The Essence of Samaysar - 02

 

                    Chapter 1 ( Poorva Rang Adhikar) (Gatha 1-38)

Those who have read Samaysar along with the commentary of Amritchandracharya would always recall the impact when they read the first kalash of samaysar famous by the words  “नमः समयसाराय स्वानुभूति चकासते “. What is immediately noticeable is that Acharya has not wasted any time with conventional magalacharan (salutations) but straight away offered obeisance to pure soul. Afterall the pure soul is of no different form than that of  siddhas so they are one and the same. But by offering his salutations to pure soul Acharya strikes at the heart of each reader since the topic is directly his own soul not any other. Acharya says that pure soul alone is essence of Samaya (soul)  which is devoid of dravya, bhava and nokarmas. Karmas are accrued to jiva in three forms. First is physical pudgala matter which is conjoined with the spatial elements of Jiva under the influence of raga (passions) etc. form manifestations of jiva. These are known as dravya karmas. However these karmas do not fructify immediately into passionate thoughts but give their result after a certain period and in a particular intensity depending upon the bondage. These are known as bhava karmas. These passions of anger etc. directly effect the qualities of jiva hence are called ghatiya karmas. Besides these there are some secondary karmas  which are known as nokarmas ( not karmas ) which are  incidental and decide the environment in which jiva would function. For example the wife, children, house, body  etc. form nokarmas of the jiva which impact his happiness, unhappiness. When the soul is emancipated and all these three types of karmas have been destroyed then only the conscious form non corporeal pure soul emerges that knows himself and all other dravyas simultaneously at the same time in an instant. By describing this Acharya has offered salutations and at the same time defined our goal. Further by describing the characteristics of the soul he has refuted the erroneous philosophies of contemporaries.

The mangalacharan in first Gatha  by Acharya KundKunda is preceded by the words of Acharya Amritchandra that  the sutras are now incarnated. The word incarnation indicates that they were in existence at all times but now they have taken birth in written form. This represents the high degree of respect one bestows to the divine sermons of Arihant Bhagwan. The divine sermons are always believed to be beginningless.  Here Acharya  offers salutations to Siddhas by positioning them within own and others souls. There is significant importance of such sthapana ( positioning) within our souls. By doing so we are ridding our souls of passions and purifying it for receiving his words. Which words? Conventionally these words are of the form of divine sermon of Bhagwan Mahaveer. But he does not preach in conventional sense. His divine sermon is understood  by the Ganadharas who then convert it into form of sruta gyan ( written/spoken scripture) which we can understand. The Ganadharas are called Sruta Kevali since they have knowledge of entire scripture. Here Acharya says that I am narrating  to you the Samaysar which has been described by the sruta kevalis. It has to be noticed that Acharya does not say that I am telling you what is  the soul. He takes no credit. If our readers have some experience of philosophical writings and oration at present times then they can notice that all other contemporary philosophers begin with taking credit for themselves !  Here our Acharya is telling 2000 years back and not taking any credit for it. He is attributing it to Bhagwan Mahaveer. This establishes the authenticity of the scripture to follow.

The term Samaya has been used for denoting the soul hence one wonders that what is that samaya?

This is answered by the second gatha. It says that the Jiva engaged in Darshan- Gyan- Charitra is Swa-samaya in reality while the one engaged in karmas knowing them to be his own with an attitude of oneness is para-samaya. In this one line itself whole message of Samaysar has been conveyed. Hence it is important to understand this line before we can proceed any further since it establishes the foundation for understanding Samaysar.

Once the Jiva develops differentiating knowledge with the nimitta (causal agent) of Guru and realises his own soul to be different from the body and other jivas then he is said to have samyak darshan ( right belief) which can be attributed to the samyak gyan ( right knowledge) generated by the realisation of self. Then he tends to remain within his own soul as far as possible since he experiences it to be giving indescribable pleasure beyond senses. In reality such effort is described as Samyak Charitra ( right conduct). Thus the Jiva engaged in remaining stationary within his own soul being immersed in the self, knowing the self and experiencing the self is said to be swa-samaya. On the other hand the mundane jiva busy in anger-pride-deceit-greed types of passions does not experience the soul for even one moment therefore he is described as para-samaya. Remaining in this state he accrues karmas, gets bonded with them and as a result of which he wanders into four types of gatis (births) for eternal period. While remaining within his own nature of soul gives him pleasure, the engagement with other dravyas causes a duality which results in his losing his singularity.

The third gatha of Acharya highlights this issue only. Every dravya remaining within their own selves are natural and beautiful but the moment Jiva engages himself with other dravyas and establishes his oneness with them, it results in bondage of pudgala karmas which is of the nature of duality. It is this duality which is detrimental. The free soul is singular, immersed within self experiencing pleasure at all times.

It is this singularity which is rare to attain since people do not even know about it. In fourth Gatha Acharya narrate the problem. How to achieve something which people do not even know about? People are familiar with birth-death-diseases, seen sufferings of animals, mankind and they treat it as their destiny and reconcile to live with it. They have heard of good or bad karmas which give rise to birth in heaven or hell. Their knowledge ends here. But there is something beyond this mundane  existence. They have not seen, nor heard or experienced.

Therefore in fifth Gatha Acharya makes a promise, takes a vow. He offers to demonstrate the glory of soul by showing his own treasure. You are invited to examine it, test it and then take a decision. How does one  examine the glory of soul? There are four techniques – Agam ( scripture) which describes the characteristics of soul as described by authentic Gurus, second is logic with which one can interpret the message of scriptures and analyse it, third is upadesh or sermons which knowledgeable gurus are preaching and last but not the least is your own purusharth (effort). Employ all of them  judiciously to examine my statements, then experience it yourselves and then decide. Do not look for flaws or mistakes. Take decision based upon your own experience.

Thus in five gathas, Acharya has narrated the problem and his own resolve. It is for us to accept this challenge and make efforts to understand and examine his words. If we fail, we do not lose anything since we will remain as we are. But if we are successful then glory of Moksha awaits us getting rid of vagaries of transmigrations of five kinds.

Therefore in sixth gatha, Acharya makes a direct statement of the nature of soul. What is the form of that soul which he wants us to realise?  He says soul is of the form of knowing nature which is neither Pramatta nor Apramatta. He is that only and none else.

Frankly when I read this the very first time, my study of Samaysar got derailed. I did not know what is Pramatta or Apramatta. Without understanding it properly, further studies are confusing. Hence I would like to take some time to clarify this matter for the beginners.

As told earlier the emancipation of jiva starts with the realising the soul to be different entity from all pudgala (matter) material like body, house money etc.  and other jivas like wife, son etc. This process is initiated with  the words of a Guru or one’s own self (due to past remembrance)  which culminates in right knowledge and right belief wherein one has experienced the self. This development of soul has been characterised in Jain scriptures by means of fourteen gunasthanas which denote fourteen steps of a ladder for climbing towards Moksha or Siddha state, the ultimate objective. The one with realisation of soul is said to be in fourth gunasthana. The first step is where all jivas are stationed permanently named as Mithyatva state since from beginningless time the jivas have been deluded to believe body as soul and  worship of some deity as the means to attain pleasures or avoid pains. Once jiva has realised his own soul then he makes efforts more and more towards purifying that experience. This process is known as samyak charitra (right conduct) which begins with jiva discarding desires and attachments since these are the hindrances for soulful experience. A muni state wherein all the possessions including clothes are discarded and five great vows are undertaken is known as sixth gunasthana, also known as Pramatta. Till now the jiva is said to have Pramada (carelessness and passions). In Muni state when jiva contemplated of own soul in meditation form he is said to be Apramtta wherein the carelessness is not there and passions are diminishing further. This is known as seventh Gunasthana and is the beginning state of meditation. Further climbing of ladder is in meditation state only where in the purification of soul goes on in a continuing process. Till twelfth Gunasthana is known as Chhadmastha state where in jiva does not have total knowledge and his nature is obscured  by eight types of karmas. In thirteenth gunasthana the four ghatiya karmas are totally destroyed and Keval gyan is revealed. The knowledge of jiva is no more obscured and he knows all the knowables of the world at the same time in single instant. This is omniscience. Still four aghatiya karmas which are not harmful to soul are remaining which are destroyed in fourteenth gunasthana. Once that occurs then the body of the jiva evaporates since there is no karmic attachment. The jiva reaches the end of the universe towards the  Siddhalok where in he stays permanently for ever enjoying his blissful state. There is nothing unknown and just bliss of own experience exists. The states from seventh gunasthana to fourteenth are called Apramatta while the states from first to sixth gunasthana are called as Pramatta.

