Saman suttam

Author(s): Jinendra Varni
Publisher: Sarva Seva Sangh Prakashan

Page 20

(XY!) Therefore, he who conducts himself with the utmost caution is non-violent in his thought; hence he is non-violent; and he who does not observe caution in his active daily life, there is violence in his mental state so even if no violence is actually committed by him, he would be ethically violent. All this analysis is not possible unless one possesses the many points-of-views. Hence a person who possesses an attitude of many points-of-view is regarded as being possessed of right faith, and it is the person possessed of right faith that can acquire right knowledge and become capable of right conduct. He who has no right attitude cannot have right knowledge and his conduct also cannot be of right type. Hence righteousness or right faith has specii significance in the Jaina faith; that is the foundation-stone to the path of liberation.
Mundane life is a bondage. The soul is involved in this bondage from times immemorial; he has forgotten his real nature on this account; he regards it as his real nature and continues to find pleasure in it; it is this forgetfulness that is responsible for his bondage. He will realize this mistake only when he discovers that his nature is endowed with infiniteconsciousness, that his strength is greater than what is seen in mundane life, that he is the treasure-house of infinite knowledge, infinite faith, infinite bliss and infinite power, it is only when he becomes alive to this faith that he will achieve right attitude and then he will try to achieve firmness of conviction about his real nature through his right conduct. Hence the pathway of Jaina ethics is the royal road that leads to the state of conquest of attachment in accordance with right knowledge. Anekanta :
Viewed from the real point of view, even the highest knowledge that is acquired by an embodied soul in this vast world is limited, imperfect and one-sided. It is not possible for such persons to comprehend the infinite qualities of an object simultaneously, let alone the expression of it which is far more