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150
Jaina Acāra : Siddhanta aura Swarüpa
full knowledge of a hermit whose bounden duty is to expiate for it at the earliest. Exceptions are resorted to because of horrendous situations. Here also he knows that he is not observing the rule, but also that in that case his spirituality shall be endangered.
In early times rules were observed strictly and no exceptions were permitted. With the change in times exceptions were permitted under some conditions. Exceptions were not to be resorted to arbitrarily. There are strict rules for exceptions too. It is because both rules and sanctioned prohibitio are for the spiritual benefit of hermits. All this could be possible because of the non-absolutist vision of Jainism. Siris should be avoided as far as possible in both cases.The graver the sin, the worse is the soul. The less the attachment or the influx of Karmic material, the greater and purer is the soul. The aim should be to expel the accumulated sin and prevent the entry of new sin. Unless the soul is immaculate, not even herculean efforts in a wrong direction can be of any help. The inevitable result will be the never-ending cycle of births in what form, who knows.
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