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the mind, thus providing a subtle mesh for the soul The effort at withdrawal from Samsara constitutes the next level
This
effort, as is well known, is twofold It involves restraint or Samvara and rejection or Nirjară This process, again, may be practised in a whole time and whole-hearted manner, or under the constraint of ordinary worldly life, thus giving rise to the two streams of morality, that of the householder and that of the ascetic Above these two levels lies the level of Paramartha or Niscayanaya To this level belongs the life of the perfected ones where the soul shines forth in the glory of its innate omniscience and wholly passionless and selfless spontaneity If the soul is externally entangled at the first level functioning as a Bahirātman, and seeks to withdraw into itself as an Antaratman at the second level, it can only be described as functioning spiritually and yet cosmically at the third level, the level of Paramātman The meaning and relevance of ethics varies at these three levels of the soul
Source and nature of moral knowledge
From where do we derive our knowledge of moral distinctions and how we draw them, are important questions theoretically as well as practically Already in the Kathopanışad a clear distincction is made between the good and the pleasant, the Śreyas and the Preyas A wise person (dhira) chooses the former while the latter is chosen by fools (mudha) Here wisdom or dhi is the source of moral guidance while sensation is regarded as a delusive temptation (moha) Animal life pursues sensation as the revelation of values, though it is also able to follow the dictates of instinct in the matters of self-preservation At the human level the dictates of sensation disregard even the needs of self-preservation Even if we were to regard pleasure as good, we cannot escape the truth that pleasure is fleeting and scarce while pain is frequent and recurrent What is more, pleasure often turns into pain And, then, even while pleasure lasts it induces a restlessness into the mind and a vain craving which not only tends to enslave the mind but makes it unfit for moral and spiritual wisdom To accept sensation as a proper guide in action is to lose one's freedom and
