Book Title: Sambodhi 1979 Vol 08
Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Page 167
________________ 166 Shantilal M. DAS thereby to cultivate virtues and discrimanation. Such a view of Haribhadra seems to be non-traditional from the Jain point of view because it is extraordinarily an independent view of yoga. According to Haribhadra Yoga is the practice of such affirmative and prohibatory rules of conduct which are conducive to Moksa. 28 It seems that Haribhadra might have first attempted a short summary of his yoga ideas in accordance with Jain tradition and presented it in his small Yoga-Vimiśkā. Thereafter he seems to have tried his hand at YogaŚataka. Though the basis is the same and he seems to have kept before his eyes the Jain spiritual tradition, the perspective must be the yoga in general and yoga of his own concept. It is worthwhile to see the main topics touched by Haribhadra in Yoga-śataka and to comment on them keeping in view how he has tried to synthesis yoga even in this primary book on yoga. In the first verse of benediction he pays homage to Mahavira but herein too as Dr. Zaveri points out that he does so because he considers Mahavira as the prince among yogis.29 The subjects treated in this book are (1) forms of yoga (2) Adhikāris of yoga (3) Preparation for yoga (4) Stages of yoga (5) the means to rise to a higher yogic stage (6) the methods of introspection and similar methods of self-assessment (7) satsanga, obedience to Guru and other similar means (8) the use of pilgrimages etc. (9) meditation and other means to get rid of rāga, dveşa etc. and to make the mind steady (10) proper food and control on food (11) Bhiksā and the right method for it. Here it needs some clarification and some comments before the text proper is taken up. Haribhadra has taken up the word yoga for his treatise on yoga and this is not generally an accepted term for yoga in Jainism. It is called Samvara in the Jain tradition. Even then he had adopted the term yoga and this is a clear departure from Jain tradition. Similarly he mentions Yogādhyayana in the first verse of Yoga-śataka and this too is a sign of his independent approach to yoga beacause there is no such tradition called Yogādhyayana in Jainism. By this word he means the study of yoga in all other systems of yoga. The eonclusion we can arrive at is that Haribhadra though tried to follow the Jain tradition of yoga in Yoga-śataka he has taken an independent view of the methods therein, and gave justice to them because they contained practical truths and not because they belong to his accepted religion. This is true for not only this small book on Yogaśataka but is equally and perhaps more applicable to his other two books on yoga i.e. Yogabindu and Yogadęstisamuccaya. He was not merely an eclectic but an integrator of all religions and all sects and even all traditions. He was feeling like a fish out of water in the secterian atmosphere. He seems to have seen and seemed to have siezed the Jain Education International For Personal & Private Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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