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ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
covered by the sixth tattva. Taken together, both samvara and nirjara aim at the liberation of the soul from the condition of bondage, installing it on the coveted Central Seat in the Temple of Divinity in Nirvana.
The principle underlying both these tattvas is a corollary to the second of the two great laws of interaction between spirit and matter, as formulated above. As the fusion of spirit and matter takes place by virtue of desire, the giving up of individual desires clearly is the one and the only means of freeing the soul from the impurities adhering to it. For this reason, both samvara and nirjara consist in rules of conduct which enable the soul to destroy its bonds by controlling its desires. The soul that is anxious for speedy liberation must therefore, apply itself to subjugate its animal nature, instead of wasting its opportunity in dancing attendance on, or vainly appealing for help to, some real or imaginary god or goddess.
As for the rules of conduct laid down for the eradication of the animal nature, the space at our disposal does not admit of our describing them in detail. They can be studied in other works which deal with the subject scientifically. The main thing to note in this connection is that there is a given order, a graduated series of steps, so to speak, which must be followed if steady progress is to be maintained. As said in the Introduction to the Householder's Dharma : "Renunciation, that is, the withdrawal of attention from the outside world, the giving up of all worldly persuits and undertakings, the abandonment of all desires, then, is the principle of success on the spiritual path. But the question is, how to develop the spirit of renunciation in such a way as to ensure its sustentation ? Erratic action will not do; the top cannot be reached by haphazard jumps and flights in the air. A ladder must be found which will take one, step by step, to the top, and save all the falls and bruises consequent on them." Jainism furnishes just such a ladder as will enable the distressed soul to rise from the gutter of wretchedness and sin to the high and the sublime status pertaining to Divinity; but it must be lived to be productive of good. There is no good in upsetting the order given ; that will only result in suffering and pain. To quote again from the Householder's Dharma: "It is well to know that Jainism is not the product of a finite mind whose conclusions might be overruled by others endowed
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