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This chapter investigates the method of the 鈥渇ully developed鈥�^[1] system of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 presented by Mah膩praj帽a as a modern Jaina meditative practice. It considers the theory and method of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 in the writings of Mah膩praj帽a. The chapter explores the method of construction of the 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 system, which integrates seven distinct sources: (i) Jaina textual accounts of meditative practices; (ii) Elements of Hindu yoga systems; (iii) Elements of Buddhist 痴颈辫补蝉蝉补苍腻 meditation; (iv) 膧yurvedic concepts; (v) Astronomical elements; (vi) Modern Science; (vii) and Reflections on Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 own experiences and explorations.

This chapter will first give a brief overview of the building blocks of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ伝宄蟛饽宀圆�, the eight limbs, the four sub-limbs and the three special limbs and then reconstruct Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 exegetical and constructive methods highlighting, how the fully developed system of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 was formed. Of particular interest will be the investigation in which Jaina and non-Jaina textual sources, were creatively combined and juxtaposed with modern scientific knowledge. The impact of Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 personal experiences and collective experimentation on its final construction, will also be considered.

It is argued that modern 辫谤别办峁Ｄ� meditation encompasses a set of fundamentally different objectives from those of ancient Jaina practices and therefore requires radical adjustment in the parameters of the types of spiritual training. The ancient practices were centred on abandonment of the body (办腻测辞迟蝉补谤驳补), cognitive contemplation (anu辫谤别办峁Ｄ�) and reflection (产丑腻惫补苍腻) whilst, 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 includes highly systematised forms of meditation that incorporate various factors such as the body, breath, vital force, psychic colours, psychic centers and so on. As a result, it marks a shift from liberation being the sole purpose of ancient Jaina meditation and instead concentrates on purification of the psyche, improvement of health and well-being, personality development and behavioural and attitudinal change in its modern incarnation, whilst ultimately focusing on liberation as its final aim for those inclined towards the soteriological purpose.

The modernisation of Jaina meditation begins with Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 scientific and medicalised conception of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补. As De Michelis has established in her 2005 work 鈥淢odern Yoga鈥�, Vivekananda鈥檚 鈥�R膩ja Yoga鈥� in 1896 is a new departure in the history of Indian yoga. The impact of Westernisation can be seen through intellectual trends such as an increased focus on science, changes in lifestyle and developments in technology. Following these trends, Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 opens a new dimension in the field of Jaina meditation.^[2] This is largely, due to the fact that prior to Mah膩praj帽a's modern scientific approach, scientific knowledge was neither central to, nor an integral part of Jaina meditation. A literature survey on the holdings of various Indian and UK libraries regarding Jaina Yoga and meditation reveals that before Mah膩praj帽a's work there is no scientific presentation of Jaina meditation available. However, Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 writings on 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 can, in fact be acknowledged, as a further development of Kuvalay膩nanda鈥檚 (1883鈥�1966), 艢ri Yogendra鈥檚 (1897鈥�1989), and 厂惫腻尘墨 搁腻尘补鈥檚 (1925鈥�1996) introduction of scientific perspectives in the field of 腻蝉补苍补, bandha and 辫谤腻峁嚹乱腻尘补. Joseph S. Alter (2004), in his study Yoga in Modern India: The Body between Science and Philosophy focuses on the 鈥渕edicalised鈥� physical culture of yoga. He argues that the 鈥渟ynthesis of yoga with science, laid the foundation of modern yoga鈥� because of the health benefits it promises. In Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 this dimension is also visible in the presentation of the therapeutic use of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 (辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-肠颈办颈迟蝉腻). This will be discussed later in the chapter 4 of the thesis..

In the field of postural yoga, T. Kri艣an膩mac膩rya (1888鈥�1989) and his world famous Mysore disciples^[3] opened an international market for yoga with a new emphasis on fitness, health and well-being. Singleton (2010) and others present extensive research on the development of postural yoga, a subject which, however, goes beyond the scope of this thesis. The innovations introduced by the exponents of modern yoga motivated the common masses and gave yoga an international appeal. These new developments indicate that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 was not formulated in isolation: Mah膩praj帽a was well informed about all these new creations and developments in the field of yoga.

