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Ratnakarandaka-śrāvakācāra
vows partially but the ascetic to a very large extent. We know that our activities of the body, mind, and speech, when actuated by passion, result into bondage of karmas to our soul. Virtuous activity is the cause of merit (punya) and wicked activity is the cause of demerit (pāpa). Bondage of karmas that cause merit provides us with pleasant feeling, propitious life-span, auspicious rebirth, and high status. Although our ultimate goal is to attain liberation for our soul, but many a time we are not able to give up our desires completely. Still we restrain ourselves from undesirable activities by observing vows. In other words, we follow restraint with attachment. Such restraint is among the causes of influx of karmas leading to the celestial birth. Right belief is also the cause of influx of lifekarma leading to the celestial birth. The ultimate destination of all bhavya souls (having potential to attain liberation) is the supreme and everlasting state of knowledge, faith, bliss and power. Who in his senses would opt for this short life as a human being to be withered away in just acquiring, and then indulging in, the objects of sense-pleasures? The man well-versed in the Scripture is aware that the goal of liberation may be far away in time. Life as a human being, though short, provides a great opportunity to mould the future course of the soul for an exceedingly long period of time. As an instance, the minimum life-span in the heaven of Saudharma kalpa is a little over one palyopama and the maximum lifetime is little over two sāgaropama. The term palyopama is defined in detail in the Jaina scriptures; suffice it to say here that from the worldly standards it is an exceedingly long period of time. And a sāgaropama is 1015 times a palyopama! Life-spans in the hells too are very long; the maximum duration of life in the seven infernal regions is one, three, seven, ten, seventeen, twentytwo, and thirty-three sāgaropama, respectively. The only way to
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