Sudhamahi Regunathan - The Colours of Desire on the Canvas of Restraint: The Jaina Way

The Colours of Desire on the Canvas of Restraint

The Jaina Way

SUDHAMAHI REGUNATHAN

Savvasim jiviyam piyam

To each and every being, life is dear

CONTENTS

Mythology is timeless. What often remains after a telling of it is its freshness, charm and relevance, sometimes even a willingness to believe. Simple stories pave the way for the development of complex philosophies and beliefs. In Jainism too, there is a treasure of mythology. This book begins with the tales of the heroes and heroines in Jaina mythology in order to be able to gradually enter the world of the philosophy that forms the warp and weft of its beliefs. If severity and austerity mark the Jaina way of life in some of its aspects, romance and symbolism, not to mention beauty and artistic expressions, make for the rest of its story.

Contrary to common perception, Jainism was not born with Mahavira in the sixth century BC. Mahavira was, in fact, the last or the twenty-fourth Tirthankara (Realized One). If one were to start with the first of his twenty-three predecessors, the story would begin 7,000 years ago or more. Jaina history, however, one finds, begins somewhat hazily with Mahaviras predecessor Parsvanatha and settles down to facts with Vardhamana Mahavira.

Jainism, Buddhism and Vedanta were born and flourished in the Indian subcontinent with lots of give and take. To get into a discussion about what one gave and what the other took would be futile. It is, however, worth understanding that the borders of intellectual excursions and beliefs were porous and accommodating. Many similar ideas found varied expressions. Some deities served all the religions without getting caught in isms, and some names overlap, as they would in a society of any time. Is the bull found in the Mohenjo-Daro excavations in modern-day Sindh, Pakistan, representative of Rishabha, the first Tirthankara, or of Shiva and his bull Nandi? Such and similar questions only Rishabha or Shiva would be able to answer.

Easier to answer are questions such as what is Jainism. Jainism is a philosophy for the minda philosophy towards developing an elegant, responsible and compassionate mind. It does not believe in the existence of a Creator, much less a divine agony aunt. It believes that the universe is without beginning or end, and our story is one of the play between the animate and the inanimate.

It understands and explains logically that everything inanimate and animate are interred into the earth upon death, and the same material rises up in different combinations to form something else or some other body. That which lives on, making for continuity, is the soul. The purpose of life, then, is to purify the soul. There are a fixed number of souls in this world, and they move from births which afford a better life to births in hell, depending on their purity. Jaina cosmology divides space into four sections: hell, middle world, heaven and the uppermost world, where the realized souls reside.

Time, in Jaina conception, is a qualitative cycle: from the excellent, it deteriorates into the terrible and then starts building its quality again. This points towards the existence of three concomitant aspects: origination, destruction and permanence. That which originates is also being destroyed even while it is originating, and yet there are some aspects of it that remain its defining features. This principle is called anekanta.

Anekanta is an idea which says if origination and destruction, which make for impermanence, can coexist with permanence, then it means opposites can coexist. Do sun and shade not coexist? It also means that what one thinks is true and what one thinks is untrue, both exist. Nothing is totally untrue; it may be true under certain conditions and situations. Similarly, nothing is absolutely true; it may not hold water under some conditions or at a certain time. Everything is part of a multidimensional truth; truth itself is relative.

When Acharya Mahapragya, the tenth spiritual head of the Jaina Swetambara Terapanth community, said that we should try and understand all religions and learn from them because we may then be able to get closer to the truth he was echoing the social aspect of anekanta, a thought which had been voiced by Mahavira himself.

The following is a conversation Mahavira had with his disciple, Gautama:

Gautama: Sire, what is shashvat dharma? (Shashvat means that which is classic, always holds, and is eternal.)

Mahavira: Non-violence is shashvat dharma.

Gautama: Sire, some thinkers assert that their faith alone, and no other, represents dharma. Is that true?

Mahavira: Gautama, beware of those who say, Seek refuge in my teachings if you desire deliverance. Such an attitude is indicative of religious dogmatism. Such people can at best teach fanaticism, not religion.

In another context, Mahavira is quoted as having said:

Sayam sayam pasamsamta, garahanta param vayam
Je u tatth viyussanti, samsaaram teviyussiya

Those who praise their own faith, disparage their opponents, and possess malice against them will remain confined to the cycle of birth and death.

Critics say anekanta is a mark of indecision. To me, it does not appear to be indecision but the admission of other possibilities, hitherto unexamined. And it is this allowance for other possibilities that makes the religion more tolerant and catholic in its approach, and therefore enables it to foster ahimsa, its core belief. In todays times, this is the magic concept which, if understood, can keep people together with no threat to their independent identities.

Ahimsa means non-violence. The Jainas have examined the idea so intricately that they have detailed a whole lifestyle based on ahimsa. To live such a life, one of the important prerequisites is anekanta, which advocates against any assertion of absolute truth. A related and charming idea explains that this is possible only when you practise aparigraha, or non-possession. It has sometimes been interpreted as non-possessiveness too, but the message is not to take exclusive ownership of anythingbe it material property, an idea or a belief.

The issue rises far above considerations of how many material possessions one should have. But how far above? To understand that, the Jainas highlighted one more truth: Every being wants to live. To live and let live is the essence. The overarching principle is Aya tule payasu, which means, Measure every soul as equivalent to yours. That which stands in your way of doing so is your own desire, on which feeds greed.

This understanding calls for restraint in human behaviour for two reasons. At the gross level, it is necessary to observe restraint so as to be able to live amicably with others. At the individual level, Jaina thought believes all actions invite karmic particles which get attached to the soul, thus rendering it impure. If one wants to keep it pure, one should keep desire away. To what extent is this possible? To the extent that one can restrain oneself. If this world is described as a play between the animate and the inanimate, lifethe form that this play takesand its progression is a play between restraint and desire. The karmic matter that attaches itself to the soul lends its aura a colour depending on its degree of purity. The more the restraint, the lighter, the more brilliant and the more auspicious the colour.

My feeling is that this is the central idea not just in Jaina thought but also in the reason for Mahaviras life of penance and later realization. Mahavira seems to emerge as a man of elegance. He was severe on himself and advocated severity on anyone who sought truth. Of course, he suggested that each one find truth for himself or herself instead of taking his word for it. If one wishes to do so, one has hard work ahead, as one would imagine any tall assignment to entail. If, however, one wishes to learn from him, one idea stands outthat of inclusiveness.