Sources

Between 1963 and 2010, Mah膩praj帽a wrote almost fifty books on 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补, most of which were compiled from lectures delivered by him during 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 camps (艣颈惫颈谤补). The most important books on 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 include 笔谤别办峁Ｄ�-顿丑测腻苍补: 膧诲丑腻谤补 aura 厂惫补谤奴辫补 (笔谤别办峁Ｄ� Meditation: Basis and Form) (1980a), 笔谤别办峁Ｄ�-顿丑测腻苍补: Prayoga aura Paddhatti (笔谤别办峁Ｄ� Meditation: Theory and Practice) (2010c) and 笔谤别办峁Ｄ�-顿丑测腻苍补: 顿补谤艣补苍补 aura Prayoga (笔谤别办峁Ｄ� Meditation: Philosophy and Practice) (2011a) which are used as source manuals. Many of these titles have also been translated into regional Indian dialects as well as into foreign languages. These books are the key sources dealing with 辫谤别办峁Ｄ� theory and practice. In addition, a long list of doctoral theses and articles are also available, most of them centered around the fields of medical science and ethnography.

This chapter will analyse these materials.

Literature Review

It is important to point out that there is not much analytical literature on 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 in Indic and non-Indic languages. Bronkhorst (1993: 158) states in his article 鈥淩emarks on the History of Jain Meditation鈥� that, 鈥榯here is a minor role of meditative practices in the History of Jainism and the revivalist efforts of figures such as...罢耻濒补蝉墨 and Mah膩praj帽a, had to start almost from scratch鈥�. In contrast, the present study shows that meditation played an important role in ritualistic form throughout Jaina history even before 辫谤别办峁Ｄ伝宄蟛饽宀圆�, even though no detailed literature on meditation techniques is in evidence. Bronkhorst himself, for example, points to early external influences on the new Jaina methods of meditation depicted in the texts by Haribhadra after the decline of 鈥減urely scholastic鈥� canonical forms of meditation.

Peter Fl眉gel (1995: 127鈥�29) has analysed the shift taking place during the leadership of 罢耻濒补蝉墨 who 鈥渕odernised鈥� the Ter膩panth sect by means of various innovations, 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 being one of them. Like Bronkhorst (1993) and Bruhn (2012), Fl眉gel notes the minor role of detailed descriptions of meditative practices in the history of Jainism as compared to Buddhism. At the same time he shows that meditation per se has been given a prominent place in the canonical depictions of the daily schedule of Jaina mendicants (Fl眉gel, 2012b: 286鈥�300). Crucially, however, he explains that 罢耻濒补蝉墨 and Mah膩praj帽a introduced new meditative practices, combining methods from non-Jaina traditions through the aid of their spiritual teachers, who influenced the development of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 as a modern form of meditation in the Ter膩panth sect. In contrast to Bronkhorst, he reports that according to some contemporary Ter膩panth monks, concentration is not the main feature of the 办腻测辞迟蝉补谤驳补 meditation, but sat-肠颈迟-腻苍补苍诲补, the immediate insight into pure consciousness and the purification of the psyche this is considered to involve (Fl眉gel, 2012b: 961鈥�4).

I argue, with the support of the evidence presented in chapter three of this thesis, and with special reference to Mah膩praj帽a's autobiography, that many influences had a profound effect on Mah膩praj帽a's work, particularly his in-depth study of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina yogic literature. It is well documented that he participated in three of Goenk膩鈥檚 惫颈辫补蝉蝉补苍腻 艣颈惫颈谤补s (Mah膩praj帽a, 2010a: 172). However, there is no evidence of Mah膩praj帽膩 having any other contemporary teacher or training besides this.

Andrea Jain鈥檚 (2010) 鈥�Health, Wellbeing, and the Ascetic Ideal: Modern Yoga in the Jaina Ter膩panth鈥� focuses on the practice and ideology of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补. She asserts that, 鈥榓lthough Mah膩praj帽a prescribes 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 as a mystical and an ascetic practice based on an empirical epistemology for Jain monks seeking to experience the transcendent Self, he nevertheless appropriates physiotherapeutic practice aimed at health鈥� (Jain A., 2010: 119). 笔谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 is designed, in such a way that it is beyond any ascetic rituals and dogmas and equally open to lay men and women. Furthermore, she concludes that 鈥業n the context in which one finds such scientific discourse, Mah膩praj帽a and his disciples鈥� explication of yoga is concerned less with 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 for the sake of transcendence and more focused on 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 for the sake of physiological enhancement鈥� (Jain A., 2010: 120). Here, however, I wish to put forward a different perspective from the one found in Andrea鈥檚 study, as Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 main focus is on the attainment of purification of the psyche, and physiotherapeutic benefits are secondary in importance. It is a common factor that physiological enhancements are easily identifiable and can be measured scientifically, but the transcendental changes of the self are not empirically measurable, and are merely experienced at a personal and individual level.