So what does Acharya imply when he says that soul is neither Pramatta or Apramatta?

Basically these two states denote the spiritual level of the jiva in worldly state. These are the possible manifestations a jiva can have. But by telling that he is neither of them, Acharya implies that Jiva is beyond differentiation into these states. He is Jiva dravya which is always pure, having the nature of knowing at all times. In any of the states of jiva the knowing nature is never surrendered. It is that nature which should be objective of contemplation at all times since it is always pure. Hence one should not be concerned of the impure states of either pramatta or apramatta since that gives rise to vikalpas(thoughts). This gatha defines the goal of jiva . This statement is made from the aspect of shuddha naya (view point). The worldly states are observed from aspect of ashuddha ( impure) naya since their subject is the world. The objective here is to relinquish the worldly view point which we have been indulging in  so far and embrace the pure view point which leads to total detachment and Moksha.

Now someone might remind that just at the beginning in second gatha only we had said that jiva stationary in darshan-gyan-charitra is swa-samaya which is the dharma of soul. Now we are telling that differentiation in any form causes impurity. This has been answered in seventh gatha and with this gatha the main tool of realisation of soul has been unleashed. In seventh gatha Acharya tells that these bhjavas of darshan-gyan-charitra are told to belong to  jiva from the aspect of Vyavahara (practical) while from the aspect of Nishchaya (reality), jiva is neither darshan, nor gyan, nor charitra; he is pure knowing natured alone.

A very important tool of Jainism is the language of Naya i.e. the describing a thing from a certain view point. Actually every sentence we use in day to day life has an implicit aspect but we are unaware of it. This is a powerful tool which is lacking in other religions and therefore their philosophies take the form of one sided view which become contradictory. Here Acharya has introduced the language of nishchaya (reality) and Vyavahara (practical). Here a thing is described by its various manifestations in practice but in reality it is just a substance. For example a Jiva manifests in the form of human, animal, deva etc. at different times and these manifestations are true. But in reality he is just the jiva substance undergoing all those transformations. So from certain aspect he is just jiva, while from another aspect he is human or deva. These are known as aspects of nishchaya and vyavahara. Without Vyavahara one cannot describe various forms of jiva hence it serves certain purpose. On the other hand reality describes the true picture.

Now here in seventh gatha acharya says that jiva has different qualities of darshan, gyan and charitra which are described from practical aspect. These are differentiation of jiva in terms of his qualities. However together they are nothing but the knowing natured jiva only which is the reality. What is the objective of telling these? Remember in second gatha itself acharya told that jiva stationary in darshan, gyan charitra is swa-samaya. Even here acharya had to take recourse to vyavahara in describing by his qualities. But this causes vikalpas in the mind of jiva when he contemplates of differentiation. The objective of meditation is to attain nirvikalpa (thoughts free) state. Then only one can truly experience the soul. For that to happen the vikalpas have to be discarded but they are essential for leading to nirvikalpa state. Hence acharya uses darshan, gyan, charitra for identifying nature of  jiva then ask him to discard those and contemplate of the one knowing natured self.

Naturally the readers would have the question now that why bother about vyavahara and just tell us the nishchaya and be done with it. Acharya anticipated the same question in eighth gatha and answered it. He says that without Vyavahara one cannot know the reality.

Just as I am writing it in English for someone to understand what is the soul. One who does not know English cannot know what is the soul. Then how do you explain him what is the soul. There is no way. This language is the Vyavahara or practical aspect which serves the purpose of explaining but once you know the soul then English has no role. One has to just experience the soul and forget about language. Knowing the soul was the real objective which has to be conveyed by the tools of Vyavahara and once the knowledge is attained then the tools can be discarded.

It is important to realise at this point itself that Vyavahara is merely a tool and should be so treated. For example if one develops affection towards English and forgoes the soul then his goal has been lost. He has developed attachment with tool itself which does not serve any purpose. Hence the goal has to be kept in mind in forefront when Vyavahara is being applied.

Question may be raised that how Vyavahara can be used to describe reality? This has been answered in ninth and tenth  gathas with an example. It is Vyavahara to call the one knowing all the shrutagyan of the world as Shrutakevali. But the knowledge of entire shruta is the knowledge of the soul and the one who knows the soul is called shrutakevali from reality aspect. Therefore the one who was described as shrutakevali from vyavahara aspect only is shrutakevali from real aspect. Thus Vyavahara has described reality only and no contradiction is there. In this sense the vyavahara has served the purpose.

Again someone may ask that if you say Vyavahara describes reality then we can adhere to it only, why say that it should be discarded ?

This has been answered in eleventh gatha unequivocally. It is clearly said that Vyavahara naya is beneficial under certain circumstances at some time, however Nishchaya naya  describes the true reality. Without knowing Nishchaya, the vyavahara is meaningless. Only when the Nishchaya naya is known then only one has knowledge of soul and the jiva may be called Samyak drishti.

To explain it clearly we can extend the previous example to English language. One may become very proficient in English being  the medium to learn samaysar and thus the soul. But so long as he has not applied the knowledge to realise the soul, the knowledge of language is worthless. Here the objective was to know the soul but one got sidetracked  into learning language only and the objective was lost. Therefore it is important to realise that Vyavahara is only tool not the goal.

The  Vyavahara also serves the purpose sometime. This is told again in twelfth gatha.

While it has been told that real objective is to experience the soul and remain within the soul at all times for attainment of Moksha, the fact is that one is not able to do so in practice. Then what does one do? This is where the worldly practices come into play. While one’s objective is clear, he should spend time in listening, describing, discussing the words of jina, worship, fast etc. to weaken the passions and desires. These practices are deemed as shubhopayoaga while the objective is to  remain in shuddhopayoga. Here it is being told that if one can not remain in shuddha upayoga then he should at least stay in  shubha upayoga but he should not indulge in passions, desires etc. of the form of ashubha upayoga because such indulgence would lead to taking births in lower order jivas from where one may not return for a long time. Hence Vyavahara practices are prescribed as intermediary. In that sense the Vyavahara also is meaningful and serves a purpose.

Continued….

The Essence of Samaysar - 01

 

          Preface

Today when I have sat down to write the essence of Samaysar, I am scared. What kind of Pandit do I take myself to be? As if I know everything about Samaysar? Have I learnt enough to be able to teach others? I know very well that I am not some kind of expert on samaysar. At time like this I recall the words of Pandit Todarmalji which he wrote in the  preface to Moksha Marg Prakashak wherein he questions himself on the same grounds and then answers by saying that just as a lamp can be used to light other lamps, his objective is to enable others who do not know even that much what he knows. Trouble is I cannot compare myself to Pandit Todarmalji either so my fears are not answered. Then I take solace by saying that I might not be even a lamp to illuminate the path and I might just be a glow worm but even that glow worm indicates the existence of light in total darkness. For those who are noticing the existence of darkness all around them in the subject of spirituality in current times, this effort of mine may serve to indicate that presence of light which they may not have seen at all in their life. Even that may serve them quite beneficially so that they may recognise the characteristics of light when they see it. Thus it would be easier for them to recognise illumination and follow its path. With such encouraging words to myself I proceed to make my attempt. The readers are also advised to ignore my mistakes in the same spirit and filter the real essence of this attempt for their own benefit. The main reason why I venture to write today is based upon my own experience quite some time back. Although I was quite proficient in Hindi ( so I thought) but when I came across Samaysar and tried to read it, I could not make head or tail out of it. The language was entirely different from the Hindi that I knew and words like dravya-guna-paryaya or utpad-vyavya-dhrovya did not make any sense. Although there is much better support available today thanks to information technology for people to understand the subject, but one of the biggest problem in the quest of knowledge is the language. While there is no dearth of books in Hindi explaining the  spirituality, there is a certain lack of them in English. Hence my objective in this effort is to make a layman familiar with the subject of Samaysar who wishes to learn but unable to do so because of the ferocious words which they encounter and give up. I hope to simplify as much as I can. How much I will be able to succeed remains to be seen. In any case I know that I shall be a beneficiary since in this process I would also learn.

In the last fifty years, a definite revolution has taken place in the way Jains have been  practicing Jainism. Today Jains are familiar with the name of Samaysar even though they may not have read it. A significant percentage may be reading and following it also. Prior to this one could have hardly heard the name of Samaysar from Jains leave apart familiarity. The overall emphasis was more on bhakti and fasting. The credit to this revolutionary change in unequivocal terms can be given to Shri Kanji Swamy who single handedly changed the outlook of Jains from mere bhakti to spirituality. It was definitely a most fortunate moment when Samaysar came to his hands which changed his outlook completely. Not only did  he practice it in his life style, he preached it continuously for over 40 years, to those who were willing to listen. No doubt this laid the seeds of spirituality in the generations to follow. Whatever little I have understood of Samaysar can be attributed to him, thanks to enormous amount of literature generated by his followers to assist others. Therefore with deep gratitude I offer my obeisance to him for illuminating the path so clearly.

