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Chapter 4 : Statement of Six Fundamentals
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that case, one would not acquire new Karma. Since old Karmas automatically fall off after their fruition, the soul eventually can become Karmaless. That state is liberation, the ultimate objective.
The sixth Fundamental states that there is a way to attain liberation and resorting to that path constitutes religion. The primary function of religion is thus to lead the worldly soul towards liberation. The purpose of composing this Ätmasiddhi Shästra is to show that path. It was therefore stated in the second stanza, that the path of liberation, which stands mostly forsaken at present, has been explicitly described here.
Every religion purports to lay down the right path for its followers. Some of them, however, have no concept of liberation. They do talk of salvation, but equate it with gaining the pleasure of an Almighty or some other deity, and enjoying the situation that He might extend by virtue of His pleasure. Such a state is termed as heavenly happiness. No state can, however, continue forever. It is conceivable that a time may come, when one would lose the favor of such a superhuman entity. Then the superhuman entity would throw him out with an appropriate punishment!
Jainism does not depict such a salvation. It lays down the state of ultimate liberation from which one does not come back. That is the perfectly blissful, eternal state. The liberated soul has not to take a new birth and stays forever in that blissful state. This concept is not aristocratic in the sense of reserving it for only a few selected souls. It is fully democratic. It not only states that every soul is equal, but also states that every soul has the potentiality to attain liberation. What needs to be done is to realize that potentiality and to manifest the true nature of the soul. All spiritual endeavors are meant for that purpose.
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