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man. They hold that the soul of a human being can return to animals and so on. The soul is not a principle of Evolution. It is not necessarily developed gradually and stage by stage. Essentially every soul is of the same kind. All variegated forms of life are attributed to the karmic forces associated with the worldly soul from beginningless time. These forces may lead the soul to a higher as well as a lower state of existence in accordance with their innate nature. The Jaina, thus, does believe and perhaps rightly in the so-called retrogression of human souls into animal forms.
CONCLUSION AND RECAPITULATION
CLASSES OF BEINGS
There are four chief classes of beings recognized by the Jaina: the beings living in the state of heavenly existence, those living in the state of infernal existence, those enjoying the state of human existence, and those living in the animal state of existence. The last class also includes in it the vegetable kingdom, water, air, fire, etc. Each of these classes is further divided into different subclasses. The soul attains a particular state of life on account of the rise or realisation of the corresponding physique-making (naman) karma and it lasts so long as the age-determining (ayus) karma associated with the soul is not exhausted. After the exhaustion of its age-determining karma the soul takes a new birth according to the then existing condition of its stored karmas. If there is no karma in its possession, it automatically attains emancipation and enjoys its pristine nature.
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