________________
aimless wandering - these ten are the concomitants of sexual passion".49 Besides, "one should be careful not to excite oneself by erotic acts, aphrodisiac potions and erotic literature." "50
53
Nature of Parigraha: - The characteristic of parigraha is attachment. The definition of Parigraha shows, in the first place, that those who have a feeling of attachment, notwithstanding the renunciation of all worldly acquisitions, are far from Aparigraha.52 Secondly, it expresses that the possession of mundane things is not possible without internal attachment. Thus both the internal attachment and the possession of mundane things come within the sweep of Parigraha. We may now say that, if one is disposed to remove the internal attachment, one should correspondingly throw aside mundane possessions also. In the presence of mundane possessions, if non-attachment is claimed, it will be self-deception and fraudulence, since without psychical proneness mundane possession cannot be perforce with us. It may happen that, despite insignificant mundane possessions, one may have conspicuous internal inclination for possession, just as a poor man may have. But this must not brush aside the difference in internal attachment corresponding to the kind of external possession. In other words, there occurs internal variation in attachment by virtue of the longing one possesses for the kind of external objects. For example, attachment is feeble in a young deer which continues to live on green blades of grass in comparison to a cat which kills a host of mice for procuring its food. Thus, the external and the internal influence each other.
54
Parigraha as such can never preclude Himsā and those who wish to practise Ahimsa should avoid the internal and the external attachment. So Ahimsa will be commensurate
88
Jain Education International
Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org