Samayasara

SR No.: 001607
Original Sutra Author: Kundkundacharya
Author: Hiralal Jain, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith
Publication Year: 1944
Total Pages: 370
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Religion, & Philosophy
File Size: 8 MB

Page 109

94
SAMAYASARA
The example of a chair given above from swadravya rosewood admits of affirmative predication, it is made of rosewood; and from the point of view of paradravya, alien substance, negative predication. Similarly from svakşetra it is said to be in the drawing room and from parakşetra it is said it is not found in the verandah. This principle of predications may be extended to any object of reality. When we say an animal Cow, and one question arises what kind of animal it is, we have to say affirmatively it is a cow and negatively it is not a horse. If the question is where is the cow and if it is actually grazing in the compound we have to answer the cow is in the compound and it is not in the cattleshed. Affirmative predication from the svakşetra and negative predication from parakşetra where it is not. Similarly historical proposition may be said to be true in its own period, and not true in another historical period, Alexander's invasion of India is an event which took place before the beginning of the Christian era and therefore cannot be associated with the historical period of the Christian era. Hence we have to say that the invasion took place in B.C. and not in A.D. from the point of view of kala. So this doctrine becomes an obvious statement according to common sense point of view and need not be considered to be an extremely intricate philosophical doctrine. Yes, in spite of its obvious nature based upon commonsense point of view it has been misunderstood by many non-Jaina thinkers and even the great Sankara dismisses the doctrine as a prattlings of a mad man. With this short account of philosophical background of Jaina darśana, we may go to examine some of the important categories in detail.
Jiva or Soul The term Jiva represents a living being. It denotes a spiritual entity. Its essential nature is Cetana or thought. Jiva is defined by the Jaina thinkers as an entity which lived in the past, which continues to live in the present and which will certainly live in the future also. From this definition it is clear that the term Jiva or soul is an entity which had no beginning and which will have no end. It is beginningless and unending continuous existence of a spiritual nature. This Jiva or soul is mainly of two kinds--Samsāra Jiva and Moksa Jiva. The soul that is embodied, life in the concrete world of biological kingdom associated with the karmic bondage is the Samsāra Jiva; the soul that is free from such karmic bondage and which transcended the cycle of Samsāra and which had attained its nature of intrinsic purity as a result of liberation from karmic bondage is Mokșa Jiva. This conception of Jiva may be said to be the central doctrine of Jaina philosophy, all the other categories being merely secondary and subsidiary to the central entity. The Sarnsära Jiva itself is divided into four main classes, or Gatis as they are technically called Catur Gatis. These Gatis are Devagati, Manusyagati, Tiryaggati and Narakagati. The first represents the class of devas living in what are called Devalokas. The second term Manuşyagati refers to the human being living in this world. The third term refers to the sub-human creatures or