Jain Conception Of Liberation In The Sutrakritanga - Book Summary

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The paper "Jain Conception of Liberation in the Sutrakritanga" by Dr. Lalitha Dr, analyzes the Jain understanding of liberation (moksha) as depicted in the Sutrakritanga, the second Anga in the Svetambara Jain canon. The study is divided into three parts: the object of liberation, the means of liberation, and the fruits of spiritual realization.

I. Jain Object of Liberation

According to Jainism, liberation (moksha) is the complete freedom of the soul from all karmic coverings and defilements. Karma is identified as the root cause of the soul's bondage. The ultimate aim is to break free from the snares of karma that bind the soul to the cycle of transmigration (samsara). Liberation is not a consequence of something preceding it but rather a state achieved through diligent practice.

Bondage arises from the influx (asrava) of karmic matter into the soul. This influx is of two types: psychical (consciousness modification) and physical (karmic particles entering the soul). Both virtuous (punya) and sinful (papa) karmas contribute to bondage. While virtuous deeds lead to pleasant experiences in higher realms of samsara, sinful deeds result in suffering in lower realms or hell. To achieve liberation, both punya and papa must be overcome.

Bondage itself is also classified as psychical (when karma is bound through conscious states, including passions) and physical (when karmic particles interpenetrate the soul). The cause of this bondage is specific modifications of consciousness, particularly passions.

Jain liberation is understood in two aspects:

Subjective (bhava) liberation: This is achieved when the soul is released from the four "action-currents of injury" (ghatya karmas) which obscure its true nature.
Objective (dravya) liberation: This is attained when the soul is freed from the "action-currents of non-injury" (aghatin karmas), which are the remaining karmas that do not obscure the soul's inherent qualities.

II. Means of Liberation

The path to liberation involves a comprehensive approach encompassing right understanding, right knowledge, and right conduct. The text emphasizes that true liberation is not achieved by simply adhering to certain beliefs or intellectual pursuits without practical application.

Key elements for achieving liberation include:

Renunciation: Ascetics, both Aryas and Non-Aryas, are encouraged to renounce worldly possessions and attachments, including pleasant associations with kinsmen and property, and to avoid dwelling on painful separations.
Understanding Individuality of Karma: Realizing that karma is strictly individual, one understands that neither helping nor harming others is possible through one's own will.
Abstaining from Sins: Householders should abstain from the five cardinal sins. Monks, guided by well-behaved preceptors, should practice ahimsa (non-violence) with perfect self-control, impartially teaching the law for the well-being of others.
Righteous Path and Virtues: Faithful adherents who strive on the righteous path, endowed with virtues and abstaining from sins and passions, attain Nirvana.
Avoiding Sins through Three Means: Purity of heart and Nirvana are achieved by avoiding sins committed through one's own actions, by the order of others, or by approving others' sinful deeds.
Overcoming Hardships and Restraining Senses: Grasping the Law of the Jinas, restraining senses, and overcoming all hardships lead to ultimate liberation.
Giving Up Pride: Wise monks abandon pride of genius, sanctity, birth, and good living to transcend limitations and attain moksha.
Self-Protection and Austerities: Monks protecting themselves in thought, speech, and action, practicing austerities and silence, annihilate sins and attain liberation.
Detachment and Control: Wise followers abstain from obligatory works based on birth, control their senses, and destroy karma, leading to rebirth in heavenly realms or liberation.
Ahimsa: Practicing ahimsa towards all living beings, whether moving or non-moving, leads to the goal of Nirvana.
Purity of Soul and Renunciation of Sins: Learned monks with pure souls, free from sins and delusion, achieve liberation.
Following the Path of Tirthankaras: The best path preached by the Tirthankaras, including Lord Mahavira, helps cross the "flood of samsara" and attain liberation from suffering.
Subduing Senses and Cultivating Forbearance: Pious monks who subdue their senses, cultivate forbearance, and lead calm lives meditating on Tirthankara teachings attain liberation.
Renouncing Worldly Vanities: Wise monks devoid of pride and deceit, renouncing worldly vanities and firmly controlling their senses, achieve final liberation.
Perfection through Rules of Conduct: Perfection is attained by following rules of conduct, being free from greed, focusing on the Highest Good, controlling oneself in all actions and sustenance, and being free from pride, wrath, deceit, and greed.
Understanding Truth and Performing Austerities: Comprehending truth, living by it, seeking the Law, performing austerities, and possessing self-control (guptis) and skillful self-control for the soul's benefit lead to liberation.
Religious Life and Cessation of Misery: Practicing actions pertaining to religious life leads to the cessation of misery and perfection.
Asceticism and Delight in Truth: Ascetics free from anger, delighting in truth, and understanding liberation's reality achieve their goal.
Avoiding Threefold Sins: Abstaining from sins committed by one's own action, by the order of others, and by assenting to sinful deeds leads to perfection.
Pious Acts and Freedom from Bondage: Renouncing worldly life, not being subdued by women, and performing pious acts lead towards liberation.
Instruction in Law and Virtues: Those well-instructed in the Law, endowed with virtues, and abstaining from all sins attain liberation.
Rejection of False Paths: Reviling a monk or failing to attain purity by observing the right path prevents overcoming the cycle of transmigration.
Critique of Superficial Practices: Perfection is not achieved by merely abstaining from salt, bathing, performing austerities in fire, or bathing at dawn, as these do not address the root cause of karma.
Detachment and Control of Senses: Virtuous beings who withdraw their minds and senses from sinful deeds and extinguish bad karma strive towards liberation.
Kriyavada and Right Conduct: Sramanas and Brahmanas who are Kriyavadins believe suffering results from one's own deeds and that right knowledge and right conduct lead to liberation.
Overcoming Calamities: Disciplined Sramanas who endure calamities and hardships attain Kevaljnana (omniscience), leading to absolute perfection.
Practices for Karma Dissipation: Accumulated karmas are removed through practices like fasting, moderation in food, restriction of food, renunciation of delicacies, solitary resting, physical austerities, expiation, modesty, service, study, renunciation of ego, and meditation. These are categorized as external (physical purification) and internal (mental purification).
Right World-view: The first step in spiritual enlightenment is adopting a right world-view by repudiating wrong views stemming from passions and past conditioning.

