Jain Metaphysics and Science: 2.1 Dharmastikaya (Dharma)

Published: 01.12.2017

Dharmastikaya is helpful in the motion of active substances. It is a single individual and homogenous continuum pervading the entire loka, but does not extend beyond it. In fact, it is a cause of finiteness of the loka. Temporally, dharma is beginning less and eternal. Being nonphysical and non-corporeal (amurta), it is devoid of sense-qualities of smell, taste, touch and colour, and, therefore, imperceptible to the sense - organs and physical instruments. Immobile itself, it passively assists the motion of mobile objects like jiva and matter and micro movements in all realities. Not even the minutest vibration is possible without the assistance of dharma. Hence, where there is no dharma, there is neither psychical activity nor physical activity like functioning  of nerves, beating of heart, winking of eyelids, propagation of light waves, vibrations of any kind etc. Dharma passively assists the jiva and pudgala but does not actively help in their movement.

A question may be raised how origination - cessation - permanence (OCP) activities take place in an inactive substance like dharma. The origination can take place due to internal and external cause. Each substance has infinite eternal persistence qualities. These qualities experience continuous change implying self origination and cessation in the substance. The movement of jiva and pudgala also becomes the external cause for origination and cessation of modes in immobile dharma.

Sources

Title:

Jain Metaphysics and Science

Author: Dr. N.L. Kachhara

Publisher:

Prakrit Bharati Academy, Jaipur

Edition:

2011, 1.Edition

Language:

English

 

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Some texts contain  footnotes  and  glossary  entries. To distinguish between them, the links have different colors.
  1. Dharma
  2. Dharmastikaya
  3. Jiva
  4. Loka
  5. Pudgala
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