The main reason  why people find it difficult to understand Samaysar is that  in spite of being in Hindi, there are considerable number of words which are not common in vocabulary of daily use. Such words are part of the subject of spirituality of Jainism and cannot be dispensed with. We cannot translate each into an English equivalent. Just for example the term Moksha is commonly used implying salvation. But really speaking there is no English equivalent of it since Moksha does not exist in Western philosophy. The Moksha as known by Jains is unknown in the western world and in fact even in India since the definitions of salvation in Indian philosophies differ widely. The Moksha of Jains is not the same as that of Buddhists wherein there is no soul in salvation hence the implications are different. Hence for those desirous of learning Samaysar and other Jain scriptures, it is necessary to get used to Jain terminology and develop the vocabulary using Jain terms. Here in writing this paper, I have tried to explain such terms as far as possible  and then  continued to use them since there is no alternative.

Samaysar was incarnated somewhere around 49 A.D. from the pen of Acharya Kund Kund. The word incarnated  is deliberately used here to represent the appearance of Samaysar in scripture form. Acharya Amrit Chandra who wrote commentary on Samaysar himself starts Samaysar by saying that now the Sutra is incarnated. This is to highlight  the fact that Samaysar in spirit form was existent since the time of Mahaveer Bhagwan as part of his divine sermon. The manifestation into script form happened with the nimitta of Acharya Kund Kund in 49^th A.D.. The word Sutra also has considerable importance. Consider the period 2000 years back when there were no paper nor pens. Further Munis had very limited time or resources to indulge in writing. The words used to be engraved on dried palm leaf serving as paper. Naturally one did not use too many words. Sutras represent those sentences wherein the letters were deliberately minimized. Thus Acharya Kund Kund wrote Samaysar in 415 Gatha sutras in Prakrit language which was the common language of conversation of those times. 

Ancestral Lineage of Samaysar: More than 2500 years back Bhagwan Mahaveer gave the divine sermon of the  Jin Dharma which was converted in to scripture of twelve Ang ( Dwadashang) comprising of entire sruta gyan (scriptural knowledge). However in about 500 years most of it was lost since there were no means for writing and very little remained in oral form. At this stage the first efforts for  protecting the remaining knowledge into written scriptural form were carried out. One was by Acharya Dharsen who had knowledge of Maha Karma Prakriti named fourth Prabhrat of 5^th Vastu of Agrayani Poorva which itself is second of the fourteen poorvas. The poorvas form the fourth Adhikar of the five Adhikars   of the twelfth Drishtivad Ang of Dwadashang scripture. The second scripture was  part of the fifth  Gyanapravad poorva of Drishtivad Ang, whose 3^rd Prabhrat of 10^th Vastu was known to Gunabhadracharya. These two chains of scripture are termed two Sruta Skandhs. Of the second sruta skandh stream  the Samay Prabhrat was known to Kundakundacharya who wrote several  books e.g.  Samaysar, Pravchansar, Niyamsar, Panchastikaya, Ashtapahud etc. From the first stream of sruta skandh the Shatkhandagam, Dhavala etc. form scriptures were generated. From the second stream the Kashyay Pahud, Samaysar etc. scriptures are produced. Thus the lineage of the Samaysar is traced to the Dwashang scripture. In fact KundKundacharya starts Samaysar by stating that he will now incarnate  the Samaysar which has been stated by Sruta Kevalis in his very first Gatha. Thus he himself does not take any credit for it, which is the most admirable attitude of the Jain Acharyas wherein they do not tell anything about themselves and all the credit is passed on to Bhagwan Mahaveer only.

About 900 years after Acharya Kund Kund  Amritchandracharya wrote the Sanskrit commentary on Samaysar which included 278 kalash shlokas. These kalash are meant as offerings to adorn the Gathas of Samaysar. In the words of Shri Kanji Swamy, Amritchandracharya functioned as Ganadhar who understood the sermon of Kund Kundacharya who himself was equivalent to Bhagwan Mahaveer  and translated into words his intent beautifully. Another commentary was written by Acharya Jayasen 200 years later which also added to the glory of Samaysar. Although many people have written subsequent commentaries but the most notable of them is by Pandit Jaychandraji  Chhabra which was written in 18^th century in Hindi language. In the last 50 years or so, Samaysar has been well publicised and commented upon thanks to elaborate  pravachans of Shri Kanji Swamy.

The word ‘Samaysar’ implies the words Samaya + Saar  wherein the first word samaya stands for soul and saar implies the essence which is free of impurity. Thus Samaysar is pure soul substance which is the goal of life of any Mumukshu ( person desirous of attaining Moksha). Here we do not talk of enjoyments of life nor riches or pleasures since all those are momentary sensual pleasures. The only real objective of life is Moksha which denotes eternal bliss and knowledge for the soul. That Moksha is attained when soul gets purified totally shedding all the impurities of karmas. That pure state is called Samaysar which is the apt title for this scripture.  

Organisation  of Samaysar : Samaysar has been written in the form of Nine Adhikars ( 9 chapters) preceded by Poorva Rang chapter which could be aptly termed as Abstract for the Samaysar. Kundkundacharya had visualised Samaysar as a drama which is unfolded in front of the audience wherein different characters based upon the life of Jiva,  the mundane being  perform. According to the roles being enacted the corresponding kind of bhavas are generated demonstrating the influence of karmas on the psychic of the jiva. These chapters denote those phases in the life of the jiva which are produced when he attains knowledge of self and progresses to get rid of karmas by means of the jewel trio of right belief- right knowledge- right conduct.

Before one proceeds to read Samaysar, it is important to know the Tatvas ( elements) as described by Jain philosophy. There are seven Tatvas namely Jiva, Ajiva, Asrava, bandha, samvar, nirjara, Moksha. By true nature Jiva is pure but in worldly state he is transmigrating in four types of Gatis (births) namely Narak, Manushya, Tiryanch and Deva. Since eternal times he is influenced by Mithyatva karma due to which he is deluded and treats his body as soul without recognising his own nature. Eight types of karmas accompany him and influence him in different manner. These are Mithyatva, Gyanavaraniya, Darshanavaraniya, Antaraya, Ayu, Gotra, Naam and Vedaniya. The first four are called Ghatiya karmas since they influence the qualities of Jiva like knowledge, vision, belief, strength etc. The other four are aghatiya which influence the kind of body he possesses and provide for his happiness or unhappiness etc. So long as the jiva is deluded with Mithyatva he cannot progress on the path of salvation  in spite of having knowledge of things or powerful body etc. Only when he realises the nature of reality, his Mithyatva is overcome then he is said to be Samyak Drishti (having right belief) and he has experienced the true nature of soul. Then only his journey on the path of Moksha begins which is the ultimate goal of a jiva i.e. to attain the true natural state which is Siddhahood. The seven tatvas represent the different states  of the Jiva which he undergoes under the influence of karmas. Without differentiating knowledge between self and Ajiva i.e. pudgala (matter) he believes body to be self. His ignorance and delusion causes the influx of karma particles which attach themselves to his soul state. This is known as Asrava. The bondage of karmas is described as Bandh. When the Jiva has realised his true nature and attempts harder to experience his soul and remove the bondage of karmas, the process of stoppage of influx of karmas is called Samvar. With the practice of penances the Jiva can shed his karmas which is called Nirjara. Finally with removal of all the karmas the Jiva attains Moksha the state of keval gyan and keval darshan. This describes the seven tatvas very briefly. Now the same are also described as nine Padarths wherein the punya-pap are added. Actually they are just elaboration of bandh into its constituents.

Now with this background, the chapters of Samyasar can be briefly examined as follows:

1)    Poorva Rang – In  this abstract of Samaysar, Acharya announces his intention of describing true nature of soul which the Jiva has never known nor experienced. In fact he directly plunges into description of soul without any further ado. In a sense this abstract gives gist of Samaysar for those who do not want to read more. Another important thing in this abstract is the identification of tools of understanding. Jain dharma is of the nature of Anekant  wherein a thing is multifaceted. While a jiva is really a soul which is non corporeal and sentient, in worldly state he is having body and is father, brother, son etc. These are differentiated by means of the language of Naya (aspect). The Jiva is called pure soul from aspect of Nishchaya naya (real sense) while he may be described as Manushya (human) from aspect of Vyavahara naya (practical sense). The Poorva rang chapter focuses on this aspect in some detail to lay down the language that shall be used to describe the jiva. This language is known as syadvad which is unique to Jainism and very essential for right understanding of the dharma. In fact all other religions suffer from flaw of Ekant ( singularity) due to this shortcoming. ( It is advised to read this subject in some detail before attempting Samaysar. One of the books recommended for this purpose is Moksha Marg Prakashak).

