The Soul-Essence

Among the collections original: "tion" of Swami Kartikeya’s Anupreksha A Jain text focused on twelve themes of meditation or "reflections.", none is older than Shri Kunda Kunda’s. The tradition itself is much older; it is unbroken and continuous. Indeed, it is claimed to be eternal. But in its written form, no work is older than the soul-analyzing, soul-clarifying, and soul-illuminating stanzas of Shri Kunda Kunda. They sparkle with a single life and shed one white light—namely, the divine, limitless nature of the soul when it is absorbed in itself. Sva-Samaya original: Sva-Samaya; the state of being established in one's own soul or self-absorption. or self-absorption is the keynote, the purpose, the lesson, the object, the goal, and the center of all of Sri Kunda Kunda’s works and teachings. The pure, all-conscious, self-absorbed soul is God, and it is never anything less or more. Any connection, whether as a cause or an effect, with the non-self is a delusion, a limitation, an imperfection, and a state of bondage. To obtain liberation or deification, this connection must be destroyed. Only then does the "bound" soul, a servant original: بنده bandah, become the liberated soul, God original: خدا Khuda; literally "Self come to Self", a pure entity original: ذات پاک Zat-e-paka. The man becomes Man. The "Son of Man" returns to His "Father in Heaven." Man becomes himself. Man becomes God.

To guard against any misunderstanding of Jainism, this central teaching—this clear, golden goal—must always be kept in mind and in view.

It may well and legitimately be asked: what is the practical use of this Jain idea of self-absorption?

The answer is: the mere insight into and knowledge of this "Real Reality" is of everyday use in the conduct of our individual and collective lives. It is a true and the only cure-all original: "panacea" for all our ills. Its requirements may be rigorous. Its preliminary demands may cause a painful break original: "wrench" from our cherished habits, customs, and fashions of thought and action. But its result—which is immediate, instantaneous, and unmistakable—justifies the hardship and the demand. The relief and service, the sure uplift of ourselves, and the showering of a calming balm upon the sore souls of our brothers and sisters through the practice of self-realization justify the price paid. Indeed, it is merely the temporary yielding of a hollow, fleeting pleasure for the attainment of a real, permanent happiness and peace which, once gained, can never be lost. Once the soul has had its first dip into its own milk-white, nectar ocean of the self—or in the Christian phrase, once the soul has seen the presence of God—it can never go away from it forever. It must come back to that presence sooner or later, and more and more often, until in the end, it is always there and nowhere else.