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5. 23-24]
Extraordinary modes of matter
The earth, water, light, and air are all equivalent as forms of matter; that is, they all possess the four qualities of touch, etc. In Jain philosophy, the mind is also considered to be of a material nature and thus possesses qualities such as touch. Touch is of eight types: hard, soft, heavy, light, cold, hot, smooth, and rough. There are five tastes: bitter, pungent, astringent, sour, and sweet. There are two smells: pleasant and unpleasant. There are five colors: black, blue (green), red, yellow, and white. Thus, there are a total of twenty distinctions in terms of touch, etc., but each of these has finite, infinite, and eternal distinctions depending on gradation. Softness is one quality, but there is some gradation in the softness of each soft object. For this reason, although the touch of softness is generally one, it gives rise to finite, infinite, and eternal distinctions according to gradation. The same applies to hard and other types of touch, as well as other qualities like taste.
Sound is not a quality, as considered in philosophies such as Vaisheshika and Nyaya. It is a specific kind of result of the verbal element of matter. Due to differences in causation, it has many distinctions. The sound produced from the effort of the soul is called 'priyam', and that which arises without any effort is termed 'vaisrasik', like the rumbling of clouds. The six types of 'priyam' sounds are: 1. The various spoken languages of humans, and the unspoken sounds of animals and birds; 2. The sound of instruments such as the mridang, pataha, etc., which are wrapped in leather; 3. The sound of stringed instruments like the veena and sarangi; 4. The sound of bells, gongs, etc.; 5. The sound of blow-blown instruments like the conch and flute; 6. The sound generated from the friction of wood, etc.
There are two types of mutual adhesive bonds: 'priyam' and 'vaisrasik'. The relationship between the soul and the body, as well as the relation between lac and wood, is a 'priyam' bond because it depends on effort. In contrast, the 'vaisrasik' bonds arise from material synthesis independent of effort, such as electricity, clouds, and rainbows.
There are two kinds of distinctions between subtlety and grossness: the end (antya) and relative (apeksha). When subtlety and grossness do not occur in the same object due to differences in relativity, they are termed 'antya'; when they occur, they are called 'apeksha'. The subtlety of atoms and the grossness of the all-pervading great mass (mahasankhya) is 'antya', as grossness does not occur in atoms compared to other forms of matter, nor does subtlety occur in the great mass. The subtlety and grossness of intermediate masses like dvayanuka are both relative (apeksha), just like the subtlety of amlaki and the grossness of bilva. The amlaki is smaller than the bilva, hence it is subtle, and the bilva is larger than the amlaki, hence it is gross.