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THE ESSENCE OF JAINA SCRIPTURES
reality of things. If these are considered to cause bondage to a person, then one would not be able to attain liberation.
It may, therefore, be stated that the influx (asrava) of meritorious or virtuous and demeritorious/sinful genre of karmas through pleasures or pain caused to others or to oneself, is contingent upon if such acts performed are part of purification (vishuddhi) or affliction/ morbidity (sanklesha). In the absence of purification or afflication, those acts will remain ineffective insofar as the influx of punya or papa is concerned (AM 95).
Ashtashati commentary of Akalanka (on AM 95) clarifies the nature of sanklesha and what is vishuddhi as follows:
The psychic states, modes or forms of concentration of anguish, affliction, pain, sorrow (arta dhyana) or of cruel, wrathful concentration (raudra dhyana) are sanklesha, while vishuddhi is the absence thereof signifying auspicious (shubha) or meritorious or virtuous (punya) psychic states leading to purification and spiritual development, which takes place by the virtuous or righteousness concentration (dharma dhyana) and pure concentration (shukla dhyana).
Thus, it is quite evident that the virtuous or sinful character of an act does not depend on how it externally affects the persons involved (qua 'agent' or 'qua' 'other') in this act but on whether it has been performed with bad, evil or good, righteous intentions. 46 Moreover, vishuddhi is described as the stage of being situated in one's own consciousness (svatman avasthanam). In other words, when punya achieves vishuddhi, it fosters spiritual progress whereas sinful or papa leading to sanklesh is conducive to the downfall of the soul. Therefore, righteousness (punya) is said to be excellent/commendable (prashasta) and sin (papa) is not considered to be excellent/commendabie. 47 Shubha, Vidyananda opines, is the condition (hetu) of the objective (sadhya) of purity of the self, with which it has necessarily concomitant (avinabhava).48
In his commentary on Apta Mimansa (AM 95), Akalanka has defined (sanklesh) as the result, effect or the state (parinama) of mournful, distressful (arta), and cruel or wrathful (raudra) concentration (dhyana), and vishuddhi as the absence thereof. Waiting in the shade is preferable to standing in the heat of the sun (Mokshapahu:da 25 and Pujyaypada, Ishtopadesh, 3).
Thus, shubha is definitely better than ashubha. Unlike shubha and
