Course Eligibility : General education and basic knowledge of Internet
Course Duration : Minimum six months
Begins On : Self Paced
Samaysara is the most famous work of Acharya Kund-Kund who is remembered with reverence after Thirthankar Mahavir and Gautam Gandhar. This deals with the nature of pure soul. Anyone interested in knowing about the self must read this text. There is no parallel to Samaysara in any philosophy. It describes ‘what is pure soul’. Pure soul is eternal and indivisible It can be understood by real stand-point, and not by conventional stand-point. The mundane beings do not know the eternal purity of the soul in view of wrong faith and wrong knowledge. The traditional understanding of religion or faith is shattered when one reads this book. It is an ultimate gateway to Supreme Soul. It helps in realization of the self and directs to the object of meditation. Many great souls who have read this book and contemplated on the nature of soul have immensely benefited. There are several commentaries on this book. In order to facilitate simple understanding of the text, only verses and their meanings have been selected for this course and those who opt for this course are advised to read commentaries for better understanding.
Background
Purva Rang : Concept of sw-samay and par-samay, unique story of soul, empirical and real points of view, nine tatvas as per real point of view, characteristics of an ignorant person, differences between body and soul.
Unit-1
Jivajivadhikar : difference between soul and non soul substances, different views on the subject. non-soul characteristic of thought process, empirical and real points of view on the subject non identical relationship between soul and material object.
Unit-2
Kartakarma Adhikar : Karmic bondage and passions, differentiated perspective and karmic bondage, associated relation between soul and karma, real point of view on the nature of “doing” and “enjoy” ignorance of soul as an eternal characteristic, independence of each substance in its functioning pure soul is beyond all viewpoints.
Unit-3
Punyapapadhikar : nature of auspicious and inauspicious deeds, both lead to karmic bondage, knowledge as cause of moksha and its path, bondage nature of karma.
Unit-4
Asrava (influx): reasons of influx of karma, influx lead to bondage, absence of influx of karma for samyakdrasti, Influx due to attachment, absence of bodage for gyani/samyakdrasti.
Unit-5
Samvara : Influx prevended by differentiated perspective, attainment of pure soul by differentiate attitude, sequence in which prevention of karma takes place,
Unit-6
Shedding of Karma (nirjara)- types of nirjara - dravya and bhav, gyan as the main reason for nirjara. role of renunciation and tap for nirjara, eight components of right fath.
Unit-7
Bandha : reasons for bondage (bandh), empirical and real viewpoints on bondage, absence of moksha for abhavya inspite of knowledge and renunciation.
Unit-8
Nature of moksha, moksha due to elimination of karmic bondage, worry over bondage does not lead to moksha, adoption of pure soul by pragya leads to moksha
Unit-9
Sarvavishuddha : Soul as independent of all substances, nature of pratikraman, pratyakhan and alochana, karma chetna, karmaphal chetna and gyan chetna renunciation of external objects not the cause of moksha.
The program does not specify any restrictions in terms of age and qualifications for taking up a given course. The objective is to make these courses available to anyone with an interest in Jain Philosophy.
However, it is suggested that one should carefully select the course depending on one’s interest in the subject, current level of understanding of Jain Philosophy, experience and educational qualification. The Idea is that one should benefit from the course in terms of usefulness in one’s life, changed perception about things around us and develop deep rooted interest in Jain Philosophy so that one can embark on the path of moksha.
Those who have no exposure to Jain Principles should start with Balbodh or Vitrag Vigyan and later on take Tatavagyan depending on individual aptitude. It is advisable to look at the syllabus before making up the choice. However, some might have primary understanding of Jain Principles can take opt for Jain Siddhant Prashnottarmala to sharpen existing ability. To continue to have interest in Jain Principles requires maturity and prior exposure to these concepts.
If an individual has interest in studying simple Jain text it is advised that one can select Chhahdhala which contains many Jain Principles and describes the path to Moksha in lucid manner. This text is also known as mini – Samaysar. In case you have not read any Jain text, It is better to start with this one. If an aspiring student has already gone through Chhahdhala, one can take Tattvaarthsutra to know more about Jain Principles in a very systematic manner. Those who have exposure to either of these two text, then it is advisable to opt for Samaysar. In absence of knowledge of basic Jain Principles and the terms used in Jain Philosophy, it may be difficult to follow Samaysar. It is our sincere wish that everyone should study Samaysar at some stage so that one can really learn about their own soul and the real path to Moksha.
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