Traces of Mysticism in Jainism (Study)
by Sadhvi Madhystha Prabha | 2021 | 103,765 words
This page relates 鈥楳ystic Way鈥� of the study on the concept of Mysticism in Jainism exploring key concepts such as Jaina metaphysics and Jain ethics. The present research is divided into six chapters, beginning with an introduction to mysticism, examining its characteristics from both Western and Eastern perspectives. Subsequent chapters delve into the mystical aspects of Brahmanic and Shramanic literature, analyzing texts from the Shvetambara and Digambara traditions to unearth traces of Jain mysticism.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
6. Mystic Way
Mysticism is a feeling of an individual about becoming supreme power or spiritual power. To experience this mystical feeling, the absolute truth or absolute reality, the mystic traverse a disciplined life known as mystic path or mystic way. According to scholars, the total transmutation of a mystic is not a sudden process but it is a gradual process. It involves the moral and spiritual development of the seeker[1] to ascend to his goal step by step.
The Indian philosopher Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, to describe the path of perfection states鈥�
鈥淭he way of growth lies through a gradual increase in impersonality by an ever deeper and more intense unifying of the self with a greater than itself. In this process prayer, worship, meditation, philosophy, art and literature play their part, since all help in purifying the inner being and disposing it more and more for contact with the divine.鈥�[2]
In the words of Sobharani Basu, the mystic path, or for that matter all religious paths, holds and pursues the ideal of the expansion and elevation of the human consciousness to a level where an active contact with the Divine Reality can be established. The path in each system is different. Each describes its own discipline for those that are within its fold.[3]
The mystic way is usually, particularly by the Catholic the logicians divided into three stages: The way of purgation, the way of illumination or the illuminative life (which is also called proficiency and contemplation), and the way of union or the unitive life.[4]
According to E. Underhill there are certain characteristics which describe five different phases of mystical life they are: The awakening of self, realizes the Divine Reality leading to joy, secondly, there is the state of purgation, where the self realizes by contrast its own finitude and imperfection it is the stage of one limit and with powers, thirdly, there is the state of illumination of mind at which the Divine presence is apprehended but the union Divinity is far away. Next is the state of purification of the self which is impossible without-鈥淒ark night of Soul.鈥� Lastly the mystic is able to reach the goal of union i.e. to become one with the Divine.[5] It is the state of bliss in which the mystic 鈥楽elf鈥� and the power of 鈥榳ill鈥� are merged into one.
Happold in his book Mysticism: A Study and An Anthology, quotes Ruysbrook who, divides the mystic way into three stages: (i) the active life, a life which may be in a real sense illuminated, but is not yet that of the truly inward man, (ii) the interior life, the full life of the 鈥渋nward man.鈥� Which in its advanced stages, seems to be one of definite union, or something so close to it as to be hardly distinguishable from it and (iii) the super essential or God, seeing life, the life of complete and permanent attainment.[6]
In Eastern mysticism, particularly Hindu mysticism prescribes stages of self-purification. The 惭腻峁囜笉耻办测补 Upani峁d[7] mentions four types of mystic way -(i) Jagrat means waking, (ii) Svapna means dreaming, (iii) 厂耻峁迟颈 means deep sleeping and (iv) 罢耻谤墨测补 means realisation state. These four stages may be compared with Christian Mystic stages of awakening, purgation, illumination and unitive life respectively.
The Bhagavad G墨t膩[8] mentions three ways鈥�
(i) 闯苍蛡腻苍补 Yoga (path of knowledge),
(ii) Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion) and
(iii) Karma Yoga (path of action).
Jain mystic path constitutes three jewels namely as Right World view, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct.[9] All these three mystic paths constitute the explanation of fourteen 驳耻峁嘺蝉迟丑腻苍补 (the spiritual stages),[10] the detail of which can be found in chapter four. Buddhist mysticism prescribes eightfold path of life.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Facets of Mysticism, p. 285.
[2]:
Mysticism: A Study and An Anthology, p. 57.
[3]:
Modern Indian Mysticism, (Sobharani Basu), p. 89.
[4]:
Mysticism: A Study and An Anthology, p. 56, also see Understanding Mysticism, p. 22.
[5]:
Facets of Mysticism, p. 303.
[6]:
Mysticism: A Study and An Anthology, pp. 56-57.
[7]:
[8]:
Radhakrishnan, S., Indian Philosophy, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, Part 1, 2nd edn., 2019, p. 474.
[9]:
罢补迟迟惫腻谤迟丑补 厂奴迟谤补, 1.1