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Lord Mahāvīra's Religious Contemporaries and Sects
167 DOCTRINE OF TRANSFORMATION (PAUȚȚAPARIH ĀRAVĀDA)
Gośāla was the propounder of a doctrine of change through re-animation' (pauttapariharavāda), or, better still, of a theory of natural transformation (pariņāmavāda) which he came to formulate from the generalisation based on the periodical re-animations of plant life. He came to the conclusion that just as the sesame seeds after having completely perished come to life from their inherent force or will-to-be, so are all living beings capable of re-animation. THEORY OF PURIFICATION THROUGH TRANSMIGRTION (SAMSARA-SUDDHI)
The basic idea underlying the above doctrinc implics a process of purification through transmigration. In the Buddhist phraseology, purification is the equivalent of 'ihc end of pain' (dukkhassanta), and the word transmigration signifies the passing of soul from one state of experience to another. According to this theory of purification through transmigration, onc will put an end to pain after wandering through various births for the allotted term. There are eighty-four hundred thousand periods during which both fools and wise, wandering in transmigration, shall at last make an end of pain. Neither the wisc nor the fool can get rid of the farmathere can be no increase or decrease thercof. Everything is predestined. Just as a ball of string wlicn unrolled, spreads out as far as and no farther than it can unwind, so shall both fools and wise alike, wandering in transmigration exactly for the allotied 1cm, make an end of pain. FATE, SPECIES IND NATURE (.V7721TI-SANGATI-BIĀV1 PARINATA)
Gośāla offers for his theory of perfection through trausformation no less than three explanations : Fate or Access Class or Species, and Nature.3
Is a rigid descrminist. Gosālr exed fair (..:!) 14. Thyra status of the motive factor of the universe and the sole ancora 1. Bics, X1.1. 2. Dicia, 1. p. ; , 1, p.31:7:1, 1, p. 3. Higha, 1, 53.
