The essence of Samaysar – 06

 

Chapter 4 Punya Pap Adhikar ( Gathas 145-163) -

Now same character Karma enters the stage disguised into two different forms of punya and pap. The ignorant one believes them to be different while samyak drishti recognises them as the same character.

Acharya Amritchandra introduces the characters  by means of an example. A lowly caste woman gave birth to two children. One was brought up in a Brahman family and the other was brought up in the low caste family. One considers self to be Brahman and hence renounces liquor totally while the other one daily consumes liquor considering self to be lowly caste. Even though both  were born of the same mother and both are low caste only, still one considers self to be high caste and behaves accordingly. The same is case with punya and pap. Both are karmas by birth but one treats punya as good and pap as bad. In real view both are bondages.

Acharya Kundakunda poses this question to the disciple in gatha 145. “ you think good karmas are beneficial. How can it be good when it makes one to go around in the worldly cycle?” It is unequivocally stated that from aspect of bondage they cannot be said to be different even though shubha karmas might have been accrued in Moksha marga. Here the objective is to remove ignorance regarding the good karma and bad karmas. This is clarified by the example in gatha 146. Just as golden shackle ties in the same way as iron shackle, hence from aspect of bondage both are same. Same way shubha karmas also result in bondage. Hence one should not have attachment towards them as stated in gatha 147. In gathas 148-149 another example is quoted in the commentary. Just as an elephant gets captured because of his attraction towards female elephant and suffers slavery by entrapment while the wise elephants avoids her and remain independent, in the same way the gyani people should not be attracted towards karmas knowing their nature. Therefore the conclusion is stated in Gatha 150 that one indulgent in ragas get bonded while detached jiva remains free of bondage. Hence it is the directive of Jinendra bhagwan that do not have attachment towards karmas.

One wonders that when all karmas have been negated then what is the refuge available even for Munis? This has been replied in gatha 151. In reality knowledge is the shelter available for the munis since that is the nature of soul and hence taking recourse to knowledge only leads to Moksha while all other karmas lead to bondage. It is clarified in gatha 152-153 that in reality the fasting and vows undertaken without knowledge are really child’s play. If they do not have belief in the knowledge natured soul then they cannot attain moksha in spite of all the fasting and vows.

In gathas 154-156, the disciple who has partiality towards punya karmas is addressed. In reality, jivas in the world do not know that the path to moksha is by means of total destruction of karmas which is attained by taking recourse to Samaysar form soul as earlier described. Many of them are satisfied by engaging in shubha karmas of the form of fasting, vows etc. discarding only the ashubha karmas. But the real moksha marga is samyakdarshan-gyan-charitra. Of these the belief in jiva etc. tatvas is samyak darshan. Knowing the Jivas etc. tatvas correctly is the Samyak gyan. Remaining in such state without indulging in ragas etc. is samyak charitra. Therefore the samyak darshan-gyan-charitra described here are nothing but manifestation of knowledge only which is the root cause of Moksha. It is reemphasized that by taking recourse to Vyavahara alone, one does not attain destruction of karmas.

The same   aspect is described in gathas 157-159 by means of example of pure white cloth. Just as whiteness is spoiled by dirt, in the same way the Samyaktva is obscured by dirt of the form of Mithyatva. The knowledge is obscured with ignorance form dirt and Charitra is soiled by Kashaya form dirt. In this way the karmas cause obscuration of the samyak darshan-gyan-charitra nature of soul totally preventing jiva to attain Moksha.

Further in gathas 160-163, it is stated that karma itself is of bondage form and has nature opposite to bhavas of moksha, being of mithyatva, ignorance, kshaya forms. Hence shubha or ashubha karmas should be rejected.

Acharya Amritchandra adds that when all the karmas are being negated then where is the question of punya or pap karmas? Once both are renounced then gyan automatically comes running. It is further clarified that till one attains Yathakhyat charitra ( 11^th gunasthana) samyak drishti manifests in two streams. First is shubha-ashubha karma form karma stream and other is knowledge stream. Both the streams can exist together without hindering each other. The karmas do their job and gyan does his own. To whatever extent shubha-ashubha karma stream is there, there is karma bondage accordingly and to whatever extent there is knowledge stream, the karmas get destroyed. A very fine point has been disclosed that not only vikalpas of sensual subjects or that of fasting etc. are cause for bondage but even contemplation of pure nature causes bondage(being of the form of vikalpa). Manifesting in nirvikalpa form knowledge alone is cause for Moksha.

It is further added that people are unaware of application of naya (view point). Those who are partial to karmas are indulgent in karmas and do not experience the knowledge while those who are partial to knowledge do not do purushartha (effort) and indulge in kshayayas (passions) negligently. Those who understand the implications of naya, they remain in knowledge form without indulgence in karmas and float over the entire world. When Vyavahara conduct is accompanied with Nishchaya jewel trio ( samyak darshan-gyan-charitra) then that conduct is described as the means.

The karmas have a singular nature but it had appeared in the form of punya and pap, two different characters on the stage. Once the knowledge identified them as the same  karma then they relinquished their disguises and departed  from the stage in their true form. In this way this particular act of punya-pap adhikar gets concluded.

Chapter 5 ( Asrava Adjikar) ( Gathas 164-180)-

Now asrava enters stage inebriated with pride since it has defeated the entire world into bondage. However Samyak gyan has the capability to overcome the same within Antarmuhurta period and destroy it totally. Acharya offers obeisance to such Samyak Gyan.

Firstly in Gathas 164-165, Acharya defines the Asravas. The manifestations of Jiva in the form of Mithyatva(delusion), Avirati(negligence), Kashaya (passions) and Yoga are Asrava bhavas which are of the form of corruption of Jiva bhavas. The same four types are of the form of pudgala dravya which were bonded with the jiva earlier and upon nimitta of whose fruition the jiva manifests in those forms of ragas etc. The influx of new karmas in the form of gyanavarana karmas etc. occurs with the nimitta of the fruition of past Mithyatva etc. form karmas subject to the nimitta of jiva manifesting in the form of ragas etc. These bhavas of the Jiva are not his pure knowledge form bhavas but are of corruption form. Hence they are called asravas.

In previous chapter the raga-dwesha etc. were called as Ajiva and attention was drawn towards pure conscious nature of jiva. Here in this chapter, these bhavas are described to be manifesting in the paryaya of soul hence soul is responsible for this offense. From aspect of shuddha Nishchaya these are manifestations of pudgala, but from the aspect of Ashuddha Nishchaya form Vyavahara, they belong to jiva representing his guilt. Hence they are said to be corruption of his soul. If Jiva does not indulge in raga-dwesha-moha then he would not be nimitta for the asrava of new karmas. Then only old karmas would fructify without any subsequent bondage. Thus the raga-dwesha manifestations of Agyani are nimitta for the asrava of new karmas. However for Gyani, it would not be applicable.

