________________
THE FALL.
183
death of the ego, but of the body alone. As a pure spirit, the ego is birthless and deathless, being eternal and uncreate ; but in association with the impurities of sin, adhering to it in the shape of different kinds of vestments of matter, it is subject to birth and death both. Hence, the significance of the warning--"In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” The emphasis, it will be observed, is not on the day of death, since Adam did not die on the day that he ate of the forbidden fruit, but on the liability to death which is forced on all unemancipated souls by the companionship of matter. As matter is atomic and constantly in motion, no organism composed of it can ever be conceived to be permanent. Yet it is not the demise of the soul, but of the body alone which occurs in nature; the ego regards it as his own death, on account of having identified himself most intimately with his body. But this is a point for the future.
The idea of nudity also arises with reference to embodied existence; for, as pure effulgence, spirit neither wears nor needs clothes.
Thus, the legend of the fall is intended to open our eyes to the great differences between a pure, perfect soul and the ego of desires : the former is blişsful and immortal, and has a raiment of glory, but the latter is nude and unhappy and is also firmly held in the clays of death. These differences, though seemingly great and unbridgeable, are nonetheless such as can be easily removed, since they are due, solely and simply, to the element of desire by the eradication of which the status of Gods can be acquired with ease.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org