2)    Jiva-Ajiva Adhikar-  As the name suggests this chapter describes the relationship between Jiva and Ajiva which are generated out of ignorance of jiva. Only with differentiating knowledge can one overcome this delusion.

3)    Karta-Karma Adhikar- Although karta and karma do not form part of seven tatvas or nine pardarth, Acharya has included this chapter to resolve the ignorance of jiva. He believes himself to be doer of things and deeds as his karma. Acharya  demolishes this relationship altogether telling that jiva is doer of his own bhavas only and nothing else. That bhava only is his karma. The bhava of gyani is of the form of knowledge only while bhava of agyani is of the form of ignorance only.

4)    Punya-Pap Adhikar- This chapter demolishes another common delusion of Jiva. They believe that punya leads to moksha while pap leads to transmigration in four gatis. Acharya describe them as shackles of gold or iron but nevertheless they are shackles which bind the jiva. Only those who realise them as one can progress on the path of Moksha.

5)    Asrava Adhikar- After removing basic ignorance, now Acharya progresses to describe the form of Asrava, its constituents and its effect on the nature of jiva.

6)    Samvar Adhikar- Prevention of Asrava only is samvar which begins with the differentiating knowledge and progresses by the efforts made by Jiva to remain within his own nature. Thus the meditation process leads to samvar.

7)    Nirjara Adhikar- The process of  enhancing the purity of jiva is Nirjara. Once the jiva is detached from the sensual subjects and pleasures, his karmas on fruition do not bond with new karmas and even previously bonded karmas can be made to fructify earlier with weaker intensity. In this way karmas are made to shed.

8)    Bandh Adhikar- In this chapter Acharya again demolishes the misconceptions of jiva towards others. One may think that he can harm or protect someone else but in reality he can do neither. The other suffers the consequences of his own karmas. The disposition of one with respect to others or things is the cause to bondage and not actually the deed.

9)    Moksha Adhikar- The ragas(desires)  and the nature of soul have a bondage  which can be penetrated by means of a chisel of knowledge. Therefore knowledge is the only tool for purification of soul. Even indulgence in penances can be harmful since one may get deviated from the real objective. Hence the objective is remaining immersed within the self by knowing the self.

10) Sarva Vishuddha Gyan Adhikar- With the elimination of all karmas the pure knowledge appears like the purified gold. This chapter specifically deals with conclusion of the journey of the jiva. Further the flaws of other philosophies are highlighted to remove the doubts the reader may have regarding the form of reality. Similarly it is also made clear that adoption of dravya ling ( nakedness) alone is not Moksha, it is the oneness which one needs to renunciate with respect to body.

In this way the overview above provided a brief glimpse of the contents of various chapters of Samaysar. With this preparation now we can proceed towards a little more deeper study of Samaysar. One more thing. In this composition, I have not differentiated between gathas of Kundakundacharya, commentary by Amritchandracharya or Bhavartha (meaning) written by Pandit Jaichandraji Chhabra. Which means that while describing essence of a specific gatha, the most suitable connotation is provided taken from the gatha, commentary or the  meaning. No translation has been attempted here. In any case all gathas are referred here which enables the reader to know where he is at a given moment and correlate it with the text books. I hope that in this mode, it would enable readers to get a quick feeling of the subject and they could enrich it further by studying other books.

Continued……

A Description of Reality ( Paramarth Vachanika by Pandit Banarasi das) - 7 (concluding part)

 

             11.  Adhyatma Procedure form Moksha marga dependent upon self

Here someone can enquire that gyani also experiences the bhavas of fruition dependent upon others, in practitioner state, then why they are not moksha marga?

In reply Pandit Banarasidasji says

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                                                            

The knowledge comprises of several kinds of Audayik bhavas which are of the forms of assistant and nimitta. Gyani is observer of all those Audayik bhavas; but he is not their doer, nor enjoyer, does not depend upon them. Therefore if someone says that if absolutely certain type of Audayik bhava should be  present then only a specific gunasthana can be said to be  existent, then it is untrue. He has not realised the nature of dravya in totality. Why? The reason is that leave apart the subject of other gunasthanas, even for Kevalis the Audayik bhavas are of different kinds. Even kevalis do not have same kind of Audayik bhavas. Some kevalis undergo Dand-Kapat form ( Samudghat form ) activities due to fruition while other kevalis do not have them. In this way the kevalis also have different kinds of fruition, then what can we say about other gunasthanas? Therefore the knowledge is not dependent upon the Audayik bhavas, the knowledge is as per own capability. The power of knowledge of illuminating self and others, knowing capability and conduct within his own nature- all these are dependent upon the knower. 

The bhavas dependent upon others could be in accordance with the state, but believing those bhavas to be moksha marga is erroneous. The bhavas dependent upon others do occur to gyanis also but they should not be believed to be Moksha marga. Gyani practices moksha marga dependent upon the own pure nature and keeps eliminating bhavas dependent upon others. Even if some bhavas remain, he remains their observer only. There are 21 types of bhavas pertaining to Audayik bhavas, out of them Mithyatva etc. form Audayik bhavas do not occur to Gyani and the remaining Audayik bhavas are manifested as subjects of knowledge of the gyani. Gyani is neither their doer nor their enjoyer and does not even take recourse to them in his knowledge. Taking recourse to own nature inside only  is the moksha marga. Even if knowledge of some external things may be weak but gyani does not have any regrets for it and if the knowledge is strong, then also he does not give it any importance since extraneous knowledge does not lead to moksha marga. If  Awadhi- Manah Paryaya gyans  were there  then he may get moksha faster, such a rule also is not there. The only means to Moksha is the intensity of own experience.

 Further the Audayik bhavas which are manifesting along with knowledge are known by the Gyani; but he does not have any acceptance or importance of them. Such type of raga and such type of activity would be beneficiary- such a thought of dependence is not there for Gyani. In same  gunasthana there are different kinds of vikalpas and different kinds of activities, for same jiva the vikalpa is not always the same, it keeps changing into different kinds. Kunda Kunda swamy, Veer Sen swamy, Jina sen swamy or Samant Bhadra swamy- all these Munis in the state of 6^th -7^th gunasthana were progressing in Moksha Marga. Even then one of them had vikalpa  of creating Adhyatma Shastra like Samaysar, another had the vikalpa of creating the Karananuyoga shastra in the form of commentary of Shatakhandagam as Dhavala. Another had the bhava of creating Prathamanuyoga shastra in the form of Puranas of Teerthankaras and fourth had the desire of creating Charananuyoga shastra in the form of Ratnakarand Shravakachar. In this way in spite of getting different kinds of vikalpas, the state of all of them was the same. For a specific vikalpa, a specific gunasthana is a must, such a condition is not there. Even then whatever vikalpa is there, it cannot contradict the state, e.g. vikalpa of wearing clothes in 6^th gunasthana cannot be there. This has been described in detail earlier.

The practitioner bhava has singular concept that whatsoever is the  recourse to own existence in the inner conscious self, that much is the practitioner bhava. If some one does not have even an iota of such bhava of own dependence, then with external dependence whatever mountains he digs up even then he would not attain anything.

Question: Some despot may question that we are always having ashubha vikalpas of the worldly nature regarding eating drinking only, but we do not get shubha vikalpas related to dharma of the form of devotion, worshiping or studying. You have already said that the vikalpas are experienced in accordance with the state.

Answer: Yes Brother! That vikalpa is appropriate for your state, since in the despotic state, such derogatory vikalpa only is there. The one who is interested in dharma, would have thoughts related to dharma and the one interested in world would have inauspicious thoughts regarding the world. The one who has deep desire of pap, how can he have thoughts of dharma? Such a jiva is not even under consideration. Here the subject is that of the practitioner jiva on how he practices Moksha marga and what kind of bhavas are experienced during the practicing stage. He experiences shubha bhava of higher order as practitioner of moksha marga and the bhavas of strong pap are never entertained by him. The shubha or ashubha bhavas experienced which  are not in contravention of his state are only known by the dharmi jiva as observer/knower. He remains impartial towards them and does not get immersed in the stream of Audayik bhavas. Suppose two Kshayik Samyakdrishti jivas are there- out of them one may be immersed in contemplation while other is engaged in war; there the one engaged in war does not entertain the doubt that this person is engaged in meditation while I am at war, hence my samyak darshan might have become weak or my knowledge may have some flaw. Such a doubt is never entertained by Samyaktvi jiva. He is sure that his samyakdarshan is by adherence to his nature and that would not get soiled or destroyed by this Audayik bhava. Even while being engaged in raga, there is stream of consciousness experienced by gyani different from the raga- this stream is called Adhyatma procedure and which directly joins with Keval gyan.

