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A CRITIQUE
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add anything more here because it is extremely difficult to compare these groups with anything discovered by the modern science
The stuff belonging to anupana vargaņā is used by all living beings for the process of respiration Breathing is an essential activity for sustained life All living beings from ekendriya to panchendriya, ie, those having a single sense organ of touch to those possessing all the five sense organs, have to breathe to remain alive
According to the scientific view also terresterial and acquatic animals, insects, and plants have to breathe Of course the respiratory system of fish is different from that of, say, a dog Plants and insects have again quite different types of systems But whatever be the system the stuff that is used in breathing is the element oxygen Some take it from the air and some take it from the water Is oxygen then the stuff belonging to ānāpāna vargana of the Jains?
The stuff belonging to bhaşa vargana is used by those who are able to speak According to the Jains, ekendriya Jeeva or sthāvaras are unable to do so but others have the ability to give voice to their feelings, Though not essential for sustaining life, this activity is essential for a purposeful life and to this extent the material in this group is useful for the psychic order of existence
According to the scientific view, the apparatus for producing speech sounds consists of vocal cords, pharynx (wind pipe), larynx (voice box), etc Only those few who are quite high up in the ladder of evolution possess these organs Lower animals can only produce inarticulate sounds from their throats and some others can produce sound not from the throat but by rubbing together other parts of the
