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SAMYAGJÑĀNA
(THE RIGHT-KNOWLEDGE)
The Ultimate Aim Of Life -
The ultimate aim of animate existence is to liberate from the mundane world, which is full of pain and misery of birth, disease, decay (old-age) and death. However the liberation or final deliverance depends upon irresidual separation of the karmamatter from the soul. Jaina seers prophesied a three-way path for attaining this stage of irresidual separation from karma-matter, called moksa, comprising - 1. Samyagdarśana, which we have already dealt with in the second chapter, 2. Samyagjñāna, which the subject of this chapter and 3. Samyakcāritra, which shall be covered in the section on Jaina ethics. This stage cannot be attained without practising right and righteous conduct, which, in turn, depends on knowing what is right and what is wrong in relation to the conduct. This discretion between the wrong and the right comes from right-knowledge. However, I must not sound so simplistic about.a vast subject that has taken the seers ages to develop.
The Right-Knowledge -
The importance of Right-knowledge becomes evident when it is said that the knowledge comes first, the righteousness later (Padhamami nāņam tao dayā). This chapter traces the concept of
