SrI: SrImathE satakOpAya nama: SrImathE rAmAnujAya nama: SrImadh varavaramunayE nama:
sUthram 23
ஆர்ஹதர் ஆத்மாவை தேஹபரிமாணன் என்றார்கள்.
Arhathar AthmAvai dhEhaparimANan enRArgaL.
Meaning: The jains (Arhathas) hold that the individual soul is of the same size as the body it occupies.
Explanation
Having established that the soul is निर्विकार (nirvikAra), the author now points out an incorrect view that attributes change and transformation to the soul.
The Jaina View
The आर्हत (Arhatha) or jaina philosophers argue that the soul must be equal in size to the body.
Their reasoning is based on experience. A person says:
पादे मे वेदना (pAdhE mE vEdhanA) – “There is pain in my foot.”
Pleasure and pain are experienced throughout the body, from head to foot. They argue that such experiences would not be possible if the soul were not spread throughout the body.
Therefore, they conclude that the soul expands and contracts according to the size of the body it occupies.
Why do they hold this view?
According to them, the soul takes different bodies according to its karma.
For example, it may obtain:
- the body of an elephant,
- the body of an ant,
- or other bodies.
Since these bodies differ greatly in size, they say that the soul also changes accordingly and becomes equal in size to each body.
Thus, they hold that the soul undergoes transformation and becomes:
- elephant-sized in an elephant body,
- ant-sized in an ant body,
- and similarly for other bodies.
This is what is meant by saying that the soul is “தேஹபரிமாணன்“ (dhEha parimANan) – equal in size to the body.
The author states this view here in order to refute it in the succeeding discussion.
adiyen vAsudhEva rAmAnuja dhAsan
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