Aa Che Sansar

This document is a Gujarati text titled "Aa Che Sansar" (This is the World), authored by Priyam, and published by Ashapuran Parshwanath Jain Gyanbhandar. It presents a series of reflections and discourses based on the fourth chapter, "Bhavswaroop Chintan Adhikar," of the renowned Jain text "Adhyatmasar" by Mahopadhyay Shri Yashovijayji Maharaj.

The book's central theme is to unveil the true, often harsh, nature of the worldly existence (Sansar) from a spiritual perspective. It meticulously dissects Sansar through various metaphors and analogies, highlighting its inherent suffering, illusion, and deceptive nature.

Here's a summary of the key points presented across the chapters:

Introduction & Core Message:

• The work aims to awaken individuals to the reality of Sansar, which is often perceived as a source of happiness but is actually a cycle of suffering.
• True happiness and liberation lie in spirituality (Adhyatma) and detachment (Vairagya).
• The author emphasizes that understanding the true nature of Sansar is crucial to detach from it and embrace the spiritual path.

Metaphors for Sansar: The text describes Sansar using a series of powerful and often unsettling metaphors:

1. The Source of Spirituality: Ironically, Sansar, despite its suffering, can serve as the starting point for spiritual awakening and detachment for the discerning individual.
2. A True Ocean: Sansar is depicted as a vast ocean filled with the fire of desire (Kaam-vaadvanal), constantly burning and unquenchable. It also contains turbulent whirlpools of anger (Krodh-vavmal) and falling rocks of sensory pleasures (Vishay-girikoot), making it a dangerous and terrifying expanse.
3. Fire, and Only Fire: It's a burning inferno where even cherished desires (Priya jwala) and beloveds become sources of immense suffering and burning. Unlike physical fire, Sansar's fire leaves no escape, reducing one to ashes silently.
4. A Slaughterhouse: Sansar is a place of immense suffering and death, where beings are bound by the cords of affection (Sneh-ghatit) and are brutally slaughtered by sensory desires (Vishay-ghatakbhat) like animals in a butcher's shop. The text highlights the cycle of birth, suffering, and death as a continuous slaughter.
5. A Ferocious Demon: It's a night-wandering demon (Bhavanaktachar) with venomous serpents of passions (Kashay-vyal) on its head, bones of desires (Vishay-asthi) around its neck, and sharp teeth of faults. It's treacherous and utterly untrustworthy.
6. A Dangerous Jungle: It's a perilous jungle where desire (Kaam-bhil) ambushes beings, robbing them of their spiritual wealth (Dharm-dhan). The allure of physical attraction (Naari-payodhar) serves as a hiding place for this predator. Without strong spiritual support (Guru's guidance), venturing into this jungle is extremely risky.
7. A Painful Deception: Sansar is a web of deceit, where perceived happiness from wealth, home, and relationships (Maaya-jaal) is illusory. The underlying reality is suffering, and this deception leads to further pain. The essence of Sansar is misperception (Vipareetdarshan).
8. A Terrifying Prison: Sansar is a dreadful jail, where affection (Priya-sneha) acts as shackles, relatives are guards, wealth is a new bond, and vices are the overflowing filth. It's a place where unpredictable calamities (Vyasan-bil) can strike at any moment.
9. A True Crematorium: It's a burning ghat where lust (Kaam) is an owl, anger (Maha-krodha) is a vulture, and restlessness (Avirati) is a jackal. The fire of sorrow (Shokagni) constantly burns, and the ashes of disgrace (Apaysho) are scattered everywhere.
10. A Poisonous Tree: This poisonous tree (Vishavruksha) offers a shade of greed (Dhan-trushna) that causes unconsciousness, flowers of female allure (Naari-vilasa) that poison the mind, and fruits of hellish diseases (Naraka-vyadhi). Wise individuals should have no attachment to it.
11. A Rain of Oddities: Sansar is characterized by extreme contrasts and unpredictability: wealth and poverty, high status and lowliness, beauty and deformity. These constant shifts and fluctuations make it a bewildering and often disappointing experience.
12. A Homeless Home: It's a home without a home, a dwelling devoid of true belonging. Desire (Kaam) constantly undermines virtues, while internal conflicts (Kharab vicharon ka jhagda) and ego-driven snakes (Mad-phana) reside within.
13. A Blazing Summer: Sansar is like a harsh summer, where the thirst for pleasures is unquenchable, the sun of anger (Krodha-surya) blazes intensely, and the lake of tranquility (Prasham-sarovar) dries up. The sweat of lust (Smar-sved) causes virtues to decay.
