Book Title: Jainism by Vividus
Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

Previous | Next

Page 139
________________ the universe. Tattvas are seven in number: tattva means 'thatness': all "that is" can be classified in seven sections: Jiva (Life), Ajiva (Non-life), Ashrava (Influx of 'Karma Vargana Pudgala), Bandh (the binding or adherence thereof to the 'Life' section, Samvara (the stoppage or prevention of both Ashrava and Bandh of 'Karma vargana Pudgala), Nirjara (the outflux, the purging off, the neutralisation of the previous three processes) and Moksha (the final liberation from everything resulting in a perfectly balanced dynamism): the first two are real objects (Realities) and the remaining five are 'happenings', 'processes' but also 'Realities' included in one of the sub-sections i.e., 'Pudgala' of the second section of Ajiva. Jiva is consciousness both embodied and pure i.e. non or un-embodied and dis-embodied. And 'Ajiva' is matter and non-matter also but not 'Jiva.' 'Ajiva' is further divided into five classes viz, 'Pudgala' 'Dharma, 'Adharma,' 'Akasha' and 'Kala' i.e. in near appropriate English, matter, medium for motion, medium for rest, space and time. Thus all these six (though mainly only two) are described in Jainism as 'Dravyas' i.e. substances from their chief characteristic of 'flowing' (from Sanskrit root-verb 'dru-drava-'to flow'. Of these six, Pudgala alone as the word indicates is matter ('pud' to fuse and 'gala' to fiss) that which is both fusionable and fissionable: the remaining at best can only be described as 'forces'. That which Modern Science has been calling particles' waves or even fields with appearance in them of 'something' like slight consciousness is in Jainism Pudgala' only. And strangely enough 'Pudgala' is so descrided in Jainism as if all these Einsteinian discoveries of 'quantum and field and relativity, have been anticipated. Karma particles or even Karma waves are only one of the main twentythree groupings i.e. 'varganas, of 'Pudgala'; two only of which at the top being sensually experienced or visible viz 'Audaraka and Vaikriyaka varganas' which are responsible for forming all manifested forms with which life normally comes into contact in its day-to-day existence including heavenly bodies such as suns, stars, galaxies, quasars etc.' and the rest twentyone being finer, more compact, occupying 23

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212