Jinamanjari 2001 04 No 23

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

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opportunity to get associated with a sadguru, satśāstra, satsanga, samyak dṛṣṭi and satyoga. In the absence of a sadguru's preaching and an ability or worth of a soul for receiving preaching from a sadguru this miserable condition emerged. By gaining access to such a sadguru and proving one's worth as a disciple, one can get relief from the torture of worldly life. Dharma is a secret
residing in one's ātman itself; it is futile to search for it outside oneself. He is a fortunate who realizes the self through an inner search with the blessing of a sadguru.
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In this passage Śrīmad mentions many important factors associated with self-realization. By satparamātmā he means supreme reality, which is one and the same, although he calls it variably purusottama, parabrahma, hari, viṣṇu, īśvara, siddha, atman, sarvatmā, etc. He has explained this in a letter which clearly shows an influence of non-Jain systems such as Vedānta, Vaiṣṇavism etc. Śrīmad's reference to bhakti, or devotion, to satparamātmā also indicates non-Jain influence. The factors associated with the process of self-realization, such as satsanga and satśāstra, are intrinsically connected with the concept of the sadguru, and henceforth re-occur repeatedly in his writings. According to Śrimad, samyak dṛṣṭitva, or right faith or insight, is the minimum qualification of an aspirant. The term satyoga denotes both the right opportunity as well as the right application of the mind of an aspirant. Implicitly he also touches on the famous Jain doctrine of upādāna- and nimitta kāraṇa. According to Jainism, any event or occurrence is caused by two main causes, viz. the material or substantial cause (upādāna kāraṇa) and the auxiliary or subsidiary cause (nimitta kāraṇa). For example, substantial cause of an earthen pot is the earth, while a potter is the auxiliary cause of the same. Here, in the case of self-realization, the sadguru is an auxiliary cause, while the disciple's fitness or propriety to receive the preaching from a sadguru is the substantial case. Unless both causes are present, the desired result of self-realization will not take place.
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