Jainism For Beginners Level 03

Author(s): Sayampurnashreeji
Publisher: Sayampurnashreeji

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None of such situations really belong to the pure soul. They are not & in no case can become part & parcel of the pure soul. If one understands it correctly, one can remain unaffected by any given situation & stay in equanimity. The term correctly is very pertinent in this context, because the true nature of the soul happens to be pure, enlightened & full of blessed consciousness. In its pure state it is devoid of any defilement or Kashayas. As such, the soul is supposed to simply observe whatever happens as a result of operative Karmas & stay aware of any given situation without reacting to it in any way. Since immemorial times, worldly soul has stayed deluded about its true nature & has been conditioned to react to any situation with a sense of craving or aversion. If it does not react that way & views all possible situations with equanimity, it does not attract new Karmas & can avoid Ashrava or incoming of Karmas & the resulting Bandha.
himself. This wrong perception is known as Mithyatva. On account of this delusion & ignorance, the soul views any given situation as the cause of its own happiness or unhappiness. If a situation is pleasing to the senses, the soul identifies itself with that feeling & craves continuance of such situations. If it is unpleasing, soul identifies with the resulting unhappiness & tries to avoid it. Thus it continues to react to different situations with the sense of creation or aversion.
Nav Tatva (Part-1)
These cravings & aversions are the defilementsofthesoulbecausethey defile its true nature of staying in equanimity. These defilements are expressed in the form of enmity etc. Like Mana (Ego & arrogance), Maya (Deception) & Lobha (attachment & greed). These are known as the four Kashayas or four passions, which drag the soul downwards in addition to these, there are No-kashayas or semi defilements like joy, gloom, affection, disaffection, fear, disgust & certain sensual impulses. On account of these Kashayas & No-kashayas, the soul indulges in arrogance, greed, joy, affection, love etc, when it views any given situation as favourable. If it views the situation as unfavourable, it indulges in anger, deception, gloom, disaffection, fear, disgust etc.
Thus Ashrava & Bandha mainly occur on account of ignorance of the soul about its true nature. One may, however, question how any conscious person can be ignorant about one's self. The ignorance of the soul regarding its true nature, happens to be on account of its delusion, its perception remains deluded, just as a drunken person stays deluded about
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