________________
Institution of Class and Order
233
they accept certain vows according to their mental and moral capacity The men belonging to this class are full of charity, are kindly disposed towards all beings and are endowed with forgiveness, softness (of heart) and straightforwardness These men, having enjoyed the prerogative place of honour in this world, are born bereafter either as great gods or as men of high order 161
Now, from the study of the above representation of the two sets of men it is obvious that both the sets belong to the order of householders. In the first set are included the people whose life's mission is to serve Dharma, Artha and Kāma with proper adjustment among the three ends The men in question do not apply their mind to the realization of the fourth goal, viz. Moksa The people placed in the Vimagghima class are obviously the non- Jaina householders as well as the recluses to the Brah. manical order The latter, though desirous of attaining final emancipation and devoted to the practice of austerities and self-mortification, are, in Silanka's opinion, incapable of realizing the highest truth, because, we are told, the discerning power of such people is obstructed by false belief. Besides, those right-believing men, who are motivated by Nidāna, are also reckoned with the Vimagghimas The persons placed in the Majjhima (Madhyama) class are better than the Dimajjhimas, for, the former realize the meaning and value of the fourth goal of human life and act in accordance with the dictates of Dharma 162
The Uttama class consists of men whose heart is set on Mokşa alone.163 Those men "recognize only Mokşa as the high truth and consider nothing else as the real object”154 (of life) Hence "uprooting the creeper of great confusion (of
181 Ibrd, pp 8-4 162 Ibıd , last two paragraphs (P 3) 163 fan su herafafour fequ...
CMC,P4 154 मोक्खेक्कगहियपरमत्था न पर परमत्थ मण्णति
-Ibid., p. 4.
