________________
794
can regain its pristine glory at once, since its real nature has in no wise changed. So long, however, as it is engrossed in the pursuit of fleshly lusts, its attention remains turned away from itself, and only directed to the perception of matter. Religion aims at turning its attention on itself, informs it of its omniscient nature, and advises it to actually behold its own glorious vision to realise its divinity. But in order to see itself, the soul must, first of all, purge itself of the particles of matter which it has absorbed ; and the only method of being rid of these harmful particles is to scatter them about by the force of will. Hence, the withdrawal of the outgoing energy of will, and its inner concentration are required to enable the soul to behold its own glory.
Concentration on the inner centres in the body has a two-fold effect on the soul. Firstly, it checks the incoming stream of the particles of matter through the doorways of the senses; and, secondly, it disposes of the particles already present by scattering them about and destroying their bandhas (bonds). When this is accomplished, the self-luminous soul, freed from the taint of matter, sees and realizes its true nature, and feels the utmost joy. It is then called a jina, i.e., conqueror.
It is here that the precision of Jaina thought asserts itself against the one-sided Idealism of Vedanta, and it is here also that we see the insufficiency of the system of Buddha brought into full view. King Pasenadi's question to the nun Khema, and the latter's confusion as to the existence or non-existence of the Perfect One after death, fully illustrate our point. Vedanta also finds difficulty in meeting the awkward question: the
Jain Education International
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org