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Jain Religion and Modern Science/268
years since the mother earth itself came in creation and again it took about 1 billion or more years for unicellular organisms to develop into multicellular ones. Life started from sea and then came amphibians at about 3 billion years ago i.e. 30 crore years then in turn came reptiles, 20 crore years ago., then pouched mammals or animals etc with placenta, amongst them were elephants, horses , carnivores animals and even primates , apes; the ancestors of man, whose existence is not more than about 30 million years ago. How it has some consonance with the jain view of life - species? As we have earlier said science has still not confirmed existence of soul although believing more or less in five other substances. Science has not explained the origin of matter too. Life started as per science with different combinations of carbon, amino acids, methane etc.
It is said that the sustenance that a plant draws from its roots is matter ,but acquires life when there is. photosynthesis . Jainism also believes in life in plants and additionally a soul too. Jainism also says all worldly beings have not only life but souls also. We shall describe in detail how worldly souls have not only life but consciousness as well as conscience. But presently we will first deal with differentiation/ evolvement of species. It is accepted in Jainism that unicellular species, is condemned to exist in 'nigod', 'anant' -unending or billion of years. It suffers perpetually, involuntarily for lacking important organic developments and adverse circumstances. It may be larger unicellular life like earth, water, fire, air etc also. Same long innumerable years pass by earning merit by involuntary suffering to get
