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ASRAVA
are:
uneasiness. Pure intelligence by nature, the jiva is affected by its beliefs, so that the expectation of joy, comfort or help from outside itself instantly impairs its natural buoyancy and strength. It is this condition of expectancy which may be called receptivity or negativity. This harmful attitude, as stated before, is forced on the soul in consequence of its desires for intercourse with, and traffic in, matter from which it expects to derive pleasure, or joy, in some form or other. In reality, however, the soul is perfect and blissful by nature, so that its desires for the enjoyment of matter only betray its ignorance of its own true natural perfection. Thus, any kind of activity, physical, mental or moral, is a cause of asrava, no exception being made even in the case of actions performed carelessly, since they point to the presence of an attitude of carelessness which is quite incompatible with selfconsciousness.
The causes of asrava may now be enumerated categorically. They
(1) Mithyatva, i.e., wrong belief or faith,
(2) Avirati, i.e., moral failings,
(3) Pramada, i.e., negligent conduct, or lack of vigilance,
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(4) Kaşaya, or passions, and
(5) Yogas, or the general channels of inflow.
Of these, the first class consists of five kinds of mithyātva, namely,
(i) one-sided absolutism, which insists on the absolute accuracy of knowledge obtained from one point of view alone; (ii) untrue attribution of a quality to a being or thing; (iii) entertainment of doubt about the truth;
(iv) failure to distinguish between right and wrong; and (v) the notion that all religions are equally true.
The second division includes:
(i) himsã, that is, injuring another by thought, word or deed,
(ii) falsehood or perjury,
(iii) theft,
(iv) unchastity, and
(v) attachment to things of the world.
