Religion and Philosophy of the Jainas

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Jain International Ahmedabad

Page 93

60 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE JAINAS Nature of Soul :
The ordinary idea of soul substance is that in order for a thing to exist it must have form, it must be perceived by the senses. This is our ordinary experience. Really speaking, it is the experience only of the sensuous part of the being, the lowest part of the human entity, and from that experience we derive conclusions and think that these conclusions apply to all substance. There are substances which cannot be perceived by the senses; there are subtler substances and entities and these can be known only by the consciousness, by the soul. Such a substance which cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smelt or touched, is a substance which need not occupy space and need not have any tangibiliy, but it may exist although it may not have any form! Sight is an impression made on the nerves of the eyes by vibrations sent forth from the object perceived and this impression which we call sight, if there are no vibrations coming out of the object, is of course not produced; but if this substance influences us in certain ways, the implication is that there is something moving or producing vibrations, and these cannot exist unless there is some material substance which is vibrating. The very fact that something is moving in some way and influences us in some peculiar way implies that there is something material about this. If there are no vibrations, the substance is not material. It need not exist in a form which will give us the impression of any colour, smell etc. There is nothing which can partake both of the attributes of soul and of matter, the attributes of matter are directly contrary to those of the soul. While one has its life in the other, it does not become the other.
How can that soul live in matter when its attributes are of a different nature ? By our own experience we know that we are obliged to live in surroundings which are not congenial to us, which are not of our own nature. People feel that they are
1. That soul does not occupy space only means that it is not something
physical; for strictly speaking, the Jaina does maintain that there obtains some sort of relationship between the substance called 'soul' and that called 'space', (K.K.D)