Pahud Doha -IV

61. The Muni who does not care about the causes of bondage nor does he talk or do something about them, he is Paramatma Deva with body and  illuminated by Keval gyan.

Meaning: All the worldly people are concerned about bondage of karmas and keep trying to accrue shubha karmas and avoid ashubha karmas. However the Muni who has realized the nature of the soul does not care about karma bondage knowing the karmas to be ‘others’ and hence incapable of harming him. He knows that  the soul is totally independent and remains untouched by anything else. Such a Muni is like the Siddha bhagwan having a body which is guided by Keval gyan at all times.

62. What is the purpose of carrying out Tapa(austerities) if the mind is soiled internally ? Establish  the pure Siddha Paramatma within the mind so that the impurities may be removed.

Meaning: Mithyadrishti Jiva may indulge in severe austerities for long periods but he would still accrue karmas since his mind is cluttered with desires. The Samyak drishti jiva knows the self to be of the nature of Siddha Paramatma and he contemplates about him only hence the accrual of karmas does not take place.

63. The one who has stationed his own mind within shuddha Upayoga (contemplation of self) and avoided diversion into desires/passions, then that alone is cause for Moksha. O fool! By any other tantra (charms) or mantra(spells) one does not get Moksha.

Meaning: One may be expert in charms and spells but these do not enable him to attain Moksha. The Moksha is attained only by those who meditate upon the pure nature of self without indulging in passions and desires.

64. O Jiva! If you desire to attain permanent Moksha even while eating and drinking, then why did Rishabh Deva discard all the sensory pleasures ?

Meaning: If you are under the impression that Moksha can be attained even while eating/drinking then it is a big mistake on your part. We have the role model of Rishabh Deva who attained Moskha after discarding all the sensory pleasures. The message is that sensory pleasures are cause for bondage and transmigration while Moksha can be attained by immersing in the nature of soul in nirvikalpa form.

65. O fool! You will continue to be troubled  from the body form women  so long as your mind does not get immersed in the pure Paramatma form soul.

Meaning: There is no end to desires and the hunger for enjoyments keep growing in spite of being old. This causes the mind to be always dwelling in cravings resulting in bondage of karmas endlessly. Only when one focuses  his own mind within his own soul of the form of pure Paramatma then the bondage would stop accruing and he can get liberated.

66. So long as the knowledge is not revealed which eliminates the vikalpas from the mind, in spite of talking about dharma , how can he attain permanent happiness ?

Meaning: The knowledge of Jiva in Mithyatva state is sensory and deluded. This knowledge is cause for perturbation of soul due to desires. Only when the Jiva attains Samyak Gyan , then alone he can experience his own pure soul in nirvikalpa state. Without  Samyak Gyan all the talks about Dharma are meaningless since he cannot experience his own soul.

67. Discarding all the worries, the one whose mind is occupied by the Paramatma, he attains Nirvana destroying all the eight karmas.

Meaning: For achieving supreme happiness, one should discard all the worries and vikalpas and contemplate upon the pure nature of self. This only would destroy the eight types of karmas bonded with the Jiva leading to Moksha.

68.   The one who contemplates about others, discarding the soul having infinite qualities ; O fool! he is immersed in ignorance, how can he attain Keval Gyan?

Meaning: The form of meditation is defined here. One should give up the thoughts of all extraneous subjects since they all are cause for ignorance and perturbation. The objective of meditation is the own soul having infinite qualities same as that of Paramatma. This alone leads to Keval Gyan.

69.  Soul is of the nature of Darshan and Gyan  and rest is all Vyavahara. Hence O Yogis! The essence of all the three lokas is soul alone which should be subject of contemplation.

Meaning: The soul is of the form of Darshan and Gyan and all other subjects are of no consequence. Knowing the nature of soul, one should contemplate upon his own pure nature which is the essence of this world.

70. Soul is of the nature of knowledge and darshan. All other bhavas are of the form of dry grass or husk. Knowing this contemplate upon the soul and discard the webs of illusions.

Meaning: There is no place for any bhavas in the pure soul since it is of the nature of just knowledge and darshan. The other bhavas are waste like husk and only are cause for bondage. Therefore one should contemplate upon the pure knowing nature of soul and not get tempted into the illusionary world of senses.

71. Those who indulge in other dravyas leaving their own soul dravya which is the best in the world; they are Mithyadrishti. Do you think that other Mithyadrishti people have horns on their head for their identification?

Meaning:  Those who discard their own soul and indulge in other substances , they are known to be Mithyadrishti (delusional) who are accruing karmas all the time. This alone is their identity. There is no other identity ( like horns on the head) to recognize them.

72. O fool! Do not contemplate of anything other than the own pure soul which is the supreme in this world. If someone  identifies the jewel then does he care for the glass?

Meaning: Soul is totally blissful by nature which can be experienced by contemplating upon it. All other subjects are waste  just as glass is for one who is looking for jewels.

