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Swasama Vaktavyataadhikarah
Translation:
The authority to speak on one's own time
Translation - Some of the other philosophical thinkers mentioned earlier say that the goal of our life is moksha (liberation). We worship the true dharma (righteous path). However, as they say, they do not act accordingly, but act in the opposite manner. They move towards adharma (unrighteousness). The path of samyama (restraint) is very simple and straightforward, but they do not go in that direction - they do not practice samyama.
Commentary - And in order to demonstrate the exemplary case, the author says - "Thus" in the demonstration of the previously stated meaning, some who are deluded in their feelings, and blind in their perception, such as the Ajivikas, etc., consider 'niyaya' or 'niyaga' as moksha or true dharma, and they are the seekers of that. They, indeed, claiming that "we are the worshippers of true dharma", being eager for renunciation, engaged in the activities of harming the living beings of the earth, water and vegetation, such as cooking and getting others to cook, etc. And they themselves do not follow it, and they instruct others, whereby they fall from the intended goal of attaining moksha. Or, even if the attainment of moksha is not possible, still, by engaging in such unrighteous acts, they would incur sins. This is indicated by the arising of the notion of impurity. And further, these Ajivikas and others, who are followers of the Goshalaka doctrine, engaged in the path of ignorance, do not at all go or attain the straight, excellent, intended path of moksha or true dharma, which is completely straight. If the completely straight is true, then these blind due to ignorance, who are deluded in their knowledge, would not say so. And these ignorant ones are of sixty-seven divisions, and these divisions are to be demonstrated by this method, that is, the nine categories (of the Jain philosophy) - the living, the non-living, the existent, the non-existent, the indescribable, the existent-indescribable, the non-existent-indescribable - by these seven modes, they cannot be known, nor is there any purpose in knowing them, and this is the contemplation - who knows the living as existent? What is known by that? Who knows the living as non-existent? What is known by that? Similarly, in the case of the non-living and others, there are seven alternatives for each, the sixty-three modes. And some others insert four (alternatives) in the sixty-three, that is, who knows the origination of the existent? What is known by that? Similarly, who knows the origination of the non-existent, the existent-non-existent? What is known by that? The remaining three alternatives are not possible here, as they depend on the parts of the object. Thus, by the insertion of this tetrad, it becomes sixty-seven. Therein, the meaning of "who knows the living as existent" is that there is no specific knowledge of anyone who would experience the transcendental living beings, nor is there any fruit obtained by that knowledge, because if (the living being) is eternal, all-pervading, formless, endowed with the qualities of knowledge, etc., or distinct from these qualities, then what is the achievement of the human goal from that? Therefore, ignorance itself is the best.