Jainism Some Essays

Author(s): A S Gopani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 26

Jaina Religion
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size that it is Puruşa which is non-eternal and which undergoes transformations. On the other hand, if we believe that the soul exists until death only, we will not be able to account for the inborn disparities amongst all the beings of this world, except for the fact that they are due to the Karmas which are in the form of Vāsanās cherished during all the previous births taken together. This only has given rise to differences which are innate and inborn. This leads us to an inevitable conclusion that a being is involved in births and deaths about which we cannot say when this phenomenon of births and deaths started. The Karmic law will otherwise be invalidated if it is believed that a variety of small living beings undergoes various births and deaths leave aside vorious births and deaths one and the same being. One will do the deed and will escape from the result while the other who did not do the deed got the result. Such a disorder is bound to spring up. To avoid such a fal.acy, it is necessary to make room for the eternality of a being. Mahāvira was thus lcd to say that a being is both eternal and non-eternal. The soul is essentially eternal but phenomenally perishable. What is transitory cannot be everlasting. Therefore, such modificatory changes as are not natural but due to the Karmas can be removed and in removing them an efforts is required. This will provide a room for the theory of emancipation in the frame work of Mahāvira's tenets and teachings.
Mahāvīra applied this principle of eternality and non-eternality not merely to the Jivas-one of the categories which is sentient-but to all the other which are non-sentient also. He envisioned that all the categories without exception are eternal and non-eternal both. Just as he propounded in the case of Jivas, he did also so in the case of all the non-sentient categories. If the Karma which is non-sentient, that is to say, material only, is eternal, it can never be separated from the soul. If this contingency arises, emancipation and consequently effort has no meaning, no place. From this again, a corollary follows that Karma, like the Jiva, is prone to modificatory changes. This will make it probable that Karma which is associated today with the soul, will become dissociated from the soul tomorrow.
Soul has the same size as the body
If the soul and the Karma are intermixed with each other from time immemorial, it is worth noting what independent attitude and faithful outlook and approach Mahā vira and consequently Jainism showed about the size of the soul.
The soul is omnipresent according to the Vedic ideology. As opposed to this. Mahävira maintained that the soul has the same size as the body. The movement of the soul after death and rebirth will have to be considered as formal only, if the soul is supposed to be omnipresent. While, if we take the