Jainism a Theistic Philosophy

Author(s): Krishna A Gosavi
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 79

JAINA THEISM AND CONCEPT OF SOUL
III. (ii) Classification of Soul
Early Jaina thinkers first made a distinction between the animate (jīva) and inanimate (ajīva) objects to explain the mysteries of life in this universe.
“These two categories were further analyzed and classified, and there is reason to believe that the original classification was made from purely scientific point of view”. The soul was further classified in two broad category i.e. (1) Transmigratory (samsārī) and (2) Liberated (mukta).-
Liberated (Mukta) Soul
Liberated (mukta) soul means the soul which is free from all kinds of karmas,o cycles of birth and death i.e.; never to born again. It has no shape, no colour, no smell, no taste, no weight, no touch, no rebirth and no attachment. It is neither male nor female. All liberated souls are essentially equal and none of them enjoy any privileges.
Transmigratory (samsāri) Soul
Those who transmigrate in the world from birth to birth are called saṁsārī. Term saṁsārī is derived from Sanskrit root "sr" prefixed with the preposition ‘sam. Sỉ means to go, to wander or to transmigrate and preposition ‘sam’ is simply to strengthen this meaning. So the meaning of term “saṁsāra” is wandering, transmigration etc. Saṁsārī also means souls who are attached to their corporeal bodies or birth or souls state of bondage with Karma.
The meaning of term saṁsārī also can be ‘eighty four lac birthtypes (species) or yoni' four main birth-types (species) which are:
24 Bhagavati-sūtra, XXV.2, XXV.4 - Tattvārtha-sūtra, II.10 26 lbid, X.3