$JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2 Level 4 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

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understanding and attitude. That is why all Jain thinkers called it the biggest enemy. Right Knowledge can be acquired by pursuit with devotion by reading scriptures, understanding their full meaning in proper time, inspired with zeal, proper behavior, and an open mind. The soul is a conscious being, and is always in possession of some knowledge. However, not all knowledge is Right Knowledge. Thus, Right Knowledge should satisfy the following criteria:
It should be necessarily preceded by Right Faith (if the faith or belief is false the knowledge would also be false) It should reveal without exaggeration or inadequacy, the true nature of things, e.g. knowledge of substances comprising the universe, fundamentals describing the process of liberation, etc.
It should lead towards the spiritual development of the soul As mentioned above, the soul is never without knowledge, as the soul's essential quality is consciousness. However, as soon as the soul acquires Right Faith, the existing knowledge becomes Right Knowledge. The progress of the soul to realize these powers is possible by separating the shadow cast by Karma on the soul, just as a mirror, covered with dust, starts shining when the dust is removed.
Relation between Samyag Darshan and Samyag Jnän In the initial stage of spiritual development, a person acquires knowledge by reading religious books, listening to sermons and doing Swadhyay (self-study). This provides the understanding of self or soul, karma, their relationship, proper conduct and so on. This is known as ordinary knowledge or Jnän. With this knowledge, when a person is fully convinced that this is the proper religious philosophy and conduct then, that conviction is called proper or Right Faith or Samyag Darshan. From that moment onwards, all his existing Knowledge is called Right Knowledge or Samyag Jnän. In other words, there is no quantitative difference between ordinary knowledge and Right Knowledge. In ordinary knowledge, a person does not have a faith or conviction in his knowledge while the same knowledge is called Right Knowledge when he possesses a true faith (Samyag Darshan) in his knowledge. In religious terms, the ordinary knowledge is called information. One can see that Right Faith and Right Knowledge occur simultaneously, yet there is a clear relation of cause and effect between them, just as it is between a lamp and its light. It is true that the lamp and light go together; still the lamp precedes the light, and light cannot be said to precede the lamp. In the same way, there is the relation of cause and effect between Right Faith and Right Knowledge, though both are simultaneous. Right Faith precedes Right Knowledge, and from this point of view, Right Faith is said to be the cause and Right Knowledge, the effect.
Samyag Chäritra (Right Conduct) After Right Faith and Right Knowledge, the third, but the most important part in the path to Moksha, is Right Conduct. Right Faith and Right Knowledge make an individual free from delusion expounding what is worthy of abandonment and attainment. This ultimately leads to Right Conduct as an integral and crowning constituent of the path of liberation. Hence, conduct becomes perfect only when it is in tune with Right Faith and Right Knowledge. The destruction of karmic matter associated with the soul can only be accomplished through the practice of Right Conduct. Right Conduct includes the rules of discipline:
• Restrain all censurable activities of mind, speech and body • Weaken and destroy all passionate activity
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JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE - 2