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by positive and negative charges. Many texts also refer to iron bar magnets with the power of attraction, however, there is little description for it as is the case with other forms of energy
Sound is a specific mode of fine particles of speech variforms. It is material, produced by striking or a collision, such as the ringing of bells, or disjunction of material particles, such as tearing paper. Sound forms the fourth category of Kundakunda's classification of material energy, and it cannot travel in a vacuum or without a medium. The sound has two varieties: natural and produced. Natural sounds are generally nonverbal, such as thunder, rippling water, volcanic eruptions and so on. Produced sounds may be generated by living beings, non-living entities and by a combination of living and non-living. Sound has six distinct forms, which are classified according to the factors, which produce it: manifest and latent speech produced by the voice; beating of stretched membranes (e.g. tablaa or drum); playing stringed instruments (e.g. sitaar or violin); playing reed instruments (e.g. clarinet, harmonium); blowing wind instruments (e.g. pipes, conch-shell or trumpet); striking of solid objects (e.g. ringing of bells).
Sound is of two types: artificial or natural. Artificial can be produced by our own efforts, which could result in either the production and non-production of speech.
An individual recognises a sound and communicates it through language to other individuals. The sound so produced spreads through space in the form of sound waves. If the intensity of the sound produced is low, the sound waves travel like the waves of water over time for several yojanas, and then fade away. If the intensity is high, the sound waves travel farther distances to the end of the universe (Jain N. 1996: p.348).
The sound that we hear spoken by a particular person is not the original sound of the person speaking, but the sound waves that travel through space are decoded and heard by us in form of speech. The sound waves so produced are dispersed in all six directions, east, west, north, south, high and low. If the waves of the sound radiate in combination then we hear a mixed sound.
The Jambudvipa Prajnapti argues that the ringing of a bell in a particular region will be echoed in a sound of a bell in a distant place (Madhukar Muni ed. Jambudvipa Prajnapti 1994: p.289). This phenomenon may be similar to the radio waves. Sound pervades the entire world in what seems a fraction of a second, which was explained to his audience by Mahavira more than 2,500 years ago, when he said that whatever one says at any moment can be heard throughout the universe.
If the high-energy particles of sound are utilised in meditation or concentration. they are beneficial to the self as well as to others. The effectiveness of mental or vocal recitals of incantations such as the Namokara Mantra or other chants can be explained by the flow of its invisible energy towards the recipients, and the sound such as that of sermon or music improves the psychological states of the living beings.
Heat: Haribhadra states in Sad-Darsana-Sammuccaya (1976: p.243) that heat is a characteristic of life and that all entities which produce heat are alive. This has practical implications for the Jain ascetics, who do not use artificial heat, light or electricity because of their vow of ahimsaa, as they believe production of heat involves violence to
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