4.1. Cosmology (Introduction)

‘Know that world is uncreated, as time itself is. Uncreated and indestructible, it endures under the compulsion of its own nature.’^[1]

Irrespective of our birth place we all hear the concepts of heavens and hells, where a wrong doer is cursed about rotting in the fires of hell and a saintly person gets praises along with living happily in heavens. We all ponder over if these places truly exist? However places like these are indeed mentioned in our ancient texts though most of us believe that we endure what we have done, here and now, on this planet; still there are some examples that make us contemplate even further that places like these may exist somewhere in the universe if not exactly the same as they are described in the texts or understood through them. They can be called different universes, planets or lands, there can be different modes to travel there, unknown to mankind. Whether we believe it or not, we may choose to study what is written and described in the scriptures as it was conveyed by, none other than, the people who perceived the absolute truth.

As Jain philosophy is about adopting different points of view to understand reality. ‘There are four points of views to explain the universe as well:

1. Universe from substance-point of view.
2. Universe from space-point of view.
3. Universe from time-point of view.
4. Universe from modes-point of view.’^[2]

The universe is made up of pancastikaya, five substances with existence, out of which only pudgala or matter is the one that can be seen through our senses, that too when it is in groups. From substance point of view, ‘the universe is a unitary entity.’^[3]

From space point of view ‘the universe has an end.’^[4] As we read that it is finite and bounded in terms of cosmic space (lokakasha) and infinite and limitless in terms of supracosmic space (alokakasha).

From time’s point of view,

‘The universe is accepted to be everlasting in Jain rationality. It was never non-existent; it is never non-existent; it will never be non-existent in future; it was, it is and it will be. It is endless, fixed, perpetual, indestructible, enduring, ever present and diligent, and therefore it has no end, i.e. it is interminable.’^[5]

However,

‘Concerning modes, the world has an unending number of shading modes, an unbounded number of smell-modes, a limitless number of tastemodes, limitless number of arrangement modes, a boundless number of neither-heavy-nor-light-modes; and consequently it has no end, i.e. it has interminable modes.’^[6]

Modes that keep changing continuously and persistently.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

L.J. pg.58 Jinasena, Mahapurana1

[2]:

TETU. pp. 131

[3]:

TETU. pp. 168

[4]:

TETU. pp. 168

[5]:

TETU. pp. 168

[6]:

TETU. pp. 169