Book Title: Adhyatmabindu
Author(s): Mitranandvijay, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Page 13
________________ 5 taken birth infinite times. They are blinded by delusion (moha) They long for the enjoyment of worldly objects that are as ephemeral as the ones seen in a dream, They are born in various classes of living beings and they suffer paids. Their eyes are turned away from their own soul. But they are always fixed on non-soul. For such mundane souls the birth in the class of human beings provides a rare opportunity for the spiritual uplift. Even after attaining the status of human beings it is very difficult to acquire the spiritual discriminative knowledge (vivekakhyati). If one were to acquire it, then on its acquisition one would become free from the cycle of births and deaths. The attainment of this discriminative knowledge on the part of some meritorious persons is ayatnasadhya (requires no effort). (1) Conditions of right Faith : Birth in arya family and arya country is generally a condition for the attainment of right faith. Of course, there are exceptions to this general rule. Again, some attain right faith without depending on external conditions whereas others attain it depending on them, Association with spiritual teacher and listening to the Scriptures are counted among the external conditions. Mera listening to the Scriptures is of no avail if one is not convinced of the principles enunciated in it. It is to be borne in mind that even a person of such conviction is sometimes led astray by delusion (moha). This proves the formidable power of delusion. (2) Activity or External movement of Mundane soul : Mundane souls are bound by karmic matter. This bondage can become possible if it is proved that mundane souls are active, i. e., doer, agent. If they were inactive, then there is no possibility of their bondage. An ocean by itself is motionless. But when a storm of wind rises it is disturbed and numberless waves rise and vanish. Similarly, soul, by its very nature, is inactive but its association with karmic matter has made it active. This activity becomes possible in the mundane soul because soul, by its very nature, is changing. If it were changeless by its very nature, then various classes of munda ne souls, viz trasa (inobile.bodied), sthavara (static.bodied), would become impossible and consequently the world itself would become a non-entity. To hold it to be changeless would mean to make it unreal like sky-flower. 'A thing is real and yet it does not undergo change'-none can prove this. Again, it is contradicted by our percertion of milk turning into curds. If the soul were held to be changeless then the activity on the part of of mundane souls would become impossible with the result that theory of moral causation would become redundant. If the opponent were to argue that soul undergoes changes on account of its association with karma, then he should be asked as to whether soul, according to him, is changing or changeless by nature. If changeless, then nothing can make it variable or changing. If changing, ation with, is changing ble of chang Jain Education International For Personal & Private Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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