Jain Journal 1968 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 41

JULY, 1968
pose on material tools and philosophies on spiritual vision, of which the standard has varied from age to age and setting to setting. This has also been influenced very much by the physical and intellectual environment in which the viewer lived and by the interests and culture of that particular society to which he belonged. The resulting cosmological theory would then reflect very much the sociological, philosophical and scientific predilections and bias of the individual and his group and the entire bundle of cosmologies would “run the gamut from simple pictures projected from the everyday objects of a primitive society, through the metaphysical constructs of the ideational faculty, to the sophisticated mathematical models presented by modern science.”
2. Reasons for preference
Despite the two limitations as noted above, a study of cosmology in general and of Jaina cosmology in particular, should be a matter of absorbing interest for more reasons than one. In the first place, it is needed for a clear understanding of Jainism and its very many concepts (tatvas) which are scattered throughout the Jaina holy books and are daily recited by thousands of devoted souls. In the second place, a discussion on cosmology assumes importance from the fact that it indicates the range of speculation indulged in by Jaina savants even on scientific themes. Needless to add, the ultimate purpose was always spiritual but the range attained particularly in this sphere had gone much beyond the sphere which even the most sophisticated material equipments can reach. In other words the discussion is important because it reveals the extent of penetration by the human mind. Thirdly, a discussion on Jaina cosmology is important for the sake of its own growth. In this context, it may be mentioned that every scientific subject is controversial and needs continuous rejection and refinement for the sake of fresh construction and growth. Take for instance the cosmological discussions that the West received from Babylon and Greece which was lost during the dark ages but which was revived during renaissance and since then it has been steaddily growing and has received a fresh impetus in the theory of Relativity and the Steady-State theory. In contrast, cosmology in India, like so many other good things, no matter whether it is Jaina, Hindu or Buddhist, has become like a stagnant pool covered with hyacynth and hence is neither properly known nor adequately visible. It is only through taking a stock of it that it can be set again on the road to progress. And fourthly, whenever anybody writes or speaks on Jainism these days the stock subjects are ahimsā, anekānta and aparigraha, with often a political coating invoked for a pseudo-moral reform of mankind, giving the impression that these three constitute the entire stock-in-trade