Oh! Moksha marga is dependent upon self and not others! This principle has been clarified by Panditji in detail. The Kshayopasham bhava of the jiva which is dependent upon others is also not means for Moksha then how can the Audayik bhava dependent upon others be a means for moksha? External subjects have been eliminated, even the raga is discarded and the kshayopasham bhava which too is dependent upon others , is also discarded from Moksha marga. Only bhava dependent upon self is moksha marga. The bhavas of fruition or impure vyavahara of ragas etc. form are not means to moksha marga. Samyak drishti is free from such Vyavahara since he does not have adherence to it. Just as Kevali Prabhu is knower of fruition , in the same way the worldly Chhadmastha jiva is also knower of the fruition, his manifestation proceeds with the strength of Adhyatma procedure destroying the bhavas of fruition.  

Just see, what kind of affection the  householder Sravaks have towards Adhyatma and what an interesting discussion ensued. Pandit Banarasidasji have created 7dohas on Nimitta-Upadan wherein he is declared the absolute independence of Upadan. Some may say that he has written thus under the influence of emotionality of Upadan, but brother! You also are rejecting it under emotional influence of nimitta. You do not like the principle of independence of Upadan hence you are belittling by calling it emotionality. Panditji has explained the real nature of reality and even if some emotionality is there in favour of true principles then what is the harm? You are not able to accept the non doer nature of external activities ( activities pertaining to corporeal substances) then how will you be able to accept that ‘ Samyaktvi is non doer of even bhavas of fruition’. Then who will explain to you that knowledge wandering outwards is also not practitioner of Moksha.

Dharmi jiva would attain Moksha by means of stream of own experience of the knowledge. When external streams do not give Moksha then how can ragas or the activities of insentient would provide Moksha?

After knowing all this, the gyani does not feel proud of his special kshayopasham of external knowledge or the profoundness of fruition of punya. Oh! What is not cause for my Moksha then why be proud of it? Whatever is not useful for attaining own experience, what is the glory of that? Even if he is not knowing the twelve Angs , still it is possible to have such a capability that he may answer questions pertaining to fine Tatvas without hesitation, even then he does not have pride or importance of that unobscuration of knowledge. The real strength or the real capability of Gyani is in own experience only. Only by recognising own experience, one can identify the real capability or glory of Gyani. Even if the knower does not have knowledge of all the twelve Angs of the gyan , even then he would attain Keval gyan by the influence of the own experience.

Externally dependent raga or knowledge is not Moksha Marga. The capability of own experience alone is moksha marga. The knower only can practice the moksha marga independent upon the external bhavas, agyani cannot even know that. Oh! This is the path of Arihants and great warriors. This is not the path for the cowardly. Discarding all the other bhavas and with the veneration of purity, attaining position in moksha marga – is work of braves who are dependent upon self, not the cowardly who are dependent upon others. Blowing the trumpet of Veetragi Mokshamarga, the saints say that O, cowardly ones who believe raga only as dharma! You cannot attain veetrag  marga  of consciousness , nor can you carry out independent purushartha for practicing consciousness independently. Where has your purushartha gone for independent consciousness. If you have come out to practice dharma then reveal the strength of your conscious power. In this Veetragi bravery only you can practice Mokshamarga. With the presence of interest in Vyavahara , the Jiva does not get enthusiastic about inner nature. Hence discarding the interest in raga , be enthusiastic of conscious nature, so that knowledge leans towards own existence and Mokshamarga may be practiced. Oh! How to describe the glory of the gyani who practices the moksha marga by means of own experience of knowledge. The one who recognises if itself has been overwhelmed.

Look! In this Vachanika written by Pandit Banarasidasji , the path of gyani i.e. the conditions of gyani, and how he attains moksha marga have been explained beautifully. He has explained the glory of Adhtama procedure of the Gyani in different ways  and thus explained it quite clearly.

12. Conclusion

Lastly in conclusion he says:

In what detail can  we  describe it and how much can we  tell? Many things are beyond words, beyond senses , beyond knowledge, hence how much can be described? The intelligent one would understand even if little is written. The ignorant one would listen to this letter but not understand it. This Vachanika is absolutely in accordance with the dictates of Kevali bhagwan. Whoever would listen to this, understand it and believe in it- he shall be benefited; further it depends upon ones fate.

Oh! There is indescribable glory of the capability of knower. The Adhyatma procedure form Moksha marga i.e. internal pure manifestation  can be described by words or thoughts- it is not so. The nature cannot be realised by means of arguments, this is subject of own experience. Hence he says, whatever he describes in details, even then the glory which is experienced internally, cannot be described in words. Those jivas who are knowers, who are worthy; they would capture the significance from the few words itself. However those who are ignorant , who lack interest, they would not understand by whatever amount of clarification or elaboration. This subject of inwards vision would not be absorbed in their heart. This letter is full of mystery of reality hence it is called as ‘ Paramartha Vachanika’ which is as per the sayings of the Kevali and written by my good understanding accordingly. Those who will understand the bhavas of Adhyatma in this letter, definitely they would be benefited. “ what is Moksha marga and what is bandh marga” – both of these have been clearly described here, and by understanding accordingly, attaining Samyak darshan the Adhyatma procedure with own dependence i.e. the Moksha Marga would be initiated- which is the ultimate benefit.

Understanding the real bhavas of this Vachanika, all jivas make efforts for the ultimate benefit – such is my desire.

In this way the Paramartha Vachanika written by Pandit Banarasidasji overflowing with spirit of philosophy is completed.

 

                                                            The End

A Description of Reality ( Paramarth Vachanika by Pandit Banarasi das) - 6

 

                                 9.   The mixed attitude of the Knower ( Practitioner)

 

                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                                                          

   When the knower contemplates upon the bondage procedure sometime, then he knows that his own dravya has been under this bondage form since eternal times. Now he wishes to relinquish the moha towards that process and manifest freely. He asks himself that why does he indulge in those raga forms like earlier? In this manner he does not indulge in the bondage procedure even for a moment. That knower contemplates of his own nature, experiences it, meditates upon it, sings it, listens to it; further enacts activities of nine forms of devotion, tapa etc. with respect to his own pure nature. This is the conduct of knower, and the same is called Mixed Vyvahar.                                                                                                                                               

Look at the Vyavahara of the practitioner jiva and his line of thinking. How much is he involved in own nature. Again and again his thoughts, thinking are directed towards the self and he practices its experiencing, he wants to hear it only and he wants to praise its qualities, thus indulging in total devotion. In whatever acts he is engaged in , for him everywhere the exposition to own pure nature is paramount. In his thoughts also the primacy is that of the contemplation of own nature only, hence it is said that the knower may have some thoughts of bondage procedure kind at sometime- even then he does not immerse in them, and he keeps  thinking of ways of getting rid of it. Ignorant always carries out everything with primacy of raga and he does not have any thinking towards own pure nature. He contemplates of karma bondage etc. only and he remains immersed in them leaving Adhyatma aside. O brother! With such bondage procedure you have never benefited since eternal times, hence discard its moha and reveal  the Adhyatma procedure. The gyanis have revealed the Adhyatma procedure by overcoming the moha, but they still have some raga remaining which they want to overcome totally by means of strength of Adhytma. Therefore they do not immerse in ragas even for a moment. Look at the condition of follower of Moksha marga! When there is interest in the pure soul form samaysar then there is no interest in other bhavas. In fact there is no interest left in the world itself! If there is even an iota of interest in the world then his orientation cannot be directed towards conscious self and moksha marga cannot be practiced.

