Atmatatva Vichar Or Philosophy Of Soul

Author(s): Vijaylakshmansuri, Ghanshyam Joshi, Kirtivijay Gani
Publisher: Mohanlal D Mehta

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that goes on in the world and how it goes on and its ultimate purpose of breaking of the Karmic bondage around soul completely.
By incessant meditation, high deeds and thoughts and by practising super yoga, the highest type of Jain Saints will get his soul liberated completely from the Karmic bondage by annihilating all varieties of Karma. At this critical moment of life the Saint expires and the soul from his body after becoming all knowing and all powerful shoots up in a straight way upwards rising higher and higher in moment's time reaching at the highest top level in the space and rests there eternally in the same form of his body, but slightly smaller in height. This conception of the state of salvation described by the Jain philosophy is similar to that described in Theosophy which holds the view that every individual soul remains separate after liberation and rests at the highest level in the space eternally. While the Vedic conception is quite different which says that the liberated soul merges with the Paramatma soul which pervades the whole Universe, without maintaining its individuality in the form only. All such millions of liberated souls though different in forms more or less coincide with the form of the body in each case possess no desire, no purpose of fighting evil, liberating others. But such liberated souls possess infinite power and infinite knowledge and will rest eternally peacefully in their position indefinitely free from the cycle of birth and death which is called the state of Nirvan.
The theory of creation of the Universe of Jains is not identical with that available in the Vedic Philosophy. The Jain view as is well known says that the Universe including our earth is the creation by itself without any beginning and will last indefinitely and for which there is no end and in this way thousands of millions of years have passed in the past and will pass in future, to put it in an ordinary way of understanding. But the Universe is subjected to a continuous change, applicable to the living and non living world. This view of the Jains is based on the following reasoning.
If the Creator has no desire why should he create the Universe ? If the Creator has created the Universe where was He living before the creation ? This theory of creation by God seems quite absurd.