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THE PATH
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Jainism advocates that one should first try to know, comprehend and grasp the nature of the reality, of one's own Self, of the religious goal and the path leading to that goal, analyse it, examine it, test it and verify it, and then, if satisfied, be convinced of its truth and efficacy. Such a conviction should form the foundation of his or her faith and belief, which would then be worthy of the epithet 'right'. It depends upon each individual what and how much information, instruction, knowledge or insight he or she needs to have right faith. There may be some who are lucky enough to acquire this gift accidentally and intuitively, but it happens to one in a million, and once in a while. The royal road, therefore, is to know, think, te convinced and cultivate the practical aspect of samyagdarśana. It is no mean an acquisition. It is the first condition, the first essential qualification, for the seeker of truth, the religious aspirant, who intends to launch upon the path of salvation. His attitude towards life, his outlook of the world and worldly things, the basis of his relations with others, his conception and assessment of values, all are changed. He becomes an entirely transformed being.
This miraculous transformation is evidenced in the person's attitude and behaviour by such tendencies as mildness, a sort of detachment from the world, aversion from the pleasures of the flesh, compassion and love for others, faith in the existence and nature of the soul and its salvation, devotion to the adorable ideals, fellow-feeling, and criticism or censure of one's own actions.
These tendencies become automatically manifest in a person gifted with Samyag-darśana, and are, as it were, its differentiate. Then this spiritual jewel is described as possessing eight angas (limbs): absence of doubt, absence of desire (in doing one's duty), absence of disgust (at sight of misery, disease and the like), absence of faith in false values and ideas,
