________________
BASICS OF JAINISM
Classification
All objects that we are surrounded by are either living beings or non-living things. All animals and plants are living beings. A cat playing with a ball is obviously living
while the ball is non-living. A pigeon flying
from tree to tree is a living being and so are the trees.
Sometimes it is not so easy to decide because plants are living things but they do not play with balls or fly!
40
Jain Ecation lemnational
Did you know?
The amount
of "Himsä"
is dependent on the level of
consciousness
(senses) of the harmed soul
Non-living things (Ajiva)
A doll, a chair or a glass are all non-living things. Most non-living things are parts of or are derived from those who were once
living things. Coal is a good example. It
was formed when trees died and sank into
the soft ground. This happened many millions of years ago when the earth was covered with forests. Paper is non-living but it is made from trees. Peanut butter and Jelly are also non-living but they were made from the fruit of a plant.
Living Beings (Jiva)
In the universe, there are different forms of life such as human beings, animals, insects, plants, bacteria, and even smaller lives that cannot be seen through the most powerful microscopes of today. Jainism has classified all the living beings into two broad categories:
1 Non-mobile or Sthävar Jiva - are those that are stationary and cannot move on their own.
2 Mobile or Trasa Jiva - are those that can move on their own.
All living beings are classified according to the number of senses (Indriya) they possess. There are total five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.
All Non-Mobile (Sthävar) Jivas are singlesensed beings. These Jivas have only the sense of touch and are called Ekendriya.
THE FIRST STEP OF JAINISM
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
