Basic Principles Of Jainism

Author(s): Narayan Lal Kachhara
Publisher: Narayan Lal Kachhara

Page 70

11
THE DOCTRINE OF LESYA
According to the Jaina thinkers, there are infinite numbers of souls in the universe. All of them possess the essential characteristics of perfect knowledge, bliss, etc. The souls, however, differ on account of their entanglement with the subtle and invisible karmic matter. The totality of karma amalgamated by a soul induces on it a transcendental colour, a kind of complexion which cannot be perceived by our eyes. That is called lesya. There are six lesyas: black, blue, grey, yellow, red and white. They have also a prominently moral bearing; for the lesya indicates the character of the individual who owns it. The first three belong to bad characters and the last three to good characters. In other words, the first three are the resultants of evil and the last three of good emotions.
Almost all the Jaina philosophers who have dealt with the subject of karma have referred to expanded theory of lesya. Everything which is matter, or mixed up with matter has some kind or other of touch, taste, smell and odour. Our mind and its activity are no exception. They are material and have colour, which they change with every change of their thought activity. "A black-hearted man", and "red with rage", "pale with fear", "green with jealously"; these are familiar phrases. Our thoughts and emotions have a very intimate connection with colours. We may be said to have thought-paints; but the primary ones are black, blue, grey, yellow, pink or red and white. The lesyas are reflections of the soul's vibrations effected by mild and strong passions. They illustrate the temperamental grades of greed, etc. The colour shades, as enumerated are transcendental and not physical.
Nemichandra Siddhanta Chakravarti has stated that according to the knower of the attributes of lesya, bhava lesya (thought paint) is that which stains the soul. The soul itself is without form, taste, smell, colour or touch. Colour is an essential and peculiar character of matter. Consciousness is the characteristic of the soul and modifications do take place on account of thought activities. These modifications are also formless and colourless. When the activities of the body, mind and speech as also the passions create vibrations, there takes place, as already noted, an influx of matter into the soul which causes bondage. It is this vibratory activity which becomes coloured by the operation of the karmas.
As stated already, there are six kinds of lesyas (paints), namely: krisna (black), nila (blue), kapota (dove grey), teja (yellow), padma (pink) and shukla (white). It may however be noted that from the view-point of modifications, these colours are innumerable. Lesya is of two kinds, bhava-lesya and dravya-lesya. The former is thought-paint as explained while the latter is the product of body-making karma. The beings in different states of existence have different lesya colours.