Mokshamala

Author(s): Manu Doshi
Publisher: Manu Doshi

Page 69

Evidence of soul's arising, passing away and constancy from one perspective and its not arising, not passing away and inconstancy from another one removes six (ninth to fourteenth) fallacies relating to contradiction.
Evidence that soul has no beginning or end proves the truth of Syädväd. This removes the fifteenth fallacy.
Evidence that there is no creation proves the truth of what omniscient Lords have stated. This removes the sixteenth fallacy.
Evidence that there exist religion, irreligion, embodiment, rebirth etc. removes the seventeenth fallacy.
The above evidences prove the inexistence of illusive attributes of Satva (Serenity), Rajas (Vivacity) and Tamas (Darkness). This removes the eighteenth fallacy.
Lesson 91: Jain Fundamentals, Part 10
While continuing I said, "I hope the fallacies conceived by you could have been overcome. What I have said is not perfectly logical, but it would at least be entertaining. Much more time is needed to properly explain it. As such I do not want to describe the same at length. There are, however a couple of points to which I would like to draw the attention, if you are satisfied with what I have said."
Their response was satisfactory and gladly asked me to say what I intended to say. Thereupon I reverted to those esteemed words and said as under.
"If you harbor any doubt about those hallowed words or consider them intriguing, you would be doing injustice to them. One usually retains doubts so long as he does not have a high level of spiritual talent, Guru's guidance and detachment. Still I hope that what I intend to say would not go in vain.
"As we examined those three esteemed words by applying 'yes' and 'no', it is necessary to examine them from many subtle perspectives. While pondering over arising of every individual embodiment, its passing away, intervening state, pregnancy, capability (Paryapti), sense organs, latency, knowledge, instincts, age span, objects of senses etc. in light of different types of Karma, what one arrives at is unique. Everyone generally ponders over the same to the extent of his capability. Hardly does it occur to anyone that from substantial and modal points of views the entire knowledge of universe is covered in those words. In that case why should they not cover the whole Dwadashängi, when presented by holy Gurus?
**When one specifies the term 'world', he keeps aside all the concept of a single house, single neighborhood, single village, single city, single country as well as single continent, and makes out the term as covering the whole world comprising innumerable land masses and seas. He can do it, because he has grasped the right coverage of that word. In other words he has learnt the wide connotation of the term and hence can make out its extent. Similarly the worthy pupils of earlier times could gain the knowledge of Dwadashängi by learning about those three esteemed words from disentangled Gurus. Even from our shortsighted view point the esteem of those words does not seem to be intriguing in any respect."
Lesson 92: Jain Fundamentals, Part 11
I continued, "That also applies to Nav Tattva (Nine fundamentals). Would the middle aged son (Lord Mahavir) of the warrior clan, who stipulated that the universe is without beginning and hence there is no Creator, have stated the same without knowing every aspect of omniscience? Moreover when you learn