54. Samayasar Gatha 411-415 ( concluding part)

Now it is told that once it is decided that dravyaling is not the moksha marg then one should proceed as follows, as per the sermon.

Gatha 411: When dravya ling is not Moksha marg, hence Sagaar i.e. grihastha (householder) and Anagaar i.e. the ones who have renunciated the house  i.e. Munis,who have adopted whichever lings, discarding them, they should immerse their soul in darshan-gyan-charitra form Moksha marg- such is the sermon of shri guru.

Commentary: Since  dravya ling is not Moksha marg; hence discarding all the dravya ling i.e. giving up its attachment, soul should be made one with darshan-gyan-charitra since that alone is Moksha marg- such is the sermon. 

Explanation: Here the preachment is for discarding dravya ling and adopting darshan-gyan-charitra- this is general preachment in reality. Here if someone thinks that it is preached to give up the vows of Muni and Shravak then it is not so. Only those who believe that dravya ling is Moksha marg and just adopt  the attire, their belief is rectified that attire alone is not moksha marg.  Real Moksha marg is manifestation of soul in darshan-gyan-charitra alone. In Vyavahara Achara sutra it is said that external vows of Muni-Shravak are cause for Nishahcya Moksha marg in vyavahara sense. Here that is not discarded but it is told that giving up its attachment also, by adopting real moksha marg, it leads to moksha. Only dress alone is not cause for Moksha- thus it should be known.

To firm up the same , a kalash is recited here-

Shloka 239: Since the substance of the soul is the trinity of darshan-gyan-charitra; hence the people desirous of Moksha  should follow this Moksha marga alone for ever.

Same is preached by the Gatha next:

Gatha 412:   O bhavya! You should direct your soul in the Moksha marg, contemplate of the same, experience the same, traverse within the soul only continuously; do not traverse within other dravyas. 

Commentary: Acharya preaches that O Bhavya! This soul has been traversing from eternal times till now in other dravyas or raga-dwesha etc. continuously due to fault of his own intelligence. Now you should extricate your own soul from the raga-dwesha etc. of other dravyas using the property of your own intelligence and immerse  within darshan-gyan-charitra continuously with total tranquility.

In the same way, blocking all other worries, with total concentration contemplate of darshan-gyan-charitra.

In the same way, renunciating all the karma chetna and karma phal chetna, discarding them, becoming pure gyan chetna form, experience darshan-gyan-chetna only.

In the same way getting immersed in the manifestations occurring every moment  under the influence of nature of dravya, traverse within the darshan-gyan-charitra.

In the same way taking recourse to only knowledge form in a calm state, do not traverse even minutely in all other dravyas which enter into knowledge as objects of knowledge due to their imposition.

Explanation: The real form manifestation of soul is in the form of darshan-gyan-charitra, they alone are moksha marg. Applying the soul within them, contemplating of them, experiencing them, manifest within them only and not other dravyas- this alone is real preachment, do not get carried away in vyavahara alone.

Same is described by means of next kalash-

Shloka 240: The path to moksha is  in darshan-gyan-charitra form only. Hence the person who practices this, stays within it, contemplates of the same continuously, exeriences the same; traverses within same always and manifests within same, that person in a short while experiences own godly form- samaysar form – definitely and attains it.

How does it traverse- without touching ( contemplating of) other dravyas it traverses. 

Explanation: By practicing nishchaya moksha marg, one attains Moksha in a short while- such is the rule.

Now it is told that those who have oneness towards dravya ling only believing it to be Moksha marg, they do not attain Moksha. This is informed in next kalash-

Shloak 241: Those people who have discarded the above described real Moksha marg and applied their soul in vyavahara marg  and for that reason they indulge in oneness with dravya ling or external attire and believe that this would grant them Moksha. Those people even though they have adopted the Munihood, still being devoid of knowledge of the tatva, they do not experience /attain this Samaysar.  

How is that Samaysar? – Which is ever in fruition. No opponent can prevent its fruition.

And how is it ? – Which is indivisible; does not get divided on account of nimitta of objects of knowledge.

And how is it ? – which is one; which has several states on account of paryayas, even so it does not give up its oneness.

And how is it? – Incompararble which has none similar to it- which is 

illuminated; the illumination of the knowledge can not be described as  

illumination of the sun in metaphor form. Which is heavy with the brightness of its own nature which cannot be carried by anyone else, which is devoid of any impurities due to raga etc. – such paramatma form cannot be achieved by the dravya lingi.

Same is described in Gatha next:

Gatha 413: Those people who have oneness with several types of Muni ling or Grihastha Ling thinking that it would provide them with Moksha, those people have not realized the Samaysar.  

