Jethalal S. Zaveri
Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
evaṃ vavahāraṇao paḍisiddho jāṇa ṇichayaṇayeṇa.
ṇicchayaṇayāsidā puṇa muṇiṇo pāvaṃti ṇivvāṇaṃ..36
(Evaṃ vavahāraṇao ṇicchayaṇayeṇa paḍisiddho) Hence, the empirical aspects are rejected by the transcendental aspect, (puṇaḥ ṇicchayaṇayāsidā muṇiṇo ṇivvāṇaṃ pāvaṃti) and again, the ascetic who takes refuge in the transcendental attains the final liberation.
vadasamidῑguttῑo sῑlatavaṃ jiṇavarehi paṇṇattaṃ.
kuvvaṃto vi abhavvo aṇṇāṇῑ micchadiṭṭhῑ du..37
mokkhaṃ asaddahaṃto abhaviyasatto du jo adhῑyejja.
pāṭho ṇa karedi guṇaṃ asaddahaṃtassa ṇāṇaṃ tu..38
saddahadi ya pattiyadi ya rocedi ya taha puṇo vi phāsedi ya.
dhammaṃ bhogaṇimittaṃ ṇa hu so kammakkhayaṇimittaṃ..39
(Jinṇvarehi paṇṇataṃ vada-samidῑ-guttῑo-sῑla-tavaṃ kuvvaṃto vi abhavvo aṇṇāṇῑ micchādiṭṭhi) Those who are abhavva—eternally unqualified from being emancipated—remain [saddled with] perverted vision and attitude, inspite of their [external] adoption of vows, rules for conduct and austerities as prescribed by the omniscient.
(Jo abhaviyasatto) Those who are abhavya—eternally disqualified from being emancipated—also (adhῑyejja du) learn the scriptures but (mokkhaṃ asaddahaṃto) they are devoid of the firm faith for emancipation; (tu ṇāṇaṃ asaddahaṃtassa pāṭho guṇa ṇa karedi) hence, being devoid of the faith, they are unable to get benefited from their studies.
(So) The afore-mentioned abhavya [soul] (bhoga-ṇimittaṃ dhammaṃ saddahadi ya pattiyadi rocedi ya taha puṇo vi phāsedi ya) believes, has faith, has propensity for, and, again, practises the religion, only to reap the fruits of puṇya, [that is, to obtain sensuous pleasures], (ṇa hu kammakkhaya-ṇimittaṃ) and not for demolishing the karma.
Annotations:
In these three verses, the author deals with the peculiar case of those souls who are eternally unfit for emancipation/self-realization i.e. Abhavyas. Every soul in the cosmos, without exception, possess, in some measure, the predilection for truth. But until and unless it develops into a self-conscious pursuit of truth, it does not help spiritual progress. It is only at the stage of self-conscious effort for spiritual advancement that this love of truth can be called right world-view—samyagdarśana and is able to stop the influx of karmic matter through the largest opening mithyātva. The soul is conceived as groping in the darkness before it acquires this love of truth in an appreciable measure. And it has to undergo a number of processes before the acquisition of this characteristic. There are souls who never acquire this characteristic and, therefore, are never released from the endless cycles of rebirths. The souls are called abhavya—eternally unfit for emancipation.
Abhavyatva is a transcendental beginningless state of those souls and the endless bondage cannot be rationally explained. Being an unchangable quality, abhavya souls can never become bhavya and vice versa.
In the worldly life such a soul may strive for spiritual advancement, but since it is inherently incapable of acquiring the characteristic predilection for truth—samyagdarśana—it will not make any progress on the path of self-realization. Such a soul may even become an ascetic and may appear to be strive hard, trying to block avirati āśrava. But since the largest opening of mithyātva remains eternally open, all its efforts are futile. Such a soul may again, diligently, study scriptures but can never attain right faith for the emancipated state of the soul. Its propensities, inherently, are for sensuous pleasures and carnal desires and practice of prescribed religion is believed to be solely for worldly happiness and not for self-realization.
