Shatak Sandoha

Here is a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Shatak Sandoha," based on the provided pages, focusing on the "Vairagya Shatak" section:

Book Title: Shatak Sandoha Author(s): Mitranandsuri, Bhavyadarshanvijay, Jayratnavijay Publisher: Padmavijayganivar Jain Granthmala

Overall Structure:

"Shatak Sandoha" is a collection of ten "Shatakas" (hundreds of verses or poems), each focusing on a specific spiritual or ethical theme in Jainism. The text appears to be a compilation of important teachings and principles designed to guide the soul towards liberation. The provided pages specifically detail the beginning of the collection and the first Shataka, "Vairagya Shataka."

Introduction (Pages 5-6):

• The preface emphasizes the supreme importance of "Swadhyaya" (self-study, study of scriptures) as the highest path of spiritual practice and worship.
• It highlights a dialogue between Lord Mahavir and Gautam Ganadhar, where Lord Mahavir states that Swadhyaya leads to the destruction of karmas (like Jnanavarniya).
• The text is presented as a powerful weapon against ignorance, suffering, and delusion, capable of overcoming the negative effects of karma.
• The collection aims to instill detachment from the world, non-attachment to sensual pleasures, awareness of the rarity of human birth and the opportunity for salvation, mastery of Yoga, absorption in meditation, equanimity, experience of inner peace, and ultimately, the enjoyment of the essence of detachment.
• The compilation of these ten Shatakas was a long-held desire to facilitate repeated reading, recitation, contemplation, and assimilation, enabling the soul to realize its true nature and experience the "nectar of experiential knowledge."

Vairagya Shataka (Detachment/Dispassion - Pages 7-28):

This Shataka is the first in the collection and is dedicated to fostering detachment and dispassion from worldly affairs, desires, and attachments. Its core message revolves around understanding the transient and suffering-filled nature of existence to cultivate a genuine desire for spiritual liberation.

Key Themes and Verses from Vairagya Shataka:

• The Unsatisfactory Nature of Samsara (Worldly Existence):

  • Numerous verses lament that the worldly cycle (Samsara) is devoid of true happiness, filled instead with diseases and suffering (Verse 1).
  • The impermanence of life is repeatedly stressed, likening it to water slipping through cupped hands (Verse 2).
  • The folly of postponing religious duties and the constant presence of obstacles are highlighted, urging immediate action (Verse 3).
  • The fickle and transient nature of relationships and affections is depicted, showing how loved ones from the morning may not be the same by evening (Verse 4).

• The Inevitability of Death and Suffering:

  • The verses warn against slumbering when one should be vigilant and resting when one should be fleeing from the inevitable trio: disease, old age, and death (Verse 5).
  • The relentless march of time, represented by the sun and moon, is shown to be continuously consuming life (Verse 6).
  • No worldly art, medicine, or knowledge can save the body from the "serpent of time" (Verse 7).
  • The image of "time" as a "black bee" consuming the "nectar of life" from the "lotus of existence" is used to illustrate its pervasive destruction (Verse 8).
  • The text urges individuals to engage in Dharma (righteousness, spiritual practice) because "time" never ceases its pursuit, constantly seeking fault (Verse 9).

• The Cycle of Birth and Rebirth:

  • The verses emphasize that life has experienced every state of existence, from the simplest (one-sensed beings) to more complex forms, due to the force of karma (Verse 10).
  • Loved ones like friends, parents, wives, and sons ultimately depart, leaving one alone at the crematorium after offering a final libation (Verse 11).
  • Only Dharma, as taught by the Jinas, remains steadfast, unlike sons, relatives, or beloved ones who eventually separate (Verse 12).
  • The soul is described as being imprisoned in the jail of Samsara by the eight karmas, and liberated from this prison finds residence in the abode of liberation (Verse 13).
  • Worldly possessions, familial affection, sensory pleasures, and youthful beauty are all as transient as a water droplet on a lotus leaf (Verse 14).
  • Youth, strength, and beauty are shown to be destroyed by the king of death, emphasizing the impermanence of the physical form (Verse 15).

• The Pains of Existence:

  • The soul, bound by strong karmic chains, experiences various humiliations in the crossroads of worldly existence, with no true refuge (Verse 16).
  • The horrors of the womb – its impurity and disgust – are detailed, with the soul having endured this countless times due to karma (Verse 17).
  • The text states that life has been born and died innumerable times in all 8.4 million species (Yonis), experiencing each one repeatedly (Verse 18).
  • Even worldly attachments to parents, family, and loved ones, who are numerous in Samsara, cannot provide ultimate protection or refuge (Verse 19).
  • A suffering individual is compared to a fish out of water, struggling amidst onlookers who cannot alleviate their pain (Verse 20).

