अकलंकदेव कृत पुण्य और पाप का विवेचन

Summary

In Jain philosophy, merit (punya) and sin (papa) are considered substances, not actions. According to Akalankadeva, actions of mind, speech, and body with virtuous intentions cause the influx of karmic matter that is merit, while actions with sinful intentions cause the influx of karmic matter that is sin. These karmic particles, bound to the soul due to delusion, non-restraint, passion, and negligence, produce experiences of pleasure and pain. Merit is defined as that which pleases the soul or causes it to experience happiness, while sin is its opposite, preventing virtuous thoughts and causing suffering. Akalankadeva explains that virtuous yoga (activity) includes non-violence, truthfulness, and devotion, while sinful yoga includes violence, falsehood, and envy. The influx of merit and sin depends on pure or defiled intentions, not merely on the external act of giving pleasure or pain to oneself or others. If intention were irrelevant, even inanimate objects or passionless ascetics would incur karmic bondage. Defilement consists of thoughts of sorrow and cruelty, while purity is the absence of such thoughts and abiding in one's own nature. There are 42 types of meritorious karmic natures, including celestial and human life spans, pleasant feelings, and noble birth, and 82 sinful natures, including knowledge-obscuring, deluding, and painful feeling karmas. Both merit and sin cause bondage, like iron or gold chains; liberation requires the complete destruction of both. However, for worldly beings, merit is preferable to sin because it leads to desirable outcomes. The merit of a wrong-believer, motivated by desire, leads to arrogance and further sin, while the merit of a right-believer, accompanied by pure thought-activity, indirectly aids liberation. Thus, one should first abandon sin and cultivate merit to obtain a favorable birth and body, then transcend both to achieve ultimate liberation.