Sunday, December 25, 2022

Atmanushasan ( Discipline of Soul) - 07

 

The folly of ignorant

Prior to Samyak Darshan, what all acts you carried out, they harmed you only:

Shloka 100: O naïve Jiva! Before  attaining this paryaya, you acted like the stupid goat. Just as some person was searching for a knife to kill a goat and the goat herself dug the knife with her hoof and she got killed with the same. In the same way, you did that only which harms you only. You remained foolish in consideration of your good or bad. The pleasures of this world are not catchable just as  a blind person wishes to catch a bird by clapping. In the same way getting even a small amount of pleasure in this world is a subject of great wonder.

Meaning: O Jiva! Just like the goat which dug out the knife herself, you have harmed yourself. In this world the sensory pleasures give some enjoyment. These enjoyments would remain- thinking so  you have become carefree. But this state is like that of a blind person wishing to catch a bird, hence you cannot remain carefree with that assurance.

The misery generated by desires

What is the state of the Jivas desirous of the pleasant objects on account of desires:

Shloka 101: Oh! It is a matter of great sorrow that intense desires untimely shatter those who believe themselves to be Pandit, Gyani etc. with the nimitta of favourite women etc.; shattering their wisdom into pieces it gives great pain. Still it is surprising that in spite of being shattered into pieces, they tolerate it with patience and bravery and are not encouraged to destroy the desires by the fire of tapa.

Meaning : All jivas are inflicted with desires right up to Devas. Those who think themselves to be Gyani also suffer corruption by the nimitta of women. Just as someone believing himself to be intelligent is wounded by the arrows shot  by someone, in spite of being attacked with arrows, he does not attempt to kill the shooter believing him to be his friend and rather tries to strengthen him – this is a matter of great surprise. In the same way desires make a person believing himself to be wise suffer by means of women, then he tolerates those pangs of desires but he does not attempt to destroy them by the fire of tapa knowing them to harmful to him; rather he attempts to strengthen them by several means- this is matter of great wonder.

Example of increasingly supreme renunciation

What do those enthusiastic for burning desires do- this is described next:

Shloka 102: Some hermits realising the sensory subjects to be useless like straw, donate the Lakshmi to son etc. or other solicitors. Some other  hermits believing the Lakshmi to be pap form and not fulfilling, abandon it as it is without giving it to anyone. Some other fortunate  hermits knowing the Lakshmi to be non benevolent do not accept it from the beginning itself- in this way know these three hermits to be increasingly superior in renunciation.

Meaning: Those who relinquish the money etc. all wealth are called supreme renouncers. Out of them those who give away the wealth to son etc., they are great renouncers  and those who relinquish it without giving to anyone are also superior renouncers. This is so since those who give it to son etc. have some amount of passions present which resulted in bhava of giving it to someone, but the other has such detachment that he does not care who acquires that wealth . But those who do not accept the wealth in the beginning itself and renounce it in young age itself, they are the most supreme renouncers. This is so since others have abandoned it after enjoyment of wealth, but this person had such detachment that there was no interest in enjoyment from beginning itself.

In this way the renouncers of wealth should be known to be superior in increasing order.

What is the surprise in renunciation of wealth upon detachment

It is not surprising that saints renounce the wealth on acquisition:

Shloka 103: Great people renounce their wealth upon detachment- Oh! Why should it surprise? Do people not vomit properly eaten food upon remorse ? Surely they do.

Meaning: Renunciation in spite of having raga surely causes pain and it is difficult to tolerate that pain, hence if those people having raga renunciate then it surely is a matter of surprise. But upon detachment, the renunciation does not cause any pain and instead happiness prevails and who does not seek happiness? Therefore the renunciation by detached people is not a matter  of surprise.

Just as after taking food if a person develops such an aversion that with this food he  may lose his life, then with several efforts he vomits that food, in the same way with the enjoyment of subjects of senses easily available I shall also be harmed in future- thus knowing with detachment the jiva renunciates them with efforts- there is no wonder in this.

