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RIGHT FAITH
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intense passions ; and though living in this world he stands above it. He feels respect for people of spiritual tendencies and compassion for all beings. He does not give any importance to his merits and always reflects upon and repents for his sins. His mind is ever balanced and he entertains fear for his wanderings in the wheel of Samsara, (births and deaths.).
Thus we see what a high standard of Right conviction amounting to Right Faith, Jainism has placed before its followers. Some might ask 'Is such a faith possible for all '? It is not possible, I admit. For the present we must consider the practical aspects of Right Faith as viewed from the standpoint of the householder only. Jain spiritual progress is not single leap from the bottom to the top. There are fourteen stages on the path. 1 In the third stage Jiva is characterised by a " hovering between certainty and doubt as to the word of Faith." In the fourth stage convictions are quite certain and faith is acquired. When a man enters the fifth stage he begins to observe the rules of Right conduct. In the fifth stage there are eleven steps. When a man enters the first step he is known as Darsanika householder and before that he is called a Pakshika Sravaka. There is a difference in the purity of the Faith of these two types of householders. Darsanika does observe Right Faith in all its details -Aticharas, limbs, errors and so on, while a Pakshika does not look to these details at all and his Right Faith is without limbs and so on. Faith of a Pakshika Sravaka consists in the certainty of conviction with regard to true God, Scripture and Preceptor and the nature of realities and substances; he does not observe the Dosas of Right Faith.
detailed study of these stages see Practical Path
1. For a Chapter IX,
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
