________________
CONCEPT OF SUBSTANCE QUALITY.... : 83
life of a human to that of God and vice-versa, because it would obliterate the distinction between worldly life and the state of liberation and consequently, the spiritual discipline for the achievement of liberation would lose all meaning. In this connection his Svopajñabhāsya-tīkā brings out the positive aspects of the four kinds of traditional non-existence: 1.Pre-origination non-existence is existence in another form, e.g. before a golden pot originates the gold exists. 2. Post cessation non-existence is also existence in another form, e.g. before a golden pot is destroyed, the gold exists. 3. The mutual non-existence of two things is because of their existence e.g. this gold pot is not that gold pot and that gold pot is not this gold pot. 4. Absolute non-existence refers to that which can never exist by definition of what does exist, e.g. the 'square circle' is understood as impossible because both square and circle exist independently. These four kinds of traditional non-existence are used to show the continuity among origination, cessation and persistence, between modes and substance. In the cessation of one mode there is origination of another and through this substance persists. So Late Prof. Nathmal Tatia remarks, "the logical dilemma of partless, indivisible, imperceptible units making something many zeros making one-has perplexed Indian philosophy for centuries. One conclusion was that reality is an illusion; there are only modes but no substance. This gave non-absolutist solution which rejects absolutist philosophies of impermanence and permanence. The atom is understood as a combination of one substance and many qualities; the qualities have no independent existence but must be contained by the substance."Si
Kundakunda maintains that paryāya is the mode of existence of dravya through which its triple nature-origination, destruction and permanence is manifested. He gives an example of gold and ornaments made of it. 52 When the gold is melted to prepare ornament, the disappearance of the previous form of gold is destruction (vyaya),