The nature of different renouncers who relinquish Lakshmi

What types of manifestations are observed of the Jivas who renounce Lakshmi:

Shloka 104: Foolish coward people are sad on renunciation of Lakshmi and the real brave people  take pride in it, but those having knowledge of Tattva neither are sad nor proud on renunciation of Lakshmi- this is a subject of great wonder. 

Meaning: With renunciation of wealth the worldly people have two types of bhavas. If a coward person loses his wealth due to some reason, then he is quite sad and “ how did it happen” – thus he suffers internally. If a brave person loses his wealth due to some reason or he himself renounces his wealth with enthusiasm then he is proud that he did so- thus he develops pride. However this a matter of great wonder that those knowledgeable of Tattva do not feel sad or proud on renunciation of wealth, since Gyani people know the wealth to be other dravya and with renunciation of other dravya there should not be any sorrow or pride, hence the Gyanis renounce the other dravya without being sad or proud.

Inspiration for renunciation of Moha with body

The way the Lakshmi is renounced by sensible people , in  the same way they renounce the body also:

Shloka 105: Similar to the company of dastardly people, this body since birth until death is store of pain, impurity, fear, dependence and pap. Considering its nature properly it is worthy of abandoning by Gyanis. If by its renunciation one gets salvation then who would be foolish not to renounce it?

Meaning: Where anyone of pain, impurity, fear, insult, pap etc. are there, or few are there or sometimes are there then wise people abandon it. In the body these are found to be profusely present. Hence this body is worthy of abandoning by the wise ones. Even if there are no other benefits by abandoning it, then also it is worthy of discarding. However, by renouncing it if one gets Moksha then who would be foolish not to renounce it? Just as conjunction with dastardly people is painful, in the same way realising it to be painful in all respects, it should be renounced.

Inspiration for renunciation of raga etc.

Just as Lakshmi and body are worthy of renouncing being cause of several disasters, in the same way the ragas etc. are also worthy of relinquishing:

Shloka 106: O Bhavya! On account of converse activities of raga etc. form or KuGyan (wrong gyan) you have yourself attained fruition of birth and death forms. Now you entertain  such conviction that by engaging in activities opposite to them , with their fruition  salvation could be attained.

Meaning: It is a rule in the Lok that the reason due to which a thing is generated, by its opposite reason, the opposite thing is generated. For example- sickness due to heat is cured by its opposite cool things. Hence O Bhavya! On account of ignorance and Asanyam (non restraint) you have attained painful fruits of birth-death etc. If due to some reason this has happened once only then this doubt is possible that this has happened due to some other reason. However the worldly people are eternally practicing Agyan and Asanyam and they are witnessing the sufferings of birth-death hence there is no scope of doubt there.

If whenever some thing is eaten and the same sickness is experienced every time, then one should know that this thing only is the cause for the sickness. If someone else has experienced that sickness then also there could be some doubt of the reason for the sickness. Hence you yourself contemplate that “ how am I manifesting and what result I am attaining”. Therefore if you do not desire that result, then you abandon the manifestation in the Agyan form that you have been doing.

Contrary to Agyan and Asanyam are Samyak Gyan and Samyak Charitra. With their practice, indestructible blissful form Moksha is attained opposite to the results of birth-death. There is no doubt also there since there are very few Jivas practicing Samyak Gyan and Samyak Charitra. They immediately experience some happiness with elimination of restlessness generated by Agyan-Asanyam and with greater practice greater happiness is observed. Therefore just as with consumption of medicine a disease is seen to be getting cured, then it should be known that with its consumption the disease would be eliminated completely also; in the same way it should be decided that with practice of Samyak Gyan and Samyak Charitra all the miseries would be destroyed. Hence their  practice is worthwhile.

Inspiration for following the path of compassion-strength etc.

If you desire the fruit of the form of salvation, then traverse such path:

Shloka 107: O Jiva! The kindness towards self and others is compassion, control of senses-mind is strength, abandoning raga towards other objects is renunciation and Veetrag state form is blissful Samadhi – traversing on such a path with effort, follow it without deceit- this path would lead you to indescribable and Nirvikalpa supreme state.

