Book Title: Jaina Psychology
Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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Page 157
________________ 140 JAINA PSYCHOLOGY of attitudes. He calls them abhijātis. They are Krsņābhijāti, nālābhijāti, lohitābhijāti, padmābhijāti, śuklābhijāti, and paramaśuklābhijāti. Let us quote two interesting illustrations indicating the comparative value of these types. Six men saw a jambū-tree that was full of ripe fruits. All of them wanted to eat those fruits. It was a difficult task to climb up the tree. To avoid the trouble of climbing-up they suggested that they could fulfil their desires by cutting down the tree from the root. The second proposed to cut down the boughs. The third did not like this suggestion. He proposed to cut down only the branches. The fourth man did not want even this idea to be put into practice. He advised to cut-off only the bunches. The fifth suggested to pluck only the ripe fruits. The sixth even did not like this idea. He proposed to eat only those fruits that are fallen on the ground. The general tendency of the people possessing the respective types of leśyā should be compared to the six persons of this illustration, Similar is the case of six robbers who wanted to rob a village. The first robber wanted to kill all the beings of the village irrespective of animals and human beings. The second one wanted to kill only human beings. The third one proposed to butcher only men. The fourth one suggested to murder only armed ones. The fifth of them advised to kill only those who wanted to fight. The sixth one proposed not to kill any one, but to take away desirable things. These illustrations will help the reader in understanding the nature of the general attitude and tendency of different kinds of people who did not agree with one another in respect to their feelings, emotions, volitions, and the like. It is all due to the various degrees of the intensity of emotions and the velocity of vibrations (yoga). 1 Anguttara-nikāya, III. (pp. 383 ff.) 2 Karma-grantha, IV, pp. 113-4.

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