Jaina Ethics

Author(s): Dayanand Bhargav
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

Page 37

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Jaina Ethics
Sarvadarśanasangraha summarises the attitude of materialism towards pain and pleasure in these words : “They (i. e. opponents) conceive that you ought to throw away the pleasures of life because they are mixed with pain; but what prudent man will throw away unpeeled rice which encloses excellent grain because it is covered with husk."1
It is clear from this that materialism glorifies gratification of the lust of senses as the highest good of life. There are, however, reasons to believe that materialism has been misrepresented by the opponents of this school. Materialists did caution us against being too much other-wordly. They tried to organise society not on any theocratic but on a secular basis. They launched an agitation against many baseless superstitions of society, e.g. they argued that if the animal killed in a sacrifice went to heaven why did the sacrificer not kill his own father and send him to heaven.
The 'matter is as real to Jainism as to materialism. But to say that matter is the only reality would be against all principles of Jainism. It is not conceivable how consciousness can be the result of natural forces. We shall open another chapter with this discussion. For the present, suffice it to say that the very idea that we can escape the responsibility of our actions is repulsive to ethics. Unrestrained sensualism is self-destructive. Unchecked desires of the members of society may lead to anarchism. If we accept that there are only two aims of life, money and sex (arthakāmau), and righteousness and liberation (dharmamokşau) are mere fabrications of human mind then where is the
1. त्याज्यं सुखं विषयसङगमजन्म पुसां
दुःखोपसृष्टमिति मूर्खविचारणेषा। वीहीजिहासति सितोत्तमतण्डुलाढ्यान् को नाम भोस्तुषकणोपहितान् हितार्थी ।
-Sarvadarśanasangraha. p. 4. 2. पशुश्चेन्निहतः स्वर्ग ज्योतिष्टोमे गमिष्यति । स्वपिता यजमानेन तत्र कस्मान्न हिंस्यते ॥
Ibid., p. 13,
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