YJA Convention 2002 07 NJ Fifth

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 64

Kalpa and Tattvartha Sutra
Archit Shah | Shrenik Shah
hagwan Mahavira, who lived around 500 BC, was The Kalpasutra is a highly revered text, as it plays a central
religion, it is fully enlightened souls like Mahavira whose sermons are the basis of scriptures. Both the Tattvarthasutra and Kalpasutra and based on the final sermons of Bhagwan Mahavir.
of its elevated position, copies of the Kalpasutra were beautifully illuminated and illustrated. In particular, the style of manuscripts created between the 13th and 16th centuries in Gujarat and Rajasthan spread throughout India and as far
as Burma, influencing artists of many diverse traditions. The life of Mahavirswami is recounted in great detail in the Kalpasutra. It begins with a pregnant Queen Trishala experiencing fourteen auspicious dreams. She takes the dreams to the interpreters who announce that her son will be a Tirthankar. The birth of Mahavirswami is described in great detail as the people and celestial beings celebrate. Finally, after describing his thirty years as a layman in only two sentences, the text describes Mahavirswami's life as a monk and finally as an omniscient being. Rather than a straightforward biography, it is a recounting and celebration of the auspicious events in Bhagwan Mahvir's life. The Tattvarthasutra and Kalpasutra together show the broad range of the Jain canon - from the intensenly technical to the mythic. One shows a religion for the intellect; it covers the inner workings of the universe in precise details, while the the last tirthankar, the last of 24 great souls who each brought other provides a religion for the heart. It recounts the life of order to the religion. Through the stories of their lives, we celebrate what one man, no different from each of us, can achieve.■
The Tattvarthasutra was written by Acharya Umaswati in Sanskrit in the second century BC after the teachings of Mahavirswami had been passed down through oral traditions for hundreds years. Similarly, Acharya Bhadrabahu began work on the Kalpasutra in the fourth century BC. The two scriptures represent two different facets of Jainism: the intellectual and emotional, and they provide great insight into the Jain tradition.
In its most basic form, the Tattvarthasutra is a collection of about 300 statements about what the Jain universe is and how it works. These statements concisely expound the Jain philosophy which encompasses the nature of mind, soul, and matter; the history and physical structure of the universe; and the workings of a cycle of metaphysical cause and effect through the interaction of soul and karma.
Despite its deeply intellectual and philosophical nature, the lessons of the Tattvarthasutra are simple. The central themes form the core of Jain practice: nonviolence, non-absolutism, and non-possession. By following these principles, each one of us can follow the path to liberation, ultimately escaping the cycle of birth and death to achieve complete purity and bliss, known as nirvana.
notes:
Jain Education-interne
2010-03
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