ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 01

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 220

ownership of things, Jesus Christ had condemned the same and said in sermons of the mount 'You can take a camel out of the needle's eye but you cannot take a rich man through the gates of heaven'. This is so because parigraha is the root cause of infatuation and presence of infatuation means absence of freedom or detachment and in such a state no one can attain auspicious state of being.
2.1 Types of Aparigraha Jainācāryas have identified twenty-four types of aparigraha that are grouped as external (10 types) and internal (14 types). These are as per Bhagavati-ārādhana -
i. External: 'kşetram vastum dhanam dhānyam dvipadam ca catūşpadam, yānam
śayyāsanam kūpyam bhāndam sangā vahirdasa."12 Meaning: Land, house, money, agriculture produce, two legged and four legged animals,
beds, furniture, vehicles, utensils and wells, are all external possession. ii. Internal: 'micchatravedarāgā taheva hāsadiya ya dhaddhosā, cattāri taha kasāyā udasa
antabhartara garidha'.13 Meaning:Wrong or perverted beliefs, nescience, anger, pride, deceit, greed, joking and laughter, lust (rati), disenchantment in good activities (arati), fear, (jugupsā), feeling of sorrow, feelings for male, female and neutral genders are all internal possessions.
Feelings of want or desire are the synonyms for internal possessions. To set limits in all external objects for the above twenty-four types of possessions and then to give up all objects outside these limits is called limiting the possessions vow (Parigraha-parimāņavrata). The other name for this vow is icchā-parimāņa-vrata or limiting the desires / expectations vow. Extension of our desires is infinite. As Mahatma Gandhi said 'There is enough land on this earth to satisfy the needs of living beings but there is not enough land to satisfy the desires of even one living being'. If we do not control our desires, then they make a devil out of us who is without common sense and wisdom.
Like psychic and material violence, we should also discriminate between psychic and material parigraha. To be attracted towards external objects or to be lost in their possession and enjoyment is psychic parigraha. To be able to acquire desired physical objects and
12 Bhagavati-ārādhanā 156 13 Ibid. 158
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