Aagam: Holy Scriptures of Jain |
Posted: January 22, 2018 |
Parmatma Mahavira’s preaching’s “The Agamas” are the scriptures which are the core value of Jain perception. Agama is a path to take mankind towards non-violence, restraint and penance. A = Towards Soul, Gam = Moving, i.e. one which helps movement towards our soul is Agama. Agama means The Jain Tirthankara’s discourse, a mapped path to attain salvation and liberate the soul. It is not only a unique treasure chest for enlightening the soul but also an incomparable archive of worldly wisdom. It is also an ocean of knowledge consisted of diversified areas related to Material Sciences, Biotechnology, Geography, History, Politics, Mathematics and Astrology. The scriptures advise Ahimsa (non-violence) and a meritorious life as basic requisites for achieving these objectives. One can attain enlightenment even if one can absorb a small ray of light from the radiant treasure of the Agama. It is an invaluable source for setting the soul free from the karmic cycle by cleansing it from evil influences, as it mentions several processes of self-purification. The signature style of these scriptures is to display wisdom, reflection and character as a trilogy, making them the base principles and benchmarks of religious paths. Historically, 980 years after Parmatma Mahavira attained nirvana (heavenly abode) after his enlightenment of the soul (kewalgyan), Acharaya Sri Devardhigani felt that with the passage of time, due to deterioration of human memory, we may lose the teachings of Parmatma Mahavira. In an attempt to protect the divine legacy, he called upon 500 leading spiritual monks to transcribe the teachings into a readable format. This task took them 13years as all transcribes were always memorized and never written down in a book by the spiritual monks. Ancient Jain monks have made many efforts to keep the Agamas intact and edited, researched, modified, and abridged the meanings to keep the divine knowledge abreast with times, hence making an immense contribution to future generation. In depth knowledge, study and research of Agamas remove the darkness of ignorance and lighten the flame of knowledge in our soul. One can call it as code of conduct of Jain philosophy. These are categorized into 5 divisions: 1) Anga Sutra (Body) 2) Upanga Sutra (Limbs) 3) Mool Sutra (Root or Fundamental or Basic) 4) Cheda Sutra (Eradicating of vices) 5) Avasyaka Sutra (Essential) ELEVEN ANGA SUTRAS (1) Sri Acaranga Sutra (2) Sri Suyagadanga Sutra (3) Sri Thananga Sutra (4) Sri Samvayanga Sutra (5) Sri Bhagavati Sutra (6) Sri Gnatadharmakatha Sutra (7) Sri Upasakdasanga Sutra (8) Sri Antagada Sutra (9) Sri Anuttarovavai Sutra (10) Sri Prasnavyakaran Sutra (11) Sri Vipaka Sutra TWELVE UPANGA SUTRAS (1) Sri Uvavai Sutra (2) Sri Raipaseniya Sutra (3) Sri Jivajivabhigama Sutra (4) Sri Pannavana Sutra (5) Sri JambudvipPrajnapti Sutra (6) Sri Candra-Surya Prajnapti Sutra (7) Niryavalika (8) Kalpavatamsika (9) Puspikah (10) Puspaculikah (11) Sri Candra-Surya Prajnapti Sutra (12) Vrsnidasah FOUR MOOL SUTRAS (1) Sri Dasavaikalika Sutra (2) Sri Uttaradhayayana Sutra (3) Sri Nandi Sutra (4) Sri Annuyogdwara Sutra FOUR CHEDA SUTRAS (1) Sri Nishitha Sutra (2) Sri Dasasrutskandha Sutra (3) Sri Bruhatkalpa Sutra (4) Sri Vyavahara Sutra
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