Shraddha Ane Shakti - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Shraddha Ane Shakti" (Faith and Power), authored by Dhirajlal Tokarshi Shah, in English:

Book Title: Shraddha Ane Shakti (Faith and Power) Author: Dhirajlal Tokarshi Shah Publisher: Muktikamal Mohan Granthmala Focus: The nature of Samyag Darshan (Right Faith/Perception)

This book, Shraddha Ane Shakti, is a profound exploration of the concept of Samyag Darshan (Right Faith) within Jainism, emphasizing its crucial role in spiritual progress and liberation. The author, Dhirajlal Tokarshi Shah, presents a detailed analysis of faith, its power, its development, and the detrimental effects of its opposite, mithyatva (wrong faith).

The book is structured into several key sections:

Part 1: Identification of Faith (Shraddha ni Olakhan)

Faith leads to Liberation: The text asserts that those with faith attain the eternal, deathless state (ajaramar sthan), which is liberation (moksha). While right conduct (charitra) is the immediate cause, right knowledge (gyan) is its foundation, and right faith (shraddha) is the foundation of right knowledge. Therefore, ultimately, it is faith that leads to liberation.
Views of Other Philosophies: The book notes that other philosophical traditions also acknowledge the importance of faith, stating that faith leads to knowledge, knowledge to restraint, and restraint to the attainment of ultimate peace. Conversely, doubt and lack of faith lead to misery in this world and the next.
Rarity of Faith: Faith is described as incredibly rare, as are human birth, listening to true scripture, and the power of restraint. The text explains the arduous journey through countless life forms in the cycle of birth and death (samsara) before attaining a human birth and then the rare opportunity to hear the true dharma. Even then, acquiring faith is exceptionally difficult.
The Danger of Mithyatva (Wrong Faith): Mithyatva is portrayed as the greatest enemy, poison, disease, and darkness. It obscures the innate quality of faith present in every soul. The book details various classifications of mithyatva, including:
- Ten types: Mistaking wrong for right, right for wrong, the path for the wrong path, the wrong path for the right path, non-living for living, living for non-living, the unvirtuous for the virtuous, the virtuous for the unvirtuous, the liberated for the unliberated, and the unliberated for the liberated.
- Five types: Abhigrahika (accepting what one thinks without examination), Anabhigrahika (considering all religions good), Abhiveshika (promoting wrong paths due to attachment), Sanshayika (being doubtful about scripture), and Anabhogika (ignorance).
- Six types: Adoring worldly deities, following worldly gurus, celebrating worldly festivals, worshipping transcendent deities with worldly desires, worshipping virtuous monks with worldly desires, and performing austerities for worldly benefits on auspicious days.
The Essence of Mithyatva: The author explains that these classifications of mithyatva stem from attachment, non-attachment, stubbornness, doubt, and lack of attention. These lead to a perversion of vision concerning dharma, the path, the soul, virtuous beings, and liberation.
Faith is Samyaktva: The book clarifies that true faith (shraddha) is synonymous with samyaktva. It is the internal awareness and inclination to seek truth, free from any misperceptions.

Part 2: The Power of Faith (Shraddha ni Shakti)

