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be one for the whole universe, if one person is blind or deaf, all should be blind or deaf, if one acts, all should act in the same way, if one suffers or enjoys, all should similarly suffer or enjoy. If selves were one, bondage of one should have meant bondage of all, liberation of one should have meant liberation of all. But what we find in the world is of a nature which is quite the opposite.61 If atman is one then births of different kinds of beings such as hellish, human, divine, etc. are not possible. If ātman is one and all pervading, then why is not consciousness seen in innert things such as pot, stone etc. ? Again, there will be no difference between liberated and bound Soul, preceptor and pupil, child and wise and so on.62 Jiva is different in each body (pratiksetram bhinnah) 63 and thus, individuals are born and die at different times, their actions and experiences are diverse in nature and so on.
There cannot be absolute identity between jiva and Brahman because, in that case mundane world of different individual selves will be impossible to conceive on account of inseparability of jīva from ever liberated supreme Brahman. It also cannot be said that ātman seems to be different on account of bodily adjuncts but essentially one, because, in that case, just as after destruction of a pot its space is also freed, similarly, when body is destroyed every one will be liberated and no need of means of liberation, consequently no one will try to achieve this goal and whole science of liberation will become purposeless64 and theory of karma, rebirth, etc. collapse to the ground.
If it is said that, on account of samskāras impressions) every jiva is not freed immediately after destruction of the body and becomes object of transmigration then the question is whether these samskäras of individual jīva are specio-temporal or all pervading like eather. If they are limited by space and time, then the man died at particular place, to say at Citrakuța must born in the same place, because samskāras cannot travel from one place to another being inactive and unconscious (because of product of un-conscious avidyā). Samskāras cannot also be all-pervading because in that case, no place and no
61 Syadvadaratnakara, V. p. 1094, pub Motilal Ladhaji, 27 Bhavanipeth, Pune,
Vira Samvat 2457. Silanka, Sutrakrtangatika, pp. 30-35. ed. . Ambikadatta Oza, pub. Mahavira Jaina
Jnanodaya Society, Rajkot, V.S, 1993, 63 PN.T., VII, 56. 64 S.M., p. 1095.
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