________________
CREATION.
wherever it is present, it must be present in all its fulness and as a whole.
89
It follows, therefore, that from the standpoint of Vedanta, the real Atman or Soul of all creatures is absolutely identical with, and in no way different from, God. Vedanta, therefore, does not hesitate to tell its follower, "THAT THOU ART."
Jain Education International
The immortal part of every being, we are further told, is consciousness itself, for that which is unchanging and beyond time and upon which depend the perception and knowledge of all other things, is necessarily above birth and death, which are both bounded, on two sides, by time. Hence, he alone who identifies himself with his inner Reality attains to immortality.
As for the religious aspect of the question, the world we perceive through the instrumentality of senses has but a secondary importance among the existing realities, being dependent on the activities of the organs of sense; it is the Living Reality, that is, Consciousness, which is entitled to the foremost place in our estimation. Those who pin their faith on the forms of things are little better than those who fall in love with the objects they see in their Ireams, and come to grief. The true object of worship and adoration, the only one that can secure for the soul the peace, the happiness and the immortality which it is hankering after, consequently, is the inner Divinity, the Sachchidananda, the Self. He it is who is to be realized to be rid of the anguish which is the lot of the ignorant soul.
The material universe, being dependent upon mind for its knowledge, is like a huge idea containing an infinity of smaller ideas, called bodies, in terms of material
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org