Dr. N.L. Kachhara
A substance has three characteristics, it is real, it follows the OCP rule, and it possesses attributes and power of modification. The substance, the attributes and the power of modification, all three co-exist simultaneously, no one can be separated from the other. The attributes discriminate between substances and modification produces conjugated form of substance. There can be no modification without a substance and no substance can exist without modification. Similarly, there can be no substance without an attribute and no attribute can exist without a substance.
Many attributes co-exist in a substance but the modifications take place in succession. Coexistence indicates steadiness and occurrence of successive change represents dynamic nature of a substance. Modification is a continuous process and the modes come in existence one after another. A new mode can not come in existence without the cessation of the previous one and a mode cannot cease to exist without origination of a new mode. The modification process is such that many cessations and originations take place in one 'samaya'. A 'samaya' is the smallest unit of time, a very tiny faction of a second as described later. All these characteristics are typical of a substance.
