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Studies on Biology in Tattvārtha-Stūra :
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but the text has 35% chapters and 40% aphorisms dealing with the living. Incidentally, it is interesting to point out that the aphorisms do not contain the term “Ātma' (Soul) at all, the term “Jiva' also being found in 11 places. It seems that the term 'Soul' could not have became popular in Jain system up to the age of Tattvārtha-sütra. It entered through the same process as the terms 'Dravya' (Reality) in place of 'Existents and the term 'Visesa' (Particularity) in place of 'mode'. The Jaina Seers tried to establish equivalence in terminology with other philosophies and they accepted the term 'Atmă' (Soul) for
Jiva' or living like the terms 'Sense perception' and 'Supra-sensual perception' (two kinds of perception) and “ideal atom' and 'Practical or real atom' (two kinds of atoms) - thus serving dual purpose - equivalence and maintenance of their own concepts." The commentators of the texts have mostly used the term 'Soul' for ‘Jiva' (living) and many a times, they have been interchangeably used to create some confusion in details as later Soul becoming supreme, pure or auspicious soul. The soul, being non-material, is out of bounds of current biology at least now. Hence this paper will deal with the living or impure soul which is described in Biology:
Soul = Living - (Karmic) Body
Living = Soul +body = Impure Soul = Jīva The living one is described in many spiritual texts in a highly degraded way to create psychological thrust for moving towards detachmental path. 4 This trend may be one of the causes of detestation of religiosity among young people. However, the description shows fine observation power of the seers. But Tattvārthasūtra is free from this defect and it really serves as freedom formula for the living to move towards soulhood. The text is more realistic than many others of earlier or later dates. Chaturvedi points out that there has been a period in the development of Indian thought when every physical system or entity (vitality, senses, mind) was spiritualised and got defined in terms of physical or psychical, real or ideal, alienable or non-alienable etc. Consequently, it became difficult to be understood by common man. This spiritualization became instrumental in cultivating individualism over socialism. This is the basic cause of our physical status today.
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