Jain Shikshavali Vitragni Vani - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Jain Shikshavali Vitragni Vani" by Dhirajlal Tokarshi Shah, based on the provided pages:

Book Title: Jain Shikshavali Vitragni Vani (The Teachings of the Detached Ones) Author: Dhirajlal Tokarshi Shah Publisher: Jain Sahitya Prakashan Mandir

Overall Purpose: This book is presented as a collection of inspiring teachings, primarily drawing from Jain scriptures (indicated by references like "ઉ" for Uttaradhyayana Sutra, "દ" for Dashavaikalika Sutra, and "આ" for Acharanga Sutra, followed by chapter and verse numbers). The aim is to provide wisdom and guidance to individuals of all ages, from children to the elderly, promoting a righteous and fulfilling life. The introduction highlights the author's reputation as an excellent writer of children's literature, suggesting the teachings are presented in an engaging and accessible manner.

Key Themes and Teachings:

The book is structured thematically, covering essential aspects of Jain philosophy and practice. Here's a breakdown of the major sections and their core messages:

1. Mukti (Liberation/Salvation):

Liberation is achieved by overcoming karma through self-control, austerity, and detachment.
Complete knowledge, eradication of ignorance, delusion, attachment, and aversion lead to lasting happiness and liberation.
Great souls, characterized by their depth of understanding, resilience in adversity, detachment from desires, and compassion for all beings, attain liberation by destroying the causes of suffering.
Freedom from worldly bondage and freedom from attachment to all things leads to liberation.
Overcoming sensual desires is true liberation.
Karma must be experienced and exhausted for liberation.
Liberation is attained by following the path of knowledge, right perception (faith in truth), and right conduct (self-control and austerity).
A proper understanding of the path involves right perception, right knowledge, and right conduct, without which liberation is impossible.

2. Sansar (The Cycle of Birth and Death/Worldly Existence):

The body is a boat, the world is an ocean, and the soul is the navigator who can cross this ocean using the body.
Wise individuals, like someone escaping a burning house, abandon trivial worldly pleasures to save their soul from the cycle of birth and death.
Those entangled in sensual desires cannot follow the path of renunciation, just as an elephant stuck in mud cannot reach the shore even when it sees it.
The pursuit of sensual pleasures is like trying to fill a sieve with water; it's an endless and futile effort.
Life, form, and all worldly possessions are as fleeting as lightning.
Wife, children, friends, and relatives follow us only while we are alive; they do not accompany us after death.
Relatives, wealth, and family are left behind; only the soul's good or bad karma accompanies it.
Neither parents, sons, grandsons, nor other family members can offer refuge when one is suffering the consequences of their actions.
One must personally experience the joys and sorrows of their own karma.
Understanding the nature of poison (worldly attachments) is equivalent to understanding the nature of the world itself.

3. Dharma (Righteousness/Religion):

Dharma is the ultimate refuge and support for beings swept away by the forces of aging and death.
Neglecting dharma in this life is like embarking on a long journey without provisions, leading to suffering in the next world.
Those who embrace unrighteousness and die regret their actions, similar to someone whose ship has sunk.
Time passes relentlessly; those who practice dharma effectively utilize their time.
Dharma is supreme auspiciousness. Those whose minds are constantly engaged in dharma (non-violence, self-control, and austerity) are revered even by deities.
One should follow the religious practices of the wise. Those who adhere to religious conduct are not subjected to criticism.
Dharma resides only in a pure and simple heart.
The teachings emphasize adherence to righteous conduct and the pursuit of virtue.

4. Durlabh Vastu (Rare Things):

Four things are difficult to obtain in this world: human birth, hearing true scriptures, faith, and the capacity for self-control.
After countless births and the gradual destruction of impurities, purified souls attain human birth.
Even with a human body, hearing the true dharma, which leads to austerity, patience, and non-violence, is rare.
Even after hearing the dharma, attaining true faith is extremely rare, as many falter despite hearing the path of righteousness.
Even after attaining a human body, hearing the scriptures, and having faith, the power of self-control is rare because many are inclined towards truth but cannot practice it.

