Appa So Paramapa - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Appa so Paramapa" (The Soul is the Supreme Being) by Dr. Hukumchand Bharilla, based on the provided pages:

Core Tenet:

The central and most significant teaching of Jainism, as presented in this text, is that all souls are inherently God (Paramatma). We are all, by our true nature, divine beings, possessing infinite knowledge and bliss. The potential to manifest this divine nature in our outward existence (paryaya) is also within our grasp.

The Apparent Paradox and the Millionaire Analogy:

When it is stated that "all souls are God" and "can become God," a natural question arises: how can something be God and also become God? This apparent contradiction is explained through a powerful analogy of a young boy who is an undiscovered millionaire.

The Analogy: A wealthy merchant leaves his entire fortune of one crore rupees deposited in a bank for his five-year-old son, to be revealed only when the son turns twenty-five. The son, unaware of his immense wealth, is orphaned and lives a life of poverty, even pulling a rickshaw for a living.
The Question: Is this rickshaw-pulling boy a millionaire or not?
- Public Perception: Most people would say "no," because his outward appearance and actions (pulling a rickshaw) do not align with their preconceived notion of a millionaire (luxurious lifestyle, servants, etc.).
- The Truth: He is a millionaire by birth and by the deposited wealth, even if he is unaware of it and lives in poverty.
The Parallel: Just as the boy is a millionaire despite his circumstances, our souls are inherently God, even though we may be living in apparent ignorance and suffering. We are unaware of our true, divine nature.

Why We Don't Perceive Ourselves as God:

Conditioned Mindset: Our minds are conditioned by external appearances. We associate divinity with outward grandeur, worship, and respect, not with the seemingly ordinary, suffering human beings we encounter daily, including ourselves.
Ignorance (Agnan): We are blinded by the "darkness of ignorance" and forget our true potential and inherent divinity. We identify with our temporary states of suffering, weakness, and impurity, rather than our eternal, blissful nature.
Misunderstanding of Divinity: We tend to think of God as someone who is worshipped and revered (like the idols in temples), rather than as the intrinsic essence of our own being. We believe that if we were God, we wouldn't suffer.

Two Types of Gods:

The text distinguishes between two types of "Gods" in Jainism:

Karya Paramatma (Functional Supreme Beings): These are the Arhants and Siddhas who reside in temples as idols. We worship and revere these external forms, and strive to follow their path.
Karana Paramatma (Causal Supreme Beings): This refers to the true God within each soul, residing in the "temple of the body." These are the "Gods of the self" (Nij Bhagwan Atma) who are worthy of devotion, contemplation, and realization.

The Importance of Knowledge (Gyan) and Faith (Shraddhan):

Knowledge is Crucial: The rickshaw-puller boy's poverty stems from his lack of knowledge about his millionaire status. Similarly, our suffering arises from our lack of knowledge about our true divine self. Knowing that knowledge is the "supreme nectar" and the "cure for the diseases of birth, old age, and death" is paramount.
Faith is Even More Important: The analogy progresses. Even when the newspaper announces the boy's deposited fortune, he initially doubts it, thinking it might be someone else. He only truly benefits when he has faith and conviction that the money is his.
The Power of Conviction: Similarly, merely reading scriptures that state "Appa so Paramapa" (the soul is God) is not enough. True transformation occurs when this knowledge is accompanied by unwavering faith and conviction – the deep inner belief that "I myself am God."

The Path to Realization:

Acceptance of the Truth: The first step is to sincerely accept, from the depths of one's heart, the truth that "I am inherently God." This acceptance shifts our perspective away from external objects and towards our true nature.
Turning Inward: The true path involves withdrawing attention from external distractions and focusing it inward, towards the self.
Meditation and Absorption: By meditating on and becoming absorbed in the divine self, one can achieve a state of samadhi (equanimity and union).
Experiencing Divine Bliss: This inner absorption leads to the experience of "indescribable, transcendental bliss" (atindriya anand), which marks the beginning of liberation.

The Transformation:

When the rickshaw-puller boy gains true faith in his wealth:

His outlook changes.
He no longer sees himself as poor.
He stops pulling the rickshaw, not out of idleness, but because his newfound identity as a millionaire dictates it.
His external circumstances (clothes, house) may take time to change, but the inner poverty (lack of self-worth) disappears.

Conclusion:

The text emphasizes that the true liberation and ultimate happiness come from realizing and firmly believing in our inherent divinity. This is not about "becoming" God in the sense of acquiring something new, but about recognizing and actualizing what we already are. The journey involves gaining profound knowledge and, more importantly, cultivating unshakable faith in our true, God-like nature. The ultimate goal is to live in accordance with this realization, which will naturally lead to a life of pure conduct, peace, and bliss.