Nigod

Here's a comprehensive summary of the Jain text "Nigod" by Ramanlal C Shah:

The book "Nigod" delves into a highly specialized and profound concept within Jainism, exploring the subtle nature of the soul (Jiva). The author emphasizes that Jainism's detailed analysis of the soul's form is unparalleled by any other religion, and the term "Nigod" is primarily used within Jain circles.

Key Concepts of Nigod:

• Microscopic Life: Modern science has confirmed the existence of life in plants, water (bacteria), and air (viruses). While microscopy reveals single-celled organisms like amoeba, Jainism goes further, stating that infinite souls inhabit a single, common body, imperceptible even to microscopes. These beings, living together in a shared form, are called "Nigod." They experience birth and death within this body at an incredibly rapid pace.

• Faith and Scripture: Understanding Nigod requires faith, as it is a concept beyond ordinary comprehension. The text references its mention by Lord Mahavir to Gautama Swami and its discussion in scriptures like the Bhagvati Sutra and Prajnapana Sutra. It also mentions the Nigod Chhatrishi, a composition by an ancient Acharya, as preserved in the commentary on the Bhagvati Sutra.

• Primacy of Nigod: In the Jain cosmology of 8.4 million life forms, Nigod represents the most fundamental and basic state of a worldly soul. The journey through the four states of existence (hellish beings, animals, humans, and celestial beings) and the 8.4 million life forms continues until liberation (Moksha). Nigod is described as the "first shared home" of all these souls in their embodied form.

• Classification of Souls and Nigod: Jainism classifies souls into one-sensed beings (Ekendriya) at the lowest level, including Earth-bodied (Prithvikaya), Water-bodied (Apkaya), Air-bodied (Vayukaya), Fire-bodied (Teukaya), and Vegetation-bodied (Vanaspati-kaya). Each of these has subtle and gross forms.

  • The text focuses on Vegetation-bodied beings (Vanaspati-kaya). These are further divided into Pratyek Vanaspati-kaya (one soul per body) and Sadharan Vanaspati-kaya (infinite souls per body).
  • Nigod souls are found within the Sadharan Vanaspati-kaya, both subtle and gross. These are also called "Anantkaya" (possessing infinite bodies).
  • The etymology of "Nigod" is explained as providing a "fixed" (niyat) "dwelling" (nivasa) to "infinite souls" (ananta-ananta jivanaam).

• Types of Nigod:

  • Nigod (body) and Nigod-jiva (soul): The concept itself refers to the shared body and the individual souls within it.
  • Subtle and Gross Nigod: Subtle Nigod permeates the entire universe, an inseparable and indestructible entity. Gross Nigod is found in specific locations like raw water, moss, fungi, and root vegetables.
  • Avyavahar Rashi and Vyavahar Rashi Nigod:
    • Avyavahar Rashi: Souls that have eternally resided in subtle vegetation bodies, experiencing constant birth and death there without ever attaining a gross form. These are considered "eternal Nigod" or "essential Nigod" and have an infinite lifespan.
    • Vyavahar Rashi: Souls that have emerged from subtle vegetation bodies and attained gross forms (like earth-bodied, etc.) or have experienced a gross form before returning to subtle Nigod. Their lifespan is finite.

• Shared Existence and Penetration: The infinite souls in Nigod do not occupy separate spaces. Instead, their consciousness and vital essence interpenetrate each other, akin to how lights merge in a single lamp or how a fetus's consciousness merges with the mother's.

• Nigod Bodies and Spheres (Golam):

  • Samavagahi Nigod: Multiple Nigod bodies that occupy the exact same space without any difference in the number of spatial regions occupied.
  • Vishmavagahi Nigod: Nigod bodies that occupy spatial regions with slight variations (one region more or less).
  • Golam: A collection of Nigod bodies, either Samavagahi or Vishmavagahi.
  • Akhand Golam (Complete Sphere): A Golam where Vishmavagahi Nigod touch all six directions.
  • Khand Golam (Partial Sphere): A Golam where Vishmavagahi Nigod touch only three directions, found at the extremities of the universe.

• Characteristics of Nigod Souls:

  • Body: They have three types of bodies: Audarik (common for all souls in a Nigod), Taijas (fiery), and Karman (karmic). Their physical form is described as shapeless or bubble-like.
  • Lifespan: The minimum lifespan is 25 avalikas (a fraction of a second), and the maximum is a short duration (atmā-muhūrta).
  • Sentience: They possess undeveloped forms of hunger, fear, sexual desire, and possessiveness. They also have undeveloped anger, pride, delusion, and greed.
  • Gender: They only possess a neuter gender (Napunsak Veda), and that too, in an undeveloped state.
  • Mind and Knowledge: They are considered thoughtless (Asanjni) and have undeveloped delusion (Mithyadarshan). They experience three modes of consciousness: limited perceptual knowledge (Mati-ajnana), limited scriptural knowledge (Shrut-ajnana), and direct perception (Ati-indriya Darshan).
  • Suffering: Nigod souls experience intense, unending suffering, described as infinitely greater than that of hellish beings.

• The Cycle of Rebirth and Liberation: Souls can move from Nigod to other life forms, including human existence, where they can attain spiritual progress and liberation. However, falling from higher spiritual stages (like the 11th stage) due to Mohaniya karma can lead souls back to Nigod. The book stresses the importance of understanding Nigod to avoid falling back into such states of extreme suffering and to strive for self-development.

• The Paradox of Liberation and Nigod: Despite an infinite number of souls achieving liberation (Siddhashila) across time, the statement that "only an infinitesimal part of one Nigod has attained liberation" highlights the vastness of souls still trapped in the cycle of suffering. This is explained through the nature of infinite numbers, where even adding or subtracting infinities doesn't change the fundamental infinite nature, nor does it diminish the remaining infinite souls in Nigod.

• Nigod in Flesh: The text quotes Acharya Hemchandracharya stating that meat is contaminated by Nigod souls, making its consumption akin to consuming food for hellish beings.

In essence, "Nigod" presents a detailed Jain perspective on the most fundamental and suffering-filled existence, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all life and the crucial need for spiritual effort to escape the cycle of rebirth and suffering.