Prologue

 

OM Obeisance to Siddhas (Supreme Liberated Soul) MOKSHA MARG PRAKASHAK (The Illuminator of the Path of Liberation)   By Acharyakalpa Pt. Todarmalji, Jaipur

Now, the sacred book titled 'Moksha Marg Prakashak'

(The illuminator of the path of liberation) is being written.

 

MANGLACHARAN

(BENEDICTION)

 

DOHA:  Mangalmey mangalkaranr, veetrag vigyan

             Namo tahi jatai bhye, Arhantadi mhan

                   

             Kari mangal kari ho mha, granthkaran ko kaj

             Jatai milai samaj sab, pavai nij ped raj     

  

The science of non-attachment (passionlessness) is all blissful and cause of bliss; I bow to that science by virtue of which the Arihantas and Siddhas (Omniscient Gods) have attained the supreme state. Having made obeisance; I (Todarmal) endeavor to write this sacred book which may be instrumental in the manifestation of all spiritual traits and help achieve the state of self rule.

 

Now begins the sacred book titled Moksha Marg Prakashak (illuminator of the path of liberation).  The hymn of adoration follows:

 

     Namo Arhantanam, Namo Siddhanam, NamoAairiyanam,

     Namo Uvajjhayanam, Namo Loye Savva Sahoonam.

 

This is Namaskar-mantra (benedictory incantation) in Prakrit language and is extremely blissful. Its sanskrit version is as follows:

 Namo Arhadbhyah, Namah Siddhebhyah, Namah Acharyebhyah, Namah Upadhyayebhyah, Namo Loke Sarva Sadhubhyah

 

Its meaning is thus: -Obeisance to Arihanta Gods (adorable embodied omniscients), obeisance to Siddha Gods (Liberated disembodied omniscients), obeisance to Acharyas (Chief preceptors of congregation of ascetics-monks), obeisance to Upadhyaya (teacher monks, preceptors), obeisance to all Sadhus (monks) (completely possessionless naked monks) in the universe. Thus in this mantra the obeisance (Namaskar) is offered, hence it is called Namaskar Mantra. Now we ponder over their distinguishing characteristics differentias)

 

 

Characteristics of Arhantas

 

First, we ponder over the characteristics of the Arihantas. He (the true believer) who having renounced the house- holder's life and accepted monk's conduct (ascetic-life) has destroyed the four Ghati Karmas (obscuring karmas) through immersion in one's own soul's intrinsic-nature and in him are manifested the highest attributes of four infinities.  Through infinite knowledge Anant-Jnan (omni-science) he knows directly clearly all substances Jiva, etc., simultaneously together with their infinite attributes and modifications; through infinite perception Anant-Darshan (omni-perception) perceives all these substances in general (undifferentiatedly); through infinite energy Anant Virya he always holds such potency (of knowing & seeing); through infinite bliss (Anant Sukha) he experiences imperturbable supreme bliss of beatitude. Further, who has attained the state of perfect serenity and peace by freeing oneself from all sorts of impure dispositions like attachment-aversion etc,  and has achieved the state of supreme God of gods by becoming free from hunger, thirst, etc., (birth, death, etc.) all sorts of physical maladies and whose body has turned into a supernatural Param-Audarika body having no weapon or clothing and is devoid of censurable signs and symptoms of sex-feeling, anger, etc, foul dispositions and emotions and by whose sermons the Dharma-Tirtha (the conduction of true religious path) prevails in the universe, by means of which the mundane beings attain welfare of the self; and who is found possessing different glories (wonders) and greatens which are the cause for worldly people to believe in his supreme lordship and who is adored by the great personages like Indras (heaven's gods) and Ganadharas (the highest rank of monks' order) etc., for their own spiritual benefit; thus adorable in all respects is Shri Arihanta Deva - to Him I (Todarmal) offer my salutation.

 

 

Characteristics of Siddhas (Liberated Souls)

 

Now, we meditate on the characteristics of Siddhas (liberated disembodied omniscients). He (the true believer) who having renounced the house-holder's life and by following the monk's conduct has attained the four infinites (infinite knowledge perception, bliss and energy) on destruction of four Ghati karmas (obscuring karmas), and after lapse of some time, on destruction of the four Aghati Karmas (Non-obscuring Karmas) also, quitting the supernatural body, he reached at the summit of the universe by virtue of upward-motion nature; there he attained the perfect liberated state by getting release from the association of all foreign substances and whose soul's spatial units retained the shape of human form i.e., a little less than the final body; and whose counter- effect producing karmas got destroyed, hence all spiritual attributes like right belief-knowledge-perception, etc., got fully manifested in their natural states, and whose attachment with Nokarmas, body etc.) has ended; hence the immateriality etc., all spiritual traits, got manifested and whose Bhavakarmas (psychic impure dispositions like attachment- aversion, etc.) are destroyed, hence the manifestation of imperturbable wholly-blissful form of pure self-nature is continuing incessantly and by whose meditation the capable souls (Bhavya-Jivas) attain the discriminative-knowledge of the self-substance and non-self-substances and of alien impure dispositions (evolving due to rise of Karmas) and natural pure dispositions (evolved in the absence of karmas) and by virtue of which the means of attaining Siddhahood is achieved. Therefore, for attaining one's own pure nature which is only worth attaining, they (the Siddhas) serve as images for exhibiting it and who have become kritkritya (attained the supreme attainable), hence continue to dwell in such (a perfect blissful) state infinitely; our salutations to such accomplished Siddhas.

 

 

General Characteristics of Jaina Monks:

Acharya, Upadhyaya and Sadhus

 

Now, we look into the characteristics of Acharya, Upadhyaya Sadhu (all possessionless naked Jaina monks):

 

 He (the right believer) who having become dispassionate and indifferent to worldly pleasures, relinquished all kinds of possessions and attachments and accepted Shuddhopayoga (pure passionless conduct of self-absorption) form of monk's conduct, experiences internally through that Shuddhopayoga his own self to be the self-soul only; never feels I-ness in other objects and believes one's own sentient nature only as one's own, never feels mineness in alien dispositions, and whatever other substances and their characteristics appear in knowledge, he, of course, knows them but does not have attachment-aversion feelings in them by treating them as agreeable or disagreeable; the body undergoes different changes, various instrumental causes get associated externally but (in those situations) he does not feel happy or unhappy at all, and the external (bodily) activity suitable to his (spiritual) status takes place in natural course, he does not involve himself in it forcibly, and he does not allow his Upayoga' (active consciousness) to deviate or ramble too much, he rather holds deviationless (stable) condition by becoming stoical and dispassionate. And, occasionally, due to rise of mild-passion, Shubhopayoga (auspicious thought activity) is also caused, owing to which he gets inclined towards the external means of Shuddhopayoga but knowing such inclination also to be relinquishing, wishes to uproot it.  And due to the absence of rise of intense passions there exists no Ashubhopayoga (inauspicious thought activity) of indulging in violence, etc., and having attained such an internal state of self, he has accepted the Digambar posture (totally possessionless naked state) of serenity, has become free from the acts of decorating the body, etc., lives in forest, caves etc., follows unbreachedly 28 Moolgunas (basic rites), endures 22 types of Parishahas (afflictions), adores 12 kinds of Tapas (penance's), sometimes becomes motionless like an idol by holding the meditation-posture, sometimes engages himself in external pious activities such as study of scriptures etc, sometimes attentively engages oneself in food-taking and making movement, etc., which activities are fit for him for the sake of maintaining the body, being the associating cause of Muni Dharma (monk's religion).

Such is the state of a Jaina-monk and this applies to all Jaina monks.