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64/JAIN STUDIES AND SCIENCE
11. Kalpa-Vraksha (Kalpa-tree)
Mahapragya has taken pains to restrain the followers of Jainism to become dogmatic. Wherever he finds that any interpretation of events described in our ancient literature is leading to superstitions, he intervenes and explains the real motive behind the traditional belief. One of such dogmatic belief is about the kalpa-tree. According to one school of thought, these trees were associated with the divine powers of fulfilling the wishes. It is also believed that these kalpa-trees disappeared along with the YOGALIK (male-female pair) tradition.
Mahapragya has opined that this traditional belief is without any basis. In Samvayang and Sthanang scriptures, there are mentions of ten kinds of special trees existing in the YOGALIK age. Abhayadev Suri, renowned commentator, had regarded these trees as mere means of fulfilling the limited needs of the YOGALIKS. Analyzing this, Mahapragya has stated that the in YOGOLIK era the human needs were very limited and those were easily fulfilled by the products available from these trees. Since all the essentials of life, like eatables, fluids, shelter so on, could be obtained from these trees, they were nick-named as kalpavraksha (kalpa-tree). These different kinds of trees had different uses, but it would be ridiculous to propose that these trees fulfilled all the desires of the humans. Had this being the case, all jiva would have got the emancipation from karma bondage simply by desiring!
In Indian literature, three things are often mentioned as means of fulfilling one's desires -- kaamdhenu (a celestial cow), chintamani (a mythical gem) and kalpavraksha (a divine tree). These symbolise that the desires can be fulfilled by expressing, contemplating or imagining. In reality, all these three are one, and they just symbolise a hypothetical shortcut to circumvent the efforts. This explanation of Mahapragya rules out any divine disposition in a kalpa-tree and re-establishes the faith in the karma and dexterity.
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