But if soul is ananta, after becoming siddha, how will you differentiate one infinite with another?
In Jain dharma, siddha souls are all equal in their pure qualities, but they are not one and the same soul.
The key point is:
- Ananta in the liberated state means endless, पूर्ण, limitless qualities like infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite bliss, and infinite energy.
- It does not mean that all siddhas become one single entity.
- Each siddha remains a distinct dravya (substance), a separate soul.
So how are they differentiated?
- By their individuality as souls: each jīva is eternally a separate reality.
- Not by defects, body, gender, name, or form: all these are gone after liberation.
- Not by difference in pure qualities: all siddhas have the same perfect qualities.
- Therefore, siddhas are different in existence, but equal in perfection.
A simple way to understand it:
- Many lamps can all give the same light.
- Their light may be the same in nature, but each lamp is still a separate lamp.
Similarly, all siddhas are:
- separate souls,
- fully pure,
- completely समान in attributes,
- yet each one remains individually distinct.
So in Jain philosophy, the answer is: they are not differentiated by qualities, but by their eternal individual existence as distinct souls.