Dr. Samani Mangal Pragya
Jain philosophy has always been an Atmavādī philosophy i.e. it believes in the existence of the soul. In Jain āgamic literature, a lot of discussion is available on soul. Acārāṅga, which is accepted as the most ancient Jain āgama by both the traditional and modern philosophers, opens up with a quest for the self.[1] The whole Jain ethics is based on the concept of Atmavāda. The concept of soul has been discussed widely in Acārāṅga. According to Ācārāṅga, the soul and knower are identical.
'je āyā se viṇṇāyā,
je viṇṇāyā se āyā[2]'
[This aphorism means that 'the soul is the knower and the knower is the soul']
The soul and the knower- both are one and the same. According to Sānkhya philosophy, knowledge is not an attribute of the soul (puruṣa), but it is the characteristic of the prakṛti. The prakṛti is a non-living substance. With the special influence of its sattva guṇa, it produces knowledge also. According to Sānkhya, knowledge is the product of sattva guṇa.[3] So, knowledge is a characteristic or product of prakṛti and not of soul. The nature of the soul is consciousness and not knowledge. Sānkhya philosophy considers consciousness and knowledge as two different entities. According to Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika philosophy, knowledge is an external attribute of the soul. It is connected to the soul with an inherent relationship (samavāya sambandha).[4] The soul becomes devoid of knowledge in its liberated state. On the contrary, according to Jainism, both consciousness and knowledge are inherently same. The soul is a substance of conscious characteristic, conscious nature or conscious quality.[5]
