Gommatasara Jiva Kanda

Author(s): Nemichandra Siddhant Chakravarti, J L Jaini
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown

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1. Jiva Samasa-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 Manovarganá, 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 eminent war-surgeons dispute the brain as the seat of mental activity. In war time operations, brains were removed without impairing the mental faculties. (The Leader, November 12, 1920, page 7, Col. 3).
Thus we can divide mundane souls into 6 classes :1 With the sense of touch only
fine. , & taste
gross. » » » & smell
& sight ... "
& hearing ,
„ „ „ & mind , 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 7 kinds are born with the capacity to develop, others die before acquiring the capacity to develop. Each one of the 7 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 animalculce 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 growing in a quarry cannot run away before the scythe, axe, or spade which threatens to put an end to its life. This capa