Sannyasa Dharma

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain

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SANNYASA DHARMA
outside. The last necessary observance of the saint is study, that is the perusal of scriptural lore. This needs no comment. But it is necessary to describe the rāmāyika process more fully, as it is a very important part of the saintly training and duty.
Sāmāyika being the cultivation of the habit of equanimity of the mental state, in other words, of freedom of the mind from the agitations of the type of raga (attachment) and dveṣa (aversion), its observance consists in remaining unmoved by aught that tends to produce these traits in the mind. The saint engaged in the cultivation of the habit of equanimity brings under control the three kinds of his activities, namely, the bodily, the vocal, and the mental movements, during the time of the disciplinary practice. He stands or sits down in one of the approved asanas (postures), and, renouncing raga and dresa, engages his mind in the contemplation of the glory and the attributes of Divinity that is his own real nature. There are several compositions which are helpful in fixing up the true attitude of the mind. He recites one of these which he likes, following the significance of the words intelligently, The two postures which have been specifically approved are the sitting and the standing ones, though the saint may go through the sāmīyika process even lying down, if unable to sit up. The sitting posture, usually adopted, is the one in which the right leg crosses over and rests on the left thigh, with the left leg being similarly placed over the right thigh. This is known as padma
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