Vyavaharik Jivan Me Nam Rup Sthapana Aur Pratik

Here is a comprehensive summary in English of the provided Jain text, "Vyavaharik Jivan me Nam Rup Sthapana aur Pratik" by Vishwanath Pathak:

This book, "Nam, Rup, Sthapana, and Pratik in Practical Life," by Vishwanath Pathak, published by the USA Federation of JAINA, delves into the fundamental concepts of names, forms, established conventions, and symbols as they function within everyday human experience, particularly from a Jain philosophical perspective.

The author begins by asserting that for the fulfillment of purposes in life, many imaginary or conventional beliefs become indispensable. Names (Nam), Forms (Rup), Established Conventions (Sthapana), and Symbols (Pratik) are identified as such indispensable entities. Even if they lack absolute reality, rejecting these unconventional beliefs and values is not just difficult but impossible. The text emphasizes that anyone living in society, regardless of their wisdom, ignorance, saintliness, or lack thereof, cannot escape the inviolable boundary created by these concepts.

On Names (Nam): The book argues that every object or substance (dravya) has a name. This name is neither objective (inherent in the object) nor subjective (solely dependent on the speaker). If it were inherent, it would be found within the object itself. Since it exists before and after pronunciation, it cannot be objective. Naming is the establishment of a conceptual link between the substance and a sound. This link is entirely conventional, as a name, being a descriptive sound, is fundamentally different from the physical substance. We perceive the substance with our eyes and hear the name with our ears. Closing our eyes makes the substance invisible, but the name can still be heard. Even for subtle, eternal, and uncreated entities like God or the soul, their names are perceptible, impermanent, and created by effort. A name is neither joined to nor present with the named substance. Therefore, the sounds that form the name "kamal" (lotus) are not found in any part of the actual lotus.

The relationship between a name and the named is not always accurate, leading to many "false" names. Examples include "Asha Devi" (Hope Goddess) whose life is filled with despair, "Girijapati" (Lord of the Mountain) who dies unmarried, "Alok" (Light) whose home is dark, "Vidyasagar" (Ocean of Knowledge) whose foolishness is discussed everywhere, and "Kuber" (God of Wealth) begging on the streets. The presence of the named substance is not essential for the name to exist (e.g., Mahatma Gandhi's name can be invoked even after his passing). Conversely, the absence of a name does not necessitate the absence of the substance; countless unnamed organisms exist in nature. Thus, there is neither inclusion nor exclusion between a name and the named. A child is born nameless and can be renamed later, like changing old clothes.

The connection between a name (word) and its meaning (substance) is also problematic. The word "kambu" means "conch" in Sanskrit and "stick" in Tamil. The same word can be meaningless to an ignorant person. "Phulki" means "bread" in Hindi and "spark" in Bengali, with no meaning elsewhere. "Sharir" means "body" in Hindi and Sanskrit, but "wicked" in Arabic, or meaningless in other contexts. English words can have different meanings in Hindi. The author highlights the vast difference in the meaning-conveying capacity of words that look alike.

On Forms (Rup): Even when a name exists, the understanding of the named substance may not occur. Indian words have no meaning in Iran or China until their symbolic relationship with meanings is explained. Within the same language region, words can have different meanings just ten to fifteen kilometers apart. The inconsistency of names with their substances becomes clearer when a name is applied to a substance it is not conventionally recognized for. For example, a servant making a mistake might be called a "donkey" by a preacher, despite not having donkey-like features. Children are taught phonetic associations like "Ka for Crow," but the origin of these associations isn't always clear. The names of lines and angles in geometry are not inherent truths.

Language acquisition is a learned process. A child learns the symbolic relationship between words and substances through family and societal interaction. If isolated, a child would remain mute. If language were naturally tied to meaning, speech would be as spontaneous as sight for someone with functioning senses. While our mother tongue feels natural due to childhood repetition, learning a foreign language highlights its difficulty. Different languages have different names for the same substance. If names had a fixed form and a stable relationship with their objects, each substance would have only one name across all times and places. The existence of multiple names for the same substance in different places and times proves their conventional and thus, potentially false nature. Even the seemingly ineffable supreme power is given innumerable names like Allah, God, and Ishwar, which become the basis of worship in various religious sects. If we discard all imaginary beliefs in pursuit of absolute reality, practices like singing devotional songs, chanting, and worship would cease.

While the ultimate reality (Paramarth) can be formless, worldly experience (Vyavahar) is inherently conceptual. We not only create names but also forms. From the perspective of true reality, a substance exists, and existence is its characteristic. However, in practical life, the same substance can manifest with many imagined names and forms. Clay is shaped into pots, bowls, cups, and toys like elephants and horses. Gold takes the forms of earrings, bangles, armlets, waistbands, crowns, and coins. Threads are woven into cloth. These forms and names are human-made and not inherent to the substance from the beginning. Humans refine and transform substances as needed, but these forms have no independent existence; they disappear upon destruction, leaving only the substance.

