The Three Jewels

Each soul can become supreme soul and experience the mystical state of perfection, this is a significant philosophy propounded by Bhagavān Mahāvīra. On the basis of this philosophy, in the context of mysticism, the question here arises, how come a mundane soul become supreme or attain supreme state called mokṣa? What are the means?

For this, Bhagavān Mahāvīra said–the right path is trio for self-realisation, as—

1. samyag-darśana,
2. samyag-jñāna and
3. samyag-cāritra.^[1]

Ācārya Umāsvāti have expressed the same.^[2]

1 Right World View

Umāsvāti has defined samyaga darśana as belief in the true nature of the substances as they are: ‘Tattvartha sraddhānam samyag darśanaṃ.’^[3] Ācārya Samantbhadra has defined samyagdarśana belief in the meanings of the principles, the Āpta or the Arhat, the sacred scriptures and the pious saint who is free from three kinds of superstitions, eight angas and eight kinds of pride.^[4]

Nature of Right World View

Right world view is the foundation of Jaina ethics. It is a vital force for spiritual life and foundation of liberation.^[5] The journey of spirituality commences with the dawn of ‘Samyagdarśana’. The object of right world view is truth^[6].

By having right world view, the aspirant becomes free from doubt and gains discrimination between soul and non-soul, he understands what heya (abondonable) is and what is Upādeya (acceptance). He firmly believes that soul exists, it is eternal, it is the agent of all actions, it enjoys the fruits of action, liberation is possible and the means of liberation is also there.^[7] He being awakened contemplates on pure and perfect self, which results in cessation of the bondage of karmas.^[8]

Acccording to Jains, just like fire is inferred through smoke, similarly a mystic aspirant with samyaktva can be inferred by the five characteristics: Śama Tranquillity, Saṃvega–keen desire for liberation, Nirveda–worldly detachment, Anukaṃpā Compassion–friendliness towards all and Āstikāya–To have faith in truth, and the existence of soul, karma, rebirth, mokṣa etc.

How One Attains the Samyak Darśana?

Now the question arises, how can one attain or develop samyak darśana and how does a mystic’s journey start? Tattvartha Sūtra^[9] elucidates Nisarga (spontaneous) and Adhigamaja (by Instructions) are the two ways of attaining samyaga darśana. That which is acquired by some external causes such as instruction of preceptors, who have realised the divine within themselves, or are in the path of God-realisation, or by reading of scriptures is known as instruction based right world view. That which is attained as a natural process due to the qualitative transformation is called spontaneous attainment of right world view.

In both the cases of attainment of samyag darśana, technically, the internal cause is purification of deluding karma. It is destruction or destruction-cum-subsidence or subsidence of sevenfold mohanīya karma such as perverse deluding (mithyātva mohanīya) faith deluding (samyaktva mohanīya) and perversed cum faith deluding karma (miśra mohanīya) and four anantānubandhi Kaṣāya (Intense passions) i.e., anger, greed, deceit and ego. Jainism details the stages of attainment of samyaktva. It believes that the attainment of samyaktva is an intrinsic process at the level of soul.

Jainism explains it in the form of three karaṇa as—

1. yathāpravrtti karaṇa,
2. apūrva karaṇa and
3. anivrtti karaṇa^[10].

The soul passes through these three karaṇa chronologically and then ultimately attains right world view. This process takes place within an antarmuharta. The soul after the termination of this period of karaṇa, experiences the dawn of samyaktva. At this moment the soul which was eternally bound with mithyātva, with perverted world view ends up or cut off the connection of mithyātva and attains purity that leads to samyaktva. The soul that have attained the samyaktva, is sure to go liberation within a specified time period, (of namely) ardhapudgala-parāvartana. The moment the soul experiences the dawn of samyaktva, it experiences spiritual joy and bliss which he had never before. It is this moment when the soul experiences the first spark of mystical experience, which is unexplainable. From this point their starts the mystical spiritual journey. Aspirant gives up all false belief and has firm faith in the reality and the words of Tīrthaṅkara. He gets detached from the world and meditates for the attainment of reality. Thus, there is change in his outlook as well as attitude towards the world.

This samyag darśana acts as the navigation (pilot) in guiding the soul towards liberation. It determines the rightness of knowledge and conduct. Further, there can be no rise, stability, growth and fulfilment of knowledge and conduct (character), unless they are founded on right world view.^[11]

2 Right Knowledge

Knowledge plays an important role in attainment of liberation. Ācārya Tulsī defines samyag jñāna is true cognition.^[12] It is been described in Jaina scriptures as that knowledge which reveals the nature of things neither insufficiently nor with exaggeration, nor falsely, but exactly as it is and with certainty. Such knowledge is free from doubt, pervarsity adn indefiniteness.^[13]

Nature of Right Knowledge

The Uttarādhyayana Sūtra speaks of knowledge as an instrument of knowing the object. According to Jaina scriptures, not all knowledge is right knowledge. That knowledge is perfect when it does not suffer from any false element like mithyātva i.e. wrong world view that corrupts both attitude and understanding of the soul. Knowledge is not valued on the merit of logical validity but as a means for the ethical progress. So, the knowledge which does not help in achieving the goal is discarded as ajñāna or mithyājñāna. As soon as the soul acquires right world view, the existing ordinary knowledge becomes right knowledge and the wrong knowledge is banished. It is also believed that right knowledge is acquired by pursuit with devotion by reading scriptures, understanding their full meaning in proper tense, etc.^[14] Technically, right knowledge is attained by the destruction or destruction-cum-subsidence of knowledge obscuring karma.