73. O fool! The shubha manifestations are cause for Dharma and Ashubha manifestations are cause for Adharma. However by discarding both of them the Jiva does not take birth again.

Meaning: Here Dharma implies acts of punya like charity, fasting, prayers etc. which is called Dharma in Vyavahara sense. Adharma are pap activities of killing, theft, deception etc. The world is familiar with both of these. However it is important to know that both of these are causes for bondage and transmigration in the world. Only by giving both up and meditating upon the soul, the jiva gets rid of karmas and attains salvation.

74. O yogi! The karmas are bonded on their own and separated on their own , there is no doubt regarding it. Can one setup a new village by collecting travelers of fickle minds?

Meaning: In this world karmas are bonded from eternal times with the jiva. The karmas keep shedding on fruition and new karmas keep getting accrued with the nimitta of jiva’s bhava. This cycle is never ending as told by omniscient. Just as someone cannot establish a new village with the participation of travelers with uncertain minds, same way the karmas are transitory and one cannot predict their behavior.

75. If you are fearful of pain then do not believe others (karmas, nokarmas) to be Jiva. Even a sesame seed or small thorn causes pain.

Meaning: So long as you believe yourselves to be of the form of body etc. then you will always feel the pain even by smallest thorn. One should realise that the Jiva is not of the nature of karmas, nokarmas and is different from them. Once he does so then he will give up being fearful of the pains.

76. With the belief in the nature of soul, the pap gets destroyed within a moment. Just as sun alone destroys the gathering of darkness within one instant.

Meaning: Once Jiva contemplates of the nature of own soul and immerses himself in self, the pap karmas get shedded. Example is given of the  rays of the sun which destroy darkness immediately.

77. O yogi! In whose heart the Param Deva resides, he attains the highest Gati (birth) devoid of birth and death.

Meaning: Param Deva is Jinendra bhagwan. The one  who worships him in the right spirit knows his own soul to be of the same kind as that of Jinendra bhagwan and hence using the prayer as nimitta he experiences his own soul. Such a person destroys his karmas and ultimately reaches the fifth gati which is called Siddha Gati, wherein the birth and death are absent.

78. The one who destroys the karmas bonded previously and prevents influx of new karmas , he alone offers obeisance to the highest Deva of supreme purity (with belief-knowledge-conduct) and becomes Paramatma himself.

Meaning: Moksha Marg is traversing in right belief-right knowledge-right conduct wherein the purity keeps increasing at every moment. This results in Samvar i.e. the blockage of influx of new karmas and Nirjara i.e. the shedding of previously accrued karmas. Such conduct implies contemplation of own pure natured soul which is also termed as obeisance to Jinendra bhagwan since both are of same kind.

79. The manifestation of Pap and bondage of karmas continues in the soul till the Jiva does not attain purity of own Upayoga (knowledge) realizing the highest nature of self.

Meaning: Since eternal times the Jiva is Mithydrishti who does not know the nature of self. The wrong belief results in having bhavas of the Pap (sinful) kind and accrual of karmas. This cycle continues till the Jiva does not realise his own pure nature and contemplates upon the same (shuddhopayoga). Once he does so the shackles of karmas get broken and the path to salvation begins.

80. Param Deva of the form of Darshan (vision) and Gyan (knowledge) is not different from  the soul. O fool! Know thee that the nature of soul itself is Moksha Marg.

Meaning: Own soul is of the nature of pure knowledge and vision and not different from that of Jinendra bhagwan. Contemplation of such true nature of soul alone itself is the Moksha marg. (There is no other external activity which could lead to salvation.)

Continued…….

Pahud Doha- III

41. Jinadeva says know thee! Know thee! Once you have known the knowledge form soul to be different from the body then there is no point in knowing anything else !

Meaning: The purpose of Sadhus adopting veetrag (detached)  state is to know their own nature to be different from the subjects of five senses, raga-dwesha, body etc. Once such differentiating knowledge is attained then the gyani contemplates that once that knowing entity is known then there is no purpose in knowing anything else. The entire world is imaged within the keval gyan of the soul and there is nothing else left to be known. Hence Jinadeva emphasizes on knowing thyself.

42. Jinadeva says that worship! Worship! Once one knows the soul residing within own body in reality then who would worship whom?

Meaning: Here Jinadeva emphasizes that the practice of worship, fasting etc. are from Vyavahara sense only. Once a Jiva has experienced own soul then he remains immersed within himself and the question of worshipping someone else would not even arise. From aspect of Nishchaya, the one worshipping and the one being worshipped are the same. There is no difference between the two.

43. Just as a camel breaks the shackles and runs away to graze on  seeing green field, in the same way how can the mind of a gyani jiva have attraction towards the world once he has seen the infinite riches of the Moksha Lakshmi.

