First Steps to Jainism Part 1

Author(s): Sancheti Asso Lal, Manakmal Bhandari
Publisher: Sancheti Trust Jodhpur

Page 31

responsible for the creation and its variation. These are at best escapist approaches that are alien to Jainism. It holds the individual soul responsible for its actions, its destiny, its pleasure and its pain.
The Seven Fundamentals 17
5. Jain metaphysics prescribes a seven fold approach which not only provides a satisfactory solution to the riddle of the creation, birth, death, pleassure and pain but also lays down the path of liberation of the soul from sufferings and for realisation of its full powers. These seven are, therefore, rightly known as tatvas or the fundamentals or truths which are the subject matter of this chapter. These form the core of the Jain religion and have been universally preached and practised in all ages by successive prophets, last of them being Lord Mahaveera.
6. Before dealing with the seven fundamentals it may be recapitulated that Jainism believes that the universe consists of two distinct major constituents i.e. (1) living-conscious substance i.e. soul and (2) non-living element (group of five substances called matter, space, time, medium of motion and medium of rest). These two divisions (1) living and (2) nonliving are the most important fundamentals out of the seven. These may be called the core of the core. The belief and knowledge of these two is the basis on which the structure of the seven fundamentals is built. Actually, the seven fundamentals are nothing but permutations and combinations of these
two.
7. Out of the non-living substances we have seen that the four formless substances play a secondary role in the drama of life. To recapitulate, the space provides accommodation, time ensures modification and medium of rest and motion help in stopping and movement respectively to the living soul and the non-living matter. It may be clarified that out of the last two only the soul is the active and conscious agent, matter being inert and non
conscious.
8. The attachment of matter with soul is beginningless, just as the universe is beginningless, and it is under the influence of matter that the soul undergoes the cycle of life and death with concomitant pain and pleasure, changing the bodies through trans