________________
Philosophy of Six Padas
99
it slain is in true knowledge, for self slays not nor is slain. For soul, there is neither birth nor death at any time. Soul has not come into being, as it is unborn, eternal, everexisting, and primeval. Soul is not slain, when body is slain. O Pratha, how can a person, who knows that soul is indestructible, eternal, unborn, and immutable, kill anyone or cause anyone to kill. Just as a person puts on new garments giving up old ones, soul likewise accepts new material bodies giving up the useless ones. Soul can never be cut to pieces by any weapon, nor burned by fire, nor moistened by water, nor withered by the wind. Soul is unbreakable and insoluble and can neither be burned nor dried. Soul is everlasting, present everywhere, unchangeable, immovable, and eternally the same. It is said that soul is invisible and inconceivable. Knowing this, you should not grieve for the body.
Soul, thus, has been described in Bhagavad Gita as unborn, eternal, indestructible, immutable, unchangeable, primeval, and distinct from perishable body. Soul has also been described as sat (true), chit (conscious), and anand (blissful). It is divine, pure, situated in own knowledge and selfenlightened when not contaminated. In comparison, body is temporary, inert, and functionally charged by the power of soul. Body, however, serves as an abode of soul and is a vehicle for its ultimate liberation. Contamination of soul and its resultant transmigration through thousands of births and deaths is due to the influences of maya (later described as inferior prakriti of the Supreme Being), due to which soul forgets its true divine nature and develops false ego or ahankara. In this contaminated state, soul falsely assumes itself to the product oi material forces, that it is the body, and is the creator of other material manifestations. Soul in this state considers itself to be the enjoyer/sufferer of karmas (material activities) and thus gets bonded with the fruits of karmas in association with multitudes of desires, attachments, and passions. So long as desires, attachments, and passions persist, transmigration of soul through thousands of births and
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
