________________ 216 TATTVARTHA SUTRA article to be produced, the articles that can compete with it, the required raw materials, how the article can be made, the ways to maintain its purity, cost of production, selling price etc. Since our objective is to make profit, the entire decision making apparatus would revolve around that objective. The approach of Tattvartha Sutra is like that. Its objective is to point out the way for gaining the lasting happiness. Therefore, after specifying the types of knowledge in the first chapter, it proceeds towards the life that the worldly souls undergo in different states of existence. It states that such existence depends upon soul's interaction with the lifeless matter. It discusses the worldly state in terms of conscious soul, lifeless matter, incoming of Karma, its binding with soul, its prevention and eradication. If one prevents the acquisition of new Karma and eradicates the bondage, he can gain the Karmaless state. That is termed as liberation. These seven aspects arise by the soul's interaction or absence of interaction with the lifeless objects. It is therefore worth to restate here what Tattvartha Sutra has to say in that respect. The interaction continues to take place among living beings, among lifeless particles and also between living beings and lifeless matter. We are concerned with the last one, because the worldly life consists of the conscious beings stimulating some activity and the rest of the objects reacting to the same. But at times the nature stimulates action in the form of earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunami waves, floods, famines etc., which radically change situations and conscious beings have to react in the form of readjustments to the changed situations. The western world terms this action and reaction as a Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org
