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110
JAIN PHILOSOPHY & MODERN SCIENCE
the atom of each chemical element was an elementary particle. Then the term was limited to three only, proton, neutron and electron. It has now been extended to over twenty particles, and still more yet to be discovered. Is there really a need for so many units of matter, or is this multiplicity of particles an expression of our total igrorance of the true nature of ultimate structure of matter? At the moment, despite the remarkable progress made in nuclear" physics the riddle of elementary particles still remains unsolved"
Well! If in today's electrical and mechanical age, the riddle of elementary particle remains unsolved, how did the Jain seers, unperturbed by the absence of assistance from laboratories and mechanical equipments, study, discuss and soberly and boldly assert, the indivisibility of 'paramanu': the triplet of formation. decay and continuity; the fundamental properties of fusion and fission and the principle of conservation or indestructibility of matter? This question alone is sufficient incentive for the inquisitive to leave the tiny pond of the knowledge by sensuous cognition and make him gaze eagerly towards the ocean of perfect knowledge by spiritual intuition.
