First Steps to Jainism Part 1

Author(s): Sancheti Asso Lal, Manakmal Bhandari
Publisher: Sancheti Trust Jodhpur

Page 42

(Step Three)
The Three Jewels
(The Ratna)
"Then to the rolling Heaven itself I cried, Asking "What lamp had destiny to guide Her little children stumbling in the dark?" And-"A blind understanding" Heaven replied.
Indeed old Omar of Naishapur must have been disappointed with the answer he got from the "rolling heaven". He had asked for a lamp to guide the humanity stumbling in darkness of the world. What he got as an answer was "a blind understanding."
2. Not so with Jainism, which provides rational, objective and logical guidance to the "children stumbling in the dark." Having analysed the eternal cosmic phenomena and the two main constituents of the Universe i.e. the living (Jiva) and non-living (Ajiva) elements (matter etc.) with their interplay by way of Influx (Asrav) and Bondage (Bundh), Prevention (Sanwar) and Separation (Nirjara), Jainism provides three luminous lamps to guide "the little children" to steer clear of the dangers on the path of life to reach the destination of final liberation. These are correctly termed as Three Jewels of Jainism and are Right Vision (Samayag Darshan), Right Knowledge (Samayag Gyan) and Right Conduct (Samayag Charitra). In these three are contained the entire Jain philosophy as well as the Jain ethics-nay, the entire Jain religion. No wonder, monumental volumes have been written in elaborating and explaining the importance of the Three Jewels. Umaswati, the great commentator of early Christian era, has termed these three as highway to liberation (Moksha) in the opening sutra of his classic work Tatvarth Sutra "Samayag-Darshan-Gyan-Charitrani Moksh marg". Right Vision, Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (together) constitute the highway to liberation.