Jaina Mysticism and Other Essays

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 79

in the balance of his awakened spirit. Thus he develops a unique ; attitude towards himself and the world around him.
According to Mahāvīra, that is value-knowledge (Samyagjñāna) by virtue of which the spiritual principle is cognized, mind is curbed and soul is purified. Again, that is valueknowledge by which the person becomes free from attachment.
As regards ethico-spiritual conduct (Samyakcăritra), Mahāvīra recognises that the person who is devoid of all attachments and who is engrossed in the self apprehends and experiences the self in its basic nature. Such a person certainly pursues ethico-spiritual values. The person who is not disposed to the spiritual way of life but performs austerity and adopts vows acts unwisely. Having experienced the real self when the person translates into life the renouncement of vice, he, then, attains supreme peace. The person should meditate on his own virtuous and spiritual nature. He should devote his energies to meditation on the self, perform devotion to Arhat and Siddha and engage himself in svädhyāya of ethico-spiritual literature along with the performance of other spiritual exercises. Before taking up these spiritual practices, he resorts to moral discipline in the form of anuvratas and mahāvratas Without moral observances, the spiritual practices cannot be sustained. According to Mahāvīra, moral and spiritual discipline find their completion in the life of the Muni, since the life of the householder affords only partial ground for them. The moral and practices of the Muni culminate in the attainment of the spiritual values of Arhathood and Siddhahood.
It may be noted here that Mahāvīra gave utmost importance to the practice of dhyāna, since it is directly related to the actualisation of the divine potentialities. It is the indispensable, integral constituent of ethico-spiritual conduct, and consequently it is directly related to the actualisation of spiritual values. It is the clear and single road by which the aspirant can move straight to the supreme values. All the disciplinary observances find their
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Jaina Mysticism and other essays