Jaina Philosophy and Religion

Author(s): Nyayavijay
Publisher: B L Institute of Indology

Page 31

Essentials of Jaina Philosophy
In the Vedic tradition, Dharmasastras (Hindu Law Books) divide one Time-cycle into four divisions called Yugas (Ages); they are Krtayuga, Tretayuga, Dvaparayuga and Kaliyuga. Each succeeding Age is having less duration than that of the immediately preceding one. It is also supposed that the regularly descending length of the Ages represents a corresponding physical and moral deterioration in the people who live during each Age, Krta being called the 'golden' and Kali or the present Age the 'iron' age. Similarly, according to the Jainas, Cycle of Time ceaselessly and eternally moves on. It consists of two halves. One half (called utsarpiņi) represents the period of progress with the gradual increase in the lifespan, physical strength, prosperity, happiness, etc. And the other half (called avasarpini) represents the period of decadence with the gradual decrease in the life-span, etc. Either of these halves is divided into six parts called 'aras'. At present India and other regions are in the fifth part of the descending half-cycle; this fifth part corresponds to Kaliyuga. Tirthankaras flourish in the third and the fourth parts of either half-cycle. Tirthankaras and the ordinary omniscient ones are never born again in this transmigratory world, once they attain the state of absolute freedom from embodiment. So, we have to understand that those who become tirthankaras are not different incarnations of one Supreme Soul or God, but that they are souls different from one another. The Jaina philosophy does not accept the principle that after having attained absolute freedom, a soul comes again in this world in the form of incarnation.
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As already stated, nine reals constitute the subject-matter of the Jaina philosophical works. These nine reals are-jiva (soul), ajiva (non-soul), punya (auspicious karmic matter), papa (inauspicious karmic matter), asrava (inflow of karmic matter), samvara (stoppage of the inflow of karmic matter), bandha (bondage of soul with the inflowed karmic matter), nirjară (partial dissociation of the bound karmic matter from soul) and mokṣa (total and absolute dissociation of the bound karmic matter from soul).
SOUL (JĪVA)
Soul is not amenable to sense perception as the physical objects are. But it can be known through the simple experience of self-awareness. A body (being a statue made of physical elements, viz., earth, etc.) is insentient. Hence it cannot have feelings: 'I am happy', 'I am unhappy'. If the body be soul, then why does the body treated as a 'corpse' not have the light