Compendium of Jainism: VI ►Jiva or The Theory of Soul

In metaphysics, man through different ages and stages of philosophy has observed the self and the non-self, and has always tried to apotheosize one or the other, or to strike a sort of compromise between the two. He has formulated either one substance, like the Brahman of the Vedāntin or the matter of the materialist or else many substances, like the Sānkhya, or else two substances. Jain ism takes its stand upon a common-sense basis, which can be verified by everyone for himself.^[1]

As we have already seen, the Jaina thinkers divide the universe into two independent categories, the soul (jiva) and the non-soul (ajīva or non-jīva); these two substances are everlasting, uncreated and co-existing. This division is logical, perfect and unassailable.^[2]

The song of every religion has been: "Know thyself." So the central subject of every philosophy which preaches self-realiza­tion as the goal of life is the "Self" or "Spirit" as it has been called by some. All Hindu philosophers admit the existence of the soul, but conceive it in different ways: some think that it is a substance, which is not itself censciousness, but which can become the substrate of cognition, activity and experience (Naiyāyikas and Prābhākara Mimāṁasakas); others, that it is the principle of self-consciousness itself (Saṁkhyas, Bhatta Mīmāṁsakas and Advaita Vedāntin). Some consider it to be in its essential nature free from all suffering and sin, while others think that it is of the nature of bliss, and holy. All of them are agreed on the following points. The soul is neither the body nor the mind nor the senses. All these latter are material. The soul is eternal. It is as such, free from suffering and sin; but due to inhabitation in the body and association with the mind and senses, it thinks, acts and experiences. The soul's involvement in the process of births and deaths is beginning less, but can have an end when it attains salvation.^[3] All souls are essentially the same in nature but the difference is due to the process of Karman. The most exalted order is the attainment of Brahmātman by the Atman. One of the oft quoted statements is: One without a Second.

This theory of the identity of the divine and human spirit is the root of the Vedanta philosophy which has found expression in the early Upaniṣads.

Śaṅkarācārya propounded that Brahman is the ultimate Reality. The Universe is built upon the doctrine of vivarta or appearance of the Real as something which it is not.^[4] Brahman- is the sole Reality in the Universe. This is the Advaita school of thought. The Sānkhya school however posits the existence of two principles i. e. Prakṛti (matter) and Puruṣa (consciousness). These are two independent aspects of reality. Puruṣa is only consciousness and nothing more. It recognises an infinite number of spirits. It is from Prakṛti that all visible things of the world emanate, as also the subtle substances like buddhi (intellect) ahaṁkāra (egoism) and manas (mind). The ultimate constituents of Prakṛti are sattva, rajas and tamas; and the changes that take place are attributable to the different types of their combinations^[5]. The Viśiṣṭādvaita propounds non-dualism. According to it, the Brahman or the reality is not non-dual but a complex whole which incorporates within itself unity as well as diversity. In contrast to Śankara's view of absolute identity in which difference gets obliterated, in Rāmānuja's system, difference is not set aside as a mere construction of the mind, and therefore as illusory, but as being integrated with an abiding entity. The complex whole is constituted of the ultimate triad, acit, cit and Īśvara, respectively standing for the principles of material objects, the principles of individual spirits and God. The relationship between God on the one hand and cit and acit on the other is analogous to that between substance and its attributes. The Absolute is thus a complex which consists of one cosmic and its dependents, the world and the individual selves. The Vaiśeṣika school recognises the multiplicity of souls as also the reality of the world. Feeling, willing and thought are recognised as the functions of the soul^[6]

These differences are not of much practical import except in so far as they modify the conception of the state of the soul after liberation.

The Jaina philosophers have considered the characteristics of Jiva from two points of view- (1) the Vyāvahara Naya; (2) the Niścaya Naya. Vyavahāra Naya is the common or popular point of view, it is the ordinary common-sense view in which a man speaks of objects which he sees or are known to him. It is the point of view which people take in the normal course (Vyavahāro janoditam.)^[7]. Niścaya Naya means the realistic point of view. It is marked by accuracy in expression and precise in description. The description is of the realities which are over­looked in popular talk or account. For example, when we speak of an inkpot, we must say, if the pot is made of metal, glass or clay and we must say whether the ink is red, blue or black.

