Notes for Vakta ka Swarup- cont'd : 4/30/08

Notes for Vakta ka Swarup- cont'd : 4/30/08

Page 15 last paragraph:

Essential general qualities of a vakta:

• Should not carry out activities that are unjust, unfair and immoral because that would make him lose his credibility
• Good character and should not speak harsh language or tone
• Expert and have good knowledge about the subject matter so people can trust him

Qualities described in the shlok- Pragyah prapt..

• Intelligent, Jain literature ka bahut/vishesh gyata ho and no desire for worldly benefits
• Should have charisma, should be clam and jisko question karane se pehle answer malum ho(Vikasji mentioned ye tab hi ho sakata hai jab vakta ne bahut 'chintan' kiya ho)
• Jo bahut sare questions handle kar sake aur ek hi question ka several times shanti se answer kare

Some special qualities of a vakta as well:

• Vakta ko 'swanubhav' or 'aatma ka anubhav' ho to hi vah true essence of Jainism jaan sakta hai . (Vikasji mentioned that gyan, darshan, charitra do not have vishesh fal unless there has been swanubhav; they will carry samanya fal only).
• Additionally, having mati, avdhi and other gyans are also considered special qualities of a vakta

Importance of swanubhav as described in the shlok- Pandiya pandiya:

• Not understanding swanubhav and gaining expertise in Jain literature is like leaving the grain behind and focusing only on the chaff (covering of the grain)

Can we listen to vaktas who do not have all of the above qualities?

• In the absence of such vaktas, we should certainly ensure that we listen to vaktas that at least have complete and deep rooted faith in Jainism (shraddhani) and other general qualities. Here Vikasji explained the difference between Lokpriya and Lokhiteshi. Even if a person is popular, has charisma we need not listen to him because listening to such people might cause mithyatva ka poshan.
• A question was raised here: Sometimes we listen to speakers even when we know that he does not have the requisite qualities or knowledge. We could be doing this with good intent ki vyarth samay bigaade us sey to accha hai ki jo thoda bahut dharm ke baare mein sune. However, Vikasji mentioned that asanyam is better than mithyatva. So we should never listen to anyone propogating mithyatva.
• Additional notes: There are 2 types of mithyatva: a) Grahit b) Agrahit. Grahit mithytva vo hai jo updesh se pragat hota hai aur agrahit vo hai jo sahaj hi paya jata hai.

Qualities described in the shlok- Tam jinaanparen:

• Hum nirgranth (parigrah se rahit) munis ko listen kare jo jin aagya follow kare. If not possible, then hum aise shravak se message sune jo aise suguru ka updesh kahe.

Finally, hum aise hi vakta ko listen kare jo dharm or karuna buddhi se updesh de; listening to people preaching out of kashay buddhi will only cause more harm.

Please let me know if any changes need to be made to the above notes.

Thanks,

Harshil