What is Jainism

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain

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ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
and calamity overtaking him and his loved ones. The animal is born into pain and suffering. The immortal soul is subject to birth and death, for the present life is no miracle in its eternal career. Thus thinking, one withdraws his attention from the world outside which is the realm of sickness and death, and turns it inwards on the soul when he soon begins to realize something of the inner joy of being which has been referred to already. Thereafter he speedily qualifies himself to be rid of the pernicious companionship of matter, when setting the natural functions of his soul free to display their full effect, he becomes omniscient, immortal and blissful, and ascends to the topmost part of the universe there to reside for ever, in the fullest enjoyment of all the privileges and prerogatives appertaining to Divinity. There is never any fall from this condition.
I must now give you a few quotations from some of the other religions to show that the true doctrines of the Science of Spirit are common to them all. The teaching of Hinduism is well summarised in the following hymn to Yama, who is one of the Vedic gods :All imperfections leave behind :
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Assume thy ancient frame once moreEach limb and sense thou hadst before, From every earthly taint refined. "And now with heavenly glory bright, With life intenser, nobler, blest, With large capacity to taste,
A fuller measure of delight. "In those fair realms of cloudless day, Where Yama every joy supplies,
And every longing satisfies,
Thy bliss shall never know decay."
Here we have distinctly the same teaching that the soul is by nature divine, that its natural powers and functions are not functioning fully owing to the earthly taint, and that by purifying itself it shall attain to perfection whence there will be no fall.
The Greeks had the same teaching in ancient times. The Orphic Teacher thus explained the Dionysiac cult:
"In all of us there is a divine element not wholly overwhelmed