In this world, we do not meet, with Jiva or pure life as such. Jiva or the living substance is found mixed with non-living substance. In common parlance, Jiva is translated as soul or living being. An average individual, due to ignorance, regards his body as his soul and bestows all thought and attention to keep his body in comfort. The root cause of our suffering lies in our ignorance of its essential characteristics.

According to Jaina philosophy, Jiva is uncreated and indestructible. As already noticed, Jiva and Ajiva are the two substances which comprise the universe. The primary characteristic of Jiva is consciousness which is the hall-mark and centre of life. Attentiveness is its inherent feature, as without it, it cannot have conation. It is the prerequisite of any kind of knowledge. From the popular point of view, Jiva is possessed of four prāṇas: bala or power, indriya or the senses, āyu or life and ana-prāṇa or respiration. It possesses them in future. The Indriyas or senses are five viz. sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell Bala or power is of three kinds viz. the power of the body (action), of speech and mind. From the popular point of view, these vitalities mark out the living beings. Speaking from the realistic point of view, all these are the manifestations of consciousness.

Consciousness which is technically called Upayoga functions or manifests in two ways: Darśana (perception) and Jñāna (knowledge). The difference between Darśana and Jñāna is that in former, all the details of an object are not perceived while in the latter all details are known. The distinction between the two terms which are of frequent occurrence in Jaina philosophy must be clearly understood. Darśana is an indeterminate stage in the process of getting knowledge. The sense-object contact which initiates the process of knowledge first stirs the consciousness and in this stage there is a mere awareness of the presence of the object. As such, there is only an indefinite and indistinct idea about the object in question. The details about the object are not perceived and naturally there is no question of identifying the object as belonging to a particular class or group. The process of analysis which is inherent in the human mind enables the conversion of mere sense awareness into sense-perception. The vague consciousness of the object presented to the senses is replaced by a definite comprehension of the class-characteristics of it. The distinction of the object is grasped and this paves the way for a further expansion of the domain of knowledge.^[8]

There is a difference of view on this point. According to Hemacandra, apprehension (darśana) is the cognisance of an object which does not take place immediately after the sense-object contact. Apprehension, according to him, is the stuff which is transformed into comprehension (Jñāna). It is an established fact that nothing is produced which was absolutely non-existent and nothing existent is totally destroyed. Thus, apprehension itself undergoes transformation into the subsequent state, i. e comprehension.^[9] Darśana is more or less the first stage of knowledge; it may be without details or may consists of only an indefinite cognition. Jnāna or knowledge consists in the cognition of the details.

Darśana is of four kinds: Cakṣu, Acakṣu, avadhi and kevala. This means that there are four kinds of apprehension: Visual apprehension, non-visual apprehension, psychic apprehension or clairvoyance and perfect apprehension. Apprehension with the aid of eyes is Cakṣu Darśana. Acakṣu Darśana is apprehension derived with the aid of the mind, ear, nose, tongue or the skin. All these are the means of apprehension without the aid of eyes and hence such Darśana is called Acakṣu Darśana. Avadhi Darśana is apprehension derived through the soul directly. Modern psychical researches have shown that there could be cognition without the aid of senses and the mind. Such phenomena as clairvoyance, telepathy, clairaudience and the like have been recorded to prove the validity of occurrence of extra-sense perceptions. Those who are endowed with this power grasp the secret thoughts of other individuals without using their sense-organs. They also perceive events more or less remote in space and time.^[10] Most of the modern psychologists like McDaugal, H. H. Price and others have recognised that there is ample evidence to bear out the validity of the ancient belief in telepathy and clairvoyance as a great faculty of cognition in human beings through which information not possible for the senses to acquire, can be received. In Kevala Darśana or perfect apprehension, there is cognition of everything in the three worlds existent in the present, the past and the future.

Jnana is of eight kinds:

1. Mati jnana,
2. Sruta jnana,
3. Avadhi jnana,
4. Manah-paryaya jnana,
5. Kevala jnana,
6. Kumati or Ajñāna of Mati,
7. Kuśruta or Ajñāna of Śruta and
8. Vibhaṅgāvadhi or Ajñāna of Avadhi.

