ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 34

Two forms of Leśyā viz. (a) dravya-lesya and (b) bhāva-leśyā have been described. Dravya leśyā is the material (pudgala) form having material attributes influencing the gross physicalbody. Dravya-leśyā could be associated with Nāma and Gotra Karma and with Ayusyakarma, the respective determinants of the structure, environment and life span of the physical body.
Attributes of a group (varganāyen) of dravya-leśyā in the presence of rāgadvesa (attachment-hatred) associated psycho-physical activities (yoga) induce bhāva-leśyā (reflecting and expressing the state of consciousness). Bhāva-leśyā based on the audāyikabhāva resulting from the fruition of the karma, blends again with kaşāya and yoga to attract corresponding Karmic particles. Thus, the dynamics of this cyclic process continues leading to changes in bhāva-leśyā from time to time.
In other words, bhāva-Leśyā at any given moment of timereflects the inner personality of the living-system and influences the pattern of the mental, verbal or physical activities of the physical body, which in turn induce fresh inflow of the karmic matter (āśrava) and bondage of the Karmic-particles with the soul; the strength and duration of the bondage being determined by the type of the karma and intensities of primal instincts and emotions associated with these activities.
2.5. Colors of Leśyā are Indicators of Behavior Dispositions Behavior dispositions of living systems have been characterized by six different types of Leśyā, denoted by different colors: 1. Krsna (black), 2. Nīla (blue), 3. Kapota (grey), 4. Taijasa (red), 5. Padma (yellow) and 6.Śukla (white).
Behavior of persons with different Leśyās has been illustrated by the story about six travelers, who were lost in a forest and felt hungry. On seeing a tree laden with fruits, they contemplated different actions to fulfill their desires to eat the fruits of the tree. The individual with the black Leśyā (black leśī) thought it appropriate to cut the tree from the very root, the blue leśīto chop off all the branches, the grey leśīto cut only the fruit bearing branches, the red leśīto pluck all the fruits, the yellow leśīto pluck only the ripe fruits and the person with the white Leśyā to collect only the ripe fruits which have fallen to the ground.
Individuals with the black Lesy, are the most destructive and those with the white the least. The black, blue and grey Leśyās are inauspicious and are associated with intense cruel,
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