Meaning: Just as some one goes straight on the right path for going towards desired destination then he would surely reach that town. In the same way the Jiva who practices Samyak Gyan- Samyak Charitra form true Moksha Marg without hypocrisy, with compassion, strength and renunciation etc., then he would surely attain Moksha. “ I shall practice alright, but if the result is not attained, then? “ with such doubts don’t be weary. With this means the objective is surely attained.

Inspiration for differentiating knowledge and detachment

Moksha Marg of the form of renunciation of possessions wilfully leads to Moksha state for the Jivas:

Shloka 108: Just as by practicing Pranayam the body gets purified; in the same way those who eliminate Moha with differentiating knowledge, they surely attain immortality by renunciation of possessions.

Meaning: The destruction of Moha with differentiating knowledge only is Samyak darshan along with Samyak Gyan, and renunciation of internal-external possessions is Samyak Charitra. Here if the Jiva attaining Samyak Darshan along with Samyak Gyan  adopts Samyak Charitra then he traverses on real Moksha Marg. He surely attains Moksha, there is no doubt about it, since the result  cannot be denied if all causal reasons are present. Therefore if someone has some inadequacy in the jewel trio then there could be doubt in his attainment of Moksha. On accompaniment of all the three reasons of Moksha, the Moksha surely is attained- this should be taken for granted.

Appreciation of child-celibates

The laudation of people carrying out greatest renunciation amongst the people renouncing rationally:

Shloka 109: Salutations  to the Kumar-Celibate who by renouncing  subjects of senses has turned all the subjects of senses to be his leftovers- this is amazing deed.

Meaning: Among the previously described (shloka 102) three types of renouncers, in spite of availability of subjects of pleasure, renouncing them without enjoyments on account of detachment and in kumar state only accepting ordination, such a person is greatest renouncer. After enjoyment, abandoning the subjects of pleasure is not much surprising, but without enjoying them in spite of availability and renouncing them is great wonder. Just as food is served to someone and he abandons it without eating,  then it is called left over. In the same way he has abandoned the sensory subjects without enjoyment hence all the sensory subjects are equivalent to left overs only. Hence we offer our salutations to him.

The secret of becoming Paramatma

Description of total detachment form charitra:

Shloka 110: “ I am possessionless – nothing is mine” – sit down with such a spirit! You shall soon be the owner of all the three Loks. The secret of becoming Paramatma as known to the Yogishwaras is being told to you by us.

Meaning: Out of ignorance there is oneness with other things and other things are not really ours, hence this jiva  attains inferior state. But when this Jiva contemplates that the other things are not mine then he attains supreme detachment form Charitra, which results in the state which is respected by entire three Loks as their master. This secret is known to Yogishwara which we have revealed to you. Now you should also contemplate this- we preach you thus.

Inspiration for engaging in Tapa

Shloka 111: This Manushya paryaya is rare, impure and without happiness. The time of its death is unknown , the longest Ayu is also short. However only in this paryaya the tapa can be performed and tapa only leads to salvation. Hence after attaining Manushya state you should perform tapa.

Meaning: The benefit of soul lies in Moksha. This cannot be attained without tapa, since the worship of tapa along with Samyak darshan-gyan-charitra only is real Moksha Marga. Such tapa is practiced in Manushya paryaya only. It is said also:

“Devas are obsessed with sensual pleasures, Naraki are immersed in strong miseries and Tiryanch are without rational; hence Manushya only can attain dharma.”                         

If this Manushya paryaya is acquired again and again and if someone did not perform tapa in present paryaya then it can be said that the tapa can be carried out in next paryaya; but here it is said that even in infinitely infinite period acquiring Manushya paryaya is scarce.

If in this paryaya, the pleasures like those of Devas are available then it is difficult to perform tapa relinquishing them. But here the primacy is that of bodily and mental unhappiness, hence what is the problem in abandoning unhappiness and performing tapa?

If the body of Manushya were beautiful then  there would be  fear of its spoiling , but this highly impure body is generated with metals and its secondaries. Hence what is the fear in engaging this body in tapa?

If like devas, the time of death were known then after enjoyment for some period, then tapa could be performed, but in Manushya state the time of death is unknown that when he would die?

