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CHAPTER II
47 46 It is only from the vyavahāra point of view that these various psychic states are declared by the Jinas to be of the nature of the Self
COMMENTARY
Though these mental states have nothing to do with the real Self, the attention of the ordinary man must be drawn to the fact that from the practical point of view, they are characteristic of the empirical ego The practical point of view is an important method of instructing the unenlightened ordinary man Otherwise there will be an extremely disastrous effect on his conduct Walving the practical point of view and presenting only the absolute and real nature of the Self, may result in the perverse conduct of the ordinary man Directing his attention to the ultimate nature of the piva, he may forget altogether the difference between the vegetable kingdom and the animal kingdom, the difference between the sthāvara jiva and trasa jwa Man has to live on cereals and fruits, products of the vegetable kingdom Since the product of the vegetable kingdom is indispensable for his life, the ordinary man may unwillingly adopt a similar attitude to the animal kingdom and hence he may not care to appreciate the importance of Ahimsa Dharma If you can eat with impunity the products of the vegetable kingdom, you may also eat meat, the product of the animal kingdom This undesirable result in the conduct of the ordinary man is the result of not emphasising the vyavahāra point of view and the intrinsic difference between the vegetable and the animal kingdoms, though the ultimate nature of jīva in both is the same Similarly if the ultimate and real nature of the Self is emphasised without describing the nature of the empirical ego, the Self as a samsāra jiva, it will create an undesirable attitude in the ordinary man's life If the ultimate nature of the Self is pure and unsullied, if it is identical with the liberated Self or Moksha Jiva, then the ordinary man may argue, why should I unnecessarily worry myself about moksha-mārga, or the path to Salvation, when my soul is already pure and ltberated in nature Both ethics and religion would appear to him superfluous and unnecessary Presenting an ultimate ideal
