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The entire universe in this world is real in the form of nine substances. Which has never been created by anyone at any time, and which has never been completely destroyed at any time, such eternal and infinite substances with the modifications of origination, destruction, and permanence, whatever diverse modifications occur in them due to the difference of time etc., all of them are 'self-caused' and 'caused by others'. Therefore, it is necessary to know the true nature of the causal relationship associated with them.
The substances like the Dharmastikayas etc. pervade the worldly space. In this very world, the existence of the living beings is, and the living beings have been longing for happiness and peace since time immemorial. Seeing the living beings yearning for happiness and peace, the compassionate Arihanta Tirthankaras expound the true path of happiness and peace, saying that 'those souls who have the desire for happiness and peace should manifest the impulse of the desire for liberation from the cycle of birth and death, and the state of detachment from worldly pleasures, only then can they experience happiness and peace.'
Therefore, the eminent speaker Sri Umaswati has also stated the means of generating impulse and detachment, saying that - 'the nature of the world and the body is for the purpose of impulse and dispassion.' And in the same 'Tattvartha Sutra' and 'Navatattva', the contemplation of twelve contemplations has been mentioned to manifest the state of restraint in the soul. Among them, the contemplation of the nature of the world is one. This contemplation of the nature of the world can be done only when one knows the nature of the world.
The alternative term for 'world' is 'Loka'. The meaning of Loka is also the visible and invisible 'region'. Therefore, the region in which the substances like Dharmastikayas etc. are manifesting is also called 'Loka'. The command to know this nature of Loka is given in the Jain scriptures and other texts. It is said in the Acarangasutra -
"Knowing the world, one should renounce the worldly attachments." Accordingly, the heroic renunciation of attachment to objects is prescribed only after the knowledge of the world. In this way, the Slokavarttikara has also insisted on knowing all the objects related to the world through description. In fact, the knowledge of external reality along with the knowledge of internal reality is considered necessary. Therefore, in the scriptures that are the authority of Jains and other religious followers, the 'science of creation' is presented in the form of religious discourse. Moreover, since it is expounded by the omniscient Jinesvara, it is included under the 'Dharmadhayana' division, which is one of the four divisions of the main means of liberation, where the 'contemplation on the nature and form of the world and the various islands, regions, and oceans situated in it' is called 'Sthanavicarana-dhyana'. By cultivating such a worldview, the soul reaches the 'Sthanavicarana-dhyana' and then reaches the 'Sukladhyana', and by destroying the eight karmas, it attains eternal happiness. Due to such numerous facts, the analysis of the 'position and expansion of the world' etc. has been elaborately discussed in the Jain scriptures.