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Jaina Philosophy and Religion
(gotalo) of the mango-fruit has the inherent nature to grow into the mango-tree as also other favourable conditions like human effort, etc., are available to it, yet it cannot grow into the mango-tree without passing through the required duration of time. It cannot neglect the temporal limitation set out by time for its transformation into the mango-tree For, even inherent nature has to depend on time for its manifestion or actualisation. The climate, becomes cold in winter and hot in summer, it rains in rainy season, in spring trees have soft young sprouts, in youth moustache and beard appear on the face of men, etc.—all these and such things make us realise the power of time as an important instrumental cause of all occurrences.
Time is a controlling principle. Without it temporal order could not be accounted for. But for it, all serial effects would take place simultaneously and thus there would ensue chaos instead of order. If there were no time, a sprout, a stem, a stalk, a flower and a fruit-all would emerge and exist simultaneously. We cannot but acknowledge the fact that time plays an important role in the events of one's life. Importance of time is recognised even in the attainment of liberation. It is explicitly stated in scriptures that one can attain liberation only when one's transmigratory state (bhavasthiti) attains its maturity (paripäka). This also is nothing but a case where time shows its power and strength.
(2) Nature (Svabhāva) If rice grains are sown, rice will grow. And if wheat grains are sown, wheat will grow. This is the glory of the inherent nature of a thing. Though duration of time has its undeniable place in the process of growth, yet the fruit will necessarily be in accordance with the inherent nature of the seed sown. Man obtains mangoes after a certain period of time by sowing a stone of a mango-fruit and putting forth proper human effort, only because the stone has inherent nature to grow into a mango-tree. Nothing can generate an effect against its own inherent nature, though all other causal conditions, viz., time, human effort, etc., are present there. An insentient or sentient thing produces an effect strictly in accordance with its own inherent nature. Undoubtedly, the place of inherent nature is very important in the production of an effect or in the occurrence of an event. It is the inherent nature of a thing that determines the effect it would generate.
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