Uttaradhyayan Geeta Aur Dhammapada Ek Tulna

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Uttaradhyayan Geeta aur Dhammapada Ek Tulna" by Udaychandra, based on the provided pages:

The book "Uttaradhyayan Geeta aur Dhammapada Ek Tulna" (A Comparison of Uttaradhyayan, Geeta, and Dhammapada) by Udaychandra, Shastri, Shastracharya Jainadarshanacharya, M.A. (Hindi, Pali, Prakrit), undertakes a comparative analysis of three significant Indian religious and philosophical texts: the Uttaradhyayan Sutra (Jainism), the Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism), and the Dhammapada (Buddhism). The author posits that while these texts originate from different philosophical streams, they share a common underlying goal of guiding individuals towards spiritual liberation and overcoming suffering.

Core Similarities and Objectives:

• Spiritual Foundation: All three texts are rooted in the Indian spiritual tradition, aiming to provide solace and guidance to individuals seeking to transcend the mundane world and attain a higher state of being.
• Dismantling Suffering: A central theme across all three is the identification and overcoming of suffering (dukkha). They analyze the causes of suffering and offer paths to its cessation.
• Emphasis on Inner Transformation: The texts advocate for an internal transformation of the individual, focusing on ethical conduct, mental discipline, and the cultivation of wisdom.
• Guidance on Duty and Action: While their approaches differ, all three texts address the nature of duty and the role of actions (karma) in spiritual progress.

Individual Textual Focus and Contributions:

• Uttaradhyayan Sutra (Jainism):

  • Elevated Importance: The author highlights the Uttaradhyayan Sutra's significance within Prakrit literature, stating it presents the entirety of tattvajñāna (essence of reality) with numerous examples.
  • Target Audience: It is believed that those who are "bhavsiddhik" (capable of achieving liberation) and have limited worldly existence read it with devotion.
  • Focus: It emphasizes the purification of the soul through its excellent teachings and reveals the essence of Mahavira's principles. It gives prominence to knowledge, action, and especially metaphysical knowledge.
  • Ethical Conduct: It guides the seeker (moksha sadhak) towards their duties, emphasizing the importance of humility (vinaya) and respect for the guru. It details the qualities of an ascetic, including controlling desires, pacifying anger, shedding pride, and renouncing greed.

• Bhagavad Gita (Hinduism):

  • Maharishi Vedavyasa's Esteem: The Gita is highly regarded, with the author quoting "Gita sugeeta kartavya kimanyaih shastra vistaraiah" (Gita should be sung well, what need for other extensive scriptures?).
  • Focus: It emphasizes knowledge, action, and devotion (bhakti). It redirects the thoughts of people towards the teachings of Karma Yogi Shri Krishna.
  • Atman-Brahman Identity: The Gita teaches the identity of the soul (Atman) with the supreme being (Brahman) and the merging of the soul into the divine.
  • Karma Yoga: It advocates for performing actions without attachment to their fruits, recognizing that attachment leads to suffering. It stresses that the right to act is given, but not the desire for the results.

• Dhammapada (Buddhism):

  • Ethical Foundation: It is a work that clarifies the principles and the path of practice in Buddhism, giving greater importance to the ethical dimension.
  • Focus: It describes moral conduct, measures to escape the suffering-filled world, and elucidates the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path as propounded by Buddha. It primarily focuses on good deeds (satkarma).
  • Mindfulness and Conduct: It offers poignant guidance on what individuals should and should not do, emphasizing the importance of associating with wise individuals who point out faults and offer guidance. It highlights that adhering to Dharma brings happiness.

Analysis of Key Concepts:

• Suffering (Dukkha) and its Causes:

  • All three texts identify suffering as a fundamental aspect of existence.
  • Root Cause: They largely agree that the root cause of suffering is ignorance (ajñāna) and the resulting insatiable craving (trushna) for material possessions and sensory pleasures.
  • Examples: The Uttaradhyayan speaks of the futility of seeking happiness in external objects, likening an attached being to a buffalo caught by a crocodile. The Gita states that all sensory pleasures are inherently sources of suffering. The Dhammapada, through the Four Noble Truths, categorizes suffering and its origins, with craving being the primary driver.

