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to be very little common ground. Can we accommodate both in one system? Jainism says, “Yes; please try to understand the view point of each statement before declaring them to be irreconcilable. Is it not that the one who says he is mortal is emphasizing the phenomena of birth and death of this body, about which there can be no dispute; while the other who says he is immortal is thinking of the imperishable nature of things in their essence? The form of things may change. but their substance, call it the soul or the primal matter, continues to subsist. Nothing that is, can be annihilated. In the Jain terminolology, the one who calls himself mortal is true from the point of view of form or acquired qualities; while the other who calls himself immortal is true from the point of view of substance or inherent and essential qualities. Thus, what is irreconcilable opposition in the eyes of others, is to a jain not only a mere difference of point of view but a necessary stage in understanding a thing in all its aspects. The two statements are supplementary of each other and go together to convey the truth. It is because a part is mistaken for the whole that the difference arises. Jains illustrate this by a significant story.
Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
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