Indian Culture and Jainism

Author(s): Kamalchand Sogani
Publisher: Jain Vidya Samsthan

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is associated with unbearable pain and affliction. Since life is dear to all beings, pleasures are desirable, pain is undesirable for them, beings ought not to be killed, ruled, possessed, distressed and so on (णिज्झाइत्ता पडिलेहित्ता पत्तेयं परिणिव्वाणं सव्वेसिं पाणाणं अस्सातं अपरिणिव्वाणं महव्भयं दुक्खं ) ( सव्वे पाणा सुहसाता दुक्खपडि कूला। सव्वेसिं जीवितं पियं)19
It will not be idle to point out that the talk of Ahimsā is not possible without a world of living beings. Social Ahimsa begins with the awareness of the 'other'. Like one's own existence, it recognises the existence of other beings. In fact, to negate the existence of other beings is tantamount to negating one's own existence. Since one's own existence can not be negated, the existence of other beings also can not be negated. Thus there exists the universe of beings in general and that of human beings in particular. ( णेव सयं लोगं अब्भाइक्खेज्जा, णेव अत्ताणं अब्भाइक्खेज्जा । जे लोगं 30415 crafa )19
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The Jaina Agama classifies living beings (Jīvas) into five kinds, namely, one-sensed to five-sensed beings.21 The minimum number of Prāņas possessed by the empirical self is four (one sense, one Bala, lifelimit and breathing), and the maximum number is ten (five senses, three Balas, life-limit, and breathing). The lowest in the grade of existence are the one-sensed Jīvas which possess only the sense of touch and they have only the Bala of body, and besides they hold life-limit and breathing. These one-sensed Jīvas admit of five-fold classification22; namely, the earth-bodied (Pṛthivīkāyika) water-bodied (Jala Kāyika) fire-bodied (Agnikāyika) air-bodied (Vayukāyika) and lastly, vegetable-bodied (Vanaspatikāyika) souls.
The two-sensed Jīvas posses six Prāņas, i.e., in addition to the four Prāņas of one-sensed souls, they have two Prāṇas more; namely, the sense of taste, and the Bala of speech; the three-sensed souls have the sense of smell additionally; the four-sensed souls have the sense of colour besides the above; and lastly, the five-sensed souls which are mindless are endowed with the sense of hearing in addition; and those with mind possess all the ten Prāṇas. Thus the number of Prānas possessed by one-sensed to five-sensed souls is four, six, seven, eight, nine and ten respectively. This classification of Jīvas into five kinds is used for the measurement of the degree of Ahimsa. The more the senses the more the
Indian Culture and Jainism
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