Sambodhi 1998 Vol 22

Author(s): Jitendra B Shah, N M Kansara
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 88

Vol XXII, 1998
DOCTRINE OF
(3) Gray (kapota) (4) Red (tayasa) (5) Yellow (padma)
(6) White (śukla) First three viz, black, blue, gray are inauspicious while remaining three i e red, yellow and white are auspicious in character and function All jīvas are influenced by these Leśyās or emotions Only the Siddhas (1 e liberated souls) are free from the influence of the Leśyās and they are called alesins or gataleśyās Amongst these sıx Leśyās (emotions) the black, blue and gray are the lowest type of emotions Such as cruelty, hostility, unkindness, hypocrisy, evil mindedness, thoughtlessness, wrathfulness, corruptibility, through which soul is brought to misery The black leśyā is the worst of the three bad emotions colouring the soul The blue is less evil than the first The grey may lead men to do evil The red, yellow and white are the good leśyās, which bring happiness The red removes all evil thoughts, yellow leśyā helps to control passions Love and hatred disappear under the influence of white leśyā Each following one is better than the preceding one and the last is the best By observing the activities of man we can judge, by which leśyā he is influenced Influence of each leśyā is beautifully illustrated through the behaviour of six persons Once upon a time, sıx persons were travelling together, in the forest They became hungry These hungry travellers saw ripe fruits on a jambu tree and thought of eating the fruits The problem before them was how to get fruts from jambu tree The first man suggested that the tree must be up-rooted, to eat fruits The second man told others to cut off half of the tree, the third recommended to chop off the big branches, forth told them to cut only small branches, fifth said, let us pluck the fruits only and sixth advised not to hurt the tree but gather the fallen fruits on the ground and eato Here, we can see, all the six persons are under the influence of different kinds of leśyā The first one is influenced by black lestya, so his act is more cruel, uprooting the tree itself The second has blue, the third grey, the fourth red, the fifth yellow and the sixth white The white leśyā is the best and the Jaina religious efforts are directed towards the acquisition of this pure leśyā, which is