Self-knowledge is the starting point of every spiritual endeavour. Self-reflection is a distinctly human trait – man is able to meditate on his own existence, on himself, and if this ability has been granted, it is also a task. An egoist, too, makes use of self-reflection, placing himself at the centre of the world. The careful inquirer acts in much the same way, only he places himself at the centre not of the world but of his inquiries. Through genuine self-examination he can map out the whole system of connections that binds him, the unique individual, to the world and to the transcendent. That is why it is true that we matter to ourselves at a low level and at a high one alike, that the fool and the sage are both occupied with themselves, but the content of their findings differs.
Ontology, cosmology, epistemology, phenomenology, eschatology and ethics – most people lose the thread at the very first steps. If man does not understand profound philosophical discourse, then the old tradition teaches him through beautiful parables. Such, too, is the parable of the Jain tradition, which captures the character of the individual in a man's attitude and conduct towards the mango tree.
Man's deeds and thoughts are shaped by an immense number of factors, the list of motives is exceedingly long, and even when we think we act or decide freely, we are probably under some influence all the same. The Jain story simplifies this intricate system and holds that in his deeds man is guided by good and bad emotions, and that these emotions are reflected in different colours. On the scale from wickedness to goodness, the series of similes paints the rungs of human quality in colours ranging from black to white.
- › The basest man ruthlessly destroys everything of value, a steadfast misanthrope. He is like one who, hoping for the fruit, wrenches the mango tree out by its roots; his colour is black.
- › Next comes the greedy and shameless man, who at times shows patient deliberation. He can be likened to the man who leaves the stump but cuts down the trunk; his colour is dark blue.
- › The envious man is third, one who cannot make distinctions, but whose destructive urge is more subdued. He is like the wanderer who needlessly breaks off the branches, yet the tree still lives; his colour is grey.
- › The remaining culprits walk the path of virtue and purification, and in them there is more good than harm. The kindly but careless man is like the irresponsible wanderer who gets to the fruit by snapping off the twigs; his colour is yellow, fiery.
- › Next comes the patient and forbearing man, who harms no one and only picks the fruit, without hurting the tree; his colour is red.
- › Finally, the man who stands on the level of purity, compassion and complete equality causes pain to no one. He walks his path towards salvation, and there is no material stain upon him. He is like the peaceful, modest and contented wanderer who gathers only the fallen fruit and gives thanks to the tree; his colour is white.
The extremes of the scale, the black and the white states, are rare, and the vast majority of people are found within a relatively narrow range near the average. The Chuvash proverb holds true: a bad man cannot live a good life. Few represent the utter extremes: the exceedingly wicked are few, and the infinitely good fewer still. Liberation from bonds cannot be won by wicked means, and what is more, neither average achievement nor even goodness is enough. The summit of self-knowledge is spiritual freedom, and only that man is free whose soul leaves the world before he himself leaves the world.