ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04

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

Page 195

2.1.c
Concept of Soul / Self (tm) In Jain Philosophy Dr. Veer Sagar Jain
Jain philosophy is based on the duality of existence i.e. as living beings and non-living beings. Here also the main focus of Jain philosophy is the living being only and there also it is the self / soul or tm which is specific to me the individual 'I'. To understand this through an example, we can say that tm is the addressee while the rest of the living beings and non-beings are like the address on the envelope. Therefore a number of philosophers have called Jain philosophy highly spiritual. The holy texts of Hindus, namely Vedas and Pur as also mention that the first preacher of Jain religion, Lord abha Deva, was an exponent of the science and knowledge of soul. A reader will find extremely detailed and logical description of soul in Jain philosophical literature. There is no aspect of soul which has not been elucidated by Jain preceptors / c ryas in Jain literature. Not only have they explained the subject but also they have analyzed the subject with facts and figures and with all their pros and cons.
The reason behind such a detailed treatment given to the subject by Jain philosophers and c ryas had been that the knowledge of self / soul is the foundation of the religion and ignorance about it is the cause of all pain in this world. One starts becoming religious by acquiring the knowledge of the self. Without knowledge of the self, our religious activities do not yield the desired spiritual beneficence. Jains say that one who knows the self knows everything, the cosmos, the canonical literature and on. In fact he has achieved emancipation. However the one who does not have the true knowledge of the self and has the vast knowledge of all books and other worldly arts, sciences and objects are still termed as ignorant (ajñ ni). Therefore as per Jain c ryas, the first and foremost essential duty of every individual is to acquire the true knowledge of self, even at the expense of leaving all his worldly affairs. Until one has the knowledge of the self, he cannot progress further on the path of spiritual purification (1),
To describe the detailed explanation of the self in the Jain literature, one article or even a book may not suffice. Therefore I suggest the books (given at the end of the paper), which the inquisitive reader can refer to know more about the self.
I will now attempt to explain the concept of soul through the following points / topics.
Existence of soul / self (tm)
Difference between soul and j va (living being)
Synonyms of j va and self in Jain texts and their meaning
Etymological meanings of soul and j va
SORS OF JAN
Nature of j va, its nine basic virtues
Elimination of wrong concepts of soul/ self
Types and subtypes of j va
Nature of soul as per spiritual texts like Samaya S ra Experiencing the self and the ways to do so
Three types of soul / tm
Summary
1. Existence of soul / self (tm)
Some people, due to their ignorance or insistence of their own perspective, blame Jain philosophy as atheists. To support this they say that Jain philosophy does not believe in soul / supreme soul, merit / demerit, heaven / hell etc. However this is totally false. We cannot discuss all the reasons and support this statement but insist that Jain philosophy believes very clearly and in lucid terms the existence of soul / supreme soul, heaven/hell and merit / demerit. Jain philosophy not only believes in the existence of soul but proves its existence with all its logic, examples etc.
Jain c ryas in their philosophical works have presented many reasons / logic to prove the existence of soul. c rya Samanta Bhadra (3 century AD) has written a full text on 'The Existence of Soul',
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0