Introduction to Jainism and its Culture

Author(s): Balbhadra Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

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guru or the scriptures will provide knowledge to me. The beatitude of the soul is attained by shedding karmas and that in turn is effected through destroying passions; and making endeavour at perceiving, knowing and experiencing the sublime form of soul. Also, spiritual knowledge is not something to be given or taken, it is to be evoked. Spiritual knowledge resides within the soul and it has to be unveiled there only. The god, guru, or scriptures are mere external efficient causes. Such faith will strengthen my self-confidence and I will be equipped with the determination to evoke spiritual knowledge to attain beatitude of my soul.
I have been endowed with human life, a family, wealth and many other things as a consequence of my acquired karmas. These are coincidental things and modes. A favourable alliance with them makes me happy and separation from them makes me sad. I have a possessive attitude towards them. This makes me conceited. This is me; I am a human being; I am a scholar; I am this, I am that; etc. All this is egotism. To believe that these things are mine is egocentricity. This conceit and egocentricity is the central theme of the chain of my rebirths since time immemorial. To think of attaining happiness from these is futile. In fact, the chain of rebirths is nothing but conceit and egocentricity. These are the root causes of sorrow.
On contemplation I find that, but for egocentricity nothing I have in this life is with me since my birth. During my earlier incarnations also things were never with me but this egocentricity was still with me. This means that conceit and egocentricity are caused by some motive reason. These are devoid of happiness, knowledge, and sentience. Therefore, they are not soul. They are not even attributes of soul because they have no bliss. Their origin is in the attitude of possessiveness for substances other than self. Conceit and egocentricity will not arise if one is free of this attitude of possessiveness for substances other than self. And in absence of these there will be no misery. In order to be rid of attitude of possessiveness for substances other than self, one has to shift the direction of his perception towards the self. That is possible only when I know and believe in the true answers to the questions - What am I? What is my real form? What is the form of bliss? I want to change my present condition to a better one where there is no sorrow, no stress, and no chain of rebirths. I want independent and non-diminishing bliss. That can only be found through
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