Studies In Umasvati And His Tattvartha Sutra

Author(s): G C Tripathi, Ashokkumar Singh
Publisher: Bhogilal Laherchand Institute of Indology

Page 45

The Yoga of Umāsvāti 35 vitarka, ekatvavitarka, sūkṣmakriyāpratipātin and vyuparatakriyānivṛtti. Thus, he says that these śukla-dhyānas are respectively performed by the one who possesses all the three yogas; by the one who possesses any of the three yogas; by the one who possesses the bodily yoga and by the one who possesses no yoga whatsoever.33 As Pt. Sukhlalji has pointed out, the statement as to the persons authorized to perform the śukla-dhyāna in question has been made here from two points of view, viz., from the standpoints of the guṇasthāna, i.e. graduated stage of spiritual progress, and from that of the yoga. From the point of view of yoga only the one who possesses all the three yogas is authorized to perform the first of the four subtypes of śukla-dhyāna; one who possesses any one of the three yogas, i.e. those pertaining to body, speech and mind, is authorized to perform the second subtype of śukla-dhyāna; only one who possesses the bodily yoga is authorized to perform the third sub-type of sukla-dhyāna while only the one who devoid of all yoga whatsoever is authorized to perform the fourth subtype of śukla-dhyāna.34
It should be noted that Umāsvāti has inherited this concept of yoga from the Jaina canonical works, like the Uttaradhyayanasūtra35 and the Samavāyāngasūtra. 36 The delusion, passion, and yoga stand out the most among them because non-control (avirati) and inadvertence (pramāda) emerge from passions (kaṣāyas). It may be noted here that the term 'āsrava' is synonymous with the state of mind imbued with yoga. Asrava emanates from these yogic activities of body, speech and mind, and their suppression begets samvara, which ultimately leads to salvation.37
A new turn to the traditional concept of Jaina yoga was given by the famous Haribhadrasūri alias Yākinīputra (eighth century AD) in that he brought it to the line of Patanjali's Yoga-sūtras, while at the same time retaining a part of its traditional aspect, particularly the auspicious one as an essential complimentary to it. And, he redefined yoga as the religious practice paving one's path to liberation.