Living Systems in Jainism: A Scientific Study: 14.06 ►Order in the Loka

For arriving at a conclusion regarding the fate of the loka, we have to know the processes taking place in both living and non-living systems. Let us first consider the living systems of different kinds.

1. The animals (mobile) and human beings. These beings generally have three bodies: the gross body, the karman body, and the tejas body. The gross body exchanges energy and matter, ahara, with the environment for its survival. The body receives sunlight and other energy radiations and air through the skin (romaahara), breathes air and takes in food and water through the mouth (kavalahara). The body radiates heat and energy and excretes waste products like carbon dioxide, urine, excreta, etc. This matter which is exchanged between the body and the environment is of the eight-touch type. The karman body and the tejas body exchange karmanvargana and tejasvargana with the surroundings, and this matter is of the four-touch type. The change of entropy and order in the living system depends on the processes taking place in the body. As discussed above, these processes are highly efficient and produce order in the system. Further, as these processes are mainly chemical and electrical, the increase in entropy due to the body system should be very limited. The processes taking place in the karman body and the tejas body are of an electrical type and do not contribute to the entropy increase.
2. Infernal and celestial beings. These beings have a protean body, karman body and tejas body, all of which are made of four-touch matter. The processes taking place in all three bodies are of an electrical nature, and therefore the infernal and celestial beings do not contribute to entropy increase.
3. Immobile beings. Immobile beings can be divided into two categories: beings with earth, water, air, and fire bodies; and beings with vegetation or plant-type bodies. Both of these categories of beings can be of the subtle and gross types. The gross types of immobile beings are found only in the middle loka, and the subtle types are present all over the loka. The subtle types of vegetation beings are called nigoda. The three bodies of nigoda beings are supposed to be made up of special type of eight-touch vargana known as Suksma Nigod Vargana. In the case of other types of subtle beings, the gross body may be made up of eight-touch matter and the karman body and tejas body from four-touch matter. In all types of subtle immobile beings, the processes taking place in the body are not supposed to be thermal, indicating that these beings must not become the cause for an increase in entropy.
4. Nityanigoda beings. These are inactive beings. There is hardly any change in their karman body with time, and due to their extremely short life there is no major activity. These beings therefore are presumed not to contribute to an increase in entropy.
5. Liberated beings. The liberated beings are pure jiva substance and have no body. They cannot participate in entropy change.

We now examine the processes taking place in non-living systems in various regions of the loka. Suns, moons, planets, constellations and other space objects are considered Jyotishka Deva, Celestial beings, in Jainism. However, I consider them to be non-living objects in this analysis, for comparison with the scientific view.

1. The upper loka. The heavens in the upper loka have vimana type flying structures that may be constituted of eight-touch matter. The geological, thermal, atomic and other processes, which are known to take place on Earth and other planets, suns and other celestial objects, do not take place in the heavens. In the absence of solids, liquids, and gases, no chemical activity can also take place. The only possible activity is electrical, and this does not contribute to entropy change. Hence order is maintained in the upper loka.
2. The lower loka. The structure of non-living systems in the lower loka is similar to that in the upper loka, except that the first four hells and part of the fifth hell are hot and the rest of the hells are cold. However, in the absence of solids, liquids, and gases it can be presumed that these lands do not contribute to entropy increase. The cold places in the hells would certainly not do so. The nityanigoda region is the coldest place and does not promote disorder. Thus, the lower loka is expected to maintain order.
3. The outer loka. This region containing only the subtle kind of immobile beings also does not have matter in the form of solids, liquids and gases. The low temperature there would maintain order in the region.
4. The middle loka. The middle loka contains planets, suns, moons, and other celestial structures. All types of matter, subtle and gross, are present in this part of the loka. It is the region where the major mass of loka is concentrated. By scientific studies, we know about most of the processes and activities that take place on planets, suns and moons. The processes taking place on these objects are caused by the natural properties of the matter as well as the activities of human beings.

The middle loka is expected to play a dominant role in deciding the fate of the loka, and a study of this aspect is detailed below.