Preface Important Tenets of Jaina Epistemology Soul substance (jiva dravya) is ubiquitous but unseen. The driving force within each one of us, it has been, since time immemorial, a subject matter of research by philosophers, religious leaders and laity. Still, ambiguity and misconceptions prevail as regard its real nature. Some negate the existence of the soul and attribute consciousness to the union of four basic substances - earth (prthvi), water (jala), fire (agni), and air (vayu); death leads to its annihilation. Some believe it to be momentary, devoid of self-existence. Still others consider it a product of illusion (mayor) or ignorance (avidya) as all objects are manifestations of Brahma - often described as 'Existence-Thought-Bliss' (sat-cid-ananda); only the one eternally undivided Brahma exists. All such conceptions are based on absolutism like: existence (bhavaikanta) or non-existence (abhavaikanta), non-dualism (advaita-ekanta) or separateness (prthaktva-ekanta), and permanence (nityatva-ekanta) or momentariness (ksanika-ekanta). Jaina epistemology goes beyond the superficial and examines the objects of knowledge from all possible points of view. It asserts that the entity (dharmi) and its attributes (dharma) are neither absolutely dependent (apeksika) nor absolutely independent (anapeksika). Only an entity which has general (samanya - concerning the substance, dravya) and particular (visesa - concerning the mode, paryaya) attributes can be the subject of knowledge. Substance (dravya) without its attributes (guna) and attributes without its substance cannot be the subject of valid knowledge; only their combination can be the subject of valid knowledge.
Teachings contained in the Jaina Scripture revolve around the soul substance (jiva dravya), its attributes and modes, and its distinctiveness from other substances. Every statement is made from a particular point of view (naya) that must be ascertained to understand the true meaning of the assertion.
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