Samatva Yoga Fundamental Teaching Of Jainism And Gita

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The text "Samatva Yoga: The Fundamental Teaching of Jainism and Gita" by Sagarmal Jain argues that samatva, a concept often translated as mental equanimity or calm disposition, is the central and unifying teaching of both Jainism and the Bhagavad Gita.

The author begins by highlighting the paradox of the modern age: immense scientific progress coexisting with widespread anxiety, mental tension, and erosion of traditional values. In this context, the text posits that samatva is crucial for achieving mental peace, personal integration, and harmony with one's environment, contrasting it with the societal reliance on superficial coping mechanisms like alcohol.

Concept of Samatva in General: The text defines samatva as a fundamental ethical principle in both Jainism and the Gita. While English terms like equality, equilibrium, harmony, integration, and rightness offer partial glimpses, they fail to capture its full essence. Samatva encompasses:

• A balanced state of mind: Undisturbed by pleasure or pain, success or failure, and emotional excitements.
• A quality of personality: Free from aversion and attachment, possessing mental equilibrium.
• A feeling of equality: With fellow beings.
• Social equality and integration.
• Ethical rightness (indicated by the root "sam" or "samyak").

Crucially, in all its manifestations, samatva is linked to a psychological state that influences individual and social adjustment.

Concept of Samatva in Jainism: The text draws heavily on Jain scriptures to support its thesis. In the Vyākhyāprajñaptisūtra, Lord Mahāvīra states that the nature of the soul is samatva, and its ultimate end is also samatva. This is further elaborated by Acārya Kundakunda in his Samayasāra. The author suggests that Kundakunda's use of "Samaya" (instead of Ātman or Jiva) might be a Prakrit derivation of a Sanskrit word signifying one who possesses samatva, making "Samayasāra" refer to one who embodies this essential nature.

Kundakunda also equated "samaya" with "svabhāva" (essential nature), distinguishing between "sva-samaya" (inner characteristics, the ultimate end) and "para-samaya" (resultant characteristics). Thus, for Kundakunda, both the nature and the ultimate goal of the soul are samatva. The path to achieving this ultimate end in Jain ethics, known as sämäiya or samāhi in Prakrit, is also identified with samatva.

The text asserts that the three pillars of Jain ethics – the moral agent, the ultimate end, and the path – are all equated with samatva. The distinction between a siddha (liberated soul) and a sādhaka (one who practices) is seen as a quantitative difference in actualizing the inherent samatva within. Sadhana (spiritual practice) is essentially the transformation of potential samatva into actuality. The Jain three-fold path of right knowledge, right belief, and right conduct is seen as the application of samatva to knowing, feeling, and willing.

Concept of Samatva in Gita: The Gita's ethics are also presented as fundamentally based on samatva. The words "sama" and "samatva" appear over a hundred times, with "sama" equated to Brahman, the ultimate reality. Whether interpreted as Brahman's attribute or its identity, the concept remains central. The Gita suggests God, the amshi (the whole), resides in everyone's heart as a quality of samatva. The path to realizing this ultimate reality is also samatva-yoga. Similar to Jainism, the Gita's core principles (moral agent, ultimate end, and path) are all linked to samatva.

Gita as a Treatise of Samatva Yoga: The text addresses the scholarly debate on the Gita's primary focus (jñana-yoga, bhakti-yoga, karma-yoga). The author argues that samatva-yoga is the unifying theme.

1. The Gita defines yoga as "Samatva yoga ucyate" (yoga is called samatva), a categorical definition. The other definition, "yogah karmasu kausalam" (yoga is skill in action), is conditional.
2. In the Sixth Chapter, Lord Krishna emphasizes the superiority of a yogi over jñānins, karmins, and tapasvins, implying a supreme form of yoga, which the author identifies as samatva-yoga.
3. The value and validity of jñana, karma, and bhakti derive from samatva. Without it, they are merely superficial acts.
4. While jñana, karma, and bhakti are means to the ultimate end (God), samatva is both a means and the end itself, as Brahman, sam, and God are presented as one in the Gita.

Therefore, samatva is posited as the sole basis of the Gita's ethics.

Organic Basis of Samatva Yoga: The author justifies samatva-yoga by referencing the organic and psychological nature of humans and the aim of life.

• Organic Basis: Living organisms possess homeostasis (the ability to maintain physiological equilibrium) and the capacity to adjust with their environment. Failure in these leads to death. Life inherently involves efforts to maintain equilibrium and avoid disequilibrium.
• Psychological Basis: Humans naturally seek mental peace and relaxation, not tension or anxiety. Psychological equilibrium is a fundamental drive. Even Freudian psychology, recognizing internal conflicts, posits the ego's role in maintaining balance. Mental states like excitement are not intrinsic but arise from external factors and are pursued for satisfaction or expression, highlighting adjustment as a process of restoring peace and integration.

Samatva as a Directive Principle of Living: The text counters the Darwinian "struggle for existence" as the primary principle of life. While acknowledging the existence of struggle, the author argues:

1. Self-contradictory: The theory of living by "killing" others is inherently flawed.
2. Against Human Nature: Struggle is not an inner nature but a resultant, imposed by external factors, and done out of necessity, not inherent inclination.
3. Against Reason and Natural Law: The principle of equality and interconnectedness, as advocated by Lord Krishna and Lord Mahavira, aligns with natural law and reasoning. Lord Mahavira's principle of "live with others" or "live for others" is presented as the true directive principle, in contrast to "live on others."

In conclusion, the text presents samatva yoga as the fundamental, unifying, and essential teaching of both Jainism and the Bhagavad Gita, rooted in the very nature of existence and the human psyche, and offering a superior directive principle for life compared to survival-based struggles.