Jainism Beliefs
Three tier universe
According to Jainism, the universe assumes three levels: lower, middle and upper. Jains regard the universe to be imperishable, unending, and with no Creator. However, certain elements of the universe may alter in due course. The upper level, or 'siddhasila', comprises pure, free souls residing in a permanent state of sheer peace and bliss. The middle level of the universe comprises embodied creatures like humans, animals, plants, and inanimate beings (things), bound by the Law of Karma. The third level (lower world) comprises beings undergoing different phases of punishments, on account of the sins committed by them in their earthly life. After completion of punishment, they go back to the middle world (Jain, 2015).
Jiva and Ajiva
According to Jainism, the entire universe has two independent, unending, imperishable and coexisting parts, namely, Ajiva and Jiva; these are, in some ways, similar to the Samakhya School's concepts of Prakriti and Purusha. Ajiva denotes the motionless and lifeless matter possessing paramanus or atoms and gunas or qualities. Jiva is inferred separately as being, conscious soul and embodied soul. In a living being, Ajiva represents material body, while Jiva represents the soul. Ajiva constitutes the passive element of a being or object, while Jiva constitutes the dynamic element or subject (Jain, 2015).
The souls
Jains envisage a world occupied by countless eternal souls which are in different stages of purity and perfection. Soul represents the fundamental component of consciousness that brings about all experience, as it has the ability ofexperiencing and perceiving in its ordinary, material as well as pure...
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