Book Title: Studies in Jainism
Author(s): M P Marathe, Meena A Kelkar, P P Gokhle
Publisher: Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publication Puna

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Page 247
________________ 232 STUDIES IN JAINISM value of c) place of seeking pleasure in Janism and the Jaina weltanschauung. a) It has been contended by some that the Jaina outlook is negative and otherworldly. Life and world negation and not the life affirmation are the ends to be pursued. For the Jainas the ultimate spiritual excellence of mokṣa can be attained through the gradual process of self-denial. There is no short cut to moksa. However, we should note that the Jaina ethical thought has always emphasised the need for empirical values as means to the realisation of the highest and of perfection. They have not ignored the social aspect of life. In fact Sweitzer maintains that the problem of deliverance in the Jaina and the Buddhist thought is not raised beyond ethics. It was supreme ethic, and. “ So far as actual ethical content is concerned, Buddhism, Jainisrn and Hinduism are not inferior to others.” 13. Ethics of the Jainas is working in righteousness in all the days of one's life. b) While considering the Jaina theory of value and right we have to remember that in Jainism there is no cut and dried theory to which all actions get conformed. Life is complex and is not fitted to suit the theories. Moksa is the highest value from the point of view of spiritual perfection. From the Niscaya naya moksa is the supreme value. It is intrinsic in nature. It is difficult to say what is the nature of moksa. In the traditional sense it is the highest state of the pure soul in the siddha silā. However in a broad and ethical sense we can say that the end of every man's activity is self-rcalisation. The higher self has to be realised not at the cost of annihilating the lower self, but by developing and sublimating the lower self. In this sense, it is a continuous process in which the lower self transforms itself in to the higher by shedding its impurities and getting purer. This is realising ones pure self which remained soiled due to the veil of karma. From the empirical point of view, dharma is the supreme value, to be pursued for its own sake. It is moral and spiritual excellence. And considered from the ultimate point of view (niscayanaya) dharma is the instrumental value meant for he realisation of mokşa. In ethics dharma has to be considered to the intrinsic value. Similarly, for the Jainas, ahimsā is to be considered both as intrinsic and intrumental value. It is intrinsic because ahin sa is the first principle of conduct. Every conduct

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