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THE JAINA GAZETTE
According to the Jainas, the Adrisha is Material (i.e., due to attachment of the soul to Pudgala). The Body etc., of the soul in its future incarnation are determined by the Karmaatoms which flow into it owing to the peculiar acts and tendencies of the soul in its present life. The soul is ruled by Adrishta i.e., bound in the fetters of Karma. The Naiyayikas, on the contrary, look upon the Adrishta as a special attribute of the soul; the philosophers of the Sankhya school regard it as a mode of the Prakriti; according to the Buddhists, Adrishta is Vasana i.e., a peculiar psychical tendency: the Vedantists maintain that it is Avidya ar nescience. By regarding the Adrishta as Material the Jainas mean to oppose all these theories.
The Jaina conception of the soul has been indicated above. With the theories of the Sankhya and other schɔols of Indian philosophy, it has points of similarity: it is different from them as well. This shows that the Jaina philosophy is one of the oldest philosophical systems of India. We cannot admit that the Jaina system is a new system, developed after the Buddhistic period; nor even can we suppose that it evolved during the life-time of Gautama Buddha. If the Jaina theory is in some respect similar to the Nyaya, the Vedania etc., and in some respect different from them as well, it may safely be concluded that the Jaina doctrine was developed in those forgotten ages of the past when the Nyaya systems etc., were developed. His. tory and antiquarian researches point to the same conclusion.
(Concluded).
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