III. Fruits of Stages in Spiritual Realization

Spiritual aspirants and munis achieve spiritual perfection through dedicated spiritual activities, leading to the title of Arhat. Arhats can be of two types:

Tirthankaras: These are capable of exhorting and propagating religious principles to guide souls lost in illusion, with their sermons articulated by Ganadharas.
Non-Tirthankara Arhats: These souls, while omniscient, do not propound religious tenets but silently experience spiritual sublimity.

An Arhat is characterized by:

Establishment in Truth and Self: They are established in truth and the self (atman), free from anger, pride, death, greed, hatred, birth, and death. Their state is one of Nirvana, devoid of senses, disaster, astonishment, sleep, desire, and hunger.
Supernormal Existence: They lead a life of supernormalism.
Instruction to Humanity: They instruct humanity for upliftment and provide spiritual guidance to suffering beings.
Conquest over Mind and Senses: Through the emergence of atmanic experience and steadfastness, they naturally conquer their mind, senses, and emotions.
Eternal Vigilance: Unlike the unwise who sleep, sages are always awake.
Supersensuous Knowledge and Power: They attain supersensuous knowledge, infinite power, and unique radiance. They are omniscient beings experiencing eternal bliss.
Ineffable Spiritual Experience: Their spiritual experience is ineffable and beyond worldly limitations.

Both Arhats and Siddhas are considered spiritually fulfilled, with Arhats experiencing "embodied liberation" and Siddhas experiencing "disembodied liberation." An Arhat is a divine guru who preaches for general beneficence and is a perfect deva due to the actualization of their divinity potential, thus embodying both divinity and the guru-role. Siddhas, being completely free from karmic bondage and formless, cannot practically preach Dharma, but the living Arhat, being omniscient, can.

A Nirgrantha is one who is free from love and hate, knows the absolute soul, is well-disciplined, understands the Law, and subdues their senses, thereby attaining liberation.

The parable of the Lotus Pool from the Sutrakritanga illustrates this:

Lotus Pool: Represents the world.
Water: Represents karma.
Mud: Represents pleasures.
Lotuses: Represent people in general.
Big White Lotus: Represents the king.
Four Men: Represent heretics.
Restrained Monk: Represents the creed.
Bank: Represents the order.
Monk's Voice: Represents the preaching of the creed.
Big Lotus Flying Up: Represents Nirvana.

Ultimately, only the Nigrantha ascetic, by following the path illustrated, succeeds and attains Nirvana.

Resume:

The study concludes that according to the Sutrakritanga, Jain liberation (moksha) is achieved through a twofold practice: stopping the influx of material particles (samvara) and dissipating existing karmas (nirjara), leading to complete freedom from karmic coverings. Nirvana, the chief object of Jain law, has subjective (bhava) and objective (dravya) stages. Subjective liberation is attained by shedding the four ghatya karmas, while objective liberation is achieved by shedding the four aghatin karmas. This entire process ultimately leads the spiritual aspirant to the state of pure and perfect knowledge (kevalajnana).