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Gommatsara, Jiva-kand
125 2. Soul-quest (Márgana). It comprises other inner differences in species, sex, passion, knowledge, conation etc. In soul-quest, the embodied condition of the soul, i.e. the mixed living and non-living condition is primarily the basis.
3. Spiritual Stages (Gunasthána). They concern the purely-inner progress of the soul. In these spiritual stages, the progress of the soul from ignorance and delusion to perfect self-absorption is traced.
I. SOUL-CLASSES
From the protoplasm of the germ-cell to a full-blown human being, there is an infinite number of mundane souls or living beings in the universe. The protoplasm so far as is known at present, has no ears to hear, no eyes to see, no nose to smell, no tongue to taste; it has only the sense of touch, The human being has all the five senses fully developed and distinct, and a mind also which is also a sort.of additional and higher sense (a quasi-sense), the organ of which sense is invisible to us. In Jainism, it is an organ which is made up of subtle matter called Manovarganã or mental matter. Its form is like a lotus with eight petals near the heart. Dr. Robert Bell has long held the theory that the solar plexus is the real centre of mental activity, Professor Troude and crinent war-surgeons, dispute the brain as the seat of menta activity. In war time operations, brains were removed without impairing the mental faculties.
Thus we can divide mundane souls into six classes : 1. With the sense of touch only ..
fine. & taste
.. ..
gross. ». & smell » » & sight ..
2.
»
3.
99
4. 5.
,
& hearing
6.
» » » & mind 7. Fine one-sensed souls cannot be known by our senses. They can penetrate all matter. They are everywhere in the universe. They are not obstructed by, and they do not obstruct others. They die their own death.
Some of the above seven kinds are born with the capacity to develop, others die before acquiring the capacity to develop. Each one of the seven may therefore be developable or non-developable. Thus there may be said to be 14 soul-classes in all.
Here another distinction may be considered. Some mundane souls when attacked or in fear of something or some-one, can voluntarily change their place in space. A man attacked with a sword or by a lion can run away from the lion or his assailant. So a dog, cat, pigeon, butterfly, maggot, or the finest animalculæ which we can see, runs away from the vicinity of danger and death. It is merely a paraphrase of the universal instinct of self-preservation.
But it is evident that a blade of grass, a huge oak, or banyan or a stone
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