Tattva - Tattva in Jainism

Tattva in Jainism

Jain philosophy can be described in various ways, but the most acceptable tradition is to describe it in terms of the Tattvas or fundamentals. Without knowing them one cannot progress towards liberation. They are:

1. Jiva - Souls and living things
2. Ajiva - Non-living things
3. Punya - Results of Good Deeds (Good Karma)
4. Pap - Results of Bad Deeds (Bad Karma)
5. Asrava - Influx of karma
6. Bandha - The bondage of karma
7. Samvara - The stoppage of influx of karma
8. Nirjara - Shedding of karma
9. Moksha - Liberation or Salvation

Each one of these fundamental principles are discussed and explained by Jain Scholars in depth. There are two examples that can be used to explain the above principle intuitively.

(1) A man rides a wooden boat to reach the other side of the river. Now the man is Jiva, the boat is ajiva. Now the boat has a leak and water flows in. That incoming of water is Asrava and accumulating there is Bandh, Now the man tries to save the boat by blocking the hole. That blockage is Samvara and throwing the water outside is Nirjara. Now the man crosses the river and reaches his destination, Moksha.

(2) Consider a family living in a house. One day, they were enjoying a fresh cool breeze coming through their open doors and windows of the house. However, the weather suddenly changed to a terrible dust storm. The family, realizing the storm, closed the doors and windows. But, by the time they could close all the doors and windows some of the dust had been blown into the house. After closing the doors and the windows, they started clearing the dust that had come in to make the house clean again.

This simple scenario can be interpreted as follows:

1) Jivas are represented by the living people.
2) Ajiva is represented by the house.
3) Punya is represented by enjoyment resulting from the nice cool breeze.
4) Pap is represented by discomfort resulting from the storm.
5) Asrava is represented by the influx of dust.
6) Bandh is represented by the accumulation of dust in the house.
7) Samvar is represented by the closing of the doors and windows to stop the accumulation of dust.
8) Nirjara is represented by the cleaning up of already collected dust from the house.
9) Moksha is represented by the cleaned house, which is similar to the shedding off all karmic particles from the soul.