Triratna or the Three Gems in Jainism

 

Triratna or the Three Gems

A simultaneous practice of Samyak Darshana or right faith, Samyak Jnana or right knowledge and Samyak Charitra or right character and conduct leads to liberation. These are the three gems of Jainism.

Samyak Darshan or Right Faith

Samyak Darshan is also called Samyakatwa. It is faith in the nine essential principles (Navatattva) and an attitude of unbiased approach to the real nature of things. It can also be called Vivek-Drishti or discriminating perception. Deluded by ignorance, the Jiva ordinarily takes falsehood for truth and truth for falsehood. The faith directed attitude of consciousness that can perceive truth as truth and falsehood as falsehood is Samyak Darshan or Samyakatwa. The spiritual life of the Jiva begins only when Samyakatwa emerges out of darkness of its ignorance. The Jiva develops an aspiration to know the truth in its essential principles, to renounce what is unwholesome and impure, and to accept all that is high and noble and conducive to its spiritual progress. This is the state of Samyaka Darshana.

Samyak Jnana or Right Knowledge

There is some form of knowledge in every Jiva, but so long as Samyak Darshan has not evolved in it, that knowledge can only be wrong or false knowledge. False or doubtful knowledge occurs in cases of ignorance. It is only after the emergence of Samyak Darshan, one can acquire true and perfect knowledge; for, in the absence of Samyak Darshan, the Jiva lacks the power of knowing the true nature of things. Only after Samyak Darshana, Samyak Jnana evolves and one receives true and perfect knowledge.

Jnana or knowledge is of five kinds: Mati-jnana, Shruta-jnana, Avadhi-jnana, Mahaparyaya-jnana and Keval-jnana. The knowledge which is acquired by means of the sense organs and the power of the mind is called Mati-jnana. That which is acquired by the study of words and their meanings is called Shruta-jnana. Like Mati-jnana, Shruta-jnana is also acquired by means of the senses and the mental powers; and the Shruta-jnana of a thing cannot be perfect unless there has already been Mati-jnana of it. But the scope and nature of Shruta-jnana is wider and more distinct than those of Mati-jnana, for Shruta-jnana comprehends a study of words and their meanings. The knowledge which is acquired by the study of books and scriptures and by listening to man of wisdom, is also called Shruta-jnana. The knowledge by which one can know all embodied objects within certain limits of space, and without the help of mind and senses, is called Avadhi-jnana. It is a kind of spiritual knowledge. When this knowledge develops, one can see, even with one’s eyes closed, all things which are not formless, within certain boundaries of space. The knowledge by which, even without the help of the mind and the senses, one can know the psychological movements of the creatures within certain fixed limits, is called Manah-paryaya-jnana. This too is a kind of spiritual knowledge. The knowledge by which, without any aid whatever of the mind and the senses, one can know all things contained in the Loka and Aloka, all things past, present and future, possessing form and without form, and in all their attributes and categories, is called Keval-jnana. This is spiritual knowledge per excellence.

When the four kinds of Karma – Jnanavaraniya, Darshanavaraniya, Mohaniya and Antaraya are completely exhausted, the intrinsic knowledge of the soul, the Kevala-jnana reveals itself. This state of knowledge of the soul is called the Jivanmukta state. Once this state is reached, the Jiva is sure to attain Mukti or Nirvana (liberation) when the remaining span of its life comes to an end. The Tirthankaras were in this state of Jivanmukta stage and endowed with Keval-jnana – all knowing and all seeing.

Samyak Charitra (Right Character and Conduct)

Self-discipline, renunciation, repression of the senses and unblemished conduct are called Charitra. The self-discipline, renunciation etc., practiced after the development of Samyak Darshana and Samyak Jnana constitute Samyak Charitra. The five major vratas practiced by the monks, the tenfold religious observance of the yatis, the seventeen forms of self-discipline, the twelve vratas enjoined upon the lay disciples – all these are included in Samyak Charitra. Charitra is of two kinds: one is based upon total and absolute, and the other on a practical renunciation. A total and unreserved renunciation is preconized for the monks, and a partial renunciation for the householders.

The seven constituents of Samyak Charitra are: renunciation of each of the five kinds of Asrava– violence, untruth, stealing, sexual indulgence and craving for the possession of things; detachment from each of the five sense objects – sound, touch, form, taste and smell; quelling of each of the four principal passions – anger, self-conceit, deceitfulness and avarice; and the threefold discipline of subduing the evil propensities of mind speech and body. A perfect and synthetic practice of Samyak Darshana, Samyak Jnana and Samyak Charitra inevitably leads to liberation. These are the three priceless gems of Jainism.

Samyak Darshana, Samyak Jnana and Samyak Charitra are interrelated and depend upon each other for their perfection. If the faith (Darshana) is not purified, there is no possibility of the development of pure knowledge; and if the faith and knowledge have not become pure, conduct cannot be pure and flawless. Any two or even any one of these three gems cannot lead to liberation. Even perfectly pure faith and knowledge, unaccompanied by pure conduct, fail to lead to liberation. It is, therefore, by simultaneous perfection of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct that one can attain to liberation. Unless one practices to perfection the five major vows (Mahavratas) – non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity and non-possession, one can never attain to perfect purity of character and conduct. The Jain ideal of monkhood is an unimpeachable perfection in living, that is to say, in character and conduct; and it is non-violence that is the bedrock of perfect conduct.