Tirthankar Mahavir and His Sarvodaya Tirth

Author(s): Hukamchand Bharilla, K C Lalwani
Publisher: Kundkund Kahan Digambar Jain Trust

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TIRTHANKARA MAHAVIRA AND HIS SARVODAYA TIRTHA
tain relation with the world, viz, gross, fluid, caloric, taijas and kārman The first three are constituted from food, the fourth from energy and the last one from kārman matter. The mind is made from vargaṇā of the same name and language from vargana of the same name which takes the form of words. So in the description of the pudgala (matter) in the Jaina Agamas, highest attention is given to matter of these five varieties
The centre of attention in the words of Mahavira is the soul and everything else has been allowed to take a place only when and to what extent required. In other words, he has spoken about the soul in order to understand the soul, but he has spoken about the non-soul (matter) also to understand the soul.10 For, to provide welfare for the soul, it is necessary to know the soul. Every thing else which may be relevant are just to be known and used for the purpose They have to be discarded and thrown out when they have been used
This is the most crucial fact about Tirthankara Mahavira's technique If this is not borne in mind, it becomes difficult to understand him to the full.
Karma
Of the five forms of matter, the one is called karman. It is the outcome of the transformation into karma, matter (particles) which arise out of phychological distortions, like delusion, attachment, greed, etc, in the soul 11 This transform of kärman matter into karma is called dravya karma or objective karma. It has eight varieties, viz, karma obstructing knowledge, karma obstructing faith, karma giving experience, karma causing delusion, karma giving life-span, karma giving a name, karma giving lineage and karma causing obstruction 12 A further break-up of these eight would give 148 types, the details of which are available in Gommaṭasāra (Karmakāṇda), Tattvārtha Sūtra, etc
The sort of karma which arise out of psychological distortions
10 Quoted in Vrhad-nayacakra, Gatha, 284.
11 Jivakṛtam parināmam nimittamatram prapadya punaranye svayameva parinamante'tra pudgalah karmabhāvena
12 Gommațasara, Karmakāṇḍa, Gatha, 8.
-Puruşarthasiddhyupaya, Sloka, 12.