________________
(B) WATER-BODIED ORGANISMS
All types of natural raw water-sea, river, lake, pond, well, etc. are animate and belong to the psychical order of existence, this is they are possessed of 'soul’. Molecules of water are their bodies. As in the case of earth-bodied organisms, they are endowed with the ability or experiencing pain through the sense-organ of touch, which as we know is also the sense-organ of pain. Processing, i.e., handling of raw water in any manner whatsoever imposes pain on these organisms and is therefore a sinful act. Until processed, the raw water remains animate, processingboiling, chlorinating, etc., kills these organisms and renders the water inanimate.
The gross and fully developed water-bodied organisms are of five kinds:
Pure water, dew, snow, fog, and exudation. Their varieties caused by differences of colour, smell, taste, touch, figure, and place are counted by thousands.
The maximum duration (life-span) of water-bodied organisms is seven thousand years, minimum being less than 48 minutes (antarmuhūrta). (C) PLANTS (VEGETABLES)
All types of plants, growing from earth or from water or from other plants as well as the parts of plants-roots, tubers, trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, etc. are animate and belong to the psychical order of existence. They remain animate until they are subjected to processing-boiling, baking, roasting, etc. which renders them inanimate.
The gross and fully developed plants are of two kinds:
(i) Individual-bodied—each soul has its own gross body
(ii) Common-bodied-infinite souls have a common gross body. Those who have their own body severally are of many kinds:
Trees, shrubby plants, shrubs, large plants, creepers, grass, palms, plants with knotty stems, mushrooms, aquatic plants, annual plants and
JAIN BIOLOGY
-: 65 :
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
