________________
224
JAINISM AND BUDDHISM
the molecules of the other three passions will shed of at that very instant without showing any result. Suppose any good person is attending to reading any pious book peacefully for half an hour; then his thought has good and pious feeling only. It is the result of mild greed. Till half an hour only, greed karma molecules are shedding after giving results, while the molecules of the other three passions shed off during that very half an hour without giving any fruit. Suppose within that half an hour there appears any outward cause of anger, some one may speak abusive words and that very person attending to pious book cannot endure them owing to the weakness of soul power, then anger will appear for some time; then the molecules of greed will shed without showing any
fruit. -
The Karmic law being such : it is therefore necessary that we should always try to have good circumstances and associations; then we can be saved from suffering fruits of bad karmas. True knowledge and soul-force are the means for effort. This force of effort is soul's own property which has expressed itself on the subsidence of destructive karmas. We may call it soul-will, soul-power, or soul-exertion. A minutest creature of the vegetable kingdom also has got this soulpower. It has some knowledge and soul-force which is not obscured by karmas. Thus every being has got capacity of applying its free will. They, who have got
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
