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CHAPTER V
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Previous Lives of Lord M
ahavira
ll things can be divided into two groups conscious and unconscious. The unconscious things are devoid of any reason and understanding. It is the conscious objects alone which are endowed with the power of reasoning and
intelligence and which therefore are bound to reap the fruit of their good or bad actions. Every conscious being has to pass through a cycle of births and deaths according to its Karmanas. As a rule the Jiva or the embodied soul has been subjected to births and deaths, and can rise even to the position of supreme Bliss or Moksha by means of severe self-restraint and austere penances. But if it commits sins, it is liable to descend to Hell. The same principle holds good in the case of the soul of Lord Mahavira also.
It is said that once the soul (Jiva or Jivatman) of Lord Mahavira existed in the form of a man named Nayasara.
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