Elusive Consciousness

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari, Surendrasingh Pokharana, Jitendra B Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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The bliss power creates, and is identified by, favorable states of soul; the adverse states create pain. The favorable states are incorporated in the first four powers described above. Adverse states is not the property of soul, they are created by karma. The right faith and right conduct are included in the bliss power; wrong faith and wrong conduct are results of karma. The bliss power signifies that the real pleasure is intrinsic to soul, it is neither found in external objects nor in meritorious acts. Meritorious acts may lead to temporary pleasure but permanent bliss is an attribute of soul.
6 Spiritual Energy (Virya Shakti)
The ability of soul to create and retain its state is due to spiritual energy. A liberated soul (and Arihanta) has infinite perception, intelligence, bliss and spiritual energy as a result of full manifestation of these powers. The spiritual energy is different from and is not related to physical power of a being.
7 Almighty Power (Prabhutwa Shakti)
The soul is almighty, independent and capable of continued uninterrupted existence without any external assistance. All the infinite attributes and their states are vested with the almighty power.
8 Extension Power (Vibhutwa Shakti)
The extension power pervades all the powers of soul e.g. life power, consciousness power, self-awareness power, etc., and because of it other powers also pervade each other. This makes soul an indivisible power unit.
9-10. Power of Omniscience (Sarva Darsitwa and Sarvagva Shakti)
The power of omniscience is of two types defined in respect of self-awareness and intelligence. The self-awareness omniscience enables soul to have general perception of entire loka, cosmos, and the intelligence omniscience enables soul to have knowledge of all the objects in loka. These powers are somewhat similar, the first introductory contact with the object is awareness and its detailed observation is knowledge. A mundane soul first experiences awareness and then knowledge of the object whereas an omniscient or a liberated soul experiences both simultaneously. An omniscient is able to perceive and know, in minutest details, the entire loka and aloka (supracosmic space), past, present and future, at
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