5. Pramad Na Karva (Do Not Be Careless):

Only those who are friends with death, can escape it, or know they will not die can afford to procrastinate.
One should strive to practice dharma while they are not yet afflicted by old age, illness, or the decline of their senses.
Life is as transient as a yellow, withered leaf falling at night or a dewdrop clinging to a blade of grass. Therefore, do not be careless even for a moment.
One's body has aged, hair has whitened, and strength has diminished; hence, do not be careless for even a moment.
Like a lotus blooming in autumn remains untouched by water, one should remain detached from worldly attachments and free from delusion. Do not be careless for a moment.
Life is uncertain; therefore, do not be careless.

6. Kaya (The Body):

The body is born of impurity, is a vessel of suffering and affliction, and is impermanent. What is the attachment to a body as fleeting as a water bubble?
The body should be used wisely for the destruction of accumulated karma.

7. Kamabhag (Sensual Pleasures):

Sensual pleasures are like black serpents. Souls often die pursuing them without ever truly attaining them.
Those who do not give up sensual desires in their pursuit of equanimity face suffering day and night.
The consequences of enjoyed pleasures are not pleasant, just like the fruit of the castor-oil plant.
Pleasures offer momentary happiness but bring long-term suffering.
Since pleasures are fleeting and life cannot be extended, those who chase them merely lament and suffer.
Sensual desires are as unstable as a dewdrop on a blade of grass. Why not follow the path of welfare in this short lifespan?
All physical and mental suffering in the universe, including the celestial realms, arises from attachment to sensual pleasures. Only the detached can end this suffering.
Just as birds flock to a fruit-bearing tree and cause it distress, so do desires trouble humans who are infatuated with sense objects.

8. Asakti (Attachment):

Overcoming attachment to women makes it easier to shed other attachments, just as crossing the Ganga becomes easier after crossing a vast ocean.
Those who are intensely attached to sound, like a deer drawn to music, often meet untimely death, remaining unsatisfied.
Those who are greedily attached to form, like moths drawn to flames, meet accidental death.
Those intensely attached to smell, like snakes drawn to the fragrance of medicinal herbs, meet untimely death.
Those intensely attached to taste, like fish caught on a hook in bait, meet untimely death.
Those intensely attached to touch, like a lovesick bull caught by a crocodile in cold water, meet untimely death.
All attachment is a snare; therefore, move forward cautiously at every step.

9. Atma Ko Jitna (Conquering the Self):

Conquering oneself is superior to conquering ten million warriors in a formidable battle; this is the true victory.
Battle with your own self; what is the use of external warfare? Victory over oneself brings happiness.
Even if one person were given the entire world to enjoy, they would not be satisfied, as the self is filled with suffering.
The self is the source of both suffering (like the Vaitarani river and the Shamali tree) and happiness (like the Kamadugha cow and Nandanvan garden).
If the self is conquered, everything is conquered.

10. Manovrittiyon Ko Sudharna (Improving Mental Tendencies):

The mind is like a wild, fierce, and wicked horse, straying towards worldly desires. It can be controlled by the reins of religious teachings.
Anger, pride, deceit, and greed are the four impure tendencies that nourish the tree of rebirth.
Anger destroys goodness, pride destroys humility, deceit destroys friendship, and greed destroys everything.
Conquer anger with peace, pride with humility, deceit with simplicity, and greed with contentment.
Control anger, remove pride, do not practice deceit, and abandon greed.
With forgiveness, one can overcome even severe hardships.
With absence of greed, peace is attained.
With sincerity, beautiful simplicity is attained.
With gentleness, the eight types of pride can be destroyed.
Even countless mountains of gold and silver are not enough for one greedy person, as desires are as endless as the sky.
A vine of desire grows in the depths of the heart, bearing poisonous fruits.
A fierce fire of anger, pride, deceit, and greed burns within the body.
Kashays (passions) are fire, and knowledge, good conduct, and austerity are streams of water.
Subdue anger, pride, deceit, and greed, control your senses, and withdraw the soul from sensual desires.

11. Savadhani Rakhna (Being Vigilant):

Walk on the straight path, not on crooked ones.
Speak only innocent, measured, and beneficial language.
Dispose of filth, urine, feces, nasal mucus, body dirt, unwholesome food, unsuitable clothes, dead bodies, and waste materials in appropriate places.