The last three are false knowledge of the first three. It may be noted that while Nemicandra mentions Jnana after Darśana in his Dravyasaṁgraha, Umāsvāmi has mentioned Jnana first and Darśana next in his Tattvārtha-sutra. The explanation offered by Pūjyapāda in his commentary on Tattvārtha-sutra is that knowledge is worthier than apprehension.

Mati jnana is knowledge derived through the senses: it also includes knowledge that arises through the activity of the mind. Śruta jnana is knowledge derived from the scriptures, either by reading them or hearing when they are read. It may be termed as verbal knowledge as distinguished' from Mati-jnana which is non-verbal. Bhadrabāhu enumerates eight qualities of intellect which are necessary for scriptural knowledge. They are: desire for hearing, repeated questioning, attentive hearing, grasping, enquiry, conviction, retention and right action.^[11] Learning consists in competency to understand what is written. The distinction between the two consists in that in Mati-jnana there is no external aid of a language or symbol while in the Śruta-jnana, knowledge derived from the scriptures, does not stop with what is read or heard but develops into thought and action according to the competency of the person concerned.

The third kind of knowledge is Avadhi jnana which is clairvoyance. It is directly acquired by the soul without the aid of the senses or the mind. Knowledge in the hypnotic state may be cited as an example of Avadhi-jnana. According to Jaina philosophy, the soul in its perfect purity has the inherent capacity to know all things, without reference to space or time. It is knowledge of things which have shape or form and is derived by intuition. Intuitions differ in scope and durability with different persons due to differ in their merits. One endowed with the highest type of Avadhi can intuit all things having form. In point of space, his intuition extends over a space that could be occupied by a countless number of space-units. As regards time, it penetrates countless number of cycles, both past and future. As regards modes, it can know an infinite number of them (things.)^[12]

Manah-paryāya jnana is knowledge of the thoughts of others. It is called telepathy. It is limited to the abode of human beings, is due to merit and is possessed by one having character (that is, a person who is a homeless ascetic).^[13] Pūjyapāda Devanandi defines it: "Due to its association with the manas (mind), the object of the manas (mind) of others is called manas and the paryāyaṁ ('knowledge' of that object) is manaḥparyāya. It is not a Mati- jnana because the mind is only an inactive background and does not make any contribution (in such knowledge). It is exclusively due to the potency of destruction-cum-subsidence although it is designed by means of the manas of oneself or of another (on account of the association with it.) The case is on par with the usage in the proposition 'behold the moon in the sky' in which the moon is pointed out by means of the sky"^[14]

Manah-paryāyajñāna is of two kinds: ṛjumati and vipulamati.^[15] The former refers to the thoughts and feelings of others or in one's own mind while the latter means knowledge of the thoughts and feelings of others whether present now or relating to the past or future time. The state of the soul on the destruction-cum-subsidence of the karmic veil covering telepathy is purity. The excellence of telepathy depends upon the extent of purity and absence from fall. Vipulamati is purer than ṛjumati with regard to the object (subject matter), space, time, nature and condition.

The difference between telepathy and clairvoyance is with regard to purity, space, knower and objects.^[16] Telepathy is purer than clairvoyance with regard to all the aforesaid matters. Telepathy arises in the case of ascetics who are possessed of high conduct and who have progressed from the seventh stage of perfection of vows to the twelfth stage of destroyed delusion. Even among the ascetics, it arises only in those who advance spiritually higher and higher. Clairvoyance can be possessed by Devas, infernal beings, human beings and animals. The difference between the two is based on the distinctions between the possessors.^[17]

It may be of great interest to mention that even in the West the phenomena of extra-sensory perception like clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition and mediumship have been accepted as facts by psychologists like McDougall. Prof. H. H. Price says that evidence for clairvoyance and telepathy is 'abundant and good' Dr. Rhine has done good work in extra-sensory perception. He says that extra-sensory perception in the form of clairvoyance and telepathy is an actual and demonstrable occurrence. It is not a sensory phenomenon.^[18]

