What is Jainism

SR No.: 006714
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain
Total Pages: 210
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 11 MB

Page 13

WHAT IS JAINISM
What prevents the soul from the enjoyment of its natural joy is ignorance. Hardly one man in a thousand has any idea of the nature of pure joy, and all, more or less, try to extract it from their surroundings, which are, by nature, utterly incapable of yielding it. Yet if they will only analyse their feelings, they will not fail to observe that the moments of true happiness are only the moments of true freedom. Ignorance of the natural joy of the soul, then, is the cause which stands between it and happiness. Hence, knowledge is necessarily the road to bliss.
The kind of knowledge which leads to joy is more comprehensive and perfect than that which is imparted in modern schools and colleges. It is the knowledge of the nature of substances and the forces of nature which rob the soul of its rhythm of freedom and of those which re-establish it therein. All other kinds of knowledge may be necessary for the man of the world, but are useless to the soul seeking perfection, i.e., immortality and bliss.
There are seven essential objects of knowledge called tattvas, These are: (1) the living or conscious substance, i.e., the soul; (2) the non-living, i.e., the unconscious substance; (3) cîsrava, i.e., inflow of matter into the soul; (4) bandha, i.e., bondage; (5) samvara, or the checking of the inflow, that is, asrava; (6) nirjará, the removal of matter from the soul ; and (7) moksha, i.e., freedom. We shall take up each of these seven tattvas separately, and shall deal with them briefly.
(1) Soul is the living substance, and is pure consciousness in essence; it is not the product of matter in any sense. It is by nature all-knowing and blissful, and is endowed with untiring, inexhaustible and unending energy. All substances are eternal, and the soul is no exception to the rule. It is amurtik, that is, not possessed of sensible qualities; hence it cannot be perceived by the senses, though it is not actually formless, since all things which exist must have some sort of form. Souls have existed contaminated with matter from beginninglessness, and are consequently unable to enjoy their svabhávic attributes omniscience, bliss and the like. The practising of the rules of Right Conduct, however, enables one to remove the impurities which obstruct the thrice-blessed qualities of the soul, the four principal ones of which are collectively called the ananta chatushtuyal (infinity quartette).