________________
organs of speech, sound, heat, light, darkness, shade etc. 10 Some Indian philosophers like the Vaiseșika etc. associate sound with ether. The Jaina does not accept this view. He explains the creation of sound as due to the violent contact of one material object with another. A single molecule cannot produce sound. Darkness is a positive entity. The Naiyāyika and the Vaišeşika maintain that the existence of darkness is nothing more than the non-existence of light. Darkness is not a positive reality but the mere negation of light. The Jaina holds that darkness enjoys an independent existence. It is as real as light.
No other Indian philosophical school than Jainism admits that karma is also material. According to the Jaina conception, karma is an aggregate of very fine material particles imperceptible to our senses. The entire cosmos is full of that kind of matter which can take the form of karma Through the actions of body and mind the karmic matter gets into the soul and is tied to it according to the modifications of consciousness consisting of passions. In the state of bondage the soul and karma are more intimate than milk and water,
The medium of Motion is helpful in the movement of the souls and matter. Though the souls and matter are possessed of the capacity of movement, they cannot move unless the medium of motion is present in the universe. As water helps fish in swimming, the medium of motion assists the souls and matter in their movement. This substance is formli ss11 and exists everywhere in the universe. The auxiliary cause of rest to the souls and matter is known as the medium of Rest It is also formless and pervades the whole of the universe. The conception of the media of motion and rest as two separate substances is a unique contribution of Jainism to the Indian philosophy.
That which provides accommodation to the souls matter, the media of motion and rest and time is called Space It is also formless and all pervasive. It consists of two divisions : universe-space (lokākāśa) and non-universe-space (alokākāśai, That space in which all the other five substances exist is known as universe-space. That which is beyond this universe-space and has nothing in it is called non-universe-space.12 It is empty space or pure space. No other Indian philosophical system believes in such an empty space.
10 Tattvartha-sutra. 5.19-20, 24, 11 Without touch, taste, smell and colour. 12 Dravyasangraha, 19.
196/JAINTHOLOGY