In this way here, the fruition of past mithyatva etc. form dravya karmas and raga-dwesha-moha  form Mithyatva bhavas of jiva have been established to be asravas really.

Although in bondage of new karmas, the fruition of past Mithhyatva etc. karmas is nimitta; even so without existence  of Moha-raga-dwesha bhavas in the soul, the new karmas do not get bonded. Therefore the truly harmful asrava bhavas for the soul are his own corruption in the form of raga-dwesha-moha.

That’s why it is said in gatha 166 that gyani person does not have these asrava bhavas. Once he is gyani then he cannot be having bhavas of the nature of ignorance. Therefore  he does not have raga-dwesha-moha  form asrava with the result that he does not bond with new karmas. He remains knower of the fructification of past karmas

The important point to be noted here is that for the jiva belonging to fourth gunasthana, although he does not have moha, he still has raga-dwesha of much smaller extent due to his weakness of conduct. He is aware of it and tries to overcome it. However due to his weakness he unwillingly indulges in raga-dwesha. There is bondage of karmas accordingly. But being of much lesser duration and intensity, this has been ignored in this narration. Here the emphasis is more on Mithyatva which is the real cause for worldly transmigration.

In 167^th gatha the effect of karmas are described by  means of a fine analogy of magnet. Just as magnet forces the iron needle to move, in the same way the fruition of ignorant bhavas of the form of raga-dwesha-moha influence the jiva to act in the form of bhavas of same kind. This results in bondage of new karmas. On the other hand if the needle is not that of iron then it is not attracted hence it does not move. In the same way if the jiva is gyani then he does not have bhavas of ignorance kind raga-dwesha-moha and therefore in spite of fruition of karmas he does not indulge in bhavas of those kind.  Hence he does not accrue new karmas.

With another analogy of ripe fruit, Acharya describes the status of fructifying karmas in gatha 168. Just as a ripe fruit falls from the tree and does not return back to the tree, in the same way the karmas on fructification once, do not fructify as karmas again. Hence if the jiva is gyani then on fructification  the karmas shed away without resulting in fresh bondage. In fact it goes on to say that if the roots of a tree are cut then it is a matter of time till even the leaves become dry and shed away. In the same way, once the jiva is samyakdrishti then the roots cause of Mithytva has been overcome. Then it is a just a matter of time till all the remaining karmas would be shed and jiva would attain Moksha.

Therefore it is emphatically stated in gatha 169 that gyani does not have dravya asrava. He has only previously bonded karmas in existence which are as good as  pebble of mud. Basically jiva, being gyani  does not have bhava asrava and therefore no fresh dravya asrava accrue. Only past karmas are in existence which are compared to pebbles of mud since they do not do anything. Surely they would shed away after fruition. But gyani would not be adversely affected.

In Gathas 170-172, it is stated that four types of dravya asrava  as described above cause bondage in accordance with the manifestation of knowledge, vision etc.  qualities of jiva. However the gyani also accrues bondage in accordance with the weakness of his knowledge, vision, conduct qualities. Therefore here the gyani has not been totally exempted from bondage. The reason is that in fourth gunasthana he has limited knowledge, vision, conduct qualities therefore his bhavas are said to be Kshayopashamic ( bhavas caused by destruction cum subsidence of karmas) which is considered to be inferior manifestation of knowledge etc. qualities as compared to the gyani in Yathakhyat charitra state(11^th gunasthana) where no Kashaya bhavas are existent. Hence he does have  presence  of ragas in his manifestation although it may be termed as without his knowledge, while the ragas within his knowledge are avoided by gyani. For this small extent of ragas he does undergo bondage. Hence he is advised to practice experiencing his own soul continuously so that his raga bhavas keep diminishing  till he attain keval gyan. When keval gyan is attained then the jiva is totally free of asrava.

The disciple is confused that earlier the gyani was told to be free of asrava and then he was said to have asrava also. To resolve this the gathas 173-176 explain the reality in detail. For the samyak drishti, the previously bonded karmas are in existence. On their fruition in accordance with the bhavas of the gyani jiva they result in bondage of 7-8 types of karmas. This is explained with the analogy of a young girl married to a man. Being young she is not enjoyable by the man. However on reaching age, the woman attracts man and bonds with him depending upon the man’s disposition. In the same way on reaching state of fruition the karmas cause bondage of new karmas depending upon the inclination of jiva towards ragas. The samyak drishti jiva has weakness of charitra moha in fourth gunasthana hence according to his inclination towards such ragas the karmas are accrued. However these are considered to be insignificant as compared to the karmas bonded by a Mithyadrishti. Hence earlier it was said that Gyani does not have asrava of karmas. In reality he does have a small amount to bondage due to his weakness which he keeps trying to overcome.

The same is again reiterated in gathas 177-178 that in the absence of raga dwesha moha, the Samyakdrishti jiva does not accrue bondage. The main culprit is Mithyatva and if Mithyatva is overcome the jiva becomes Samyak drishti and hence his raga-dwesha are of much inferior kind. Therefore the bondage accrued is  considered to be of negligible significance. Therefore it can be safely stated that the Gyani does not have bondage.

Acharya Amritchandra gives the full credit of this non bondage to shuddha naya. Those who practice concentration within their soul taking recourse to shuddha naya, they continue experiencing samaysar without raga dwesha. However in vikalpa state due to lack of shuddhopayoga  they accrue small bondage. The same is stated in Gathas 179-180 that when jiva deviates from shuddha naya, then the raga etc form bhavas overcome the jiva and in that state on fruition of previously bonded karmas, a small amount does accrue as bondage of various karmas just as  food digested is converted in to blood, bones, flesh etc. Therefore the lesson is that one should not give up Shuddha naya.

In this manner Jiva can overcome asrava. The asrava which had entered the stage has been overcome by means of shuddha naya. Therefore the defeated asrava exits the stage.

Continued…….

The Essence of Samaysar - 05

 

Therefore it establishes that jiva has doer-deed and enjoyer-enjoyable relationship with his own manifestations. This is stated in gatha 83 which says that  from aspect of Nishchaya naya, jiva is doer of himself and enjoyer of himself. Since there is no relationship of being pervasive-pervaded between jiva and pudgala karmas, hence there cannot be karta-karma relationship. Therefore even in worldly state as well as nonworldly ( Siddha)  state, the jiva has no doer-deed relationship. Soul is really doer-enjoyer of the self but not that of pudgala karma.

To remove any doubt, the Vyavahara naya is also stated in gatha 84 wherein it is stated that soul is doer and enjoyer of pudgala karmas from aspect of Vyavahara naya. Just as potter desires to make a pot and uses his hands to create etc, the potter is the doer and enjoyer of the pot. In the same way the soul  is also doer of pudgala karmas and enjoyer of their fruition. But there  is a flaw in such Vyavahara, which is described in gatha 85. If soul becomes doer and enjoyer of pudgala karma then he is carrying out activities of self as well as pudgala karma. This is not possible and it is against the principles described by Jinendra Bhagwan. Those who believe otherwise are called Mithyadrishti in gatha 86 since they  believe soul to be doer of activities of self as well as pudgala dravya.

