Practical Path

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

Page 42

ASRAVA.
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of the process of the karmic influx; only the soul then assimilates particles of matter whose fruit is pleasant, instead of those which bear evil consequences. For the difference between virtue and vice is precisely the same as that between a gold and an iron chain ; they both tend to prolong the bondage of the soul, though in one case it is not quite unpleasant, while in the other it may be, and, in the worst cases, actually is, intolerable. The natural functioning (self-contemplation) of pure spirit differs from punya (virtue) in so far that while the exercising of the functions of pure spirit does not imply the negativity of the soul in the least degree, and, therefore, is unaccompanied by the âsrava of matter, virtuous actions are only calculated to render captivity pleasant and agreeable to the soul. Thus, virtue is as much a cause of bondage as vice from the stand-point of him who aspires for perfect liberation.
Certain types of mental attitude strikingly demonstrate the operation and effect of dsrava on the soul. Such, for instance, is the case with mental depression when the soul is literally weighted down by a kind of sukshma (fine) particles of matter. The same is the case with excessive grief, a general tendency towards pessimism, and the like. What seems to happen in such cases is that certain kinds of feelings weaken the intensity of the rhythm of the soul, exposing it to the influx of the particles of matter from its physical organism itself. As an oily surface soon becomes covered over with dust, so does the soul attract to itself and is depressed (from de-down, and pressum to press) by a large number of particles of matter from within its own outer encasement