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COMPENDIUM OF JAINISM
perfection and should be realized by contemplation of and concentration an its nature.3
It is only from the practical point of view that the three-fold path is required to be pursued by an embodied soul so that the body which is a mass of subtle karmic matter would cease to be a hindrance in the attainment of perfection.
Right Faith
To start with, it is necessary to discuss the meaning of right faith. Ācārya Samantabhadra has defined it to mean belief in the meaning of the principles, the Apta or the Arhat, the sacred scriptures and the pious saint free from three kinds of superstitions, eight angas and eight kinds of pride.4 God according to the Jaina conception, as already discussed, is pure and perfect soul, the omniscient with infinite knowledge and bliss. Umāsvāmi has defined right faith as belief in the true nature of the substances as they are (Tattvārtha śraddhānam samyag darśanam). A firm belief in the nine fundamental truths (padārthas) is considered to be the pre-requisite for right knowledge and conduct.
Belief in the vitarāga or the Conquerer, the scriptures, the nine fundamental truths and the preceptor must be free from doubts and ignorance.6 Amongst the mundane souls, right faith can arise only in beings which are samanaska (possess a mind) and whose passions are not dominating. There are beings who identify the soul with the body and are unable to overcome the false beliefs cherished by some members in society.
An average mind is clouded by three kinds of superstitious beliefs: belief in false gods (devamūdhatā) false belief in the holiness (lokamūdhatā) and belief in and respect for dubious ascetics (pākhandi mūdhatā). The first kind of superstiton consists in believing in gods and goddesses who are credited with passionate and destructive powers willing to oblige the devotees by grant of favours they pray for. The second relates to taking baths in certain rivers, jumping down the peaks of mountains
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