The dharmi jiva, discarding the interests towards ragas, is immersed in the affection towards conscious self and he contemplates of its form again and again. He engages his Upayoga towards soul again and again , sometimes experiences in the nirvikalpa form and meditates upon the soul with concentration. He experiences the consciousness form self as similar to that of Siddha; gets enthusiastic on listening of this subject and description of its glory and qualities he gets elated. Oh! My consciousness self is indescribable glorious substance , against which the ragas etc. other bhavas are non-substances – why should one  take interest in these? Who should praise these and sing its laurels ? Samyak drishti is engaged in nine form devotion towards his own pure nature and even when carrying out nine form devotion towards Muniraj, the primacy is that of the pure nature of self. The author of this vachanika, Pandit Banarasi das has described the nine form devotion carried out by Gyani beautifully in Moksha dwar of Samaysar Natak as follows

(1)  Shravan ( Hearing) : Listening with great enthusiasm the venerable and pure natured qualities of self, is also a kind of devotion. When there is extreme devotion towards a subject then listening to its laurels he gets elated. The dharmi jiva gets elated on listening to the praises of the qualities of own nature.

(2)  Keertan (Chant) : Description of the qualities and  capabilities  of the consciousness, recounting its glories is Keertan which is a form of devotion.

(3)  Chintan (contemplation) : The Dharmi jiva contemplates of the qualities of own nature again and again which is another form of devotion.

(4)  Sevan ( Practice) : Internal practice of own qualities again and again.

(5)  Vandan ( Salutation) : Just as one bows towards great people with great respect, in the same way salutation towards own conscious nature with extreme devotion and manifestation by immersing within the same.

(6)  Dhyan (Meditation): Where there is extreme devotion towards someone, then one contemplates of him again and again. His qualities  and benefactions are remembered again and again. In the same way, the dharmi jiva with great affection meditates upon the own nature again and again. If someone says that we have lot of affection and devotion towards own nature but we cannot contemplate or meditate upon it at all, then it is a lie. The one who has true affection and  is not able to contemplate or meditate upon it- cannot be true. You are able to think about other subjects with interest and there is no interest in the thoughts of own nature – this reveals that instead of own nature you are attracted towards other objects. Just as someone in the house does not take interest in eating, drinking, talking etc. then others can infer that his interests have shifted somewhere else; in the same way if someone is interested in conscious self and has become involved in it then his interests towards worldly objects become listless and his upayoga keeps orienting towards own nature again and again. In this way the samyak drishti is devoted towards the meditation of own nature and the jiva engaged in such practices also keep recounting  the qualities of panch parameshthi etc..

(7)  Laghuta ( modesty): Opposite to qualities of Panch Parameshthi and other great people, the dharmi jiva feels extremely humble. Oh! How great are these people and how worthless am  ! Or, the Samyak darshan etc. and Awadhi gyan etc. have been attained but compared to Keval gyan etc. infinite qualities of consciousness, a lot has to be done- in this way the dharmi jiva feels humble in his own paryaya. Since he realises the nature of completeness, hence own limitations and incompleteness are realised; the one who does not know the completeness, he thinks himself to be great even with very little also.

(8)  Samata ( equanimity) : Observing all the jivas identically with respect to their pure nature is equanimity. By concentrating upon consciousness the equanimity is resulted in the manifestations. Just as the anger etc. unnatural bhavas do not appear in the company of great people, in the same way the Jiva practitioner of consciousness experiences the subsidence of anger etc. and appearance of equanimity.

(9)  Ekata ( singularity) : Treating only soul to be one’s own and knowing body etc. to be others, knowing even ragas etc. bhavas to be different from the nature and establishing oneness with own nature by meditation – such singularity is devotion without differentiation which is means for salvation which is experienced by Samyak drishti.

Oh! Look at the nine form devotion of Samyak drishti ! By means of shravan, keertan, Chintan, Sevan, Vandan, Dhyan, Laghuta, Samata, Ekata- such nine form devotion he practices for salvation.

Question: The gyani engages in nine form devotion is alright, but does he engage in tapa also ?

Answer: Yes. Gyani practices tapa also but how?  Along with  having an inclination  towards his own pure nature, he indulges in activities of tapa etc. – this is the conduct of gyani. The Agyani does not recognise the internal disposition of gyani and he notices the external activities only. Whatever pure manifestation occurs with an attitude of own pure nature, it  is tapa- the dharmi knows this. Such tapa is not practiced by the agyani hence he does not even recognise it also. The shubha raga of tapa is external nimitta and the activities of the body are entirely different from that of the soul – instead the agyani believes it to be the prime thing and he thus misses the actual substance. Shubha raga accompanied with the pure manifestation in accordance with the own state- this is the conduct of the gyani and this is known as mixed Vyavahara. Mixed means – somewhat pure and somewhat impure. In this the impurity part is cause for asrava- bandh for the dharmi while the pure part is the cause for samvar-nirjara. In this way the asrava-bandh and samvar-nirjara- all these four bhavas occur for the dharmi simultaneously. The agyani does not have such mixed bhavas, he is in impure state only while omniscient does not have mixed bhavas and he has only purity. The mixed bhavas are experienced in the practitioner state only and in accordance with his pure manifestation he practices the Moksha marga.

Oh! This adhyatma condition of Dharmatma is extraordinary brother, extraordinary ….saying so itself is like practicing which should be propagated, since the real happiness is attained by this adhyatma condition. Except for the Adhtama knowledge all other worldly knowledges have absolutely no value for dharma. Who will call such knowledge as knowledge which does not lead to Moksha ?

The one who has the knowledge of Adhyatma, such gyani  practices mixed vyavahara i.e. purity and impurity – both occur together for him; but in spite of being together they do not mix. The impurity does not become purity form and the purity does not become impurity ( ragas etc) form. In spite of being together both streams are different. In this way the word ‘Mixed’ represents the differentness of the two and not unity. In this whatever is the purity, by means of it the dharmi jiva practices the Moksha marga while the impurity is considered as discardable.

10. The practices of the knower in the forms of discardable-knowable-venerables

 

 

The discardable is the impurity of own dravya, knowable is the forms of six types of other dravyas, venerable i.e. practice form is purity of own dravya. Its description- In accordance with gunasthana the discardable-knowable-venerable capabilities are experienced by the knower. As the discardable-knowable-venerable capabilities keep increasing , accordingly the gunasthana keeps increasing.

The knowledge and the activities are in consonance with the gunasthana. However if there are several jivas belonging to same gunasthana then the knowledge is of several forms and activities are also of several forms. They do not have oneness in different jivas. In each jiva dravya there are different kinds of audayik bhavas ( bhavas of fruition), and in accordance with the Audayik bhavas the knowledge are also different.

However it may be noted that anyone does not have a knowledge of the form which calls the Moksha marga as true while being dependent upon others. Why? The state may be dependent upon others but the knowledge which is dependent upon others, does not describe reality. The knowledge which is dependent upon the self alone is called knowledge.

Look at the thought process of dharmi! Dharmatma knows other dravyas to be different from self and there is no acceptance or rejection by soul of them since they are just subjects of knowledge only. Whatever acceptance or rejection is there that is within self only. The impurity in our own state is deplorable; whether it be shubha raga or ashubha raga – they are impure hence deplorable; no part of them is treated as venerable by dharmi jiva.

The purity of our dravya only is venerable. By contemplating with concentration upon the pure dravya, the paryaya also gets purified. From aspect of paryaya, the totally purity form Moksha is venerable and samyak darshan etc. form pure paryayas are also venerable. With the belief and knowledge of pure dravya only, the pure dravya becomes venerable – thus it is told. In this way the purity of our own dravya is venerable. Other than this all other dravyas are objects of knowledge only and neither deplorable nor venerable.

Question: If other dravyas are neither deplorable nor venerable then whether Siddha bhagwan and Panch Parameshthi are also not venerable?

Answer : Brother! This is a matter to be understood with patience. Whether even a single iota of Siddha bhagwan or Panch Parameshthi enter within you? When even an iota does not enter within yourself then how can it be revered by you ? Yes, if you really admire Panch Parameshthi state and feel it to be venerable then direct your dravya towards purity ! And reveal your own pure paryaya form Parameshthi state! In this way you can join the Panch Parameshthis yourself! Hence  it is told that being inwards only is the means for showing reverence to Panch Parameshthi.

Here Siddha etc. are called subjects of knowledge, hence you contemplate of their form! If you really make them subjects of knowledge then in that knowledge our own pure soul would become venerable- such is the rule. The knowledge which  does not make his own pure soul venerable, that knowledge does  not recognise the real form of Siddhas and Panch Parameshthis etc., thus it does not really make them subjects of knowledge nor does it treat other bhavas as deplorable.  In this way where pure soul is venerable then Siddhas are subjects of knowledge there and all other bhavas are deplorable only. Such procedure of deplorable, venerable and   subjects of knowledge is followed by Dharmatma only. The agyani is naturally in contraposition to it.

