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1.2.3 Origin and Attainment of Samyaktva
It is extremely important to know the origin of samyakdarshana, how it is achieved and how it may be attained.
In this eternal world, the attainment of samyakdarshana or samyaktva or bodhi or shraddhaa is the most difficult and rare. Why is it so difficult to attain samyakdarshana? All Jain scriptures say in one voice, that the process of attaining samyakdarshana is extremely difficult.
The first requirement for attaining samyakdarshana {true insight/true realisation/true perception/ rational perception/right faith/right belief} is that one should be a cognate five-sensed (sangnii panchendriya). This is because an incognate living being cannot possibly attain samyaktva.
According to the Kaartikeyaanuprekshaa, verses 284 - 287, the soul has spent many eons in nigoda. Emerging from nigoda, it is reborn either as an earth-bodied being or a fire-bodied living being or a wind-bodied living being or a water-bodied living being...or as a plant. All these are one-sensed living beings, incapable of moving on their own. Hence, they are known as sthaavarakaaya jiiva {stationary-bodied living beings. It is extremely rare and exceedingly difficult to emerge from these life forms. In fact, progressing from the one-sensed life forms to the higher life forms is as rare and precious as getting your hands on a wish fulfilling gem! But the soul that does emerge from those life forms is then born as trasa jiiva {living being capable of movement. He is usually born as a two-sensed being, three-sensed being or a four-sensed being. To attain birth as a five-sensed being is extremely difficult, exceedingly rare, excruciatingly arduous and quite extraordinary. If, due to some past good deeds (punya karmas), the soul is born as a five-sensed being, it is born as an incognate five-sensed being (asangnii panchendriya jiiva). Not being cognate, it will not have a mind and therefore be utterly incapable of distinguishing between self and nonself, good and bad, what ought to be accomplished (kartavya) and what ought never to be done (akartavya). Hence, it will not be capable of attaining liberation.
Even supposing that living being has exceptionally strong merits (punya karmas) and is born cognate, it will be born as a carnivorous being such as a cat, dog, lion, etc. Such a living being has no chance of becoming a liberated soul. Generally speaking, it is extremely rare for a cruel, carnivorous being to attain samyaktva. This is because such beings are always inclined towards violence and sin. They are born with a sinful disposition (paapa parinaama) that remains constant throughout their lives. They lead violent lives and are reborn in the bottomless pit of hell, which is full of physical and mental torture and extreme sorrow. How will they attain samyaktva in there? After a long, long period of time, they emerge from hell and are reborn as violent carnivores and live through similar sorrows. Their souls are so tightly bound by karmas that forget about samyaktva; even the most basic distinctive knowledge {viveka) is missing. Thus, the living being keeps reincarnating as a non-human, living in agony and grief, dying of sorrow and pain and being reborn to the same agony
