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We shall discuss here the Jain thought of how Pudgala affects the Soul and its pure attributes.
Examples have already been given of pure and clear water being made dirty by the presence of dust particles. If anything is reflected in the pure water, the image will be clearly visible but in a dirty water the same will become indistinct, dull and partially visible according to the amount of dust in the water and the way in which it is mixed. So is the case with Atman. Suppose, for a moment, if there had been consciousness in the water, in which the image is made, then it could have certainly known all about the image, its formation and movements or changes etc; but in the presence of dust particles in water, even when consciousness would have been there, the knowledge must have been affected by the presence of the dust particles in addition to its effect in dulling the image and making clear conception impossible.
Similarly the presence of Pudgala or its formations affect the pure consciousness of Atman in various ways. We have already
