Defiition of Living in Jain Cannons An Evaluation

Author(s): N L Jain
Publisher: Z_Umravkunvarji_Diksha_Swarna_Jayanti_Smruti_Granth_012035.pdf

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चतुर्थखण्ड / ३६२
meanings for the term-respiratory precess and living ones with two to four senses. The Dashvaikalika churnis45 describe pranas as those which have visible respiratory process in 2-4 sensed living beings. Does it mean that livingness in one-sensed beings is a post-agamic development? Umaswati has also referred pranas in many places calling them material supported by Pujyapad 16 and Akalanka. All this means that the word Prana was used by the Jainas in the same sense as in other contemporary philosophies-i.e. respiratory process. Later, more activities of the Living were observed to cover physical, vocal and mental ones. They incorporated the senses, their sensitivity and physico-chemical actions together with the duration of these activities. Thus, the meaning of the term Prana was also extended to include all of them in general which gave a better meaning for the term for the Jainas. Even Kundkunda18 had this meaning in mind and it can be seen that the respiratory process becomes only a part and not the whole of the Prana term. When and how this widened meaning of the terms was coined, is a subject matter for the scholars to pursue.
During the days of spiritualistic trend in philosophy and symbolism replaced factualism, 49 the term prana was also spiritualised to mean a force or energy making it indefinable in physical terms. It became Adhyatmvayu for Vedantins 50 That is why, it has been translated in many terms. For simplicity, we have to be better factual and, thus, the last term of Vital Airs seems to be the most appropriate meaning representing the various types of fluids or gaseous substances so necessary for different types of physico-chemical activities including the respiratory one which is the most essential and direct proof of life. The Sanskrit-Hindi dictionary also supports this meaning.51 Thus, the term should not only meen respiratory process but any activity or process essential to life and supplies the necessary energy for functioning, maintaining and growth of various organs in the body. All processes occurring in the body for defined livingness have been found to be exothermic chemical reactions. More recently, Gurudattas' commentary on Nyayasutra 52 maintains that air and pranas are aynonymous and mean inner energy rather than common material. The livingness is the functional aspect of the prana energy. This statement requires revaluation. The traditional prana has 5-7 forms in Nyaya,58 ten physical forms in Jainas, eleven forms for Vedantins, 54 twelve forms for Ayurvadins and forty-nine forms for shabda-kalpadrumists.56 It may also be pointed out the Ashtangsangraha gives blood as a meaning of prana which is not a generally accepted view.
Every living one developes these pranas gradually depending on their sensory development until all of them fully developed. It takes an muhurta (i.e. 48 mts.)57 for this process. This gradual development has six stages. Firstly, the living one takes (i) food for building and running the