________________
XXXVIII : CANDRAVEDHYAKA PRAKĪRŅAKA
controls (Guptis) and who are not in the grip of attachment and hatred, only have the purity of conduct. (114)
In this volume, a question has been raised here that if the rightbelief and the rightconduct present themselves, to a spiritual practitioner, at the same time, what should the wise one accept first? To which should he accord priority? Answering this query, the author has said that the wise one should hold on to the right-belief, because an aspirant sans right-conduct can embrace it in future and attain salvation, but the one who leaves the rightfaith can never liberate. (110–112) Thus, the primacy of the right-faith has been accepted.
Generally, the Jaina masters have considered the coordinated form of the triad of the right-knowledge, right-belief and the right-conduct as the path of spiritual development leading to spiritual salvation. According to them the completeness of spiritual practice is possible only by following the coordinated form of the threēfold practice. The Jaina thinkers accept only the coordinated form as the path to spiritual salvation. According to them, it is impossible to attain spiritual salvation or the ultimate accomplishment in the absence of any one of these three. It has been said in the Uttarādhyayanasūtra that (right) knowledge is not possible in the absence of the (right) belief, without the (right) knowledge the conduct does not become right, without the right-conduct it is impossible to be free from attachment and the one who is not free from attachment cannot liberate. Thus, even here, the right belief has been accorded primacy over the other two. However, the spiritual practice can be considered complete only in adherence to the right-conduct.
Uttarādhyayana Sūtra, 28/30.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