12. Sadachar (Good Conduct):

Like a rotten dog is insulted everywhere, a garrulous and immoral person is despised everywhere.
Just as a sparrow abandons a fine ear of grain to eat excrement, an immoral person abandons good conduct to wander freely.
Seekers of liberation and truth should diligently practice good conduct and advance in righteousness; they will not be disappointed.
Abandon sinful actions as soon as they are realized.
One should aspire for virtues until the end of their life.
Long matted hair, nudity, matted locks, specific upper garments, or shaved heads do not make one a true ascetic if they are immoral.
Whether a monk or a householder, virtue is respected.
Only the virtuous can cross this ocean of suffering.
The immoral find no peace in this world or the next; they become victims of both internal and external suffering.
A leaky boat cannot ferry one across and sinks, drowning its passengers. Only a leak-free boat can transport one.
Even when confronted with sensual pleasures, the seeker of liberation does not fall into them.
The soul is its own friend when it stays on the right path and its own enemy when it strays.
The harm that an enemy cannot inflict by cutting off the head can be done by the self if it goes astray.

13. Tap aur Sanyam (Austerity and Self-Control):

It is best to purify the soul through austerity and self-control.
Those who lose their composure and deviate from the path of equanimity by not controlling their life fall into demonic births due to attachment to sensual pleasures.
Great souls who control their five senses, are indifferent to life, and are detached from the body, engage in inner sacrifices without worrying about external purity.
Austerity is fire. The living beings are its abode, and the actions of mind, speech, and body are the ladle. The body is the means to ignite the fire, karma is the wood, and self-control is the calming mantra. Great sages consider such inner sacrifices supreme.
Those who have attained the path of self-control should diligently engage in austerity with knowledge day and night.
Wise and intelligent practitioners, upon hearing sweet admonitions filled with knowledge and virtue, should abandon the path of the wicked and follow the path of great ascetics.
Sinful karma accumulated over lifetimes becomes weak through austerity.
Austerity is of two types: external and internal.
External Austerity (six types): Fasting, eating sparingly, using fewer resources, renouncing tastes (like milk, yogurt, ghee, oil, jaggery, sweets), controlling the body, and solitude.
Internal Austerity (six types): Penance, humility, service, study, meditation, and abandoning ego (Kayotsarga).
Intelligent persons, considering birth and death, should remain steadfast in firm self-control.
A self-controlled person who gives nothing is superior to one who donates ten million cows each month.
The self-controlled person should abandon the five areas of violence, falsehood, theft, incontinence (sexual intercourse), and possession (desire for possessions and attachment to what is acquired).

14. Ahinsa (Non-Violence):

One who is adept in non-violence and strives for liberation from bondage is truly intelligent.
Carelessness and attachment to sensual pleasures are violence.
One who sees their own harm in the violence against various creatures can renounce it.
Peaceful ascetics do not wish to live by harming others.
All beings love their lifespan and dislike pain and adversity. They desire life and consider it precious. The true understanding comes from realizing the pain inflicted on beings due to carelessness and resolving not to repeat it. This is the pacification of karma.
Knowing that other beings hold their own lives dear, one should refrain from harming any creature out of fear or enmity.
To whom will the thoughtless, violence-prone beings, who act out of carelessness, go for refuge?

15. Satya (Truth):

All virtuous men in this world condemn false speech. It is also akin to breaking the trust of deceased beings. Therefore, abandon falsehood.
O person! Know only truth. The intelligent person who worships truth, strives, is devoted to welfare, and follows dharma crosses death and sees the supreme good.
Truth is asceticism, and asceticism is truth.

16. Chori Na Karna (Not Stealing):

Taking anything without permission leads to hellish states. Therefore, do not even take a blade of grass without permission.

17. Brahmacharya (Celibacy/Chastity):

The dharma of celibacy is constant, stable, and eternal. Many souls have reached, are reaching, and will reach their ultimate goal by practicing this dharma.
Controlling the senses and cultivating absorption in pure conduct within the garden of dharma is essential.
Like the tree 'Huda' on the seashore is uprooted by the wind after seeing women, those who desire sensual pleasures after seeing women fall from a high status.
For a dedicated celibate, the following ten things are like deadly poison: dwelling in places with women, listening to erotic stories, excessive association with women, observing women's body parts, listening to women's sweet words, songs, cries, or laughter, remembering past sensual activities, eating rich, tasty food, overeating, adornment, and attachment to sound, form, smell, taste, and touch.
Just as a forest fire, fueled by winds and abundant wood, is not extinguished, the fire of the senses of a celibate who enjoys various tastes is not calmed.