Meaning: Here the metaphor of camel is used for the mind which always keeps changing its stance and desiring more and more in this world. But once he has experienced the nature of own soul then he has realized the kind of riches that Moksha Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) has to offer. Then how can his mind  have interest in anything else ?

44. One should not be loose with respect to the subjects of the senses. Out of the subjects of five senses, at least two should be restrained – one is tongue and second is desire towards other’s wife.

Meaning:  For the beginner the minimal rules are specified. Although the objective of Sanyam (self- restraint) would be to restrain all the five senses and the mind, here the beginning is made with controlling at least the tongue and the mind.

45. Neither you have controlled the five bulls nor you have entered the NandanVana (own soul). Neither you have known the self nor others. Have you become ascetic just like that?

Meaning: Here the bulls represent the senses which function like uncontrolled bulls. This gatha is meant to give a lesson to the Sadhu who has embraced sadhu-hood recently. Controlling the mind and five senses is dravya-sanyam (physical restraint) while preventing the bhavas of raga-dwesha is bhava sanyam. The ascetic should first learn to control the five senses and make efforts towards experiencing own soul. Once one knows own soul then automatically he knows others also. With sanyam to prevent perturbation or wandering of the soul he can enter his own soul to experience it.

46. O sakhi (female friend) ! My Priyatam (lover) is engaged in attraction of five (not one). That rogue is so much involved in them that he is not even seen these days.

Meaning: Here a woman is revealing to  her friend about the affairs of her loved one of the form of consciousness. He is so much attached to five women ( subjects of five senses ) that he is neglecting her altogether. So long as he would be thus engaged he would never ever experience own soul and realise himself. The message is that only after controlling the senses can one hope to experience the soul.

47. When mind sleeps in carefree state i.e. he has concentrated without perturbation then only he understands the preachment. The mind is carefree only when he separates the sentient from the insentient.

Meaning: The mind is never free. It always keeps contemplating of some dilemma or resolutions. At no time he is in nirvikalpa (vikalpa free) state wherein he can experience his own soul. Only when Jiva concentrates upon the self and discards all other thoughts, then can he realise the self. Here the muni is advised to sleep (not pay undue attention) in activities of vyavahara while focusing on meditation of the soul.

48. Those who walk on the path carefully by watching ahead, even if they get injured due to thorn in the foot, the running  does not constitute a fault .

Meaning: Once someone is walking carefully then the injury due to thorn etc. is a matter of fate and it does not constitute his fault. In the same way on the path to Moksha one has to traverse carefully with restraints. Once all restraints are practiced carefully and even then some calamities or disasters occur then restraints are not to be blamed. With equanimity they have to be faced and focus to be retained upon the inner self.

49. Give up! Give up! Make your mind freely independent. Let it go wherever it wishes. When you are on the path to the salvation then do not worry.

Meaning: This message is for the Sadhu traversing on Moksha marg. This journey cannot be made by forcing the mind and undergoing undue hardships intentionally. Equanimity is the key and all hardships should be experienced in such spirit only without regrets or forceful imposition. Then only one can contemplate upon the self in a concentrated manner and attain purity of the soul.

50. Mind is immersed in the Paramatma and the Paramatma is immersed in the mind (by becoming one). Both are attaining the state of unification. Then who should I worship? Whom should I present the materials intended for worshipping?

Meaning: In vyavahara Pooja the worshiper and worshipped are two different entities namely self and Paramatma. Offerings are made to Paramatma as part of the prayers. But in Nishchaya Pooja, the two entities become merged into one. There is no difference between the two. This is the state of pure experience  of the soul. Here the purpose of Vyavahara does not exist.  The soul and Paramatma are unified into one.

51. Whether Deva has gone outside that he needs to be worshiped? The Shiva (Paramatma) is pervasive within own body then how could he be forgotten?

Meaning: Author has asked sarcastically that why do we need to worship  when the Paramatma is resident within own body all the time. He has questioned that whether he has left the body anytime so as to require worshipping him. The message is that the Shiva or Paramatma is own soul which is within our own body and we should not forget it. Recalling and remaining immersed in own self is the real worship. There is no one else who needs to be worshipped.

52. Oh! The one who is other,  remains other only. Other cannot become my soul. When I get scorched and the other gets saved  then he does not even look back at me.

Meaning: Here ‘other’ stands for all that which is not self. These are house, wealth, children, body etc. It also includes the raga-dwesha bhavas, karmas etc. All of them are not my soul and can never become me. This other is cause for my worries, sankalpa-vikalpas (resolutions-dilemmas) etc. But the other remains indifferent to me. In fact I may be in distress but the other remains unaffected.

53. O fools! All these ( body, mind-speech, happiness-unhappiness) are creations of karmas. Without karmas none of these get generated. Just look at the example that after the departure of Jiva from the body, the body does not go with him.

Meaning:  The soul  is the only entity which is permanent while everything else is destructible and generated due to fruition of karmas. For example one can see that on death the Jiva  goes away but the body does not go with him. Hence giving up all attachments one should contemplate of his own pure nature .

