Jaina Philosophy

SR No.: 001180
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Publication Year: 1998
Total Pages: 328
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Philosophy
File Size: 15 MB

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JAINA PHILOSOPHY : AN INTRODUCTION
Moreover, if pleasure and pain of which we are all undeniably conscious as belonging to ourselves, i.e., to our ātman, do not belong to ātman, they will have to hang in the air, since buddhi is incompetent to possess them, it being held to be jada (unconscious). Hence, ātman is active and changing having consciousness as its essence. Soul as Agent: . The Sānkhya school does not regard Purușa as agent, active entity. Puruşa, according to this school, is merely a silent and passive spectator. This view has been already refuted. • Pleasure and pain cannot belong to an unconscious entity. Puruşa is subject to pleasure and pain, because consciousness belongs to Purușa only. When it is proved that pleasure and pain belong to Puruşa, it is obvious that Puruşa is active, because an inactive entity cannot be subject to pleasure and pain. Moreover, consciousness itself is active, because the term consciousness implies knowledge or intelligence which is active in character. Soul as Enjoyer :
The fifth characteristic of soul is its direct enjoyment. The Sānkhyas maintain that Puruşa is enjoyer in an indirect manner, i.e., through buddhi. The Jainas say that material buddhi cannot enjoy anything. Puruşa is the karty and bhokt, (agent and enjoyer) directly and not through buddhi. Enjoyment is the function of a conscious substance. Puruşa is conscious, hence, enjoyment belongs to Puruşa and not to buddhi which is unconscious. Moreover, Puruşa cannot be reflected in buddhi, because Puruşa is immaterial, while buddhi is material, and it is evident that an immaterial substance can never be reflected in a material substance. Hence, the soul is the direct enjoyer of all its actions. Soul as Equal in Extent to its Body :
The soul is said to be equal in extent to its own body. This characteristic is meant to refute the view of the