(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.