Concept of Divinity in Jainism

Author(s): P Ajay Kothari
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 97

nishchaya naya, the soul is different from body. In Sthananga Sutra, we get the description of the soul as one. 23 This does not mean that the soul is one as in the advaitic sense. 24 If the soul were one, then "O Gautama, there would be no pleasure, pain, bondage and liberation."25 The individual souls are different like kumbhas. The jiva is endowed with energy, exertion, action, power, effort and vigour.26 The soul is pure and perfect from noumenal point of view while from phenomenal point of view soul is characterised by the upayoga. 27 Thus, the existence of the self is justifiable on the ground that self is endowed with qualities viz., remembrance (smriti), desire for knowledge (jijnasa), desire for activity (chikirsa), desire for movements (jigamisa) and doubt (samshaya) etc.28
Jiva is also described as possessing of Dravya pranas, (material vitalities or life force). They are Indriya prana?', Bala prana'', Ayu prana (age) and Svashocchavasa (respiration)". The Bhava pranas32 (immaterial vitalities) viz., belief or faith (darshan), knowledge (jnana), conduct (charitra), and power (virya) are possessed by all jivas. Panchastikaya describes the atman as the agent of its own bhavas. But, it is not the agent of the pudgala karmas.33 The jiva is the doer (karta) and enjoyer (bhokta). As the potter considers himself the maker of the pot, so also the mundane soul considers itself as a dynamic agent of action or the doer of activities.34 From nishchaya point of view, jiva is a doer of shuddhabhava (pure thought) and from Vyavahara naya it is the doer of pudgala karmas.35
The defining characteristic of a soul is jivatva which means 'chetana'. Consciousness (chetana) consists of knowledge and intuition (jnana and darshana). 'Darshana' is named as 'nirakara upayoga', while jnana' is called 'sakara upayoga'. Jnanaupayoga is of two kinds : svabhava-jnana (natural knowledge) and vibhava-jnana (non natural knowledge).36 Svabhava-jnana is pure. perfect, divinity and innate attribute of soul which is
THE CONCEPT OF DIVINITY IN JAINISM
83