Studies in Jainism

Author(s): M P Marathe, Meena A Kelkar, P P Gokhle
Publisher: Indian Philosophical Quarterly Publication Puna

Page 78

JAINA CONCEPTION OF SPACE AND TIME
good acts a living being carns the passport for the entry into higher regions and by bad acts a living being earns the passport for the entry into lower regions. 7. Alokākāśa
As we know, äkäsa as a whole has ananta pradeśas (spacepoints). And alokākäsa also has ananta pradeśas. Having taken asamkhyāta pradeśas of lokākāśa from ananta pradeśas of ākāśa as a whole, the remaining pradeśas of alokākāśa are still ananta.
Alokākāśa is infinite (ananta) but this infinity is also fixed in the sense that increase or decrease of a single space-point is an impossibility. Again, no encroachment from loka on its infinity is possible.
Has alokā kāśa any form ? No, it has no form. But it may be conceived as having the form of a parabola. Parabola is a symbol of spatial infinity. So, we may say that infinity of alokā kāśa is represented by a parabola put on the highest end of lokākāśa. And we may further say that its emptiness is represented by a sünya put in the parabola. But we cannot say all this because the Jainas have included the parabola (with a sūnya in it) in the loka putting a boundary line of loka over it29
8. Application of Jaina Criterion of Reality
As Ākāśa is real (sat), it must conform to the definition of reality. According to Jainism a real must possess a triple character of origination, persistence and decay. Ac. Kundakunda actually applied this criterion of reality to Jiva, Pudgala and Kāla. But Pujyapada, Akalanka and later logicians attempt to apply it even to Dharma, Adharma and Akāśa. Of course, the parināmas or changes of these substances had to be shown not directly but through those of living beings and matter. This difficulty is due to the peculiar nature of Dhrama, Adharia and Akäśa which are one each, without any movement and pervade the whole universe. Their association with the different moments of Time also makes possible their modes or changes running parallel to the moments of Time. A mode of the entire space at time moment t is different from the next mode of the enire space at time moment tą, because they are associated with two different time-moments. Except this there is no other difference between two modes of space. Some