Kavala jñāna is omniscience. A soul in its pure and liberated state can comprehend all substances in all forms or modes. Umāsvāmi has stated that omniscience extends to all substances and all their modes simultaneously.^[19] Everything comes within the purview of omniscience. The various kinds of jnana enumerated and discussed so far point out to the fact that this kind of jnana is progressive development of knowledge. Omniscience is the final point which is reached by knowledge when it is free from all kinds of Karmic veils. The perception of an omniscient self is not produced by the sense organs, and hence it can know super- sensory objects. It is not produced in succession but simulta- aneously and hence it cognises all the objects of the universe at one and the same time since it is beyond the limitations of space and time. The omniscient self is pure and perfect and hence, it cannot be tainted by the imperfections of sensory and mental condition. The past and future are perceived by the omniscient not as present, but as past and future. Hence no question of illusion arises. The omniscient knows the past existing in the past and the future as existing in the future. Because of the complete destruction of the obscuring veils of Karma, the cognition of the omniscient.... is derived directly from the self, independently of any media of the external senses and mind.^[20]

False knowledge or perverted knowledge is of three kinds: Ajñāna of Mali, Śruta and Avadhi. Wrong knowledge is the result of wrong approach, attitude or discrimination. Wrong approach, attitude or discrimination. Wrong knowledge is caused owing to wrong belief. The sense of discrimination is necessary for right knowledge. Want of clarity in thinking is also responsible for wrong knowledge. Owing to wrong beliefs wrong qualities are attributed to things and the expression of views is bound to be more imaginary than real. One or more of these factors are responsible for wrong sensory knowledge, wrong scriptural knowledge and erroneous clairvoyance.

From another point of view, knowledge is divided into two classes: Pratyakṣa (direct) and Parokṣa (indirect). The difference between the two kinds of knowledge is due to the difference between the media through which it is derived. Knowledge derived through the senses and the mind is indirect knowledge. According to Jaina thinkers, mind is anindriya or non-sense. Sense-organs have their seats in the different parts of the body while the mind has no connection with the body. It is an internal organ of cognition and helps the self to comprehend states like pleasure and pain. Accordingly Mati jnana and Śruta jnana fell under the category of indirect knowledge as they are derived through the mediation of the senses and the mind. The other three viz. Avadhi, Manaḥparyāya and Kevala are direct or immediate knowledge.

Jaina psychology recognises four stages in Mati jnana viz.

1. Avagraha or perception.
2. Īhā or speculation,
3. avāya or perceptual judgment, and
4. dhāraṇā or retention.

Avagraha creates an awamess and perception of any object. Awareness stirs the consciousness. It is indeterminate and cognises the general features of an object. Iha or speculation follows general awareness of an object; speculation or further inquiry advances towards a distinct awareness to grasp the distinctive characters, For instance, in sensation we simply hear a sound and do not know its nature. There we get a mere acquaintance of the sound. In speculation we are able to cognise the nature of the sound to a great extent. Sensation cognises only a part of the object, while speculation cognises the rest and strives for the determina­tion of a specific feature. Speculation is striving for a specific determination of an object that has already been cognised by sensation. The mental state that strives for the ascertainment of the truth on the ground of reason, which tends to accept the true and reject the false is speculation.^[21] Avaya or perceptual judgement consists in the ascertainment of the right and exclusion of the wrong. It is a determination of the existent qualities and exclusion of the non-existent qualities and exclusion of the non-existent ones. Dhāraṇā or retention follows the perceptual judgement as it consists in the consolidation of that perception for a certain length of time. It is not by any means the condition recollection. From what has been said about the nature of retention, it is obvious that the Jaina psychology considers memory to be a species of cognition. Memory is the power of retaining and reproducing mental or sensory impressions. The image is the image of what was experienced in the past. It is part of Mati jnana.

