Studies in Jainism

Author(s): Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta
Publisher: Ramkrishna Mission Institute of Culture Culcutta

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STUDIES IN JAINISM
space, and time. All these are acetana (insentient) dravyas. Pudgala or matter is murta dravya, the corporeal category which can be perceived by the senses. It is associated with sense properties such as colour, taste, and smell. These consist of ultimate entities called atoms of paramāņus. By the combination of these atoms, aggregates are formed which are called skandha. Thus the term 'skandha' in Jaina metaphysics means quite a different thing from the Buddhistic skandha. These aggregates may range from the smallest molecule of two atoms to the most important and biggest aggregate or maha-skandha, represented by the whole physical universe. Thus the constitution of the physical universe is entirely dependent upon the ultimate constituent elements, the paramānus. The pañca-bhūtas (five elements) of the other systems are but examples of these aggregates of atoms. The paramaņu or the ultimate atom cannot be perceived by the ordinary senses, so also the minute aggregates or the skandhas.
The peculiar doctrine of the Jaina metaphysics is the doctrine of kārmic matter, karma-prayoga pudgala-subtle material aggregates which form the basis for the building up of the subtle body (karmana sarira) which is associated with every Jiva till the time of its liberation or mokşa. The gross organic body, which is born of the parents, nourished by food, and subject to disease, decay, and death, is known as audarika sarira--the body which is given birth to and is cast away by the Jiva associated with it at the time of death. But the Jiva cannot so cast away the karmaņa sarira during its existence in samsāra. It is inevitably associated with every samsāri jiva throughout its career in the cycle of births and deaths. In fact, it is this kārmic body that is responsible for the sāṁsāric changes of Atman which is in itself a pure cetana dravya. Its intrinsic purity is thus lost or diminished, because of its association with this kārmic body built up by the psychic activities of the soul itself. Conscious activities such as desires and emotions, according as they are healthy or unhealthy, act as causal conditions for the building up of the kärmic body which then becomes the vehicle for good or evil, and in its turn