Walk With Me

Author(s): Chandanaji Acharya, Vastupal Parikh
Publisher: Veerayatan

Page 77

Ch. 7: Sadhana
pure and free of all karma, the knower and the known become one. This is the kevali stage of the spiritual progress. At this stage the sadhak gains kevalgyan, that is, he is fully enlightened or knows everything. A pure soul is thus absolute knowledge itself!
The soul is a knowable entity, but who among us really knows his soul? When we talk about ourselves, we use the words ‘Me' or 'I'. Who is that 'Me'? The ‘Me' is actually within us. It is our soul, our consciousness. Do we really know any thing about “Me'? ‘Me' is just a part of us. When we are happy or sad, when we win or lose, we feel its presence within us, but who is 'Me'? We think that 'Me' rules this body, yet it is also simultaneously imprisoned within the body. How can one be both the ruler and the prisoner? Vardhaman was in search of that mystery. Vardhaman had his sights focused on that mystical 'Me', - the ‘Me' who makes us feel both happy and sad, the winner and the loser, and the ‘Me' that virtually rules our lives, was his curiosity."
As was typical, Ajja Chandana joined the serious philosophical debate by raising a more serious question. “What is ‘Me'? Is it the soul, the mind, the conscience, or our physical being? Are these all different entities or just different terms for the same entity?"
Ajja Chandana's curious nature always impresses me. Her questions were opening doors to Vardhaman's 12 mysterious years. Everyone was anxiously awaiting my reply. I did not have a clear answer, but I decided to draw upon whatever I had heard from Mahavir. I replied, “The soul, the mind, the conscience, and our physical being are all different, but they influence one another. If we want to understand
75
Jain Education Intemational