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JainDigest Lokswarup Bhavana
By Sanjay Bhandari Sanjay Bhandari is one of the Jain Digest editors. He has his own software consulting business. He is currently in the Board of Trustee at Jain Society of Greater Detroit and has served as a Publication Officer at JSGD. He has also been a part of the fundraising events and other community activities. His current interests are: traveling, photography, music, movies. Email:
sanindore@gmail.com The Lokswarup Bhavana focuses on the nature of the Universe or 'Lok". As we know, as long as the soul is bound by karma, the cycle of birth and death will continue. After the soul leaves its current form or body, it takes another form as one of the four types of beings such as human, animal or plant, heavenly beings or hellish beings. Physically, where does the soul reside in the new form? What are the reasons the soul takes one form vs. the other? To answer such questions, one needs to understand the description Jainism provides of the Universe. Study of the nature of Universe leads to contemplation about how to get out of the cycle of birth and death. Such contemplation is called Lokswarup bhavana.
Jain Universe According to Jain philosophy Universe comprises of Dravya (substance), which is broadly divided into two categories of Jiva (living) and Ajiva (non-living). Everything in this universe is either Jiva or Ajiva.
Ajiva (non-living) is of five types: 1) Matter (pudgalästikäy), 2) Medium of Motion (dharmästikäy), 3) Medium of Rest (adharmästikäy), 4) Space (äkäshästikäy) and 5) Time (käl). Thus, we have six basic substances (Dravyas). The universe is made of these six substances. All these substances are indestructible, imperishable, immortal, eternal and continuously undergo transformation. If we compare these substances with Einstein's fundamental ideas, it would be seen that his five elements; time, mass, space, motion and gravitation are the same as five Ajiva substances of Jainism. Time is käl, space is äkasha, mass is pudgal and motion is dharma and adharma (no motion). Gravitational force is also a derivative of pudgal. We also consider electromagnetic force as a derivative of pudgal. We can therefore state that Jain approach is identical to the fundamental ideas of unified field theory. But Jainism recognizes one more substance: Consciousness (Jiva).
Jain scriptures narrate that the universe is divided into Lok Akaash and Alok Akaash. Lok is part of the gigantic universe that has life. It is spread in the shape of a man standing with both hands on his waist and legs stretched wide whereas Alok is the infinite space beyond Lok.
In Lok Akaash, living beings wander from one life to another without ever finding lasting peace and happiness.
All living beings in Lok experience pain. Those living The Jain Universe
Siddhasila
beings with five sensory organs, with or without a mind, Abode of
crave to be free of pain. Unfortunately, real happiness liberated beings
eludes us because of ignorance and attachment that
creates bondage and ties us down to the vicious cycle Lokakash
Devloka. The
Abode of the Space
of births and deaths in the universe.
demi-gods and 12 Dev Lok 9 Grevesak and 5
heavenly beings Lok is divided into 3 parts: Anutar Viman, which are the realms of the Vaimaniks or the astral gods
1) Urdhvaloka: where the heavenly beings reside who are non liberated gods
Middle Level
2) Madhyaloka: where humans, animals & plants live Abode of Humans and
3) Adholoka: where the hellish beings reside
Animals 4 Naraka. Abode
At the apex is Siddhashila, the abode of liberated of the Hellish
- Alke - Space beings
outside the
souls. That is the aspirational destination for all living
unnerse beings. Reaching there is possible through a series of There are 7 levels here
steps, the most important one being self-realization.
