Walk With Me

Author(s): Chandanaji Acharya, Vastupal Parikh
Publisher: Veerayatan

Page 78

Walk With Me
Mahavir's sadhana, we must first understand the interplay between the mind and the soul. Mahavir was able to understand it, and thereby ‘know it. “Me' is also often called, Soul, Atma, Jiva, Self, Chetana, or Consciousness. Actually, 'Me' is the Self only in its purest state. Pure ‘Me' has infinite consciousness, and unlimited knowledge and energy. But the ‘Me' within us is impure, bonded and contaminated by material karmic particles. These material particles (travya) limit our knowledge and vision, and also cause our impure Self to generate some kind of vibrations. These vibrations are our psychic or emotional states, desires, and passions, which are collectively called our bhava karma or chitta.
The emotional states in the impure Self are actually created in response to events occurring within the material objects that exist in the external world. In other words, the change seen in material objects (dravya karma) is said to be the indirect, or subsidiary cause (nimitta karan), not the direct or primary cause (upadan karan), of the change in our psychic or emotional state. For example, pleasure and pain are the emotional states of the impure Self, caused by nervous impulses or thought processes. External objects do not contain pleasure or pain; they cause (nimitta karan) such impulses. Since the impure soul generates emotional impulses (bhava karma) according to its own state, the same event or object affects some people with pain and others with pleasure."
"You mean to say that some people respond with rage and anger to an event, while others may remain cool and kind in the same situation because soul generates these responses according to its own state of impurity?" Prabhas was excited and wanted to ensure that he understood my explanation so far.
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