Nature of Liberation Path

 

(Doha:   Shiv upaye karatai prathm, karan mangalroop

              Vighan vinashak sukhkaran, namo shudh shivbhoop

 

(Meaning: While making effort for liberation, I first bow to the pure self-soul - the monarch of liberation who is the cause of benediction, destroyer of impediments and the cause of bliss.)

 

Now the nature of liberation path is being described. Firstly the nature of wrong faith, etc. which are contrary to liberation path have been explained.  Knowing them irksome and cause of sorrow, one should give up them by treating them renounce-able.  And in the middle portion, the nature of preachings has been described; knowing it correctly, one should understand the true sense of preachings.  Now the nature of right belief, etc., which constitute the path of liberation are being explained.  Knowing them blissful and the cause of bliss, one should accept them by believing them to be worth adopting; because the weal of soul is liberation only; the duty of soul is to make effort for its evolution only.  Therefore, the same is being preached here.

 

Soul's Weal is Liberation Only.

 

"The weal of the soul is attained of liberation only and nothing else" - how does such ascertainment take place - the same is being described:-

 

The soul is found in various states of attributes and modifications.  Amongst these, whatever else be the state, no harm or benefit is caused to the soul; harm or benefit is caused to it only by the state of misery and happiness.  Here no logic or example is required because it is clearly perceived.

 

All souls in the world are found making effort for avoiding miseries and evolving happiness. Whatever other efforts are made by them, are for this purpose only, there is no other purpose.  Whatever causes misery is being avoided and whatever is supposed to cause happiness is being pursued.

 

Further, the states of contraction - expansion, etc. are, too, caused to the soul only and the association of many other substances is also found but no effort is made for those things which are not perceived to be causing pleasure or pain. Here one should know the nature of the soul to be such only. One can forbear all sorts of conditions but cannot forbear the state of misery. What can one do if misery is caused due to helplessness (subservience), one has to bear it; but left to oneself, one does not want to undergo even the slightest misery. Further, whatever be the states of contraction -expansion, etc., one bears it in the natural course, because no logic is applicable in the state of nature. Such should be known to be nature of the soul.

 

One should know that when one suffers from misery, he wants to sleep; in the state of sleeping, one's active knowledge, etc. become feeble, but even by becoming like an inanimate object, he wishes to eliminate misery. And even he wishes to die. Although in death one believes his absolute destruction, yet one wishes to eliminate misery even by finishing one's existence. Therefore, one's sole purpose is only to end the state of misery.

 

Further, absence of misery only is happiness, because misery consists in perturbed-ness and its absence itself is happiness consisting in unperturbed-ness. This too is clearly perceived. Whatever association of external things may be found, one who is not internally perturbed, is happy.  Further, perturbed-ness is caused due to rise of attachment, etc., passions because due to feelings of attachment, etc., one wishes to modify other substances differently and those substances modify differently. This causes perturbedness. Therefore, for mitigation of perturbed-ness, either one's attachment, etc. (passions) be uprooted or other substances should modify according to one's desire; but all other substances are not subservient to him.  Sometimes some substance may be found modifying as per one's desire, even then his perturbedness does not get mitigated totally; when everything happens as per his desire and nothing happens contrarily then alone one would remain unperturbed; but this can never be possible, because the modification of any substance is not dependent on any other substance. Therefore, unperturbedness is possible only on eradication of one's feelings of attachment, etc. (passions).  So, this act can be attained, because attachment, etc.  dispositions are not the natural dispositions, but are perverse dispositions, are produced due to instrumentality of other substances and that instrumental cause is the rise of Moha (deluding) karma; on its destruction, all sorts of attachment, etc. passions get eradicated and then on removal of perturbedness, misery ends and bliss is evolved. Hence, the destruction of the Moha karma is beneficial.

 

Further, the coexisting cause of perturbedness is the rise of Jnanavarana (knowledge-obscuring karma) etc. Due to the rise of Jnanavarana and Darshanavarana (perception-obscuring karma) knowledge and perception are not fully manifested; therefore, perturbedness is caused due to the desire of knowing and seeing (the things). Or he does not know the exact complete nature of the substance, due to which the feelings of attachment, etc. arise which cause perturbedness.

 

Further, due to the rise of Antarya karma (obstructive karma) the desired acts of charity, etc. are not fulfilled, then perturbedness is caused. The rise of Antarayakarma along with the rise of Moha-karma become the associating cause of perturbedness. On destruction of Moha-karma they become ineffective and those karmas get automatically destroyed (without any effort) in one Antar Muhurta, i.e., within very- very short period; but when the coexisting cause also gets destroyed then the fully manifested state of unperturbedness is realized. There, the omniscient God is said to have attained the state of infinite bliss.

 

Further, due to the instrumentality of the rise of Aghati karmas (non-destructive karmas) the union of body, etc. is found. There, due to rise of Moha-karma, the union of the body, etc. acts as an external coexisting cause of perturbedness. Perturbedness is caused due to the feeling of attachment, etc. whose internal cause is the rise of Moha- karma and external cause is the rise of Aghati karmas due to which the union of body, etc. is found.  Although the rise of Aghati karmas continues even after the destruction of Moha- karma, it in no way can cause perturbedness. But since earlier it was a coexisting cause of perturbedness, therefore, the destruction of Aghati karmas also is desirable for the soul.  The state of misery is not found in the omniscient God even on the rise of these (Aghati) karmas. Therefore, no effort is necessary for their destruction; but on destruction of Moha-karma these (Aghati) karmas also get automatically destroyed in a short period of time.

