Book Title: Samkit Faith Practice Liberation
Author(s): Amit B Bhansali
Publisher: Amit B Bhansali

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Page 240
________________ Yudhishthira then asked Duryodhana (his younger cousin and eldest of the Kaurava princes) to find one good person in the city of Dvaraka. Duryodhana searched the entire city of Dvaraka and could not locate a single good person! Disappointed, he returned to Yudhishthira and said that he was unable to locate a single good person in the city of Dvaraka. He said that he saw flaws in each and every person. He could not find a single person who was full of good qualities and free from all flaws. This story indicates that "Jevi drishti tevii srishti” {we see the world according to our own perception and biases. Through this story, it is easy to understand the difference between the perceptions of a samyakdrishti and a mithyaadrishti. A soul, which has samyaktva sees good qualities everywhere and he will find good qualities wherever he goes. A soul, which lacks samyaktva, i.e. mithyaadrishti enjoys searching for flaws. The samyakdrishti only looks at the souls of people, and finds each and every soul as the storehouse of good qualities. This is why a samyakdrishti finds good qualities wherever he goes. On the other hand, the mithyaadrishti only looks at the manifestations of the soul. Not the soul itself. What is more, he enjoys looking for the flaws in that manifestation. Hence, one person (the samagdrishti) keeps looking at the good qualities of the soul and makes spiritual progress. While the other person (the mithyaadrishti) focuses on the manifestation and thus remains stuck in the cycle of transmigration. Thus, difference in perception leads to a huge difference in the soul's disposition. It also leads to difference in conduct. The Sun is a centre of illumination. Many planets and satellites revolve around it. The Sun gives light to all the planets and satellites that revolve around it. Samyaktva is also a source of illumination. The good qualities of ahimsa {nonviolence), satya {truthfulness), vrata {vows), tapa {penance), niyama (code of conduct, daana (charity} revolve around it like satellites revolve around the sun. Till the time the Sun of samyaktva keeps illuminating them, the qualities remain pure and wholesome. And if the Sun of samyaktva dims, these qualities shall become impure and flawed. They will become vikrita (disfigured) and vishama {unsuitable}. Samyaktva is the quality of the soul. Just as one cannot discriminate between a thief and a good man in the darkness, without samaktva we cannot discriminate between what is ours (the soul) and what is not ours (the body, material wealth, relatives, etc.). The samyaktva-based art of living has the power of perceiving the soul, and discriminating between what is beneficial for the soul and what is harmful, what is suitable for the soul and what is unsuitable. In the same way, the Panchadhyayi and the Lati Samhita compare samyaktva to the Sun and state that, 237

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