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Metaphysics, Ethics and Spiritual Development
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responsible for the acts? Is it so that man accepts determinism solely to disown his responsibility for his evil deeds and rejects it solely to revenge upon others for their offences? O Saddālaputta! Is the doctrine of determinism conducive to progress? Can it bring and establish order in the world?" Lord Mahāvīra's persuasion and explanation enlightened Saddälaputta who declared: “O Lord! by your grace I realised the truth. Now I clearly see that determinism leads to idleness, dullness and hypocrisy; it is escapism; it is an excuse for escaping from the responsibility of one's own sinful and degenerated life. By accepting it one deceives oneself and others." Mahavira: O Saddālaputta! One may deceive oneself. One may deceive even others. But one can never deceive the well-established order based
on causation.” Determinism has its own place. The objection is to the view which holds determinism as the only cause, rejecting all other causal factors. As a matter of fact, Time, Nature, Fate, Past Action and Human Effort-all these factors contribute more or less according to their capacity to the production of an effect. So all of them should be accepted as the necessary causal factors in the production of an effect, giving them their proper place in the production. This is the cogent and logical position.
Acārya Siddhasena in his Sanmati says: kālo sahāvo niyaī puvvakayaṁ purisas kāraņegamtā / micchattam te ceva ya samāsao konti sammattam // III. 53 Meaning: Of the five, viz., Time, Nature, Fate, Past Action and Human Effort to favour one alone is the wrong view, but to accept all of them giving them their due place is the right view. Let us reflect further on the subject.
All substances have their intrinsic original capacities fixed. A soul can never be without consciousness. And it can never have physical qualities like colour, etc. Similarly, matter can never be without physical qualities, and it can never have consciousness. Thus a soul can never transform itself into matter, nor can matter ever transform itself into soul. This is fixed and absolutely unalterable. Conscious or human effort can do
1. A detailed exposition is there in the fifth chapter on Syädvāda.
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