Jain Journal 1990 07

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

Page 39

JAIN JOURNAL
Universe was in the form of material highly concentrated corresponding to Brahma's golden egg, which began expanding suddenly and is expanding even today. This expansion of the Universe has been concluded on the basis of the feable red shift of the spectral lines. The present theory about the creation of the Universe which is known as continuous creation theory is at present finding favour with the scientists and represents the Jaina view according to which the Universe is not expanding, has a fixed volume, and will continue to exist as such in future. Sri Deepak Basu of the Institute of Radio Physics of Calcutta has published a very learned article in Science and Culture in April 1964. He writes as follows:
“The well-known red shift has been explained recently from Einsteins' theory of Relativity as due to gravitational field of the galaxies. In case this theory is accepted the idea of the expansion of Universe will be ruled out and the other two theories discussed so long evolutionary and steady state which are based on expanding mechanism will be abandoned."
(6) The Ether and the Field-So far as the constituents of the Universe are concerned two things are very peculiar to Jainism. One is the luminiferous ether pervading every iota of space to which they
e given a peculiar name dharma dravya) which accounts for the medium of motion for matter and energy, and the other the electromagnetic field which they have called adharma-dravya. Both of them are non-material and all-pervading. In order to account for the stability of the Universe Einstein postulated the idea of curved space a very hard pill to swallow. If the Universe is to remain stable its total energy content should remain the same. If it were losing energy constantly its stability cannot be guaranteed. In order to prevent energy from going out Einstein said our Universe is finite in three spatial directions and infinite along the fourth dimension of time. In a curved space like it, the energy travelling outward would be reflected at the boundaries of the Universe and there will be no loss of energy. The Jaina thinkers gave an alternative explanation. According to them there is no medium of motion beyond the finite Universe and therefore matter or energy in any form cannot go beyond it and they have accordingly divided space into two divisions the lokākāśa and the alokākāśa, the finite Universe and the infinite Universe beyond it. This is a more simple explanation of a difficult puzzle. The adharma dravya is the cause of cosmic unity through which those forces operate which keep the fundamental particles from flying away inside the atom, keeps the atom inside the molecules and the molecules inside the crystehls.