Commentary: Those people who really believe that I am Shraman or Muni or, worshiper of the Shramans, assistant or Shravak; in this manner they take false pride in oneness with dravya ling. They are deluded about the famous vyavahara being practiced from eternal times and without realizing the Nishchaya naya of great differentiating knowledge, they do not observe the samaysar of the real knowledge form hence they do not attain it.

Explanation: Those who are deluded due to Vyavahara generated out of influence of other dravya from eternal times, they believe that ‘ this external attire of Mahavrita etc. would provide us with Moksha’ , but they are unaware of Nishchaya naya by which differentiating knowledge is attained. Hence they do not achieve real paramatma form pure knowledge form Samaysar also.

Same is described in next kalash-

Shloka 242:  Those people who are deluded or attached towards Vyavahara only, they do not know the reality. Just as those people in the world who are deceived with the knowledge of rice skin, they believe the rice skin itself to be rice. They do  not know the rice as rice.

Explanation: Those who do not know the real form of the soul and they are behaving foolishly in Vyavahara itself, believing body etc other dravyas to be soul. They do not know the real soul. Just as some person does not know the difference between rice skin and rice and indulge in beating rice skin only, then he would not get rice. After having differentiating knowledge of rice with rice skin one can acquire rice.

Same is reaffirmed in next kalash:

Shloka 243: Those who are deluded due to attachment towards Dravya ling and are blinded; they do not observe the Samayasar since in this world dravya ling is attained through other dravyas while the knowledge is attained through own soul dravya.

Explanation: Those who believe only dravya ling to be their own they are blind; they do not see the self and others differently.

Now it is told that Vyavahara naya calls both types of lings of Muni and Shravak as Moksha marg while Nishchaya naya does not call any ling to be Moksha marg.

Gatha 414: Vyavahara naya calls both types of lings of Muni and Shravak to be Moksha marg while Nishchaya naya does not consider any type of ling to be beneficial in Moksha marga.

Commentary: In reality there are two divisions of ling in the form of shraman i.e. Muni and worshipers of the shraman i.e. shravak , hence both lings are Moksha marg – such is the statement ; this is only vyavahara, not reality since in vyavahara naya only the impure dravya form is  experienced which is not same as reality.

Beyond the divisions of shramans and worshipers of the shramans, indulgence in darshan-gyan-charitra  form pure knowledge is one only- such pure experience alone is reality, that alone is Moksha marg. Such knowledge alone is of the form of pure dravya hence it is real ; hence those people who experience Vyavahara alone believing it to be real , they do not experience the samaysar and those who believe only reality as reality and thus experience, they experience the samaysar.

Explanation: The subject of vyavahara naya is of the form of differentiation hence impure dravya form and not real. The  subject of nishchaya naya is undifferentiated pure dravya hence is real. Therefore those who indulge in vyavahara alone accepting it to be real, they do not attain samaysar and those who know reality as reality alone, they attain samaysar and they alone attain Moksha.

Now commentator says “ what is the point in talking anymore! One reality only needs to be experienced.”

Shloka 244:  Acharya says that one should stop  talking any more and be done with useless vikalpas (contemplations) any more.  From the view point of this Adhyatma Granth one reality alone needs to be experienced continuously since in reality there is nothing worthwhile other than Samaysar Paramatma of the form of knowledge revelation  which is filled with its own essence.  

Explanation: Experience only the total knowledge form soul; definitely there is nothing else other than it which is worthwhile.

Now the samaysar granth is being concluded. The next kalash informs the same-

Shloka 245: Now this Samaya Prabhrita is being concluded.

How is it? – Which  is indestructible – it is like the incomparable eyes of the world.

Why? What does it do? – it permits direct attainment of blissful dense knowledge form pure paramatma samaysar.

Explanation: This Samaya Prabhrit granth is like eyes in the form of words and knowledge both forms. Since just as eyes permit vision of pot, cloth etc. directly, in the same way it shows the nature of pure soul directly which can be experienced.

Now Acharya concluded this Samaysar granth. Hence he describes the glorious benefit of reading this in the form of next gatha-

Gatha 415: The consciousness form bhavya soul who  after reading the Samaya Prabhrit, understanding its meaning and knowing the Tatva, immerses himself in its meaning, he would attain highest blissful form.

Commentary: That consciousness form bhavya  soul  who after reading this Shastra definitely, realizing the real nature of illuminated consciousness form soul capable of illuminating all the objects of the world, understanding the form of tatva by its meaning as well as reality, makes himself stationary in the total dense knowledge form paramatma soul by all his efforts, that person would be blissful with totally unpertubed characteristics.