54. O Yogi! Who is the deva residing in the body form devalaya (temple) with so many powers? Who is that powerful Shiva? Search and solve this mystery soon.

Meaning: The author has called upon the yogi to search within himself and identify own soul as the paramatma who is residing within his own body and has so many powers. Once identified he can remain absorbed within his own self without searching anywhere else.

55. The one who does not grow old, does not die nor does he take birth, who is the owner of the infinite knowledge form three worlds different from all, he is the Shiva Deva who does not have any doubts since he knows all.

Meaning: Here the form of Paramatma , who is also known as Shiva who is residing within self is described. He neither becomes old nor does he die. He is permanent having infinite knowledge of all the three lokas and the three times(past, present, future), knowing all simultaneously.

56. Without Shiva, Shakti (qualities) cannot have any transaction and without Shakti Shiva cannot do anything. Knowing both of them, the entire world is understood to be immersed in Moha (delusion) and then the Moha gets evaporated.

Meaning: Shiva is the Paramatma which is also dravya (substance) of each Jiva. The nature of Shiva is having infinite knowledge and bliss which are his qualities or Shakti. There cannot be any dravya without any qualities nor can qualities exist without the dravya or shiva. The nature of thing is dravya-guna-paryaya i.e. shiva-shakti-manifestation. One cannot exist without the other.

57. So long as you have not seen the nature of knowledge of self, the poor mind will keep burning with the sankalpa-vikalpas (resolutions-dilemmas).

Meaning: Seeing the nature of knowledge is the experience of the knowledge nature of self which cannot be described by words. Till such time the Jiva keeps being tormented by different desires and thoughts of raga-dwesha. Once he has experienced the nature of soul and realized himself then a significant amount of passions are subdued and jiva starts traversing on the path to Moksha.

58.  The one who has realized own soul to be of the nature of highest bliss, permanence, perfection,  and knowledge form then he does not have any other objectives.

Meaning: The glory of samyak darshan is described. When a Jiva experiences his own soul of knowledge form then he experiences bliss which is beyond senses. Then  he does not have any other interests and passions. He wishes to continue having that experience again and again.

59. If we have known one Jinadeva then we have known infinite devas. Do not dwell in Moha (Mithyatva). The one who is deluded by Darshan Moha is always wandering in distance , i.e. he never comes close to Jinadeva.

Meaning: Actually there are infinite Jinadevas who have attained Siddha-hood and they are all the same with no difference between them. Hence knowing one is knowing all. The main cause of non-realization of nature of soul is Darshan Moha or Mithyatva (delusion) which keeps preventing one to know his own nature and he keeps believing others to be his own and self to be others.

60. The one in whose heart only omniscient form soul  resides , he is free in all the three lokas. He does not accrue any pap.

Meaning: Once a Jiva has realized his own nature then he knows self to be of the nature of omniscient and he keeps trying to immerse in himself. For such a samyak drishti jiva, the accrual of karmas is considered to be almost negligible since all accrual now are pertaining to charitra moha. He does not care about his own state in the three lokas since his objective does not change. He is immune to hardships and calamities.

Continued ……

Pahud Doha - II

21. In spite of having secondary qualities, if the Sadhu does not have  primary qualities  then he is like a monkey who has fallen from a high branch and got wrecked/injured. 

Meaning: A Sadhu has 28 primary qualities of the type of 5 mahavritas, 5 samiti etc. Any sadhu should necessarily meet all the 28 requirements without fail and if he misses any one of them then he breaks the vows of Sadhu-hood. Even if he may have several secondary qualities, but he is not a Sadhu. Here author has described him like a monkey fallen from the high branch of a tree. The message is that the primary qualities cannot be compensated by secondary qualities even though they may be admirable.

22. For once the consumption of poison, company of snake, rampage of fire or stay in forest is acceptable but company of Mithydrishti people not following Jain Dharma is not desirable.  

Meaning: The Mithyadrishti jiva is one who is indulgent in sensual pleasures without having differentiating knowledge of self and others. The company of such people, even though they may be Jain by birth would cause great harm to a Samyakdrishti Jiva since he might get tempted and lose self-restraint making him fall with desires. Author says that the consumption of poison etc. for once is acceptable since one loses life and the current human birth, but the fall from samyakdarshan into Mithyatva can be for very very long time therefore the damage is much more harmful. Hence one should be careful with his company.

23. Out of the possible 84 lakh yonis, there is not one place where this Jiva has not taken birth but did not get the benefit of Jina Vani.

Meaning: There are totally 84 lakh birth places in which this jiva transmigrates having the form of one sensed to five sensed and animal to Deva. From eternal times he is continuously taking these forms. He might have had the benefit of sermons of enlightened people but he never absorbed it or paid attention. Therefore he never could get the benefit of the Jina Vani since he could never realise his own nature.