The Glory of Samyaktva: Faith (Samyaktva) is described as invaluable, superior to wish-fulfilling jewels and the celestial wish-fulfilling tree. It is the seed of all well-being and the boat to cross the ocean of existence.
Faith as the Alphabet of Spirituality: Just as zeros have no value without the number 'one', knowledge and conduct have no significant spiritual value without faith.
The Angar-mak Suri Story: This illustrative story highlights how a lack of faith and right perception can lead to suffering and continued cycles of birth and death. It contrasts the genuine remorse of virtuous monks with the misplaced self-justification of a non-virtuous preceptor, demonstrating the importance of right belief in understanding and reacting to actions.
The Opinion of Scriptural Authorities: The text quotes scriptures that praise faith even without knowledge and conduct, while deeming corrupted knowledge and conduct as worthless. King Shrenik, despite lacking knowledge and conduct, is cited as an example of someone who attained the status of a Tirthankara due to his samyaktva.
The Importance of Samyaktva in Practices: All virtuous actions, such as charity, vows, austerities, worship, pilgrimage, and compassion, yield significant results only when performed with samyaktva. Without it, they are like an army without a general or farming without favorable winds.
The Example of Kapil Kevali: This detailed narrative illustrates the transformative power of faith. Kapil, initially a learned but unvirtuous individual driven by desire, experiences a profound shift in perspective through a moment of realization about attachment. This internal change, fueled by a nascent faith, leads him to renounce worldly pursuits and achieve omniscience (kevali). The story emphasizes how faith alters one's perception of desires and the path to true happiness.
Faith as a Divine Spectacle: Faith is likened to a divine lens that reveals truths previously unseen.
The Anathi Muni Story: This narrative vividly demonstrates how faith and conviction can lead to miraculous outcomes. Anathi Muni's firm resolve to live a life of restraint and non-violence, even in the face of suffering, leads to his spontaneous recovery from illness. This story underscores the power of a strong inner commitment.
Practical Siddhis (Achievements): The book highlights how faith is crucial for success in worldly endeavors as well – in education, wealth acquisition, problem-solving, and health. Conversely, a lack of faith leads to failure and missed opportunities. The power of positive affirmation and belief in healing is also discussed.
Faith and Effort: The text connects faith with effort, illustrating how faith fuels the drive to overcome obstacles, like crossing vast oceans or achieving technological advancements. It emphasizes that faith in the right direction leads to spiritual progress, while faith in worldly pursuits leads to worldly accumulation.

Part 3: Development of Faith (Shraddha no Vikas)

Sixty-six Principles of Samyaktva: The book outlines the various components that contribute to the development and purity of faith, including:
- Four aspects of faith: reverence for ultimate truths, service to wise monks, avoidance of wrong views, and avoidance of the company of the unvirtuous.
- Three signs of faith: eagerness to hear scriptures, deep attachment to spiritual practices, and proper service to deities, gurus, and the Jain path.
- Ten types of humility (vinaya): showing respect to Arihants, Siddhas, temples, scriptures, dharma, monks, acharyas, upadhyayas, the monastic order, and the three types of right faith.
- Three types of purity: purity of mind (believing Jain teachings as truth), purity of speech (not deviating from scripture), and purity of action (not bowing to other deities).
- Five types of faults to be avoided: doubt, desire for worldly things, skepticism, praising the unvirtuous, and associating with the unvirtuous.
- Eight types of enhancers of faith: the preachership, the storyteller, debaters, astrologers, ascetics, the learned, the accomplished, and poets.
- Five types of adornments of faith: firmness, promotion of dharma, skillful practice, devotion, and pilgrimage.
- Five types of characteristics of faith: calmness, enthusiasm, detachment, compassion, and belief.
- Six types of self-restraint (yatna): avoiding harm to beings in six ways.
- Six types of exceptions or relaxations (aagar): permissible actions under specific circumstances like royal compulsion, group pressure, physical coercion, divine influence, pressure from elders, and livelihood necessities.
- Six types of contemplations (bhavana): understanding the nature and importance of faith.
- Six foundational truths (sthana): belief in the existence and eternality of the soul, its being bound by karma, its experiencing karma, the possibility of liberation, and the means to achieve it.

Conclusion (Upsanhar)

The book concludes by reiterating the supreme importance of faith. It emphasizes that without faith, there is no power, without power no true practice, and without practice no liberation. The author encourages readers to cultivate faith through continuous contemplation of the teachings and to strive for spiritual progress by adhering to the principles of Right Faith, Knowledge, and Conduct. The book concludes with verses underscoring the necessity of faith for spiritual attainment.

In essence, "Shraddha Ane Shakti" serves as a comprehensive guide to understanding, cultivating, and maintaining unwavering faith in the Jain path, highlighting its transformative power in achieving spiritual liberation.