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An Interpretation of Jaina Ethics
scient, holy promulgators of Jainism, who, having annihilated all their Ghāti Karmas, and, thereby, reached inner perfection, still lived on for as long a period as their Aghātī Karmas allowed, and, on the threshold of Mokṣa, preached the great truth.
Ascetics who observed those rules in their strictest form, and without ever having recourse to exceptions, were called 'Jinakalpi' Sadhus, a standard which the few Sadhus of the Digambara sect still claim to represent.
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The ideal of the Jinakalpī Sādhu, however, so much exceeds the limits of worldly usage, and is so difficult to realize, that only very few individuals can hope to reach it. Thus, the so-called 'Sthavirakalpi' standard, i.e., the way of keeping the ascetical prescriptions in a milder form, and of having recourse, if necessary, to certain allowed exceptions, has now become generally adopted by the numerous Sadhus of the Svetambara sect.
But even this standard is far above the faculties of average man, who is unable to give up the world with its little, but certain joys, for the great transcendental beatitude, but who, still, cannot bear the idea of being completely shut out from striving after the latter. Thus, Mahāvīra himself had proclaimed a third standard, viz., that of the Śravaka, or layman, which is a compromise between striving after the last aim, and indulgence in the pursuit of worldly ends, and which, of course, owing to the particular weakness of compromise liking human nature, has become a factor of highest practical importance for individual as well as for social life in our days. For there exist only about 5000 male and female Jaina ascetics, as against about twelve lacs of Jaina laymen and lay
women.
These three standards, that of the Jinakalpī Sādhu, that of the Sthavirakalpi Sādhu, and that of the Śravaka, will always have to be distinguished with reference to all the single prescriptions, no matter whether it be explicitly stated or not. Since the two latter
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| SR No. | 001785 |
| Book Title | Charlotte Krause her Life and Literature |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Shreeprakash Pandey |
| Publisher | Parshwanath Vidyapith |
| Publication Year | 1999 |
| Total Pages | 674 |
| Language | English, Hindi, Gujarati |
| Classification | Book_English, Biography, & Articles |
| File Size | 11 MB |