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Jaina Path of Purification (Liberation)
The great Patañjali begins his Yogasūtra with the aphorism: "yogas cittavịttinirodhaḥ' ('Control of mental states is yoga'). It means: Mental states running outward after the worldly objects and pleasures through the doors of sense-organs should be turned inward and diverted to wholesome reflections and good thoughts; that is yoga. This is the first essential lesson of Yoga, which everyone should properly understand and constantly remember.
The greater the development of the auspiciousness of mental states, the more are their purity and calmness. Agitation subsides. Consequently mental states attain the stage of concentration. At this stage, a stream of uniform mental states continuously flows for a considerably long period of time. For not allowing the rise of bad thoughts and for keeping mental states uninterruptedly engaged in good thoughts, what is first required is the firm faith in truth; and this firm faith in truth should be followed by firm determination and sincere efforts—both in conformity with the faith. The necessary pre-requisite of the yogic practice is the constant recalling to mind the good qualities of God or the pure and perfect soul, and cultivation of good conduct.
The spiritual discipline meant for the attainment of absolute and total freedom from all karmic matter depends on the two processes one of stopping the inflow of the karmic matter and the other of dissociating the already bound karmic matter. As we have already seen, the former is called samvara and the latter nirjarā. For the accomplishment of these two processes one is required to undergo the spiritual discipline consist
1. Swami Sankarācārya too refers to the same two processes in the following verse of
his Sadhakapañcakastotra. prākkarma praviläpyatām citibalan näpy uttaraiḥ ślisyatām / prārabdham tu iha bhujyatām atha parabrahmätmanā sthiyatām //5// Translation: Destroy the bound karmas by the power of knowledge. Do not bind new karmas. And experience the fruits of the fructifying karmas (the karmas that have risen to give their fruits) with equanimity. This is the way to attain the nature of Supreme Soul. In the Jaina philosophy, three states of karmas are recognised, viz., that of being bound, that of mere existence and that of rise (fruition), which are called bandha, sattā and udaya respectively. In the non-Jaina systems of Indian philosophy, for the karmas that are being bound the term 'kriyamāna' is used, for those that are merely existent (inoperative) the term 'sancita' is used and for those that are rising to give their fruits the term 'prārabdha' is used.
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