24. If you know yourself to be permanent and of the nature of omniscience then o unwise one! Why do you have attachment towards the body?

Meaning : the real Gyani knows the body to be different from the pure, permanent, knowing natured soul. Hence he does not have feeling of oneness with the body. Here author motivates the student to give up any residual attachment towards body knowing its true nature.

25. The Muni in whose mind the Samyak gyan is not illuminated , even though he may be knowing all the scriptures, he continues to accrue the karma bondage and suffers miseries.

Meaning: The knowledge of scriptures alone does not entitle one to be called Samyak Gyani till he has absorbed the knowledge and experienced the self to be different from others. Only when he knows the nature of self, then he is Samyak Gyani and accordingly the karmas stop bonding with him. But if he does not know the nature of self in spite of reading the scriptures then he is agyani only and karmas continue to bond with him. Accordingly he suffers their fruition also. Here the emphasis is on self realization.

26. O Jiva! Without the knowledge of the Tatva ( things) you believe the form of Tatva erroneously. The Bhavas (thoughts) which are comprised of karmas, you call them your own.

Meaning: From eternal times the Jiva does not have the right knowledge of the Tatvas. Due to this he calls sentient as insentient and vice versa. Thus Agyani believes body to be his soul and considers the loss of body as the end of soul. Similarly there is a karmic body present along with the soul due to eternal bondage of karmas. The fruition of these karmas give rise to bhavas (thoughts) of the nature of raga-dwesha-moha ( attachment-aversion-delusion). The Jiva believes these bhavas to be his own on account of delusion. In reality these bhavas are not in the nature of the soul otherwise even the Siddha Bhagwan would have the nature of raga-dwesha. Karmas are insentient and by differentiating knowledge only Jiva can recognize them as different from the soul.

27. I am fair, I am dark and I have various complexions. I am thin , I am fat - do not believe this.

Meaning: This is in continuity of the previous gatha wherein it is told that Jiva has been having erroneous concept of Tatvas. Just as karmas cause various bhavas to be generated in the Jiva, the fruition of Nam karmas  give rise to various body forms of the Jiva like fair or dark and thin or fat. In reality these do not belong to the soul but due to fruition of Moha (delusion) he believes them to be his own. Actually Jiva is just nimitta for the karmas to take the form of body.

28. Neither you are Pandit, nor foolish; neither you are Ishwar(god) nor Naresh(king); neither you are Guru, nor disciple; all these are creations of karmas.

Meaning: Here the vagaries of karmas are described which result in someone being born with more knowledge hence being called a pandit while other is born with less knowledge and hence being termed foolish. All these are on account of bondage of previous karmas and their fruition. Similarly someone may be treated as god or king due to their powers or riches and someone may be Guru and another his disciple. All these adjectives do not belong to the soul but are  produced due to fruition of karmas of the Jiva. Soul is just soul only having qualities of the soul and never those of karmas otherwise he would also become insentient corporeal.

29. Neither you are cause (for someone), nor effect; neither you are master nor servant; neither you are brave nor coward; neither you are high nor low.

Meaning: The previous gatha is continued here and the various types of Vyavahara are described which are practiced in the world but from aspect of Nishchaya they are not true. People believe mother-father as the cause and child as the effect, but this is from aspect of Vyavahara only. Due to conjunction of karmas , different soul take those forms at the same time with those relationships. Similarly someone may be master with other as his servant. Someone may be a warrior while another may be cowardly. Gotra karmas also is responsible for the birth in the high caste or low caste category. Thus jiva takes various forms with fruition of karmas. In real view the soul remains soul with the nature of knowing and seeing.

30. O Jiva! Apart from being consciousness form, you are neither punya, nor pap; neither kaal (time), nor akash (space), nor dharma, nor adharma, nor body.

Meaning: Jiva is always consciousness form  and does not become non conscious at any stage. The fruition of shubha karmas result in bhavas of punya while fruition of ashunha karmas may result in bhavas of pap form but Jiva himself is neither pap nor punya. These attributes are described in Vyavahara only. In the universe there are six types of Dravyas which are named Jiva, pudgala, kaal, akash, dharma and adharma.  These dravyas (substances) are unique and have totally different characteristics. At no time one becomes another otherwise the universe itself would not exist. Thus Jiva cannot become any of other dravyas.

31. Neither you are fair nor dark. You do not have any complexion.  Neither you are thin nor fat. Do not consider all these to be of the same category as yourself.

Meaning: Here it is emphasized again that the soul  does not have fair or dark complexion. In reality soul is non corporeal. Soul is neither fat or thin. All these attributes belong to body which is corporeal. Hence one should identify soul to be of different category than that denoted by  all these characteristics.

32. Neither I am great Brahmin, nor Vaishya. I am not Kshatriya or Shudra either. I am not male, female or neuter either. Know this specifically.

