Acharya Mahaprajna
3.71 se vaṃtā kohaṃ ca, māṇaṃ ca, māyaṃ ca, lobhaṃ ca.
The aspirant purges himself of anger, pride, deceit and greed.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 71
Now, instruction is being given for the path of freedom from the labyrinth of the visible and the invisible worlds. The monk who is tolerant of the affliction of (the twins like) cold and heat is spiritually freed due to his being free from the passions. The passions are four viz., anger, pride, deceit and greed. Of these, the anger is the mentality due to physical attack and like. Pride is the mentality due to self-exaltation. Deceit is the mentality of cheating. Greed is the mentality arising due to hankering and possessiveness.
The aspirant desirous of emancipation purges[1] all these four kinds of passions. The implication is that he calms down or uproots these passions.
3.72 eyaṃ pāsagassa daṃsaṇaṃ uvarayasatthassa paliyaṃtakarassa.
This is the doctrine of the seer who has abandoned the weapon of violence and eliminated the destructive karmas.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 72
The purging of the passions is the doctrine of the seer. The seer sees everything because he has done away with the destructive karma. Here the reference is to Lord Mahāvīra.
The weapon is twofold: physical and non-physical. Fire etc. are physical weapons. The non-physical weapons are passions and non-restraint (see 1.19).
"The fire, poison, salt, fat, alkali, acid are (physical) weapons. The evil mind, speech and body and also non-abstinence are the non-physical weapons. The person who eschews all these weapons is the 'eschewer of weapons'. The person who puts an end to the obstructive karmas is the 'end-maker'. The person who has eschewed the weapons is (also) the 'end- maker'. The end-maker is a seer. This (i.e., purging of the passions) is the substance of his doctrine.
3.73 āyānṇaṃ (ṇisiddhā?) sagaḍabbhi.
The person who inhibits the passion destroys his past karma.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 73
There should not be any doubt that one must experience (the results of) karmas that one has acquired. How is it possible to make an end of his karma? (The reply is: It is possible to make an end of the karma acquired in the past if one can stop the intake of the new ones. The intake of the new ones means the passions (that are responsible for the new ones). The person who inhibits (and destroys) the passions is competent enough to destroy the karmas bound in the past. On such inhibition, the inflow of new karmas is stopped and the karmas acquired in the past are also destroyed. The implication is that for the purpose of such destruction, the passions must be inhibited.
3.74 je egṃm jāṇai, se savvaṃ jāṇai, je savvaṃ jāṇai, se egaṃ jāṇai.
He who knows one knows all. He who knows all knows one.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 74
The adjective 'one' here is without any definite substantive. The word 'passion' follows here from the preceding Sūtra. The person who knows a single passion, such as the passion of anger, knows the nature of all the other passions. The person who knows all the passions, knows the essence of one passion. The first step towards the release from passion is the comprehensive knowledge of that particular passion. The person who does not know (the nature of passion) can not be expected to strive for its inhibition or elimination.
This is the ethical view-point. In the Cūrṇi and the Vṛtti, the present Sūtra has been explained from the doctrinal standpoint. There are four limbs of the scriptural method of exposition, viz., ontological disquisition, ethical disquisition, mathematical disquisition, didactic narrative disquisition. Every sūtra is to be propounded from all these four angles of vision. The doctrinal standpoint, therefore, is also not irrelevant in the present context.
