________________
30
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE JAINAS
his cell; in the same way, the body cannot do anything unless it has food prepared for it; not that the food itself will be changed into some spiritual substance, but it is always to be used for a certain purpose. The soul lives its own life, not for the purpose of body, but the body lives for the purpose of the soul, and every opportunity which the body affords to the soul for thinking on higher matters must be taken advantage of: but if we believe that the soul is to be controlled by the body, the soul misses its powers in this way. This is the way in which we understand the relation of the soul and the body.
Six Systems of Philosopy
Out of the rays of truth based on the Vedic literature of the Hindus six systems of philosophy arose. The first was the Nyaya system. The followers of that philosophy hoped by cultivating the instruments of knowledge perception, inference, analogy, testimony to reach final beatitude by right inquiry. They generalised from the phenomena of life to an extra-cosmic Deity or superhuman powers commanding our homage and worship. The inanimate universe, including the soul and mind of man, they left to itself and believed to be the result of an act of divine creation. The Vaiseṣikas accepted the generalisations of Nyaya but went a step further in analysing the nature of material existence. They acknowledged the existence of an extra-cosmic Deity but like Gassendi nearly dropped the idea and busied themselves with the atoms and their nature. With them the universe began with atoms infinite and eternal moved by the will of the divine power. Thus as Gautama, the author of Nyaya, built up the metaphysics, Kanada, the author of Vaiseșika supplied the physics of a philosophy which generally goes under the name of Dialectic philosophy. A philosophy built upon mere abstractions and generalisations from phenomena, which can in reality never be individually generalised from, must result in pure atheism or anthropomorphic Deism. Principal Caird says in his Philosophy of Religion. "Generalisation, so far from
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