The above arguments are resolved by Acharya Amritchandra by concluding that each dravya is doer of its own karma. Two dravyas do not do one karma nor one dravya has two karmas. One dravya does not have two deeds since one dravya does not manifest into another dravya. Further he says that since eternal times the worldly jivas are deluded into thinking that they are doer of other dravyas. Once that delusion is destroyed with right knowledge then there is no reason that jiva should suffer bondage.

Now one basic doubt is sensed by the disciple. If Mithyatva, ragas etc. are said to be manifestations of pudgala karma then why should jiva be penalised by their fruition. This is an important question which is answered in detail by acharya in gatha 87.

The Mithyatva, ragas etc. are of the form of pudgala karma paramanus known as dravya karma. On their fruition they generate bhavas of the form of Mithyatva, ragas etc. These bhavas are reflected into the knowledge of jiva just as an image of peacock is reflected by a mirror. Due to the clarity of Upayoga(consciousness) of jiva, the reflected bhavas appear to jiva as his own, just as one may think the peacock to be present in the mirror even though it is an image. The ignorant jiva cannot differentiate between his own upayoga and the bhavas of Mithyatva etc. and believes them  to be his own. This is known as bhava karma. The jiva is responsible for believing those bhavas to be his own hence he accrues bondage of karmas for future. If the jiva realises those bhavas to be fruition of karmas and not his own then he is said to have differentiating knowledge and can thus prevent accrual of karmas. Such jiva is said to be samyakdrishti.

The rest of this chapter is devoted to elaborating on various aspects of dravya karma and bhava karmas.

In gathas 88 and 89 Acharya defines three categories of manifestations which take place in pudgala karma which on fruition generate bhavas of same kind. These are Mithyadarshan(delusion), Avirati (negligence) and Agyan ( ignorance). Since beginningless time the jiva has been in association with pudgala karma hence he has been deluded without realisation of his own nature. These three kinds of karmas influence his upayoga similar to the effect of a coloured leaf kept behind a sapphire jewel. Just as the sapphire jewel changes its colour to red or yellow depending upon the colour of leaf, in the same way the upayoga of jiva undergoes transformation into delusion, negligence or ignorance. Now on account of his eternal ignorance jiva believes those bhavas to be his own and presuming ownership of those bhavas he acts accordingly. This leads to bondage of future karmas of same kind and in this manner the cycle continues. Therefore it is concluded in gatha 90 that the bhava in which he manifests,  he is owner of that bhava. Although from aspect of pure dravyarthika naya, he is not karta since it is not his true nature, but since his paryaya has manifested in such manner, therefore from impure dravyarthika naya he is karta.

Therefore in gatha 91, the converse is stated. Not only jiva upayoga manifests in accordance with fruition of karmas, the pudgala karmas also manifest in accordance with upayoga of jiva. This is how the endless cycle is created. In really both are doer of their own bhavas but from  aspect of nimitta-naimittik, they are responsible for bhavas of each other. Gatha 92 elaborates it further with an example. The experiences of raga-dwesha etc. are different from the experience of soul, just as heat or cold are different from the soul and are truly results of pudgala karmas. But on account of clarity of his knowledge, the ignorant jiva experiences them as his own and believes them to be his own. In the same way  he believes I am ragi, dweshi, krodhi etc. Thus he manifests in karta form.

How this process can be prevented is answered in Gatha 93. When jiva realises his own nature of knowledge then using that knowledge, he differentiates between self and others and then he knows raga-dwesha not to be his own just as heat or cold are not. He knows them to be consequences of pudgala karma manifestations. At that moment the soul is not karta, he is merely knower.

Gathas 94-96 elaborate the manner in which jiva manifests into ignorance form resulting in karma bondage. Firstly the ignorance of jiva is of three kinds on account of fruition of three types of karmas mentioned above. These are believing others to be his own, knowing them to be his own and remaining engaged in such bhavas (avirati). On account of such fruition the jiva manifests in two manners. In first type he manifests into corrupted bhavas of anger, greed, deceit etc. sixteen types of bhavas. In this manner he is karta of the corrupted manifestation of his own consciousness. In the second  type he believes the vikalpas (thoughts) of knowing various subjects to be his own e.g. ‘I am  akash’, ‘I am pudgala dravya’, ‘I am dharma dravya’ etc. At such moments he believes his knowledge to be just that without knowing the true undivided all-pervasive nature of knowledge. These are not true experiences of his knowledge and hence are corrupted forms. Thus in these two ways, the jiva manifests into ignorance forms.

Once the jiva has realised his true nature then he gives up the ownership of the corrupted bhavas (gatha 97) and engages in the experience of  knowledge which is of the consciousness form different from the taste of passions and vikalpas of various kinds. Then he manifests into nirvikalpa, natural, vigyan-ghan ( like a solid block of knowledge) form remaining akarta ( non doer).

 In gathas 98-99 acharya demolishes the beliefs of the people who believe in vyavahara and think that soul is doer of external acts of making pots, cloth etc, and internal acts of anger etc., and activities of body etc. The logic is that if soul engages in those acts then he should become one with them which does not happen since if that happens, his own existence would not remain. Therefore one dravya cannot be called as doer of another dravya.

An important revelation is made in 100^th gatha that just as soul is not doer of pot, anger etc. bhavas from aspect of pervasive-pervaded bhavas, he is not doer of them even by nimitta-naimittik bhavas. The reason is that if soul as dravya becomes nimitta for manifestation of pudgala karma then he would always need to be present for all the states of pudgala karma. This is not possible. Actually the yoga and upayoga of jiva in the form of paryayas which are transient, are nimitta for the manifestations of pudgala karmas. The yoga represents the vibration of spatial elements of soul under influence of a desire, and upayoga is the  engagement of knowledge  with passions. These only are nimitta for acts of pot, anger etc. Therefore in ignorant state soul can be called doer of yoga-upayoga.

To summarise, from aspect of dravya, no dravya is doer of another dravya; but from aspect of paryaya, the paryaya of some dravya can be nimitta for the paryaya of another dravya at some time hence from this aspect the manifestation of one dravya is said to be nimitta karta for the manifestation of another dravya. In reality dravya is karta of its own manifestations and other dravya cannot be karta for others manifestations.

Hence it is concluded in gatha 101 that gyani is karta of knowledge only. He is merely knower of the manifestations of pudgala dravya in  the form of gyanavarana etc. form eight type of karmas. This implies he remains knower of all the bhavas of anger, greed etc. and various other desires.

