ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

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

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extremely detailed analysis of causes of bondages, types and nature, duration and path to destroy bondage of karmas with soul.
The four cardinal principles of Jain way of life are:
1. Ahis or non violence in conduct 2. Aparigraha or Non-possession in life and society 3. Anek nta or multiplicity of view points in thoughts 4. Sy dv da or Conditional dialectic in speech.
The entire moral and spiritual ethical postulates of Jain are based on Ahis Ahi s parmo dharma, Live and let live are the hallmark of Jains. c ra ga defines and describes the philosophy of Ahi s beautifully while Pūrusārtha Siddhi Upāya by Amrta Candra proves that all the ethical tenets of Jainism are derived from Ahi s. Ahis is defined as an activity (of mind or body or speech); that causes pain to self or others; or encourage others to perform such activities; or support or praises such activities of others. We see here the emphasis on self also as all our violent activities cause pain to self ultimately even though we perform these activities for pleasure or to cause pain to others. Mahatma Gandhi was the greatest practitioner of Ahis of our times and achieved independence for India using Ahi sas his weapon. In fact he used the concept of Ahis to achieve social transformation rather than spiritual purification. Indian constitution recognizes Ahis and Jainism appropriately
Aparigraha is described basically as 'absence of a feeling of mine'. First eight verses of Strkrt ga describe the concept of Aparigraha and its importance in achieving the ultimate objective in life i.e. liberation. Aprigraha is the feeling of possession / attachment / bondage, expectation, desire etc. An analysis of our own life will show that; first we spend our entire life in amassing material wealth; then in protecting it from leaving us before we realize such wealth is of no use and cannot give happiness. Similarly we do everything for our family even to extent of living for them and see ultimately how the very family is unable to give us happiness. In earlier times we know how Jains used to share their wealth in building temples / dharama Is, serving the monks, setting up educational and health services institutions and secretly support the needy members of the community. Aparigraha means work hard to earn merit, but do not develop attachment to the results / benefits accrues, share it with others. Recently we heard how the second richest man in the world Warren Buffet donated more than half of his wealth, some Rs 1500000 million to charities and described it as giving back to the society what the society gave to him. Feeling of a custodian rather than the owner is what is important in attaining happiness.
Anek nta is based on the principle that truth is infinite and it is not possible for us, who are not omniscient, to know it completely. We always know a part of it as per our requirements or objectives while there are many more aspects to it than known to us. Therefore we should not insist on our viewpoint as the only and complete truth. Examples of 40 persons photographing a large banyan tree or the seven blind men trying to define an elephant explain the concept of Anek nta. The principle of Anek nta is based on the doctrine that our knowledge is relative, opposite of what we know also exists, knowledge of others is also true from a particular view point i.e. reconciliation. Even if we know the entire truth we cannot express it completely at the same time. Therefore Jains talk of Sv dv da, a method of speaking the partial truth without negating the existence of more features or facts. The entire judicial system, if analyzed will be seen based on the doctrine of Anek nta. Similarly the fundamental principles of democracy i.e. existence of opposition is based on Anek nta. Basis of all terrorism / violence in the world is the insistence of one's view as the only truth and other as not so.
Science in Jainsim: It is amazing to see how Lord Mah vra could visualize the structure of the universe from micro to macro levels without the aid of any modern day instruments. Some examples are given below will prove this:
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0