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unscientific. It is my belief that Jainism is a scientific religion. Its doctrines find support even in modern scientific inventions. Therefore, it would not be out of place to give a brief comparative study of Jainism and science in the limited available space here.
THE FIELDS OF RELIGION AND SCIENCE
Till date science has confined its search to the physical world. It has not tried to explore the non-physical or intangible world; it has found little success in whatever limited efforts it has made. On the other hand religion deals with everything, physical and non-physical or tangible and intangible. It is as much physical as it is spiritual. It proceeds towards the spiritual from physical only. Therefore, for human beings religion is more important than science. Religion provides everlasting and eternal bliss whereas the pleasures derived through science are short-lived and transitory. Thus religion and science cannot be placed at the same level. Religion and science can be compared only in the physical dimension and not in the spiritual or intangible dimension. Therefore, in the physical dimension the religion that is nearer to science is more useful to the masses.
In spite of all the progress made by science today, Jainism and its doctrines are still far ahead. Science has not yet been able to fully comprehend the basic fundamental energies of the physical world. However, the things the existence of which science of this day accepts, have found mention in Jainism thousands of years back. For example in the world of science it was Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose who for the first time accepted the existence of life in plants. After him many other scientists also accepted that plants are emotionally sensitive and have feelings of happiness and sorrow, joy and misery, etc. Jainism not only accepts plants but also earth, water, fire, and air as one sensed living organisms.
COMPARATIVE STUDY OF JAINISM AND SCIENCE
Jainism postulates of six fundamental entities responsible for creation of this universe. Modern science is involved in revealing the energies of only one of these entities, namely pudgala or matter. Although some efforts have been made in the direction of studying the remaining five entities but the direction of exploration as well as the
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