Concept of Soul / Self (Atma) in Jain Philosophy

Summary

Jain philosophy distinguishes between living (jiva) and non‑living (ajiva) substances and regards the jiva or soul (atma) as the fundamental locus of consciousness, perception and activity. Dr Veer Sagar Jain begins his essay by stressing that while Hindu, Buddhist and Western thinkers have debated the existence of a self, Jains have consistently maintained that every living being possesses a unique, eternal and formless soul. The Jain soul is beginningless and endless; it is intrinsically endowed with infinite knowledge, perception, bliss and energy, yet these qualities are obscured by the karmic matter bound to it. The article explains the traditional classification of living beings according to the number of senses they possess, ranging from one‑sensed organisms like earth‑bodies and water‑bodies to five‑sensed beings like humans and gods. In the empirical state the soul expands or contracts to occupy the size of the body it inhabits. Souls assume countless forms, including hellish beings, sub‑humans, humans and celestial beings, depending on their karmic accumulation. The essay contrasts the empirical or worldly soul with the pure soul. Pure souls reside at the summit of the cosmos, are free from karma and do not move from their position; they have infinite perception and are bodiless, whereas empirical souls continue to transmigrate in the lower and middle universe. Tables summarise the differences in number, size, status, movement and quality between pure and empirical souls. The article further explains how the soul becomes bound through the influx and bondage of karmic particles triggered by passions like anger, pride, deceit and greed and by activities of body, speech and mind. Liberation requires stopping the influx of new karma and shedding accumulated karmas through ethical disciplines. Jain ethics prescribes five vows—non‑violence, truthfulness, non‑stealing, chastity and non‑possession—along with internal austerities, meditation and detachment. By practising right faith, right knowledge and right conduct, the empirical soul gradually sheds its impurities and ascends to the top of the universe. The article places this doctrine in dialogue with other Indian philosophies. Unlike Advaita Vedanta, which sees the individual self as identical with Brahman, Jainism emphasises the plurality of souls and their distinct individuality even in the liberated state. Unlike Buddhism, which denies a permanent soul and interprets the individual as an impermanent aggregation of skandhas, Jainism asserts an enduring spiritual substance. The author notes that although the Jains share with Buddhists a rejection of a creator god and a belief in karma and rebirth, their concept of soul is distinctive. Through numerous scriptural citations and logical arguments, the article communicates that the Jain notion of atma is central to their metaphysics, ethics and soteriology and remains relevant for discussions of self and consciousness today.