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14. BĀRASA AŅUPEKHANAM : AN INTRODUCTION
-Prof. Padma Shekhar, Mysore
Jainism explores the possibility of Man becoming of Jina. The majority of religions in India believe that the life of man is subjected to the courtesy of God. But Jainism evaluates the life based on the Karma theory. The existence, the happenings the good and bad deeds are due to the impact of Karma of the human being. In attaining Mokșa the jeeva has to cross all the hurdles of life. In Jainism one can get the mental redness through Achāra dharma. The duties of the human being are made known under munidharma and Śrāvakadharma. The facts of the life are being realized and introduced by them. The mind, which is the basic tool of realization, can think of what is good and what is bad. One can examine his inner self, and can obtain guiding paths through anuprekshās. They are not only guiding principles but importantly, they are basic essentials for mental stability and upward movements.
Kundakundācārya was the first, to write on anuprekṣās. His work ‘Bārasā anupehnam' was the authentic available resource on them. That is also called in the name 'Dwādaśānuprekṣe. Based on the written document we identify kundakundācārya as the first writer of anuprekśās. But in Jainism, there is a great extensive oral tradition Kundakundacārya in his “Samayasāra' has stated that, what all he had written, were perceived from Śrutakēvlīs. Therefore, the original details related to the history of anuprekṣās, one has to associate with the thoughts of Jain tīrthankaras and dārshanikas.
In Anuprekșa, there are three word units; Anu + pre + i ks.Which means to ponder, to reflect, topics to think and recollect again and again.
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