________________
Jaina Path of Purification (Liberation)
123
and internal efforts for being one with it. External formal ritual of worship is called dravya-pujā. It is considered to be useful in rousing such feelings as may make the path of bhāvapujā easy. In the word dravyapūjā, the term ‘dravya' has the sense of assisting cause. The external formal ritual which assists bhāvapūjā is dravyapujā. A worshipper who cannot directly reach the state of bhāvapūjā is enabled with the assistance of dravyapājā to attain the benefits of bhāvapujā. Bhāvapujā has power to change the mental attitude from the spiritually unwholesome to the wholesome, to make mind like good qualities and virtuous activities, and to urge it to think over good thoughts and perform virtuous acts. As the spiritual light of bhāvapūjā manifests itself more and more, the desire for the good and the spiritual increases. And at last the worshipper attains the highes the supreme spiritual good. Ācārya Haribhadra in his third Astaka writes:
ahiṁsā satyam asteyam brahmacaryam alobhatā / gurubhaktis tapo jñānam satpuspāņi pracakșate // ebhir devādhidevāya bahumānapurassarā / dīyate pälanād yā tu sā vai śuddhety udāhịtā // Gist: Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, non-greed, devotion to and service of the elders, austerity and knowledge—these are the auspicious pure flowers. We offer these flowers to the supreme soul by cultivating these good qualities. Offering of these flowers (this type of flower-worship) is śuddhapājā! (pure worship).
And for attaining this suddhapūjā, bhāvapujā is required as an instrument; and to create the mental state conducive to bhāvapūjā, the performance of the formal ritual is required; this formal ritual is dravyapujā. Dravyapūjā being formal ritual is also called upacārapūjā.
From the above discussion, it follows that we should not stop at the stage of dravyapujā. We should not consider it to be an end in itself. But we should use it discreetly as an instrument to attain the state of bhāvapūjā. It is useful to the extent it helps us to attain the state of bhāvapūjā. So, through the instrumentality of dravyapūjā, we should make sincere efforts to attain the state of bhāvapūjā.
As stated above, dravyapūjā is an assisting cause of bhāvapūjā, because it creates the atmosphere conducive to bhāvapujā. If it does not achieve
1. svakarmanā tam abhyarcya siddhim vindati mānavah / Bhagavad-Gītā, XVIII. 146
By worshipping Him through the performance of his own duty, man attains perfection.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