The opinion of the Cūrṇi (p. 126) is - "the person who knows only the substance called jīva or only the substance called ajīva in all its modes—past, future and present—(knows all substance). The disciple may have ask: 'O Lord! does the person who knows only 'one' also knows all too?' (The reply is:) 'Yes'. Here the modes of the jīva and the ajīva are to be explained to the disciple to show how the understanding of one substance with all its modes is sufficient enough to know all other substances in all their modes.[2]
This has been explained in some detail in the Vṛtti (patra 155) - "If any person, whosoever, examines any atom or any other substance in its present and future mode or its own or alien modes is capable of knowing all its own and alien modes. This is so because there is universal concomitance between the knowledge of all things and the knowledge of all the past and future modes of a substance.[3]
The person who knows all the things in the womb of the world necessarily knows the single thing like the jar. The single object through its different modes past and future assumes different natures in the beginningless and endless time and thus passes through the nature of every substance. As has been said -
"The past and the future modes, both substantial and verbal of a single entity consititute the entire reality of the substance." (Sanmatitarkaprakaraṇa, 1.31).[4]
All the substances are interrelated spatially and temporally. And therefore the knowledge of any one particular substance requires the knowledge of all others.[5]
Jinbhadragani Ksamāśramana says that one cannot know the single letter "Ā" without knowing the entire world of objects. (Viśesavāsyaka Bhāṣya gāthā, 484).[6]
Maladhāri Hemchandra has supported this as follows: A person knowing a single object in respect of all its own and alien modes is capable of knowing all objects is the cosmic and transcosmic universe, in all their own and alien modes. This is so because there is universal concomitance between the knowledge of one object and the knowledge of all objects. Conversaly one who knows all objects in all their modes knows one object in all its modes, because there is concomitance between the knowledge of all and the knowledge of one (Ibid, gāthā 484 vrtti).[7]
3.75 savvato pamattassa bhayaṃ, sawato appamattassa natthi bhayaṃ.
The non-vigilant has fear from all sides; the wakeful has no fear from any side.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 75
By means of the knowledge of the nature of the passions, one is convinced of the truth that a non-vigilant person is subject to fear from all sides. "All sides" means in respect of substance, space, time and mode. In respect of substance, the fear pervades all the soul-points; in respect of space, from all six directions; 'in respect of time' means 'each moment'; 'in respect of modes' means 'in all states of existence'.
The person who is overwhelmed by attachment or aversion, or by anger, pride, deceit and greed is non-vigilant. The person under the sway of attachment incurs a fear lest he should have bereavement from his dear ones. The person under the sway of aversion has the fear of meeting an undesirable situation. In a similar way, fear pervades the passions of anger and the like. There is no fear for the person who is evenly disposed towards the desirable and the undesirable objects. The implication is that wherever there is the activity of passions, there must be fear. And wherever there is no passion, their reigns fearlessness.
3.76 je egaṃ name, se bahuṃ name, je bahuṃ name, se egaṃ name.
One who tranquillizes any one passion tranquillizes all; one who tranquillizes all passions tranquillizes any one of them.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 76
The topic under discussion are the passions. The purging of passions is twofold - (1) calming down and (2) eliminating. In the spiritual science, suppression is not approved of, but purging is recommended. There is an order in the calming down of the passions which is explained here. One who tranquillizes one of the passions virtually tranquillizes all. According to the Cūrṇi, 'calming down' and 'tranquillizing' are synonyms.[8]'Tranquillizing' means calming down the deluding karma in its twenty eight sub-species. The aspirant who calms down a single sub-species of passion such as anger, virtually calms down the remaining ones, namely, the twenty seven sub-species. The calming down of anger and the like is effected by the practice of the antidotes, the reflections and the practice of the yogic postures and the like (such as breathing exercise). The elimination is done only once but the calming down is done many times.
The person who calms down all the passions does ipso-facto calm down the single passion - anger and the like.
3.77 dukkhaṃ loyasa jāṇittā.
Comprehending the misery of the world, one should avoid its cause namely passion.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 77
Here purging quâ elimination is under discussion. If a person practises the spiritual discipline on comprehending the nature of misery and its ultimate cause, his various passions are naturally destroyed. After comprehending that the world is afflicted with misery, one should search out the basic cause of that misery. Conventionally misery consists in unpleasurable feeling, whereas truly speaking misery consists in the karma that is responsible for unpleasurable feeling.
3.78 vaṃtā logassa saṃjoga, jaṃti vīrā mahāhāṇaṃ. pareṇa paraṃ jaṃti, nāvakaṃkhaṃti jῑviyaṃ..
Severing the relationship with the world, the heroes tread on the great path. They advance further and further, and have no hankering for life.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 78
The world consists of everything other than the pure self, such as fortune, progeny, body and the like. The relationship with the world stands for the connection with the sense of 'mine'-ness which is the cause of karmic bondage. Therefore, the valiant ones who purge the relationship with the world treads on the great path of spiritual discipline. The great path is the great way that is identical with 'the ladder of elimination (of deluding karma)'. Alongwith the abandonment of the relationship with the world, there is progressive advancement towards the great path. It has, therefore, been said in the scripture that the aspirant moving toward the great path gradually attains the radiant colouring, as for instance in the Bhagavatī Sūtra (14.136)[9] in the following dialogue -
"O Lord! whom do the bondless ascetics presently ordained, surpass in radiant colouring?"
