Number Of Souls - Book Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Number of Souls" by Pravin K. Shah, as presented on pages 1-3:

Core Tenets of Jain Soul Classification:

The Jain philosophy posits that every soul in the universe is a unique, eternal individual. Souls are neither created nor destroyed. The text outlines a high-level classification of all souls in the universe into three primary categories:

Liberated (Siddha) Souls:
- These souls have achieved Moksha (liberation) and reside eternally in a state of infinite knowledge, vision, and power in a place called Moksha, above the Siddhashila.
- They are free from karma and physical bodies, existing as pure consciousness.
- While a finite number of worldly souls attain liberation during each time cycle (Utsarpini and Avasarpini), the total number of liberated souls is considered infinite due to the infinite past time cycles.
- Liberated souls do not merge into a single supreme soul; they remain unique individuals.
Vyavahār_rashi (Samsāri or Worldly) Souls:
- These souls possess limited knowledge, vision, and power, with one to five senses depending on their development and karma.
- One-sensed souls include vegetation, water, earth, fire, and air.
- Five-sensed souls include humans, heavenly beings, hellish beings, and animals. Some five-sensed souls also possess a mind, sometimes considered a "sixth sense."
- Only human beings from this category are capable of achieving liberation.
- When a soul attains liberation, another soul from the Avyavahār_rashi Nigod category enters the Vyavahār_rashi category. This keeps the total number of worldly souls constant at any given time.
- This category is further divided into:
  - Vyavahār_rashi Pratyeka Souls: Each soul has its own unique body. The number of souls in this category is innumerable (Aganit). The maximum number of human beings across the Jain universe is finite, defined as approximately 10^29.
  - Vyavahār_rashi Nigod Souls: An infinite number of souls share a single physical body. All these souls are one-sensed vegetation souls. The total number is infinite (Anant).
    - Vyavahār_rashi Nigod Bädar Souls: These have visible bodies, such as root vegetables (Kandamul, Jimikand), also known as Sädhäran Vanaspati-Kaya.
    - Vyavahār_rashi Nigod Sukshma Souls: These have microscopic bodies and cannot be seen. They fill the entire universe.
Avyavahār_rashi Nigod Souls:
- Similar to Vyavahār_rashi Nigod souls, an infinite number of souls share one physical body, and all are one-sensed vegetation souls.
- All souls in this category are Sukshma (microscopic) and cannot be seen, filling the entire universe.
- The text classifies the number of souls here as infinite x infinite (Anantä_anant), indicating a vastly larger quantity than Vyavahār_rashi Nigod souls.
- These souls have not yet had the opportunity to move out of the Nigod state. When a worldly soul attains liberation, one soul from this category gets a chance to enter the Vyavahār_rashi category. This transition is described as niyati, bhavitvyata, or predestination, and it is not dependent on the soul's karma.
- The text emphasizes that all individuals currently in the human stage have emerged from this Avyavahār_rashi Nigod category and are fortunate to have had this opportunity. The goal is to exert maximum effort to avoid returning to the Nigod state.

Summary of Soul Numbers:

Liberated (Siddha) souls: Infinite
Vyavahār_rashi or Samsari or worldly souls: Constant
- Human beings: Finite (maximum ~10^29)
- Vyavahār_rashi Pratyeka Souls: Innumerable
- Vyavahār_rashi Nigod Souls: Infinite
Avyavahār_rashi Nigod souls: Infinite x Infinite

The journey of every soul is described as beginning from the Avyavahār_rashi Nigod souls, progressing through Vyavahār_rashi Nigod, then Vyavahār_rashi Pratyeka, to Human life, and ultimately to liberation.