________________
38
I am the Soul our attachment and aversion would diminish. This itself would be the relinquishment of mohavesha, the surge of passions.
But all this is possible only when the true essence of knowledge is absorbed. What are we going to achieve if we simply talk big and act to the contrary like the wizened wise?
Hence, it has been said that many beings have misunderstood mere rituals as the path of Moksa, while many others mistake mere discussion of knowledge for that path. Whether it is a being bogged down in rituals or one who professes the wizened wisdom, as their sight is set on the reward, their efforts get tainted with selfishness. The efforts being undertaken by either of them cannot be called selfless at all. Liberation is in fact the manisfestation of the totally selfless true nature. Thus the two, i.e. selfishness and liberation, can never go hand in hand. Such beings will hover around the realm of the soul but can never get admitted to it.
Both kinds of these beings are engrossed in their infatuation. The ritualistic ones in their flow of rituals and the wizened wise ones in their discussions of principles. This infatuation indicates that the true purport of the reality has not occurred to them at all. Hence when in their lives if the equilibrium of the mind itself is lacking, how do we expect the equanimity of the soul? It is this infatuation on which the passions of attachment and aversion feed, thus it is the root cause for the cycle of birth and death. The decent garb of religiousness notwithstanding the infatuation is much like a poison.
Let us try to understand the depth of the topic through an important saying from the scriptures -
ज्ञान क्रियाभ्यां मोक्षः Why should we strike this equilibrium of knowledge and rituals? The superficial equilibrium actually draws our attention to the difference in these two. But here we should consider whether knowledge and rituals are two different aspects or just one.
Jain Educationa international
For Personal and Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org