THE QUALITIES OF THE SOUL

 

The States of the Soul

The Faculty of Cognition of the Soul

The Activity of the Soul

The lesyas

Belief

Conduct

 

THE STATES OF THE SOUL.

Kg. I 154 b et seq., Lp. XXXVI 1 et seq., Tattv. II, 1-7.

 

We have given an account of the different karmans in themselves and in their relations to one another; in the following we have to represent their relations towards the soul (jiva) and the states (bhava) produced in it by them.

 

In the jiva 5 states are possible which can manifest themselves simultaneously in a greater or smaller number, namely:

1)   parinamika bhava, the essential state. This comprises the qualities belonging to the jiva in himself, the qualities in which nothing is changed through the karman.

2)   audayika bhava, the state which is the consequence of the unhindered realization of the karman. It comprises all accidental attributes of the jiva, which become apparent through udaya of karman.

3)   aupasamika bhava, the state produced by the suppression of the karman. This comprises all states of the jiva which become manifest when the (mohaniya) karmans have been suppressed, i.e. when they have, although still existing, been overcome through strict self-control, so that they cannot realize themselves. The aupasamika bhava may be compared to the state of water in which the clouding mud has been cast down through the addition of kataka-nut.

4)   ksayika bhava, the state resulting from the annihilation of the karman. This comprises all that manifest itself in the jiva when the karman has totally disappeared. It may be compared to the clearing of the water which is produced through its separation from the mud.

5)   ksayopasamika (misra) bhava, the mixed state. In it the karman is still existing in the jiva, but does not realize itself. Whilst, however, the jiva in the aupasamika bhava has so completely suppress the karman that its effect is no longer altogether felt, in the misra bhava the existence of karma-pradesas is still experienced, although these do not reach udaya and possess no intensity. The inefficacy of the karman is therefore a smaller one than in the two preceding states; for this reason the ksayopasamika bhava is inferior to them in rank.

 

The name "ksayopasamika" or "misra" it owes to the circumstance that in it the karman is partly annihilated, partly suppressed. This definition is, however, not quite sufficient, because also in the aupasamika bhava the realized karman is annihilated and the one not yet realized is suppressed; the characteristic feature, that the karmapradesas are still felt, is however, not pronounced. The terminus technicus for this state is therefore, not a very aptly chosen one. This explains that it could not become clearly grasped by the older European expounders of the Jaina philosophy.

 

In the following I give the sub-species (bheda) of the states referred to above. I deviate however from the given succession in so far as I mention them in their natural order:

The essential state has 3 sub-divisions: (1) jivatva, the spiritual nature of the soul; (2) bhavyatva, the capability of salvation; (3) abhavyatva, the incapability of salvation. As essential states of the soul there could further be mentioned eternity, activity and others. But these parinamika-bhavas are also proper to other substances, that is why here only the states proper to the jiva are mentioned. (Concerning bhavyatva and abhavyatva see infra).

 

The audayika-bhava has 21 sub-species: 1. asiddhatva, the state of unholiness, the lacking of spiritual perfection ; 2. ajnana, ignorance; 3. asamyama, lacking self-discipline, caused through the realization of the pratyakhyanavaranakasayas; 4. mithyatva, unbelief, caused through realization of mithyatva-mohaniya; 5-8. the four kasayas, anger, pride, deceitfulness, greed caused through udaya of kasaya-mohaniya; 9-11 the three sexes caused through udaya of the respective nokasaya-mohaniyas; 12-15, the 4 states of existence, caused through realization of the respective gati-karmans; 16-21. the 6 lesyas, colors of the soul.

 

All the 21 bhavas here quoted in the jiva through unhindered realization of the karman. Many other bhavas ought still to be mentioned here, which likewise arise through udaya of karman. But as in the Purvasastras these 21 alone are mentioned, this enumeration has been universally adopted (Kg. I 156a) and the many other audayika bhavas are considered to be included in them.

 

The ksayopasamika-bhava comprises 18 sub-species: 1-10. all species of cognition (upayoga) with the exception of omniscience and absolute undifferentiated cognition; 11-15. the 5 faculties (labdhi) of giving, taking, enjoyment, usufruct and will. All states hitherto explained have arisen through annihilation or suppression of jnanavarana-, darsanavarana-, and antaraya-k. But as the respective karmans have not been made completely ineffective, the jiva possesses the upayogas and labdhis in a greater or smaller measure only, not absolutely as the ksayikas; 16. samyaktva, (a low degree of) belief; 17. desavirati, partial self-discipline, arisen through suppression and annihilation of the apratyakhyanavarana-kasayas; 18. sarvavirati, (a lower degree of) complete self-discipline.

 

The aupasamika-bhava has 2 sub-divisions: (1) samyaktva, true belief, and (2) caritra, right conduct. Both states arise through suppression of the darsana- or caritra-mohaniyas. They stand, therefore, relatively higher than the corresponding ones of the ksayopasamikas, but relatively lower than those of the ksayikas.

 

The ksayika-bhava has 9 sub-divisions: 1. samyaktva, true belief in the highest degree, arisen through complete annihilation of the darsanamohaniya-ks; 2. caritra, perfect right conduct, (so called yathakhyata), caused through total annihilation of the caritra-mohaniya-ks; 3. omniscience and 4. absolute undifferentiated cognition, in consequence of the complete annihilation of the karmans veiling them; 5-9. the 5 faculties (labdhi) of giving, taking, enjoyment, usufruct, and will, in an absolute manner, as every antaraya-k is completely extinguished.

 

This theory is of importance for the Jaina system because it affords it the possibility exactly to define which states of the soul are the consequence of its own being, which are added through realization of the karman, and which have arisen through the making of the karman inefficacious. In a being possessing the true belief, but not yet self-discipline (avirata-samyagdrsti), the following states are e.g. possible, e.g.: 2 parinamika: jivatva and capability of salvation ; 19 audayika, i.e. all except unbelief and ignorance ; 12 ksayopasamika, namely 5 labdhis, 3 species of knowledge, and 3 species of undifferentiated cognition and ksayopasamika-samyaktva ; 1 aupasamika, namely the aupasamika-samyaktva ; I the ksayika, namely the ksayika form of the true belief. Altogether 36 states are therefore POSSIBLE, the number of those ACTUALLY OCCURRING is, of course much less, and in every individual case different. For it scarcely needs an explanation, that a jiva can, at a fixed time, possess only one kind of samyaktva, can belong only to one of the 4 states of existence, can have only one of the 6 lesyas etc.

 

Of the above-mentioned 53 states of the soul, the kasayas and vedas have already sufficiently been dealt with, in the explanation of the karman-species. The others, that is to say, the different kinds of cognition (upayoga), of activity (yoga), of the color of the soul (lesya), of belief (darsana), conduct (caritra) and states of existence (gati) will be discussed in the following .