Jainism Some Essays

Author(s): A S Gopani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 87

80 1
Jainism
भविजनको भवकूप तैं तुम ही काढनहार । दीनदयाल अनाथपति प्रातम गुण भण्डार ।। ७ ॥ तुम पदपंकज पूजते विघ्न रोग हर जाय । शत्रु मित्र ताकों धरै विष निरविषता थाय ॥ ८ ॥ तुम बिन में व्याकुल भयो जैसे जल बिन मीन । जन्म जरा मेरी हरो करो मोहि स्वाधीन ।। ६ ॥
(जिनवाणीसंग्रह, पृ० ६४)
The poet, who wants to cut off his Karmic bonds, does not think of any other remedy, to achieve his aim, except that of salutations to Lord Jina, the reason being devotional fervour. He is convinced that God alone is the lord of the helpless and destitute. This belief of his is contrary to Jainism which does not accommodate any one's overlord ship. According to it, one can become at the most, a guide or Tirthankara. To become free once for all is, indeed, the concept of Jainism. The reason of his anxiety for not achieving his goal of freedom should be, according to it, his own inability but not the separation from God.
(2) God's favour-the sole means of achievement
Much importance has been given to God's favour in all the sects believing in devotion only. But Jainism believes in the theory of ripe time, instead. When a being chances upon a right moment, he comes up to a point where right road begins. On account of perverted knowledge, a being goes on wandering in the world since eternity. When a right moment for taking to a right course arrives, his perverted knowledge disappears. Just as a piece of rough stone being carred since long in a current of water and being tossed about here and there, becomes round and soft after some time, a being wandering since long in the cycle of worldly existence comes across a right moment when he moves in the right direction being helped by other favourable things. But, in the cult of devotion, God's favour has taken the place of maturity of time in Jainism. In the absence of God's favour, everything else, even if it is there, is of no use in the cult of devotion. It means, in other words, one's effort does not succeed if God's divine help is not there. This element of God's favour in the non-Jain cult of devotion, has found a place in Jaina litereture in its own way. As the cult of devotion went on gathering momentum all religious systems had to absorb some of its elements into their frame-work, of course, in a manner that suited to them. We come across in Jaina literature descriptions stating that the beings of hell get a momentary happiness like the other beings on the five auspicious occasions celebrating five major events of Tirthankara's lives, clearly, this is