Introduction to Jainism and its Culture

Author(s): Balbhadra Jain
Publisher: Kundkund Gyanpith Indore

Page 27

(also growth, decay, and stability), are its combined and inherent attributes. Every substance undergoes change and transformation every moment. This is called paryāya (modes or variant states). One paryāya is destroyed and another is created but irrespective of any number of such changes the existence of an entity is never destroyed. The fundamental element or the existent substantivity is never destroyed. In other words its inherent nature has an intrinsic permanence.
At present I am a man, but, in fact, there is no fundamental entity or substance like man. Truly speaking I am a soul or the entity called soul. As I have taken a human body I am called a man. Even when I leave this human body, I will still exist. I will then take a new body. I will get this new body according to my karinas (subtle matter particles that adhere to soul and cause reincarnation). Then my recognition will be based on the newly acquired body. I have got the present human body only some years earlier. Even before that I existed as a soul. Then also, I used to be recognized by the body I had.
The process of leaving a body and acquiring another is called my reincarnation or rebirth. Termination (destruction) of one incarnation and beginning (creation) of another incarnation is called reincarnation or rebirth. My transformations every moment during birth and rebirth as well as the intervening period are called my paryāya (variant states). However, cetanā (sentience), inherent nature, knowledge, bliss, and other attributes of soul always remain permanent and stable. I am the fundamental substance called 'being' because I possess these attributes (guņa) and variant states (paryāya) as well as the properties of creation (utpäda), destruction (vyaya) and permanence (dhrauvya).
My present incarnation is the consequence of the cumulative influence of karmas acquired during the preceding birth. My preceding incarnation was a consequence of the karmas of the birth preceding that. Thus there is no beginning of this chain of my earlier births. The chain of my rebirths and deaths is without a beginning. The karmas accumulated by me during my different births have been different. Therefore, I had to be born in various realms and various genuses during my various incarnations. There are some tangible evidences that confirm this belief about taking birth in various realms and genuses. A study of these evidences may lead to concrete reasoning in favour of the theory of reincarnation.