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reduces from the acts of mercy, it becomes pure and flawless to that extent. When this flaw disappears completely, the mercy becomes absolutely pure and devoid of any delusion (fully detached) and then the quality of mercy becomes infinite and takes the shape of infinite charity.
Erroneous Concept - Some followers of Jainism say that the activities of mercy, kindness, compassion, service, benevolence, etc., extended to the near and dear ones like the members of the family, neighbours, friends, etc., are due to auspicious attachment, delusion and extrinsic mode (vibhāva) and it is the cause of karmic bondage. Therefore such delusory mercy is abandonable for the spiritual aspirant
Rectification - Delusion is abandonable. To consider mercy as abandonable is a mistake. Except the fully detached omniscient Lords the virtues of all attached living beings are always flawed with some flaw or the other. It is so, because the rule is that if one quality manifests itself fully, all other qualities also appear simultaneously. Likewise, if one flaw disappears fully, all the other flaws also disappear at the same time. All the virtues and vices are thus intermingled. To consider the quality of mercy flawed by delusion as abandonable is to consider the inherent quality of the living beings as abandonable, which is a great and frightful error. As a rule the virtues like kindness, compassion, etc., manifest themselves to the extent that the flaws like delusion. selfishness, enjoyership, etc., fade away. Anyone who remains immersed in his own selfishness suffers from gross inertness and he cannot be sensitive to others' pain and misery. As compared to him one who serves the members of his family has lesser delusion and greater compassion. Likewise the qualities of kindness, compassion, charity, service, etc., find greater and greater expression as one expands the ambit of his activities from the family to the society, to the town, to the country, to the entire humanity and eventually to the whole living set. As this happens the pettiness decreases and these noble qualities come to the fore. When the feeling of kindness and compassion for the entire living set awakens the quality of charity manifests itself in the form of
Positive Non-Violence
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