Here are simple, Jain-dharma based explanations.

1) Anant jeev philosophy

• Jains believe that there are anant (infinite) jivas (souls). Each living being—humans, animals, plants, even very small organisms—has a jiva with pure awareness and potential for liberation.
• These jivas are individual, conscious beings. They travel through lives, driven by karma, and can attain moksha (liberation) when they burn away karma through right conduct, right knowledge, and right faith.
• The idea of anant jivas is shared by Jainism in its basic cosmology: there are countless souls, each with its own journey, and the goal is to purify the soul to realize its true nature.
• Note: Jain scriptures often emphasize three jewels—samyak darshan (right faith), samyak jnana (right knowledge), and samyak charitra (right conduct)—as the path to liberation.

2) Why Jains avoid underground/ root vegetables

• Root vegetables (like potatoes, onions, garlic, beets, etc.) are typically avoided because pulling them from the ground destroys the plant as a whole, ending the life of the plant (and often harming many tiny life-forms in the soil).
• The core principle is ahimsa (non-violence). By avoiding root vegetables, Jains minimize harm to living beings in the soil and reduce injury to plants that could otherwise be killed when the whole plant is uprooted.
• There are also nuances between Digambar and Shwetambar interpretations, but the general practice of avoiding root vegetables is widely followed in Jain dietary ethics as a means of upholding non-violence.
• Some people in different communities may have slight variations in how strictly they follow these rules, but the avoidance of root vegetables is a common Jain guideline.

If you’d like, I can share short, authentic verses or explanations from Jain scriptures about anant jivas and ahimsa in simple terms.