Structure and Functions of Soul in Jainism

SR No.: 001617
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: S C Jain
Publisher: Bharatiya Gyanpith
Publication Year: 1978
Total Pages: 272
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Epistemology, Nyay, & Spiritual
File Size: 16 MB

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152 :: Structure and Functions of Soul in Jainism
demerit unpunished. These are the difficulties of the absolute systems of philosophy. The Jaina, being a non-absolute thinker, is able to steer clear of the extreme positions. From the substance view-point the continuity of the soul is maintained and from the modal point of view change and actions are made possible.
Dr. J.N. Sinha interprets the Jaina theory of the soul's extension in such a way that the soul cannot be said to be extended or unextended. He observes: "The soul is a spiritual principle. So it is non-spatial or un-extended. But it is considered to be an extensive substance (astikāya) because it illumines the whole body with its consciousness like the light of a lamp which illumines the whole room which it occupies. The soul has no physical expansion. It has spiritual manifestation. It pervades the whole of body by spiritual manifestation. Just as a piece of red ruby placed in a cup of milk imparts its lustre to the milk, so the soul residing in a body imparts its consciousness to the whole body." The last sentence of the above quotation appears to embody the contents of a verse from Kundakunda's Pañcāstikāya.? Kundakunda never means that the soul is an unextended substance. On the other hand he clearly admits extension of the soul in the same work." It is wrong to hold that the soul is said to be extended on account of its association with the body. Nemicandra is of opinion that extension has been affirmed of matter only in a derivative sense, because the atoms of matter possess the minimum extension. We may distinguish between the extensions of a soul and a molecule of matter, but such a distinction cannot lead to the inextension of the soul. Jainism is quite definite in assigning extension to the soul, and we cannot agree with the view of the above critic that “Jainism is undecided as to spatiality or non-spatiality of the soul”5
1. J.N. Sinha: A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, p. 236 2. Kundakunda: Pañcāstikāya, verse 33 3. Ibid., verse 109 4. Cf. Nemicandra: Dravyasangraha, verse 26 5. J.N. Sinha: A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. II., p. 221