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Dravyasamgraha
sure. Really pleasure also is not beneficial, because a mundane soul indulging in sense-pleasures remains aloof from the path of spiritual purity. Every gratification of sense-pleasure creates desire for further gratification. For obtaining such gratification one has to employ means, which may be fair or foul, and he inevitably binds bad karmas. He goes on sinking deeper and deeper in the mire and his chances of extricating himself become lesser and lesser. A wise man should wean himself away from both merit and demerit, and concentrate all attention to contemplation of the pure soul. From the practical point of view, people prefer merit to demerit, and therefore engage themselves in such acts and thoughts as bring in merit for the following reasons. (1) Cause of bondage of each is different; good thoughts bring
merit, and bad thoughts demerit. (2) Nature of each is different. Good karmas are pleasure
bearing feeling-karma, high family, good body-making, good age karma classes, while bad karmas are pain-bearing feeling-karma, low family, bad body-making, bad agekarma and the four destructive karmas, knowledge obscur
ing, conation-obscuring, delusion, and obstructive karmas. (3) Fruition of each is different. Merit results in pleasure and
demerit in pain. (4) The result in each is different. Merit leads on to the path of
liberation, and demerit to the path of bondage.
From the real point of view however both merit and demerit lead the soul further into the vortex of transmigration because:
(1) Both are caused by impure passionate thought-activity of soul, (2) both have got material karmic nature; (3) fruition of both is harmful to real happiness of soul, and (4) both lead towards the path of bondage.
A wise right believer should therefore see that merit and demerit both are derogatory to the path of liberation, and true
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