Gita Uska Shankarbhashya Aur Jain Darshan

Here is a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, "Gita Uska Shankarbhashya Aur Jain Darshan" by Rameshchandra Jain:

This text analyzes the Bhagavad Gita and its commentary by Shankaracharya from a Jain philosophical perspective. The author, Rameshchandra Jain, highlights the shared principles and contrasts between these traditions.

Core Tenets and Parallels:

• Nature of Karma and Liberation:

  • Shankara's View: According to Shankara, the accumulation of both meritorious (punya) and demeritorious (papa) karma leads to continued cycles of birth, death, suffering, and happiness, thus perpetuating samsara (the cycle of existence).
  • Jain View (Kundakunda): Jainism, particularly through Acharya Kundakunda in his Samaysara, emphasizes that both good (sushil) and bad (kushil) karma bind the soul. Just as iron and gold chains equally imprison a person, so too do good and bad actions bind the soul to samsara. Therefore, attachment or aversion to either is detrimental to liberation.
  • Shared Principle: Both traditions agree that true liberation (moksha) comes from transcending the cycle of karma.

• The Seed of Samsara:

  • Shankara's View: Shankara identifies grief (shoka) and delusion (moha) as the seeds of samsara.
  • Jain View (Kundakunda): Acharya Kundakunda in Pravachanasara defines equanimity (samya-bhava) as the state of the soul free from delusion and agitation. This equanimity is considered the root of liberation.
  • Shared Principle: The cessation of delusion and the attainment of inner peace are crucial for breaking free from worldly bondage.

• The Gita's "Renunciation of All Actions" and Jain "Ultimate Reality":

  • Gita: The Gita advocates for liberation through the renunciation of all actions and the attainment of self-knowledge.
  • Jainism: The Jain concept of paramartha (ultimate reality) is akin to this. Those detached from external pursuits, even while observing vows and austerities, do not attain liberation. The soul, in its ultimate form, is pure, omniscient, and liberated.
  • Shared Principle: True spiritual attainment lies in internal realization rather than external ritualistic practices.

• Knowledge and Action (Jnana-nistha and Karma-nistha):

  • Gita: The Gita distinguishes between the path of knowledge and the path of action. The Sankhya view highlights the soul's inaction due to its inherent nature, while Karma Yoga emphasizes action performed with detachment.
  • Jainism: Jainism views knowledge-focused devotion (jnana-nistha) from a more absolute perspective (nishchaya-naya) and action-focused devotion (karma-nistha) from a conventional perspective (vyavahara-naya).
  • Comparison: Shankara considers it impossible for one person to embody both knowledge and action simultaneously. Jainism, however, suggests that it is kathañchit (in a certain way) possible for both to be present in the same individual.

• Equanimity in Sensory Experiences:

  • Gita: The Gita states that the soul, though embodied, experiences different stages of life (childhood, youth, old age) just as it transmigrates to another body. Wise individuals are not deluded by this. It also advises enduring pleasant and unpleasant sensory experiences (heat, cold, pleasure, pain) as they are impermanent.
  • Jainism: Jainism fully agrees with this. The definition of a shramana (ascetic) includes one who views friends and enemies equally, pleasure and pain equally, praise and blame equally, a clod of earth and gold equally, and life and death equally.
  • Shared Principle: The cultivation of equanimity (samattva) in the face of dualities is a central theme in both teachings.

• The Steadfast Intellect (Sthitaprajna/Sthitadhi):

  • Gita: A person who is content within the self, free from desires, and whose intellect is steady is called Sthitaprajna or Sthitadhi. Such a person is undisturbed by pleasure or pain, free from attachment, fear, and anger. This is equated with samattva yoga (the yoga of equanimity).
  • Jainism: Jainism calls such a person Samyag-drishti (one with right vision). They are fearless and free from the seven fears (saptabhaya).
  • Shared Principle: The steadfast mind, free from desires and perturbations, is the hallmark of spiritual progress.

