Ajiva

Ajiva(Sanskrit) is anything that has no soul or life, the polar opposite of "jīva"(soul). Becauseajivahas no life, it does not accumulatekarmaand cannot die. Examples of ajiva include chairs, computers, paper, plastic, etc.

Five categories of Ajiva

InJainism,there are five categories whichajīvacan be placed into.^[1]Out of these, four categories,Dharma(medium of motion),Adharma(medium of rest),Akasha(space) andPudgala(matter) are described as theasti-kayadravya's(substances which possess constituent parts extending in space) while the fifth categoryKalais ananasti-kaya dravya(which has no extension in space).^[2]

Dharma-Astikaya

Dharmastikaya is formed from the two words:Dharma& Astikaya. Dharma here isn't referring to religion, but instead its referring to the medium of motion. Astikay itself is formed of two words: Asti & Kaya. Asti means space, body or mode and Kaya means collection. So Astikaya means a collection of spaces or regions. Dharmastikaya denotes the medium of motion for things in the universe. In the absence of this medium, living things (i.e.jiva) would not be able to move.

Adharma-Astikaya

Adharmastikaya is also formed from two words: Adharma & Astikaya. Adharma in this case means the medium of rest. In the absence of this medium, Living things orjivawould continuously move.

Ākāśa -Astikaya

The infinity of space, calledākāśain Sanskrit, is divided by theJain philosophyinto two parts, namely, thelokākāśa(loka+ākāśa), that is the space occupied by the universe, and thealokākāśa(a not, and lokākāśa), the portion beyond the universe. Thelokākāśais the portion in which are to be found the remaining five substances, i.e.,Jīvas,Matter, Time, Dharma and Adharma; but thealokākāśais the region of pure space containing no other substance and lying stretched on all sides beyond bounds of the three worlds (the entire universe).^[3]At the summit of thelokākāśais theSiddhashila(abode of the liberated souls).^[4]

Pudgala-Astikaya

The wordPudgalais made up of two terms:Pudmeans supplement (integration) andGalameans disintegration (division). In other words, what continuously changes by supplementation and/or division (purayanti galanti cha) is called Pudgala ormatter.All matter in theuniverseis called Pudgala. Pudgala has form andshape.Pudgala can be experienced by touching, tasting, smelling, or seeing.^[5]^[6]LikeJivaPudgala is also mobile. According toJainism,The karmaparticlesthat attach to our souls are also Pudgala. Pudgala can only be divided and subdivided to a certain extent that it is not possible to further subdivide it. This indivisible part of Pudgala, which is separated from the main pudgala, is called Paramanu. A paramanu is much more minute than even anatom.When a Paramanu is attached to the main pudgala, it is called a Pradesha. ThesesubatomicParamanus are too minute to be detected by normal vision, but they can be combined. Thus when a paramanu is combined with one or more other paramanus, they are called a skandha which are more or less like amolecules.Part of skandha is called desha. Such skandhas may be large or small. Small skandhas may be invisible to the eye, but they can be seen when the combinations are larger.

Kala

Kala refers to time that brings forth changes. Past, present, and future are the different modes of time and are measured in terms of years, months, days, hours, minutes or seconds. For practical purposes a second happens to be the finest measurement of time.Jainismhowever, recognizes a very smallmeasurementof time known assamayawhich is an infinitely small part of asecond.

Kala(time) is infinite, but there are cycles (kalachakras) in it. Each cycle having two eras of equal duration described as theavasarpiniand theutsarpini.The former is a descending era in which virtue gradually decreases. The latter is an ascending era in which the reverse takes place. The present era is stated to be the former.^[7]

Indivisible time = 1 Samaya (smallest unit of measurement)
Countless Samayas = 1 Avalika
16,777,216 Avalikas = 1 Muhurt (48 minutes)
30 Muhurtas = 1 day and night
15 Days and nights = 1 Paksha
2 Pakshas = 1 Month
12 Months = 1 Year
Countless years = 1 Palyopam
1,000,000,000,000,000 (one quintillion) Palyopams = 1 Sagaropam; one quintillion is 1,000,000,000,000,000,000
1,000,000,000,000,000 Sagaropams = 1 Utsarpini or Avasarpini
1 Utsarpini or Avasarpini = 1 Kalchakra (One time cycle)

References

Citations

^George 2008,p. 328.
^Sharma, C. (1997).A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-0365-5,p.62
^Jain, Champat Rai(1975).The Key Of Knowledge(Third ed.). New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow's Printers. pp. 518–520.
^Sharma, C. (1997).A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-0365-5,p.64
^Jaini 1998,p. 90.
^"Sparsharasagandhavarnavantah pudgalah" –Umasvati,Tattvarthadhigama-sutra,v.23
^Hiriyanna, M. (1993, reprint 2000).Outlines of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-1099-6,pp.159–60

Sources

George, Vensus A.(2008),Paths to the Divine: Ancient and Indian,vol. XII,The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy,ISBN 978-1-56518-248-6
Jaini, Padmanabh S.(1998) [1979],The Jaina Path of Purification,Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-1578-5

[FOOTNOTEGeorge2008328-1] George 2008,p. 328.

[2] Sharma, C. (1997).A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-0365-5,p.62

[3] Jain, Champat Rai(1975).The Key Of Knowledge(Third ed.). New Delhi: Today and Tomorrow's Printers. pp. 518–520.

[4] Sharma, C. (1997).A Critical Survey of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-0365-5,p.64

[FOOTNOTEJaini199890-5] Jaini 1998,p. 90.

[6] "Sparsharasagandhavarnavantah pudgalah" –Umasvati,Tattvarthadhigama-sutra,v.23

[7] Hiriyanna, M. (1993, reprint 2000).Outlines of Indian Philosophy,Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,ISBN 81-208-1099-6,pp.159–60

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