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122
Sasvarthasutra
[5. 12-16]
The small spatial area (adharakṣetra) is considered to be a part of an uncountable segment (angulāsamkhyeya bhāga) of the infinite celestial space (lokākāśa). The spatial area of the same living being could become twice as large in the future or at the same time, both in reference to itself or to another life. Similarly, the spatial area of that same being or another life can increase in a sequence that is threefold, fourfold, fivefold, and so on, potentially becoming infinitely large, which means the entire celestial space. The spatial area of one being can be the whole celestial space only when that being is in the state of kevalisamudghāta. The increase or decrease in the dimension of the spatial area corresponds based on the alteration in the object's dimension, which is specifically stated concerning one being. In regard to all living beings, the spatial area of the soul (jīvārasa) is the entirety of celestial space.
Now, the question arises regarding the cause of the difference in dimensional changes over time in one living being's substance (dravya) or between the dimensions of different living beings existing simultaneously. The answer lies in the karmic body (kārmaṇśarīra) that has been attached to the soul from beginningless time and exists in an infinite number of minute particles (anantānanta aṇuprachyara). This relation leads to variations in the dimensions among the substance of one being or among many beings. The karmic body does not remain the same; thus, various other bodies like the udārīka (more substantial) are also formed as big or small according to karma. The substance of the soul (jīva dravya) is fundamentally formless (amūrta); however, due to its attachment to the body, it becomes manifest (mūrta). Therefore, the size of the body it possesses determines its dimension.
Just like the substances of dharmāstikāya, the soul substance is also formless (amūrta), so why does one dimension not change while the other does? The only reason for this is the difference in nature (svabhāva). The nature of the soul (jīva) is to experience contraction (saṅkoca) and expansion (vikāsa) upon obtaining a conducive cause, much like the flame of a lamp that has a certain luminosity when placed in the open sky but gets confined to the space of a room when in a cupboard, illuminates only the area beneath it when placed in a pot, and dims to the extent when placed under a jug. Similarly, soul substance also exhibits contraction and expansion; it takes on the dimensions of the body it inhabits at any given time according to its size.
The question arises, if the living being is small due to its nature of contraction, then how does it exist in the countless geographical regions of celestial space?