Jainism and Democracy

Author(s): Indra Chandra Shastri
Publisher: I A S S Jain Conference New Delhi

Page 80

THE WAY OF INNER DEVELOPMENT
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inner realization, is known as yathāpravrtt karana. It is not reached through a deliberate and systematic persuit but comes as an accident. The Jaina scriptures compare it with a stone rolling into a hilly foundation. The stone rolling unconsciously in the stream gets a round shape as the image of Saligram a Hindu God. The stone did not desire or strive for obtaining that shape, but the turn of events changed it into that form. Similarly, the soul with perverted attitude is unable to make a discrimination between right and wrong, nor does it make any deliberate attempt for realizing the truth. Still, accidentally it reaches a stage when the major part of accummulated karmans is removed through experience of its fruit and the new accummulation is not so heavy that the duration of entire stock comes within a limit. As its result the soul feels an urge for inner purification. But, this urge is not so strong as to force the aspirant to a definite start. It rises and subsides like a bubble. Only, in a few cases it is so strong as to give a decisive turn. In the first case it can occur innumerable times without having a permanent effect. Death of a beloved person, destruction of a thing extremely desired for or such other phenomena generally produce this type of attitude temporarily.
In the latter case the soul advances further and reaches the stage of Apurva karaṇa. The karmic stock is further reduced in this stage and the soul takes a decisive step. This step is the most important in career of an aspirant. It is known as apurva as it was never achieved before. The aspirant, in this stage, reaches the point of breaking the tie of perversion.