• Indiscriminate Action and Attachment:

  • Jainism (Kundakunda): A person engrossed in actions with attachment (ragi) binds karma, while one who attains detachment (vairagya) is freed from it. This is the teaching of the Jinas.
  • Gita: The Gita describes the one who has renounced attachment to fruits of action, is ever-satisfied, and without refuge, as one who does not act, even when engaged in action. Similarly, a muni who withdraws their senses like a tortoise is said to have a steadfast intellect.
  • Shared Principle: Detachment from the results of actions and control over the senses are essential to avoid being tainted by worldly actions.

• The Nature of the Soul and Non-Violence:

  • Gita: The Gita states that those who consider the soul a killer or think it is killed are ignorant, as the soul neither kills nor is killed.
  • Jainism (Kundakunda): The Samaysara states that one who believes they kill other beings or are killed by them is deluded and ignorant; the wise person understands the opposite.
  • Shared Principle: The unchanging, indestructible nature of the soul is a fundamental concept, supporting the principle of non-violence (ahimsa).

• Transmigration and the Soul's Immortality:

  • Gita: The Gita uses the analogy of old clothes being replaced with new ones to explain how the embodied soul sheds one body for another. It also states that the soul cannot be cut by weapons, burned by fire, wetted by water, or dried by air.
  • Jainism (Pujyapada): Acharya Pujyapada in Samadhitantra echoes this sentiment, stating that a wise person does not consider themselves old when their clothes are old, nor do they consider their soul old when their body is worn out.
  • Shared Principle: The soul is eternal and distinct from the physical body.

• Asceticism and Detachment:

  • Gita: The Gita suggests that without sustenance, one withdraws from sensory objects, and with self-knowledge, even subtle attachments cease. Ascetics who control their senses, even while engaging with unavoidable sensory objects, achieve peace.
  • Jainism (Kundakunda): A muni is described as nirahari (without food) because their soul, by not accepting external substances, is naturally without food. This is their inner austerity. They engage in alms through begging, but consider it distinct from their true self.
  • Shared Principle: True asceticism is characterized by inner detachment and control, not mere external abstinence.

• Renunciation of Desires and Attachment:

  • Gita: The Gita emphasizes freedom from all desires, possessiveness (mamata), and ego (ahamkara) for attaining peace. It also states that one who is free from attachment to the fruits of action, and whose mind and body are controlled, does not incur sin even when performing necessary actions.
  • Jainism: Jainism stresses that attachment (raga) binds the soul, and freedom from attachment (viraga) liberates it. The text illustrates this with the example of a wise person who, like gold in mud, remains unaffected by actions, while the ignorant, like iron in mud, is tarnished. The example of the conch shell, which remains white despite consuming various substances, is used to illustrate the untouched nature of the enlightened soul.
  • Shared Principle: Freedom from desires, possessiveness, and ego is crucial for spiritual liberation.

• The Wise versus the Ignorant:

  • Jainism: The text distinguishes between the wise (jnani) and the ignorant (agnani). The wise, detached from all substances, are not bound by karma, whereas the ignorant, attached to all substances, are bound by karmic dust.
  • Analogy: The analogy of the king's service is used to explain how serving karma (like serving a king for livelihood) brings rewards (enjoyable experiences) from karma, while refusing to serve karma leads to no such rewards. The righteous soul does not serve karma for worldly pleasure, thus avoiding karmic bondage.

• The Superiority of Knowledge-Sacrifice:

  • Gita (Shankara's commentary): Shankara highlights the superiority of the sacrifice of knowledge (jnana-yajna) over material sacrifices (dravyamaya-yajna), stating that one attains supreme peace by gaining knowledge.
  • Jainism (Raviṣena): Acharya Raviṣena describes jnana-yajna as dharma-yajna (sacrifice of righteousness), where the soul is the sacrificer, the body the altar, contentment the offering, and truthfulness the pillar.
  • Shared Principle: Knowledge and spiritual practice are paramount for achieving liberation and inner peace.

In conclusion, the book "Gita Uska Shankarbhashya Aur Jain Darshan" by Rameshchandra Jain effectively demonstrates significant parallels between the Bhagavad Gita, as interpreted by Shankara, and Jain philosophy, particularly the teachings of Acharya Kundakunda and Raviṣena. Both traditions emphasize the importance of detachment, equanimity, self-knowledge, and the control of senses as the path to liberation from the cycle of samsara, while differing in specific philosophical nuances and terminology.