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Metaphysics, Ethics and Spiritual Development
151
condition certainly attains liberation provided it renounces all attachment. They make it crystal-clear that a soul in bondage can attain siddhahood (perfection) irrespective of dress, sex, caste, creed, ritual tradition, philosophical affiliation, the only condition being that it should absolutely subdue all passions. The upholder of a particular religion will attain liberation and none else—such a restriction is not found in the Jaina Agamas. On the contrary, they expressly state that one can attain liberation even without the acceptance of the dress prescribed and prevalent in the faina religion, that one who has not renounced the dress of a lay-votary, that is, who has not accepted the dress of a Jaina monk can attain liberation, and that even a woman can attain it. What a liberal, altruistic and catholic religion Jainism is!
Non-attachment or passionlessness is internal or mental characteristic. And when it truely manifests itself in the soul, it is reflected in thought, speech and behaviour. For the cultivation of non-attachment, the path of renunciation or asceticism may be regarded as the royal road or an easy way. Even then it is not the only path without which one can never achieve or attain non-attachment. This is proved by the quotation from the Agama (which expressly states that even a householder can attain siddhahood-perfection). And it is not that one can never cultivate nonattachment without the acceptance of the Jaina philosophical views or without the performance of the Jaina rituals. This is also established on the strength of the Agamic statement (to the effect that one who upholds other philosophical views or performs rituals prevalent in other religious traditions can also attain siddhahood). At this juncture, we would like to draw the attention of the readers to the fact that there is nothing in the Jaina philosophical views and rituals, which may prove detrimental to the attainment of non-attachment. On the contrary, they are such as can prove really conducive and strongly helpful to the practice of religion and cultivation of non-attachment, provided the philosophical views are rightly employed in practice and rituals formulated with a view to inspiring righteous conduct are performed with true understanding, aiming at
1. itthilimgasiddhā, purisalimgasiddhā, salimgasiddhā, annalimgasiddhā, gihilimgasiddha /
-Pannavaņāsūtra, First Prajñāpanāpada, Siddhaprajñāpanāpada. Attainment of omniscience is certainly liberation. The omniscient one who lives among the people is called jīvanmukta. The embodied state of liberation is called jīvanmukti.
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