• The Nature of Suffering:

  • Uttaradhyayan: Views birth, old age, disease, and death as inherently sorrowful.
  • Gita: Mentions suffering arising from birth, death, old age, and illness.
  • Dhammapada: Elaborates on suffering including birth, aging, sickness, death, grief, lamentation, pain, distress, and not getting what one wants.

• Overcoming Suffering:

  • Common Solution: The elimination of attachment, aversion (rāga-dveṣa), and ignorance is presented as the path to happiness and liberation.
  • Uttaradhyayan: Advocates for adhering to Dharma, which leads to happiness and the attainment of liberating qualities. It emphasizes self-reliance and the realization that one is their own friend or enemy.
  • Gita: Stresses the destruction of attachment and aversion. It advises equanimity in the face of pleasure and pain, fulfilling one's duties without emotional fluctuation.
  • Dhammapada: Encourages cultivating virtues and performing beneficial actions for quick liberation from suffering. It warns that evil deeds bring suffering, and wisdom is needed to discern good from bad.

• Moksha (Liberation):

  • Definition: Moksha is defined as the cessation of suffering caused by ignorance. In Jainism, it is the purification of the soul and the complete shedding of karma. In Buddhism, it is Nirvana, the ultimate cessation of suffering, achieved through the rise of knowledge. The Gita refers to it by various terms like naishkarmya, nairgunya, kaivalya, Brahmabhava, and Brahmi-sthiti.
  • Paths to Moksha:
    • Uttaradhyayan: Outlines the path to liberation through knowledge (jñāna), faith (darśana), conduct (chāritra), and austerity (tapas). It details specific studies covering self-upliftment, austerity, conduct, avoiding negligence, classification of karma, and the nature of leshyas (dispositional states).
    • Gita: Emphasizes the path of knowledge (jñāna-yoga), action (karma-yoga), and devotion (bhakti-yoga). It highlights the importance of divine qualities (daivi sampada) for liberation and demonic qualities (asuri sampada) for bondage.
    • Dhammapada: Presents the Noble Eightfold Path (samyaṅk-dṛṣṭi, samyaṅk-saṅkalpa, samyaṅk-vacana, samyaṅk-vyavahāra, samyaṅk-ājīva, samyaṅk-vyāyāma, samyaṅk-smṛti, samyaṅk-samādhi) as the means to the cessation of suffering. It describes liberated individuals as those whose mental impurities are destroyed and who are free from sorrow and bondage.

• Karma and Rebirth:

  • Universal Principle: All three texts uphold the principle of karma and rebirth, asserting that actions lead to corresponding consequences.
  • Uttaradhyayan: Explains how the soul, through various karmas, transmigrates through different life forms (deva, asura, kshatriya, chandala, etc.). It emphasizes the importance of realizing the human birth's potential and the need to strive for the destruction of karma. It describes the influence of leshyas on one's actions and destination.
  • Gita: Explains that the soul, like discarded clothes, sheds old bodies and takes new ones. It reiterates that the cycle of birth and death continues until liberation is achieved.
  • Dhammapada: Emphasizes that all actions originate from the mind and that a corrupt mind leads to suffering. It likens the accumulation of karma to a pot filling drop by drop.

• Moral Framework and Synthesis:

  • Ethical Teachings: All three texts are fundamentally ethical in nature, emphasizing virtues like good conduct, right action, and wisdom.
  • Interconnectedness: The author suggests a synthesis of the moral perspectives presented in these texts.
  • Uttaradhyayan: Inspires the understanding of reality through the lenses of Syadvada (conditional predication) and Anekanta (multiplicity of viewpoints), encouraging self-welfare.
  • Gita: Continues to impart the education of Karma Yoga, guiding individuals to their duties.
  • Dhammapada: Motivates towards good deeds, highlighting the principle that enmity cannot be ended by enmity.
  • Shared Goal: The common objective for all three is the realization of one's own duty and self-welfare.

In conclusion, Udaychandra's comparative study reveals that while the Uttaradhyayan Sutra, Bhagavad Gita, and Dhammapada have distinct philosophical underpinnings and terminologies, they converge on essential principles of self-discipline, ethical living, the eradication of suffering through the control of desires and ignorance, and ultimately, the pursuit of spiritual liberation. The book aims to provide a holistic understanding of these ancient teachings and their relevance to human existence.