A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1Dasgupta, Surendranath
Religion
A History of Indian Philosophy, Volume 1
Dasgupta, Surendranath
Hindu philosophy; India -- Religion
helps jîvas and pudgalas to keep themselves at rest. No substance
could move if there were no dharma, or could remain at rest if
there were no adharma. The necessity of admitting these two
categories seems probably to have been felt by the Jains on
account of their notion that the inner activity of the jîva or the
atoms required for its exterior realization the help of some other
extraneous entity, without which this could not have been transformed
into actual exterior motion. Moreover since the jîvas
were regarded as having activity inherent in them they would be
found to be moving even at the time of liberation (moksa), which
was undesirable; thus it was conceived that actual motion required
for its fulfilment the help of an extraneous entity which was absent
in the region of the liberated souls.
The category of âkâs'a is that subtle entity which pervades
the mundane universe (_loka_) and the transcendent region of
liberated souls (_aloka_) which allows the subsistence of all other
substances such as dharma, adharma, jîva, pudgala. It is not a
mere negation and absence of veil or obstruction, or mere emptiness,
but a positive entity which helps other things to interpenetrate
it. On account of its pervasive character it is called
_âkâs'âstikâya_ [Footnote ref 1].
Kâla and Samaya.
Time (_kâla_) in reality consists of those innumerable particles
which never mix with one another, but which help the happening
of the modification or accession of new qualities and the change
of qualities of the atoms. Kâla does not bring about the changes
of qualities, in things, but just as âkas'a helps interpenetration
and dharma motion, so also kâla helps the action of the transformation
of new qualities in things. Time perceived as moments,
hours, days, etc., is called _samaya_. This is the appearance of the
unchangeable kâla in so many forms. Kâla thus not only aids the
modifications of other things, but also allows its own modifications as
moments, hours, etc. It is thus a dravya (substance), and the moments,
hours, etc., are its paryâyas. The unit of samaya is the time
required by an atom to traverse a unit of space by a slow movement.
___________________________________________________________________
[Footnote 1: _Dravyasamgrahav@rtti_, 19.]
199
Jaina Cosmography.
According to the Jains, the world is eternal, without beginning
or end. Loka is that place in which happiness and misery are experienced
as results of virtue and vice. It is composed of three parts,
_ûrdhva_ (where the gods reside), _madhya_ (this world of ours), and
_adho_ (where the denizens of hell reside). The mundane universe
(_lokâkas'a_) is pervaded with dharma which makes all movement
possible. Beyond the lokâkas'a there is no dharma and therefore
no movement, but only space (_âkas'a_). Surrounding this lokakâs'a
are three layers of air. The perfected soul rising straight over
the ûrdhvaloka goes to the top of this lokakâs'a and (there being
no dharma) remains motionless there.
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