Book Title: Agama
Author(s): Namramuni, Gunvant Barvalia
Publisher: Global Jain Agam Mission

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Page 119
________________ JAIN AGAMA IN CONTEXT TO SCIENCE Jain preception has accepted that there is life in earth, water, fire, air and vegetation and therefore they should be protected and should not be wasted. One of the sūtra explains the dependency and inter-relation of living things. This is what is exactly needed to save the environment. Iriyāvahiyam Sūtra teaches us non-violence which means if we have hurt any life knowingly or unknowingly then we should seek forgiveness (apologise). Excessive consumption, unrestricted use and lack of self control has resulted in wastage of natural resources and therefore, Jain precepts suggests to follow a culture of necessity rather than enjoyment. Reckless consumption of disposable articles generates lot of garbage in the world and waste management has become a very painful process in the entire world. Therefore, Jainism prescribes five self-regulations (samitis) and three types of self-restraints (guptis). In that 'Päritthāvniyā’ is very important in addressing above problem which teaches us on how to self - regulate disposal of body-excreta. In today's world, man has distanced himself from Mother Nature and therefore, he is not able to understand and accept nature's messages and indications. Some time ago the elephants in Thailand understood the Earth's movements and could predict the advent of a tsunami. Mother Nature has not only put life into us but also instilled photoreceptor cells, which help us to be receptive to it. The photo receptive tissues are getting weaker in human beings. Saints practiced penance and meditation in small rooms of religious places or in caves of Himalayas or on the peak of a mountain, they neither went to libraries for any reference books nor did they perform any experiments in any laboratory. Still they could unfold so many mysteries of Mother Nature. If you really study Jain Āgama in-depth then you can find solutions to any problem in the world. The saints, who have totally 112

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