Although human-made names and forms lack ultimate reality, they are indispensable for practical purposes. You cannot get cloth by asking for threads, even though threads constitute cloth. You cannot get a pot by asking for clay, even though clay is the pot, nor can you get an earring by asking for gold. Even a fool knows that only the substance possesses true existence, not the illusory forms and names. During Diwali, children eat sugar toys shaped like elephants and horses, not because they mistake them for real animals, but because they recognize them as sugar.

Even when the ultimate substance is available, our desire is not just for the substance but also for its specific illusory name and form, as these have the unique capacity to facilitate practical functions. Someone wanting an earring is not satisfied with just gold; similarly, someone wanting a pot is not satisfied with just clay, because without the specific form or modification, the original substance is often incapable of fulfilling the intended purpose. We can fill water in a pot, not in a lump of clay; we can cover our bodies with cloth, not with threads. Thus, the indispensability of form in practical life is undeniable.

Humans can be content with form even in the absence of the substance. In moments of separation, a lover finds solace in a cherished image of their beloved. A wooden horse doesn't eat grass or run, yet no one discards it as false. The love for form in the absence of substance is remarkable. Buddha and Mahavir are no longer present, but their stone statues remain. Where are Buddha and Mahavir in these stone figures? They have attained Nirvana and Kevala (liberation). Even formless God is depicted in statues. Playing cards, the king has no army, the queen no children, and the jack no servants, yet they are still considered king, queen, and jack. Language, which elevated humans from animalism and continues to spread knowledge, is not free from the fascination with form. The script of all developed languages proclaims the necessity of form in life. Sound is formless, but in various scripts, separate imagined forms have been created for these formless letters. The distinct shapes of the same sound in different scripts reveal humanity's imaginative nature. The text provides examples of variations in the Devanagari, Persian, Roman, and Tamil scripts for the same sounds. The differences in the forms of sounds across various scripts are proof of their illusory nature. Yet, sacred texts like the Vedas, Tripitaka, Jain Agamas, Bible, and Quran are written using these illusory and imagined letter forms.

Numbers also have no inherent form; they are subjects of intellect. Rational mathematicians have given them tangible forms in various scripts, providing examples of numbers in Devanagari, Roman, and Persian scripts. Along with these abstract numbers, imagined forms have been created for many abstract qualities and actions, such as addition (+), division (÷), and equality (=). It is understandable to create a form for a real object, but the text points out that even "non-being" or absence has been given a circular form: zero (0). The author questions the meaning of the shape representing imports and exports in an economics book, suggesting it is visible only to economists. Geographical maps use lines and letters to represent countries, plains, and mountains, which are not the actual objects. Science also uses images to explain formless gases and energies.

The human tendency to create artificial forms is natural. Humans not only imitate the forms of existing objects in their creations but also invent imaginary forms for non-existent and abstract entities. Furthermore, it is a natural human trait to establish an identity between any named and formed substance and another substance, even if they are different. This process is called Sthapana in Jain scriptures. For this, similarity of form is not essential, as even abstract entities can be established in tangible forms. While false knowledge is often misleading, Sthapana, even if false, is distinct from delusion. In delusion, a rope is not perceived as a rope, but as a snake. However, in Sthapana, the rope is perceived as a rope, but the establisher insists on considering it a snake. In Jain philosophy, Sthapana is considered an essential "nikshepa" (category of assertion) for establishing principles.

The tendency for Sthapana originates in humans from childhood. Children often place leaves before them and declare them to be their horse, elephant, or camel. The practice of "playing wedding" with dolls is common. Sometimes, a child will ride on a friend's shoulder and, by hitting them with hands or sticks, exclaim, "Go, horse, go!" The child knows the friend is not a horse but experiences temporary joy by projecting the horse's identity onto them. In games like Kabaddi, a player touched by an opponent is declared "dead," even though they are alive and moving. This childhood behavior, when developed, influences religious, educational, literary, and political activities throughout life.

The establishment of sanctity in rivers, mountains, trees, and cities leads to the creation of pilgrimage sites. Places like Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Bodh Gaya, Pawadham, Ayodhya, and Mathura are considered sacred. In reality, these places are as physical as any other; their spiritual sanctity is due to established conventions. People avoid touching corpses, considering them inert. Yet, mausoleums built over the bones of saints attract crowds for prayer, with significant vows made. The "Sang-e-Aswad" (Black Stone) is just a stone, yet every pilgrim kisses it – all due to Sthapana. In Sthapana, both the subject and the object can be abstract. The imputation of various meanings onto meaningless sounds serves as an example. The sound of a whistle is abstract, yet it signifies various meanings – the start or end of a game, or a signal of impending danger from robbers. These symbolic meanings are pre-established and imputed within a specific community.

