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practices, which are helpful in spiritual pursuit. They thus stay bereft of the wholesome means like devotion, detachment, restraints, etc. By unduly resorting to the absolute viewpoint a sectarian thus stays deprived of the vital means of spiritual progress.
Jnänadashä Päme Nahin, Sädhandashä Na Känyi; Päme Teno Sang Je, Te Boode havamänhi.
He does not attain the state of enlightenment, nor is he equipped with the means thereof; one who comes in contact with him gets drowned in the sea of worldly existence. (30)
Explanation & Discussion:
Acquiring knowledge is not the end of spiritual pursuit. It is merely a beginning. The objective should be to attain the state of enlightenment, and that cannot be attained without using the scriptural knowledge for changing the internal tendencies. The restraints and austerities are meant to help in the process of changing the internal tendencies in light of the true nature of soul. Since a Nishchayäbhäsi exclusively resorts to the absolute viewpoint, his understanding stays mostly at the verbal level. He tends to ignore the importance of detachment and other wholesome aspects and stays deprived of the right means for spiritual development.
well as of the rignd in the vicious attract
Staying thus devoid of enlightenment as well as of the right means, the sectarian remains far away from the path of liberation and stays engulfed in the vicious cycle of birth and death. But a Nishchayabhäsi may be able to talk very well; he might attract many people by his apparently strong logic. The unsuspecting people, who get attracted, may be induced to adopt his one-sided view. Thus they also become vulnerable to get drowned in the sea of worldly existence.
E Pan Jiv Matärthamän, Nij Mänädi Käj; Päme Nahin Paramärthane, An-adhikärimän Ja.
The bare knowledgeable also remains sectarian on account of his ego, etc; he does not get on the right path and stays unworthy (of liberation). (31) Explanation & Discussion: It was pointed out in stanza 28 that while observing restraints etc. the lifeless ritualist cherishes the ego of being called a devotee. The same logic applies to a bare knowledgeable. Such a person cherishes the ego of being called knowledgeable. If he accepts the truth, he has to admit that he was on the wrong path. That would hurt his ego. In order to preserve the ego he shuns the right path and remains conceited. That is a wrong approach; it is Mithyätva. The bare knowledgeable person thus remains unworthy of liberation.
This is mainly on account of undue insistence on absolute viewpoint. He does not realize that a Naya presents only a viewpoint. It can be right from some perspective, but at best it is a relative truth. In order to arrive at the overall truth one needs to take into consideration all the viewpoints. The truth thus lies in combination of absolute (Nishchay Naya) and practical (Vyavhär Naya) points of view. That is Anekäntväd, or multiplicity of viewpoints. It gives due importance to partial truth and constitutes the Jain theory of relativity. Resorting to only one viewpoint is Ekänt, which leads to an illusory conclusion. Such one-sided viewpoint
