________________
An intelligent comprehension, intellectual conviction and profound faith in the essential nature of the soul, of matter, and of their mutual relationslips, actions and reactions, is the first condition for launching upon the path of liberation, which consists in piety, charity, renunciation, self-discipline, penance, meditation and self-realisation. This trio of Right faith, Right knowledge and Right conduct, known as the three spiritual jewels in Jainism, constitutes the Path to liberation, Moksha or Nirvana.
The Jaina ‘nirvana' is not the obliteration of the individual, nor is it the submergence of the individuality into some universality. It is essentially a religious concept, recounted as the last of the seven Tattvas mentioned above, which are not merely metaphysical conditions but have an ethical import as well. As the religious goal and the driving force of morality, nirvana is a positive achievement of the soul which free. ing itself from the karma once for all acquires
- 14 -
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
