Jain Journal 1995 07

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

Page 13

JAIN JOURNAL: Vol-XXX, No. 1. JULY 1995
The Sutrakṛtāngais considered by eminent Scholars' as an important philosophical treatise. The religious life of a Jain Monk and the refutation of Non-Jain views are the central theme of the text. This sūtra exhorts novices of the Jain monastic Order to keep themselves away from various heretical views.
2
This text advocates 'Ahimsa' as the quintessence of wisdom. This sūtra warns especially the young monks against the dangers of falling into snares of woman. Another noteworthy feature of this text is the description of suffering in different hells.
I. The Jain Doctrine of Self
According to the Jain conception, it is difficult to obtain human birth frequently since one's mental disposition enables one to hear the Dharma and to practise the Law2 preached by the Tirthankaras and others.
Addressing Jambūsvāmin, Venerable Sudharman exhorts that from Venerable Mahāvira he heard a discourse on merit and demerit. Of these, the former viz., merit, is defined as when the selfi.e. (Atman) is at rest (upasānta) and the latter viz., demerit, is defined as when the self is in the state of disturbance (Anupasānta).3 Since according to the Jain religious tenets ethical perfection can be obtained only during human birth, liberation is possible only through the absolute cessation of karman.4 For an ignorant person it is almost impossible to obtain human birth as a consequence of which all sentient beings with lesser number of senses miserably suffer similar to the people who suffer from fever.5
According to the commentary of the Sutrakṛtānga the Jains caution those novices on Jain path that they should not fall in the trap of people of misconduct of heretics and such others since they cannot protect them in any way. Those who adhere to the path taught by the Tirthankaras should think about after how many hurdles the human
1. Asim Kumar Chatterjee, A Comprehensive History of Jainism (Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd., Calcutta, 1978), p. 233. Munisri Hemachandra, Sri Amarmuni and Munisri Nemichandra, Sutrakṛtānga Sutra (Atma Jñana Pitha Jain Dharmasālā, Manasamandi, Punjab, 1979) p. 26; M. Winternitz. A History of Indian Literature, Vol. II (Munshiram Manoharlal, New Delhi, 2nd ed. 1972) p. 438.
2. Hermann Jacobi (Tr.) Jaina Sutras, Part II, Motilal Banarasidass, Delhi, Reprint, 1973, p. 331. Hereafter Abbreviated as JS.
3. Ibid., pp. 335-356.
4. Ibid., p. 331.
5. Ibid., p. 294.