Well generally we think that this means that the souls should help each other.Yes, this is one of its meanings but this is not the real meaning of it.
Let, me first tell you that this sentence is actually the sutra no.21 of the chapter no.5 of Sri Tattvarthsutraji written by Acharya Sri Umaswamiji some 2000 yrs back and is the only ancient text to be accepted by various panths of both the digmaber as well as swetamber lines.
Now,I would also like to tell you in the sutra just previous to this sutra , Acharya Sri tells us that the pudgal that is the non-living matter and energy also do upkar or help or interact with the souls.And in the present sutra he says that the souls do upkar to each other.But, here the term "Upgarha" means that this upkar is not only good but can be bad also.
See, a person can give you happiness and another person can give you tears also- isn't it? Actually nobody gives anything to other but they becomes the nimmittas or the instrumental causes in the fruitition of the soul's own karmas.
For instance, due to the rise of my own good karmas, I was to get the knowledge of Jain Dharma and a guru comes and teaches me dharma, then as per practical or vyavhaar point of view the guru has done upkar to me or has helped me- isn't it? So the guru becomes the instrumental cause in my acquiring of the knowledge of the Jain dharma.But, the real cause of it is the decay or decline of my own gyaanavarni karma (a bad karma)- yes or no?
Similarly, a master gives employment to a servent so he is helping him, but the servant is serving him, so he is also helping him.And like wise different souls or living beings help each other mutually and to be more correct becomes instrumental causes in the things happening to each other.
Suppose Mr X has a aayu or life of 100yrs as per his previous karmas, but Mr Y gives him poison at an age of 50, then he can die at this age also and will complete the aayu of his remaining 50yrs within some seconds or minutes or so.
So, here we see that Mr X and Mr. Y did mutually interacted with each other and Y seems to be killing X. but actually Y is only the instrumental cause in the fruitition of some own karmas of Mr X due to which he was to lose his life prematurely.
So, the word 'Upgraha' doesn't means doing welfare only.
Then why we took this sutra as our motto?
It is because we take only the positive part of the sutra as our motto, that is we souls can mutually help each other for our betterment or progress in the path of salvation.
Dr Amit Prakash Jain
Excellent book on jainism
16 years ago
