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THE JAINA DOCTRINE OF SOUL
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Nyaya philosophers, as noted above, is that just as the Soul in its essential nature is devoid of all attributes, it continues unchanged in its apparent modifications (Paryaya). No matter whether it is connected with' cognition or not, the Soul is always immutable and unmodified. The last contention of the Naiyayikas with regard to the nature of the Soul is that it is, all-pervasive,' and all-in-forming.' As the Soul is essentially unconscious, it must be supposed to permeate all things; other wise, its connection with the things and phenomena of the world becomes impossible. If it were not all-pervading, its simultaneous connection with the atoms of all directions would not be possible ; and if the Soul could not connect itself simultaneously with those atoms, Body etc., could not be formed. Hence the Soul is looked upon as all-pervading by the Naiyayikas.
It is only reasonable to think that all the philosophers would not subscribe to the Nyaya theories. Consciousness is not merely an attribute of the Soul but it is the very nature of the Soul,----in other words, the Soul in its essence is not unconscious but consists in consciousness,-_-well, this is the doctrine of the Sankhya, and the Vedanta also. If the Soul is essentially unconscious, how can it know the objects? And if it is absolutely unchangeable, how can it cognise them? And lastly, if the Soul be held to be all-pervasive, one need not admit the reality of many Souls ; one and the Second less Soul of the Vedanta school would be enough. For these reasons, the Jaina philosophy rejects the doctrine of the Nyaya system and maintains that the Soul (1) consists in consciousness, (2) undergoes modifications and (3) is of the form of the
Body.
(To be Continued.)
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