If the Ayu were maximum then” I must be having long Ayu”- with such misconception one may not perform tapa, but here even the maximum Ayu is quite short; hence without being lazy, being alert carrying out Tapa is appropriate.

Result and objective of Dhyana Tapa

Amongst twelve types of tapas the nearest means for salvation is Dhyana form tapa hence its objective and results are described in next shloka:

Shloka 112: In Samadhi the worship of Guru of three Loks i.e. Bhagwan is carried out. This practice has been praised by saints. In Samadhi the only hardship is remembering the feet of Bhagawan and the Karmas are destroyed profusely – this much only is the expenditure; whereas in short time itself by application of mind only the benefit of Moksha pleasure is attained. Hence O Gyani! Consider it very well in your mind that what is the difficulty in Samadhi.

Meaning: Many people consider Tapa (Samadhi) to be hardship and since they cannot endure hardship, they do not perform tapa. To them it is said- amongst all tapas the supreme tapa is dhyana, what is the hardship there, you tell.

In serving inferior people one feels ashamed and sorry, but in dhyana the master of three Loks i.e. Arihant etc. or the knowing soul of three Loks is worshipped.

If we have to perform some rotten act then one feels sad. But dhyana is such an act that its is praised even by great people.

If worship involves hardship then there could be misery, but here the feet of Bhagwan Atma only need to be remembered- this much only has to be done.

If in the practice we lose something then there could be sorrow,  but here those which we wish to destroy-such karmas only are destroyed, we do not lose anything.

If the result of practice was small then it would not be called meaningful, but the result of dhyana is highest Moksha.

If practice has to be carried out for very long then there could be suffering, but the result of dhyana is attained in very short time itself.

If the means for dhyana were dependent then there could be misery, but here our own mind is the means i.e. diverting the mind from other subjects, it has to be directed towards thoughts of Bhagwan.

In this way you contemplate that what is the misery in such Dhyana form Tapa? Hence do not show disrespect towards tapa.

Someone may say that there is no difficulty in Dhyana but there is suffering in fasting etc. Tapa. Then he is told that if someone does not desire  to practice then fasting etc. tapa may cause misery, but here without causing carelessness in manifestations and without sufferings- with such thoughts only the practice of dhyan with own desire is carried out along with fasting etc. Hence there is no suffering in them.

Tapa only is the means for all Siddhis (accomplishments)

There is no other means capable of giving desired results other than Tapa, for the people desirous of Moksha for soul benediction:

Shloka 113: With the blowing of air of the form of thoughts of money etc., how can the Jivas burning with desires be happy? Desire form diseases can turn non rogues soul into rogues. Can hardship form dust even touch the person engaged in Charitra? If not then tell! Which is better means for attainment of desired results other than Tapa?

Meaning: What all deeds are carried out by worldly people are for the sake of prestige etc.. Even at the cost of life they wish to be famous. For satisfying the pride they suffer the desire of earning wealth and due to that they always remain unhappy. Whereas the glory of Tapa is such that with it without desiring, prestige and powers are acquired. Hence there is nothing superior to Tapa.

The glory of Tapa

What do the Jivas practicing Tapa do? This is explained:

Shloka 114: With practice of Tapa, the eternal enemies of anger etc. form which are accompanied with the soul are conquered here itself immediately. The qualities which this soul desires to attain even at the cost of life, are revealed automatically. In future the Moksha- Purushartha is accomplished soon. Hence which rational person would not engage in such misery destroying Tapa? Surely he would.

Meaning: The deeds which may give loss in  future but benefit immediately or  loss immediately with benefit in future- such deeds are carried out by Jivas wilfully. Whereas the Tapa provides benefit immediately as well as in future, hence which rational person would not engage in such tapa? Surely he would.

The immediate benefit of Tapa is that with it, the eternal anger etc. which are directly cause for misery are eliminated. The qualities of knowledge etc. and different powers fame etc. which Lok desires to attain even at the cost of life are automatically acquired. The future benefit of Tapa is that as a result of it, the soul can attain the desired objective of Moksha.

Therefore knowing the beneficial Tapa which generates qualities in this Lok  as well as other Lok, one should have affection towards it.

Continued….

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