own proper person.
Yoga aims at imparting the knowledge of Truth, and, at the same time, at building up an unchanging, undying faith in the heart. It means union, or the linking together of man to God, or, more correctly, dis-union, or separation from the objects of the senses, that is, from the perishable phenomenal world (Max Muller). It is the science which leads the initiate by easy steps or gradations to the loftiest heights of Self-realisation, till he stand face to face with the object of his search. This is the best proof he can have of the truth of the doctrine.
Yoga teaches us that knowledge is the only means whereby the spell can be broken. Obviously, it is the state of one's belief which has to be affected, so that one may be able to purge the mind of the wrong impression of inferiority and 'duality'. But belief cannot be changed except by reason, that is, knowledge. Hence, it is clear that knowledge alone is the weapon which can attack wrong impressions and destroy false beliefs.
Yoga insists on each man working out his salvation himself. Everyone according to this system has to stand on his own legs; none may claim support from his neighbour. If one person out of half a dozen is demesmerised, it is not of any value to others who do not undergo the ‘unwinding' process themselves. Each one must discover and apply the Key of Knowledge to his own heart where the serpent of darkness is supposed to be in hiding. You must remove your own doubts, one by one, for no one but you yourself know what your doubts are. This is the very first principle.
The next essential is meditation, without which no knowledge is possible. But meditation depends on concentration, which is the real secret of success. The object of concentration should, be, firstly, the denial of duality, which means a denial of the imaginary unbridgeable gulf, set up by modern theology between God and man, that is, of the