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422 : Scientific Contents in Prākṛta Canons
story to reveal.
The material origin of first living signs have also been the direct and indirect theory of Sānkhyas22, Vaiśeṣikas23 and even Vedāntins24 who would tell us the birth of a body (of course, with livingness characteristics ) rather than that of the living in the form of fine body (linga or sūkṣma sarira ). Cārvākas and Aristotle were also supporters of material origin of living. However, Vedāntins would console us by saying that birth and death are formal and secondary parts of the eternally living entity.
The Jainas have somewhat elaborately modified views on this point. They hold the commonsense view that the living beings have always been there as they are. They would proclaim that like begets the like and there seems to be no question of material origin of the living. Accordingly, it is not the living only, but the embodied living which takes a cellular beginning of life, the living cells being vegetatively, a-sexually or sexually transformed into a new or multicellular complex species of its own type. Partly they hold similar views like Vedāntins.
The Birth of the Living Beings
Whenever any species in the world appears in the form of new embodiment with the signs of livingness and vitalities, it is said to have taken birth. The Sankhya and Nyāya schools also define the birth as a process of combination of consciousness (Purusa, Jiva, Prāna) with the body or specific conglomeration of body, senses and intelligence. Jainas define it as having a new embodiment which is formed by assimilation of materials capable of transforming them into the body, senses etc. It is doubtful whether Pujyapāda25 means the soul as acceptor of matter for getting into a new body per chance in association with fine luminous and karmic bodies (which he has not mentioned ).
Many philosophies assume that the birth of a new species takes place by two possible mechanisms: (a) spon
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