How is this Shastra? – Samayasar form bhagwan parmatma, is called param bramha since he has capability to  illuminate all.  This samaysar Shastra describes it hence it is like Shabda Bramha itself.

How is that bliss which this bhavya person would attain? It is filled with the essence of consciousness to be revealed immediately. It is stationary within its own nature very well and can be described by the parmanand shabda  being of the form of unpertubed soul.   

Explanation: The name of this shastra is Samaya Prabhrit. Samaya stands for substance or soul, which it describes. Soul illuminates all the substances and describes them. Here the one which describes all the substances is called Shabda Bramha, in the same way the Shastra  which describes the soul is also called Shabda brahma. Shabda Bramha stands for dwadashang Shastra, hence same metaphor is used here.

In this way this shabda bhamha shows the pure paramatma i.e. Param Bramha directly. Hence the one who studies this Shastra and stations himself in its real meaning, he will attain Param Bramha and for that reason will attain Paramanand i.e. highest bliss. That bliss is self generated, independent, uninterrupted, without stoppage and indestructible. Hence O bhavya Jivas! For your own benefit, you should read it, hear it, continuously remember it and contemplate upon it, so that indestructible bliss may be attained- such is the preachment of shri Gurus.      

Now a kalash informing  the conclusion of Sarva Vishuddha gyan adhikar is stated-

Shloka 246: In this manner the tatva of the soul i.e. the real nature, is stationed in pure knowledge form finally. How is that tatva of the soul knowledge form? – Indivisible; although due to several objects of knowledge and due to opposing karmas, it appears fragmented, even so the pure knowledge is unfragmented and for that reason it is one; stationary i.e. it does not change the form from knowledge to object of knowledge. It knows self i.e. capable of knowing himself by himself. It has no stoppage i.e. by any kind of maneuvering it cannot be stopped.

Explanation: Here the own nature of soul has been told to be knowledge only. Although soul has infinite dharmas(qualities), out of which several are common dharmas ( common qualities); they are over pervasive hence do not enable soul to be known through them. Several dharmas are dependent on paryayas hence they are present in some state and not present in another state; therefore they are non pervasive. The soul cannot be identified through them either.

Although consciousness is a characteristics, even then it is only of the form of power hence invisible. However its manifestation is in the form of gyan and darshan. Out of them, Gyan is with shape, directly experienceable, hence through this only the soul is identified. Therefore this knowledge is called Atma Tatva primarily.

One should not think that since soul is called solely knowledge form Tatva  hence this much is reality and other dharmas are false and not present in soul. By following such singularity it leads to Mithyatva which is also known as faiths of Vigyan Adwaitvadi Bauddha and Vedant. Hence such singularity is erroneous.

If some one adopts Munihood with belief in singularity and contemplates of the solely knowledge form tatva of soul, even then Mithya darshan does not get destroyed. Although he may attain heaven on account of weak passions, but does not lead to moksha. Hence through Syadvad only one should understand reality. 

In this way with 415 gathas and 246 kalashs the Samayasar is completed.

[ In this way Shri Samayasar Granth written by Acharya Kunda kunda Deo in Prakrit language, with Sanskrita commentary Atma Khyati written by Ahri Amrit Chandra Deo and Samayasar Vachanika written by Pandit shri Jaichand Chhabra is concluded]   

Few words from the English Translator

I am aware that this translation does not meet the classical translation standards and perhaps there are several mistakes in translation as well as in grammer. Nevertheless it was an attempt to make an English version of Samayasar with commentary which I believe is not available at present. The purpose was to bring this great scripture accessible to millions who  do not know the Indian languages. I am sure that if they sincerely make an effort to read and understand it, they would get an opportunity to learn the great Jain philosophy which is incomparable in all respects. To that extent this blog would help in opening the window to our great and ancient scriptures.

For myself it was a great experience since this exercise helped me to understand it much better. Although I found several difficulties as follows:

1. Many philosophical Jain Hindi words do not have English equivalent hence I had to use them as it is.

2. Many words had  an English equivalent but the meaning was not the same, leading to some distortion in translation. I have made some effort to reduce it as far as possible.

3. The Hindi sentences in the Shastra were excessively long. This made the translation cumbersome and difficult to follow. I have tried to reduce the length of sentences by breaking them.

I hope the readers would be able to derive the true essence of Samayasar from the English version. If they do so, the credit would really be that of Samayasar only, which is glorious like a brightly glowing sun that even a poor reflector like myself is able to reflect some of the illumination onto the readers.

---- Jai Jinendra