Someone asks here - we have known in this way the tradition, but how could we
believe that in this tradition, only the right words with their exact meanings were
written and were not intermingled with false words?
Answer: Composing of false words is not possible without intense passion,
because due to such false composition by which many Jivas may be badly harmed
traditionally and as a consequence of such a great injury, the self will have to go
to hellish and Nigoda* form of life - such a great sinful act is possible only on
being empowered by the intensest anger, pride, deceit and greed passions; but in
Jain religion such a highly passioned person does not take birth.
The first basic preceptor
Tirthankara - Kewali (the omniscient) is free from
all passions due to complete annihilation of
Moha (delusion and attachment,
etc.). Next originators of
Shastras are the
Ganadharas andAcharyas who
because of feeble rise of
Moha karma (attachment) have forsaken all sorts of
external and internal possessions; hence are extremely dispassionate. Owing to the
presence of feeble passion in them they are found possessed with somewhat proclivity
of
Shubhopayoga (auspicious thought activity) and no other purpose is found.
And if the right-faithed
Shravakas (house-holders) also compose the
Shastras, they too are not highly passioned; if they had intense passions
how could they cultivate interest in
Jina-Dharma (Jainism) which is the
destroyer of all sorts of passions by all means? Or, if someone owing to the rise of
perverse faith, nourishes the passions by other (temporal) deeds, he may do so but
by going against
Jina's preachings (Maxims), if he nourishes one's passions,
he loses Jain-identity.
Thus, in Jainism such a highly passioned person is not found, who shall by composing
false words, spoil others as well as his own lot in this birth and the births
hereafter.
Question: If someone "so-called"
Jaina under the influence of intense
passion mixes false words in
Jain Shastras and then his tradition continues,
what to do in such case?
Answer: As someone mixes artificial pearls in the ornament of real pearls but
the shining does not match, so by examining it the examiner does not get cheated
also, except the ignorant one who gets cheated in the name of real pearls, and his
tradition also does not continue; soon someone starts disapproving the artificial
pearls. Similarly, in the
Jain-Shastras which are a collection (treatise) of
true words, someone may intermix false words, but the purpose shown in the words of
Jain-Shastras is of uprooting the passions and of reducing worldy affairs.
And the false words which are intermixed by that sinful person, serve the purpose of
nourishing the passions and accomplishing the worldly affairs. Thus the purpose does
not match; therefore, after examination, the wise person is not cheated. The
ignorant alone gets cheated by the name of
Jain-Shastra and his tradition
also does not continue, rather someone immediately contradicts the false words.
The other aspect is this that such highly-passioned, the so-called Jains, are found
here in this bad time only; many good regions and periods are also there wherein
such people are not found. Therefore, it should be understood that in
Jaina-Shastras the tradition of false words does not continue.
Further, he asks that one may not mix false words out of passions but since the
scripture-writers possess
Kshayopashama Jnan, therefore, if due to
miscomprehension someone mixes wrong words then his tradition may continue?
Answer: The basic scripture composers are
Ganadhara Devas (Chief
Acharyas); they themselves possess four kinds of knowledges and they listen
to omniscient's divine spech
(Diuya-Dhwani) directly; by virtue of its glory
(divineness) the right meaning only is comprehended and accordingly they compose
the
Shastras; therefore how can the false words be entwined in those
Shastras? And the other
Acharyas, etc. who compose the
Shastras
they also possess the right knowledge as per their capacity and they compose the
Shastras by following the tradition of the original scriptures. Moreover,
they do not compose those words which are not known to them and compose only those
words which are well-comprehended by them with the authenticity of right knowledge.
So, firstly by taking such due precautions, the false words are not intermixed and
sometimes if they themselves have mis-comprehended the meaning of the words of
original text (scripture) and also it may appear to be right in their knowledge then
there is no escape but this happens with someone rarely and not with all, therefore,
those who have comprehended it rightly, they, by negating the same, do not allow the
wrong tradition to continue.
Further, let it be known that the rightfaithed Jains do not have misconception about
Deva-Guru-Dharma etc. and
Jiva-Ajiva, etc. Tattvas by the
misconception of which the
Jivas become miserable; these are prominently
described in the
Jaina-Shastras. And there are some such deep meanings which
may even be misconceived under illusion but because of faith in omniscients'
preachings there will be no spiritual harm to Jiva. If out of them someone draws
wrong conclusion about some subtle meanings even then it is not his great mistake.
The same is said in
Gommattasara:
Meaning:- The right believer
(Samyagdrishti-Jiva) believes in the preached
true words and (sometimes) under the instruction of an ignorant teacher, believes
also in wrong words.
Moreover, I also do not possess vast knowledge but I am very much afraid of going
against the omniscients' preachings; due to the strength of this concept only, l am
daring to write this book (shastra). So, in this book also I shall be describing the
Tattvas exactly in the same way in which these are described in the old texts
(Shastras). Or if at some places in the old books the description is
uneleborated and deep, I shall describe the same here elaborately. In describing in
this manner, I shall remain very careful but even besides taking all due precautions
if at some place something deeper in meaning gets misinterpreted, it is my humble
request to the intellectual savants to correct the same properly. In this way I have
decided to write this
Shastra.
Now, "what types of
Shastras are worth reading and listening and what kind of
discoursers and listeners of those
Shastras should be there", the same is
being described here.
*
Nigoda - inferiorest one sensed beings undergoing 18 times births and deaths
in one respiration.