• The Illusion of Worldly Attachments:

  • Sons, wives, and other relatives are not the cause of true happiness; rather, they are deep bonds that entangle the soul in Samsara (Verse 21).
  • The nature of existence is described as constantly changing due to karma, where relationships are fluid: a mother can become a wife, a wife a mother, and a father a son, and vice versa (Verse 22).
  • There is no state, lineage, family, or place where beings have not been born and died an infinite number of times (Verse 23).
  • Even the smallest portion of the universe has been a place of innumerable joys and sorrows for the soul throughout its existence (Verse 24).

• The Call to Renunciation and Dharma:

  • Having experienced all forms of worldly wealth, prosperity, and familial relationships, if one understands the soul, then one should renounce them (Verse 25).
  • The soul is alone in its binding of karma, in experiencing suffering, in dying, and in wandering through Samsara, driven by karma (Verse 26).
  • No one else can harm or benefit you; it is your own self that creates your happiness and suffering. Therefore, why be dejected? (Verse 27).
  • Wealth gained through sinful actions, often enjoyed by relatives, will ultimately lead to the individual bearing the karmic consequences alone (Verse 28).
  • The verses express sorrow that while one worries about the suffering or hunger of children, one neglects the soul's own well-being (Verse 29).
  • The body is transient, while the soul is eternal. Knowing this, why cling so strongly to the physical body, which is a result of karma (Verse 30)?
  • The origin, journey, and destination of one's family and oneself are unknown. How can this family be considered truly yours? (Verse 31).
  • Since the body is ephemeral and human life is as unstable as a cloud formation, the only worthwhile pursuit is righteous action (Dharma) (Verse 32).
  • The cycle of birth, old age, disease, and death in Samsara is filled with suffering (Verse 33).
  • One should engage in Dharma before the senses weaken, old age arrives, diseases manifest, and death approaches (Verse 34).
  • Just as one cannot dig a well when the house is on fire, one cannot practice Dharma effectively when death is imminent (Verse 35).
  • Beauty is transient, life is like lightning, youth is like the fleeting colors of twilight, wealth is as fickle as an elephant's ear, and sensory pleasures are like a rainbow. Therefore, wake up, O soul, and do not attach yourself to these (Verses 36-37).
  • The gathering of relatives is as transient as the meeting of birds at dusk or travelers on a path. It is momentary, O soul (Verse 38).
  • Reflecting in the quiet of the night, one asks: "Why do I sleep in a burning house? Why do I neglect my burning soul? Why do I waste days devoid of Dharma?" (Verse 39).
  • The nights that pass do not return. For those who act unrighteously, their nights are wasted (Verse 40).
  • One who considers oneself immortal, or who thinks they will escape death, or who knows they will not die, can seek happiness (Verse 41).
  • Days and nights pass like threads being wound onto a reel, diminishing life, and what is gone never returns (Verse 42).
  • Just as a lion carries away its prey, so does death take away a person at the end of their life, and no mother, father, or brother can offer help at that time (Verse 43).
  • Life is like a water droplet, wealth like waves on water, and affection like a dream. Knowing this, do as you deem fit (Verse 44).
  • Life is like the transient colors of twilight and a water bubble, and youth like a swift river. Why do you not understand this, O sinful soul? (Verse 45).
  • Just as a ghost throws away offerings, your family has been cast aside: your children elsewhere, your wife elsewhere, and your relatives elsewhere (Verse 46).
  • The bodies shed by this soul in countless lives are innumerable, even more than the oceans (Verse 47).
  • The tears of mothers who have cried falsely for selfish reasons in many lives would exceed the water in the oceans (Verse 48).
  • The severe, indescribable sufferings endured by beings in hell are surpassed infinitely by the suffering in Nigoda (Verse 49).
  • O soul, bound by various karmas, you have dwelled in Nigoda for countless cycles, enduring intense suffering (Verse 50).
  • With great difficulty, you have escaped from there and attained human birth, a rare treasure like the wish-fulfilling jewel, the Dharma of the Jinas (Verse 51).
  • Even after attaining this Dharma, O soul, you remain negligent, leading you to fall back into the deep well of Samsara and suffer greatly again (Verse 52).
  • Having obtained the Dharma of the Jinas, but not practicing it due to negligence, you will greatly regret it in the hereafter, O self-enemy! (Verse 53).
  • Those who, under the influence of sinful negligence, do not accumulate the Dharma of the Jinas, lament greatly when death approaches (Verse 54).
  • Fie upon this Samsara! Gods die and become lower beings. Kings and emperors die and are roasted in the flames of hell (Verse 55).
  • The soul, driven by the winds of karma, becomes like a fallen flower, casting aside wealth, grain, ornaments, home, relatives, and family, and departs alone and unprotected (Verse 56).
  • The soul has resided on mountains, in caves, in the ocean, and on treetops throughout its wandering in Samsara (Verse 57).
  • The soul has been a god, a hell-dweller, an insect, a bird, a human; it has been beautiful and ugly, happy and sad (Verse 58).
  • It has been a king and a beggar, a cruel outcaste and a knowledgeable priest, a master and a servant, revered and wicked, poor and wealthy. There is no rule in this wandering, as the soul, acting according to its own karma, changes its forms and appearances like an actor (Verses 59-60).
  • O soul! You have suffered unbearable pains in the seven hells. In the heavens and human births, you have experienced subjugation and various terrible sufferings. In the animal realm, you have wandered for countless cycles in the cycle of birth and death (Verses 61-63).
