Guide to Godhood - The Roadmap to Moksha (Based on Shramansutram)

The Roadmap to Moksha Moksha-the State of Godhood, is one of the most mystical concepts of the east. It means rise of an ordinary individual from the realms of manhood into the domain of Godhood. It symbolizes the release of soul from the ever-repeating cycle of birth and death and assimilation of the same into the souls of previously liberated beings, collectively referred to as "Siddha."

This book, "Guide to Godhood- The Roadmap to Moksha," breaks open the path to achieve this high state. It's based on Sutras (verses) of Shraman Theology and divides the journey into Fourteen milestones referred to as "Guna."

Each one of us, irrespective of our beliefs and value system, is stationed at one of these phases (Guna). As a reader reads through the pages of this book, it will not be difficult for him to pin-point the phase at which he is currently stationed. This knowledge of one's current state of being will not only help him analyze where he stands on the spiritual platform, but will also help him in discovering the reason of his stationing at that particular phase and thus plan remedial actions to break free.

The basic idea of this book is to help explain all these phases from a scientific outlook, so a fair idea of the road that lies to Godhood could be achieved.

Amit Jain, the author of this book, is not any spiritual master or a pundit of philosophy and religion. He is an ordinary person, deeply entrenched in the passions and vices which any ordinary mortal experiences and feels. It will not be wrong to say that if a line is drawn between a theist and an atheist, then he is more prone to shift towards the latter.

Born in to a middle-class family, he was fortunate to have the best of parenting and schooling. Theology inspired him from his tender age of childhood and reading comics based on this subject was his most favourite pastime. He graduated from Kirori Mal College of Delhi University and did his postgraduation in International Business from FORE School of Management before joining his family business.

As the time passed, his first love of theology deepened further and the comics of childhood gave way to study of scriptures. His modern education and scientific zeal made him look at the Sutras from an analytical sight and what emerged out of it is this book, Guide to Godhood- The Roadmap to Moksha.

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Everidne in The World wants eternal happiness. Since times immemorial, we have been looking for it The propagators of different religions have tried to explain the path to eternal happiness-The Path to Godhood, as they experienced the same.

Buddha and Mahavira made serious efforts in search of that bliss and after gaining it, explained in a logical manner. It has been their proclamation that one should not have blind faith. One should logically ponder over spiritual doctrines to find the real truth. Thereafter only, one becomes capable of accepting it and moving ahead on the path.

In this book, Guide to Godhood; the author, with his logic and the extensive study of modem science and comparative study of various philosophical thoughts, has tried in a dexterous manner to bring home the uniformity and logic in the basic principles of Jainism. I am sure it will encourage the reader to have a broad outlook in understanding the spiritual concepts and imbibing them in his daily life.

The concept of God and the path that leads to Godhood, has been explained in detail with quotations from scriptures of different faiths. By adding questions at the end of each chapter, the book has become more interesting and thought- provoking. I am sure it will help the reader to develop an interest in understanding the real self-The State of Godhood, and to move ahead on that path to gain the eternal bliss.

A round two thousand five hundred years ago, our planet experienced one of the greatest spiritual revolutions ever witnessed by mankind. It was initiated because of a young prince that the world today knows by the name of Gautama, The Buddha.

Born into a royal family, and fed with every conceivable' luxury of the time, He moved on ... , over a path less travelled, to discover something, which became a beacon of light for generations to come and till date, is one of the most widely read theologies of the world?

But what made Gautama take that most important step in his life which made Buddhahood possible for Him? What was it, which initiated this young prince, who was heir apparent of his father's kingdom, to renounce everything and move forward?

Legends have it that it was a sight of a monk who appeared completely at peace with himself, which kindled that spark and made him look beyond just the material possessions this world has to offer. The monk belonged to a spiritual tradition called Shraman, which was at the height of its glory during those days. This book is an attempt to rediscover that tradition and its theology, which must have reached Gautama's ears and made Him take that step--which became a giant leap for Him in discovering His Godhood. This book is a must read for anyone genuinely interested in spirituality as it will transport him into the days, where Buddha breathed and groomed. Hope this book succeeds in preparing the soil for the reader, in which seeds of Buddhahood could germinate.

Because of the great depth and vastness of these Sutras, I plan to present them in various volumes, so complete justice could be done to each section. In this volume, firstly we will discuss the meaning of Godhood to explain what this state actually means. Then we will discuss in detail the roadmap which leads to this state and the various milestones a seeker passes through before he completes the journey.

This roadmap called 'The Guna" (the spiritual stages) has nothing to do with religion or tradition we are follow- ing and is completely secular in nature. This is because all of us, irrespective of our believes and value systems, are stationed at one of these Gunas. It will not be difficult for the reader to pinpoint the Guna he is stationed at as he reads through the following pages.

Albert Einstein once said, "I do not know if there is rebirth or not, or life after death. But if it's true, then I would like to be born in India as a Jain." [See fn. 31, 41, pp. 180-81]

This assertion of the world's greatest scientist towards the world's oldest tradition was not just a coincidence. There is a great similarity between the two. A deep current runs beneath both the institutions. And this current is logic and a deep sense of enquiry into the reason of existence of a particular thing or an object. And this is what makes the Shraman tradition and both its off shoots, viz. Jainism and Buddhism unique.

