Shrutsagar 2017 07 Volume 04 Issue 02

Author(s): Hiren K Doshi
Publisher: Acharya Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir Koba

Page 8

Beyond Doubt (Continue...)
Acharya Padmasagarsuri Prabhas said, “Yes, my Lord, this is my doubt. I request you to clarify my doubt and enlighten me.”
The Lord Said, “जरामर्यं वा यदग्निहोत्रम्” वा आपि “The adverb is used in the sense of' i.e.’also’. Therefore the sentence is to be understood as follows. “One who is desirous of heaven should perform the sacrificial ceremony and at the same time, one who is desirous of ‘Nirvana’ should engage himself in various forms of worship like Dhyana!, Samyama”, etc. Though the Vedic tenet does not mention about Nirvana, it also does not deny its existence. Heavenly life is the fruit of righteousness and hellish birth is the result of evil deeds, the combination of righteousness and evil deeds leads the soul to take birth in the mortal world. From these statements it is to be understood that when both good and evil Karmas are destroyed, the resultant is Nirvana.”
Prabhas swami said, “Oh Lord! The world is beginning less and so it has to be endless. That which has no beginning will also not have any end for it. Hence if the world is eternal, there is no possibil
ana i.e. liberation from the world which is of the form of Birth and death.
Lord Mahavira replied. “Oh noble one, the substance and the modifications are two different things. The substance i.e. the Jivatman does not meet with the end but its modifications undergo change, because they are of ever-changing nature. The union of two things is always followed by their separation. In every birth, the soul and the body get separated, in the same way the soul pierces the Karmas that are united with it since time immemorial.
In the same way the beginning less union of Atman and Karma can come to an end, when the aspirant practices self-control, equanimity, etc., when the soul destroys all Karmic bondage, that state is termed as NIRVANA.' The soul then gets enlightenment and thus the wheel of Samsara i.e. birth and death is pierced through and destroyed. Like the Parmatman, the Jivatman, then acquires infinite 1 Dhyana - Concentration 2 Samyama - Self restraint