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teacher Sanatkumāra that he is invaded by grief on account of not having the knowledge of the self. Thus we learn that the intuitive knowledge of the self alone is capable of enabling us to cross the ocean of sorrow and no amount of mere intellectual equipment. Hence the Parā Vidyā is the crowning experience, the sublime good. It may be pointed out here that intellectual knowledge should not be utterly depreciated on this account nor should it be overemphasized at the expense of intuition. When the highest is reached the intellectual is displaced by the intuitional.
We find striking concordance when Kundakunda announces that the Suddha-naya is true and Vyavahāra-naya is false. 43 Paramārtha-naya and Niscaya-naya are indistinguishable from Suddha-naya. Suddha-naya is identical with the intuitional experience of the Atman. Vyavahāra-naya creates differentiations in the unitary nature of the Ātman by explaining it through its distinguishing characteristics. Those who have ascended the loftiest height of mystical experience deserve the knowledge of Suddhanaya, but those of the aspirants who fall short of this sublime ascension should take shelter under Vyavahāra-naya without losing sight of the ideal. 44 Thus the Āparā Vidyā or the Vyavahāra-naya is true to the extent to which it leads a man intellectually on the path, but it is not all. “just as every householder submits himself to Sannyāsa or renunciation and realizes his spiritual aim, so ultimately Vyavahāra is discarded in favour of Niscaya.” 45
There is yet another meaning ascribed to Niscaya and Vyavahara. The former indicates that the self is unbound and untouched by karmas while the latter indicates that it is bound and touched by karmas. 46 The spiritual experience however transcends the intellectual points of view. 46a
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Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
Jain Education International
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