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12. COSMOLOGY-OLD & NEW
THIS WORLD of ours is dynamic, not static. It is ever changing and progressing in a forward or a backward direction. Like the spokes of a wheel the rise and the fall follow in succession. Jain Ãchâryas have divided the cycle of time into Utsarpiņi and Avsarpiņi, i. e., the time rising and falling with a slow serpentine motion. The rise of the sun to the zenith and its fall again every evening is teaching this great lesson of Nature. The great civilizations of Rome, Greece and Babylonia, which rose to the highest point of glory and are now non-existent, are illustrations in point. The early history of modern science shows that the great scientists like Galileo and Bruno had, in their search for knowledge, to face insults and suffer tortures at the hands of the blind custodians of religion. The times have changed and the present is an age of steam and electricity. The very section of society, who had done its best to check the development of scientific ideas, is now anxious to verify the principles of its religion in the light of modern investigations.
A word of caution may be sounded at this stage. In order to make a true comparative study of one's religion and the modern science, one should not forget the spirit of the modern scientist. The present tendency is to distort every fact or religious principle so as to bring it in conformity with the theories of science, without knowing that the theories of science are not absolute truths but are ever changing. The vicw-point of our study should be to collect those facts which have been verificd by the discoveries of science and to put forward boldly before the world those problems which do not agree with the prevalent scientific conceptions and to await solution, if one cannot explain them himself. It is a wrong policy to believe that whatever comes from the West is right; whatever is ours is wrong, although it is
t the westernes make enquiries with impartial views. But since there are limitations to human understanding, the result of enquiries is not always correct.
A present day scientific worker does not work as a Hindu, a Muslim or a Jain. The principle of a particular religion may be confirmed or contradicted by his discoveries, he does not care. He is a meck seeker after truth. Whatever stands the test of sane logic and is verified by experiment is truth in his eyes.
Science may be defined as the "promotion of natural knowledge", "the pursuit of truth," or "the systematic investigation of the world before us" and its claim to be regarded as such is based on the method which it employs for the search of knowledge. The first step is to ascertain the facts connected with the problem by experimental investigation, for Science recognizes no authority other than Nature. The next step is to classify the facts in order that their significance may be better appreciated. The third essential step is
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