Jainism Eternal and Universal Path for Enlightenment

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

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Jainism: The Eternal and Universal path for Enlightenment
darshitva, samyag dar Tan (faculty to have correct perspective of everything, at once). Physics has taught us that a biological system, jiva, has the power to extract energy from the surroundings. This is how the entropy of a live process decreases whereas the entropy of a physical process always increases, as will be discussed in Chapter 7. Our nearest source of energy is the earth and the atmosphere and we derive most of our energy from them. The next large source is Sun, stars and the galactic centre. Thus the environmental energy is effectively infinite and therefore the soul is capable of acquiring infinite energy from its environment.
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It may be pertinent now to ask the question "Does 1m2 (soul) really exist? Is there "something" which have any one or all of the characteristics mentioned above. If so, we can prove the existence of Atma. Logically, the existence of soul is proved by the very act of doubting its existence. Questioning the existence of soul presupposes the existence of the knower and the knower is the soul, or self, which alone has the capability of knowing, doubting and questioning (consciousness), by definition, as mentioned above. Thus the answer to the question is hidden in the question itself. Soul is thus swatah siddha, it is self proven. Descarte famously proclaimed "Cogito Ergo sum", that is "I think therefore I am". Thought exists because self exists. Who is it who is really asking this question about existence of Atm ? And who will understand when an answer is given. That knower is the soul, that is chaitanya. Who will know the knower except the knower himself. The 1tm1 is the seer, one who sees. Therefore Bhagv1n Mah1vir said "You can know (or see) tm1 by atma". Sitting in a pitch dark room with eyes closed, one can not see or feel the presence of anything else but there is no difficulty in feeling the presence of the self. One who is aware of one's own self is the Atma. The self is endowed with manifestation of consciousness which is two fold, Dar¶an and jn1n. There is no jiva without these two qualities and these two qualities can not exist without jiva.
Atma can exist in pure (free of bondage) state or in bonded state. In pure state it has the power of infinite jn 1n, dar¶an, 1nand and potency. These four are called "Anant Chatuschay". It is self proven, without beginning (Andi), Anant (without end), amurta (formless), indestructive (avin shi), immeasurably enormous in expanse (asamkhy't Pradeshi) and indivisible (akhand). In addition to these properties, 1tm1 also has some "ordinary" properties like it has existence (astitva), dravyatva, vastutva, prameyatva, aguru-laghutva, pradeshatva etc., some of which have been mentioned above. It is the knower, can know without sense organs, i.e. it is supersensuous (indriyateet, beyond perception). In pure state tm is free (unbounded), nirpeksha,