Enlightened Vision of the Self

Author(s): Akalankadev, Devendra K Goyal
Publisher: Radiant Publishers New Delhi

Page 49

FOREWORD
37
"functional” Self, just the same way as William James did. While denying a soul substance, James maintained that consciousness is a function.
In speaking of Buddhist rejection of the “soul-as-spiritualsubstance view of the Upanishads, Jainism, and Samkhya-Yoga" and finding fault with “the substance metaphysics common to all Indian philosophical schools,” Gier mistakenly equates the Jaina conception of jira with the absolutely changeless Samkhya purusha and the Upanishadic atman Gier is probably unaware of the distinction between kutasthanitya (absolutely changeless eternal being or permanent entity, undergoing no change whatsoever) and parinami-minya (remaining permanent, persisting or continuing even while undergoing change). According to Jainism, permanence is not to be understood as absolute changelessness. Similarly, change is not be taken as absolute difference. Permanence means indestructibility of the essential nature (quality) of a substance, while change means origination and destruction of different modes. Substance has two compatible notions: 1) Substance as the core of change or flux, and 2) substance as the substratum of attributes or modes. Kundakunda in Pravachansara, II. 3-4, combines these two notions:
They call it a substance, which is characterized byorigin, persistence, decay, without changing its “own nature”, and which is endowed with qualities and accompanied by modifications. For the ‘ownnature of the substance is its existence (sadbhara), which is always accompanied by qualities, and variegated modes, and at the same time, by origin, decay and continuity.
It should be noted that the notion of continuity involved in the triple character of the substance is not identical with the notion of permanence of the substance. The former notion means persistence or continuance (of prarahanityata), while the latter notion means immutability, the two notions should not, therefore, be confused. The Jaina notion of continutiy is the notion in the background of which the triple character of origination, destruction and continuity becomes understandable. The notion of continuity is, thus, essentially dependent upon origin and decay. The Jains were well aware of the