________________
234
Mokṣa. According to him the four cardinal principles are: (1) heya1 (misery), (2) heyahetu2, (cause of misery), (3) hāna3 (cessation of misery) & (4) hānopāyaa (the pathway to the cessation of the misery). Vātsyāyana, the noted commentator of Nyayasutra has elaborated the four principles of the Mokşa and pathway to Mokşa.
The Buddha enunciated, in his Sermon at Banares, the four noble truths (Aryasatya): (1) dukkha (misery), (2) dukkhasamudya (cause of misery), (3) dukkha-nirodha (cessation of misery) and dukkhanirodha mārga (the pathway to the cessation of misery). In the Jaina darśana, the four fundamental truths have been enunciated : (1) bandha (bondage), (2) āsrava (cause of bondage) (3) mokşa (state of liberation) and (4) samvara (the way to the cessation to the bondage).
A SOURCE-BOOK IN JAINA PHILOSOPHY
ance.
The Bandha(bondage)is due to the passions arising out of ignorThis creates misery. Asrava is the influx of karma. It is the cause of misery. It is due to the passions and the activity. Mokşa is the complete freedom from kārmic matter. It is the state absolutely free from misery. Samvara is the way to the cessation to the misery. This is possible if the influx of the karmic particles is obstructed. The next stage would be the removal of the accumulated karma. This is the nirjara. These two constitute the pathway to Mokşa. In this sense, we can say that the Jainas have propounded the four fundamental and noble truths in the tradition of the Vedic and Upanisadic thought and similar to the Buddhist tradition too.
Every school of Indian thought have emphasised the importance of the concept of Mokşa as the highest stage of self-realisation. They have suggested that the root-cause of samsara and the misery in this life is due to avidya (neiscience). Avidya gives rise to passions (rāga
1 Yogadarsana: sädhanäpäda 16
2 Ibid 27
3 Ibid 25
4 Ibid 26
5 Nyayabhāşya 1, 1, 1.
6 Majjhimanikāya, bhaşabheka sutta, 4.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
