आदिम युग : पहला कालखंड
By आचार्य महाप्रज्ञ
Summary
The text discusses the epic "Rishabhayan" by Acharya Mahaprajna, a historical and cultural work covering the life of Lord Rishabh from beginning to end. It describes Rishabh's life as comprehensive, encompassing all four Purusharthas—kama, artha, dharma, and moksha—unlike Lord Mahavira's life which focused more on dharma and moksha. Rishabh established social systems, cities, crafts, arts, agriculture, script, and trade before renouncing everything to discover the soul, becoming its first discoverer. The text compares Rishabh's life to Rama's as a model of comprehensive living. It then explores the nature of the universe, stating that according to Jain philosophy, the universe is eternal and uncreated, consisting of five astikayas: dharma, adharma, akasha, pudgala, and jiva. Creation is not the work of a single god but results from the combination of jiva and pudgala, or from natural transformation. The text distinguishes between the eternal universe and transient creation, which has a beginning and end. The concept of the time cycle is introduced, with twelve divisions split into two halves: avasarpini (descending) and utsarpini (ascending). Currently, we are in the avasarpini phase, which has six sub-periods: Sushama-Sushama, Sushama, Sushama-Duhshama, Duhshama-Sushama, Duhshama, and Duhshama-Duhshama. The first period, Sushama-Sushama, was characterized by extreme happiness, minimal food intake due to high nutritional content in soil and water, pure environment, long breaths, and lifespans of three palyopama. People had subdued passions and lived in a state of bliss without suffering.
Conclusion
The document's analysis of Rishabh's life as a comprehensive model integrating societal development with spiritual pursuit offers profound implications for understanding human civilization. By presenting Rishabh as both a social organizer who established cities, crafts, agriculture, and governance, and later as the first discoverer of the soul, the text bridges material and spiritual evolution. The detailed exposition of the time-cycle theory, with its alternating periods of progression and regression, provides a framework for interpreting historical change as cyclical rather than linear. The description of the first era's optimal conditions—minimal food needs, extended lifespans, and pure environments—challenges modern assumptions about progress. This suggests that contemporary society might benefit from reexamining ancient wisdom regarding sustainable living, balanced development, and the integration of worldly responsibilities with inner spiritual growth, rather than viewing these as separate domains.