Jain Journal 1970 07

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

Page 47

WLY, 1970
existence of the 'other' first, then establishes the existence of the real by implication. Thus the Jaina and the Buddhist both equally maintaining "is" and "is-not" and the “indescribability of the simultaneity'' predicted a long before the mode of interpretation of Vedanta later adopted by Sankara. Sankara employed the same type of dialectic as was adopted by the Jaina several centuries before. He affirmed the pure existence of the Brahman denying its every kind of attributes from absolute point of view, which is as good as the nihil of Buddhism, also quite akin to the Jaina view of the pure existence of the real without the 'other'. Passions, aversions etc., are in the view of all the three systems a transitory phase of the mundane life, which remain no more in the nature of nirvāņa. The nirvāṇa is identical with the purity of the real Nature. This shows that passions, aversions, etc., are not essentially in the nature of the self. Moreover, they are not included, says the Jaina, in the absolute nature of the pudgala too, for they are always relatively affirmed ; absolutely they are in none. Thus absolutely and essentially they are not at-all.The nirvāṇa is an absolute state of the soul, which exposes the greatest metaphysical synthesis with a land-mark of initial unity of the ontological real pervading through the diversity of nayas. It is a symbol of unity-in-difference with its full logical subtlity at the plane of spiritual-spiritual, apart from the physical activities of the body.
To sum up : The reality is, in the Jaina system, particularized basically in two ways ; the self (jiva) and the not-self (ajiva). From the mutuality of these two the mundaneness of the self is explained. The basic fact of mundane life appears in the form of suffering or misery (dukkha). The chain of misery is determined by the āśrava and the bandha. The āśrava and the bandha happen to be the causes of misery or the suffering. Since the misery is not a native quality of the self, it is removable. It is removed only by the check (samvara) of āśrava and the annihilation (nirjarä) of bandha. The samvara and nirjară constitue the path to tread upon in the course of getting rid of the misery. The fruit (phala) that is begotten by treading upon the path is salvation (mokşa). In this way there are the seven principal categories (tattvas) of reality. They are the dynamic exposition of the self-restoring reality merging ultimately in the metaphysical unity of the Existence.
90 See A. Kh. to 371, p. 500.