Jaina Philosophy

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan

Page 99

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JAINA PHILOSOPHY: AN INTRODUCTION
main line of demarcation between jiva and ajīva is cetană. Existence, origination, decay, permanence etc. are the general characteristics of all the substances, therefore, when the Jainas define jīva as a substance possessing cetană or consciousness, they do not exclude all these general qualities (sādhāraṇa dharmas). These qualities are included in consciousness itself. The definition of a particular substance consists of only those special qualities which are not found in other substances.' When a substance is taken as a whole, or in other words, if we want to refer to all its characteristics, we analyse its complete nature. That analysis is not definition. It is proper to call it description. Consciousness consists of knowledge and intuition (jñāna and darśana). In the Tattvärtha-sutra, the definition of soul in the shape of upayoga is very liberal. It includes bliss and power in it. Strictly speaking, soul is that substance which possesses four infinities (ananta catuṣṭaya). These four infinities are infinite knowledge, infinite intuition, infinite bliss and infinite power. A liberated soul possesses all these infinities. The worldly jivas do not possess them in their perfection, because they are obscured by the veil of four obstructive (ghatin) karmas, viz., jñānāvaraṇīya (covering the faculty of knowledge), darśanavaraṇīya (covering the faculty of intuition), mohaniya (covering the faculty of bliss) and antarāya (covering the faculty of power). The liberated souls as well as the omniscients are absolutely free from these four kinds of karmas, hence, they possess the four infinities in all perfection. Thus, the definition of soul consists in the possession of the four infinities.
Difference between Darśana and Jñāna :
The difference between intuition (darśana) and knowledge (jñāna) consists in the fact that in the former the
1. Tattvärtha-śloka-vārtika, p. 318.
2. Mohakṣayājjñānadarśanāvaraṇāntarāyakṣayācca kevalam -- Tattvärtha-sūtra, X. 1.