Previous Year Question
“Souls are not only the property of animal and plant life, but also of rocks, running water and many other natural objects not looked on as living by other religious sects.”
The above statement reflects one of the core beliefs of which one of the following religious sects of ancient India?
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The statement reflects the Jaina conception of Jīva or living beings. NCERT identifies one of the most important ideas of Jainism as the belief that the entire world is animated, with life attributed even to stones, rocks and water. This expansive understanding of life is closely connected with the central Jaina principle of ahimsa.
For greater precision, the distinction between Jīva and Ajīva is important. Jaina philosophy analyses reality in terms of conscious living substance and non-conscious categories of existence. Thus, the statement should not be simplified to mean that all physical rock matter itself is literally a conscious substance; rather, Jaina ontology recognises classes of living beings embodied in earth, water and other elemental forms.
This classification is directly attested in Tattvartha Sutra 2.13, which identifies five kinds of immobile or one-sensed beings:
Earth-bodied beings
Water-bodied beings
Fire-bodied beings
Air-bodied beings
Plant-bodied beings
These are classified as one-sensed beings, possessing only the sense of touch. The explanation of Tattvartha Sutra 2.22 explicitly places earth-bodied, water-bodied, fire-bodied, air-bodied and plant-bodied beings in this category.
This worldview also helps explain the extraordinary breadth of the Jaina principle of Ahimsa. Since life is understood much more widely than merely human and animal existence, the ethical obligation to avoid injury is correspondingly extensive. NCERT notes that non-injury to humans, animals, plants and insects is central to Jaina philosophy and links liberation from karma with strict ascetic discipline and restraint.