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Jain Metaphysics and Science

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Jain Metaphysics and Science Jain Metaphysics and Science: A Comparison Dr.N.L.Kachhara ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Most humbly dedicated to Ganadhara Gautam Swami Whose curiosity revealed the metaphysical knowledge of Arihant Mahavira Contents Foreword Preface Contents 1 The Reality 11 1.1 Concept of Reality (Substance/Dravya) in Jain philosophy 11 1.2 Characteristics of a Substance 12 1.3 Six Realities or Substances 12 1.4 Attributes of Substances 13 1.5 The Modes (Paryaya) 15 1.6 Secondary Attributes of Substances 16 2 The Intangible Substances 19 2.0 Substances 19 2.1 Dharmastikaya (Dharma) 19 2.2 Adharmastikaya (Adharma) 19 2.3 Luminiferous Ether 20 2.4 Akasastikaya (Akasa) 24 2.5 Kala (Time) 25 2.6 Scientific Concept of Space and Time 26 2.7 Comparison of Jaina and Scientific Concepts 28 3 The Matter (Pudgala) 31 3.1 Pudgalastikaya 31 3.1.1 Attributes 31 3.1.2 Classification 33 3.1.2.1 Two types 34 3.1.2.2 Three types 34 3.1.2.3 Four types 35 3.1.2.4 Six types 36 3.1.3 The Alienated Modes of Pudgala 37 3.1.4 Paramanu 41 3.1.4.1 Motion (Gati) and Dynamic Activity (Kriya) of Paramanu 43 3.2 Atom 45 3.3 Field Theories 50 3.4 What is Mass? 53 3.5 Body Sense 55 3.5.1 Colour 55 3.5.2 Taste 57 3.5.3 Smell 57 3.5.4 Hearing 58 4 The life 60 4.1 Atman and Soul in Jain Philosophy 60 4.2 Classification of Soul 62 4.2.1 Classification of Soul based on birth 63 4.2.2 Six Classes of Souls 64 4.3 Food (Nourishment) 69 4.4 Embryology 70 4.5 Birth Places (Yoni) and Species 71 4.6 Bio Potential (Paryapti) 72 4.7 Vital Power (Prana) 73 4.8 Concept of Consciousness in west 74 4.9 Biological Classification of life 78 4.10 Nutrition and Respiration 79 4.11 DNA and Genes 82 4.12 Evolution and Biodiversity 89 5 The Vargana (Energy Variform) 96 5.1 Vargana 96 5.2 Origin of Vargana 101 5.3 Scientific Identity of Vargana 102 5.4 Gross Matter Vargana (GMV) and Matter 106 5.5 Ahara Vargana 110 5.6 Luminous (Tejas) Vargana 113 5.7 Sound (Bhasha) Vargana 115 5.8 Mano (Mind) Vargana 116 5.9 Karman Vargana 117 5.10 Individual Body (Pratyaka Sarira) Vargana 122 5.11 Large Nigod Vargana and Small Nigod Vargana (LNV & SNV) 123 5.12 Permanent Nil Vargana 5.13 The Vargana Spectrum 128 5.14 Concluding Remarks 129 5.14.1 Motion of Soul and Matter 6 Jain Cosmology and Universe 132 6.1 Loka in Jain Philosophy 132 6.1.1 Lower Loka 133 6.1.2 Middle Loka 133 6.1.3 Upper Loka & Celestial Beings 134 6.1.4 Outer Layers 137 6.2 Jambudweep 137 6.2.1 Bharat Region 138 6.2.2 Other Six Regions 138 6.3 Stellar world 140 6.4 Two and Half Island 140 6.5 Time (Environmental) Cycle 141 6.6 The Universe 143 6.6.1 The Solar System 143 6.6.2 The Milky Way 145 6.6.3 Andromeda Galaxy 147 6.6.4 Universe 148 6.6.5 Steady State Theory 154 6.6.6 Structure of Universe based on General Relativity 155 (Space-time geometry) 6.7 Comparison of Loka and Universe 158 6.7.1 Jambudweep and Middle Loka 159 6.7.2 Shape of the Universe 162 6.8 The Environmental Time Cycle 164 6.9 The Fate of the Universe 6.9.1 Entropy and Cosmology 6.9.2 Entropy and Life 6.9.3 Physical Systems 6.9.4 Living Systems 6.9.5 Spatial and Temporal Variations in Order/Disorder 6.9.6 Is Universe expanding? 6.9.7 Comments 7 The Origin and Evolution of life 171 7.1 Origin of life 171 7.1.1 Abiogenesis 171 7.1.2 Exogenesis 173 7.1.3 Panspermia 173 7.2 Evolution 174 7.3 DNA, Design and the Origin of life 177 7.4 Russian DNA discoveries 179 7.5 The Holographic Universe 180 7.6 Darwin's Theory of Evolution and Human Civilization 182 7.7 Origin and Evolution of Life in Jain philosophy 184 7.7.1 Body Determining Karma 186 7.7.2 Evolution of Soul in Jain philosophy 190 7.8 Evolution Hypothesis 198 7.9 Development of Consciousness 200 7.9.1 The spiritual stages (Gunasthana) 201 8 References 208 Foreword Is there any scope of ‘comparison of philosophy and science’? There is one view, which out rightly denies it. According to it, science and philosophy are poles apart. In the field of spirituality, which is a part of philosophy, the nucleus is non-corporal substance—soul. On the other hand, science confines itself mainly with the corporal substance—matter. The physical order of existence has been explored by science through powerful apparatuses, but the non-physical order of existence (consciousness or soul) is beyond the range of such apparatuses. This (above) view is however not acceptable to all. Hence, in the field of science itself, some eminent scientists are of the view that there is a scope of comparison between science and spirituality or science and philosophy. Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, David Bohm and many others like Sir Arthur Eddington, Sir James Jeans, and Herman Weyl have dealt with at length on this topic. Fritjof Capra, in his famous work, Tao of Physics, has very aptly put forth his views on the comparison of science (mainly modern physics) and the oriental mysticism. I would like to quote a few passages from Tao of Physics to show that the author of our book, Dr. N.L. Kachhara, has indeed made a commendable effort to justify his idea of comparison of Jain metaphysics with science. “The fact that the current changes in our value system will affect many of our sciences may seem surprising to those who believe in an objective, value-free science. It is, however, one of the important implications of the new physics. Heisenberg’s contributions to quantum theory, which I discuss in great detail in this book, imply clearly that the classical ideal of scientific objectivity can no longer be maintained, and thus modern physics is also challenging the myth of a value-free science. The patterns scientists observe in nature are intimately connected with the patterns of their minds—with their concepts, thoughts and values. Hence, the scientific results they obtain and the technological applications they investigate will be conditioned by their frame of mind. Although much of their detailed research will not depend explicitly on their value system, the larger framework within which this research is pursued will never be value free. Scientists, therefore, are responsible for their research not only intellectually but also morally. From this point of view, the connection between physics and mysticism is not only very interesting but also extremely important. It shows that the results of modern physics have opened up two very different paths for scientists to pursue. They may lead us—to put it in extreme terms—to the Buddha or to the Bomb, and it is up to each scientist to decide which path to take. It seems to me that at a time when close to half of our scientists and engineers work for the military, wasting an enormous potential of human ingenuity and creativity by developing ever more sophisticated means of total destruction, the path of the Buddha, the “path with a heart cannot be overemphasized.” [p. xvii, Preface] “The purpose of this book is to explore this relationship between the concepts of modern physics and the basic ideas in the philosophical and religious traditions of the Far East. We shall see how the two foundations of (twentieth-century physics—quantum theory and relativity theory—both force us to see the world very much in the way a Hindu, Buddhist, or Taoist sees it, and how this similarity strengthens when we look at the recent attempts to combine these two theories in order to describe the phenomena of the submicroscopic world: the properties and interactions of the subatomic particles of which all matter is made. Here the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism are most striking, and we shall often encounter statements where it is almost impossible to say whether they have been made by physicists or by Eastern mystics.” [p. 4] “Eastern thought—and, more generally, mystical thought—provides a consistent and relevant philosophical background to the theories of contemporary science; a conception of the world in which scientific discoveries can be in perfect harmony with spiritual aims and religious beliefs. The two basic themes of this conception are the unity and interrelation of all phenomena and the intrinsically dynamic nature of the universe. The further we penetrate into the submicro- scopic world, the more we shall realize how the modern physicist, like the Eastern mystic, has come to see the world as a system of inseparable, interacting, and ever-moving components, with the observer being an integral part of this system.” [p. 11] “Rational knowledge and rational activities certainly constitute the major part of scientific research, but are not all there is to it. The rational part of research would, in fact, be useless if it were not complemented by the intuition that gives scientists new insights and makes them creative. These insights tend to come suddenly and, characteristically, not when sitting at a desk working out the equations, but when relaxing in the bath, during a walk in the woods, on the beach, etc.
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