Yogadrstisamuccaya of Haribhadra Suri (Study)
by Riddhi J. Shah | 2014 | 98,110 words
This page relates ‘Jain Yoga Tradition (Introduction)’ of the study on the Yogadrstisamuccaya: a 6th-century work on Jain Yoga authored by Haribhadra Suri consisting of 228 Sanskrit verses. The book draws from numerous sources on traditional Yoga. Three important topics are stipulated throughout this study: 1) nature of liberation, 2) a liberated soul, and 3) omniscience.—This section belongs to the series “The Jain Yoga Tradition—A Historical Review”.
Chapter 1.1 - The Jain Yoga Tradition (Introduction)
The practice of yoga is integral to every spiritual discipline in India. The elements of yogic practice have been utilized by every system of thought in its own manner in the journey of seeking the self-realization. Yoga is simply the science of spirituality. The word yoga is formed by adding ghañ suffix to the root yuj. The root yuj is used in two meanings. One is to join[1] and the other is the supreme meditation.[2] Generally the word yoga is used to convey either of these two meanings.
However, it is found to be used in other meanings too. They are:
“yogo'pūrvārdha saṃprāptau saṃgatidhyānayuktiṣu | vapuḥsthairyaprayoge ca viṣkambhādiṣu bheṣaje | viśrabdhaghātake dravyopāyasaṃhananeṣvapi | kārmaṇe'pi ca |”[3]
Aparājita, the commentary of Śivārya’s Bhagavati Ārādhana, also refers to the various usages of the word yoga. They are:
“yogaśabdo'nekārthaḥ | yoga nimittaṃ grahaṇaṃ” ityātmapradeśa parispadaṃ trividhavarganā sahāyamācaṣṭe | kvacitsaṃbandha mātra vacanaḥ “asyānena yoga” iti |kvaciddhānavacanaḥ yathā “yogasthita” iti | ihāyaṃ parigṛhitaḥ tato dhyāna parikaraṃ karotīti yāvat | rāgadveṣamithyātvāsaṃśliṣṭaṃ atharyārthātmyasparśi pratinivatृ ta viṣayāṃtarasaṃcāraṃ jñāna dhyānamityucyate | [4]
The word yoga is defined as “yogaścittavṛtti nirodhaḥ”[5] in the Yogasūtra of Patañjali. He has propounded eight limbs of yoga (aṣṭāṅga yoga). They are yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna, samādhi. The first four are known as bahiraṅga and the last four as antaraṅga. Buddhism uses the word yoga to convey the meanings of meditation (dhyāna) as well as supreme meditation (samādhi). The eightfold way (aṣṭāṅgika mārga) of Buddhism emphasizes on the importance of supreme meditation.[6] Haribhadrasūri (8th century A.D.), the Jainācārya, defines the word yoga as “mukkheṇa joyaṇāo, jogo...|”[7]
Hemacandra (12thcentury A.D.) in his composition Yogaśāstra presents the definition of the word yoga as follows:
“caturvarge'graṇīrmokṣo, yogastasya ca kāraṇam |
jñāna-śraddhāna-cāritrarūpaṃ ratnatrayaṃ ca sa || 1.15 || ”
The following definition of the word yoga, given by Upādhyāya Yaśovijaya (18th century A.D.), follows Haribhadrasūri’s definition. It is, 25
“mokṣeṇa yojanādeva yogo hayatra nirūcyate |
lakṣaṇaṃ tena tanmukhyahetuvyāpāratā'sya tu || 10.1 || ”[8]
The yoga is profoundly explained in the sacred literature of Hinduism, Buddhism as well as Jainism. The Jain canons use the terms meditation (dhyāna), austerity (tapa)[9] etc. to convey the meaning of the term Yoga. In Jainism the word yoga is used in the sense of supreme meditation (samādhi) too.[10] The sacred texts of Jains contain verses in which yoga, samadhi and dhyāna are used in the same meaning.
Some of them are:
(1) yogodhyānaṃ samādhiśca dhīrodhaḥsvāntanigrahaḥ |
antaḥsaṃlīnatā ceti tatparyāyāḥsmṛtā budhaiḥ || 21.12 ||
–Ādipurāṇa(2) yujeḥ samādhivacanasya yogaḥ samādhiḥ, dhyānamityanarthāntaram || 6.1.12 ||
–Tattvārthavārtika
Moreover the Svayambhūstotra contain verses which use all the three words dhyāna, samadhi and yoga to depict that state of a soul which is free from attachment and aversion.[11]
The Jain literature presents virya, sthāma, utsāha, parākrama etc. as the synonyms of the word yoga.[12] Moreover the commentators of Jain canons commonly believe that the terms yoga, prayoga and karaṇa are used in Jain canonical literature to convey one and the same meaning.[13]
Footnotes and references:
[2]:
yujiṃ ca samādhau, gaṇa -8, hemacandradhātupāṭha.
[3]:
[4]:
Pg. 44, Part - 1
[6]:
Saṃyuktanikāya : 5 to 10, vibhaṅga : 317-18
[7]:
The First verse of Haribhadrasūri’s Yogaviṃśikā
[8]:
Dvātriṃśad-dvātriṃśikā, Part-3, Pg: 683
[9]:
[10]:
(a) yogaḥsamādhiḥ, so'syāsti iti yogavān || 11.14 ||
–Bṛhadvṛtti, Uttarādhyayanasūtra.
(b) mahāgarā āyariyā mehasī, samāhijoge suaṃsīlabuddhie|
saṃpāviukāme aṇuttarāiṃ ārāhae tosai dhammakāmī || 9.1.16 ||
–Hāribhadriyavṛitti On Dasaveyāliya.
(c) niravadyasya kriyāviśeṣasyānuṣṭhānaṃ yogaḥ samādhiḥ|
samyak praṇidhānamityarthaḥ|
- 6.12.8.522.31–Tattvārtha Rājavārtika.
[11]:
See 1.4, 4.1, 16.2 For usage of the term samādhi. For dhyāna refer 8.2, 16.4, 17.3, 18.10, 19.5, verses of the Svayambhūstotra. And the word yoga is also used to convey the same meaning in 20.5, 22.1, 23.1, 23.3 verses of the Svyambhūstotra.
[12]:
jogo vīriyaṃ thāmo ucchāha parakkame tahā ceṭṭha|
sattī sāmatthayaṃti ya jogassa havaṃti pajjāyā ||
–Commentary on 3.1.124 Śhāṇam
[13]:
| athavā yogaprayogakaraṇaśabdānāṃ manaḥprabhṛtikamabhidheyatayā yogaprayogakaraṇasūtreṣvabhihitamitinārthabhedo'nveṣaṇīyaḥ, trayāṇāmeṣāmekāthar tayā āgame bahuśaḥ pravṛttidaśarnāt|
–The (vṛtti) on third sthāna of the Sthānāṅgasūtra.