The Truth

Author(s): O P Jain
Publisher: Veer Nirvan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 56

THE SEVEN TATTV A
Austerity is of two kinds--external and internal.
External austerity consists of fasting; regulation of diet with respect to quantity and interval; daily renunciation of one or more of the delicacies like ghee, milk, curd, sugar, salt and oil; sitting and sleeping in solitary places, practice of bodily hardships so long as mind is not disturbed and feels happy.
Internal austerities are prayschitta (expiation), reverence to the true learned saints, service of saints and worthy people, study of scriptures, giving up attachment to body and dhyana (concentration).
Dhyana is of 4 kinds e. g., Arta Dhyana i. e., thinking of one's pleasures, pains and connected affairs; Rudra Dhyana i. e., thinking of evil to others; Dharma Dhyana i. e., thinking about the true nature of soul and Universe and the path to attain liberation and bliss; Sukla Dhyana i. e., complete absorption in the nature of soul itself where the distinction between different attributes of the soul vanishes. It is not possible to describe the state of Sukla Dhyana and it cannot even be experienced except in the very highest stages of spiritual development. Here, the activity of mind, body and speech are suspended and the soul functions without external help of sense organs.
5.10:5 (V) Meditation : Reflecting over the following twelve facts of life : 1. Everthing is subject to change i. e., transitory; 2. there is no other refuge for us in this World except our own truth and none can save us from the result of our karmas. 3. Soul moves in the cycle of existence and cannot attain true happiness till it is out of it; 4. I am alone the doer of my actions and the enjoyer of the fruits of them; 5. Everything in this World including my body and relatives are distinct and separate from my real self; 6. The body and all that appertains to it is so unclean that one should not feel uneasy with dirty objects outside; 7. the inflow of karmas is the cause of my mundane existence; 8. the inflow must be stopped; 9. karmic matter must be shaken out of the soul; 10. the real nature of the Universe and its substances--Jiva, Ajiva; 11. difficulty of attaining perfect faith, knowledge and conduct; 12. nature of right path to liberation i. e., right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.
5.10.6. (VI) Parisaha-jaya i. e., conquering the sufferings which certainly cause disturbance and passions in the mind. These should