  • Whatever physical or mental sufferings exist in Samsara, O soul, you have endured them all countless times while wandering in the wilderness of existence (Verse 64).
  • O soul, you have experienced such thirst in Samsara countless times that even the waters of all oceans could not quench it! (Verse 65).
  • O soul, you have experienced such hunger in Samsara countless times that even if all the food particles in the world were available, it could not be satisfied! (Verse 66).
  • After innumerable cycles of birth and death, the soul with great difficulty attains human birth (Verse 67).
  • He who feels regret in this rare and lightning-fast human life for not practicing Dharma is truly a coward, not a noble person (Verse 68).
  • Just as a warrior whose bowstring breaks must necessarily rub his hands, so too, those who attain human birth but do not practice Jain Dharma will inevitably lament (Verse 69).
  • Listen, O soul! All external states and possessions, and the entanglement of nine types of possessions, are transient. This world is like magic. You must leave all this behind (Verse 70).
  • O dear soul! Father, son, friend, home, wife – all these are means to temporary happiness in this world. No one will be your refuge in the next life. You will suffer the pains of the animal and hell realms alone (Verse 71).
  • As a dewdrop on a blade of grass remains for a short time, so does human life last only for a moment. Therefore, O Gautam, do not be negligent for even a moment! (Verse 72).
  • Awaken! Why are you not awakening? True awakening is rare. The nights that have passed do not return, and human life is not easily regained (Verse 73).
  • See how children, the old, and even those in the womb die. As a hawk seizes a partridge, so life is snatched away when its term expires (Verse 74).
  • Those who see all three worlds dying, yet do not turn their souls to Dharma, and do not refrain from sin, are truly shameless! Fie upon them! Fie upon them! (Verse 75).
  • Let those who are bound by sticky karmas remain as they are. For those who are bound by sticky karmas, even good advice becomes a great defect (Verse 76).
  • You cling to the infinite suffering of wealth, relatives, and possessions, but you are lax in practicing the Dharma that leads to infinite happiness in liberation (Verse 77).
  • Samsara is the cause of suffering, its fruit is suffering, and its form is unbearable suffering. Yet beings, bound by the strong ropes of affection, do not renounce it (Verse 78).
  • In the terrifying forest of Samsara, the soul, driven by the winds of its karma, experiences various humiliations and unbearable sufferings (Verse 79).
  • In the animal realm, in the cold winters, your body was pierced by thousands of icy winds, and you died countless times. In the summer heat, starving and thirsty, you suffered the pain of death. In the monsoons, carried away by mountain streams, frozen by cold winds, you died countless times. Thus, you have resided in animal births for countless times, enduring millions of sufferings (Verses 80-83).
  • O soul! Driven by the tempest of evil karma, you have wandered in the terrifying forest of Samsara and gone to the seven hells countless times. You have resided in the seven hells, enduring the scorching pain of lightning and fire, crying out with pathetic sounds (Verses 84-85).
  • O soul! In this meaningless human life, suffering from painful diseases and devoid of parents and relatives, did you not lament pathetically? Why do you not remember? (Verse 86).
  • O soul! Leaving your family and wealth everywhere, like the wind invisible in the sky, you wander in the forest of Samsara (Verse 87).
  • Pierced by the sharp spears of birth, old age, and death, beings suffer intense pain, wandering in Samsara (Verse 88).
  • Yet, those whose minds are struck by the serpent of ignorance never tire of wandering in the prison of Samsara (Verses 88-89).
  • In this well of the body, from which the wheel of time draws water moment by moment, how long will you play? (Verse 90).
  • O soul! Wake up! Do not be deluded! O sinful one, do not be negligent! O ignorant one, why do you become a vessel of great suffering in the hereafter? (Verse 91).
  • O soul, awaken! Do not be deluded, even after understanding the Jain Dharma, because this opportunity is rare to obtain again (Verse 92).
  • The Jain Dharma is rare to obtain, and you are inclined to negligence and comfort. The suffering of hell is unbearable. We do not know what will happen to you! (Verse 93).
  • If stability, purity, and self-control can be attained through this unstable, impure, and dependent body, is that not enough? (Verse 94).
  • Just as the wish-fulfilling jewel is not easily obtained by the poor, so the jewel of Dharma is not easily obtained by those devoid of virtuous qualities (Verse 95).
  • Just as the blind cannot see anything, so those blinded by false views cannot attain the company of the Jinas (Verse 96).
  • The Dharma of the Jinas has direct, infinite virtues, and not even a trace of fault. Yet, those blinded by ignorance never find joy in it (Verse 97).
  • Falsehood has infinite faults and no virtue. Yet, those blinded by infatuation still follow it (Verse 98).
  • Fie upon those people who, despite their intelligence and skill in virtues, do not understand the jewel of good and true Dharma (Verse 99).
  • This Dharma of the Jinas is an unprecedented wish-fulfilling tree for beings, the giver of the fruits of happiness in heaven and liberation (Verse 100).
  • Dharma is a brother, a good friend, and the supreme teacher. For those embarking on the path to liberation, Dharma is the best chariot (Verse 101).
  • O soul, enter the ocean of Samsara, which is burning with the fire of suffering from the four destinies, and embrace the teachings of the Jinas, which are like a pool of nectar (Verse 102).
  • In the difficult desert of Samsara, tormented by the heat of infinite suffering, take refuge in the wish-fulfilling tree of Jain Dharma, O soul, for liberation (Verse 103).
  • What more can be said? By practicing the Dharma of the Jinas, one can quickly cross the terrifying ocean of Samsara and attain the eternal abode of infinite happiness (Verse 104).

