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Jaina View of Life
that, from the real point of view(niscaya-naya) logicl justification of the doctrine is not possible nor necessary. It is the expression of the highest knowledge and experience of the seers. We must accept it as authority. When the ascetic, named Kaladevala, saw the newborn Siddhartha Gautama he was at once delighted and sad, delighted because he saw vision of Siddhārtha as one to be the Buddha, and sad because he saw that he would not live to see that glorious day. This need not be taken as rnere fable. It has a great significance in presenting the experience of a seer. The story is told of Pythagoras remonstrating with a man who was beating a dog, because in the howling of the animal he recognised the voice of a departed friend. The spice of malice in this anecdote is perhaps misplaced. And, “Oh, Agnibhūti, Karma is pratyaksa to me, the omniscient being, just as your doubt is pratyakşa to me."
VI. We may add here a note on the much discussed doctrine of Leśyā.
We have seen that the perfect soul may continue to work for the welfare of all creatures. But he is detached from all activity and is free from any contamination which leads to the coloration of hallo for the soul (lesya).
1. According to the Jainas, the soul is a substance distinct from matter. Matter and soul influence each other, yet are quite distinct from one another. The soul is a spiritual monad. From the noumenal point of view, the soul is pure and perfect. It is pure consciousness. It is characterised by upayoga and is formless. Upayoga is the hormic force. But the purity of the soul is defined by the influx of karma. It gets entangled in the wheel of Samsara and embodied through the operation of Karma. This entanglement is beginningless, though it has an end. It is subjected to the forces of Karma through feelings, emotions and activity (yoga). The soul is associated with Karma and forms a subtle body called the karma-sarira comparable to
59. Viseşåvas yaka Bhaşya, Gañadharavada, 1611-1612,
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