Jaina Culture

Author(s): Mohanlal Mehta
Publisher: P V Research Institute Varanasi

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JAINA CULTURE
bodies at one and the same time. The electric and karmic bodies are always possessed by it. The liberated souls are not in possession of any body. They are bodiless beingspure souls. Medium of Motion :
The medium of motion or ether (dharma) is formless. It occupies the whole of the universe. It is helpful in supporting the motion of souls and matter. Although all the souls and matter possess the capacity of movement, yet, they cannot move unless the medium of motion is present in the universe. The medium of motion does not produce movement but only helps the motion of those who have already got that capacity and tend to move. As for instance, water helps fish in swimming. The function of water is not to produce swimming but to help the fish already in possession of that tendency. Medium of Rest :
The medium of rest (adharma) is also formless and pervades the whole of the universe. It is the auxiliary cause of rest. The medium of rest is as helpful with respect to rest as the medium of motion is with regard to motion. As a tree is helpful to a person who is coming from a far distance in the hot sun and wants to have some rest under it, so is the nature of the medium of rest to help souls and matter when they take rest. Space :
Space (akaša) is all-pervasive and formless. It provides accommodation to all the objects of the universe. Jainism believes in two divisions of space : space of the world or universe-space (lokakāša) and space of the non-world or nonuniverse-space (alokakāśa). That space in which all other substances exist is called universe-space. Where no other substance exists is known as non-universe-space. It is the pure or empty space existing beyond the universe-space.