By making pure soul as venerable as the inwardness increases gradually  the other bhavas keep being separated and knowledge power keeps increasing. With increase of purity, the gunasthana also keeps progressing. As the gunasthana of Gyani keeps progressing, accordingly the deplorable- subject of knowledge- venerable power also keeps increasing.

Question: As the gunasthana of gyani progresses, accordingly the impurity keeps separating and purity keeps improving i.e. the power of deplorable-venerable keeps increasing; but the knowledge increases in accordance to gunasthana – how does it happen? Someone may be in fourth gunasthana only and still have Awadhi gyan while another one may be in twelfth gunasthana and still not have Awadhi gyna- in such a case the increase of knowledge with the progress of gunasthana – this rule is not seen?

Answer: Here the importance is that of knowing the self since the subject is that of attaining Moksha marga. Moksha marga is not attained by Awadhi gyan, that is attained by concentrating on own subject of knowledge by means of samyak mati-sruta gyan. Such a power for concentration on own subject of knowledge increases automatically in accordance with progression of gunasthana. Compared to Awadhi gyani of fourth gunasthana the twelfth gunasthana jiva without Awadhi gyana has specially high concentration power of contemplation of own subject of knowledge. The knowledge which is directed towards own subject of knowledge only attains the objective of Moksha marga.

The knowledge power keeps increasing with progression of gunasthana, but in one gunasthana if many jivas are existent then all may not have same knowledge and nor do all their activities be the same. Several jivas belonging to same gunasthana  would have similarity in knowledge etc. but they do not have opposition in any manner. Innumerable jivas are there in fourth gunasthana, their bhavas due to fruition are also different, even then the category of knowledge of all these gyanis is the same. All the gyani jivas know the Moksha marga based upon their own self. None of the gyanis believe the moksha marga to be attainable by means of other’s dependence- such knowledge does not exist. In the same gunasthana the Audayik bhavas and Kshayopashamik bhavas of the gyanis are of different kinds , even then the knowledge is not in accordance with the bhava of fruitions, the knowledge is in accordance with the knowledge of own self. All the gyanis have the knowledge of the own self as a subject of knowledge but a particular bhava of fruition should be there or another  external object should be known – such a rule does not exist, since in Moksha marga the experience of soul only  is  important and there is no Moksha marga without it.

In this context, Pandit Rajmal Pande has interesting observation in the commentary of Samayasar kalash no. 13 written by him-

“ The experience of soul is without assistance of other dravyas, hence the soul purifies within itself by itself…the direct experience of jiva substance which is the experience of the soul – may be called like this or experience of knowledge – may be called so; both may have difference of names but there is no difference in substance; hence know that experience of soul only is Moksha marga. In this context this doubt also comes that the knowledge of twelve Angs is extraordinary achievement. With respect to it the clarification is that the knowledge of twelve Angs is also vikalpa. There also it is told that experience of pure soul is Moksha marga; hence it is not necessary to know the scriptures along with experience of soul. “

The Agam  of twelve Angs also reveals that by immersing within the pure soul the experience of pure soul alone is the Moksha marga. Once the experience of own pure soul is attained then there are no rules that one should know so many scriptures or after knowing so many scriptures one can follow Moksha marga. Whether scriptural knowledge is there or not, once the own pure soul is experienced, the Moksha marga is attained.

In the knowledge of the practitioner, there is some dependence also, but that does not make his knowledge as MithyaGyan. The Gyani does not believe the external dependence to be Moksha Marga; experience of pure soul form knowledge alone is the means for Moksha Marga- thus the Gyani believes. In twelve Ang scriptures also the preachment directs to experience the pure soul and the same is called as order of the Jina. The one who has experienced pure soul , he has accomplished the essence of twelve Angs; later certain scriptures are required to be studied- no such direction is there. Whether knowledge of twelve Angs is there or not there, even then with the experience of own soul taking recourse to own existence, the knower practices the Moksha Marga.

Even if the bhavas due to fruition are present, the gyani has no dependence of them. The Bhavas of fruition are definitely present in the state but the knowledge is not dependent upon it. The knowledge is dependent upon the own experience only. Knowledge dependent upon others- that is not reality , not Moksha Marga; own experience form knowledge dependent upon self alone is reality and that alone is Moksha marga.

Oh! Own experience is glorious, it is the right wisdom; other than it, the external knowledge or the study of scriptures is not means of Moksha marga, the knowledge with leaning towards inner self alone is the means for Moksha. Oh! Even Gyani’s knowledge dependent upon others is not means for Moksha then what to say about the dependent knowledge of Agyani. Brother! Even mountains of knowledge dependent upon others do not lead to Moksha marga and even an iota of self dependence can lead to Moksha marga.

In this way the Gyani believes knowledge dependent upon own self only as Moksha Marga. Knowledge of others or fruition of karmas  are not believed to lead to  the Moksha Marga. Oh! Even the bhava due to fruition or external knowledges do not affect the state of Gunasthana itself. Only based upon internal purity or the internal disposition the state of Gunasthana is decided. In fourth Gunasthana innumerable Jivas are there; in general all of them have same gunasthana, the beliefs are also the same; but kshayopasham of knowledge is not the same for them. The kshayopasham bhava and bhava of fruition have such a nature that different jivas have a commonalty amongst them. In kshayik bhava there is no commonalty and  it is of same kind for all of them. Lakhs of Kevali Bhagwan are existent in 13^th gunasthana ; their kshayik bhavas are the same but there is a difference in bhava of fruition. Out of the innumerable jivas existent in fourth gunasthana, some jivas have fruition of Manushya gati, for some it is Narak gati, for some the body size is thousand Yojan, some have body size of one hand, some have limited age, some have innumerable years of age, some have fruition of asata and some have fruition of sata- in this way there are different kinds. In the same way the kshayopasham of knowledge is also different. In practitioner state the knowledge is also dependent upon others since so long as the knowledge is sensory, it is dependent also. However in that dependence also gyani does not treat it as means for  Moksha marga. No gyani has a belief that moksha marga is dictated by others. If he believes the moksha marga to be dependent upon others then it is not knowledge but ignorance. In spite of knowledge being dependent upon others, the gyani’s knowledge is not deluded since he does not treat that dependence as venerable or means for Moksha marga. The Moksha marga is dependent upon self only- in this way he knows the forms of venerable and deplorable bhavas without doubt.

Own purity is venerable form while impurity is deplorable and the other six dravyas are subjects of knowledge. Here ‘other six dravyas’ are called as subjects of knowledge; in them own dravya is also subject of knowledge but it is of venerable form since own pure dravya is venerable. Here by calling it venerable, the knowledge of the same becomes implicit and it is not just subject of knowledge. But yes, remaining jivas etc. six dravyas are subjects of knowledge  only.

All tatvas are subjects of knowledge anyway. Venerable forms are pure jiva and samvar-nirjara-moksha. Deplorable are punya-pap, asrava and bandh.

Ajiva tatva is neither deplorable or venerable, just knowable; i.e. the corporeal karmas in reality are neither deplorable nor venerable but just subjects of knowledge only. Even then to instigate separation from  other bhavas generated under their influence and to motivate dependence of own dravya, the ajiva karmas are sometimes described as deplorable out of formality. Actually there the impurity generated out of dependence of other dravya which is deplorable.

The agyani, forgetting the own dravya, wants to accept-reject other dravyas. This is faulty intelligence; gyani does not have disposition of accepting-rejecting others. If there is anything to be discarded then it is own impurity and if there is something to be accepted then it is own purity. Oh! Once the disposition is such then there is no raga-dwesha with anybody. Even an iota is not dependent upon others and only attention is towards inner self. Brother! You want to discard other jiva or other objects, but they are already separated from you in the first place; secondly the coincidence of occupying the same place in the akash is applicable to even Siddhas i.e. they also cannot avoid it. In the universe all the six dravyas are occupying the same space, hence the desire to separate from others is deluded thinking. In the same way, even an iota of others never comes within your own nature hence the desire to accept others is also deluded thinking. The gyani does not have such deluded desires to accept-reject others. The practice of gyani is wonderful. His internal manifestations are active in separation-acceptance at every moment, which cannot be recognised externally; every moment he accepts his own pure nature and discards other bhavas. Acceptance of own nature and renunciation of other bhavas- such activity of  acceptance-renunciation he is practicing for Moksha, that is why he is called practitioner.

Other dravyas are responsible for my impurity- those who believe in this way, they believe other dravyas to be deplorable hence subjects of aversion, but they do not make attempt to discard their own impurity. Those who believe dependence of others would cause my purity- they believe other dravyas to be venerable and stop progressing due to their attachment and do not make attempt to purify self with recourse to own dravya.

