Jethalal S. Zaveri
Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar
ahamekko khalu suddho daṃsaṇaṇāṇamaio sayārūvῑ
ṇa vi atthi majjha kiṃci vi aṇṇaṃ paraṃāṇumettaṃ pi.. 38
The enlightened soul firmly believes that (ahaṃ ekko) I am a singularity, (khalu suddho) and intrinsically pure; (daṃsaa-ṇāṇa-maio) I am possessed of knowledge and intutition; (sayārūvῑ) I am totally devoid of sense-data-such as taste, touch, etc.—and therefore ever arūpῑ (formless) (kiṃci vi aṇṇaṃ paramāṇumettaṃ pi majjha ṇa vi atthi) not a single atom of the alien substance matter is mine.
Annotations:
The final verse of this chapter together with the two preceding verses sums up the findings of the chapter. From the commencement the main theme of discussion is the ultimate nature of the pure self and its separateness from all that is non-self. The last verses emphasize and clinch the distinction.
In actual life of direct experience, it is practically impossible to verify the dualistic separation of a living organism into a body and a soul (or psyche, or mind or mental part or aspect). This however has not deterred physiologists, psychologists, metaphysicians and others to put forward a number of rival psycho-physical hypothesis. As we shall be required to examine some of these in a subsequent chapter, we shall merely mention here that while each of these hypotheses may have the merit of being legitimate for some purpose, none of them can, however, be accepted as a complete theory.
Jain philosophers appreciate the gravity of the problem and evaluate the psycho-physical relation from two fundamental aspects-empirical and transcendental. All psycho-physical hypotheses examine the body-soul relation from empirical aspect. For the transcendental aspect, Jains accept only the twelve original scriptures as the true records of the findings of an omniscient to whom alone the ultimate nature of the pure self is revealed. But it must be remembered that neither the ultimate truth nor the empirical truth is the absolute truth according to the Jain theory of non-absolutism (anekāntavāda). Non-absolutism means that truth is free from all absolutism. And hence, there is no contradiction between the findings of the empirical and the transcendental aspects. The latter view only emphasizes that any kind of attachment to things or persons-living and non-living-even to one's body, is an obstacle in the path of emancipation, because they are ultimately different from the SELF and this has been verified by real experience by an omniscient (kevalῑ).
(Idi paḍhamo jῑvādhiyāro samatto)
[Here ends the first chapter on the Self]
