Jain Science and Spirituality

by Medhavi Jain | 2020 | 61,419 words

This essay studies the elements of Jainism and investigates how Jain science and philosophy can give the world answers to through science and spirituality. Instead of interpreting it as a confined, strict philosophy, it is shown that Jainism represents a path towards self-awakening through self-improvement....

1.4. Possibilities of Atom

< Previous

Next >

‘At first look, nothing can be more remotely separated in appearance than a monstrous rock and a splendid, brilliant light emission. Appearances, in any case, are tricky. It was Einstein who originally called attention to that, in specific situations, even a stone (uranium) can transform into a light emission (an atomic explosion). The transformation of matter into energy is carried out by splitting of the atom, which discharges the tremendous energy stored within the nucleus.’^[1]

This shows that the indivisible part of matter is one and the same and it can get converted into whichever form possible, like in the above example from a rock to a beam of radiation and the other way around.

‘Einstein once composed, 'I trust that so as to gain genuine progress one must uncover some general principle from nature.' 'Einstein was an ace at understanding the nature of forces. He trusted that a basic symmetry was at the foundation of the unification of all forces.’^[2]

When one observes the nature keenly one sees clearly how beautifully symmetric it is. Even the events that seem asymmetric at present become symmetric in future, when one sees the bigger picture and the place of events in it.

‘Despite the fact that quantum mechanics has triumphed conclusively in each analysis performed by researchers on the subatomic dimension, it brings up the old philosophical issue: When a tree falls in the woods, does it make any noise if there is nobody to hear it? Eighteenth century scholars, for example, Bishop Berkeley and solipsists would answer 'no.' To the solipsists, life was a fantasy, which had no material presence separated from the visionary. A table exists only if consciousness is there to watch it. Then again, all incredible advances in science since the season of Galileo have accepted that the response to the falling tree question is 'yes'--the laws of physics exist impartially, aside from human undertakings, not subjectively, inside the domain of perception.’^[3]

Indeed laws of nature are objective but why don’t humans think that some other kind of consciousness also exists in nature, if no one is there to hear the sound of a falling tree, of course there can be birds and other animals and what about trees themselves?

Till now the tiniest and the most unpredictable particle which has been found is the neutrino.

‘Of the considerable number of particles known to mankind, neutrino is maybe the most inquisitive, in light of the fact that it is by far the most tricky. It has no charge, most likely has no mass, and is exceedingly difficult to identify.’^[4]

How unpredictable the journey has been, from discovering the atom to neutrino, who knows if there still lies something even beyond that.

‘The Sakata school contended on philosophical and scientific grounds that matter should comprise of limitless arrangement of sublayers. This is sometimes called the universes inside universes or onion hypothesis. As indicated by argumentative realism, each layer of physical reality is made by the interaction of poles. The communication between the planets and the sun makes the solar system. The interaction between the atoms creates the molecules. The interaction between the electrons and the nucleus creates the atom. Lastly, the association between the proton and neutron makes the nucleus.’^[5]

Then what about the interaction between male and female (animals) reproducing their offspring? Does that mean there is something beyond physical reality too?

Where interaction of two conscious beings creates another conscious being?

‘Maybe the best teaching of the past many decades of physics is that nature does not just discover symmetry a helpful element in structure physical structures, nature completely demands it.’^[6]

On a philosophical ground one may think that nothing wrong happens in the universe, whatever happens (or can happen) is right. This may indicate towards a theory that the cosmos is not run or operated by a super natural power, rather it is simply the resonance of one’s own actions. This seems to be the only way to justify symmetry in the nature. Else there can never be an answer to all the wrongdoings occurring in the world. Understanding karma theory to its depths has the strength to understand supersymmetry. Where nothing wrong happens, what is happening or will happen, is the right, as karma is nothing but the sheer reflection of what one has sent into the cosmos.

Though we believe in only what we can see with our eyes but still atoms exist and so do the vibrations.

‘We live in a universe of vibrations. The physical and additional substantial climates we live in, are only combinations of vibrations occurring perpetually. Atoms are spinning within and without us unendingly. You can see, on the off chance that you have the methods, rushes of atoms streaming in limitless currents. There is nothing sturdy in this world. What is strong in human body is no greater than the size of an atom and even that is convertible into waves. The human body is made out of electric flows, breath flows, sound flows and thought flows and so on. These flows constantly change the body, these progressions are called paryaya in Jain logic. Paryaya implies modes-adjustment.’^[7]

Modifications that take place continuously in both matter and consciousness;that cause change in everything, living and non-living, be it time, intelligence, sensory organs, structure, aggregation, dissociation or anything else.