 

In this way, the benediction of soul lies in the destruction of all karmas and liberation (Moksha) is the name of destruction of all karmas.  Thus, the only weal of the soul is attainment of Moksha and nothing else; one should clearly ascertain this.

 

Someone may ask here - " In mundane existence also due to the rise of Punya (auspicious) karmas the Jiva becomes happy; hence, why do you say that Moksha only is the weal of the soul?

 

Answer: In mundane existence, there is no happiness at all in any way, there is only misery.  But sometimes someone is found in intense state of misery and someone is found suffering from feeble state of misery.  So, from the point of view that earlier there was intense misery or some Jivas are found in the state of intense misery, the Jiva found suffering from feeble misery is said to be happy.  And from the same point of view, the Jiva suffering from feeble misery treats himself to be happy; in reality there is no happiness. Further, even if the state of feeble misery remains for all times, it may also be treated as beneficial but this also is not so.  The rise of Punya karma is short-lived and during that time feeble misery is found but afterwards intense misery gets evolved.  Therefore, the mundane existence is not at all beneficial.

 

For example, someone is suffering from typhoid fever; sometimes he is more restless, sometimes he is less restless. When he is less restless, he treats himself to be happy. People also say - "He is well"; but in reality so long as fever exists, he is not well.  Similarly, the mundane being is having the rise of Moha-karma.  Sometimes he feels more perturbed, sometimes less perturbed.  When he feels less perturbed, he believes himself to be happy.  People also say-  "He is happy"; but in reality so long as there is rise of Moha, he is not happy.

 

Further, it should be known that even in mundane existence one is said to be happy on lessening of perturbedness and one is called miserable on increase in perturbedness.  Happiness- unhappiness is not caused by association of external objects. For example, some pauper acquired wealth, here also he is called happy due to lessening of perturbedness and he also treats himself to be happy.  And a very rich person suffered some loss of wealth; there he is called unhappy due to increase in perturbedness and he also believes himself to be unhappy.

 

One should know the same all everywhere.

 

Moreover, the decrease-increase in perturbedness too is not in accordance with association of external things, rather it is according to the decrease-increase in passions.  For example, someone possesses less wealth and he feels contented.  Therefore, he is less perturbed.  And someone possesses enough wealth but it is avarice (greedy) then he is found to be more perturbed.  Further, someone highly abused somebody but he did not become angry even by a little abuse, then he feels highly perturbed.  For example, although the cow has no expectation from its calf, yet it entertains intense feeling of attachment towards it; therefore, the cow is highly perturbed due to the feeling of protecting it. Further, the body of the warrior is useful in many ways but due to rise of pride passion, etc., if the Moha (attachment) towards body, etc. gets lessened in the battle-field then he feels less perturbed even in mundane existence happiness and sorrow are believed to be caused only on lessening and increase in perturbedness.  And decrease-increase in perturbedness is caused by decrease-increase in attachment passions, etc.

 

Further, happiness and sorrow are not caused by other external substances.  Desire arises in a person out of passions and if external things are obtained as per his desire, then due to some lessening of passions, perturbedness is reduced, then he feels happy; and when one does not get the external things as per his desire, then due to increase in passions, perturbedness increases and he feels unhappy. This is the reality; but he believes that happiness-sorrow are caused to him due to the instrumentality of other substances.  Such understanding is delusion only.  Therefore, one should know that in mundane existence, the Jivas feel happy due to somewhat decrease in passions and believes it to be beneficial, then, where on total destruction of passions and causes there of, infinite bliss is attained due to evolution of supreme unperturbedness, how then such sate of liberation be not believed to be the weal of the soul?

 

Further, in mundane existence, even if one acquires a high status, then also either the perturbedness of gathering articles of carnal pleasures is caused or the perturbedness of enjoying the carnal pleasure persists, or the if due to some other passion like anger, etc., some desire is evolved, then the perturbedness of fulfilling it is caused; never does he become totally unperturbed.  Internally, several types of perturbedness are found existing.  And if one makes external effort for ending perturbedness, then firstly, this objective is not accomplished; and if due to destiny that objective gets fulfilled then immediately he busies himself in making effort for mitigating some other perturbedness.  Thus perturbedness of mitigating perturbedness continues incessantly.  If this sort of perturbedness be not there, then why does he indulge in the newer-newer types of acts of sensual pleasures, etc.?  Therefore, in the mundane existence, due to rise of Punya karmas, if someone attains the rank of Indra-Ahimindra, etc., even then, imperturbedness is not evolved and he remains miserable only.  Therefore, in no way mundane existence is beneficial.

 

And in the state of liberation, none of the types of perturbedness exists, therefore, the purpose of making effort for ending perturbedness is not found there; the liberated souls (Siddha Gods) always remains blissful by the spiritually evolved quietude; therefore, the state of liberation only is beneficial.  Earlier also the detailed description of the sorrows and miseries of mundane existence and bliss of liberated state has been given, that too has been given with this very purpose.  Pondering over that too, believing liberation to be the weal of the soul, one should make effort for liberation.  The purpose of all preachings is this much only.