Unlike other religions which preach to have faith first and promises results later, this tradition promotes enquiry and analysis first and faith later. This spirit of enquiry can be best understood by instructions of Buddha to His followers of not accepting validity of His teachings simply on the basis of their reverence to Him. He instructed that just as a seasoned goldsmith tests the purity of gold through a meticulous process of examination; similarly the seekers should test the truth of what he has said through reasoned examination and personal experiences. [See fn. 32, p. 180]

This reasoning, this sense of investigation is the very essence of Shraman tradition. Thus, it's not a coincidence that a person like Einstein, who was astutely logical in thought and exceptionally high on reasoning, liked this tradition so much that he wanted to explore it being a part of this school.

Putting UP the entire Shraman Sutras in an understandable format is a mammoth exercise, and is going to take a lot of time and efforts. I am not sure, if I will be able to complete this process in my life span. So I have decided to move in small steps and start publishing my understandings of this subject in small volumes. This book is the first in this process.

God is perhaps one of the oldest words in human consciousness. The First Chapter covers a detailed analysis of what this word means in Indian Theology. A special emphasis has been given to the word Bhagwaan. The detailed explanation of this Indian version of God sets the background for a discussion of the path that leads to Godhood. This path is called "Fourteen Gunas".

These the Fourteen Spiritual Stages or milestones a being passes through before it achieves liberation. This is a detailed roadmap of the passage each one of us needs to pass through in our spiritual quest. The Second chapter discusses the same briefly followed by a detailed analysis in balance of the manuscript.

The Third Chapter deals with the state in which a soul arrives in human form after a long process of its evolution. Here we discuss various Siaras associated with this state and understand why a human lives under the spell of this state for long periods of its Atmic Cycle. In this section, we discuss the First, Second, and Third Gunas (spiritual stages) and the characteristics of the being at each stage.

Then comes the stage where a human achieves humanity for the first time in true sense of the word. In the cycle of its evolution, as the soul gains human form, its mind does not. Its heart still dwells in the emotions and passions of its long-drawn animalistic past. It is at this point that a human raises a notch above these passions and starts experiencing finer human emotions like love, compassion, and consideration for other forms of being. In the Fourth Chapter, we discuss the Fourth Guna (spiritual stage) where this transformation occurs and various Sutras that describe the characteristics of a person at this stage.

Gradually, the human says-enough is enough and charts the declaration of its own freedom from all the animalistic instincts of past, and thus sets for itself-its own dos and don'ts. Here for the first time, the human bids adieu to all that is evil in its life and inculcates all that is virtuous. This transformation occurs at the Fifth Guna discussed in Fifth Chapter.

Now comes the most important state in the Atmic Cycle of the soul. Here the person bids farewell to all those things that tied him into the never ending life-cycle and made him to do actions-both good and bad. At this stage, a person in most likelihood and for its own good, renounces all material possessions and becomes a monk or a nun. This trans- formation occurs at the Sixth and the Seventh Gunas discussed in Sixth Chapter.

As the seeker grows deeper in its self, it taps into the massive reservoir of its hidden capabilities. What emerge out of it are powers, which are often attributed as magical. Today, the modern science calls them ESPs-(The Extra Sensory Perceptions). In this section, we discuss that they are neither magical nor extra sensory. It's all normal as we all have these capabilities inherent in us by birth. The only difference is that we have yet to unravel their mystery. This unravelling happens at the Eighth Guna discussed in Seventh Chapter.

Having come so far, all it takes is a perfect spell of Forty-eight consecutive minutes to complete the balance journey. But these Forty-eight minutes may sometime take aeons. Only those seekers are able to make past these Forty-eight minutes, who have perfectly understood and blossomed out of the above lower spiritual stages (Gunas). Rest are destined to be doomed back into the starting rungs of spiritual elevation, and forced to relive them. In the Eighth Chapter, we discuss the Ninth and the Tenth Gunas which a seeker transcends in these Forty-eight minutes. Here we also discuss the Eleventh guna and understand why it becomes the dead- end of the journey to Godhood for those who did not mature completely at the lower spiritual stages.

Those among us, who are able to move past these Forty-eight minutes, then arrive at the Twelfth Gunas to discover their Godhood. They break free from the cycle of transmigration of soul and are termed as "Bhagwaan- The Paramatman" (The Supreme Soul). This is the highest stage of humanity. We have known such Masters by Arhats, Keveli, Jina, Buddha, and many other names. Such Masters then at the end of Fourteen spiritual stages (Gunas), move ahead to become "Siddhas," but leave behind them a beacon of light for the rest to follow. This final transformation of manhood to Godhood takes place at the Twelfth, Thirteenth, and the Fourteenth Gunas discussed in ninth chapter.

Each chapter is followed by a discussion section where basic questions which arise at each stage are discussed in detail.

I do not know if Einstein's wish got fulfilled, but this is one simple effort at my end to introduce this tradition to the world. I welcome you all to come explore, enquire, and investigate the depth of truth in this tradition. Be critical as you proceed. Ask as many questions as you wish. The more you enquire, greater you will submerge in this stream; and higher you will rise on the spiritual ladder. I give my email underneath. Please do not shy to ask. I will try my best to answer all the questions. If there are queries beyond me, I will try and get your answers from the scholars of the subject.