________________
JAIN BIOLOGY (2)
CELL STRUCTURES AND FUNCTIONS 1. The Fabric of Life
As defined, Biology is the science of living substances (jivadravayas). The field of Jaina Biology deffentiates the living from the non-living by using the word 'Jivattikāya' (organism) to refer to any living things, plant or animal, just as modern Biology does. So it is relatively easy to see that a man,2 a Sāla tree3, a creeper and an earthworm3 are living, whereas pieces of matter (pudgala), e.g. earth, stones, etc., are not so. But according to modern Biology, "it is more difficult to decide whether such things as viruses are alive."
Jaina Biology, states that the fabric of life of all plants and animals is paryāpti (Śakti-Vital force) or Prāņa (life force) in another way, i. e. paryapti appears to be the actual living material of all plants and animals. There are stated to be six kinds of paryāpti1o, viz. āhāraparyāpti (vital force by which beings take, digest, absorb and transform molecules of food paricles into khala (waste producs) and rasa (chyle-molecules of nutrients or energy)', sariraparyāpti (vital force) by which chyle or molecules of nutrients (=rasibhūtamāhāram) are utilized by beings for the release of energy, the building of blood, tissue, fat, bone, marrow, semen, etc., indriyaparyāpti13 (vital force by which molecules of nutrients or chyles suitable for building senses are taken in and provided to the proper place so that beings can have the perceptual knowledge of the desired sense-objects by the sense-organs)14 acchvāsaparyāpti15 (Vital force by which particles of respitation are taken in, oxidized for energy and left out (as carbon dioxide and water), bhāṣāparyāpti1 (vital force by which beings, having taken proper particles of speech,
12
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
