Jain Moral Doctrine

Author(s): Harisatya Bhattacharya
Publisher: Jain Sahitya Vikas Mandal

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JAIN MORAL DOCTRINE
The unhappy state of our empirical life is due to Asraya, according to the Jainas. The self is associated with a body (kāya), the internal organ of mind (manas) and function of speech (vāk), all of which are modifications of matter or material energy. These three are mostly in continuous states of activities which are peculiar to each of them. The self is essentially different from matter and material phenomena but because it is closely associated with them from the beginningless past, it remains embodied in them and has a tendency to receive in itself these foreign materials. So, when one's body, speech or mind is active, his self has a sort of automatic vibration set up in itself, which prepares it for receiving the inflow of matter. This preparedness for or proneness to receiving the material inflow, on the part of the self, is called the 'Yoga'.
The Asrava is thus ultimately due to the Yoga. The Āsrava may be considered from various standpoints. It is either good (śubha) or bad (aśubha). In the former case, it introduces the 'Punya' or the meritorious activities and in the latter, the 'Pāpa' or the vicious activities. It would be seen that the Yoga only modifies or twists, so to say, the soul in a particular manner; in order that the soul may be intimately or thoroughly in-formed by non-psychical energy, something more is necessary and this something is 'kaşāya' or the group of Passions. Souls affected with passions are said to take in Sãmparāyika-Asrava or the inflow which keeps them down within the mundane sphere while, when the souls shake off the passions, they have the 'iryā-patha,' which, though a mode of the inflow, is the most meritorious and is immediately succeeded by the blissful emancipation. The mundane inflow is said to be of thirtynine forms of manifestation. The activities of the five Indriyas or the senses are five such inflows, the four Kaşāyas or passions, viz., anger, greed, deceitfulness and conceit, are four such, and the five Avratas or vowlessness (i.e., the non-practice of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, sexual restraint and of non-appropriation) are five other modes of inflow. From these fourteen forms of subjective activities arise twenty-five kinds of activities which correspondto the same number of the Asrava. These are (1) Samyaktva-kriyā or acts like divine worship which strengthen right belief. (2) Mith
kriyā or activities, strengthening wring belief. (3) Prayogakriyā which consists in bodily movement. (4) Samādāna-kriya--a tendency to give up the practice of the vows after adopting them. (5) Irya-patha-kriyā--a careful walking in order not to injure any living being. (6) Prādoşiki-kriya-a tendency to accuse others.
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