________________
What is Jainism ?
VON
never be matter. Matter is known by the senses. Spirit is only known by spirit. The Greeks said "Know thyself by thyself."
The highest knowledge is that which you derive simply by the power of the soul.
Spirit is – that whose attributes or differentia is consciousness; that which knows is soul; that which does not know is non-soul. People often confuse motion with life. We say these forces, such as cohesion etc. are different from life. They are concurrent things, but not the same. This consciousness appears in many forms.
We divide organic beings into five classes; those that have one organ, and those that have two, three, four and five.
Consciousness is found in all these. The lowest is that found in the beings that have only the organ of touch. The reason why these organs of sense are found inherent in the law of ethical causation.
Not that consciousness becomes human (describing the difference in souls the speaker used this illustration) put a dollar into the pocket of a rich man or a poor man. It is the same dollar although it may be spent for an entirely different purpose. So a soul in a plant body, an animal body, or a human body may be the same soul. There is no idea of transmigration in the Hindu philosophy; also re-incarnation is not correct. (The speaker explained how the exact use of these terms was not correct) if embodiment means taking on the body, then it is correct. We use the term re-birth. Re-birth is to be avoided. We must act so as to be regenerated in this life. When I do an act or think a thought, I create debts or forces which I must pay on the same plane. When you create debts on a physical plane you must pay them on a physical plane. Soul life is on the moral plane. Life may be divided into the physical, intellectual, moral and spiritual planes. When a person is on the lowest plane he depends on gross matter for all
59
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org