ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 02

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 16

INTERNATION
SCHOOL
SELF STUDY IS THE
SUPREME AUSTERITY
Farenga
OF
परमे
STUDY NOTES version 5.0
AN STUDIES
Thus without having the knowledge of dravya, how can anybody know correctly the constituents of the cosmos and to achieve our objective or attaining Bliss i.e. supreme soul status. Thus all our religious activities like worship, fasting is likely to become ineffective. One of the most respected Jainācāryas to date, Kundakunda says that the main reason to destroying delusion is to know the substance, its attributes and modes. We therefore infer that the knowledge of substance, its modes and attributes enable us to have the correct knowledge of soul and supreme soul thereby destroying delusion, the root cause of all our problems. Hence it is not only important but also essential to have full knowledge of the nature and concept of substance.
5 Satdravyalakṣaṇam, Tattvärtha-sutra, V.29
6 Utpada-vyaya-dhrauvyayuktam sat: Aptamimāmsā by Samantabhadra, verse 72, Tattvärtha-sūtra, V.30
7 Guṇaparyayavad dravayam, Tattvärtha-sūtra V.38
ES 26 M
2.1 Characteristics of substance / dravya.
Dravya is a definitive term of Jain philosophy that in general represents an entity or an object. This is why 2nd century AD Jainācārya Umāsvāti in Tattvārtha-sūtra (considered as the most comprehensive Jain holy text) says that dravya/ substance is the characteristics / indicator of reality (existent). What is real is substance. Now the question arises what is reality sat? He then proceeds to say that reality is with origination - destruction and permanence. As per Jain philosophy, all objects/entities in this cosmos, whether sentient or insentient, are with origination-destruction-permanence characteristics i.e. substance is with origination - destruction and permanence simultaneously. New form of an entity is called its origination; giving up its old state is called destruction and the continuation of the nature of the substance is permanence; e.g. destruction of the state of milk results in origination of the state curd and the continuation of its being dairy product i.e. a bye product of cow's milk, for use by us, continues its existence. This way each and every entity in this cosmos goes through origination-destruction-permanence continuously at every moment. Hence all these entities are termed as substance and are real /sat.
Besides reality /existent, another characteristic in Jain philosophy of substance is that it is always with attributes and modes (paryāya) as given by Umāsvāti in Tattvärtha-sūtra which says 'Those parts of the substance, which co-exists with it, are called attributes (guna) and those that occur serially (krama) are called modes (paryaya). There is no entity in this
4 Jo jānadi arihamtam davvatta gunatta pajjayattehim, So jāṇadi appānam moho khalu jādi tassa layam/Pravacanasāra, Kundakunda, verse 80
Page 3 of 385