According to Jaina philosophy, this righteous knowledge is the foundation of conduct. In the absence of knowledge, the path of conduct cannot be determined. This fact is emphasized in the key maxim of the Dasvekalika sūtra, which pronounced it with the strongest voice ‘Paḍhamaṃ ṇāṇaṃ tao dayā’^[15] which means first adopt right knowledge and then follow the conduct accordingly.

The Āvaśyakniryukti^[16] states that knowledge is useless without conduct and conduct is useless without knowledge. Thus, the Jaina attributes equal importance to both and also emphasises that knowledge has primacy over the conduct, the latter has non-possibility without the former.

3 Right Conduct

Right conduct is an integral and crowning constituent of the path of liberation. According to Jaina scriptures, conduct which takes the soul away from the bondage of karmas is righteous conduct.^[17] It is predominantly activistic. It refers to moral and spiritual excellence^[18].

Nature of Right Conduct

Ethically considered, the characteristics of samyag cāritra presents a background and a canvas for the illumination of one’s self towards the goal of attainting perfect equanimity and spiritual strength.^[19] As per Jaina scriptures, conduct becomes perfect only when it is in tune with right world view and right knowledge. Right world view and right knowledge make an individual free from delusion and expounds what is worthy of abandonment and attainment and right conduct directs towards the practice of ethical codes, rules and discipline, which is required to pursue ultimate freedom. Right conduct includes with its fold the practise of fasting, renunciation, austerities, great vows, small vows, five fold regulations (samiti), etc.

The practise of conduct leads to the destruction of karmic matter and consequently the purity of the soul that culminate in self realisation.

Thus, when right knowledge is translated into spiritual discipline it constitutes the right conduct that is conducive to the path of emancipation or liberation and justifiable preceding cause of emancipation.

4 Significance of Three Jewels in Mysticism

Jainas give utmost importance to all the three Jewels for the attainment of Summum Bonum of spiritual life. Individually, they are incomplete and insufficient. All the three collectively help the aspirant soul to march to a higher plane and attain mystical experience.

As Uttarādhyayana Sūtra mentions:

“nādansaṇissa ṇāṇaṃṇāṇeṇa viṇā na hunti caranaguṇā Aguṇissa natthi mokkho natthi amokkhassa nivvaāṇam.”^[20]

One cannot have right knowledge in the absence of right world view, and without right knowledge one cannot develop right conduct. Absence of right conduct cannot lead to liberation or salvation. Therefore, all these are inevitable elements for salvation. Thus, right world view turns the aspirant in the right direction, right knowledge illumines the path and right conduct leads to the goal i.e. final liberation. Without these three, there is no way to salvation, eternal and universal law.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Ṭhāṇaṃ, 3.431

[2]:

Tattvārtha Sūtra, 1.1

[3]:

Ibid, 1.2; Aṣṭapāhuḍa, by Ācārya Kundakunda, Edited and Preface by Hukumcanda Bharilla, Pandit Todermal Sarvodaya Trust Jaipur and Sasāhitya Prakasaka Patani Granthmala, Kolkata, 12^th edn., 2016, Mokṣapāhuḍa, 38.

[4]:

Ratnakaraṇḍ Srāvakācāra by Ācārya Samantabhadra, comm. Sadasukhadāsa Kasalivala, ed. Mannalal Jain, Introduction by Hukumchand Bharilla, Śri Madhya Ksetriya Mumukshu Mandar, Sagar, 1985, Verse 4.

[5]:

Nava-Padhārtha, 1.4

[6]:

Illuminator of Jaina Tenents, p. 85.

[7]:

Jain Theism, p. 118.

[8]:

Samaysāra, 3.3-5

[9]:

Tattvārtha Sūtra, I.3 ‘tannisargād adhigamād vā’

[10]:

In the first process of Yathāpravṛttikaraṇa leads to face to face with the knot of intense attachment and repulsion, and the second process of apūrvakaraṇa enables one to cross it, by the third process of anivṛttikaraṇa, leads to the erge of the down of the enlightenment.

[11]:

Compendium of Jainism, 2^nd edn., 2009, p. 187.

[12]:

Jaina Siddhānta Dīpīkā, 6.3

[13]:

Aspect of Jaina Religion, p. 40

[14]:

Puruṣārtha Siddhiupāya by Ācārya Amṛtacandra, With Hindi Commentary, Paramshrut Prabhāvaka Mandal, Agas, 1966, verse 36.

[15]:

Dasveāliyaṃ, 4.10

[16]:

Āvaśyaka Niryukti (Part 1), 95

[17]:

Samani, Mangal Pragya, Philosophy in Jaina Āgamas, tran. Sādhvī Rajulprabha, Jaina Vishva Bharati, Ladnun, 2017, p. 293

[18]:

Kalghatgi, T.G., Jaina View of Life, Jaina Sanskriti Samrakska Sangh, Sholapur, Jīvaraj Jaina Granthmala, No.20, 1^st edn., 1969, 2^nd edn., 1984., p. 166.

[19]:

Jain View of Life, p. 167.

[20]:

Uttarajjhayaṇāṇi, 28.30.