________________
The Jaina Theory of the Soul
for the exposition of the inner reality of things, as a nonAryan is never capable of understanding witout the non-Aryan tongue."
The existence of the soul is a presupposition in the Jaina philosophy. Proofs are not necessary. If there are any proofs, we can say that all the pramañas can establish the existence of the soul. Oh Gautama, the soul is pratyakşa”, said Mahavira, "for that in which your knowledge consists is itself soul". What is pratyakṣa need not be proved like the pleasure and pain of the body. It is pratyakşa owing to the ahampratyaksa, the realization of the I, which is associated with the functions pertaining to all the three tenses. William James and James Ward present self-consciousness in this form. Ward talks of the 'internal perception' or self-consciousness. The last order of knowledge of the duality of subject and object is an indispensable condition of all actual experience however simple. It is therefore, first in order of existence. It is the subject of experience that we call the pure ego or self." William James says, "For, this central part of the self is felt. It is something by which we also have direct sensible consciousness in which it is present, as in the whole life-time of such moments. Thus, one who ignores the self-evidence of the soul is like one who says that sound is inaudible and the moon is devoid of the moon. The existence of the soul can be inferred from the behaviour of others. Similarly, the soul exists because "it is my word, O Gautama".
8
66
47
The jiva is described from the noumenal and phenomenal points of view. From the noumenal point of view, the soul is described in the pure form. The phenomenal describes the empirical qualities of the soul. From the pure point of view, it is not associated with body or any physical or mental qualities. Mahavira points out to the third Gapadhara that
Jain Education International
6. Jaini (J. L.): Ed. Samayas āra, 38.
7. Gaṇadharavāda, 6.
8. James (William): Principles of Psychology, Vol. I, Ch. X, p. 298. 9. Gaṇadharavāda, 34
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
