Exposition of False Belief Knowledge and Conduct

 

Misconjecture About Good & Bad

 

The passionate dispositions are produced owing to believing the substances either good or bad, but believing good or bad is also false, because no substance is good or bad. The same is being explained here: -

 

That, which is pleasurable and beneficial to us, is termed good, and that, which is distressing and uneneficial, is termed bad. In the universe, all substances are the producer of their individual natural functions only, none is pleasurable or distressing, beneficial or unbeneficial to anybody. This Jiva himself, in his thoughts, by believing them pleasurable beneficial knows them to be agreeable or knows them bad by believing them distressing and unbeneficial; for same substance appears to be good to someone and bad to someone.  For example, one who does not get the cloth, to him a coarse cloth appears to be good and the one who gets the fine cloth, to him the coarse cloth appears to be bad; to swine, etc. the faces appears to be good and to celestial beings, etc. it appear to be bad. To someone the torrents appear to be good and to someone it appears to be bad.  Similarly, other examples are to be understood.

 

And in the same way, to some Jiva, one substance appears to be good in some particular instant and the same substance appears to be bad in some other particular instant. Moreover, it should be known that this Jiva considers chiefly a particular substance to be good but the same substance sometime appears to be bad. For example, the body is agreeable but when it gets diseased then it becomes disagreeable; the son, etc. are agreeable but under some circumstances they appear to be disagreeable. And those objects which this Jiva chiefly considers to be disagreeable appear to be agreeable sometime. For example, an abuse (usually) is not agreeable but the same appears to be agreeable in father-in-law's house.

 

Thus, benefit - harmfulness are not the characteristics of substance. Had there been benefit -harmfulness in the substance, then the substance which would have been beneficial by itself it should be beneficial to all and which would have been harmful by itself it should be harmful to all; but it is not so. This Jiva himself believes them in his imagination to be beneficial or harmful; so, this imagination is false.

 

Further, the substance, which appears to be pleasurable- beneficial or distressing - not beneficial is not of its own but due to the rise of Punya-Papa karmas. The one who has got the rise of Punya (merit) karma to him the association of substances is found to be pleasurable-beneficial and the one who has got the rise of Papa (demerit) karma to him the association of substances is found to be distressing-  not beneficial. This is practically found to be so. To someone, wife, son, etc. are pleasurable and to someone are distressing; someone earns profit by doing the business and someone gets loss; to someone even the foes become slaves and to someone even the son becomes inimical. Therefore, it is ascertained that the substances do not become good or bad on their own but they act according to the rise of karmas. As the servants, according to their master's order, produce good or bad situation to someone then it is not the work of the servants but is the work of their master. If someone considers the servants only to be good or bad then it is wrong; similarly, if the substances, associated due to rise of karmas, produce good or bad situation to Jiva according to karmas then it is not the work of the substances; it is the work of karmas. If someone believes the substances only to be good or bad, then it is wrong.

 

Hence, this is proved that indulging in attachment-aversion feeling, by believing the substances to be good or bad, is a fallacy.

 

Question: The association of external objects is caused due to the instrumentality of karmas, then should we have attachment-aversion feeling in the karmas?

 

Answer: The karmas are material (Inanimate matter-particles), they have no desire to give pleasure or pain.  Moreover, they on their own do not turn into karmic form but assume the karmic form due to the instrumentality of his (impure) dispositions. For example, if someone breaks his head by picking stone in his hand then what is the fault of the stone?  Similarly, if this Jiva harms himself by turning the matter-particles into karmic form by means of his attachment, etc. (impure) dispositions, then what is the fault of the karmas?  Therefore, it is wrong to entertain the feeling of attachment-aversion in karmas-even.

 

Thus, having attachment-aversion feeling in other objects, by considering them good or bad, is wrong. Had the other objects been good or bad and if he used to feel attachment-aversion towards them then it would have not been termed to be wrong. Those objects are not good or bad but this Jiva (mundane being) entertains the feeling of attachment-aversion towards them by considering them good or bad; that is why this type of conduct is described to be wrong, and the conduct which is wrong is termed as wrong conduct.

 

Constitution and Growth of Raag-Dwesha

 

Now the constitution and growth of attachment (Raag) and aversion (Dwesha) in this Jiva are being analyzed.

