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Jaina Path of Purification (Liberation)
101
Only the soul which is of the nature of pure consciousness is the right and proper object of our devotion and worship. One should strive for its attainment, one should devote oneself to its attainment. This import or teaching of the sentence is very important. The ancient great saints thought it absolutely necessary to deliver such teachings in order to destroy the terrible miseries caused by delusion and desire. The sentence does not mean that the objects of the world are absolutely unreal like a hare's horn. That the world is false really means that the objects of the world are impermanent, essenceless and good for nothing. And this meaning is intelligible and not contradicted by our experience. While describing impermanence and essencelessness of all the objects of the world, the Jaina thinkers are not hesitant in calling them unreal (mithyā). All the objects and manifold events of the world are impermanent and hence they themselves or our attachment to them are essenceless. To emphasise this truth, the adjective mithyā (false, unreal) is given to the world. But on that account we are not entitled to regard the world as absolutely unreal and false like a hare's horn, because its existence is established and proved by our experience. The physical objects which we experience have real existence. Their perception is not false; it is not illusion. A serpent is false and illusory when and where a rope is cognised as a serpent. So, to regard that false serpent as a real serpent is an illusion. But a real serpent is a real serpent. And to regard a real serpent as a real serpent is not an illusion. This is the right understanding."
Speciality of the Jaina Conception of Karma The spiritual science extensively and deeply discusses the problems relating to the soul and its karma. We succinctly presented the various philosophical views about the nature of the soul. Now we propose to say something about karma.
Matter (pudgala) is an insentient substance. It has infinite energy and powers. Karma is a form of matter, which is closely associated with the
1. If the world is as unreal as mirage, all the differences and dualities like bondage
liberation, wickedness-kindness, virtue-vice, good-acts, bad-acts, etc., will not exist, consequently there will not be any necessity of the teachings about the nature of the physical objects, mind and soul as also about the path of purification. If the world is as unreal as mirage, there will be no problem at all, there will be no act of duty. Again, everything being false even the doctrine of the falsity of the world will also be false.
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