Book Title: ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 04
Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies
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knowledge, and conduct etc. and even these are refuted immediately saying that these are different while soul is inseparable or cannot be divided into parts.
Vavah re uvadissadi a via a carita
issa caritta da sa a a a da sa a j ago suddho (12)
Meaning: from practical viewpoint we say that knowledge, intuition and conduct are the attributes of soul but from absolute viewpoint it has neither of these; it is just the knower. Similarly Samayas ra, as per verses given below explains these in a negation style.
Arasamaruvaga dha avattava ceda gu amasadda, J a ali gagaha a jivama idditthsantth a [13] Ahamekko khalu suddo da sanan namaiosad rv. a vi attha majjha ki ci via a parm numetta pi '14)
The first verse is very popular and found in all the five texts by Kunda Kunda. It says that soul is without taste or form or odour and is inexplicable, is with consciousness, is without any gender and you know it like this. In the second verse it says, "I am one, pure, with intuition and knowledge, non concrete. Except my nature of intuition and knowledge, not even an iota of other matter is mine".
Another way of enunciating the difference between soul and living being is that living being is always described as a collection of pure and impure manifestation of its nature but soul is always described as per its just pure nature and without any impurities associated.15) Niyama S ra verses 44-48 say that from absolute viewpoint soul is without bondage, without ant attachments, free of all flaws, without any desire or anger or deceit or pride. Even the empirical soul from the absolute viewpoint is like siddhas (existing in the summit of the cosmos) without body or sense organs or destruction and is pure and without any karma attached to it.
9. Method of experiencing the existence of the soul.
Jain texts repeatedly suggest / preach that we must experience the nature and existence of soul. This is the only way to destroy delusion. Amrta Candra writes:
Ayi kathamapi mrtv tatvakaut hali san, Anubhava bhava m rteh prvavarti muh rtam Prathagadha vilsanta sva sam lokya yena Tyajasi jhagiti m rty s kamekatvamoham (16)
1.e. Meditate upon self, stay contented with self and be focused on it: you will attain contentment and then bliss, Even Kunda Kunda has said the same at number of places in his texts. [17]
Many spiritual texts of Jain say that one can never experience self with the aid of external media and the only way to experience is by meditating upon the knowledge attribute of the self. [18] The practitioner who wishes to experience the self should think / contemplate that the entity which intuits and knows is me and everything else is non-self.""
We can explain the process of experiencing the soul in simple and lucid terms as follows:
1. Acquire true and correct knowledge of soul and understand it properly.
2. Divert all wandering and external tendencies of sense organs and mind towards the inner self
or soul i.e. from gross body to subtle body and then to soul.
3. Get rid of thoughts of attachment, aversion and just concentrate / meditate on the inner self.
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STUDY NOTES version 4.0