Meaning: In continuation it is told that soul does not have any of the four  castes which are practiced in the world. These castes are from Vyvahara aspect only and do not really belong to Jiva. Similarly the soul does not have any gender. The genders seen in the world are on account of fruition of nam karma. Out of ignorance Jiva believes himself to be having different genders.

33. I am young, old, child, brave, bright Pandit, Digamber, Vandak (with orange dress), Shwetamber - do not worry about all these.

Meaning: From aspect of Vyavahara a jiva may be called young, old, child, etc. due to  forms of body but none of these are attributes of the soul. Similarly the soul is neither identified by the knowledge, form of the attire or the bravery. Only ignorant believes soul to have these characteristics.

34. O jiva! Do not be fearful on seeing the old age-death of the body. Realise your own self to be ageless, deathless, param brahma .

Meaning: Although from aspect of Vyavahara naya, Jiva undergoes old age- death etc. but these are attributes of the body. From aspect of Nishchaya Naya, Jiva is ageless, deathless and indivisible pure entity which is his true nature. Hence discarding the subjects of five senses and all other vikalpas, immersing self in Samadhi, contemplate of the own pure soul only.

35. O friend! Old age and death belong to body only. Different complexions are also attributes of body. Diseases and male-female genders also should be known as those of the body.

Meaning: The previous gatha is elaborated further. All the body related attributes are stated to be belonging to Jiva from aspect of vyavahara naya only. All these are old age, death, different body complexions, diseases and male-female genders. In reality jiva is different from all these and one should contemplate upon his true form only.

36. Both old age and death do not belong to soul. Diseases, gender and complexions also do not belong to soul. O Atman!  Know this from aspect of Nishchaya that any of these do not exist in yourself.

Meaning: Here also same thing is emphasized. All the physical attributes like age, complexions, diseases, genders, complexions are those of the body. From aspect of Nishchaya naya , none of these are existing in the soul. Therefore one should not worry about their conditions. Contemplate of the pure qualities of the soul only.

37. If you call the bhavas of the karmas as your own bhavas then you cannot attain Nirvana. You shall be transmigrating in this world.

Meaning: The bhavas of raga-dwesha, moha etc. and all the attributes of body are result of fruition of karmas which are insentient entities. Definitely they are non conscious and different from the conscious soul. If Jiva believes then to be his own then he  would ever  be slave to them and cannot become independent of them, resulting in taking birth again and again in various forms.

38. O Jiva! Other than knowledge form bhavas of the soul all other bhavas are others. Discarding them you contemplate upon your own pure nature.

Meaning: In reality the Gyani jiva does not enjoy anything other than his own knowledge form bhava which is the most beautiful entity. All other bhavas lead to perturbation of the soul and hence do not provide same type of experience.

39.  One should contemplate of the own knowledge form nature which is different from ragas and various material attributes, which is saintly, blemish free and shiva (beneficial).

Meaning: The conscious soul has the nature of being knowledge form devoid of all raga-dwesha bhavas as well as thoughts related to material aspects. Remaining immersed within that form is blissful and most beneficial to the soul.

40. In all the three lokas (worlds), only one Deva Jinadeva is seen and all the three lokas are seen within the Jinadeva. The entire world is mirrored within the knowledge of Jinavar simultaneously. There is no difference between the two.

Meaning: To the gyani person who has realized the nature of the soul, he observes only that pure illuminated form soul or Paramatma everywhere. Further the nature of knowledge form omniscient is such that he knows and sees all the three lokas. In other words the three lokas are mirrored within his knowledge and he is all pervasive. There is no difference between the two statements.

To Be Continued..........

Pahud Doha

Preface

Pahud Doha was written by Muni Ram Singh  somewhere within the period of 7^th to 9^th Century. This is established by the fact that Acharya Amritchandra has quoted Doha from Pahud Doha in Panchastikaya. Pahud Doha represents a verse which has its roots in the teachings of the Tirthankaras while its style is predominantly Mystic. The concept of Mysticism is highly philosophical wherein the experience of soul is important. The traditional practices are not given much weightage. Here the subject is primarily soul and its experience.

Here an attempt has been made to provide an English version of the Dohas along with their meanings.

                                                                                                   Pahud Doha -I

1. Those who show the difference between own pure soul and others(dravyas) traditionally; such Gurus are like sun, moon, lamp and Devas.

Meaning: Just as sun illuminates the entire loka, Guru also remove the darkness and ignorance and illuminate with knowledge. Just as moon spreads coolness with its rays, the Guru also spreads happiness and peace. Guru is also called lamp since just as lamp enables to observe the riches within the own house; Guru also enables to  reveal the internally obscured Samyakdarshan, Samyak Gyan and Samyak Charitra and the path to Moksha. Lastly he is called Deva to respectfully equate him with Arihant, Siddha, Acharya.

2. Obeisance to the Guru who enabled us to become Deva from human birth. Did not take any time for enabling us to take birth in Deva paryaya (gati).

