Jain Journal 1967 10

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 41

OCTOBER, 1967
87
In plain language, it means that he who identifies his life with the lowest, i.e., the third kind of ahāmkara, spoken above, shall lose it but he who sacrifices the lower ahamkāra, that is, the sense of 'I-ness' or egoism, for the sake of the higher, or the Christ principle, will attain nirvāņa.
Resurrection means the conquest of death and the realisation of the natural purity of the Atman, i.e., the Self. Now, because the realisation of this natural perfection depends on one's own exertion, and not on the merit, grace or favour of another, it is inconceivable how any outside agency can possibly lead to the emancipation of the soul from the clutches of sin and death. All that another can possibly do for one, in this respect is to call one's attention to the powers and forces lying hidden and latent in the soul, and for this reason it is necessary to take instruction from a properly qualified teacher.
Arrived at the status of manhood, the jiva, has the choice, hence the power to attain salvation by the right use of his divine will. He may direct his energies in the direction of the phenomenal, and lose himself in the pursuit of the knowledge of good and evil, or, resolutely turn his back upon the world, and become absorbed in the realisation of his immortal, blissful Self. The first path leads to trouble, sickness, death, and hell, but the second is the mok sa-mārga proper—the road to bliss and blessedness unabating. Arrived at the status of manhood, the soul has the power to claim its divine heritage of immortality and bliss, and to become the God which it already is in potency. If this opportunity is not availed of, it again falls into the cycle of births and deaths, with varying intervals of life in heaven or hell, according to its deeds on earth. While it has life, it has the chance of turning back from the path of evil, to follow in the footsteps of the Masters ; but once the vital spark departs from the frail, mortal frame of matter, the privilege attaching to the human birth is lost, and may not be had again for a long time to come! Neither friends, nor relations, nor teachers, nor possessions, nor, yet, name, fame, and the like, can be of any use to the soul in its post-mortem existence.
Chapter IX : The Holy Trinity
This is a learned chapter on Psychology where the author discusses at length the three attributes of mind, viz., consciousness, ideas and will or energy which operates on ideas.
According to Jainism, living beings are either sangi (having a mind, i.e., the organ of reflection or thought) or asangi (a=not+sangi, hence