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## The Nature of Anuvratas
The second light of Yoga Shastra, verses 17 and 18, seem to be devoid of any benefit and only cause distress! Just as a farmer, even without the certainty of rain during the monsoon season, still toils in the field, so too does the arduous labor undertaken for this austerity and the like seem futile and successful. It is also said, "The practitioners of the past were on the right path, so they could receive the appropriate fruits, but how can we, who are of this degenerate age and devoid of intellect and concentration, attain such fruits?" This kind of doubt is different, doubt always relates to the substance-quality relationship of the whole and the part, while doubt is also a defect of rightness, being a form of disbelief in the words of the Lord. Doubt and doubt are related to the fruit of action. Or, this is also the meaning of doubt - to criticize the conduct of virtuous monks. For example, why do these monks remain so foul-smelling and dirty due to sweat on their bodies, why don't they bathe properly? What harm is there in bathing with impure water? Thus, being a form of disbelief in the religion spoken by the Lord, it is essentially a defect of rightness.
**Praise of False Views** - Praising those with opposite views - false views - is praise of false views. This is also of two types, local and universal. Universal praise, for example, someone might say, "The views of Kapil and others are all reasonable." This kind of praise, which is based on a middle ground, is a corruption of rightness. We have said in praise, "O Lord! It is absolutely certain that those who are supremely selfish do not consider your form to be superior to their own form. They have become examiners by accepting the middle ground, they cannot see the difference between a piece of glass and a gem." (Ayog 27) Local praise, for example, "This is the true word of the Sugata, or the word of the Sankhya, or the word of Kanada." This is clearly a defect of rightness.
**Close Acquaintance with False Views** - To live in the same place with such false view holders, to increase interaction with them through mutual conversation and other activities, and to become overly familiar with them. Living together in one place or coming into contact with them repeatedly, hearing and seeing their practices, can lead to a weakening of the vision of firm rightness; then, what to say about the minds of the newly arrived, those of weak intellect who accept the religion, being affected by this? From this perspective, close acquaintance with false views has been described as a corruption of rightness. - Therefore, it is essential that whoever has obtained the specific substance-field-time-state form of rightness material, should receive rightness from the Gurudev in a proper manner in order to sustain it and follow it truly. It is also said, "The possibility of fault | In such a situation, the Shraman Upasaka should re-embrace rightness in terms of substance and state, with a view to withdrawing from falsehood. After that, he should not perform actions like offering, worship, and puja in the temples of the supreme deities, nor should he, carried away by the flow of the world, perform rituals like bathing, charity, Pindadaan, Yajna, Vrata, Tapas, Sankranti, lunar eclipse, solar eclipse, etc. in worldly pilgrimages (with a reverent mind). [Mula Shuddhi Pr. 4-5]
When some small amount of the ocean-like quota-koti state of the false-view-delusive karma remains, the being attains rightness. And when he completes the state of two to nine palya-like units from the remaining state, he attains the state of Deshvirati Shravak Guna. It is also said, "After attaining rightness, the Vrata-dhari Shravak becomes a Shravak when he completes the state of two to nine palya-like units in the separate state, i.e., as mentioned above." ||17||
We had previously said, "The five Anuvratas are the foundation of rightness. After explaining the nature of rightness in detail, we now explain the nature of the Anuvratas."
174. Viratim sthula hinsade dvividh-trividhadi na | Ahimsadi ni panchanuvratani jagadurjina: ||18|| Meaning: Shri Jinendradev has called abstinence from gross violence, etc., in the form of two-fold, three-fold, etc., i.e., six types, etc., as the five Anuvratas of non-violence, etc. ||18|| Explanation: Among those with false views or gross views, the violence that is well-known is called gross violence or violence against the sentient beings. The word sthula (gross) also implies, by implication, the meaning of intentional violence against innocent sentient beings.
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