Jaina Philosophy

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi, Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: World Jain Confederation

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The Philosophy and Ethics of the Jainas
three and four organs of sense have the first five capacities, while those having five organs have all the sixth capacities.
The Jaina canonical book treats very elaborately of the minute divisions of the living beings, and their prophets have long before the discovery of the microscope been able to tell how many organs of sense minutest animalcule has. I would refer those who are desirous of studying Jaina biology, zoology, botany, anatomy, and physiology to the many books published by our society.
I shall now refer to the four states of existence. They are naraka, tiryanch, manushya, and deva. Naraka is the lowest state of existence, that of being a denizen of hell; tiryanch is next, that of having earth body, water body, fire body, wind body, vegetable, of having two, three or four organs, animal and birds. The third is manushya of being a man and the fourth is deva, that of being a denizen of the Celestial world. The highest state of existence is the Jaina Moksha, apotheosis in the sense that the mortal being by the destruction of all karman attains the highest severed spiritualism, and the soul being severed from all connection with matter regains its purest state and becomes divine.
Having briefly stated the principal articles of Jaina belief, I come to the grand questions, the answers to which are the objects of all religious inquiry and the substance of all creeds.
What is the origin of the Universe?
This involves the question of God. Gautama, the Buddha, forbids inquiry into the beginning of things. In the Brahmanical literature bearing on the constitution of cosmos frequent reference is made to the days and nights of Brahma, the periods of Manvantara and the periods of Preoloya. But the Jainas, leaving all symbolical expression aside distinctly reaffirm the view previously promulgated by the previous hierophants that matter
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