________________
श्रमण/अक्टूबर-दिसम्बर / १९९६
Mahāvīra awakened his self by constant meditation. He had not accepted any vow as to not to sleep, only constant practice enabled him to conquer sleep and manifest this extra-ordinary quality in life. " प्रमादमेव शत्रुः उद्यमेव मित्रम् ।"
९२
Carelessness and negligence is the greatest foe of a person observing spiritual practices. Besides sleep, Lord Mahāvīra never indulged in sense pleasures, passions, gossip and other types of negligence. This kind of vigilance provided the required momentum and so he was able to progress steadily on the chosen path. III. MAUNA i.e. SILENCE
The most important aspect of Lord Mahāvira's spiritual practice was the silence of that he observed. If we fail to adopt right speech in life, it may become the root cause of many evils and conflicts. There is inflow of karmic matter through the channels of mind, body and speech and for the stoppage and destruction of Karma it is important to control the activities of the same. Mind is the most subtle and volatile of the three instruments of Yoga viz-mind, body and speech and it can be controlled when the other two instruments are controlled.
It is stated in canons that when the mind is controlled, the power of concentration is enhanced and self-control comes effortlessly. When the silence is observed the self becomes unblemished and flawless. Through the control of body, there is the stoppage of inflow of karmas. Through the purity of mind, right knowledge of reality is acquired and false perception is removed. Through the purity of speech, faith and vision become right and clear. There upon the aspirant destroys four ghāti karmas namely knowledge obscuring, vision obscuring, delusion producing and power obscuring karmas and finally destroys the other four aghāti karmas and becomes liberated. Thus by controlling the activities of mind, body and speech, the self becomes pure and perfect. Owing to these facts Lord Mahāvīra practised silence which does not signify silence alone, but is accompanied with self contemplation. But often people
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