Now an important disclosure is made in Gathas 102-108, that even ignorant jiva is not doer of the bhava of other dravya. Soul is doer of the shubha or ashubha bhavas of his own, which is his karma and he is enjoyer of those bhavas.  In reality he is karta of his ignorance form whereas Gyani is karta of his knowledge form karma. But karta of other dravya’s bhava is neither gyani nor agyani. This is due to the unshakable principle of non-interference. No one dravya can cause other dravya to manifest or change its state. Hence even agyani cannot cause pudgala karma to manifest. The potter does not change the properties of mud nor he manifests in the form of pot hence he is not karta of pot. He is said to be maker of pot in Vyavahara sense only. In the same way the jiva is said to be karta of pudgala karmas in Vyavahara sense only. In reality his ignorance functions as nimitta for the independent manifestation of pudgala matter in karma form. Just as the fight amongst warriors is attributed to the king and it is said that the king was engaged in war even though he was not physically present. The principle declared in Gatha 76 is recalled again in 107 that soul lacks the capability of being  pervasive-pervaded in pudgala dravya. Hence he cannot generate, modify or receive pudgala karma. Therefore he does not change anything in pudgala karma. With the nimitta of soul’s manifestation  in ignorance form the pudgala karmas themselves manifest in eight type of karma forms and attach themselves to soul. Attributing it to soul is Vyavahara only. This topic is completed with one more example of king being described as responsible for the good or bad characteristics of his subjects from aspect of Vyavahara only. Though in reality he is not.

So the question arises that who is karta for the pudgala karma ? This is answered in gathas 109-112.

In reality pudgala dravya only is doer of pudgala karma. It  gets divided into four types of causal agents namely Mithyatva (delusion), Avirati (negligence), Kashaya (passions), and Yoga. They are called Pratyaya or Asravas in scriptures. Based upon their combinations, they get divided into thirteen categories which are known as Gunasthanas from Mithytva gunasthana to Sayogkevali Gunasthana. In Vyavahara,  these gunasthanas are attributed to jiva describing his spiritual progress. In reality they are due to fruition of pudgala karmas.

It is again reiterated in gathas 113-115 that the nature of jiva is upayoga (conscious activity) with which he has pervasive-pervaded relationship. If anger be also one with jiva then jiva would have oneness with ajiva dravya also. Then there would be no distinction between jiva and ajiva. Same argument holds for having oneness with body form nokarmas. Therefore from aspect of Nishchaya naya jiva and asravas do not have oneness.

 Gathas 116-125 are devoted towards the disciple having leaning towards Samkhya philosophy who believes world to comprise of two kinds of dravyas namely  Prakriti and Purush and believe them to be non- manifesting permanently the same.

Firstly it is established that both jiva dravya and pudgala dravya have  capability of manifesting independently because if it were not so then there would be no world and no requirement of salvation. But the world is directly seen hence it is not true.

Secondly it is established that they do not interfere with each other’s manifestations since if they cause others to manifest then it goes against the basic principle of independence of each dravya and the existence of dravyas themselves  would be forfeited. Therefore it proves that pudgala dravya itself manifests into form of karmas and attaches to jiva. Similarly Jiva himself manifests into form of anger etc. bhavas. This would be in consonance with the form of world observed in reality.

From these the conclusion is drawn in Gathas 126-127 that firstly whichever kind of bhava jiva indulges in, he is karta of those bhavas. Therefore gyani has bhavas of knowledge and agyani has bhavas of ignorance and for each of them they are  karta respectively. Secondly the agyani accrues karmas of same kind because of his bhavas while gyani does not accrue karmas since he remains knower only.

Now a question is asked that why do all the bhavas of gyani are of knowledge form and all the bhavas of agyani are of ignorance form?

This is answered in gathas 128-131 telling that out of ignorance form bhavas,  ignorance form bhavas only are produced i.e. they cannot cause generation of bhava of knowledge form. Conversely from the bhavas of knowledge nature the subsequent bhavas of knowledge form only are produced. This is demonstrated with the example of gold and iron. Out of gold all ornaments produced have nature of gold while the ornaments made with iron are of iron kind only. Iron does become gold or vice versa. As the saying goes, ‘As you sow, so you reap’ in the same way, the bhavas of agyani do not transgress the categories of moha, raga, dwesha etc. hence they remain of the same nature. While those of Gyani belong to category of knowledge only. However an important point has to be borne in mind. It does not mean that Gyani does not indulge in bhavas of anger etc. Here the discussion was primarily from aspect of darshan moha i.e. belief, but not from aspect of charitra moha i.e. conduct. The Gyani still has weakness of conduct of which he is aware of and keeps trying to overcome it. However his belief is unshaken hence he is aware of bhavas of anger etc. as not belonging to him. In this way he does not own those bhavas but only knows them. Therefore it is said that he does not accrue future bondage of those karmas.

Therefore Acharya summarises the subject which he had started in Gathas 109-112 regarding the karta of pudgala karma by means of five gathas 132-136 wherein he states that four types of ignorant bhavas are generated upon fruition of karmas  which influence the jivas to manifest in those bhavas forms. These bhavas are deemed to have a precondition of ignorance i.e. the Jiva does not have realisation of his true nature. These ignorant bhavas are of the nature of Mithyatva (delusion), Asanyam ( Lack of self control), Kashaya ( passions) and yoga which  cause the jiva to manifest in ignorance into bhavas of those nature and as a result he accrues karmas of same kind for future. These karmas are of eight kinds known as Gyanavaraniya, Darshanavaraniya, Mohaniya, Vedaniya, Ayukarma, Naam Karma, Gotra Karma and Antaraya karmas. A typical process scenario can be described in this manner. Fruition of Mithyatva karma causing Jiva to manifest in the form of non belief of tatvas which results in bondage of new pudgala in karma form. All these three activities are simultaneous and independent. This constitutes a cycle which can continue indefinitely till the jiva attain right knowledge.

Gathas 137-140 dispel the doubt that the jiva and pudgala can join together to manifest into karma forms. It is wondered that whether they can join together like lime and turmeric and result into red coloured form ? In answer it is clarified that it does not happen so. If it were true then Jiva would have manifested into Karma form pudgala or pudgala would have manifested into raga form like jiva but both  are not seen. Hence it establishes that both manifest independent of each other.

Now nearing the end of this chapter, a question is raised that whether soul is bonded and is in contact with karmas or whether soul is not bonded, nor in contact with karmas?

This is answered in Gatha 141 by means of naya principles. From aspect of vyavahara naya ajiva and pudgala are seen together in the same paryaya indistinguishable from each other hence jiva is bonded and is  in contact with karmas. However if they are observed from aspect of different dravyas then they are totally separate.

Now what ?

This is replied in Gathas 142-144 wherein this chapter is concluded and in a sense the entire gist of Samaysar has been brought out. What exactly is Samaysar has also been disclosed. Acharya says that both the contemplations that ‘jiva is bonded’ or ‘Jiva is not bonded’ are nonetheless vikalpas. The objective was to experience the soul in nirvikalpa form since that is the true experience of the bliss of the soul. Both the vikalpas lead to ragas and perturbation which cannot result into nirvikalpa state. Therefore knowing the two types of vikalpas, thus knowing the complete nature of soul, when one discards both together and remains knowing the true nature of reality, he only manifests in nirvikalpa state. It is this state which has been called Samaysar or pure soul in this book.

