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Jňāna Darsana & Çāritra in Jainism duct. Right conduct can be ruined by three evil darts ( shalya ), the first of these is intrigue or fraud (māyāshalya) for no one can gain a good character whose life is governed by deveit. Even in holy matters e. g., fasting, intrigue can make itself felt. The next poisonous dart is false belief (mithyātv tshalya) which consists in holding & false god to be a true one, a false guru to be a true guru, and a false religion to be a true religion; by so doing one absolutely injures right knowledge and right faith which lead to right conduct. Covetousness (nidānashalya ) is the third poisonous dart which destorys right conduct. When a maa is performing austerities, if he admits some such worldly thought into his mind us after this austerity I may have gained sufficient merit to become a king or a rich merchant', that very reflection being stained with covetousness, has destroyed, like a poisonous dart, all the merit that he might have gained through the act; in the same way if a man indulges vindictive thoughts when he is performing austerities, the fruit of his action is lost, no merit is acquired and no karma destroyei.? The Jains believe in right knowledge, right faith and right conduct referring to an impersonal system, each of the Christian jewels, Faith, Hope and Love, refers to a per. sonal Redeemer. It is interesting to note ihat the Jain religion enshrines po faith in a supreme deity; but for the christian the dark problems of sin and suffering are lit up by his faith in the character and power of God which ensure the ultimate triumph of righteousnes 3. In Jainism Hope is almost & meaningless word, but in Christianity the present circumstances of a human being and his future are alike bathed in the golden sunshine of Hope, so that hopefulness may be said to be the very centre of the christian creed and the foundation of its joy. In Jainism love to a porsonal god would be an attachment that could only bind him faster to the cyolo of re-birth, but in Chri. stianity Love is the fulfilling of the law and it is in its light that the Christians treat the upward path.”
In Jainism faith is produced by Nature ( nisarga ), instruction (upadesa ), command (ajñā. ), study of the sotras, suggestion (bija ), comprehension of the meaning of the sacred lore ( abhigama ), comp
1 S. Stevenson, The Heart of Jainism, 245 ff.
2. Ibid., 247 ff.
