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LESSON V THE PATH OF SALVATION
True philosophy in Jainism should result in voluntary and consistent striving, both intellectual and moral with a view to remove all the impediments in the process of purification of the soul, so as to realise the free and beautific state of our true being. This in essence is the ultimate end and purpose of all life and activity. With a view to attain to this, we should embark upon Right conviction, Right knowledge and Right conduct, which combined together constitute the path of liberation or emancipation. (1) RIGHT CONVICTION ( Right attitude or faith ) :
Right conviction counsels the conscious retention of what we have or have gained by happy intuition or by deliberate acquisition of knowledge. It thus takes a form of firm faith. We have to take hold of this path and press it deeper and deeper in the consciousness, so that it does not sway by any external factors.
Right conviction is of two kinds :
A. Right conviction from the practical point of view or vyavahara samyag-darshana. It consists of right and steady conviction of the true nature of the tattvas. It also includes faith in true ideal, true scriptures and true preceptor.
B. Right conviction from the real point of view or nischayasamyag-darshana. It means realisation of one-self as a pure soul.
(2) RIGHT KNOWLEDGE:
Right conviction makes us perceive the reality of life and the seriousness of our object in life. It saves us from the soul-emptying, puzzling void of scepticism. It brings us nearer to the feeling and touch by the solid substantial reality of our own and other souls, as also of the matter in union, with which the soul gives rise to the phenomena of life.
Right knowledge makes us examine in detail the matter brought into the mind by right conviction. Of course, both are mental processes,
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