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Jain Metaphysics Jainism does not believe in the "Creator" of the universe. It believes in the entity of the world. It further believes that the reality (sat) is uncreated, and is characterized by origination or appearance (utpad), destruction or disappearance (Vyaya), and permanence (dhrauvya). Every object of reality is also characterized by modes (paryays)
des (paryays) and qualities (gunas) through which persist the essential sub-strata through all the times.
The Universe, according to Jainsim, consists of six substances (dravyas): (i) living creatures or souls (jiva), (ii) matter (pudgal), (iii) medium/principle of motion (dharma), (iv) medium/principle of rest (adharma), (v) space (akash), and (vi) time (kala). These can be classified into two categories: living and non-living. Whereas jiva is the living substance, the rest of them are non-living. These dravyas are uncreated and undestructible. Their essential qualities remain the same; it is only their mode of condition (paryay) that can and does change.
Jain Ontology The characteristic feature of jiva or soul is consciousness. The soul is the doer of all actions, and is the enjoyer of the fruits of its actions. The souls are of two kinds: (i) Sansarin (mundane) or Baddha (in bondage), and (ii) Siddha (liberated) or mukta (free). Mundane souls are the embodied souls of living beings in the world and are still subject to the cycle of birth and death. On the other hand, Siddha jivas are the liberated souls and they will be embodied no more (Sangave 2006: 30). The liberated souls in their pure condition possess the following four attributes: infinite perception, infinite knowledge, infinite power, and infinite bliss. In contrast, the mundane souls exist in the impure state as they are permeated with subtle psychosomatic matter called karma.
The Jain philosophy is based on the nature and interaction of the two constituent elements of the Universe, Jiva and Ajiva. The interaction is explained by the doctrine of Karma which is a remarkable feature of the Jain philosophy. According to Sangave (2006: 38), “The supreme importance of the doctrine of Karma lies in providing a rational and satisfying explanation to the apparently
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