Meaning: Here the term Deva is used in the context of resident of heaven. Although everyone takes birth according to his accrual of shubha-ashubha karmas , however formally Guru has been credited with the accrual of shubha karmas  in oneself which enables one to take birth in heaven as Deva.

3. O ignorant ! Be satisfied with the pleasure derived from the soul. The one who considers pleasure to be derived from others, his heart never gives up the worries.

Meaning: True happiness is based upon the knowledge of the soul which is also called Atma Dhyan (experience of the soul). This experience has never been attained since he has been believing the knowledge to be senses based which are corporeal non self.

4. Withdrawing from the pleasures of the senses , discarding them; the pleasure derived from the dhyan (meditation) of the own soul cannot be attained even by the Indra in company of millions of Devis.

Meaning: The five senses are touch, taste, smell, eyes and ears which have their own subjects. Every Jiva has been attempting to enjoy the subjects of these senses from eternal times. Only by giving up attraction towards these pleasures would he be able to experience the true soul based pleasure.

5. In spite of enjoying subjects of the senses, those who do not develop attraction towards them i.e. do not desire them, they attain permanent bliss in short time- thus says Jinendra.

Meaning: This is similar to gatha 193 of Samaysar which also says that the enjoyments of the detached person are cause for Nirjara. The reason is that the Gyani knows them to be fruition of his past accrued karmas and really does not wish to be attracted towards them. However on account of fruition of Charitra Moha and in spite of having Samyak Gyan he indulges in those pleasures but does not accrue future karmas. Therefore it is said that the past karmas have shedded without fresh accrual of karmas.

6. Without actually enjoying the sensual pleasures, those Jivas who desire to enjoy them in their heart, they take birth in hell, just as Tandul Machha (name of a very small fish) did.

Meaning: The author has quoted  a famous story of Tandul Maccha who was born as a very small fish residing in the ear of  a giant Mahamatsya ( very large fish) in Swambhooraman ocean. Even with the breathing of the Mahamatsya , a large quantity of fishes were entering and exiting his mouth. The Tandul Machha saw this and thought, ‘This Mahamatsya is stupid and unfortunate who allows fishes to escape like this. I would have eaten them all.’ Just by such thoughts in his heart and without actually eating the fishes, the Tandul Maccha accrued birth in 7^th hell. This goes to show that the bhava (intentions) dictate the accrual of karmas and not the actual act. This is so because Jiva is really responsible for his bhavas while the act is dependent upon the fruition of his past karmas. Hence one should keep his bhavas as pure as possible.

7. Engaged in their businesses the entire world indulges in karmas out of ignorance. Still they do not spend even a moment contemplating upon own pure soul nature which is the real cause for Moksha.  

Meaning: Karmas are of two kinds- dravya karma and bhav karma.  The bhavas of the Jiva cause the influx of karmas within the soul and bondage of dravya karmas. The fruition of dravya karmas give rise to bhavas of raga-dwesha-moha (attachment-aversion-delusion)  which Jiva believes them to be his own. The actual act of Jiva is indulgence in such delusion out of ignorance which gives rise to bondage of future dravya karmas and thus the cycle continues. If he spends some time in realizing the true nature of soul then he would attain Moksha quite soon.

8. The absurd worldly acts of talking, doing things etc. are useful for satisfying the other people. But the real peace of the soul can be experienced only by a pure perturbation free mind.

Meaning: The entire world is busy with noises of businesses, running household etc. People spend all their time in managing those affairs. In the process they indulge in passions, delusions, desires etc. and keep accruing karmas. Only when one discards those passions and contemplates upon his own true nature with a perturbation free mind then he experiences true bliss which leads to Moksha.

9. So long as the Jiva remains ignorant, till then attached to sons-wife etc., suffering miseries, the Jiva keeps transmigrating in lakhs of yonis ( birth forms) for eternal times.

Meaning: The only reason for transmigrating in four types of gatis is the delusion under which he considers himself to be able to do things for others and vice versa. This leads to taking birth in 84 lakh form of yonis endlessly. Without differentiating knowledge of self and others the Jivas keep taking births and suffering eternally.

10. O Jiva! The house- relatives etc. which you believing to be your own and dear ones; they are different from you, hence don’t consider them to be your own. They are created under the influence of karmas. Yogis have called it as the lesson given in scriptures.

Meaning: All the objects observed in the visible world are different from the invisible soul. These objects have incidental relationship to Jiva on account of fruition of his karmas. Truly they are temporary and destructible in nature. Scriptures, based upon Jinendra’s teachings have described different types of karmas and their influences. The true nature of soul is gyan-darshan which distinguishes it differently from the corporeal world.  

11. O Jiva! Under influence of Moha (delusion) you have believed sorrow as happiness and pleasure as misery. Therefore you could never attain Moksha.

