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304
JAINA GAZETTE.
(November
Mr. Devi Sahai, State Accountant, Barwani, wishes to thank Messrs. Phul Chand Rai, Miri Mal, Executive Engineers, and Rai Sahib Babu Dwarka Prasadaji, Sub-Divisional Officer, for the interest they took in the matter of the repairs to the image of Shri Adi Nath Swami (commonly called Bawan Gajaji) at Budwani. The last-named gentleman personally visited Budwani and gave the necessary instructions.
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Conditions of Jivas. We are indebted to Mr. Rickhab Dass of Meerut for inviting our attention to what may possibly be a misleading conception of the conditions in which Jivas exist. On page 224 of our Journal for June-July, Mr. Gordon has divided the Jivas into 3 classes:
1. Nitya Sidha. Eternally Perfect. 2. Nuktat man. Liberated Soul. 3. Bandhat man. Bound Soul or the Souls living in
material body. In Jainism there is no conception of any eternally perfect soul. There is no Jiva in the blissful region of Nirvana, the Siddha.Shila, who was eternally perfect. Every Jiva that is there has worked out his own identical perfection at some time or another. Of course there never was a time when there were no Siddha Jivas ; the condition itself of perfect bliss is eternal, is without a beginning, in the sense that there was no time when there were no Jivas existing in that Perfect State ; but there certainly was a time when each and every one of the infinite Jivas existing in Nervana attained that status. Then, again, it may well be said that each and every Jiva is a potential Siddha, and in that sense an eternal Siddha. There never was a time when the eight attributes of the Siddha were created, but there certainly was a time when these 8 qualities shone forth in their full and unalloyed lustre, qua each and every individual Jiva in Siddha-loka.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
