A Treatise on Jainism

Like Shatrunjaya, the twin mountains of Mangi Tungi with their cave temples are revered because from there countless monks of the Digambara Sect have attained Moksha. In this category the Hill of Muktagiri can also be included. On full moon day of Kartik, there is a big festival at this Tirtha. Near Muktagiri there is the Tirtha of Antariksha Parshvanatha. It is claimed that here the image of Parshvanatha defies the law of gravitation. It is suspended and does not touch its pedestal. At Sravanbelagola, Mysore on Doddabetta or Vindhyagiri there is a collossal image of Bahubali, the son of the first Jina Rishabha. Known as Gomateswara the image (57 feet high) is carved out of single rock aud was erected in the 10th, century. The Dilwara Jain Temples on Mt. Abu are a great attraction for Jains. The architecture is exquisite. Some Jain Tirthas are known as "Atishaya Kshetras," as, each of them has a certain miraculous event associated with it. Among such places is the famous Kshetra of Shri Mahavirji in Rajasthan. The temple of Rikhabdevji in the Aravallis, near Udaipur also known as the temple of Shri Kesariaji is also a great attraction for Jain Pilgrims. To this deity everyday is offered Kesar (Saffron) and Chandan (Sandalwood), the exquisite fragrance of which engulfs the temple and forever lingers in the air. The temple of Ranakpur (Rajasthan) on the western fringe of the Aravallis breathes an atmosphere of sublime peace. This Adinatha Temple was built in the 15th century. It covers an area of over 40,000 Sq. ft. and the richly carved (1444) pillars are arranged in such a way that the image of Lord Adinath can be seen from any point. There are no miracles associated with this shrine. But the pious chanting, echoing within its spacious interior, awakens the pilgrim's deepest yearnings for contact with the Divine.

The above are some prominent Jain Pilgrim centres. Pilgrimage is good from the practical point of view but the real aim of a seeker to the Path of Liberation should be self absorption, which is the combination real Right Belief, Knowledge and Conduct. CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION We have seen that the oddities which are found in this world are all due to the effects of different kinds of karmas. We have seen the causes of inflow and bondage of eights kinds of karmas and their sub-classes. We have seen how this inflow can be checked and how the shedding of karmas already bound can be done. The pure soul is free from all karmic matter and is full of the infinite attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, etc. It is only when the soul forgets its own true self (Swabhava) and gets attracted towards material things due to Rag, Dwesha etc. (Vibhava) there is inflow and bondage of karmic matter with the soul and the cycle of mundane existence continues. It is the duty or Dharma of every mundane soul to get itself liberated from such existences (i.e. from its condition of Vibhava) and bring to its pure true self (i.e. condition of Swabhava) with its natural and inherent attributes and thus achieve true happiness. The Fourteen Gunasthanas show us how the soul reaches higher and higher ladder of Spiritual Advancement from Wrong Belief to Right Belief, then to Vows, then to perfectly careful Vows, then to passionless, and then to a cessation of the Vibratory Activity of body, speech, and mind.

The Fourteen Gunasthanas show us how the soul reaches higher and higher ladder of Spiritual Advancement from Wrong Belief to Right Belief, then to Vows, then to perfectly careful Vows, then to passionless, and then to a cessation of the Vibratory Activity of body, speech, and mind. A mundane Soul is beset with five kinds of innate evils or imperfections. The Wrong Belief is shed at the end of the 1st, Vowlessness at the end of the 4th, Carelessness at the end of the 6th, Passions at the end of the 10th, and Vibratory Activity at the end of the 13th Spiritual Stage. The Three Jewels of Jainism, Samyak Darshan, Samyak Jnan, and Samyak Charitra, teach us how to tread the Path of Liberation and ultimately to achieve the desired goal--Moksha. The whole Drama of life is played or danced together by the living soul being in close grasp of lifeless matter. Lifeless space is the stage, lifeless time is the duration and lifeless Dharma and Adharma the indispensable assistants for the dancers to move or to rest. The exercise of dancing is their eternal movement in the cycle of mundane existences. Every pilgrim on the Path of Liberation (Moksha) must be constantly careful to avoid all passionate thought activities. Every action of his will be performed with due care and caution and the commission of himsa would be avoided altogether. The acquisition of internal purification follows the practice of self control or conquest over the cravings of the body, and the ravings of the mind, a supreme subjection of sense desires, mastering of passions and governance of emotions. The joys of yoga, of communion with the highest, are only known to those who have experienced them. They are above all earthly pleasures, they lead to heavenly happiness, and ultimately to the realization, the attainment to Godhood, Siddhasthan, Parmatma Pada, the true happiness where the soul is identified with limitless, perfect, direct, completed knowledge, of all that is, that was, that shall be, simultaneous, in all their varying forms and conditions, is supremely self satisfied, is omniscient, and omnipotent, forever and ever, in the unending eternity of time and space.

To achieve this condition requires supreme effort. It is difficult for a layman at once to do so. He has therefore to proceed gradually on the Path of Liberation. He should at least aim that his next birth should be better circumstanced than the present one, not with regard to sense pleasures, but with regard to his spiritual advancement, and he should try to concentrate his efforts in that direction. If such efforts are made and continued his soul is likely to rise higher and higher in spiritual advancement in subsequent births and ultimately after several births may reach the desired goal, the condition of Siddha. JAY JINENDRA