18. Apagrahi (Non-Possessiveness/Non-Attachment):

Attachment is indeed possession.
The non-possessive (one free from attachment) cannot be harmed by anything in this world.
Why should a patient person harm their soul for the meaningless things of the world?
Suffering is overcome by one who is not deluded; delusion is overcome by one who has no thirst; thirst is overcome by one who is not tormented by temptations; and temptations do not affect one who has no worldly possessions (attachment).

19. Gyan aur Gyani (Knowledge and The Knower):

First knowledge, then compassion – this is the state of a self-controlled person. How can the ignorant person know what to do or distinguish between beneficial and harmful?
Welfare and sin can only be known by hearing from the wise. Having learned from the wise, one should practice what is beneficial.
Learn beneficial practices with a friendly spirit from the wise.
When wise gurus are pleased with their disciples, they explain the profound mysteries of the scriptures.
One who is detached but greedy, uncontrolled, and argumentative is undisciplined and ignorant.
Knowledge does not grow due to pride, anger, carelessness, attachment, and laziness.
One who does not laugh often, controls their senses, does not expose others' flaws, is virtuous, stays away from immorality, is not greedy, does not get angry, and is devoted to truth is called knowledgeable.
Those who remain near the guru, engage in yoga and austerity, speak sweetly, and do good deeds are worthy of self-knowledge.
Just as milk shines in a shell, so does a wise person shine through fame and scriptures.
Just as the rising sun, which dispels darkness, shines with radiance, so does a knowledgeable person (Bahushrut) shine with the light of self-knowledge.
Just as a trained ox does not get lost, the self-aware person does not falter in the world.
Fearless and wise people consider even harsh correction beneficial, while foolish people detest even beneficial words of correction.
A true seeker should abandon mechanical rituals and practice actions with true knowledge, becoming equanimous and proceeding in the difficult dharma.

20. Titiksha (Forbearance/Patience):

If a deer in a great forest, sitting at the root of a tree, suffers from an ailment, who will treat it, provide medicine, care for its joys and sorrows, or give it food and water? When it becomes disease-free without any intervention, it naturally finds grass and water in the forest, eats, drinks, and wanders freely to its abode. By adopting such deer-like conduct, a person can reach the desired destination.
Just as Mount Meru is not shaken by the wind, a wise person is not shaken by afflictions but remains calm and endures them with equanimity by controlling their mind.
Those who endure accidental afflictions from gods, humans, and animals with their true self do not wander in the cycle of birth and death.

21. Vitraagta (Detachment/Non-Attachment):

Attachment and aversion are the causes of sin. Pleasant things lead to attachment, and unpleasant things lead to aversion. One who can maintain equanimity towards both is truly detached.
Objects of sensual pleasure do not create desire on their own. Attachment arises when the soul becomes attached, leading to attraction and repulsion, causing transformation.
One who remains detached from worldly emotions becomes free from sorrow. Like a lotus leaf is not wetted by water, such a soul, even while living in the world, is not stained by suffering.
What is attachment, and what is detachment? A seeker of liberation should abandon both.
Sense objects are solely the cause of deep sorrow for those who are attached. These same objects do not affect a detached person even slightly.
A detached soul instantly destroys karmas that veil knowledge, and similarly, destroys karmas that veil perception and obstruct action.

22. Gun Karma (Virtue and Action):

Shaving the head does not make one a monk, chanting mantras does not make one a Brahmin, and living in the forest does not make one an ascetic or a tapasvi.
One becomes a monk by equanimity, a Brahmin by observing celibacy, a sage by knowledge, and a tapasvi by austerity.
One becomes a Vaisya and a Shudra by karma.
One becomes a saint by virtues and an unholy person by vices. Therefore, accept virtues and abandon vices.

The book is essentially a compendium of moral and spiritual guidance, aimed at leading the reader towards liberation from worldly suffering by cultivating knowledge, right conduct, self-control, and detachment, all rooted in the teachings of the Tirthankaras.