Different Souls in Different Bodies

By Mr. V. Jayaram

According to Jainism the souls exist everywhere, not only in living beings, but in inanimate objects as well. They are every where, in every rock, in every drop of rain, in every particle of water, in every breeze of the wind, in every tongue of the flame, and in every ray of light. Thus when a man is drinking water, eating some food or lighting a stove to cook his food, he is committing a great sin, because unwittingly he is causing a lot pain and disturbance to the souls hidden in them and forcing them to find new bodies.

A follower of Jainism therefore shows extreme caution in his day to day living as he deals with the various objects of the world. Since he does not want to attract bad karma by disturbing the jivas and forcing them to find new bodies elsewhere, he tries to avoid injury to others to the extent he can sincerely manage.

He shows extreme care in the selection of his food and in the manner of eating it, eating such plant roots and tubers like the potatoes, which he believes contain not one soul but a cluster of souls. He even minimizes the intake of food and water, or the lighting of lamps etc, so that he can save himself from the trouble of destroying unnecessarily living forms in these things. He covers his mouth with white cloth, so that while breathing he is not inhaling the jivas hidden in the insects and invisible creatures and causing them harm. He even moves cautiously so that the jivas hidden in the wind and the air and in the earth or the dust are not disturbed.

Jainism recognizes five types of souls depending upon the number of the senses they possess.

1. Those with five senses: Gods, men, beings in the hell and higher animals such as monkeys, elephants, snakes, horses, etc., come under this category. These beings possess manas which gives them varying degrees of intelligence and rationality.

2. Those with four senses: In this category the beings do not possess the sense of hearing. Many insects fall into this category.

3. Those with three senses: In this category, the beings do not possess the sense of hearing and the sense of sight. Many insects are placed under this category including the moths, because of their tendency to move towards light and fire and destroying themselves.

4. Those with two senses. In this category the beings possess only the sense of taste and the sense of touch. Many worms, leeches, shell fish fall into this category.

5. Those with only one sense: In this category the beings possess only the sense of touch. These are again divided into five sub categories: i) the plant bodies containing only one soul or a cluster of souls such as the tubers and roots, ii) earth bodies made of earth material such as coals, minerals, stones and so on, iii) water bodies made up of water such rivers, lakes, water falls, lakes, ponds and even a drop of water, iv) fire bodies made up of fire such lightning, a lamp or candle light, or the fire in the kitchen stove, and finally v) the air bodies made of wind and gases such as a breeze or a storm wind.

According to Jainism the whole world is an aggregate of living souls hidden in every form and every object. The number of souls never change, because the souls are eternal and indestructible. When a soul becomes liberated, its place is automatically filled with another soul from another body.

The souls undergo continuous change because of the operation of the law of karma, which binds the soul to the matter and keeps it chained to the cycle of births and deaths. True liberation is when the jiva is freed from all types of association with matter. It happens only when the jiva tries to reduce the inflow of karma and purifies its body through good conduct and non injury to others. The concept of non violence is therefore not just a matter of ethical value in Jainism, but a real necessity for the jivas to become free. Non violence is a way of life in Jainism, because injury to other jivas especially those jivas with higher number of senses attracts the worst form of karma into ones own body and makes liberation extremely difficult.

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