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Jagdish Prasad Jain:Jaina Conceptof liva and Modern Science
nothing, nor can volition be the function of a pure non-entity. Hence, they must be the states of a something which exists, consequently of a substance."
Jīva is the central concept of Jainism. All philosophical systems are mere abstractions if they do not have relevance to life. Jīva is at the centre of all issues, be it personal health or well-being, social intercourse, religion, philosophy, morality and spirituality. Since there is also a great deal of interaction between the mental and physical realms, it is necessary to explore how life is viewed in science. For any definition of the concept of life or what we mean by "life", it is necessary to enumerate a number of constituent characteristics, none of which, taken by itself, constitutes life, but which, taken all together, in their summation and interaction, do indeed represent the essence of life. These characteristics or processes of life, which are described as chemical and physical processes, are said to be metabolism or consumption of energy, organization of cells into units of structure, function and reproduction in organisms, growth or development, evolution and adaptation to their environments, response to stimuli, and reproduction.
For some of these characteristics of life or features of living organism, an analogy can be found in inorganic matter, but altogether can only be found in the living protoplasm, o called psychoplasm by Bausfield." For instance, self-organized aggregates of polymers are similar to modern cells in some ways, but they cannot be called "living” because they cannot reproduce. " Biology, the science of life, therefore, comes to the conclusion:
All organisms contain very similar kinds of chemicals and the
7. C.R. Jain, Spiritual Life of the Householder, Introduction, p. 4 8. Konrad Lorenz, “Citings: On the Virtue of Scientific Humility, “Economic
Times, 10 June 2008. 9. Karen Arms, et al, ed., Biology: A Journey into Life (New Yourk: Saunders
College Publisher, 3rd edn, 1994). p. 12 10. Lorenz, n. 8 11. Cited in S.C. Jain, n.5, p. 53 12. Karen Arms, n. 9, p. 348.
| SR No. | 520275 |
| Book Title | Jain Journal 2009 07 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Satyaranjan Banerjee |
| Publisher | Jain Bhawan Publication |
| Publication Year | 2009 |
| Total Pages | 48 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India |
| File Size | 6 MB |