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THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE JAINAS.
54. Know the soul (to be) without taste, without colour, without smell, invisible, without sound, with consciousness as its attribute, cognisable by no (external) sign and without any material shape.
Commentary. This Gatha distinguishes the soul from matter, which has necessarily colour, smell, taste, touch and a material shape. Material molecules can be visible and known by their figures. The soul on the other hand is the immaterial conscious substance and can only be realised by itself in self-absorption. It is no doubt with some form which in reality has power to pervade throughout the whole universe but owing to the operation of body-sub-class of body-making Karma, it contracts and expands according to the particular body occupied by it in its mundane condition. Thus it is said to be equal in size to the body which it occupies, but in the liberated condition it retains only a little less than the outline of its last body, because the body-making Karma being destroyed contraction and expansion of the soul are no longer possible.
जीवस्त णत्थि वरुणो णवि गंधोणवि रसो णवि य फासो। णवि रूवं ण सरीरं णवि संठाणं ण संघदणं ॥५५॥ जीवस्य नास्ति वर्णो नापि गंधो नापि रसो नापि च स्पर्शः । नापि रूपं न शरीरं नापि संस्थानं न संहननं ॥ ५५ ॥
55. In the soul, there is no colour, neither smell, nor taste and neither touch, nor materiality, nor body, nor (physical) figuration, nor (physical) constitution.
Commentary. This Gatha further expands the description of the soul as given in the previous Gatha.
The material body has all these qualities while the soul has none of these.
जीवस्स णत्थि सगो णवि दोसोणेव विज्जदे मोहो। यो पच्चया ण कम्मं णोकम्मं चावि से णस्थि ॥ ५६ ॥ जीवस्य नास्ति रागो नापि द्वेषो नैव विद्यते मोहः। नो प्रत्यया न कर्म नोकर्म चापि तस्य नास्ति ॥५६॥
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