From the realistic point of view, Jiva is pure Darśana and Jnana, though from the popular point of view, Darśana is of four kinds while Jnana is of eight kinds, as just discussed. Jainism examines everything from different points of view and makes no dogmatic assertion. The Nyaya philosophy does not recognise the identity of a quality and its possessor, while Jainism recognises the identity between the two. It has been clearly stated in the Pancāstikāya that Darśana and Jnana are identical with Jiva and are not separable from it.^[22]

Mention is already made that in this world we find Jiva normally in some form, though from the real point of view, Jiva has no form; it has neither colour, nor taste, nor smell nor touch. In its natural condition, Java is invisible. It is only because of its association or combination with Pudgala or Karmic matter, it becomes visible. It is only when Jiva is in bondage of Karma (pudgala) that we find it possessing the characteristics of the latter viz. form, touch, taste, smell and colour. The souls in bondage and subject to transmigration are called saṃsāri Jīvas. A Jiva is the enjoyer of the fruits of the karmas.

The Jīva is formless but when embodied, it occupies the same extent as its body. It has the character of upward motion^ A Jiva fills up either a small or large body. This view is criticised by the Vedāntins who contend that it is impossible that the same Jiva can enter the body of a fly or an elephant. In support of their view the Jainas argue that just as a lamp illumines the whole of the space by its lights, whether it is placed in a small pot or a big room, so also, a Jiva contracts or expands according to the size of the body in which it is embodied. This is only from the popular point of view as according to the realistic point, the soul occupies innumerable Pradeśas in the Lokākāśa. As regards the characteristic of upward motion, it has been stated in the Pancāstikāya that when a soul is freed from the impurity of the Karma, it goes upward to the end of the Loka. The point has been discussed already with reference to Sidda-Śilā.

The samsāri Jīvas or the transmigrating souls are divided into two kinds: those with minds (samanaska) and those without minds (amanaska)^[23] The mind is either physical (dravya) or psychical (bhava). According to Jaina thinkers, mind is anindriya or non-sense-organ. The other senses are external while the mind is internal. The mind does not come in contact directly with any object; it cognises such objects as are already perceived by the senses. The physical mind is nothing but the material atoms transformed into the form of mind.^[24] The psychic mind is the result of purity of soul. Those endowed with mind possess the power of discriminating between the good and the evil.

The transmigrating souls are of two classes: trasa (mobile) and sthāvara (immobile). This distinction is based 011 the fruition of the karmas, not on their character of movability or immovability.^[25] The immobile beings which are possessed of one sense viz. the sense of touch are of various kinds while trasa Jīvas are classified on the basis of the number of senses they are possessed of viz. two, three, four, five. Jīvas with five senses are of two classes, that is, those with mind and those without mind. Jīvas having one sense are either bādara or sūkṣma. They are ail again divided into two varieties each viz. paryāpta or developable and aparyāpta or undevelopable.^[26]

Though the Dravya Saṁgraha in verse 12 briefly mentions fourteen varieties of Jīvas commonly known as Jiva-samāsa in Jaina philosophy, many more classes are mentioned in the works like the Gommaṭasāra (Jīva-kāṇḍa).^[27]

From the protoplasm of the germ-cell to a full grown up human being, there is an infinite number of souls or living beings in the universe. The protoplasm so far as is known at present has no ears to hear, no eyes to see, no nose to smell, no tongue to taste; it has only the sense of touch. The human being has all the five senses fully developed and distinct, and a mind also which is a sort of additional and higher sense (a quasi-sense), the organ of which sense is invisible to us. According to Jainism, it is an organ which is made up of subtle matter called Manovargaṇā, or mental matter. Its form is like a lotus with eight petals near the heart. Professor Troud and eminent war-surgeons dispute the brain as the seat of mental activity, in war time operations, brains were removed without impairing the mental faculties.^[28]

Dealing with the sthāvara or immobile Jīvas which are possessed of one sense, the sense of touch, they are either gross (bādara) or fine (sūkṣma). Again, they are either developable (paryāpta) or undevelopable (aparyāpta). These beings are earth- bodied, water-bodied, fire-bodied, air-bodied beings as also the plants. These beings are named so on the basis of the fruition of the Nama Karmas. They are possessed of the four vitalities: the sense-organ of touch, strength of body or energy, respiration and span of life. The earth-bodied being is that which has earth for its body; to put it in another way, it is the soul that lives in the earth body. The same is the case with water-bodied beings. Examples for the first type are quarry, diamond or coal in mine, stones, metals, vermilion, orpiment (or yellow mineral), etc., for the second type: water, dew, snow, fog; for the third type: flames, lightning, meteors, salamander etc.; for the fourth type: the tiny living creature we breathe in.^[29] The fifth class is of the vegetable-souled kingdom, either individual-souled or host- souled.