Other Shatakas Mentioned:

The text outlines the presence of other Shatakas within the "Shatak Sandoha," including:

• Indriya Parajaya Shatak: Focuses on conquering the senses, emphasizing how souls are enslaved by them and suffer due to this dependence. It is presented as a rare and potentially unknown text crucial for achieving victory over the senses.
• Vairagya Rasayan Shatak: Described as a potent remedy for the poison of attachment and aversion, and a means to break free from the subjuguration of senses and passions. It contains insights, some derived from the Uttaradhyayana Sutra, that are essential for purifying the soul and achieving detachment.
• Deshna Shatak: Aims to illustrate the impermanence and meaninglessness of Samsara, highlighting the rarity of spiritual awakening and the means to cross the ocean of suffering. The preface suggests its author might be Lord Adinath, the first Tirthankara, though this is not definitively confirmed.
• Yoga Shatak: Authored by the great scholar Shri Haribhadra Suri, this Shataka elaborates on the concept of Yoga, emphasizing its role in spiritual discipline and attainment. It is considered a foundational text for understanding the path of Yoga within Jainism.
• Dhyana Shatak: Composed by the great sage Shri Jinbhadra Ganikshama Shraman, this Shataka delves into the nuances of meditation, particularly the four types: Arta (sorrowful), Raudra (fierce), Dharma (righteous), and Shukla (pure). It explains the process, effects, and importance of these meditative states for overcoming karma and achieving liberation.
• Samya Shatak: Authored by Shri Dhaneśvara Suri, disciple of Shri Vijayasiṁha Suri, this Shataka focuses on the profound concept of "Samya" (equanimity). It stresses that true liberation comes from cultivating equanimity, non-attachment, and detachment from worldly pleasures and sorrows, and living in accordance with the teachings of the Jinas.
• Samadhi Shatak: This highly esteemed work by Upadhyaya Yashovijayji Maharaj is considered a unique and profound text on "Samadhi" (mental concentration, spiritual absorption). It is described as a direct pathway to self-realization and liberation, emphasizing the importance of controlling the mind and senses.

Overall Purpose:

The "Shatak Sandoha" as a whole aims to provide a comprehensive guide for spiritual seekers. The "Vairagya Shataka" specifically serves as a foundational text, urging individuals to understand the suffering inherent in worldly existence and to cultivate detachment as a crucial step towards spiritual progress and ultimate liberation (Moksha). The text emphasizes the rarity of human life and the urgency of practicing Dharma while the opportunity is available.