Book Title: Studies in Jainism
Author(s): Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta
Publisher: Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta
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JAINISM : ITS HISTORY, PRINCIPLES
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tion of nature through the senses (mati jñāna) is the first to be acquired and is the most universal. Next come, in gradual order, knowledge of the scriptures or of others' experiences (sruta jñāna), of objects remote from one in time and place (avadhi jñāna), of another's mind (manahparyāya jñāna), and, lastly, perfect and supreme knowledge of everything (kevala jñana). The first two kinds are possible to any man, the next two to sages, and the last, only to a perfect sage, who has qualified himself for nirvana (illumination).
AJĪVA TATTVAS The second reality or tattva is a jiva, the lifeless substance, whose essential characteristic is that it lacks consciousness. It is of five kinds: The first kind is matter (pudgala), which includes everything that is perceptible by the senses. It could be touched and found to be soft or hard, smooth or rough, heavy or light, cold or hot; it could be tasted and found to be bitter, sour, pungent, saline, or sweet; it may smell good or bad; and it may appear black, blue, yellow, red, or white. Matter constitutes the physical basis of the universe, even as the siva tattua constit psychical. The elements of nature-earth, water, fire, and air-are all gross manifestations of matter, the finest and most subtle form of which is the atom (paramānu). Even heat, light, shade, and darkness are forins of fine matter, whose particles are constantly in motion (parispanda), leading to a perpetual succession of integration and disintegration, with a variety of forms and appearances as the result. In this respect, the Jaina view of matter differs from the atomic theory of the Nyāya-Vaiseșika philosophy, which assumes as many kinds of atoms as there are elements. This matter is as real and eternal as the soul, and its total quantity always remains the same in the universe.
The second kind of ajiva is named dharma. It is quite imperceptible, though it fills the entire universe of life and matter (lokākāsa). It has none of the characteristic qualities of life or matter, but forms the medium of motion, which is possible only through its existence. "Just as water helps the
