Environmental Doctrines of Jainism

Author(s): S M Jain
Publisher: S M Jain

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preservation. Yesti fungus is used in medicine for cancer. In genetic engineering protein is carried through virus. Numerous new chemical and useful products are being developed with the help of microorganisms.
Many animals and birds, hyena, jackals, vultures etc. are scavengers and eat the leftovers of others and also dead bodies and help in environmental sanitation. Deep sea creatures, many fishes etc. are detritus and live on detritus (waste) in water bodies and maintain cleanliness. There are several agents in nature to maintain sanitation, Scientists are studying and utilizing these to clean water-bodies etc. from toxins of various types more efficiently and economically than artificial mechanical or chemical methods. For cleaning the polluted Susan lagoon, microphytes, macrophytes, algae, fungi, crabs, larva, planktons were brought from natural water source to clean it by their interacting food chain. Some plants, halophytes, Haloxylan recurvum (Lana), Sasoda harrorosona (Sajji), Suada mudifora (lunia) accumulate salts from saline water up to 40% to 50% and these plants yield 2030% oil, 10-20% proteins, are good fodder and poultry feed. Phytoremediation of fluoride contaminated ground water can effectively be done by aquatic plant Hydrilla verticillata and the plant does not show any toxicity symptoms, it grows and multiplies in presence of fluoride. The symbiotic association of bacteria and micorrhiza in root zone of plants is an effective rhizophere bioremediation of soils contaminated with xenobiotics being released by various industries. Thus there are numerous examples of mutualism in nature.
There is symbiosis (mutualism) not only at the level of ecosystems and sub-systems of various types and sizes but also at universal level between different planets and galaxies orbiting in their respective orbits in perfect harmony. Earth's moon can be cited as an example. It exerts considerable influence on climate of the earth and its inhabitants. Its tidal influence is well known. It is because of moon that inclination of earth with its orbital plane around sun is at 23°27' keeping the variation within 1°3' which maintains regular seasons and climate congenial for
its inhabitants. The variation in case of mercury is 90° and that of Mars is 60°, resulting in extremes of harsh climate there. There is perfect cosmic symbiosis also in space-time and matter. According to Einstein, gravity is consequence of the fact that space-time is not flat but curved and warped by distribution of matter and energy in bodies like earth. The mass of sun curves space-time in such a way that although earth follows a straight path in four dimensional space-time, it appears to move along a circular orbit. The matter and energy effect space-time and vice-versa.
Every thing in nature is inherently symbiotic and all constituents big or small act and interact for mutual benefit. Problems are created by anthropocentric attitude of human beings that mankind is supreme and all others are subservient for its pleasure and indiscriminate use. There is fallacious assumption that many forms of microbes, bacteria, virus, fungi, insects etc. are harmful. The fact is that nothing is harmful. There are numerous microbes on the skin of human body more than the population of globe and also inside the body more than the number of cells, all living symbiotically. It is only because of wrong life-styles of humans that disturb the systems and substances and induce harmful mutations in various organisms which are otherwise beneficial. It is like a good friend turning into an enemy by person's wrong behaviour. The plague bacillus Yersinia pestis was living harmlessly in intestines but turned harmful by mutation as a result of wrong life styles a few thousand years back. Appendicitis is caused by bacteria, otherwise living symbiotically, beneficially in intestines but because of closure of opening as a result of wrong dietary habits it becomes harmful. Similarly HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) which causes deadly AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) existed, living harmlessly in animals and human but tumed harmful by mutations triggered by inoculation of Hepatitis-B and smallpox vaccines in America and Africa (Scientist Wiles Delede of Sweden). Same is the case of dangerous intermingled mutations of human flu, bird flu and swine flu in dangerous HINI form.