________________
18
The Doctrines of the Jainas
but this is not the idea of either the early or mediaeval church, and even Protestant divines stick to the idea of the never-ending punishment of the damned. This is quite foreign to the Indian conception, according to which, every act either good or bad, produces happiness or suffering for a limited period, though the period may be considerably long according to the nature of the deed.
In Jainism dharma, adharma, space, time, matter, and soul are the six substances. They are imperishable and eternal by their very nature. Each of them is a substance but time, matter, and soul form an infinite number of substances. The characteristic of dharma is motion. That of adharma is immobility, and that of akasa (space) is to make room. The characteristic of time is duration, that of soul is a realisation of knowledge, faith, conduct, austerities, energy and realisation of its development. These six substances are known as the six astikayas or terms comprehending and characterising the world of existence. The three terms, dravya, guna and paryaya characterise the six astikayas.
Under navatattva or the doctrine of nine terms come jiva and ajiva.3 The Jivajivabhigama, which is the third Jaina Upanga, really contains the doctrine of living and non-living things. It mainly points out the various classifications of jiva and ajiva. The former comprises all entities endowed with life, while the latter includes those which are devoid of life. These two terms comprehend the world of existence as known and experienced. The
1. 2. 3.
Sutrakrtanga, 1, 1; 1.15-16. Ibid., 1, 1.2.3; 1, 1.4.2. Uttaradhyayana, XXVIII, 14.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
