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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
is enacted in the inner heart of man. What we see outward is but mere gross manifestations of the inner states.
Attachment is the repository of defects like immorality, injustice and selfishness. So non-attachment (vairāgya) attained owing to the removal of attachment makes man noble, truthful, discreet and affectionate. A pure state is developed to the extent attachment is reduced. And man becomes self-sacrificing, benevolent, indifferent to worldly pleasures, charitable, and develops the feeling of universal brotherhood to the extent this pure state is developed. Charity, self-sacrifice, generosity and renunciation constitute his nature in which he constantly revels.
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Non-attachment literally and meaningfully means the extermination and extinction of attachment. It is achieved by very hard and sincere efforts. It equally depends on firm, dispassionate (pure) and brilliant attitude, outlook or faith. Non-attachment gets spoiled like milk as soon as pure faith is shaken or dispassionate outlook or attitude becomes perverse. Even though a person resides in a house, takes food and drink, and lives among the people, non-attachment ingrained in him remains unimpaired, if it is based on discretionary and discriminative attitude, outlook or faith. On the other hand, even though a person lives in woods and moves as a recluse and thus outwardly seems to be possessed of high renunciation, he is not free from attachment if he is overcome by delusion and crushed under the pressure of inordinate desires.'
To be caught up in and bound by attachment, and as a result to cling to a thing or place or to get stuck up in them on account of infatuation and ignorance instead of advancing on the path of spiritual development according to the great law of Nature is the state quite opposite to the state of non-attachment. Non-attachment consists in rising above attachment after having removed infatuation and ignorance. To make the atmosphere of the world poisonous or nectareous is in the hands of man; it depends on his attitude or outlook. Poison is in his mind. So he experiences and spreads poison all around him. Pure and blissful mind experiences and diffuses nectar everywhere. Bliss and joy are abundant at every step on the path of spiritual good. Rising to the higher and higher stages of spiritual development the soul continuously experiences bliss and joy and at last attains Ultimate Release.
1. vane'pi doṣaḥ prabhavanti rāgiņām gṛheṣu pañcendriyanigrahas tapaḥ / akutsite vartmani yaḥ pravartate nivṛttarägasya gṛham tapovanam //
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