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JAINA THEISM AND CONCEPT OF SOUL
87
The Sūtrakrtānga" records a number of old doctrines regarding soul, creation and morality. There were some who regarded soul as an evolutes of five material elements viz. earth, water, fire, air and ether and regarded it perishable with the dissolution of the elements. Some held that the intelligent principle (vinnu) appeared in various shapes in the universe." There were again some who regarded soul as the sixth element and contended that both the world and soul were eternal; further more they believed in determinism, 'according to which human action is not free but determined by motives regarded as external forces acting on the will (hetu-mülakavāda).
Another group believed in five momentary aggregates (skandhas), which were regarded, neither as different, nor as identical, nor as caused, nor as uncaused.
The common term to denote this self is ātman, which is often equated with soul (jīva). The term ātman is also used by the Jains in a restricted sense of self. Sāṁkhya-Yoga calls it purușa and Buddhism calls it nāma-rūpa.
Association of ātman is different and distinct in each system of philosophy in transmigratory stage. According to Sāṁkhya-Yoga, soul is peculiarly associated with Prakrti whereas Nyāya-Vaišeșika associates ātman with atoms. Vedānta associates ātman with avidyā or māyā (mithyātva, term used by Jaina) and the Buddhism relates it with nāma-rūpa. Jainas associate ātman or soul with karmic atoms."
There is a general agreement among almost all systems of Indian philosophy with regards to the existence of the soul or self; however, there is a wide divergence of opinion about its nature.
4 Sūtrakrtānga, 1.1.1.8 49 Ibid, I. 1.1.15-16 SDr. N.N. Bhattacharya, “Jain Philosophy Historical Outline (P-223)
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