Indian Philosophy

Author(s): Sukhlal Sanghavi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 70

Jaina View : The Nature of Soul
into existence the doctrine of rebirth and other-world. Slowly and slowly but with ease was the doctrine that consciousness pertains to physical elements assailed by this particular docrine. As a result, the former doctrine began to diminish in prestige. Even so, those upholding the doctrine of other-world were bound to give consideration to the question as to what is the nature of that independent soul which assumes a new birth or reaches another world. Through what precise process might it take leave of one body and proceed to get hold of another one ? Consideration of these and similar questions must have proceeded on. Side by side with this, consideration must have been given to the question as to how and through what means one can attain an other-worldiy life happier than the present one. On account of considerations such as these, on the one hand people's attittude towards life underwent a change while on the other hand a number of mutually divergent views came into existence one after another.
Whatever type of actions and whatever type of social organization were deemed proper by a particular tradition, in connection with those very actions and that very social organization it introduced a lise-attitude positing other. world and the prestige attained by religions positing other-world gradually became particularly firm. Those people who gave consideration to the question as to how another birth is attained in consequence of the present one undertook speculation in their respective manners and thus established the procedure following wbich one goes to assume another birth. Thus as regards the nature of an independently existing soul a number of thought-processes came into existence and were firmly established.
The different results arrived at as a result of this type of thought-process have remained preserved in different traditions and have also acted as a centre around which discussions and counter-discussions have taken place in the latter-day philosophical literature. But each and every religious preacher or thinker did admit this much that there exists an element which is of the form of an independently existing conscious entity and which perishes never. It is this element which reaps the fruit of an act performed by itself and can rise to spiritual heights in conformity to a resolve made.
The Jaina View Regarding the Nature of Soul
Among the doctrines positing an independent soul the first place is occupied by the Jaina tradition, and this from two angles. For on the one hand the position as regards soul maintained by this tradition is primitive in comparison with the other more developed such positions and is one that appeals to ordinary commonsense. On the other hand, this position as to the nature of soul had become firmly establisbed in the form of the basis of sprituali endeavour aimed at emancipation made by Lord Pārva