Jain Journal 2008 01 No 03

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 42

146
says that like living beings and non-living beings, there are two more entities known as dharma or principle of motion and adharma or principle of rest. Both are real and existent and hence have all the attributes associated with dravya. Because they are non-concrete, they cannot be cognized directly by sense-organs. Even the scientists have proved the existence of these entities.
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
Principle of motion supports the motion of those objects (living beings and matter), which are moving e.g. water supports the movement of fish or the rail-lines support the movement of trains. It is one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
d. Adharma or principle of rest:
It is a substance which supports the resting entities (living beings and matter), e.g. the shade of a tree supports a tired traveller's intention to rest. It is like force of friction in modern science. It is also one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
It is important to note that both these principles of motion and rest are the efficient cause (nimitta) only for the entities to be in these states. They on their own do not encourage or cause these entities to move or rest. This point is very emphatically clarified in all texts of Jain philosophy e.g. the Dravya-saṁgraha13 in both gāthās (12 and 13) say 'acchantā ņeva so neī and 'gacchantā ņeva so dharadi on the subject clearly say so.
e. Ākāśa or space :
The entity which provides space for all jīva and matter, is called ākāśa or space. It is also one in number and omnipresent through cosmas and beyond. Even though it is one in number, yet from the point of view of six substance types, it is divided in two conceptual parts, namely lokākāśa and alokākās. Lokākāśa is the space where all the substances are found. It is surrounded by an infinite called
space
13. ibid I/18