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* Dispassionate speech is synonymous with the mystical realization which is the height of truth man is capable of achieving. The perfect soul of Tirthankaras who preach for the upliftment of human and other beings should not be regarded as being moved by any passion inasmuch as they speak for the good of all without any selfish desire and without any constraint of passion. It follows from what has been described that Asatya, is a double fall from the loftiest heights of truth. It defiles both the internal soul and the external demeanour, the social living and the spiritual upliftment, hence it should be forsaken in the interest of advancement.
We now define Asatya. Under the constraint of anger, greed, conceit deceit, lust and the like, the use of language which affects others and ourselves should be understood as Asatya.'' It does not merely mean the pronouncement of the existent as non-existent, nor can it be said to embrace merely the proclamation of the non-existent as existent, but also involves the misrepresentation of the true nature of the existents and the use of speech which arouses intense-passion and causes pain to others. Accordingly, Satya must not merely mean the announcement of the existent, but must also mean the use of words which are soothing, gentle, and ennobling. It should be borne in mind that, even if by our most vigilant and gentle speaking, others are somehow perversely and painfully affected, we shall not be considered as transgressing and setting at nought the vow of truth. Ontologically speaking, no word is pleasant or unpleasant in isolation and in itself. It is the spirit that counts. A word, being the modification of Pudgala, has infinite characteristics. Therefore it possesses the potency of affecting others in infinite ways, all of which are incapable of being known by
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Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays
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