In this way those with attitude of dependence on nimitta, cannot accept own nature and discard other bhavas, therefore cannot practice for Moksha.

Oh! Once somebody understands it then Veetrag nature would reveal itself and manifestation would orient towards inner self so as to progress on path of Moksha- this is condition of Dharmi.

Pandit Banarasidas has also written dohas on Nimitta-Upadan. Although they are seven in numbers but they have special clarity. He says “ where the substance is realized without other’s assistance, then what is the role of nimitta?”

Where all the substances follow their own nature without other’s assistance there what can nimitta do? Nothing. Nimitta can provide some assistance- such possibility does not exist. Just as external nimitta does not provide any assistance, in the same way in Moksha marga the shubha raga form nimitta also cannot provide any assistance, that too is inconsequential in Moksha marga – this should be understood clearly.

Question: In the purity-impurity of Jiva, the other dravya is nimitta or not?

Answer: Yes it is.

Question: Whether nimitta is deplorable?

Answer: No.

Question: Whether nimitta is venerable?

Answer: No. Nimitta is neither deplorable nor venerable ; nimitta is subject of knowledge only.

The other dravya form nimitta is neither deplorable nor venerable. Here ragas etc. form  impure Vyavahara is also kept in the category of nimitta, and shuddha sadbhoot vyavahara alone is counted as vyavahara of dharmi. Here the shubha raga form Vyavahara is called nimitta which is deplorable, since it is own ashuddha bhava. Moksha marga is not practiced with ashuddha bhava; with the progress in purity only the moksha marga is practiced.

Agyani does not recognise deplorable-venerable or subjects of knowledge with clarity. The dharmi jiva knows other bhavas  as deplorable ,  own pure dravya-paryayas to be venerable and all subjects of knowledge form substances   as subjects of knowledge. Thus the capability to discern the deplorable- venerable and subjects of knowledge has been revealed within him. This capability  keeps growing in accordance with  gunasthana.

In fourth gunasthana the anantanubandhi Kashaya is discarded, samyaktva and swaroopacharan form purity has appeared and the own subject of knowledge is realised.

In fifth gunasthana, the anantanubandhi and apratyakhyan kashayas- both have been discarded and subsequent to swaroopacharan charitra, deshsamyam charitra form purity has been revealed therefore deplorable-venerable capability has increased and the capability of realising own subject of knowledge has enhanced.

In sixth-seventh gunasthana, with the discarding of three types of kashayas, the purity of the samyam state has enhanced. In this way the deplorable-venerable capability has increased and specific enhancement is experienced in realising own subject of knowledge.

In this way with the increase of gunasthana the impurity keeps reducing ; purity keeps becoming venerable; in this way the deplorable-venerable capability keeps increasing and the power of knowledge also increases. The external activities and shubha ragas are performed in accordance with the gunasthana. Although in same gunasthana also, different jivas perform activities differently even then it is in accordance with the gunasthana- not opposite to it. For example – Millions of  munis are in sixth gunasthana, out of them some are engaged in swadhyaya, some dhyan, some in aahara, some in vihar, some in Alochana, some in Prayashchit, some in preachment, some in Teerth Vandana, some in Jina stawan, some in divya dhwani sravan – etc.; but some wearing clothes, eating food in vessels, or taking faulty ahaar- such activities are not possible in sixth gunasthana.

In the same way, in fourth gunasthana, pooja of Jina Prabhu, providing Ahaar for Munirajs etc., sudy, listening to scriptures etc. auspicious activities and business etc. inauspicious activities resulting in hurting the one sensed jivas, sometimes dhyan of own nature etc. activities are carried out. However following of KuDeva (wrong deva) and KuGuru(wrong guru), harming to two sensed and above jivas with knowledge, and partaking of flesh etc. activities are not possible. Therefore raga and external activities are although nimitta, but they happen in accordance with gunasthana.

In thirteenth gunasthana, vibrations due to yoga of Keval Gyani Prabhu, divine sermon, movements in the sky etc. activities happen; but there are no activities of disease, ahaar or walking on earth etc. The activities and raga  are in accordance with the state and if one does not accept it then he does not have proper knowledge of the state itself, nor he has the right understanding of the nimittas can occur  in accordance with the state.

Now listen regarding the deplorables:- The impurities which are there in accordance with the state should be considered as deplorable form; however if in a particular state the specific kind of impurities do not exist then how can they be called deplorable? For example in sixth gunasthana, the bhavas pertaining to Mithyatva- non fasting etc. are already non existent, then how can they be renounced? Therefore the non fasting etc. cannot be called deplorable in that state. Instead, in that state, the auspicious ragas pertaining to Maha Vrita etc. are present , which are happening , hence that raga only is deplorable. The reason is that things worthy of discarding are the impurities which are present in the self, however if the impurity does not exist then how can it be relinquished? Therefore the things to be deplored are in accordance with the gunasthana. For Kevali bhagwan, the Mithyatva and ragas etc, cannot be called deplorable since those bhavas do not exist; then how can they be relinquished? In this way in all the gunasthanas, the existing impurities are designated as deplorable. As the gunasthana keeps progressing, the deplorable bhavas keep reducing and the bhavas which are venerable keep increasing. In the end, with the elimination of all the deplorable bhavas, the Siddha state which is venerable in all aspects, is revealed. In that state, there are no activities pertaining to deplorable or venerable- since nothing further needs to be done.

Look, as the capability of deplorable-venerable increases, accordingly the gunasthana increases- thus it is told. The deplorable-venerable form are our own impure-pure bhavas; but in accordance with the acceptance-renouncement of other dravyas the gunasthana increases- thus it is not said. Clothes were discarded, therefore gunasthana increased- such rule is not there. Instead, on relinquishing of  Mithyatva etc.  other bhavas only, in accordance with their magnitude the gunasthana increases. With the progress of gunasthana, the external renunciations occur in accordance with those gunasthana automatically by own self e.g. discarding of clothes in 6^th gunasthana. The soul does not have ownership of that renunciation, soul is just knower of it alone. That extrenal renunciation is merely  a subject of knowledge for the soul, not in the sense of reverence.

The thoughts of the knower with respect to deplorable-venerable are in consonance as above and if they are against it then those are thoughts of ignorant. Moksha marga is not of two types, moksha marga is of one type only; which is dependent upon the bhavas of our own and not the bhavas dependent upon others. The attitude of the one dependent upon bhavas pertaining to others, believing them to be moksha marga, is against the true moksha marga. In Samaysar gatha 276-277, while describing moksha marga dependent upon own bhavas it is said that – knowledge of Acharang etc. scripture, belief in nine tatvas in differentiated form or compassion towards six types of jiva bodies as shubha manifestations form vyavahara charitra- such bhavas of external dependence, believing them to be moksha marga of samyak darshan-gyan-charitra form is faulty; since such externally dependent knowledge etc. bhavas occur to agyani also but they do not belong to moksha marga. Whereas, in such conditions if gyani does not have such externally dependent bhavas, even then he progresses on moksha marga. Therefore the externally dependent bhavas do not lead to moksha marga. Pure soul alone is the base for samyak darshan-gyan-charitra and that definitely leads to moksha marga. Where there is no dependence of the pure soul, there moksha marga also does not exist. In this way the moksha marga is self dependent only not externally dependent; hence vyavahara of the form of external dependence is worthy of discarding  being deplorable. With recourse to own existence only the dharmi jiva practices the moksha marga, does not believe externally dependent knowledge etc. to be Moksha marga.

O Jiva! In your own stream of knowledge whatever is externally dependent , that is not cause for moksha then how can totally externally dependent ragas be cause for moksha? Same is the case with external nimittas. Even after getting such a rare opportunity O Jiva! If you do not realise your own subject of knowledge and do not practice moksha marga with self dependence then your life is a waste. You shall repent after losing the opportunity.

Question: You do not give importance to nimitta and  vyavahara and give importance to Adhyatma only. However who cares for the subject of Adhyatma in the world? Everyone knows about nimitta and Vyavahara only.

Answer: Brother, even if ignorants of the world do not know the subject of Adhyatma even then all the gyanis of the world and omniscients know this thing properly.

Those who know the form of Adhyatma, they alone get salvation. Agyani does not have any knowledge of Nishchaya vyavahara at all, therefore he does know and does not believe. The jivas who know this thing , they do not remain ignorant. This is unprecedented supernatural subject for the benefit of soul. Those who understand this form of Moksha marga dependent upon the self, the moksha marga will reveal itself for him.

To be concluded…..