Spiritual Awakening and other Essays

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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incessantly endeavoured to establish the social value of Aparigraha.
2. Inclusion of the notion of Paryāya (modification or change) in the definition of Substance and its spiritual implication ! - Definition of Substance (Dravya): In consonance with the perspective adopted by the Jainas in their metaphysical speculation, substance is that which exists or that which is characterised by simultaneous origination, destruction and persistence, or that wihich is the substratum of attributes (Guña) and modes (Paryāya)27. Permanence signifies persistence of substance along with attributes, and change refers to fluctuating modes along with the emergence of the new modes and the disappearance of the old ones at one and the same time. To illustrate, gold as a substance exists with its modifications and qualities. Now after making an ornament, gold as a substance is existent along with its attributes and what changes is the mode. Thus existence which is inseparably bound up with substance (gold) accompanied by its attributes and modes necessitates the production of a new form, the cessation of the old one, and continuation of gold as such simultaneously.28 In other words, the denial of the different aspects of the Jaina view of substance will lead us either to the Buddhist philosophy of universal change which disregards the underlying permanent being, or to the Vedantic monism which declares the accompanying change as appearance or illusory.
Substance (Dravya) and modification (Paryāya): The notion of Paryāya is peculiarly Jaina.29 In conformity with the nature of substance as permanence in change, Paryāya alludes to the changing aspect of a thing. Every quality changes its state every moment; and this mode of being is called
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Spiritual Awakening (Samyagdarśana) and Other Essays