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I am the Soul
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were to be destructible, then there could not have been a permanent blissful state for it. Thus only with the awakening of faith that atma is perpetual will the pursuit of Moksa have some meaning.
The third pada is 'atma is a doer'. And a sufferer of the fruit of karma. It is a doer of karma. It is a doer of its own karma. It does the karma itself and suffers its fruits by itself. One does not have to suffer for the karmas of others. Further, nobody orders karma to be done. The self does the karma on account of attachment - aversion - ignorance.
Here the mention is made only broadly from the view of Vyavahar naya. Let us consider later what the doer and sufferer status of atma really means.
The fifth pada says, 'atma has a moksa". It has become the doer of karma, also the sufferer. But after this, atma also holds the ability to liberate itself from everything. If the atma puts in an effort, it can cut through the bonds and attain Moksa. There are other faiths who believe that in the universe there is only one Supreme Power - Brahma Tattva, and that no jiva can ever reach the state of that Supreme Soul. But under the Jaina practice the ultimate transition occurs into the Supreme substance.
However sinful and degraded a jiva may be, but if he awakens and if he manages to put in a true effort, he can get totally liberated from this material world and transit into the Siddha form. This is the speciality of the Jain tradition. Therefore, the most important pada in this 'Atmasiddhi Shastra' is this fifth one. If it is understood with faith that atma has a Moksa, then the jiva can make an effort in that direction.
Moreover, here, in the Jain tradition, once Moksa is attained, there is no need to be reborn. The atma has to remain there in a permanent state for eternity, enjoying the bliss of its own true natural form. While many religious traditions believe that after
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