Ishtopadesh

About Acharya Pujyapad  author of Ishopadesh Shastra

Acharya  Poojyapad has been a very famous personality eminently well known in line of Jain Acharyas whose period was somewhere between 200A.D. to 600 A.D.  in between Acharya Samantbhadra  and Bhatt Akalankdeo. He is known to have authored several important shastras namely Jainendra Vyakaran, Sarvarth Siddhi ( Teeka of Tatvarth Sutra), Samadhi Tantra and Ishtopadesh. Ishtopadesh is a small simple Shastra which describes spiritualism leading to experience of the soul. As the name suggests , the objective of the Shastra is generation of happiness and destruction of sufferings. By means of differentiating knowledge one can attain this objective. Acharya has concisely described the means to experience the pure soul within self and in this way he has drawn a simple roadmap to attain Moksha. . For this he has followed the philosophy of Acharya Kunda kunda Deo extensively. Pandit Ashadharji had written a detailed commentary on this Shastra sometime in 13^th Century which has not been included here. Instead  a simple short meaning of the gatha is also provided along with each gatha.  It is planned to complete this Shastra in four issues of the blog.  

Mangalacharan:

1.  Those, who have realized themselves with the destruction of all the karmas, I offer obeisance to such samyak gyan form Paramatma.

Meaning : Here the obeisance is offered to the soul which has realized himself and is of the nature of total knowledge which will never fall from that highest status hence is superior to all the worldly people.

The disciple asks that how can the soul realize himself ? Acharya answers :

2. Just as with the presence of appropriate reasons the  gold stone ( impure gold form stone) gets purified into pure gold, in the same way, the soul also can purified into his own pure conscious nature in the presence of appropriate dravya(substance), Kshetra (place), kaal(time), Bhava ( manifestations) of the self.

Meaning: The worldly people have the capability to become Paramatma in the presence of  proper internal and external reasons.

The disciple enquires that if the soul can realize himself on his own then all the efforts of fasting, penances etc. would be a waste ? Acharya says that it is not so, they also serve some purpose:

3. It is better to attain Deva status by means of fasting rather than  attain hell state by not fasting. Just as there is great difference between two persons  waiting for a friend’s arrival by sitting under a  shade or under the heat of the sun. ( In the same way there is great difference between a person practicing fasting to another not practicing fasting).

Meaning: The person following right conduct of fasting etc. gets birth in heaven etc. and thus gets better opportunities than the one with lack of restraint who takes birth in hell etc. and suffers.

The disciple again enquires that in such a case making effort for self-realization of soul would become meaningless since that effort would be much harder than the attainment of heavenly pleasures by fasting. Hence people would rather make efforts for fasting etc. rather than self- realization. 

Acharya clarifies that this is not so. The conduct of fasting is not a waste; on the other hand the effort of self-realization cannot be called meaningless.

4. The meditation of the soul which is capable of taking bhavya people to Moksha , how distant is the heaven for that  meditation to carry them ? ( Not at all, actually it is nearby). The person who can carry a load upto 2 Kosa easily, would he get tired in taking the same to half kosa? (Not at all.)

Meaning: The shuddhopayoga manifestation which is capable of leading a jiva to pleasures of Moksha, under its influence the shubha raga automatically provides benefits of heaven etc.

Thus meditation of the soul leads to salvation besides pleasures of heaven. Therefore the disciple enquires “ what are the benefits attained by  those who go to heaven?” Acharya replies:

5. The pleasures experienced by the Jivas resident in heaven is the  same as that experienced by Devas of heaven. It means that the pleasures cannot be compared to anything else since they are incomparable.  That pleasure is based upon the senses, without disturbance from enemies and continues for a long time.

Meaning: Although the pleasures of heaven are sensors based but it is without hindrances unlike earthly pleasures. It is not short lived either.

Hearing this the disciple enquires from the guru, “ O bhagwan ! If the pleasures of heaven are far greater than those enjoyed by humans then what is the purpose of wishing for Moksha? Then Acharya tells him that such pleasures are delusional only:

6. The pleasures and the pains experienced by the holders of bodies are imaginary only. Observe! The same enjoyments which are believed to be pleasures in the world become distressing and painful like diseases when some calamities are experienced (e.g. attack of the enemies). This applies to all worldly pleasures and sufferings.

Meaning: The pleasures which are normally enjoyable become painful under conditions of distress hence the enjoyments are imaginary only.

Again the student asks “ If these pleasures and pains are illusions then why do the people not know it in that way ?” Acharya answers:

 7. The knowledge obscured by Moha does  not know the real nature of a thing, just as a person intoxicated by consuming poppy cannot know the objects properly.

Meaning: Just as a person intoxicated by consuming poppy does not realize his good or bad, in the same way and ignorant person believes body, wife, sons to be his own and worldly pleasures to be enjoyable. Thus he does not know the true nature of reality.

Without realizing the true nature of body etc. the ignorant  believes the body etc. to be of some other nature.

Acharya further says:

8. Although body, house, money, wife, son, friend, enemy etc. are having different nature and are others, but the ignorant Jiva believes them to be the same as his own soul under the influence of Mohaniya karma.

Meaning: With lack of differentiating knowledge, the ignorant jiva believes body, wife etc. whose nature is  totally different from self, to be his own.

Acharya gives an example explaining the nature of body , wife etc. which are considered to be assisting and benevolent by the jiva deluded by Moha.

9. Look ! The birds migrate from different directions and countries, arrive on some trees taking shelter for the night and in the morning fly away in different directions and countries for their work. ( The same analogy applies to you , your body and  your family etc.)

Meaning: The worldly people arrive from hell etc. taking birth into a single family and stay with them for the period of their life. Later they all depart towards heaven etc. depending upon their destiny.

Further Acharya urges to give up thoughts of enmity towards enemies describing such thoughts as ignorance by means of an example:

10.  Why does the person who had harmed someone earlier in the past, now gets angry when that person harms him. Look! When someone uses a gardening fork to dig earth, the handle also pulls him down to the ground.

Meaning: It is a reality of life that ‘as you sow, so shall you reap’. Hence one should not be angry when someone harms him since he is just returning what he endured from you.

Here the pupil enquires that what harm is inflicted by a person upon himself by indulging in raga( attachment etc.) towards wife etc. and  dwesha ( aversion etc.)  towards enemies? Acharya answers:

11. This Jiva keeps churning the world form ocean by means of long ropes of raga and dwesha out of ignorance and keeps transmigrating into five paravartan ( transmigrations) forms for long period of time.

Meaning: It is a worldly story of devas churning the oceans  using mountain and two ropes. Same way the Jiva is churning into five forms of transmigrations with activities of raga and dwesha.

Continued .......