Essence of Jainism

Author(s): Sukhlal Sanghavi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 39

Toitial background
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Buperiority to man. His humblen ss is also just to make a show of his superiority. Man who is indulged in sect fails to experience his own smallness, though he contines to make a show of it. This happens because man has no vision of real life and no consciousness of the endlessness of virtues and his own insignificance.
In religion, the vision is that of truth. As a result man has the patience of all-sided vision and the liberality of experiencing all-sided forbearance, 11 sect this is not so. It comprises of a vision of delusion about truth. Man therefore takes only one side, his own, to be true and has not the inclination to view and know the other side; man is here not gifted with a spirit of forbearance of opposed sides or the liberal ouilook to understand these.
A religious man is mentally dominated by vision of ones own blemishes and the virtues of others. It is reverse with a man of the sect. A man of the sect prefers particularly to view the blemishes of others and not virtues and continues to sing these It may even happen that his own blemishes do not strike in his mind.
A man with a religious outlook views god within his Self and around himself because of his religiousness. He is therefore afraid that god will see it.' When he commits some mistake or sin, he is ashamed of it. But a man of the sect has a faith that god resides in Vaikuntha or a place of liberation. When therefore, he commits a blunder he takes god to be separate from his Self, as if noone koows it. He neither fears anybody nor feels ashamed about his faults. He is never sorry about his faults and even if he feols these, it is not for not repeating his mistakes.
In religion only conduct is preferred. There is therefore no place for the consideration of external elements like race, sex, age, asceticism, external signs, language etc. In sect, on the other side, the same external elements dominate and conduct is suppressed in their dominance. Very often it happens that a man with a race, sex, age, dress and external signs not renowned in the world, is endowed with a fine righteous conduct, A man lost in sect does not at all take this into consideration and very often dismisses such a man with scoro.