14. Only Relationships of Self-Interest: Relationships in Sansar are based on utility. Family members, friends, and even spouses are affectionate only as long as one's self-interest is served. Once that is compromised, they become estranged or even hostile. True relationships are with the Soul (Atma) and its qualities.
15. Deadly Poison: Sansar is pure poison. Promises of love and happiness are a deceptive outer layer, while inner intent is venomous. Betrayal is rampant, and self-deception is the greatest poison.
16. A Painful Mishap: Sansar is a series of painful accidents and misfortunes. The desires that once brought joy become a source of extreme frustration and exhaustion. What appears attractive often leads to suffering, and maintaining relationships requires immense effort and compromise.
17. A Ruined Family: The "family" in Sansar is a broken entity. True familial joy comes from an inner spiritual family of wisdom (Buddhi), virtue (Vinay), righteousness (Guna-rati), discernment (Vivek), and spiritual motherliness (Parinati). The worldly family, despite its appearance, is ultimately a source of suffering and a flawed experience.
18. A Blazing Furnace: It's a burning furnace where efforts to find happiness through love and relationships lead to immense suffering. The constant cycle of desire, attachment, separation, and loss creates unbearable pain, akin to being baked in a kiln.
19. A Terrible Battlefield: Sansar is a dangerous battlefield where the arrows of desire (Drishti-bana) pierce the armor of Dharma, and the heart is stained with the blood of attachment (Raag-rudhir). It's a place where vices like vultures (Vyasan-shat-gridhra) constantly hover, ready to feast on the fallen soul.
20. A Complete Madhouse: Sansar is a total asylum where beings swing between extreme emotions—laughter and tears, joy and sorrow, dance and despair—without any control. This state of delusion and mental instability, driven by intense infatuation (Mohonmad), makes it a place of utter madness.
21. A Cruel Joke: Sansar is a cruel mockery, like incomplete knowledge, friendship with the wicked, the foolish king in a dark kingdom, or the plight of a young widow. It presents illusions of happiness that ultimately lead to immense suffering.
22. An Outright Lie: Once true knowledge (Tatva) is attained, Sansar is revealed as a complete falsehood, a lie. The illusions that once captivated are dispelled, and only the true self remains.
23. Only an Illusion: Sansar is an illusion (Maya-jaal). What we perceive as happiness, beauty, and love in the world are merely projections of our own mind and desires, not the inherent reality of things. True happiness is found within the soul.
24. Pure Harassment: Sansar is merely harassment. It offers the appearance of sweetness like wooden sweets, but the reality is bitter and disappointing. It's like embracing a statue instead of a living person, leading only to suffering and deception.
25. Complete Dependency: Happiness in Sansar is dependent on external factors—possessions, relationships, and circumstances. True happiness (Adhyatmik Sukh), however, is self-reliant, eternal, and free from desire and fear, found only within the soul.
26. Truly Autumn: Worldly pleasures are like autumn—dependent, perishable, stained with desires, and filled with fear. In contrast, spiritual happiness is like an eternal spring, independent, enduring, free from desire, and filled with fearlessness.
27. Only Violence: The true essence of Sansar is violence, both self-inflicted and inflicted upon others. Understanding the nature of Sansar leads to compassion and non-violence, enabling one to live a life free from harm and suffering.

The Path Forward: The book strongly advocates for:

• Vairagya (Detachment): Cultivating detachment from worldly pleasures and relationships is essential.
• Adhyatma (Spirituality): Turning inwards and focusing on the soul and its eternal nature.
• Sanyam (Self-control): Practicing discipline in thoughts, words, and actions to avoid falling prey to desires and passions.
• Guru's Guidance: Seeking guidance from enlightened spiritual teachers is vital for navigating the complexities of Sansar and the spiritual path.

The author concludes by urging readers to recognize the illusory and painful nature of Sansar and to actively seek the path of spirituality and liberation, which alone can bring true and lasting happiness. The text uses the "Shikharini" meter for its verses, lending a lyrical and rhythmic quality to the profound spiritual insights.