"O Gautama! the bondless ascetic of one months' standing surpasses the forest gods in radiant colouring.
"The bondless ascetic of tw o months standing surpasses the palace dwelling gods, excepting Asurendras, in radiant colouring.
"Similarly the bondless ascetic of three months' standing surpasses that of the asurkumaras; of four months' standing that of the luminous gods like the planets, asterisms and stars; of five months' standing that of the lords of luminous gods and rows (galaxy) of luminous gods like the moon and the sun; of six months' standing that of the Sohamma and Isāṇa gods; of seven months' standing that of Saṇatkumar and Māhinda gods; of eight months' standing that of Bambhaloga and Laṅtaga gods; of nine months' standing that of the Mahāsukka and Sahassara gods; of ten months' standing that of the Āṇaya, Pāṇaya, Āraṇa and Acchuya; of eleven months' standing that of the Gavajjaga gods; of twelve months' standing that of the Anutarovavaiya gods.
"Thereafter they become sukka (white) and sukkābhijāya (perfectly white) and are emancipated, enlightened, released, freed and put an end to all sufferings."
Such ascetics do not hanker after life. The craving for life is the strongest disposition in the world. They are freed from such hankering also. They do not desire for a long worldly life, nor for a life of unrestraint and addicted to sensual objects and passions.
3.79 egaṃ vigiṃcamāṇe puḍho vigiṃcai, puḍho vigiṃcamāṇe egaṃ vigiṃcai.
One who eliminates one eliminates all; one who eliminates all eliminates one.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 79
The aspirant climbing the ladder of elimination while engaged in eliminating a single passion like anger, does eliminate all others.[10] Here, entire process of eliminating the karma should be understood in accordance with the treatises on the science of karma.[11] Conversely speaking, while eliminating all varieties of passions, the aspirant eliminates everyone passion.
3.80 saḍḍhī āṇāe mehāvī.
The aspirant informed with faith, following the instruction of scriptures, grows in intelligence.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 80
Here the Sūtra expounds the first competence of the monk aspiring to climb up the ladder of elimination. A person of deep faith is competent to tread on the great path. Faith[12] means eagerness for emancipation. Only a person of deep faith, develops dread for worldly life and strives for elimination of karma. This is explained in the following dialogue is Uttarādhyayana (29.2): "What does an aspirant produce by means of dread for worldly life, O Lord?"
"By means of such dread he produced supreme faith in the discipline. By means of the supreme faith in the discipline, the dread is fulfilled quickly and the aspirant eliminates never-ending anger, pride, deceit and greed. Consequently, he does not bind any new karma. On account of the destruction of the passions, he purifies his perversity and becomes the practiser of the faith. On the purification of his faith, some aspirants attain emancipation in that very life. Some again, on the gradual purification of the faith do not cross the limit of the third life for attaining emancipation."[13]
Now the second competence for emancipation is shown. The monk grows in intelligence on account of his faithfulness to the scriptures. The monk whose intelligence with respect to the subtle objects follows the commandment is capable of attaining the great path. The aspirant who is bereft of faith is the denouncer of the doctrine. He propounds the subtle subjects that are knowable only through the scripture by logical arguments devised by himself or his wavered power of reasoning. This is explained in the Sanmatitarkaprakaraṇa (3.45) as follows:
"The person who propounds the logical issue through logic and scriptural issues through scripture is the genuine propounder of the scriptures. Others are denouncers of the doctrine."[14]
Briefly put, a person endowed with faith grows in intelligence through the study of the scriptures.[15]
3.81 logaṃ ca āṇāe abhisameccā akutobhayaṃ.
Properly understanding the world of passions according to the Jina, one becomes fear-free from all directions.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 81
'World' in this context stands for the world of passions. One who engages in activities in conformity with the words of the omniscient is not confronted with fear from any quarters, and as such, he experiences the state of fearlessness in all respects. The chief cause of fear is suffering, the chief cause of suffering is passions or non-vigilance. As it has been said in Ṭhāṇaṃ:
"What is the source of fear to creatures?"
