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fves ? He who conquers himself through himself, will obtain happiness,17
The noble, human character of Jainism makes it free from mystic ritual, unholy superstition and the feeling of helplessness or inferiority. That is why the late Virchand Raghavaji Gandhi, 18 the first torchbearer of the message of Jainism to the modern West, declared in one of his speeches:
The philosophy of the Jainas is not essentially founded on any practicular writing or external revelation but on the unfoldment of spiritual consciousness, which is the birth-right of every soul. Books, writing and scriptures may illustrate, wholly or in part, this truth, but the ultimate fact remains that no mere words can give full expression to the truths of Jainism, which must be felt and realized within.19
According to Jain metaphysics, this universe is without beginning or end. It has always existed and will continue to exist for ever, undergoing countless changes which are produced simply by the inherent powers of different substances, without any intervention of an eternal God or Creator, i
Substance has been defined as possessing some unchanging essential characters (ounas) and other changing modes (paryayas).20 The essential characters of a substance are found permanently in it and it is on account of them that the substance exists, Non-essential or accidental characters of a substance are always subject to succeeding changes.
The world, according to Jainism, is changing as
17 Uttaradhyayana, IX. 35.
18 Delegare to the Parliament of Religions, Chicago World's Fair, 1893
19 The Jaina Philosophy, pp. 15-16. 20 Tattvarthadhigama Sutra, 5 38.
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