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THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE JAINAS.
72. In the Scripture the souls are said to be developable, undevelopable, fine and gross, (because) the soul's name is given to the body from the practical standpoint.
Commentary.
Here again the author clears up a doubt which may be entertained by a student who has read only such Jain scriptures in which the practical point of view is mainly dealt with, and in which all these conditions are predicated, being conditions of the soul. Though ascribed to souls, souls by their own nature, are really not these. The soul in its pure state is free from the distinction of developability or otherwise.
मोहणकम्मस्सुदया दु वरिणदा जे इमे गुणहाणा । ते कह हवंति जीवा ते शिच्चमचेदणा उत्ता ॥ ७३ ॥ मोहनकर्मण उदयात वर्णितानि यानीमानि गुणस्थानानि । तानि कथं भवंति जीवा यानि नित्यमचेतनान्युक्तानि ॥ ७३ ॥
73. And these spiritual stages which are said (to be) due to the operation of deluding Karmas, how can they be souls? They are always said to be devoid of (pure) consciousness.
Commentary.
The so-called 14 spiritual stages are not the soul's real pure conditions. They are not found in liberation, in pure souls. They are due to the bondage of souls with deluding Karma and to vibra. tions caused by the operation of body-making Karma. Shri Kund Kunda Acharya has done great good to seekers of Truth by pointing out the key of knowledge, for whosoever understands things only from practical point of view cannot acquire right belief (vide Gatha 14). One-sided view means wrong belief. In this second chapter, the author has refuted all the views of wrong-believers who described soul in different ways; and has proved that it is a real substance quite apart from all impure thought-activities. It is potentially God. This belief that I am God is a cause of attaining Godhood by concentrating one's attention upon one's Godhood itself.
The Author reiterates again and again the primary distinction between the Living and the non-Living. The two contradict each other. The one can never lose its own attributes and acquire the es
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