"Suffering is the source of fear to creatures."
"Who is the maker of suffering, O Lord?"
"The soul produces all of his suffering on account of his non- vigilance."[16]
There is no suffering for the person who has calmed down or rooted out the passion. And the person who has no suffering is absolutely freed from fears.
3.82 atthi satthaṃ pareṇa paraṃ, ṇatthi asatthaṃ pareṇa paraṃ.
Weapons are deadlier and deadlier endlessly but the non-weapon has no gradation, being uniform and identical always.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 82
The succeeding weapon is deadlier than the preceding one. It is quite evident that the atomic weapons are deadlier than the weapons of the stone- age. There is uniformity or identity in the case of non-weapons, there being no gradation. In the present context, 'weapon' stands for passion, that has degree of intensity,[17] rising upto infinity. This explains the types of passions, such as the one causing endless transmigration, and the like with gradual diminition of intensity. Non-weapon means non-passions, that is, self- restraint or equanimity.
The attitude of non-violence cannot be mild towards some creatures, intense towards others, or more intense, or of higher and highest intensity to others. But the attitude of non-violence is uniform towards all creatures, there being no degrees of it.
The implication is, whatever disparity there is, is due to the passions. The development of the weapons is also due to the passions. So long as there is no subsidence or elimination of it, it is futile to talk of mental peace or world-peace.[18]
He who sees anger sees pride, he who sees pride sees deceit; he who sees deceit sees greed, he who sees greed sees love; he who sees love sees hatred; he who sees hatred sees delusion; he who sees delusion sees (conception in) the womb; he who sees conception sees the birth; he who sees the birth sees hell; he who sees the hell sees animal life; he who sees the animal life sees suffering.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 83
Previously, in the Sūtra 77, the "Comprehension of the suffering of the world" was mentioned. In the present Sūtra, the basic causes of suffering are explained. In the previous Sūtra, the gradation of weapons was simply indicated. But here the weapon is demonstrated in a direct manner.
The person who perceives anger, that is indulges in it, does also perceive pride. In the same way, there is invariable relation of deceit with pride, greed with deceit, love with greed, hatred with love, delusion with hatred. This is the chain of weapons. The creature experiences transmigration due to this chain. The sequence - birth from womb, death from birth, hell and animal life from death, the mutual relation to be understood according to the propriety. The ultimate result of this transformation is suffering.
If one wants to know the nature of suffering, one should know the nature of anger too, and so on upto the passion of delusion. So long as the latter are not known, the nature of suffering in its genuineness can not also be known.
If the suffering is to be avoided, the anger should be avoided at the outset, and so upto delusion. The avoidance of suffering is not possible without getting rid of the aforesaid factors. Accordingly it has been said:
3.84 se mehāvī abhinivaṭṭejjā kohaṃ ca, māṇaṃ ca, mayaṃ ca, lohaṃ ca, pejjaṃ ca, dosaṃ ca, mohaṃ ca, gabbhaṃ ca, jammaṃ ca, māraṃ ca, naragaṃ ca, tiriyaṃ ca, dukkhaṃ ca.
The intelligent monks should avoid anger, pride, deceit, greed, love, hatred, delusion, conception, birth, death, hell, animal life and suffering.
Bhāsyam Sūtra 84
The intelligent monk desirous of avoiding suffering, should avoid anger etc. in the following order - he should first of all expel [19] anger, cast off and sever connection with it. The person who has cast off anger, has also severed pride and the like, upto suffering.
3.85 eyaṃ pāsagassa daṃsaṇaṃ uvarayasatthassa paliyaṃtakarassa.
This is the doctrine of seer who has abandoned weapon of violence and eliminator of destructive karma.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 85
See Bhāṣyaṃ 3.72.
3.86 āyānṇaṃ ṇisiddhā sagaḍabbhi.
The person who inhibits the passion destroys his past karma.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 86
See Bhāṣyaṃ 3.73.
3.87 kimitthi uvāhī pāsagassa ṇa vijjai? ṇatthi. - tti bemi.
Is there any adjunct in a seer? There is none. - Thus I say.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 87
The adjunct e.g. contaminating factor, means the state of soul which is governed by passion. To the query whether all the souls are infected with the contaminating factor, a further query arises as to whether the seer (Jina)[20] has any such factor? The Lord answered negatively.
