Some Jain Concepts and Conduct

Author(s): Sushma Singhvi
Publisher: B J Institute

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[Some Jain Concepts and Conduct
that all suddha activities are the means of achieving this end. Jiva has been advised time and again to concentrate all the activities in the soul to abandon parasamaya and to mediate on svasamaya. There is no difference in Ātman and Jiva from Niscayanaya; but it appears from vyavahāranaya that soul reflects a particular stage which is attained by Jiva. Jainas have adopted axiomatic approach to prove the existence of soul. Every Jiva is always aware of its existence.
Pūjyapāda (478-513 AD) has enunciated, in his work sarvārthasiddhi, his theory to prove existence of the soul. According to him prāņa and other activities found in a Jiva are enough evidence of the existence of motivator and actor, i.e. the soul. He further explains this by the illustration of a robot whose activities clearly point towards the existence of a sentient operator.29
Jiva perceives, knows and experiences pains and pleasures. Jiva is actor of all good and bad activities and bears the consequences of these activities. Thus the existence of Jiva is axiomatic.
According to Jain logic the existence of souls is to be accepted by existence consciousness. Whatever is the sentient being in me is experienced by myself as 'I am and this experience is worth receiving by prājña. Everything other than this ātmabodha is not mine and is different from me.30
Jiva is characterized by Cetana and Upayoga. Cetana, or sentiency or consciousness is regarded as the essence of the Atman. The sentiency which is responsible for all these activities of the soul is threefold:
(1) Jñanacetana (2) Karmacetana (3) Karmaphala Cetana The act of knowing all padārthas by bhedavijñāna (sva