Jain Journal 1998 07

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

Page 28

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JAIN JOURNAL: Vol-XXXIII, No. 1 July 1998
when they (suddenly) erupt. Hence, O Gautama! do not practise pramäda even for a samaya.8
In the thirty-second chapter of the Uttaradhyayana-sutra, the Lord has indicated 95 areas of activity, which when practised, will steer the sādhaka along the path of spiritual attainment and ultimately to salvation (nirvana). These have been termed as the abodes of discretion or the Apramādasthāna..By dispelling the ignorance (ajnāna), attachment (rāga), and revulsion (dveṣa), the sädhaka is able to attain the supreme bliss (enlightenment) and the spiritual salvation (nirvāṇa). The rāga and dveṣa are the seeds of karma (the karmic bondage) and they produce the delusion (moha) of the spirit (atman). Hence the path to spiritual salvation lies in avoiding the seats of indiscretion (Pramādasthāna) and adhering to the seats of discretion (Apramādsthāna). The seats of indiscretion (Pramädasthāna) are the pursuits of bodily pleasures-the pleasures of the five sense-organs (indriyas) of touch, smell, hearing, sight and taste. These sense-organs have been termed as thieves that steal the opportunities for spiritual attainment, and under the influence of these thieves, the creatures indulge in unlimited distorted activities that hinder the soul from attaining the nirvana or mokṣa. 10
Exhorting the spiritual practitioners (sādhakas), the Lord has said that they should start on the spiritual highway while their bodies are still strong, till they are not harassed by the old age, till they have not been overpowered by disease and till their sensory organs (indriyas) have not been dulled and benumbed by the onslaught of disease and decay.11
The sum and substance of this deliberation is that pramāda or indulgence in idle pursuits, pursuit of transient bodily pleasures, indiscretion, negligence and carelessness even in the performance of
8. arai, ganḍam, visüiyā, āyankā vivihā phusanti te I
vivaḍai, viddhamsai te sarirayam, samayam Goyama! mā pamāyae II Ibid., 10/27.
9. rāgo ya doso vi ya kammabiyaṁ.
Ibid., 32/7.
10. evam viyāre amiyappayāre, āvajjai indiyacora-vasse II
Ibid., 32/104.
indiyakasāyācorā, subhāvanā sankhalāhi vajjhanti; tā te rāgadosādi na vikuvvanti I
Bhagavatiarādhanā, 1401.
11. jarā jāva na piḍei, vāhi jāva na vaḍḍhai I jāva indiya na hāyanti, tāva dhammam samāyare II
Dasavaikälika, 8/36.