Chapter 1.2 - Yoga in Jain Canon and Commentarial Literature

The Jain canonical literature defines the term yoga as the mental, verbal as well as physical activities.^[1] Their good and bad types are classified as the auspicious (praśasta) and the inauspicious (apraśasta) activities.^[2]

The following lines throw light on their good and bad aspects:

“kāyikaṃ karma vācikaṃ karma mānasaṃ karma ityeṣa trividho yoga bhavati | sa ekaśodvividho | śubhāśubhaśca| tatrāśubhohiṃsāsteyā brahamādīni kāyikaḥ, sāvadyānṛtaparūṣapiśunādīni vācikaḥ, abhidhyāvyāpaderṣyā-sūyādīni mānasaḥ| ato viparītaḥ śubha iti || ” ^[3]

The yoga (i.e. the mental, verbal and physical activities), in Jainism, is one of the doors of the inflow of karmans (āśrava). Among the five doors of the inflow of karmans, namely wrong faith (mithyātva), non-abstinance (avirati), negligence (pramāda), passion (kaṣāya) and activity (yoga),^[4] the passion and activity are the most prominent ones. When the activities of mind, speech and body get involved with passion, a soul accumulates karmans due to vibration. According to Jainism the ultimate destination of a soul’s spiritual journey is to achieve complete annihilation of eight karmans. It can be done by stopping the inflow of new karmans (saṃvara) and destroying previously accumulated karmans (nirjarā).

When a soul is in his early stage of spiritual development, he is adviced to leave inauspicious activities and to adopt auspicious activities. However, in order to attain the ultimate bliss he has to renounce the auspicious as well as inauspicious activities. For achieving complete cessation of activities (yoganirodha) a soul, first of all, has to regulate them. The disciplined mind gives rise to regulated mental, verbal as well as physical activities. By the disciplined mind a soul obtains concentration of thoughts. Thereby he obtains development of knowledge which produces right faith (samyaktva) and annihilates the wrong faith.^[5] The careless performance of mental, verbal and physical activities causes accumulation of inauspicious karmans. Therefore Jain monks are very careful and sincere in their performance of activities. Their each activity is performed by following five self-regulations (pañca-samiti) and three self-restraints (tri-gupti). It is technically called aṣṭapravacanamātā in Jainism. By being sincere in his actions he will become pure in his actions.^[6] Those actions which cause a lesser accumulation of karmans are called pure actions. The spiritually grown-up aspirant obtains inactivity (ayoga) by renouncing activity (yogapratyākhyāna). When he obtains the state of inactivity he no more accumulates new karmans. Moreover, he also destroys previously accumulated karmans.^[7]

The mentioning of thirty two jogasaṅgahā ^[8] , (yogasaṅgrahas) found in Jain canons, is nothing but the pre-requisite to attain liberation. They are meant for monks as well as laymen. They are considered to be the foundation of the Jain Yoga. The term jogasaṅgahā is explained as follows in the vṛtti of Abhayadevasūri on the Samavāyāṅgasūtra.

The lines are:

“dvātriśaṃtsthānakamapivyaktama,् navaraṃ yujyante iti yogāḥ manovākkāyavyāpārāḥ te cahe praśastā eva vivakṣitāsteṣāṃ śiṣyācāryagatānāmālocanā-nirapalāpādinā prakāreṇa saṅgrahaṇāni saṅgrahāḥ praśastayogasaṅgrahāḥ praśastayogasaṅgrahanimittvatvādālocanādaya eva tathocyante, te cadvātriṃśadbhavanti, tadapu darśakaṃślokapañcakam āloyaṇetyādi,..... || 32.1 || ”

Apart from Samavāyāṅgasūtra the mentioning of thirty two jogasaṅgahā is also found in the Āvaśyakasūtra^[9] . Moreover Bhadrabāhusvāmī’s niryukti on Āvaśyakasūtra has described them by giving four instances.^[10] The thirty two jogasaṅgahā are also called samādhisūtra.

