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We, however, do not experience the lasting happiness, because we do not realize the true properties of soul. After thoroughly exploring the nature of soul, the Seers have concluded that the principal property of soul, which distinguishes it from the lifeless matter, is the knowing capability, the capability of being aware. None of the five lifeless substances, which we have described in the last chapter, possesses that property. That property can enable a soul to observe and know anything and everything. Scriptures have described that as Upayog Lakshano Jivo. It means that knowing capability is the characteristic of soul. That attribute is inseparable from consciousness and therefore forms its basic property. As such, soul should simply stay aware of any given situation without any way reacting to it, because none of the situations really belongs to it. That would generate the sense of detachment. The absence of attachment to any extraneous influence can enable soul to abide forever in bliss, which is beyond description. No wonder that the Seers, while describing the properties of soul, have preferred to call the same as indescribable.
To sum up, soul is pure consciousness. Infinite awareness and eternal bliss are its principal properties. Sanskrit words for eternity, consciousness and bliss are Sat, Chit and Anand respectively. As such, the perfected soul is variously known as Sacchidanand, Chidanand or Sahajänand. Negatively speaking, it is intangible, invisible, colorless, odorless, tasteless, formless and shapeless. It is therefore described in the scriptures by Neti, Neti (not this, not that). It is beyond the reach of senses and mind. It can, however, be brought to the experiential level by dwelling deep within the Self.
Vaidic and other schools of thought consider soul as immutable. Jainism disagrees. It believes in the changing states of soul, which are known as its Paryayas. Imbibing with ignorance or enlightenment and with embodiment or unembodiment are its two main Paryayas. On that basis, the souls are categorized as worldly souls and liberated ones. Depending upon the sense organs that they possess, the worldly souls are classified in five categories as described in the last chapter. Of these, Ekendriya beings are further classified in five sub-categories. They are known as i) Pruthvikäy, the earthly bodies, ii) Apkäy, the aquatic bodies, iii) Teukäy, the lustrous bodies, iv) Väukäy, the gaseous bodies and v) Vanaspatikäy the plant life. These five sub-categories are collectively known as Sthävar meaning the immobile bodies. The remaining embodied souls are known as Tras meaning the mobile bodies. Those, which can move in face of a danger, are called as Tras and others as Sthävar. The above-mentioned five categories of Sthävar together with the Tras category, which covers all other living beings, are also specified as six categories of the worldly souls and are collectively termed as Chhakäy Jiv.
Description of Ajiv and its five categories was given in the last chapter. Jiv and these five Ajivs are not any way dependent on one another. Each of these six substances has potentialities to undergo changes in its own states. Other substances, however, can play the role of being instrumental to those changes. Dharmästikäy and Adharmästikäy play the role of media in movement and stability, Akäsh plays the role in fixing the location and the Käl time) in bringing out the changes from time to time.
The soul in its pure state does not identify itself with those four substances. As such, it does not make any misunderstanding about them and dispassionately views the role of those four lifeless substances. The impact of Pudgal, however, becomes the source of misunderstanding and delusion. Under that impact, the worldly soul forsakes that the body and its surroundings have been obtained as consequence of its past Karma. As such, it tends to identify with all those situations, ignoring the fact that they are ephemeral. That has been the root cause of its continuing bondage and the resulting transmigration. The discussion of Nav Tattvas has been undertaken for analyzing the state of the worldly soul and of the factors that inhibit as well as those that help in attaining the liberation. Pudgal and particularly Karma Pudgal would therefore be attracting our major attention in the subsequent chapters.
