Chapter  V - Repentance, (Pratikramana)

 

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          90. (Impure) thought-activities, (such as) wrong belief, etc., have been experienced before since eternity by a mundane soul, (but) pure thought-activities such as right belief, etc , have never been experienced by this soul.

 

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          91 . He, who having completely renounced Wrong Belief, ( Wrong ) Knowledge and ( Wrong ) Conduct, meditates upon Right Belief, ( Right ) Knowledge and ( Right ) Conduct ( is said to have ) repentance.

 

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          92. Soul is a supreme category, Saints absorbed in it destroy the Karmas; therefore self-concentration only is the repentance of the highest order.

 

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          93. A saint absorbed in self-concentration, renounces all defects. Therefore self-concentration only constitutes the repentance of all transgressions.

 

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          94. He, who having understood the modes of repentance, as related in the scripture known by the name of � Pratikramana Sutra � meditates upon it, is then said to have repentance ( from the practical point of view ).

 

Commentary.

          In Jaina Scriptures the following six essential duties have been prescribed for a saint :-

 

          1. Repentance ( Pratikramana ).

          2. Renunciation ( Pratyakhyana).

          3. Praising the Worshipful Lords ( Stuti )

          4. Obeisance  to the  Worshipful  Lords, ( Vandana ).

          5. Practising of equanimity, ( Samayika )

          6.  Relinquishment  of  bodily  attachment ( Kayotsarga ).

 

          From the practical point of view, a saint is said to make repentance, when he recounts his sins and transgressions committed during the performance of his daily routine, and makes penance for them in accordance with rules laid down in the scripture called � Pratikramana Sutra.� This kind of repentance is of a lower degree compared to the repentance described in Gathas 83 to 93 from the real point of view. Practical repentance is only a step to reach the real repentance which consists in directing the pure thought-activity of soul towards the concentration and realisation of the pure self. This kind of repentance causes the shedding of Karmas in a greater number and quantity than practical repentance, and has been termed Real repentance. Thus, for a saint, bent upon attaining liberation, it is essential that he should regard Real repentance as the direct cause of liberation, and should treat practical repentance only as an auxiliary cause to Real repentance.