Jaina Mysticism and Other Essays

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

Page 82

towards the divinity-realised souls or towards those who are advanced on the path of divine realisation. The devotee profoundly knows the object of his devotion, namely, Arhat and Siddha Every fibre of his being feels the supremacy and sublimity of the object of his devotion to such an extent that when the devotee finds himself confronted with the omniscient and omnipotent God (Arhanta and Siddha), he abruptly and spontaneously proclaims himself to be shameless', ignorant? like an obstinate owl, child', etc. This is a sort of religious humility, self-depreciation, self-devaluation and a consciousness of
creaturehood'.10 This strange and profound mental reaction of calling oneself a creature in the face of that which is transcendent is not a conceptual explanation of the matter but a mode of submergence into nothingness, an attempt to convey the content of the feeling response in the best possible way. Again the object of devotional consciousness is "wholly other” in the sense of its being Anupama'', i.e., it is absolutely and intrinsically other than everything that is and can be thought of. It is ‘majestic’12 in the sense that its infinite characteristics are incapable of being described by us." Notwithstanding the fact of being possessed by the subjective feeling of the status of a creature and the objective feeling of the devotional object being supreme and 'wholly other', the devotee is led to the singing of the praise of God (Arhanta and Siddha) on account of being captured by the fire of devotion like the deer who resorts to save its child from the clutches of a lion out of love or like a cuckoo (koyala) which sings in autumn merely due to the presence of small mangoes. This refers to the 'element of fascination's in the devotional object. Though the object is awe-inspiring on account of its infiniteness, yet it is fascinating and very easily captivates and transports the devotee with strange exultation. The consequence of his emotions is that his vocal cords begin to function automatically in extolling the deity, though in a limited way. Again, the devotee who finds all the objects of the world quite impotent to bestow upon him spiritual solace surrenders himself to God (Arhat and Siddha) for putting an end to transmigratory existence and to tribulations and fears. 16
The devotee is so much attracted by the divine consciousness that he expresses his deep yearning for establishing the holy feet of
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