Lessons of Ahimsa and Anekanta for Contemporary Life

Author(s): Tara Sethia
Publisher: California State Polytechnic University Pomona

Page 106

Paul Dundas, "Beyond Anekāntavāda"
mādhyasthya as not so much a neutral quality as the sine qua non for Jainism: those whose minds are purified by it are Jains in terms of their internal, spiritual perspective and thus cannot disagree with the teachings of the jinas.
A community consisting of genuine Jains and those who are Jains in spirit, non-Jain Jains as it were, linked by a shared faith in the teachings and authority of the Jinas might be theoretically possible, but this still fails to address the issue that the latter group do not conform to outward visible Jain practice which, as Yaśovijaya points out, is necessarily interrelated with “inner” Jainism. In fact, while it may on the face of it be impossible for non-Jains to conform to the external obligations of Jainism because they follow the behavioural requirements of their own particular path, it is nonetheless sufficient that all these requirements relate to a morally upright person who does no evil and conforms to a morally appropriate mode of behaviour (akaraṇaniyama). In other words, following the actions prescribed by one's own religious path does not preclude being on the Jain path. For Yaśovijaya the obvious example of such an individual is, once more, Patañjali, the author of the Yoga Sūtras, who as just mentioned was accepted by Haribhadra as having the necessary neutrality (mådhyasthya) and absence of delusion and as having experienced the yogic “flash” characteristic of all genuine holy men. Such an individual thus falls into the category of what Jainism has styled since scriptural times as deśārādhaka, which is to say a “partial adherent,” following the Jain path but lacking completely developed knowledge and faith. However, there has to be purity of intention: even acts of compassion are worthless if they are still permeated by intense false belief.
Apparently, Yasovijaya willingly accepts the possibility of the spiritual commitment of members of other religious paths coinciding with the requirements of Jainism and avoiding the cardinal fault of one pointed perspective (ekāntika). If this were not the case, then the references in the Jain scriptures to members of other sects .who had actually achieved liberation
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