Book Title: Ahimsa the Science of Peace
Author(s): Surendra Bothra
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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Page 140
________________ THE PHILOSOPHY The Jain philosophy has described seven basic concepts in the path of purification. The first is Jiva or soul, which is the subject of the process. Soul is one of the two elementary energy forms out of the six fundamentals (soul, matter, space, motion, inertia and time). It normally, exists intertwined with matter at different stages of development, but it is different from matter. It manifests itself in the physical dimension through matter, but it is not made from some combination of matter. It is the doer of all deeds and also the sufferer of all consequences. In the path of purification, soul is the entity to be purified and liberated from under the yoke of matter. The second basic concept of Jainism is Ajiva (the opposite of Jiva, or soul, or life) or matter. This is the second of the two elementary energy forms among the six fundamentals, and it continually interacts with soul. Matter in its gross forms is visible all around. The Jains have gone into details regarding sub-microscopic particles and beyond, even to the level of subatomic particles. The Paramanu as defined by Jains is not the atom, the meaning given by literal translators of scientific terms from English to Hindi. It is an Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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