Furthermore, she argues that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 can be located at an intersection with late capitalist cultural processes as an expression of New Age spirituality insofar as its proponents participate in the transnational market. Yet 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补, cannot simply be discussed in terms of transactional jargon. There is no evidence in relevant literature to suggest that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 is advocated as a means of financial gain or power. On the contrary, a compassionate feeling for humanity at large is at the heart of its proponents' interests and efforts.

Qvarnstr枚m and Birch (2012) consider the background in which 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 developed. They believe that one major reason for the development of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 was the response to yoga in the twentieth-century in India, Europe and the United States. Drawing upon the idea of universal and missionary Hinduism, they compare 罢耻濒补蝉墨 and Mah膩praj帽a鈥檚 new creation of modern Jaina meditation and his newly created S补尘补峁嘺 order. However, it should be noted that the term 鈥渕issionary鈥� is stigmatising to some extent. This is because in the case of Hinduism some trends were explicitly missionary in the sense of actively proselytising, whereas in the case of the S补尘补峁嘺 order their work is designed to spiritually support the Jaina community globally rather than attempting to convert the followers of other religions to Jainism.^[4] During their out-reach work there is no evidence of any conversions taking place.

厂尘颈迟腻 碍辞峁环腻谤墨 (2013) presented an ethnographic study that explores the notion of charity and meditation in the Ter膩panth sect. Building on the theories of Humphrey and Laidlaw (1994), it can be argued that rituals which have a long historical precedence would have certainly lost or have had their original intentions reinterpreted. In the case of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补, which has evolved recently, the motif, need, desire and outcomes for the system have been well outlined, and thus I would argue that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 as a ritualised form of meditation does have a purpose and intended benefit behind its practice, which is not shrouded in mystery. Thus agents can exercise their own discretion on whether to practise 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 and achieve one or more of its various benefits. 碍辞峁环腻谤墨 has attempted to show that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 is a performative ritual, conducive to the 鈥減roper ordering of the soul鈥�. She also argues that 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 is a form of ritualised action because the 鈥渁ctor鈥� takes a particular stance to her action, making it a 鈥渞itual commitment鈥�, and how not only the physical space contributes towards this commitment, but also how the body is an instrument that assists in the commitment itself (碍辞峁环腻谤墨, 2013: 116). There appears to be parallelism between the authors鈥� views on how 辫谤别办峁Ｄ伝宄蟛饽宀圆� evolved. Anecdotally, 罢耻濒补蝉墨 and Mah膩praj帽a were, taken aback when eminent Buddhist Bhikkhu 闯补驳补诲墨艣补 碍补艣测补辫补 (1908鈥�1976) raised the question of whether there is any method of, or treatise on, Jaina meditation as there is for Buddhists.^[5] A certain devout, intelligent Jaina lay follower stated that there is no meditation to be found within the Jaina tradition.^[6] There were many more such aspects, as the need of spiritual grooming of the 蝉补峁単丑补 and so on. All these factors, which are discussed in chapter 3, led to a prolonged period of development of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补, combining literary work, openness to other meditative practices, an engagement with the medical sciences as well as personal experiences of Mah膩praj帽a in order to develop a systemised form of meditation, with various components included in it.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Mah膩praj帽a passed away on 9 May 2010 and on this day, he completed his last book 笔谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补: 顿补谤艣补苍补 aura Prayoga. The purpose of this book was to present the theory and methods of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 in conjunction with its philosophical basis. He dictated this book to Mukhya 狈颈测辞箩颈办腻 厂腻诲丑惫墨 Vi艣rutavibh膩. During the lifetime of Mah膩praj帽a, preks膩-诲丑测腻苍补 was in a continuous state of development.

[2]:

A religion which does not solve the problems of present era is not relevant today. The attainment of liberation is connected to a person. Religion is not only a personal phenomenon; it is related to society. Relevance and irrelevance play a pivotal role to manage socio-religious relationships (Mah膩praj帽a, 2002a: 42). Mah膩praj帽a incorporated science in all aspects of 辫谤别办峁Ｄ�-诲丑测腻苍补 to make it easy accessible to one and all without specific religious background.

[3]:

T. Kri艣an膩mac膩rya鈥檚 well-known desciples such as K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar.

[4]:

For further details, see Fl眉gel 2003a, 鈥楾he codes of Conduct of the Ter膩panth S补尘补峁嘺 order鈥�.

[5]:

Mah膩praj帽a notes a meeting held at 痴补谤腻峁嘺蝉墨 in presence of 罢耻濒补蝉墨.

[6]:

Prominent Digambara lay Jaina follower, owner of the Times of India, 厂腻丑耻 艢膩ntipras膩da Jaina.