JAIN BBS Jain Study Cener of North Carolina FEDERATION OF JAINA Article prepared by: Shilpa P. Shah 401 Farmstead Drive Cary, NC 27511 09-12-87 The Teachings of the Atma Siddhi Seeking to teach his disciples true religion, Shrimad Rajchan- dra, a great religious teacher, wrote many well known literary works. Born in 1848 in Vavania, Gujarat, he wrote the Atma Siddhi in one sitting. The Atma Siddhi is a 142 stanza poem explaining the science of self realization. Shrimad Rajchandra explains in the Atma Siddhi the proper rela- tionship between the spiritual teacher and the disciple, as well as the relationship between the soul and karma. He explains the quali- ties of a true teacher by saying that the teacher must have knowledge of the soul and of the highest scriptures. He must have equal feeling to contradictory pair, such as pleasure and pain, praise and censure, and gain and loss. Therefore, he should lead a worldly life only due to past karmas and not because of any present attachments. He must also have a unique speech characterized by sweetness and beauty, as well as authority and truth. The Atma Siddhi, similarly, describes the duties of a true disci- ple. The true disciple should faithfully follow the guidance of his teacher and read the scriptures suggested by him. He must accept the protection of the true teacher as well in order to overcome faults, such as anger, pride, deceit, and greed. Shrimad Rajchandra describes the characteristics of and untrue disciple, as well, by saying that he takes for a spiritual teacher one who has renounced the world, but has no knowledge. He takes a per- verse view and assumes that his own religion or caste is the cause of liberation. The untrue disciple does not understand the true charac- ter of the path of liberation, but yet he prides himself of vows that that he has taken. He does not supress his passions and still remains attached to worldly life. Such a disciple, therefore, neither gains any knowledge, nor practices any means of liberation. The Atma Siddhi portrays, on the other hand, the characteristics of a true disciple, by saying that such a student considers having a true teacher to be a blessing. He behaves obediently through his mind, speech, and body. The true disciple supresses his passions, and so has only one desire--attaining liberation. He shows compassion for all living beings and has only one sorrow--having to continue with the cycle of reincarnation. The Atma Siddhi, along with explaining the characteristics of the spiritual teacher and the disciple, explains the relationship between the soul and karma by the following six propositions: 1. The soul exists. 2. It is eternal. 3. It is the doer of its own actions. 4. It enjoys the results of these action. 5. There is liberation. 6. There is a means of liberation. Shrimad Rajchandra explains the existence of the soul by saying that even though the body itself sees, hears, feels, etc., it is the soul that really senses his surroundings. Each individual sense knows about its own function, but the soul, unlike the body, knows about all five senses. He also points out that many people with small bodies are extremely intelligent, while many people with large bodies lack intelligence. If the body and the soul are the same, then there would not be such a difference. Along with explaining the existence of the soul, Shrimad Rajchan- dra proves the eternity of the soul by saying that the soul cannot be born because consciousness cannot originate from any lifeless matter and vice versa. He proves that the soul cannot die because any sub- stance that does not originate from anything, cannot be destroyed by anything. If the soul is not born and cannot die, it is, therefore, eternal. The soul is also immortal because passions observed in ani- mals result from previous births. The Atma Siddhi explains that the soul does karmas. Only a pure liberated soul is free from karmas. Since the soul on earth experi- ences, it performs thoughts and actions and acquires karma. Since the body cannot think, it is, therefore, the soul who does karmas. Not only is the soul the doer of karmas, but it also enjoys the fruits of karmas. Shrimad Rajchandra says in the Atma Siddhi that while karmas posses no knowledge about their effects, the soul experi- ences their fruits. He proves this by pointing out that the reason why we have rich people as well as poor people is because the soul enjoys the fruits of good and evil karmas. Shrimad Rajchandra proves in the Atma Siddhi that the soul can gain liberation by pointing out that since good and bad actions result in good and bad karmas, actions without any attachments result in no karmas. Ridding one's self of good and evil thoughts cause the pure nature of the soul to emerge. The separation from this cycle of karmas is liberation, the status of Siddha, where the soul enjoys infinite bliss. Anger, pride, deceit, and geed are the causes of karma. Breaking through these causes by forgiveness, humility, straight forwardness, and charity is the path of liberation. Liberation can be acheived through right belief and right conduct. Right belief is gained by enlightenment about the nature of things through knowledge, observa- tion, and experience, while right conduct is gained by non-attachment. With the knowledge of these six propositions, a person's ignor- ance disappears. He also feels detached from the body and worldly possessions. By becoming a true student and following the guidance of a true teacher, he may soon reach his goal of liberation. ==============================================================================