There is an incident mentioned in the Bhagvatisutra, according to which Mahavira once asked Gautama. "Is the wheel of this cart is whole or fragmented? Is it unbroken or broken? Is it part of the umbrella or the whole umbrella? Gautama said, "Lord, which is only a part is not the complete wheel. Which is only apart is not the whole umbrella. When it becomes whole, it becomes the wheel and the umbrella.
Our whole body is complete in itself. We cannot look at any organ by separating it. The whole body becomes diseased. Bhagvan Mahavira discussed it at great length. How does one atom touch another atom? Does one atom touch another atom partially? Or does it touch it wholly and completely? The answer was: It touches wholly and completely, not partially. There are a number of similar questions in reply to which Bhagvan Mahavira said, "When a disease comes, it affects the whole body. It does not come only in one organ, but in the whole body. It becomes manifest in one organ. Whether it is a knee pain or a headache, it is not the pain only of the knee or the head. The whole body has caught the disease."