Algebra uses the method of assuming non-existent entities as real. For example, "Let Mohan have 'x' rupees." Even though 'x' might not represent actual rupees but just a letter, complex problems are solved based on this imaginary premise. Geography has a widely accepted "white lie" – the scale on maps, where "1 millimeter = 100 kilometers." A millimeter can never equal 100 kilometers, but even geography professors use this convention, perhaps fulfilling the Vedic prayer "Lead me from the unreal to the real." A hundred-rupee note is merely a small piece of paper, worth less than a cowrie shell, but through the power of Sthapana, it can procure goods worth a hundred rupees. Sthapana is a result of cultivated intellect, and despite being false, it cannot be ignored.

Direction, for instance, arises from a relative understanding. The existence of at least two objects is necessary for direction. What one calls East, another calls West, a third calls North, and a fourth calls South. Thus, direction has no fixed limit; it is object-relative and not independent. Yet, without accepting this uncertain and unreal conceptual construct, many links in the chain of worldly affairs would break. The author cautions against blind faith in ultimate reality leading to the neglect of practical reality. Sthapana, though unreal, holds no less importance in practice. Jain scriptures list ten types of truth, including name, form, and Sthapana, which are accepted as practically true.

Sthapana is the act of considering an object to be in a form it is not, for a specific purpose. This can be motivated by collective or individual desires. When one substance is established in another, the latter becomes its symbol (Pratik) and gains an extraordinary power to perform its function. Mango blossoms, curd, durva grass, flowers, unbroken rice, vermilion, offerings, gorochana, musk, etc., are considered auspicious symbols because the auspiciousness is established in them. Placing a garland around the neck of a respected person might not provide physical sustenance, but it symbolizes respect, devotion, worship, loyalty, and honor, evoking gratitude. However, not all flowers are auspicious; those of gourds, pumpkins, eggplants, and luffa are not considered so. The swastika and chatushk (square) symbols have no inherent auspiciousness, yet they are used in every auspicious occasion.

A black flag does not mean disrespect, a red flag does not mean the train stops, and a green flag does not mean the train moves. Yet, a black flag leads to police action, a red flag stops the train, and a green flag makes it move. We bow to the national flag, which, despite being ordinary cloth, symbolizes national unity and prestige. In ancient times, village councils (panchayats) had no army. Even a weak person, by embodying the symbol of a magistrate, could issue punishments that were accepted by all. In Ramlila and theatrical performances, there is no actual abduction of Sita or lamentation by Ram. Both the abduction and the lamentation are imaginary, and the audience knows this, yet their eyes well up with tears. This is the power of symbols. In literature, figures of speech like allegory and hyperbole are based on symbols. The Rigvedic mantra "Dva suparna sayuja sakhaya..." exemplifies the indispensability of symbols. "Suparna" refers to a bird and "vriksha" to a tree, but in the mantra, these words represent the soul, the supreme soul, and the world.

Saint Kabir, by saying "There is no austerity like truth, no sin like falsehood," declared truth as the supreme austerity and falsehood as the supreme sin. However, in practice, he too could not transcend the boundaries of unreal symbols. The text quotes a verse attributed to Kabir where impossible scenarios are described (sea catching fire, rivers turning to coal, fish climbing trees), which are only comprehensible as symbols representing a profound spiritual awakening or a profound detachment from worldly concerns. The power of symbols makes this verse understandable; without it, it would be nonsensical raving. Just as a tree loses its greenery when its roots are cut, the power of symbols diminishes when their established convention (Sthapana) is removed. The text notes that even a simple village person, by embodying the Sthapana of a president or prime minister for a while, becomes a symbol of importance and affluence, but without it, reverts to being ordinary.

The author concludes by stating that Sthapana, symbols, names, and forms are not prohibited anywhere and there is no voice against them. Accepting a name is not objectionable. There is no sin in creating imagined forms for formless letters, qualities, actions, and numbers. The tongue does not get cut for speaking untruths in mathematics and geography, and the intellect does not become bankrupt for considering a worthless piece of paper valuable. It is only when we create an image of the deity that we are considered culprits.

Key Takeaways:

• Indispensability of Convention: Names, forms, Sthapana, and Pratik are essential, albeit often imaginary, components of human life and societal functioning.
• Arbitrary Nature of Names and Forms: The connection between words (names) and their meanings (substances) and the forms we associate with them are largely conventional and can vary significantly.
• The Role of Sthapana: Sthapana is the act of establishing a conventional identity or significance in an object, even if it's not inherently present. This is a learned process from childhood and is crucial for societal function.
• Power of Symbols (Pratik): Symbols derive their power from established conventions (Sthapana) and are vital for conveying meaning, emotion, and abstract concepts.
• Practical Truth vs. Ultimate Truth: While ultimate reality may be formless and abstract, practical life necessitates and operates through these conventional constructs, which hold significant, albeit not ultimate, truth.
• Jain Philosophical Context: The book integrates these concepts within a Jain framework, recognizing Sthapana as a valid means of understanding and functioning in the world, even if it involves conventional falsehoods.