The usage of words jogavaṃ^[11] (yogavān), jogavāhitā^[12] and sāvajjaṃ jogaṃ^[13] are found in Jain canons. The word jogavaṃ used in the Uttarādhyayanasūtra is interpreted as follows in the commentary by Muni Bhavavijaya^[14] (17th centrury A.D.) on it:

1. jogavaṃ = yogovyāpāro dhamars ya tadvān || 11.14 ||

2. jogavaṃ = yogaḥsvādhyāyādidhamarv yāpārastadvān || 34.27 ||

Whereas the same word is interpreted differently when used in Sūtrakṛtāṅga. It is as follows:

“... | yogo nāma saṃyama eva, yogo yasyāstīti sa bhavati yogavān | jogā vā jassa vase vaṭṭaṃti sa bhavati yogavāna ṇāṇādīyā | athavāyogavāniti samiti-guptiṣu nityopamuktaḥsvādhīnayoga ityatharḥ, yo hi anyat karoti anyatra copayuktaḥ sa hi tatpravṛttayogaṃ prati ayogavāneva bhavati | loke 'pi ca vaktāro bhavanti–vimanā ahaṃ, tena mayā nopalakṣitamiti | ataḥsvādhīnayoga eva yogavān |.... || 2.1.11 || ”^[15]

Moreover, the following verse of the Uttarādhyayana mentions importance of yoga. The verse is:

“It is said that an ox crosses a forest if carried away by a cart, in the same way practice of yoga helps an ascetic in crossing the transmigration which is like a dense forest.”^[16]

The word yoga, in the present verse, is explained as “….yoge saṃyamavyāpāre’ in Muni Bhāvavijaya’s commentary on Uttarādhyayanasūtra.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

(a) tivihe joge paṇṇatte taṃ jahā-maṇajoge, vaijoge, kāyajoge|
   –Sthānāṅgasūtra, 1.3.6

(b) maṇasā vacasā kāeṇa cāvijuttassa viriyapariṇāmo|
jīvasyappaṇiyoo jogo tti jiṇehi ṇiddiṭṭho || 1.14 || 
   –Jīvaṭṭhāṇa

[2]:

appasatthehiṃto jogehiṃto niyattei| pasatthe ya paḍivajjai pasatthajogapaḍivanne ya ṇaṃ aṇagāre aṇaṃtaghāipajjave khavei|
   –Uttarādhyayanasūtra, 29.87

[3]:

Umāsvāti’s Tattvārthsūtra, 6.1.

[4]:

paṃca āsavadārā paṇṇattā taṃ jahā–micchattaṃ, aviraī, pamāo, kasāyā, jogā|
   –Samavāyāṅgasūtra, samavāya-5

[5]:

maṇasamāhāraṇayāe ṇaṃ bhante jīve kiṃ jaṇayai || 
maṇasamāhāraṇayāe egaggaṃ jaṇayai|
egaggaṃ jaṇaittā nāṇapajjave jaṇayai|
nāṇapajjave jaṇaittā sammattaṃ visohei micchattaṃ ca nijjarei || 29.56 || 
   –Uttarādhyāyanasūtra

[6]:

jogasacceṇa bhante jīve kiṃ jaṇayai|
jogasacceṇaṃ jogaṃ visohei || 29.52 || 
   –Uttarādhyāyanasūtra

[7]:

jogapaccakkhāṇeṇaṃ bhante jīve kiṃ jaṇayai|
jogapaccakkhāṇeṇaṃ ajogattaṃ jaṇayai|
ajogī ṇaṃ jīve navaṃ kammaṃ na bandhai puvvabaddhaṃ nijjarei || 29.37 || 

