Philosophy of Soul and Matter

Author(s): Chitrabhanu, Clare Rosenfield
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Center

Page 25

The two kinds of energy, sentient and insentient, are characterized in specific ways. Sentient has the innate quality of conscious awareness. Though consciousness itself may not be seen, wherever it exists, in all living forms of matter, you see growth. Even a tiny plant inhales and exhales, absorbs food and gives off waste, grows and decays. Sentient energy is the cause of this process. A plant which is not watered and cared for will wither. If you feel compassion for it and water it again, see how it smiles! See the response!
Watch a newborn leaf attached to its mother tree. As it grows, it changes in size, texture, and color. Sometimes it starts out with pinkish veins, which mature into a inellow green; it gives off a fresh smell. Connected to the tree, it is full of the sap of life. Once it drops from the tree, it becomes dry. Its conscious indweller has departed and only insentient matter remains.
This sentient energy in plants or animals may not appear to be as evolved as ours. It may seem to be inerely a dim version of what we manifest, but it is consciousness. If plants or animals did not have consciousness, they would not move or grow. The procedure of the life cycle is the same in all. When