________________
198)
The Path of Arhat : A Religious Democracy
the things, good as well as bad, which we get in life, are of our own making. It admonishes us :
Appa katta vikatta ya, duhāņna ya suhāpa ya.
Appă mittamamittam ca, dupațghiya supaçțhio.1 "It is your own self which is the doer as well as enjoyer of your pleasures and pains. Your friend and foe is also your own self, engaged in good and bad activities respectively.” Importance of Bheda-jñāna
The concept of Bheda-jñāna involves the firm belief in the existence of soul and non-soul as the constituents of the world. A little analysis and logical approach to the constitution of the Universe can easily convince us about the existence and efficacy of the both. The Jaina approach towards the constitution of world is altogether scientific and logical. There is nothing religious or sectarian in the proposition that there are two basic constituents of this phenomenal world - Jiva and Ajiva, that is, the things which are sentient and non-sentient. If this conviction is heeded by discerning human mind, there would be little difficulty in concluding that our true self is purely a knower, the permanent conscious element which knows and motivates all our activities in life, and that the rest is only an object of our knowledge and thus foregin to us. If this is so, should I not concentrate on that which is permanent, that which is my own self ? For, to devote our attention to the things which are foreign to 'Self' is to seek satisfaction from the objects which do not belong to us. This is bound to result in despair, dejection and tension. Jajna seers, therefore, emphasize that the realisation of the distinction between self and non-self is the first essential condition for a blissful life. This however does not mean that as house-holders we should shun all the activities of material life. In fact, all the Tírthankaras and leading Jaina-śrāvakas (house-holders ) were success
1. 316T 7T FFT , GETOT 9 TETOTTI
29 ##HET T, gafu afgart 11 Samana-suttam, 123.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
