Jain Biology

Author(s): Jethalal S Zaveri, Mahendramuni
Publisher: Jain Vishva Bharati

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INTRODUCTION
Biology (bios = life and logos = knowledge) is the science of the psychical order of existence, i.e., the living world. Living organisms are of many kinds and for proper study they have to be classified. All living organisms are broadly classified under three forms, viz. microbes, plants; and animals. Thus the principal fields of study under Biology are Botany, Zoology, and Microbiology. And hence Biology itself is divided into two branches, viz. Botany—study of plants and Zoology-study of animals. Microbiology includes study of micro-organisms, both plants and animals. Viruses, bacteria, algae, fungi, and amoeba like protozoan are some of the examples of microbes. Viruses are so small that they cannot be seen with the light microscope. Electron-microscope is used for their study. Bacteria are simple unicellular microscopic organisms. Algae are aquatic plants. Fungi are cellular or filamentous plants. Protozoa are small microscopic unicellular organisms.
ANCIENT BOTANICALSTUDY
The word 'botany' comes from the Greek word 'botane', which means plant. This word in turn can be traced back to the Greek 'boskein', to graze, which was derived from 'bous', the Greek word for cattle. Thus etymologically, botany is the science of what cattle eat.
Botany, the study of plants, arose from the attempts of primitive men to control their environments and to adapt themselves more advantageously to their sorroundings. Thus the first study of plants must have undoubtedly been centered upon the importance of plants in human life as sources of food for nourishment, of fibres for clothing, of drugs for the treatment of diseases, and of fuel. In due course, certain men, to satisfy a growing human curiosity about the world in which they lived, must have begun to seek answers to questions of intellectual interest and in man's first attempts to obtain answers to such questions, the science of botany must have had its origin.
JAIN BIOLOGY
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