Pearls of Jaina Wisdom

Author(s): Dulichand Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 76

40
Pearls of Jaina Wisdom
Mahāvīra says, "By knowledge one understands the nature of substances, by faith one believes in them, by conduct one puts an end to the flow of karmas and by austerity one attains purity." (Utta. Sū., 28.35 )
Basis of Right Faith
Right faith is belief in the existence of following seven categories of truths:
1. The existence of soul,
2. The existence of non-soul (matter, time, space, dynamic medium and static medium),
3. The inflow of karmic matters to the soul,
4. The binding of karmic matters to the soul, 5. The stoppage of karmic influx.
6. The dissociation of karmic particles and
7. The liberation from the worldly sojourn. Dr. Nathmal Tatia, Research Director, Jaina Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun, Rajasthan, explains this nicely on page No. XIX of his commentary on Tattvärtha Sūtra published by Harper Collins, San Francisco, U.S.A., 1994.
"These seven categories, which form the frame-work of Tattvärtha-Sūtra recognize two fundamentals of existence. The first is the beginningless and interdependent co-existence of physical and spiritual reality. The interaction between soul and matter is the nature of worldly life. Whatever a soul possesses, whether the capacity for speech, breath or thought, is a result of its interaction with matter. But, without the soul, the organs through which these activities operate become inanimate matter. The modern world is ignoring this quintessential truth; on the one hand, scientific materialism denies or ignores the existence of the soul in its exploration of reality, while on the other, religious fervour can turn too sharply towards the spiritual verities and disregard the physical ones. This leads to an oscillating world-view in which we become unable to conceive of spiritual and material reality at once, and as a whole."