Acharya Mahaprajna
Deccan Herald
Who may be said to be really ingenuous in the sense of being true, frank and honourable? A saying in the Aayaro, Aayaro is the oldest agam (scripture) of Jainism, provides the answer. Truly ingenuous is he who can bear the heat and the cold. And by the heat and the cold are not meant only the summer and winter. Only he who can put up with all kinds of favourable and adverse circumstances, is entitled to the glory of being called ingenuous.
Generally that man may be said to be true and honourable who is free from the spirit of possession. However, mere non-possessiveness falls far short of the meaning here. The sadhak in whom the complexes of attachment and aversion stand dissolved, who has broken out of the ring of passions, may be said to be truly ingenuous. And the element, which can exalt us to that stage, is equanimity. Equanimity and goodwill are two aspects of the same coin. Equanimity is a power, which only the really capable persons can command. The incompetent are without equanimity. They are easily disheartened, have little tolerance and cannot therefore adore the spirit of goodwill and friendship.
The truly ingenuous have many qualities. Non-possession, brahmacharya, non-stealing and truth are also their characteristics. But all these are included in equanimity. With equanimity in life, all these qualities thrive. In the absence of equanimity, however, these cannot exist. The moment equanimity is violated, all these qualities also disappear. That is an indubitable fact.
On the ground of conduct, the synonym of equanimity is the spirit of friendship. This is a relative truth. When feelings of antagonism, contempt disrespect or anger arise in the mind against a person, to ask forgiveness of that person, and to freely pardon any misconduct against oneself, constitutes friendship. This is meant for those who live in the practical world.
The goodwill of a person, who has risen above all practicalities, is not confined to any one individual; it embraces the whole of mankind. His ideal is to inculcate a feeling of equality for all - big or small. This is a kind of spiritual force which all may not be able to develop. But those, in whom the spirit of friendship is fully developed, can have no enemies in the whole world. They irrigate men's minds with nectar, which quite washes away the poison of enmity, and all is love and goodwill.