Page Text
________________
mental states and performance of auspicious activities as ends in themselves, hence they are bound to endless mundane existence, which shall deprive them of spiritual bliss for all time before spiritual awakening. Besides, their profound learning and the austere penances performed by them even for thousands of years or more are spiritually unfruitful in the absence of Samyagdarśana.
1.2 Function of Spiritual Perversion and Its Nullification Spiritual perversion acts as a barricade to soul's true life. It is the root of all evils, the seed of the tree of Samsāra. The person experiencing spiritual perversion becomes perverted in his attitude. It poisons all our activities, so as to check the realization of the Summum Bonum of life. Moreover, it is responsible for the perversity of knowledge and conduct alike. So long as spiritual perversion is operative, all our efforts to witness the sun of self's glory are bound to fail. Thus it is to be rooted out in the interest of rendering its unwholesome function null and void. In other words, spiritual awakening is to be attained, which in turn will make knowledge and conduct conducive to the attainment of Paramātman. It is only after the acquisition of spiritual awakening that the person attains the primary qualification for even marching towards emancipation from the wheel of misery. If spiritual perversion is at the root of worldly life and living, spiritual awakening is at the root of liberation.
1.2.1 Judgment of the occurrence of Samyagdarśana in the life of an Individual Now the question is: Is there any way to Judge the occurrence of spiritual awakening in the life of an individual? The answer given is this that though spiritual awakening is a subjective phenomenon, yet the Jaina ācāryas have given certain individual and social characteristics that accompany Samyagdarśana (spiritual awakening).
Individual Characteristics
i.
The spiritually awakened regards, without any doubt, kindness to all creatures as Dharma and any injury to them as Adharma. Now the question is: How to acquire the state of doubtlessness? The answer can be given by saying that either the individual should stop thinking and resort to a sort of blind faith or he should employ himself in the task of vigorous thinking. Blind faith is the path of mental slavery, but vigorous thinking is the path of awakened mind. To my mind Jainism has subscribed to the latter view. Reason should be freely allowed to play upon kindness and cruelty to creatures, so as to arrive at rational decision, Mahāvīra never threatened the critical faculty in man,
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
Page 175 of 385
| SR No. | 007712 |
| Book Title | ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 02 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | International School for Jain Studies |
| Publisher | International School for Jain Studies |
| Publication Year | 2012 |
| Total Pages | 404 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 13 MB |