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the absence of consciousness good and bad are inconceivable. Thus, a universe without consciousness would be a universe without value.“Whatever is good, then, must stand in relation to consciousness.” In the history of ethical thought good has been defined in various ways, namely as pleasent, as liked by me or most members of the group, as an object of favourable interest and so on. . Any serious student of ethics would outright reject these definitions of 'good' or 'Subha'. According to the Jaina ethics, Subha is an experience in tune with Ahimsā. Since there are degrees of Ahiṁsā, so their are degrees of Subha or good. The ingredients of this experience which is complex but unified are emotions, and knowledge issuing in endseeking action. Satisfaction on the fulfilment of ends is the accompaniment of the experience. The implication of the definition of Subha or good is that goodness does not belong to things in complete isolation from feeling; a thing is good, because it gives rise to an experience in tune with Ahimsā. Besides, that a thing does this is an objective fact and not an imaginary construction. The question, What is right can be answered, according to the Jaina, by saying that right cannot be separated from the good. Thus, right is that which tends to produce experience in tune with Ahiṁsā.
. The question, what is śubha in the realm of ethics is like the question, what is Dravya in the realm of metaphysics. The definition of Dravya given by the Jaina Ācāryas is : Dravya is that which is sat (Being). Here being' is used in a comprehensive sense and not in a particular sense. But it is to be borne in mind that no particular thing can be apart from being. In a logical way we can say that being is the highest genus whereas the particulars are its species and the relation between the two is identity-in-difference. Similarly,
Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
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