Jain Journal 1977 01

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

Page 23

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JAIN JOURNAL
tion of a soul consists in its inseparable association with (and not an absolute merger in) the Saguna Brahman and that such a liberated soul comes to be possessed of the qualities of the Lord, including omniscience.
It seems to us, however, that the omniscience thus attributed to the liberated soul by the dualistic schools of the Vedanta, is not of the same nature or extent with the omniscience, attributed to the Is vara by the Nyaya, the Vaisesika, the theistic Sankhya, the Yoga and the Vedanta. The omniscience of the latter is eternal, unfettered and all-embracing. It is, however, the very nature of the Jiva to have but limited range of apprehension and this limited capacity of the Jiva is not radically changed, even when it attains liberation. Accordingly, it would probably not be correct to say that all the cosmic things and phenomena of all times and places, beginningless and endless, are ever present in the omniscience of the liberated Jiva, as ‘now' and 'here', simultaneously. Even when a soul associates itself with the Lord, in its emancipated state, its powers are still limited, in comparision with the powers of the latter. A liberated soul, for instance, has no power to interfere in or modify the jagatvyapāra, i.e., the creation of the world,—which is the sole prerogative of the Iš vara. It is true that a liberated soul comes to be possessed of many supernatural powers, it can go anywhere it likes,
sarvesu lokesu kāmācāro bhavati
-Chandogya-Upanişad, 7.25:2
but from the word, kāma, it is manifest that this power of unrestricted movement is dependent upon his 'desire'. Similarly, it is not true that all the things and the phenomena of the world, past, present, future, subtle, near, distant etc. are simultaneously and actually and always present in the consciousness of the emancipated Jiva. Its supernatural attainment consists in the fact that unlike a soul in bondage, it can know them, whenever it likes. Let us explain the position by an example. It is not a fact that his ancestors are always present before a liberated being or in his mind. Whenever he wants to see them, they appear before him at once.
sa yadā pitr-loka-kāmo bhayati samkalpädevāsya pitarah samuttisthanti
-Chāndogya-Upanişad, 8.2.1
The omniscience of a liberated soul thus consists in the fact that it has the power to know at once, whatever it wants to know and not that