The aspirant who only knows and sees (without any reaction) is not subject to the rise of passion, nor is he subject to any kind of contamination of karma. The moment of the experience of delusion is the moment of contamination. The knower or the seer experiences the state of freedom from delusion, and consequently, is not amenable to any kind of contamination—Thus I say.
Ācārāṅga Cūrṇi, p. 126: 'jo egaṃ jῑvadravyaṃ ajīvadavvaṃ vā atītānāgatavaṭṭamāṇehiṃ savvapajjaehiṃ jāṇai, sisso vā pucchati—bhagavaṃ! jo egaṃ jāṇai so savvam jānai? āmaṃ, ettha jῑvapajjavā ajῑvapajjavā ya bhāṇiyavvā.
Ācārāṅga Vṛtti, Patra 155: 'ya kaścidaviśeṣitaḥ ekaṃ paramāṇvādi dravyaṃ paścātpuraskṛta- paryāyaṃ svaparaparyāyaṃ vā jānāti - paricchinatti, sa sarva svaparaparyāyaṃ jānāti, atītānāgataparyāyidravyaparijñānasya samastavastuparicchedāvinābhāvitvāt.....
egadaviyassa je atthapajjava vayaṇapajjavā vāvi.
yiyāṇāgayabhūyā tāvaiyaṃ taṃ havai davvaṃ..
- inherent and
- externally derived
Unless both of these are fully comprehended, even a single entity cannot be fully known. The comprehension of one entity through both kinds of modes leads one to the comprehension of all entities.
The spiritual significance of this sūtra can be expressed thus: One who knows the soul knows everything, and vice-versa.
'egaṃ jāṇaṃ savvaṃ jāṇai, savvaṃ ca jāṇamegaṃ ti.
iya savvamajāṇaṃto, nāgāraṃ savvahā muṇai..
Ibid, gāthā 484 Vṛtti: ekaṃ kimapi vastu sarvaiḥ svaparaparyāyaiḥ yuktaṃ jānan - avabudhya-mānaḥ sarvaṃ lokālokagataṃ vastu sarvaiḥ svaparaparyāyairyuktaṃ jānāti, sarvavastuparijñānanān-tarῑyaktvād ekavastujñānasya. yaśca sarvaṃ sarvaparyāyopetaṃ vastu jānāti sa ekamapi sarvaparyāyopetaṃ jānāti, ekaparijñānā'vinābhāvitvāt sarvaparijftānasya.
"There are four classes of gods: forest, palace dwelling, luminous and empyrean. The colouring of boundless ascetics increase in radiance along with the increase in their monastic standing. Gradually the ascetics develop their radiance and finally surpass the gods of the highest heaven."
Ācārāṅga Cūrṇi, p. 127: egaṃ aṇaṃtāṇubaṃdhiṃ kohaṃ savvaāyappadesehiṃ vigiciṃto, vigiṃciṇaṃti vā vivegotti vā khavaṇatti vā egaṭṭhā.
jo heuvāyapakkammi heuo āgame ya āgamio.
jo sasamayapaṇṇavao siddhaṃtavirāhao anno..
'kiṃbhayā pāṇā? samaṇāuso!'
'dukkhabhayā pāṇā samaṇāuso!'
'se ṇaṃ bhaṃte dukkhe keṇa kaḍe?'
'jīveṇaṃ kaḍe pamādeṇaṃ.'
Malice, hatred, wrath, etc. are various weapons, whereas friendliness, forgiveness, tolerance, etc. are means of disarmament. Different weapons have different degrees of destructiveness. As for example, X is less inimical to A, more inimical to B, still more inimical to C and so on and so forth. Thus does the intensity of enmity of X towards other persons vary. This shows that the edges of weapons have different degrees of bluntness or sharpness.
Violence is not only committed by the use of weapons but it itself is a sort of weapon. Violence means lack of self-discipline. One whose senses and mind are not under his control is a weapon to every living being. Abstinence from violence is a non-weapon i.e. a means of disarmament. One's own restraint towards all living beings is non-violence. One whose senses and mind are under his control does not act as a 'weapon' all living beings.