[8]:

battīsaṃ jogasaṃgahā paṇṇattā, taṃjahā–
āloyaṇā 1 niravalāve 2, āvatīsu daḍhadhammayā 3 |
aṇissitovahāṇe ya 4, sikkhā 5 nippaḍikammayā 6 || 53 || 
aṇṇātatā 7 alobhe ya 8 titikkhā 9 ajjave 10 suī 11 |
sammaddiṭṭhī 12 samāhī ya 13 āyāre 14 viṇaovae 15 || 54 || 
dhitīmatī ya 16 saṃvege 17 paṇihī 18 suvihi 19 saṃvare 20 |
attadosovasaṃhāre 21, savvakāmavirattayā 22 || 55 || 
paccakkhāṇe 23-24 viosagge 25, appamāde 26 lavālave 26 |
jhāṇasaṃvarajoge ya 28, udaha māraṇaṃtie 29 || 56 || 
saṃgāṇaṃ ca pariṇṇā ya 30, pāyacchittakaraṇetti ya 31 |
ārāhaṇā ya maraṇaṃte 32, battīsaṃ jogasaṃgahā || 57 || 
   –Samavāyāṅgasūtra, 32.1

[9]:

Āvaśyakaniryukti, verse 1274-1274

[10]:

See verses: 1281, 1317, 1318 and 1319 of Āvaśyakaniryukti.

[11]:

(a) vase gurūku le ṇiccaṃ, jogavaṃ uvahāṇavaṃ |
piaṃkare piaṃbāī, se sikkhaṃ laddhumarihaī || 11.14 || 
(b) nīāvittī acapale amāī aku ūhale |
viṇīyaviṇae daṃte jogavaṃ uvahāṇavaṃ || 34.27 || 
(c) payaṇukkohamāṇe ya māyālobhe ya payaṇue |
pasaṃtacitte daṃtappā jogavaṃ uvahāṇavaṃ || 34.29 || 
   -Uttrādhyayanasūtra.

(d) jayayaṃ viharāhi jogavaṃ, aṇupāṇā paṃthā durūttarā |
aṇusāsaṇameva pakkame, vīrehiṃ sammaṃ paveiyaṃ || 2.1.11 || 
   -Sūtrakṛtāṅga

[12]:

(a) dasahiṃ ṭhāṇehiṃ jīvā āgamesibhaddattāe kammaṃ pagareṃti, taṃ jahā–aṇidāṇattāe, diṭṭhisaṃpaṇṇatāe, jogavāhitāe.... || 10.133 ||
(b) tihiṃ ṭhāṇehiṃ saṃpaṇṇe aṇagāre aṇādīyaṃ aṇavadaggaṃ dīhamaddhaṃ cāuraṃtaṃ saṃsārakaṃ tāraṃ vīīvaejjā, taṃ jahā–aṇidāṇayāe, diṭṭhisaṃpaṇṇayāe, jogavāhiyāe || 3.88 || 
   -Sthānāṅgasūtra.

[13]:

sāvajjaṃ jogaṃ paccakkhāmi... || 4.1 || 
... samaṇāṇaṃ jogāṇaṃ... || 4.3 || 
   -Āvaśyakasūtra, see, pg: 8-9 of Navasuttāṇi, edited by Muni Nathmal, published in Ladnun, Jain Vishva Bharati, 1987.

[14]:

Muni Bhavavijaya wrote commentary on the Uttarādhyayanasūtra in V. S. 1681 (= 1624 A.D.) The text Uttarādhyayanasūtra with this commentary was reprinted in 1982 and published in Mumbai by Divya Darshan trust.

[15]:

See pg: Sūyagadaṅgasutta with niryukti as well cūrṇi, part: 1, edited by Muni Punyavijaya, Prakrit text society, Ahmedabad, 1975.

[16]:

vahaṇe vahamāṇassa, kaṃ tāraṃ aivattai |
joe vahamāṇassa, saṃsāra aivattai || 27.2 || 
   -Uttarādhyayanasūtra.