Acharya Amritchandra, at this juncture in his commentary offers obeisance to the spirit of renunciation of taking sides with either naya by means of 23 kalashs. In each he states that discarding the two types of opposing arguments, one who remains consciousness form self, he  experiences the true nature. Further he discloses an important information. The Kevali bhagwan has attained Keval gyan which know all simultaneously. Now in this gyan there is no consideration of aspects of naya since it is subject of shruta gyan only. He has gone beyond it so he does not take recourse to this gyan but he knows it. He remains observer of the two without getting involved and experiences his soul, in the same way the shruta gyani also manifests in nirvikalpa state discarding the consideration of either side and experiences his soul. The bottom line is that in this state the experience of shruta gyani is similar to that of Keval gyani in terms of detached state. This state only has been defined as Samaysar which is nothing but conjunction of Samyakdarshan and  Samyak gyan. The same is described with two names but they are one and the same.

To summarise, understanding the nature of soul by means of Agam (scripture) knowledge, then converging the sensory knowledge of Matigyan towards knowledge only , discarding the vikalpas of nayas of the form of shruta gyan and ultimately attaining nirvikalpa state experiencing the indivisible self is known as Samyak darshan and Samyak gyan which has also been called as Samayasar.

Concluding this chapter of Karta karma, Acharya reveals the golden principle that the one who is karta, he does not know and the one who knows, does not do. When the soul manifests in knowledge form then he remains knowledge form only and does not take ownership of pudgala karma. Pudgala also remains as pudgala and does not manifest into karma form. With such form of true knowledge, the two dravyas do  not manifest in nimitta-naimittik  form. Such is the state of Samyak drishti.

In this chapter, jiva and Ajiva had entered the stage taking the disguise of karta-karma. The ignorant ones cannot distinguish between the two and  believes self to be doer of karmas. However samyak drishti with his right knowledge distinguishes them differently, then the two leave the stage accepting defeat.

Continued………

The Essence of Samaysar- 04

 

                            Chapter 2 ( Jiva Ajiva  Adhikar) (Gatha 39-68 ) 

Now the Jiva and Ajiva together enter the stage dressed in a common attire such that the ignorant observer believes them to be the same. This is how the ignorant people without having right knowledge have been believing in life treating body as soul etc. The right knowledge only identifies them differently. Once he does do, the jiva and ajiva discard playing the charade of being the same and separate from each other on the stage in their natural attire. The same occurs in real life.

Acharya has described in Gathas 39-43, the eight ways in which  the Jiva has delusion about the form of Jiva. Some believe that the adhyavasan corrupted with raga-dwesha ( manifestation of deluded bhavas) itself is jiva. Some say that karmas fructifying from eternal times itself is Jiva. Some others say that the experience of high or low intensity ragas itself is jiva. Another says that the nokarma form body itself is jiva since nothing else is seen. Some others say that the manifestation of shubha or ashubha bhavas under influence of punya-pap karmas itself is jiva. Another says that the experience of happiness or sorrow is jiva. Somebody else says that the association of karmas with the soul is jiva since jiva is not observed without karmas. Some others say that manifestation of karmas with soul is jiva just as no cot is seen without eight pieces of wood. These eight type of beliefs signify the beliefs of followers of Vedant, Mimansak, Samkhya, Yog, Bauddha, Naiyayik, Vaisheshik, Charvak etc. philosophies. Even Jains suffer from such delusions about their own religion due to lack of knowledge.

In 44^th Gatha Acharya emphatically says that all these bhavas are generated out of pudgala dravya hence they cannot be called Jiva as told by Omniscient Tirthankara. Various bhavas result under fruition of pudgala karmas which are bonded with jiva since eternal times and accordingly jiva acquires different bodies and sufferings or pleasures. Acharya overrules all misconceptions based upon Agam (scripture), logic and own experience.

At this point Acharya Amritchandra writes an important kalash  34, wherein he says that all these are various noises which are generated. For once you get detached from all these and experience your own soul. Practice this for six months and then see that you are able to experience the soul or not. He has promised all the practitioners to  be able to attain Samyak Darshan within just six months of practice.

In gathas 45-48 Acharya explains that all the bhavas are  generated out of fruition of eight types of  karmas and they are said to belong to jiva from aspect of Vyavahara naya. Just as the march of an army is said to be the procession of King, in the same way the karmas are said to belong to Jiva from  aspect of Vyavahara. In reality Jiva is different from karmas, body and different bhavas of raga-dwesha etc. However they are assigned to belong to jiva in Vyvahara sense. This Vyavahara is also true in certain sense. If karmas and their fruition were absolutely different from jiva then there would be no need for jiva to attain  Moksha either. But in certain aspect Jiva is doer of them and suffers the results of those karmas. That is the Vyavahara (practical aspect).

Now the disciple enquires that if these adhyavasan etc. form bhavas are not jiva then what is the real nature of jiva? In reply Acharya tells the famous 49^th gatha which is present in all other scriptures namely Pravachasar, Niyamsar, Dhavla etc.  

“ O Bhavya! Know this Jiva to be tasteless, colourless, odourless, indescribable i.e. not observable by senses, having the quality of consciousness, without causing sound, not distinguishable by any feature, without having any shape. “

Pudgala dravya only has the properties of touch, taste, colour, smell, with sound being the property of its paryaya. Being corporeal it can be observed and identified by its features. Jiva has none of such qualities, nor shape etc. The only way to identify the jiva is by his consciousness.

The same thing is liberally elaborated in gathas 50-55, where in 29 types of manifestations of Jiva are described which do not really belong to Jiva but are said to be so from the aspect of Vyavahara. Some of these are colour, odour, taste, touch, body, raga, dwesha, moha, karma, nokarma etc. Quite a few of the list of manifestations are the states of jiva bhavas under influence of karma fruition. Some of these are subjects of Karananuyoga which has been avoided in this book of essence. Suffice to say that all the manifestations of jiva in terms of bhava  as well as body form really are not that of jiva since his nature is just that of consciousness. In this Jiva-ajiva adhikar Acharya has elaborated this aspect in detail. In this list in the 29^th place Acharya tells that even the gunasthanas which are from 1 to 14 types beginning with Mithyadrishti Gunasthana to Ayoga Kevali gunasthana do not belong to Jiva. This statement summarizes all other earlier assertions. All these gunasthanas represent levels of spiritual development of jiva in the form of a ladder which he climbs on path to Moksha. However all these states are accrued in conjunction with  pudgala karma particles which are progressively shedded as jiva attains purification of soul. The real jiva is conscious self which is untouched by karma particles who is present in all these fourteen types of states. The objective of Acharya is to bring to attention the real nature of jiva to the disciple since the real jiva is always obscured by different types of bhavas and karmas. In fact the disciple asks the same question that if they do not belong to jiva then to whom do they belong? In reply the gatha 56 is written which says that all these bhavas are said to belong to jiva from aspect of Vyavahara but from aspect of Nishchaya, they do not belong to Jiva. The Vyavahara naya imposes the ownership on to the jiva since he is party to it while Nishchaya naya states from aspect of true nature of Jiva wherein these are not his nature.

