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INTRODUCTION
CXXV11
by itself is imperfect and therefore insufficient To depend entirely on faith as is maintained by some Hindu Dharasana will not lead one to happiness or Moksha Similarly Jnana or knowledge alone cannot lead one to happiness Nor can Charitra by itself however admirable the conduct be, is sufficient to lead to the desired goal Hence faith, knowledge, and conduct must be presented together by an individual if he is to walk the path of righteousness Further it is emphasised that these thiee-faith, knowledge and conduct must be of the right type. Hence it is called right faith, right knowledge and right conduct alone when combined together would constitute the Mokshamarga Mere faith which is not of the right type will not be founded upon the ultimate nature of reality. Similarly right knowledge and not any other knowledge will constitute the Mokshamarga. Right knowledge will therefore exclude all incorrect attitude and disruption of the nature of reality Hence the prefix Samyak is used in each of the terms. The Commentator of the Sutras gives an interesting metaphor to bring out the force of the sutra A person suffering from a disease, say fever, if he desires to cure himself of the disease must have faith in the capacity of the doctor and must know the exact nature of the medicine prescribed by him for his disease and must drink the medicine according to the instructions of the doctor. Mere faith in the doctor will be of no use. Faith in the capacity of the doctor and the knowledge of the nature of the medicine would equally be useless unless the patient takes the medicine. The person who expects to be cured of his disease must not only have faith in the doctor's capacity, and full knowledge of the nature of the medicine but also take the medicine according to the prescription. In this case beings in the world of Samsara are assumed to be patients suffering from a spiritual disqualification or disease who desire to get rid of this disease and to attain perfect spiritual health. Thus for the purpose of helping such persons this Mokshamarga is prescribed as a spiritual remedy and the spiritual remedy therefore must be associated with all three characteristics of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct in order to be effective. These three constituent elements of the path to salvation are called Ratnatraya or the