The fine one-sensed souls cannot be known by our senses. They penetrate all matter and are everywhere in the universe. They do not obstruct others nor are they obstructed by others. Some are born with a capacity to develop while others, not.

Vanaspati (Nigoda) or vegetable kingdom has a vast variety of beings: plants, trees, shrubs, grass, vegetable crops of different varieties, garlic, onion, fruits, flowers, etc. Sir J. C. Bose has shown by his experiments that the plants have life and capacity of experience. Recent experiments have disclosed that music has a healthy effect on the growth of plants and crops. All the varieties of Nigoda beings which are visible to us are gross or it may be that Vanaspati is taken as a variety of Nigoda. The fine ones are everywhere in the universe and are invisible. They are different from water-bodied or fire-bodied or earth-bodied souls. There are vegetables which have one body and one soul. There are also vegetables which have one body with many souls. They are called Nitya-Nigoda. Most of the vegetable-kingdom is paryāpta as they are capable of development or growth with the availability of food, drink, etc. They are immobile as they do not possess the inherent capacity to move.

The two-sensed beings possess the senses of touch and smell. Worms, oysters, conches, leeches. The three-sensed beings possess the senses of touch, smell and sight. The examples of it are bugs, lice, ants, and moths. The beings which have four senses of taste, smell, sight and hearing are bees, flies, and mosquitoes.

Among the five-sensed beings, there are various classes. They are divided into three classes: those that reside in water like the fish, crocodile, whale etc.; those that live on earth like the cows, elephants, buffaloes; and those that live in air like birds, bat, etc.

Human beings are divided into two categories: those who are fully grown up and those who are infirm or not fully developed. It is only those who are mentally and physically developed that can develop all the inherent potentialities of the self and aspire for release from the cycle of birth. Those whose sense-organs and psychical faculties are fully developed can be healthy and balanced in thought and action. The human beings are endowed with the mind whose function is to find out the means of attaining the good and avoid the evil. Those with a mind are also known as Saṁjñi jīvas.^[30]

The celestial beings and the infernal beings are born by instantaneous rise in special beds.^[31] It has been mentioned in the earlier (Tattvārtha) sutra that there are three kinds of birth for the earthly beings

1. umbilical (with a sac covering) like children,
2. incubatory (like an egg), e.g. chickens, etc. and
3. umbilical (without a sac covering) like the cubs, deer, etc.^[32]

These three kinds of births alone constitute uterine birth. The celestial beings are born in box-beds while the infernal beings are born in bladders hung from the ceilings of the holes in hell.^[33]

The celestial beings or the devas are so born in that state as a result of their meritorious Karmas (puṇya). They always amuse themselves and possess a shining body called the vaikriyika śarīra. It is a fluid body and the devas can therefore assume any form they like. The body has no flesh, bone or blood and therefore no filthy excretions come out from it. It is lustrous. The devas have eight heavenly acquisitions by their very nature:

1. Anima is the capacity to shrink their bodies or make them small.
2. Mahimā is the capacity to expand their bodies to any dimensions.
3. Laghimā is the capacity to make their bodies very light.
4. Garimā is the capacity to make them very heavy.
5. Sakāma-rūpitva is capacity to adopt any form of body or any number of bodies at one and the same time.
6. Vaśitā is the capacity to bring others under subjection.
7. Īśitva is the capacity to exhibit superiority over others.
8. Prakāmya is the power to act as they desire.^[34]

On the rise of the karmas leading to a birth in the Celestial state, those beings (Devas) roam freely and derive pleasure in several parts like mountains and oceans of the terrestrial world. They are endowed with magnificence splendour and extra-ordinary powers as already indicated. There are differences amongst them both as regards their status and duration of life.

