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Chapter: SHADDRAVYA, THE SIX BASIC SUBSTANCES
Dhammo Ahammo Agasam, Kalo Puggal Jantavo; Es Logo Tti Pannatto, Jinehim Varadansihim
Saman Suttam (624)
The supremely percipient Lords have laid down the universe as consisting of Dharma, Adharma, space, time, matter and soul.
Everything in the universe is either animate or inanimate. Animation denotes Chaitanya or consciousness while inanimate is Jad or lifeless. These two concepts are expressed differently by different schools of thought. Vedänt calls them Ishwar and Mäyä; Sänkhya calls them Purush and Prakruti; Jainism calls them Jiv and Ajiv. That Ajiv consists of five different substances, viz. i) Pudgal or matter, ii) Dharma, which is an ethereal substance that is instrumental in making movement, iii) Adharma, another ethereal substance that is instrumental in maintaining stability, iv) Äkäsh or space and v) Käl or time. It should be noted that the terms Dharma and Adharma in this context do not denote religion or absence of religion. Here, they are to be taken as two natural substances, which pervade the universe. In order to avoid confusion in that respect, we will use here the terms Dharmästikäy and Adharmästikäy instead of Dharma and Adharma.
The concepts of consciousness, matter, space and time are acceptable to other schools of thought as well. Dharmästikäy and Adharmästikäy are, however, exclusively Jain concepts. It is generally admitted that Jiv (soul) and matter are endowed with mobility. Motion is one of their characteristics. As such, they make movement on their own. But every activity occurs in the presence of certain medium, in absence of which the activity does not take place. There has therefore to be some medium that would be instrumental to soul and matter in making movement. That medium is termed as Dharmästikäy. Similarly there has to be a medium that would be instrumental in maintaining stability. That medium is termed as Adharmästikäy.
Most of the people can easily accept the necessity of a medium for making movement. The justification for a medium to help stability may not, however, be so obvious. But it is not very hard to comprehend it. Since Dharmästikäy pervades the entire Lokäkäsh part of the universe, soul and matter, being capable of making movement, would forever continue to move in absence of another medium that would be instrumental in their staying stable. Jainism terms that medium as Adharmästikäy.
So we believe in six basic substances. They are collectively known as Shaddraya. Dravya means a substance or a basic matter. Of these six substances Akäsh or space is the most extensive. It is one single indivisible substance and pervades the entire universe. Its property is to accommodate or give space to the remaining substances. Those substances, however, habit only a part of Äkäsh. That part is known as Lokäkäsh. The remaining part is merely the space not having anything within it and is called Alokäkäsh.
Every thing that has a semblance of life is an embodied soul. They are broadly categorized as the worldly souls and the liberated souls. The worldly souls are embodied, while the liberated ones are unembodied. There are an infinite number of souls, but every soul has a separate existence. They never combine with one another or with any other matter, even though they might be occupying the same space.
Touch, taste, smell, sight and sound are five senses. The number of senses that a living being may possess is variable. Depending upon their sense faculties, the living beings are categorized as i) Ekendriya or one sensed organism that possesses only the sense of touch; ii) Dweendriya or two sensed beings, which possess the senses of touch and taste; iii) Treendriya or three sensed beings, which possess the senses of touch, taste and smell; iv) Chaturindriya or four sensed beings, which possess the senses of touch, taste, smell and sight and v) Panchendriya or five sensed beings, which possess all the five senses. Most of the seemingly lifeless objects and the
