Jethalal S. Zaveri
Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
aṇṇāṇamohidamadῑ majjhamiṇaṃ bhaṇadi poggalaṃ davvaṃ.
Baddhamabaddhaṃ ca tahā jῑvo bahubhāvasaṃjutto.. 23
Savvaṇhūṇāṇadiṭṭho jῑvo uvaogalakkhaṇo ṇiccaṃ.
kiha so poggaladavvῑbhūdo jaṃ bhaṇasi majjhamiṇaṃ.. 24
jadi sopoggaladavvῑbhūdo jῑvattamāgadaṃ idaraṃ.
to sakko vottuṃ jaṃ majjhamiṇaṃ poggalaṃ davvaṃ.. 25
(Aṇṇāṇa mohidamadῑ bahu-bhāva-saṃjutto jῑvo) The unenlightened soul which is deluded and perverted by ingorance and nescience (bhaṇadi) says that (iṇaṃ) these (baddhaṃ tahā abaddhaṃ ca) body, kith & kin, friends, wealth, etc. (poggalaṃ davvaṃ) in fact all sorts of material possessions (majjhaṃ) are mine; however, (savvaṇhū-ṇānadiṭṭho) the truth which is directly apprehended by the omniscient (kevalῑ) is (ṇicchaṃ uvaogalakkhaṇo jῑvo) that the jῑva always possesses consciousness, (kiha so poggala-davvῑbhūdo) and how can it then also possess (or become) material substance? (jaṃ bhaṇasi) If anybody says that (majjhamiṇaṃ) these material properties are possessed by me, can be true only (jadi so poggala davvῑbhūdo) if jῑva can be transformed into matter or (idaraṃ ῑivattamāgadaṃ) matter, somehow, becomes jῑva (to vottuṃ) in that case it can be stated (je) that (iṇaṃ poggalaṃ davvaṃ majjhaṃ) material things are possessed by me.
Annotations:
By these verses, Ācārya admonishes those who cling to their delusion and perverted knowledge and continue to regard the alien (non-self) objects as their own. In its worldly life, every jῑva is associated with several things, some animate, others inanimate. First of all it has its own material or physical body which, of course, is very intimately united (baddha) with jῑva. Then there are the kith and kin, friends, community, nation, domestic pets which lack that intimate relation (abaddha) that exists between the soul and its own body. Then there are inanimate assets-fields, houses, ornaments, etc.-which are purely material. To regard all these as one's own-individuals (persons) as relations and things as one's assets or property-and/or identify one's self with these alien things is the result of delusion (moha) and perverted knowledge.
In the previous verses it was clearly stated that niścaya naya holds that the self is totally free from material encumbrances and is pure consciousness. "How can anyone be" wonders the Ācārya "so blind when omniscient have directly cognized the real and ultimate character of self and found it possessing nothing but upayoga (consciousness). If the experiences of those who have realized the truth are reliable and trustworthy what is it that hides the truth from them? There must be some reason or explanation for their common ignorance or perverse knowledge. It the truth is not unknowable, if the records of the scriptures are trustworthy, there must be something which obstructs the innate capacity of the soul to know the truth. The cause of this state of the soul is nothing else but beginningless ignorance (ajñāna) and perversity or nescience (mithyātva).