There is a full discussion of the Celestial beings in Chapter IV of the Tatvārthasūtra by Umāsvāmi. Therea re four types of Celestial Beings:

1. Bhavanavāsi or the Residential;
2. Vyantara or the peripatetic;
3. Jyotiṣka or the Stellar;
4. Vaimānika or the heavenly.

There are again ten classes among the Residential Devas, eight classes among the Peripatetic Devas, five among the Stellar Devas and twelve among the Heavenly Devas. There are grades among them of superior or inferior kind. The Residential Devas and some others enjoy sexual pleasures as they are actuated by Karmas which cause affliction and uneasiness. The others derive pleasure by listening to sweet song, gentle laughter, lovely words and the pleasant sounds of ornaments worn by their Devis. The Residential Devas live in mansions while the peripatetic Devas live in the upper regions beyond the innumerable islands and oceans. The Stellar Devas comprise the sun, the moon, the planets, stars and the constellations. As they are endowed with light, they are called luminaries. These luminaries spread over space which is one hundred and ten Yojanas in thickness. Horizontally the space is of the extent of innumerable islands and oceans upto the humid atmosphere.^[35] The Heavenly Beings who possess the merit (puṇya) reside in three types of Vimānas called Indraka, Śreṇi, and Puṣpaprakīrṇaka. There are sixteen heavens one above the other. The Vaimānikas who live higher up are superior up to those residing lower down owing to their Karmas with regard to life-time, power, happiness, brilliance, purity in thought, capacity of the senses and range of clairvoyance. In the higher ups, there is less of pride and other passions. All the Devas are of different thought-complexions or colours.

The only other beings that remain for consideration are the Nārakis or those who inhabit the hells. These regions are seven one below the other, surrounded by the circle of hi mid atmosphere which is supported by dense air which itself rests on thin air. Each of these regions has respectively the lustre of jewel (Ratnaprabhā), the colour of pebbles (Sarkaraprabhā), the colour of sand (Vālukaprabhā) the colour of clay or mud (Paṅkaprabhā), the colour of smoke (Dhūmaprabhā), the colour of darkness (Tamaḥprabhā) and the colour of thick darkness (Mahāta-maḥprabhā). These regions are surrounded by three kinds of air and space.

Owing to the adverse nature of these regions, everything about the infernal beings is disagreeable, causing pain and anguish. The thoughts of these beings are impure and foul. Their environ­ment and bodies reel with pain and all that increases as one goes down the lower regions. Their bodies are deformed, loathsome and hideous. Their sight is repulsive and fearful. Their bodily shapes are disgusting to look at. In the first four regions the inmates suffer from excessive heat while those in the lower regions suffer from intense cold. The activities of the infernal beings which are directed towards promotion of happiness result only in misery and suffering of unbearable type which increases in intensity by degrees as the regions go lower down. Due to their Karmas, the infernal begins are born with all the suffering and mental anguish. When they move closer their animosity increases and their recollections oi the past infuses hatred and enmity towards one another. They indulge in mutual attack with weapons of various types and cause increased suffering to one another. Owing to the rise of Āsuri Karma in them, they are actuated by malice and cause unbearable pain to others. They cause pain by making others drink molten iron, embrace red-hot iron pillars, and ascend and descend the tree with sharp thorns. They also strike others with hammers, cut them with hatchets and knives, sprinkle boiling oil on them... and crush them in oil press. Their life-time cannot be cut short as they cannot meet with premature death due to the various sorts of injuries suffered by them^[36]

The above discussion gives us a clear idea about the states of existence (gati) which a soul passes through. The gatis are, human, Celestial. Tiryanca and Nārakis. We have found that life is embodied in an endless variety of bodies and states. There are obvious differences of body, sense and mind in different beings, though the classification is entirely based on the kind of body.

The question that finally emerges is: What is the cause of these changes in the journey of a soul in the universe? Is it by chance that the metamorphosis takes place or is there any law which offers a reasonable and convincing explanation? Is it possible for the souls which are inherently pure and perfect to free themselves from the shackles or bondages and regain their perfection? Jainism has provided answers to these essential questions that arise in life and we shall now see how bondage of the soul comes about before we can investigate into the methods of release from bondage.