An example is quoted in gatha 57 describing this association. Just as water with milk appears to be milk but it is not truly milk, in the same way the karmas pudgala in association with jiva appear to be jiva but they are not jiva. They can be distinguished as different by the Upayoga (consciousness) quality of jiva.

Same is elaborated in next three gathas 58-60 by means of an example. Just as when a person is robbed in a path then the  people say that this path is theft prone. Really the path is just a path. It is only Vyavahara to assign theft proneness to the path. In the same way Jiva is pure not having any of the pudgala properties but on association with karmas he is assigned the ownership of those states. In reality he is purely consciousness form only. In this way all the 29 states described earlier do not belong to jiva. Jiva is only of the form of Upayoga from aspect of Nishchaya naya. It is important to know that Vyavahara is also true in certain aspect and not absolutely false. After all Jiva has been transmigrating in all the gatis since eternal times without attaining salvation. The reason is that he has never realised his own true nature.

A question is asked that why the colour etc. form bhavas are not integral with the jiva ?

This is answered in 61^st gatha. It is clarified that the integral relationship of colour etc. occurs of pudgala matter with its qualities since they are  permanent. The pudgala never forsakes these qualities at any time. However in case of Jiva, these qualities are observed only in worldly state to be integral with him but not in Siddha state. Therefore it establishes that colour etc. qualities do not belong to Jiva in integral manner and are only incidental. It is emphasized further in gatha 62 by telling that if you think that jiva is integral with those colour etc. bhavas then there would be no difference between jiva and ajiva.

Further clarification  is provided in Gatha 63&64  for those who wonder if jiva can be said to have these colour etc. qualities in worldly state in integral manner. Acharya says that if one thinks so, then in worldly state the jiva would be pudgala dravya only since they both have same qualities. In that case the Moksha also would be attained by pudgala and not jiva which is absurd. This establishes unequivocally that the colour etc. bhavas do not belong to Jiva at any time.

Now Acharya extends this argument in gathas 65-67 to all the forms of Jivas which are observed in worldly states and tells that though jiva appears in these forms, but really these states belong to pudgala matter since jiva does not have the nature of being in these forms. These states are various Jiva Sthans (states) known as one, two, three, four or five sensed, badar(large) or sookshma (very small), paryapta (complete) or aparyapta (incomplete) which are generated with the  fruition of naam karma. All these states are pudgala and they are said to belong to jiva just as a mud pot is given the name of ‘pot of ghee’ since ghee is stored in it.  In the same way the Jiva is called owner of those body forms in worldly state since he has never realised his true nature.

Lastly Acharya extends the same argument in gatha 68 to various gunasthanas and says that these states are generated in association with Moha karma. But just as on sowing millet, you get millet only, in the same way from fruition of  moha karma you get moha karma only. The argument is applied to the 29 types of states described earlier and thus it is proved that all those states are not jiva but are generated in association with pudgala karma and said to belong to jiva in vyavahara sense only. Even the corruption in the bhavas of jiva like anger etc. are pudgala only since these are due to fruition  of nonconscious pudgala karma matter.

Acharya Amrit Chandra then concludes  this chapter by saying that Jiva and Ajiva had entered the stage in the same disguise but the Samya drishti jiva realises them to be different by means of his differentiating knowledge, knowing the Jiva to be of conscious nature only. Once they have been separated then the disguise is meaningless and both exit the stage reverting to their true forms.

                        Chapter 3 ( Karta-Karma Adhikar) (Gathas 69-144)

Acharya Amritchandra begins by saying that Jiva and Ajiva now enter the stage disguised in a single form of  Karta-Karma. In his opening introduction he says that the jiva has been deluded since eternal times by thinking that myself the consciousness form jiva is the karta (doer) and these anger etc. bhavas are my karma(deeds). Such ignorance of karta-karma is destroyed only by the enlightenment with the gyan-jyoti (lamp of knowledge). That lamp of knowledge is the Sruta Gyan which knows all the lok and alok and all their dravyas.

Kundkundacharya describes the problem in the beginning gathas 69-70. Just as the soul manifests in the form of knowledge by his nature, he also manifests in anger etc. without knowing the difference between knowledge and anger etc. with the spirit of being karta(doer) with  anger etc. being his karma(deeds). This leads to bondage of karmas of the same form as that of anger etc. and delusions. In future these karmas fructify leading to fresh bondage of karmas of anger and delusion again. In this manner the cycle continues uninterrupted since eternal times. The influx of karma matter at any given time is defined as Asrava which is of two kinds. One is dravya asrava which is the physical influx of matter and other is bhava asrava which denotes the associated bhavas which are caused by those dravya asrava on fruition. Due to his ignorance the jiva remains deluded into thinking the anger etc. as his deeds  and continues to bond with karmas in future. Only differentiating knowledge can help him overcome this delusion. This is revealed in gatha 71 wherein it is told that once the jiva realises the difference between knowing a thing and manifesting in the form of anger etc., then he forsakes the tendency of karta-karma and thus prevents karma bondage. In this way really the knowledge only prevents bondage. This really is the key to spirituality i.e. knowing the nature of anger etc. and knowledge to be different. There is no anger in knowledge but knowledge knows anger. Once this differentiating knowledge is attained then one can overcome the karmas and prevent bondage.

A question is asked that how knowledge alone can prevent bondage? This is answered in Gatha 72. Just as one knows impure water by knowing the characteristics of impurities, in the same way by knowing the characteristics of asravas as different than that of knowledge one distinguishes them. The asravas do not know by themselves and cause perturbation only of the form of passions etc. Thus knowing and differentiating those bhavas from the bhavas of knowledge, one identifies them. Further knowing alone is discarding them since the sense of being their doer is given up. In fact if they are not renounced then the differentiating knowledge itself is not being attained. The important bottom line is that the nature of soul is knowledge and nothing else. Therefore even if previously acquired karmas fructify in anger etc. form the jiva remains knower of those bhavas without indulgence.

That very question is answered in Gatha 73 that how does jiva renunciate asravas? Acharya tells that by contemplating upon  the true nature of self as that of knowledge and vision, remaining within the knowing self, the gyani overcomes the asravas of anger etc. Just as a ship captured by vortex in the sea gets released by the subsiding of vortex, in the same way the soul releases the asravas on attaining tranquillity. In 74^th gatha it is further explained that as the tranquillity of soul keeps increasing, accordingly the asravas keep getting separated and when the totally tranquil state is attained then all asravas are separated. This occurs at the same moment.

