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166 Śramaṇa, Vol 57, No. 3-4/July-December 2006
serves as a definition, i.e., it gives the exact meaning which may be applied to a dravya, it says what it is. Guna and paryāya, on the other hand, explain how it is possible to account for the change a dravya may undergo without losing its essential nature, its svabhāva- without knowing the svabhāva the significance of guna and paryāya to account for the change in a dravya would be reduced. Further, svabhāva can stand alone whereas guna and paryaya mutually refer to each other.
The gatha quoted above raises a problem: if, as it says, the jīva is without a linga, then it seems to contradict what was stated in PrS II, 38 above (p. 79), viz, that linga is the special guna through which jīva and ajīva dravyas are recognized.
This apparent contradiction can perhaps be obviated by clarifying the standpoint from which these statements are made: recognition is a faculty that takes place in the world, i.e., it is a manifestation of sentience albeit under the influence of matter, since jiva is under the influence of pudgala-dravya transformed as karman which has the effect of restricting the manifestation of the intrinsic nature of the jīva. It is in this sense that the jīva can be understood as not being established in its nature. The intrinsic nature of the jiva can only be grasped when the karman veiling its authentic manifestation has been cleared. However, even under the influence of karman sentience (Jīvatva), is manifested and the operation of consciousness in the form, e.g., of recognition, is a sign of its existence. Hence, on the one hand, the jiva is recognized in the world through its characteristic signs of sentience and, on the other hand, in the realm without the influence of karman, i.e., in the realm where the ajīva-dravyas no longer hinder the manifestation of consciousness, jīva must be spoken of as a dravya which cannot be recognized through characteristic signs or lingas which apply to the realm associated with ajīva.
The Jaina scriptures enumerate two operations (upayogas) which are described as two distinct guņas of the jīva, and these
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