Meaning: In reality the happiness-unhappiness are in imagination. No object has the capability of doing anything for the jiva. Same object which may be pleasant today becomes unpleasant and insufferable at some other time. This is really due to delusion of the soul which considers them to be his own. The realization of this delusion only would lead to knowing the true nature of self and others. Till then he is ignorant.

12. O Jiva! You keep worrying about the wealth and the people of your family, hence cannot escape bondage of the karmas. Only when you contemplate of the own pure soul, then you shall attain great bliss.

Meaning: Worries are always pertaining to others which are cause for shubha-ashubha bhavas which lead to bondage of shubha-ashubha karmas. Either type of bondage prolongs the worldly stay of the jiva. Only when jiva contemplates of the pure nature of soul which is different from the thought of others, then he does not accrue bondage and they can even shed. Further he enjoys the pure happiness which is never experienced by the sensual pleasures.

13. O Jiva! Do not consider it as a stay in the residence. Actually this is a stay within the house of paps (sins). Surely this is a web spread by Yama ( Ayukarma) which cannot be pierced.

Meaning: Jiva may think that he is living happily within his house but actually he is surrounded by desires at all times and he keeps trying to fulfil them one after another endlessly. The desires cause passions which cause accrual of karmas. Even the pleasures and happiness are illusionary which do not sustain for long. Fulfilment of one desire generates another hence unhappiness keeps growing. The stay in hell is anyway worse since one continuously experiences miseries. Even the stay in heavens is not all pleasure. One keeps being jealous of the grandeur of other devas and suffers from lack of his own powers. Thus any type of Gati is not enjoyable and keeps generating desires and restlessness which results in accrual of Ayukarma. Here emphasis is given on Ayukarma since this ensures continuous stay of jiva in worldly forms. Only the enlightened Jivas take their last birth without bonding Ayukarma again.

14. O unwise one! The entire external world is created out of karmas. Hence do not try to beat husk to obtain rice. Give up the home-family as early as possible and follow the pure path of Moksha.

Meaning: The Jiva keeps trying to fulfil the desires of each of the five senses by accumulating wealth, family etc. but none of them are permanent and are transient only. To satisfy the desires he keeps accruing karmas of different types which keep generating various conditions of miseries or partial happiness. One should give up the attachment towards the home, family etc. and follow the path for Moksha by contemplating upon the pure nature of the soul.

15. The one who immerses himself in the akash ( permanent nature) , his Moha gets destroyed, the mind stops functioning, breathing  breaks and halts; only manifests in the form of keval Gyan.

Meaning: Here the attainment of keval gyan is described. The term akash describes the nirvikalpa (thoughts free) form of contemplation. When one is immersed in his own nature, there are no vikalpas (thoughts) and the mind is perturbation free. Even breathing stops, karmas are destroyed and Keval gyan is revealed. This is the only method of attaining keval gyan.

16. Just as snake gives up its skin but does not discard its poison; in the same way the agyani jiva accepts dravya ling (ascetic hood) , discards externally but does not give up the desire towards sensual pleasures.

Meaning: Dravya Ling represents the naked form adopted by Jain Sadhus as part of acceptance of Muni hood and five Maha vrita. Here with an example of snake, it is explained that real muni hood comprises of giving up all desires and attractions. Till then the physically ascetic nature does not mean anything.

17. The muni who discards sensual pleasures and then desires to enjoy them again later, he wanders into the world again in spite of kesh lonch(pulling hair) and body thinning (severe penances).

Meaning: The Jain muni practices kesh lonch and severe penances (fasting) after giving up all desires related to senses and mind. If that Muni desires to enjoy them again later then in reality he has not given up the world. It is highly condemnable. He has not realized the true nature of soul nor does he wish to attain it.

18. Sensual pleasures are for two days only, followed by the sufferings forever. Hence O innocent one! Do not strike with axe on your own shoulder.

Meaning:  Sensual pleasures are transitory but result in one going to hell etc. hence indulgence in them is self-destructive like striking own shoulder with the axe.  One should give up such desires and with detached mind and contemplate upon the pure nature of self which leads to Moksha.

19. One can decorate the body to whatever extent one desires by oil massage, cosmetics and tasty food but just as any benevolence towards a scoundrel  is a wasteful exercise; in the same way serving the body is futile.

Meaning: Howsoever one may serve the body, the body will not return the favours and one day it will get separated from self. Hence it is suggested that it should be just maintained properly to serve for the purpose of carrying out atma sadhana ( attainment of soul). The body should be used merely as a tool  without pampering it. Thus the body is not for enjoyment but for the purpose of yog-sadhana.

20. The body is mercurial, soiled and without any qualities. However it can be used for generation of stationary, pure and meaningful activities then why should one not do so?

Meaning: The body is impure being full of excretion-urine etc. which is transitory and full of miseries. But if one can utilize the body for dharma and atma-sadhana then why should one not do so?

To Be Continued.......