Jain Journal 1990 04

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

Page 60

APRIL, 1990
171
is to the present so the present is to the past. The present is only the future of the past. What is true with regard to the future state is true with regard to the past and present state. The acts of the past have determined our present state, and if this is true the acts of the present state must determine the future state.
This brings us to the doctrine of rebirth, transmigration of souls, metempsychosis, reincarnation, etc. as they are variously known. First take incarnation, which means literally becoming flesh; and really speaking, that which is matter is always matter and that which is spirit is always spirit or soul. The spirit does not become flesh. If reincarnation means to become flesh there can be no reincarnation, but if it means simply the life in flesh for a short time, then there is reincarnation. Reincarnation means also to be born in some state again and again. Metempaychosis means in Greek only change; that the animal itself, body and soul, everything together, it changed into the human being, and that is altogether changed into some other thing and so on. That is the idea of metempsychosis. Transmigration of souls is, specially in the idea of the Christians, the idea of the human soul going into the animal body, as if this were a necessity. But that is not the real idea ; the real idea is simply going from one place to another or from one body to another, but not necessarily going from the human body to the animal body, but simply travelling. It implies the idea of form. Nothing can travel unless it has form and occupies space and is material ; so in our philosophy we reject all these terms if that is the idea connected with these terms, and use the idea of rebirth ; that is, the soul is born in some other body, and the birth does not imply the same conditions (as those) applying to the human birth. There are certain conditions in which human beings are born ; the seed itself takes several months to ripen and then there is the birth. This may be due to certain acts or forces which are generated by human beings.? These are in a condition to be observed by beings whose forces will take them to some other planet, and we say that there is another condition of birth there. There is no necessity for gestation and fecundation. The karmic body has in itself many powers and has a force to take to itself another body, which is in the case of the human beings a gross body, but in the case of other beings a subtle body is generated and this body is changeable so far as its form and dimensions are concerned. Therefore, if the forces generated while we live any kind
& This sentence needs some correction of the type here suggested. ? Here the phrase 'generated by human beings' means "generated by those karmic
bodies which are going to take to themselves a human body'. This becomes clear from the immediately forthcoming part of Gandhi's argument.