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12
Jaina Philosophy and Religion
them to stop motion and to rest. But they passively assist them when the latter themselves undertake motion or rest.
Space (Ākāśa) For the Jaina thinkers, space is an independent substance. It is devoid of colour, odour, taste and touch. It is infinite in extent. It is present everywhere, it stretches not only over the universe, but also far beyond it over the non-universe. All other substances are confined to the universe only. Thus, no substance is so extensive as the space substance is. The pervasiveness of space is infinite. Space is one in number. It is one and will remain one for ever. As it is present everywhere in the universe, the possibility of movement from one place to another is rejected in its case.
The function of space is to offer room to other substances. Other substances exist by their own nature. There is no doubt about it. But they require something to exist in. They do exist by themselves. But wherein do they exist? They exist in space. Their existence is not the same as space. Nor is space an aspect of them. It is a fundamental substance different from them. Thus, space is a universal container in which all other substances are contained.
That space which is related to the universe is called the universe-space (lokākāśa) and that which is beyond it is called the space-beyond-universe (alokākāśa). The special condition which gives rise to this division of space into the universe-space and the space-beyond-universe is the presence or otherwise of the two substances, viz. the medium of motion (dharma) and the medium of rest (adharma). These two substances are present in all directions and that region which is covered by their presence is given the name 'universe' ('loka'). And the region which falls outside this universe is given the name 'region-beyond-universe' (aloka'). As already stated, it is only with the assistance of these two substances that souls and material objects move from place to place and rest. As these two substances are absent in the region-beyond-universe, there exists neither an atom nor a soul therein. And neither an atom nor a soul can cross the limit of the universe and move into the region-beyond-universe, because the regionbeyond-universe is devoid of these two substances. Then, what is there in the region-beyond-universe? There is nothing in it. It is simply of the form of pure space. That pure space in which at no place is present either an atom or a soul or a physical object is the space-beyond-universe.
There is yet one more logical argument to prove the division of space
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