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The Jaina world of Non-living
Moreover, the accumulation of soil and watery materials cannot lead to the growth of sprouts as it has been observed that no growth occurs due to accumulation of materials like combination of lac with wood which does not result in its growth. It is said, "when wood is painted with lac, it only fattens the wood. It is only the lac which increases. Similarly, the earth and watery sap will increase when added to the seed. The seed or sprout will not grow".
A. This is not correct. The modification has been agreed by the disputant through his statement that seed will be sprouted. However, the growth results from other factors. We observe that new baby born due to human-longevity-determining and physiquemaking karma gradually grows on the fruition of another physique-making karma of formation of body due to proper metabolic modification of solar rays and mothers milk on the basis of the capacity of his digestive fire resulting in redox changes in foods due to destruction-cum-subsidence of internal energy-obstructing karma. Similarly, the living being existing in the seed is born as sprout due to physique-making karma of oneseeded plant and specific longevity-determining karma. It assimilates the foods from soil and watery saps like water by red hot iron and changes into useful components by the metabolic processes due to energy produced due to destruction-cumsubsidence of internal energy-obstructing karma and external factors like solar heat. Due to these intakes and metabolisms and operations of physique-making karma of formation of body, the sprout grows gradually.
The flaw of absence of growth of sprouts is applicable only in the absolutists viewpoints. The eternalists can neither have modifications nor growth. The non-eternalists also will have no growth as they will have effect only in proportion with the cause. Moreover, it is to be asked from the non-eternalists whether the sprout and other factors are destroyed simultaneously or successively in the case of momentariness of entities. If they
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