The Truth

Author(s): O P Jain
Publisher: Veer Nirvan Granth Prakashan Samiti

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THE TRUTH
They cannot behave according to the wishes of others. It is thus impossible that any single individual will be able to mould his surroundings to his liking all the time. Any pursuit of happiness in external objects is thus bound to fail. Ignorance of this fact is the real cause of suffering..
If the soul is itself the repository of purest joy, why is this natural happiness not always enjoyed by the soul ? The answer to this important question is furnished by the fact that our infatuations and ignorance have defiled the natural attributes of our being,whose properties have become vitiated in consequence. To the extent to which these infatuations and ignorance are destroyed in us, do the natural attributes of our soul become ours to be enjoyed by us. The soul shall experience perfect happiness and enjoy all embracing infinite knowledge when the forces that stand in the way of their realisation are destroyed. Immortality shall also be the reward of the conquerer of these enemies of the soul. The decreeing of Omniscience, Bliss and Immortality in favour of the soul is tentamount to declaring it to be its own God, in as much as these are the principal attributes associated with our most exalted conception of Divinity. These divine attributes are not enjoyed by the soul now, because they are vitiated and neutralised by certain forces operating on the soul substance, so that they cannot come into manifestation till they are set free from the dominion of these defiling, neutralising agents. The fact that external substances have combined with the soul and defiled its attributes is clear from the fact that all souls do not manifest the same degree of attributes; some are more intelligent than others, some are saintly in outlook while others are full of passions etc. In a pure state, all souls should have been alike.
4.9 The soul is a reincarnating ego which passes from life to life in an unbroken succession, till ‘nirvana is attained. This is evident from the fact that the soul is immortal by nature, so that it must have had a past as surely it will continue to exist in the future. Some instances have come to light when a person has been able to recall events of his previous life. Then, there are certain forms of knowledge and experiences which a man exhibits even though he had no chance to learn them in this life. These facts also go to strengthen the inference already drawn about the immortality and continuity of the soul.
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