3.1.5. The Concept of the Soul

[Full title: Jayācārya’s Meditation (1) Baḍā-Dhyāna (Long Meditation) (5) The Concept of the Soul]

The depiction of the body and rebirth as a source of untold suffering and horror paves the way for Jayācārya’s discussion of the necessity of turning inwards towards one’s own soul as that which must be sought:

In this respect the provider of happiness, your own soul, is your friend. Besides your soul no one is your friend. Oh soul! You are your own friend. Why do you desire for an external friend? Attachment towards other friends is a cause for the karma. This form of pure quality of your soul is a giver of unwavering happiness like a friend. This soul is the doer of action, this soul is the disperser of karma, your soul is your friend, your soul is the enemy, your soul is the giver of grief, like ‘vaitaraṇī river’. The grief (equivalent to that) of the ‘kūḍa-sāmalī tree’ is caused by the soul. The soul is like the divine cow (kāma-dhenu) in comparison, like the divine garden (nandanavana) joy giving, is the soul. So by controlling the Soul, a being can receive the invaluable joy of salvation.^[1]

Jayācārya’s text Baḍā-dhyāna is a part of dharma-dhyāna, which is divided into four categories:

(1) The first dharma-dhyāna investigates the essence of the scriptural commandment, ājñā-vicaya. This type of meditation focuses on the traditional concepts of meditating on the tīrthaṅkaras, siddhas and their teaching.

(2) The second dharma-dhyāna investigates the nature of physical and mental suffering, known as apāya-vicaya. Jayācārya presents painful situations of under developed living beings such as one sense to five sense organisms (e.g. bacteria, insects, birds…etc.).

(3) The third dharma-dhyāna investigates the effect of karma, vipaka-vicaya, which Jayācārya explained under the fourth meditation, which is Karma vipāka rai dhyāna ro prayoga.

(4) The fourth dharma-dhyāna investigates shape of the universe and its contents, sansthāna-vicaya, which is used in Jayācārya’s ‘Raṅga sahita tīrthaṅkara rai dhyāna rā prayoga’ by meditating on the samsthāna of the tīrthaṅkara’s body (Tattvārtha-sūtra₁, 9.37). Tatia presents a parallel concept in Buddhist tradition, which is known as “dharma-pravicaya” for the eradication of impurities (kleśa) (Ṭātiā, 1986: xxvii).

Footnotes and references:

[back to top]

[1]:

Jayācārya, (n.d./1997a: 85, Prayoga-4) te bhaṇī sukha nī dātā e potā nī ātmāija mitra chai | ātmā ṭāla anero koī mitra na thī | re jīva! tāharo mitra tūṅhīja chai | bāhiralā mitra syūṃ vāchai? Bījā mitra moha vaśya karma nā kāraṇa chai | e sudha nija guṇa rūpa ātmā acala sukha nī dātā mitra chai| e ātmāija karma nī kartā, e ātmāija karma nī vikheratā, potā nī ātmāija mitra, ātmāija dusamaṇa, vetaraṇī nā dukha nī dātā potā nī ātmā chai | kūḍa sāmalī nā dukha nī dāyaka ātmā chai | ātmā kāmadhenu tulya, naṅdana vana nā sukha nī deṇa hāra potā nī ātmā chai | te māṭai ātmā nai basa kiyaṃ jīva amolaka mukti nā sukha pāmai |