 

Primarily, this Jiva is possessing I-ness feeling in the embodied form; so, he acts by knowing self and body to be one. When a pleasurable condition is produced in this body, agreeable to self, he feels attachment in it and when an unpleasing condition is produced, disagreeable to self, he feels aversion in it. He feels attachment in the external objects which are the cause of pleasurable state of the body and develops aversion in the destroyers of that state. And he develops aversion in the external objects which are the cause of unpleasing state of the body and feels attachment in the destroyers of that state. And further, he develops attachment is those objects which are the instrumental cause of above external objects and feels aversion is their destroyers. And further, develops aversion in those objects which are the instrumental cause of external objects in which he was already having aversion feeling and feels attachment in their destroyers. And among these objects also in which he feels affection, he entertains the feeling of aversion- attachment in the other objects, acting as the associating cause and destroyers of them. And the objects in which he has developed aversion, he entertains the feeling of aversion- attachment in the other objects, acting as the associating cause and destroyers of them.  In this way, the tradition of attachment-aversion continues.

 

Further, in those many external objects which are not the cause of producing any condition in the body, in them too, he feels attachment-aversion. For example, nothing good of the body is caused to the cows, etc. from its calves, even then they (cows, etc.) feel affection in them and nothing bad of the body is caused to the dogs, etc. from the cats, etc., yet they entertain the feeling of aversion in them. Further, nothing good of the body is caused by perceiving, etc. of many of the colors, smells, words (tune) etc.; even then this Jiva feels affection in them, and nothing bad of the body is caused by perceiving etc. of many of the colors etc., yet the Jiva feels aversion in them. In this way, the attachment-aversion feeling is generated towards different external objects.

 

Further, in these objects too in which he feels attachment, he develops attachment-aversion in other objects too, acting as the supporting cause and the destroyers of them.  And one object in which he feels aversion, he develops aversion attachment in other objects too acting as the supporting cause and the destroyers of them.  Similarly, here too the tradition of attachment-aversion continues.

 

Question: The purpose of having attachment-aversion feeling in the other non-self objects is understood but primarily what is the purpose of believing good or bad in the basic states of the body and in the objects which are not the cause of the state of the  body?

 

Answer: Firstly, whatever basic states of the body are, there, even in them, if he feels attachment-aversion keeping the purpose in view, why would it then be termed as Mithya Charitra (wrong conduct)? In them, purposelessly, he develops the feeling of attachment-aversion and for the sake of them only he feels attachment-aversion in the other objects, therefore, all passion modifications (all sorts of attachment-aversion, etc.) are termed Mithya Charitra (wrong conduct).

 

Question: This much seems to be clear that no purpose is served in developing the feeling of good or bad in the state of the body and in the external objects, yet one is not able to abstain from developing the feeling of good or bad in the same; what is the reason?

 

Answer: Owing to the rise of Charitra Moha karma the attachment-aversion feelings are caused to this Jiva and those feelings cannot be caused without developing association with some object.  For example, if attachment feeling is developed, it must be based on some object and if aversion feeling is developed, it too must be based on some object. Thus, there exists the cause and effect relationship between those objects and the attachment-aversion feelings. There, the specific point is only this that many objects are predominantly the cause of attachment feeling and many other objects are predominantly the cause of aversion feeling. Many objects act as the cause of attachment feeling to someone in some particular time and act as the cause of aversion feeling to someone in some particular time.

 

Here it should be known that there are many instrumental causes in the evolution of a modification. In the evolution of attachment feelings, etc., the internal cause is the rise of Mohaniya karma; it is the strong cause and the external cause is the associated object; it is not a strong cause. Due to feeble rise of Mohaniya karma, the great ascetics do not develop the feeling of attachment-aversion in spite of the instrumentality of external objects. On the other hand, even in the absence of external causes, due to intense rise of Mohaniya karma, the wicked Jivas develop the feeling of attachment in those objects by mere imagination. Therefore, attachment, etc. (passionate dispositions) are evolved due to rise of Moha karma.  There, that external object with the association of which attachment feeling is to be evolved, in that object without any purpose or with some purpose attachment feeling is developed. And that external object, with the association of which aversion feeling is to be developed, in that object without any purpose or with some purpose, aversion feeling is developed. Therefore, due to the rise of Mohaniya one is not able to abstain from developing the feeling of good or bad in the objects. In this way, whatever attachment-aversion form of conduct is caused due to believing the objects good or bad, that is termed Mithya Charitra.