________________
I am the Soul
form of the substance is Niscaya Naya and the view that describes the changes becoming manifest in the substance from time to time is Vyavahara Naya.
For instance, the Soul. The Niscaya Naya says that Soul is a pure, intelligent, indivisible, infinite substance. It is birthless and deathless. It is merely a pure permanent substance and not deva, human, animal or a creature from hell. Yet Vyavahara Naya says you are a human. That is to say, owing to the affected disposition of the Soul, it has adopted the form of the human. Thus the state of deva, naraka etc. are also the Vyavaharik states of the soul. Similarly, the identifications of race, gender etc., are also a result of Vyavahar Naya. In the path of the pursuit of soul, the description is in keeping with the Niscaya Naya concept and the advice is according to the importance of Vyavahara Naya.
259
In the Jain spiritual treatises, both approaches have been delineated. In Samaysar, Niyamsar, Yogasar and such texts, the description of the Soul and other five substances() is done according to pure Niscaya Naya, highly advanced Niscaya Naya as also Vyavahara Naya.
While describing the Soul, Niscaya Naya says, 'It is an indivisible, pure, permanent, infinite substance. It is bereft of any attachement or aversion. It is devoid of emotions. It is nonadhesive. These are the same qualities as we find in the true form of Siddha. Let us analyse one quality out of all these.
That the Soul is non-adhesive. Nothing sticks to it. This property of non-adhesion needs to be considered in the light of the bondage of Karma. The relation of Atma and Karma is from infinite time. Both have merged like milk-water or fire-iron. Thus more the weight of the Karma on the Atma, it tends to slide more and more downwards. It cannot rise up. But as the Karmas go on reducing, and the weight on the Atma reduces, there comes a progress in its state. This matter is explained through an example.
Jain Educationa International
For Personal and Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
