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consequence. Therefore Jain philosophy contains concepts for this. The concept of bhavyatva means "the power to reach liberation,” and is an inherent quality of the soul. This quality has always been in the background, waiting for the moment it would be awakened to one's consciousness. We should always bear in mind the fundamental point that the soul by its own nature is pure, omniscient and all-compassionate, and that it is only the individual consciousness of the karmic vehicle of the soul – i.e. every individual manifestation of consciousness – that differs for every living being and is limited in extent. The experience of suffering which we constantly undergo is the result of deception or darkened clarity - and this we call ignorance. Therefore the soul itself is ready to radiate its undaunted energy for the wellbeing, spiritual progress and liberation of the suffering consciousness. When, thanks to the right karmic conditions, the receptive center of consciousness has reached a state of preparedness, the “light” may suddenly break through and bend the propensities of the consciousness irreversibly in the direction of a spiritual goal, and that is the knowledge of the Soul or Self.
It is however not the case that bhavyatva, the power to liberation, takes us by the hand and leads us to salvation. Bhavyatva initiates the process and makes the spiritual pilgrim aware that there is a purpose to life, but that one must climb the path towards Truth by one's own strenuous efforts, by living a life of purity, steadfastness and self-control. The path of spiritual growth involves the unfolding of the qualities of the soul as the karmic obstructions are removed.
Thus, from an evolutionary perspective, we may distinguish two phases: the first phase in which the soul clothes itself in innumerable “garments” (bodies) so that it can undergo experiences in all realms of nature in agreement with the karmas it has attracted and embraced. It develops one sense-organ, then two, three, four, five, and a mind, until the point has been reached where the soul becomes receptive to
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