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Jainism : The Eternal and Universal path for Enlightenment
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like heat, light, sound, kinetic, potential, nuclear etc. These seemingly contradictory attributes (wave-particle, energy-matter) may be the basic nature of matter. But Jainism does not permit mind-matter or consciousness-matter duality, that is these two contradictory attributes are not the manifestation of the same "real". What then is matter? Logically we can argue that matter is a condensed form of light and light is a sublime form of matter. Light is energy and energy is an attribute of the soul, even so soul-matter duality is not acceptable to jainism. According to Jainism, consciousness and matter i.e. sentient and non-sentient (Jiva and Ajiva) are independent, exclusive and eternal. Understanding the nature of the universe requires that we consider each of the attributes of matter as well as of consciousness to be partly true and all of the attributes have to be considered at once for a complete description.
Let us talk about the principle of Complementarity, a cornerstone of modern physics and Anekintavid. The principle of Complementarity, is the most revolutionary and significant concepts of modern physics. Neils Bohr who propounded the basic principles of quantum mechanics had great difficulty explaining it and he used the principle of Complementarity to explain certain behavior in the microworld. For example, it can be experimentally shown that a photon (or electron) sometimes behaves as a compact particle and sometimes as a wave such as a ripple we see in a pond. A photon or an electron, for example, "knows" when it should behave like a particle and when it should behave like a wave. In the famous two slit experiment (see Fig. 7.2), a beam of photon shines through two slits and hits upon a photographic plate behind the slits. The experiment can be run in two ways: one with photon detectors right beside each slit so that the photons can be observed as they pass through the slits and/ or with the detectors removed, so that the photons can travel unobserved. When the detectors are in use, every photon is observed to pass through one slit or the other. Essentially the photons behave like particles. However, when the photon detectors are removed, a pattern of alternating light and dark spots, produced by interference of light are observed indicating that the photons behave like waves, with individual photon spreading out and surging against both the slits at once. The outcome of the experiment then depends on what the scientists want to observe, particle or wave nature of light.
This dual behavior seems contradictory and western thinkers had lot of difficulty in explaining this seemingly contradictory nature of particles. Either it should be a material particle or a wave but can not be both. Bohr explained this behavior by saying that contradictory behaviour is complementary and used the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, which are both opposite but exist together and are required for complete