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Concept of matter in Jain philosophy
The science, philosophy and religion looks to be different at the surface but the aim of all in general is to find the ultimate truth of life, to see beyond the life in addition to achieving daily comfort. Therefore, constructive interference between experts of religion and science would help the society to achieve the goal of life effectively and efficiently. This means the approach of taking help of religious literature to enrich sciences and using scientific means to become spiritual (that the author narrates as scientific religion and religious science) seems to be most required for true development of science and religion both and intern the society at large.
In sciences, we have investigated atom and searched for its structure. It is said to be a building block for matter. Is it really a fundamental, nondividable, smallest unit? If so, than, what are elementary particles, which are searched by the scientists in a large number? Let us see some facts of Jain philosophy about the concept of matter with a view that these scripts were written when our science was in very infant stage and was not developed as that of the present stage.
Accordingly, a fundamental/elemental/basic matter represents itself in one or the other form called DRAVYA. There are six fundamental types of matter called PUDGAL-RELIGION-- NONRELIGION-- SPACE-- TIME-- and BIOMATTER. The concept of pudgal matter and bio matter seems to be interesting from atomic physics and material science point of view. The fundamental matter that is sensed by human being is called "pudgal matter", the meaning of which is a matter that continuously undergoes combination and separation or analysis and synthesis. This pudgal matter is characterized by nonstop formation, deformation with a fundamental base in which the change is observed. For example, the cow milk is the basic element (called DHROVYA) in which one state of milk disappears and another curd state appears. This is identical to the concept of basic nucleon of our science, which some times appear as proton (positive charge) otherwise as neutron (charge less) particle. This philosophy
recognizes all material particles as pudgal matter and divides it into atom and molecule (called PARAMANU and SKANDHA respectively). The smallest unit of pudgal matter is paramanu that is smallest, nondividable fundamental particle that neither can be seen nor can be experimented physically. This indicates that this paramanu is different than our atom, which has further subdivisions as electron, proton etc. This also indicates that there may be still
smaller fundamental particle (even smaller than elementary particles
like meson, quark etc.) that is yet to investigated in sciences. The concept of quantum dot may be equivalent for which it is said
14/JAIN DIGEST⚫ Summer 20004
Jain Education International 2010_03
-Dr.A.P.Rao, Bhopal, India
[Dr.A.P.Rao is former principal of Everest Engineering College. Kathmandu, Pokhra University, Nepal and presently associated with LNCT, Bhopal. He is researching to correlate science and religion since last so many years and published a number of articles in the field.]
that - quanta can not be experimented but can be sensed only. The further details of the philosophy narrate that the pudgal matter represents itself as an atom or group of atoms or combination of atom and molecule (called skandha). All visible objects in the universe are skandha only. When skandha is broken, the end product comes as paramanu, which is nondividable. The volume that a single pudgal matter occupies in space is called unit space that is a one-dimensional entity. Is it not identical to the introduction of crystallography of present day's solid state physics? The rest of five fundamental matters are also explained very well in this philosophy. Religion matter help bio and pudgal matter for their movement. Nonreligion matter helps these two to stop their movement. Is it the concept of presence of ether in space that was proposed in science quite before?
This concept may be keeping some hidden information about the relation between macro and micro happenings of the nature from ecology and biodiversity point of view. Out of six fundamental matters, movement is said to be attached with bio and pudgal
matter only. The Jeeva (i.e. biofluid) gets distributed in a skandha (material body) and occupies the shape and volume as that of the body. The space matter is undividadble and continuos through out the universe in which different limited regions are assumed. Presence of biomatter, activities of pudgal and their absence are assumed to be in different regions. This may said to be same as biosphere like regions investigated in environmental science and technology. Time matter is said to be responsible for changes observed in bio and pudgal matter. The skandha is further subdivided in to six categories that covers from physical matter to wave nature to parascientific and quantum science of present day. Accordingly, these classes are: sthoola-sthoola (macro-macro) which is equivalent to the solid state of material in sciences. They explain it as; if the atoms of this class of material are separated they can not be reconstituted in the format shape naturally. Basically, it is a macroscopic breakage of a solid. The schools (macro) class of skandha are equivalent to the liquid state of matter for which
they say that this is the class in which if the paramanus are separated, join each other to obtain carlier form. The sthoola(Continuing on Page)
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