Now the soul has become Gyani because he does not indulge in manifestations of karma or nokarma but knows them only. The same is stated in Gatha 75. Here it is explained by an important example. The potter is not doer of the pot and it is really the mud which has manifested in the form of pot since mud is all pervasive within the pot at all times. The potter has only nimitta-naimittik relationship with the making of pot. In the same way the soul is doer of his own manifestations and bhavas of knowledge. He is only knower of the manifestations of pudgala karmas but not the doer of transformations of pudgala. Thus knowledge alone is the karma of knower soul. In this way he renunciates the karta-karma bhava with respect to pudgala.

Now three important questions are answered in gathas 76-78. The disciple asks whether jiva has karta-karma bhava with respect to pudgala when (1) jiva is knowing the pudgala karma (2) Jiva is knowing his own manifestations (3) Jiva is knowing the fruition of pudgala karmas?

These are answered in details in the commentary of Acharya Amritchandra. He says that normally doer-deed relationships are of three kinds. Firstly when doer generates something totally new. Secondly when he modifies existing thing into something else. Thirdly when he neither generates nor modifies but just receives it. The relationship between jiva and pudgala can manifest in these three forms only. Now jiva cannot produce pudgala karma since jiva is noncorporeal and pudgala is corporeal. Secondly he cannot modify the pudgala for the same reason. Thirdly he cannot receive it since how can noncorporeal receive corporeal substance? Therefore pudgala karma is not the deed of jiva nor jiva is doer of the same. (1)Manifesting in the form of knowledge he knows pudgala karma but he cannot be doer of it. (2)Secondly manifesting in knowledge form he knows his own manifestations but does not have doer-deed relationship with pudgala. (3) Thirdly he knows the results of fruition of pudgala karma in the form of happiness or unhappiness but still he does not have doer-deed relationship with the pudgala karmas.

One more question is asked in gatha 79. Here it is asked conversely whether pudgala dravya has doer deed relationship with jiva dravya, in spite of not knowing manifestations of jiva and  its own and not knowing the fruition of its manifestations. This too is replied in the same way that pudgala dravya cannot generate jiva dravya, nor modify jiva , nor receive jiva. Therefore there is no doer-deed relationship of pudgala dravya either. In reality no substance has doer-deed relationship with any other substance.

The mystery of the relationship between jiva and pudgala is resolved in gathas 80-82 wherein it is told that jiva and pudgala share a nimitta-naimittik (cause-effect) relationship but not the doer-deed. The manifestation of jiva occurs under influence of pudgala karma acting as nimitta and similarly the pudgala karmas manifest under influence of jiva acting as nimitta. But they do not modify each other’s qualities. In reality soul himself is responsible for his own  bhavas wherein the manifestations of pudgala karma act as nimitta. Conversely the pudgala karmas are also accrued with the nimitta of the manifestation of jiva in different anger etc. bhava forms.

Continued…..

The Essence of Samaysar- 03

 

With this background now Acharya discloses the means for attainment of Samyaktva. He says in thirteenth gatha that there are nine tatvas ( elements) described from aspect of Vyavahara naya which imply nine states of the jiva, however within these nine states the knowing natured soul is implicitly present at all times which is the subject of contemplation and that only  leads to experience of the soul.

These nine tatvas are Jiva, ajiva, punya, pap, asrava, samvar, nirjara, bandh and moksha. These nine represent nine types of paryayas or states within which a jiva may be existent at any given moment. Jiva represents the paryaya of jiva dravya which is momentary. Ajiva is the subject of knowledge of jiva  in paryaya form i.e. when jiva is contemplating of any ajiva matter. Punya and pap are the paryayas of jiva when he is contemplating in punya bhava or pap bhava form. Asrava paryaya is the mode of jiva attracting influx of karmas when he is indulgent in raga bhavas. Bandh is the bhava resulting in bondage of karma. Samvar is the state of contemplation of pure self which prevents  influx of karmas. Nirjara is the purification of soul which results in shedding of bonded karmas. Moksha paryaya is the ultimate pure form of jiva paryaya attained. In this way way nine tatvas are described in Vyavahara sense representing his progress. Acharya says that from aspect of Vyavahara these nine states are true but when observed from aspect of reality, there is only one knowing natured jiva present in all of them and nothing else. In meditation these nine states do not exist and only the pure jiva of knowing nature is present which is the reality. Such experience only is Samyaktva. So long he is not knowing this, he is Mithyatvi (deluded).

It is to be noted that one does not attain Moksha by contemplating of Moksha paryaya since even such contemplation would be of raga nature and would accrue bondage. However consistently present within these states is the Gyayak (knowingness) bhava of jiva which is the subject of meditation. Therefore out of the nine tatvas described above the knowing natured Gyayak dravya as observed from shuddha naya aspect is meaningful.

The Shuddha naya has been described above as the subject of contemplation. Hence the question arises as to what is shuddha naya? This is answered in fourteenth gatha next.

The naya which observes the soul as free of bondage, free of contact with others, free of otherness, free of modifications, free of qualities and free of interaction with others- in such five bhava forms; that is known as shuddha naya.

This gatha is elaborated by Acharya Amritchandra in his commentary by giving five examples which make it clear. This is as follows:

 Just as lotus flower, in spite of being in water is free of contact with the water, in the same way the soul, although appears to be  in bondage with karmas, is free of bandage when observed with respect to soul nature.

Just as mud manifests in various types of pots which are real, therefore several forms are real but when considered from aspect of nature of mud then only mud is prevalent in all of them and there is no otherness. Similarly various paryayas of soul are reality, but when examined from aspect of dravya nature then all are unreal and only consciousness form soul exists.

Just as waves in ocean keep varying, the variations in the paryayas of soul is real but when observed from aspect of nature of ocean then there is no change. Similarly when observed from nature of soul there are no modifications.

Just as gold is known by different qualities like yellow, brightness etc. which are real but when observed from gold-ness then there is just the gold without qualities. Same way the soul has qualities of knowledge, belief, conduct etc. but when observed from aspect of soul-ness then there is just the  soul.

Just as water in conjunction with fire is experienced to be hot, but when observed from aspect of nature of water, the heat is unnatural and water is cold only. In the same way, soul in conjunction with karmas appear to have moha etc. ragas. However when observed from aspect of nature of soul, the jiva is free of interaction or influence of karmas.

All these are different modes of the soul which from the aspect of vyavahara naya are true and are real. However when one considers the pure nature of soul it is unreal. That pure soul is the subject of meditation and by taking recourse to it one can attain purity which would ultimately manifest in Moksha form.

In fifteenth  gatha Acharya reiterates that the person who observes the soul by means of shuddha naya as described above, observes the entire Jain order which is externally in the form of Dravya shruta (scriptures) and internally of the form of Bhava shruta of the form of knowledge.

