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Dusham: This Ärä is currently prevailing. It is an Ärä of unhappiness, which began a little over 2,500 years ago and will last for a total of 21,000 years. No one born during this period will gain liberation in his present life, because no one will observe true religion. It is said that by the end of this Ärä, the Jain religion will be lost. (Only temporarily, and will be revived in the next half cycle by the future Tirthankars). Dusham-Dusham: This phase is of extreme misery and unhappiness. During this time, people will experience nothing but suffering. There will be no trace of religious activities. The life span of people will be very short, exceeding no more than twenty years. Most people will be non-vegetarian and the social structure will be destroyed. The weather will become extreme, the days will be very hot, and the nights will be very cold. At the end of this Ara, a period of Utsarpini will start and the time wheel will take an upward swing. There will be rainy days, which will provide nourishment so that seeds can once again grow. Miseries will diminish and happiness will increase until a very happy phase is once again reached. Summary Before concluding, we may summarize the characteristics of the different substances of the universe by stating that Out of the six substances, only one is a living substance i.e. the animate soul and the other five are nonliving. Only one i.e. matter has form and is material and the other five are non-material and have no form. Three elements viz., medium of motion, medium of rest, and space are single entities while time, matter and soul are infinite. All these substances are eternal, not interchangeable and they can neither be added nor reduced. While they are independent of each other, they are assisting and accommodating each other in action and reaction. Thus while there is struggle going on between the soul and matter, time measures the change, space provides the arena the medium of motion helps them to move about and the medium of rest assists them to rest or stop. This is the evolution and destiny of the universe, which cannot be changed and cannot be stopped. However, it must be observed that the central and the most important substance is the soul, which is allpowerful. Matter only obstructs the realization of the full powers of the soul. Jain prophets have prescribed the path and methodology that if followed would help the soul to shed the bondage of matter and thus realize its full power of omniscience and eternal bliss.
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