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PHILOSOPHY OF SOUL
two, three, four, five and even ten varieties.” We intend to explain these varieties to you with clarity, as thereby you will be fully conversant with the real nature of right-faith, and your notion about right faith will be very distinct."
Liking for “Right entities” is the proper understanding of matters preached by the Great Lords-Jinas. This is one variety of right faith. It is declared that a person is possessed of right faith when he has right knowledge of nine entities viz., soul, non-soul etc. At the same time a person due to intellectual stupidity or worldly entanglements who does not understand about these nine entities is still said to possess right faith if he has firm and rigid faith in the words of the great Lords. It is also declared by the scriptures that the great Lords have designated them also as having right faith who accept Lord Jina as god, Monk as their preceptor and the words of Jina as the right form of truth and religion. Liking for nine "entities” means liking for nine entities like soul, non-soul, gods, preceptors, religion, etc.
Right belief is either inborn or acquired. Inborn belief is natural and acquired one is achieved from the preceptor's preachings. Right belief can be concrete as well as abstract. General liking for the entities preached by the great Lords is concrete or material right faith, whereas knowing fully well these entities with proof and reasoning is abstract right faith.
Proof brings about all comprehensive knowledge about a thing and reasoning brings about partial knowledge. Cognition that "This is a pot" is all comprehensive knowledge while "This is a red pot” “This is a big pot” etc. is partial cognition or knowledge. Subject dealing with means of proof and reasoning is very elaborate and many treatises have been written on this subject. We shall discuss about them sometime.
Authors of the scriptures have laid down two varieties of right faith viz., fundamental (Nishchaya) and practical (Vyavahara). Right faith which is purely the product of Soul is fundamental and that is practical which is practised with faith and knowledge of 67 sub-species.
Varieties known as Aupashamik Kshyopashamic and Kshayika are also the three varieties discussed in preceding chapters.