In his commentary Acharya Amritchandra says that the experience of soul only is the experience of the knowledge. The ignorant people do not realise it and are attracted to sensual subjects but they do not experience the knowingness form nature. It is explained with an  example of vegetable curry. The ignorant person enjoys the taste of vegetable but does not realise that the taste is that of salt. The wise one experiences only the salt in that curry which is common in all the curries. In the same way the knowing nature is common in all the subjects of knowledge which are known but we do not realise it and concentrate upon the subjects only but not the knowing nature. Nor do we experience it. Recourse to that nature only is the means to salvation.

Therefore in sixteenth gatha, the same is reemphasized that wise people should practice by means of belief, knowledge and conduct but in reality they are just one soul only which should be experienced. The procedure for same is elaborated in next two gathas 17&18^th  with an example of a person desirous of acquiring wealth. He should identify the king, follow his wishes and serve him thereby pleasing him and gaining rewards. In the same way a person desirous of Moksha should identify the soul, know its characteristics, nature etc. then conduct accordingly by experiencing it. By doing so he will achieve his objective.

Thus we can observe that within first fifteen gathas itself Acharya has described entire subject matter of Samaysar. What is now being described is elaboration of the same in detail. Otherwise the path has been laid down by Acharya for the disciples to follow.

An important question has been raised by Acharya Amritchandra in his commentary  which might be felt by the beginners also. He asks that knowledge was always one with the soul then why is it now being told to experience it ? He has answered himself by saying that although soul was one with the knowledge but even for a moment he has not experienced it. The reason is that the realisation of soul occurs by means of other’s sermon  primarily. Without such sermon one’s soul does not awaken from the deluded life he is leading. A question is asked that without such realisation the soul is ignorant only? Acharya answers in unequivocal terms that yes, he is ignorant only. The meaning of the above is that even if a person may be very wise in worldly affairs, may be an Einstein with his knowledge, but till he has not realised and experienced the soul, he is ignorant. This is the hard truth.

To this a question is asked that how long the person can remain ignorant?

This has been answered in Nineteenth gatha by Acharya.

So long as a soul does not differentiate between self and the karma-nokarma form pudgala matter and believes them to be self only, till then he remains ignorant. When he knows that soul is just knower only and karma-nokarma belong to pudgala, then only he is wise. Here the karma-nokarma represent the eight types of karmas which are being accrued by jiva since eternal times which obscure his knowledge, belief, vision etc. and the body etc. form nokarmas. He does not differentiate between soul and body, son, wife etc. and remain deluded in treating them as his own self. Only with differentiating knowledge based upon the preachment of Guru can he realise his own soul. Otherwise he shall remain ignorant. The next three gathas 20-22 describe the same in detail.

Further three more gathas 23-25  reiterate the same point in detail. The ignorant people  have been believing the body, wealth, riches, wife, son etc. as their own which are nothing but pudgala matter. The characteristic of jiva is upayoga(consciousness ) and pudgala has characteristics of touch, taste, colour, smell etc. which are not there in jiva at all, then how can they belong to jiva?

Acharya Amritchandra displays his compassion and addresses the reader as follows:

‘ O brother! In spite of great sufferings, even at the cost of life, experience the soul by being interested in Tatvas and remaining neighbour to body etc. corporeal substances. On observing the great riches of the soul different from all the dravyas, you shall soon discard the attraction towards all the body etc. pudgala substances.’

However the ignorant jiva is not convinced. He says in gatha 26^th , “ If the Jiva is not same as body then the prayers that are offered to Tirthankaras and Acharyas would be meaningless. Hence we believe that soul is body only.” He also quotes from prayers which describe the glory of the bodies of Tirthankaras which is brighter than the brightness of sun. His divine sermon is like nectar to the ears.

Acharya clarifies it again in Gatha 27. Jiva and body are said to be same from the aspect of vyavahara naya but from the aspect of Nishchaya naya, they are not the same. By seeing the idol of Tirthankara, the Chhadmastha jiva installs his image within his own soul since they are the same in terms of nature. This is known as Sthapana ( installation). However the one who is ignorant of Nishchaya naya, does not realise this and for him the Sthapana has no meaning. For him the worship is merely a ritual. In Gatha 28^th it is told that Munis believe by worshipping the pudgala body that they have worshipped the Kevali bhagwan. In 29^th Gatha it is reiterated that such obeisance to body is not the true worship. The real obeisance is offered by worshipping the qualities of Kevali bhagwan.

It is made abundantly clear in 30^th gatha that just as the description of city and its beauty is not the description of the King, the same way the obeisance to the  body is not  homage to the qualities of Tirthankara.

Now Acharya reveals the real prayers that should be offered to Tirthankara-Kevalis-Acharyas. This is carried out in three gathas 31-33.

Those munis who have overcome the physical senses, the bhavas generated by the senses and the subjects of those senses and  they realise the soul to be different from other substances by their knowing nature, they are deemed to be Jitendriya (conqueror of senses). Earlier the experience of the senses used to appear as same as that of soul due to attachment towards senses but now it has been conquered by the differentiating knowledge. 

The Moha karma on fruition gives rise to variety of passions within the jiva and he behaves in consonance with the fruition. Those Munis who have overcome Moha by their differentiating knowledge, knowing it to be different and experience the soul to be different by means of their knowing nature, those munis are deemed to be JitaMoha ( conqueror of Moha).

Those Munis who have attained such purity of soul by means of differentiating knowledge and experience of the soul that the Moha karma has been destroyed, they are deemed as KsheenMoha (destroyer of Moha).

These three prayers of the form of Nishchaya naya are typically offered to Munis who are in spiritual  states of 10^th , 11^th and 12^th Gunasthanas.

In this manner the misconception of the ignorant jiva was clarified who used to believe the body to be same as soul. With the right knowledge, the jiva is overwhelmed with pleasure and desirous of following the true path. Therefore he now enquires the procedure for Pratyakhyan (renunciation) of other dravyas. In reply Acharya brief describe the true path in remaining gathas 34-37^th of this Poorva rang.

Knowing all the substances as different from the self only is Pratyakhyan since knowledge itself is renunciation. Afterall nothing was mine so there is nothing to discard. Even bhavas pertaining to them were not mine. I am of the nature of consciousness and the nature of ragas and subjects of knowledge are different from my knowing and seeing nature. Hence I do not have any attachment for all the subjects of knowledge (all the dravyas including all  other jivas).

Then what is the subject of my contemplation? This is replied in the last 38^th gatha of this chapter.

I am pure one only of the nature of knowledge and vision, forever non corporeal and even an iota of other dravya is not mine. This is the reality.

Thus the SamyakDrishti jiva engages in mediation and experience of own soul enjoying the bliss of the same.

Thus we see that Poorva Rang has aptly described the entire Samaysar in abstract form with details to follow in the remaining chapters.

Continued.......