Atma the Self

Author(s): Punyadarshanvijay
Publisher: Sanmarg Prakashan

Page 28

.... ATMA
The Self....
"Omniscient Teachers" (Jaina Arhat). At the end of their life span, the Soul (leaving the body) attains the pure natural state of existence in ever-lasting Spiritual Bliss, (the "Mõksa") i.e. "Siddhatva" (Godhood). All Souls attaining "Siddhatva" are equal in all respects and they have their own individuality.
According to Jainism the universe, the Soul, and the matter are beginningless, everlasting, permanent. No new soul or matter is created or destroyed but have continuous modifications, e.g. a soul enters a mother's womb, creates a body-passes through various stages of childhood-young age - adulthood - oldage and death. The soul leaves the body and migrates to a new body, according to his conduct and deeds. The soul is immortal.
At the end of the 18th century Antoin Laurent Lovoisier, known as father of modern chemistry had laid down the principle that in the universe nothing is lost, nothing is created, every thing is transformed.
THE JAINA THEORY OF TRIPADI
"Utpada"
"Vyaya"
"Dhrouvya"
Emergence
Annihilation
Permanence
Creation
Destruction
Imperishable
Universe and its constituents :
The basis for the constitution of the cosmos lay in the basic substance called Dravya or Reals in the Jaina Holy Scriptures. Every Real has three characteristics, Creation (emergence), Destruction (annihilation) and Permanence (persistence) "Utpāda, Vyaya and Dhrouvya" with infinite qualities and sub qualities. It means that every substance possesses the quality of permanence (Dhrouvya) generatio 7 (Utpāda) and decay (Vyaya) as modification of itself.
In order to clearly understand the characteristics of Dhrouvya, we may