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HOW IT WORKS
S. Gajapathi
1. Introductory
How it works' in Lord Mahavira's teachings known as Jainism, relate to that how the six substancesi composing the universe work and maintain their peculiar attributes. Here is a short account of that natural mechanics.
The six substances are space, medium of motion, medium of rest, real time, soul and matter. Medium of motion and medium of rest correspond to ether and electro-magnetic and gravitational field respectively. The first three are single substances and the rest are categories. There are countless number of real time particles, infinite number of souls and infinite times elementary particles of matter either free or combined into molecules.
The physicists in the course of their research on the only visible substance matter, conceived the existence of space for the accommodation of matter, ether for the transmission of energy phenomena with wave properties, the electro-magnetic and gravitational field for electro-magnetism and gravitation to act and real time for modification and continuity of matter.
Some modern biologists maintain that life itself is something additional and different neither material process nor organized matter, something that cannot be isolated and examined in itself. Mr. Alexis barrel, Noble Prize winner, French research scientist, in his world famous book 'Man the Unknown expressed that consciousness is an immaterial substance, more important than light, neglected by the physicists. Some psychologists consider mind almost synonymous with soul i.e. a thing apart from the body. 1. Jaina terms-Ākāşa, Dharma, Adharma, Kala-anu, Jiva and Pudgala
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