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Biology in Jaina Treatise on Reals
6.
The livingness of the earth etc. is accepted as the animistic character of the Jaina system. It is one of the points indicating its pre- or proto-historicity. 7. Acaranga specifically points out that the experience and sensations of pains in the earth bodies can be illustrated by three common examples- (i) a born blind, born deaf and dumb (ii) a healthy man and (iii) a fainted man. These people cannot express their pains on cutting or harming their 32 parts of the body. This does not mean that they have no experience of pains. Similarly, the earth-bodies etc. also experience the pains on any type of harm done to them, but they are unable to express it because of the realisation of the karma of somnambulism. Their livingness remains dormant. The dormancy does not
mean non-existence.
8.
The above Acaranga content was a self-realised knowledge of the higher seers. However, it has now been proved experimentally by J.C. Bose, Baxter and Gunarev through their polygraph, galvanometers, cardiograph and other instruments specially in case of plants that they have high sensing and experiencing capacity showing instincts of love, hate, fear, sex, food and. sleep etc. They tremble when some cutter comes and they dance when some kind gardener comes to nurse them.
9.
The livingness of the plants is also agreed by the Vedantins.
10. No such experiments have been reported for earth, water, fire and airbodied beings. Hence, their livingness is under dark for the scientists.
11. The Jainas postulate that all these 1-sensed non-mobiles are born living in the first instant. However, their livinginess is lost when they are weaponoperated or treated in some way. The Niryuktis mention different weapons for each of them as shown below:
(a)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(c)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Weapons for earth bodies
Digging the earth
Heating or fire
Mixing different earths
Water and liquids
Ploughing
Woods and grass etc
Faeces & wines
Poultices
Non-restraint (volition)
Weapons for fire bodies
Earth, Sand, Blankets etc.
Water
Wet vegetables
Mobile beings
Mutual fires (Homologous mixing)
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(b)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
(ix)
(d)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
102
Weapons for water bodies.
Filtration
Drawing from well
Washings
Transportation
Heating or fire
Mixing soil, chemicals
Making saline/sweet solution
Poultices etc.
Non-restraint (volition)
Weapons for plants
Heating, burning or fire
Ripening
Cutting/weapon operation
Mixing two or more
Cooking
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