Gandharwad

Author(s): Ratnaprabhvijay, D P Thaker
Publisher: Jain Granth Prakashak Sabha

Page 22

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Like luminary gods such as Moon ,eto, other gods are also perceptible. Here if it is said that. Moon etc., are not luninary gods but they are mere places of habitation, there ought to exist inhabitants of these places also. And these inhabitants are none but gods.
It is impossible to find people in this world who are cent percent happy or cent percent unhappy. For, in this world, a happiest man is undoubtedly affected by some sort of disease, or old age, and an extremely miserable man will experience 'the happy breeze of cool wind, and the brightness of light. From this point of view, human beings could never be called cent per cent happy or cent per cent unhappy. It is the Nārakas or bellish denizens only who are destined to the cent per cent misery and it is the devas or divine beings who enjoy cent per cent happiness. It is true that sometimes a human being is allegorically called a 'god' but we should not forget that unless and until the principal meaning of a word is attained, the secondary meaning could never be attributed to it. All these arguments show that although gods and nārakas are acālcșușa 1. e., beyond the perception of senses, they do exist.
(ix ) Pāpa-Punya: There are five different theories about : . the existence of pāpa-punya :
(1) There exists punya alone which increases or decreases causing pleasure or pain. (2) There exists papa alone which increases or decreases causing pain or pleasure. (3) Punya and pāpa exist in a combined state like mecakamani. ( 4 ) Punya and pāpa are independent of each other. (5) There is nothing like Karma, and hence there is nothing like punya and pāpa also.
S'ramana Bhagavān Mahāvara Swāmê refutes all the above-mentioned theories and establishes his own in this way :
Just as a potter accompanied by earth, stick, wheel etc. happens to be the cause of ghata, there do exist punya and