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33 On the other hand, pudzala is not pure matter untouched by consciousness. It alrealy bears the impress of spirit. Ātaman is the spirit of being and matter is the negative principle of non-living. The latter corresponds to the space of Bergson, or the materia prima of Leibniz. The bare materiality of pudgala is the direct opposite of spirit. A jiva is the combination of the two. It is material-spiritual. A soul loaded with matter is evolved in bondage. All jivas in amsāra are assoniated with this negative element,
Jainism believes that Ātman or the pure spirit, or pure matter, and jiva which is a combination of the two, are existent, though the first two are imperceptible to us. The pudgalų skandka which we see, has also an element of consciousuess, and is as much a jiva as others, so far as the essence is concerned. The jiva and the a-jiva of the Jain as are not empirical abstractions of Atman, or consciousness, and Matter or non-consciousness but the products of an interaction between the two. Strictly speaking, Ātman and non-älman are the primary elements. Jiva possesses more of self, a-jiva more of non-self. They represent two orders of arrangement in the whole univers.
Jainim believes in plurality of spirits. The jiva are many, but are alike eternal. Their characteristic essence is never destroyed, however much it is obscured by external causes. They are regarded as possessing size which is varying in different cases. They contract and expand according to the dimensions of the body with which they are incorporated for the time being. Truly speaking, the essence of all jivas is consciousness and it is only superficial to advance the theory of plurality of sivas. It is only a relative conception and cannot be taken as an ultimate truth. Still, however, this distinction of spirits is justified in t'ie sense that it distinguishes good from the bad, Brāhmaṇas, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sūdras, from each other, insects, birds, snakes and so on. Por, the Jaina Canon dictates that if there were but one soul common to all beings, they could not be distinguished from one
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