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182/JAIN STUDIES AND SCIENCE
factory. As any other machine, body also needs energy, undergoes wear and tear and ultimately ages to die. We have seen the importance of good and proper fuel, i.e., food for our body. Now we shall analyse the process of its wear and tear, i.e., ageing.
1.3.1. Body is a Machine
Have you ever heard the mechanical sounds produced within yourself by various activities of your internal organs? Mahapragya invites you to such an ecstatic experience through sharir-preksha. When the mental attention attains concentration, our mind blocks the external sounds coming to it. In this stage, one can become aware of the flow of vital consciousness within oneself. A communication is established with the inner self. Scientists too have tried to simulate the meditation like conditions by constructing a sound-proof cabin. Even in spite of the foolproof technology, the sound reaching to their minds continued. It became a puzzle, how the sound can enter a meticulously constructed sound-proof cabin. Ultimately, it emerged that they were listening to the vibrations of their own internal organs like heart etc. The reverberations were caused by the activities of blood flow, nervous and digestive systems.
So, body is like a machine - a very powerful and reliable machine. Scientists, who have constructed the world's tallest buildings, submarines and spacecrafts, are still unable to simulate the body and its organs. With all its amazing activities, the body essentially undergoes the process of ageing.
1.3.2. Process of Ageing
What is age of a human? Is it the number of years one has lived at the time of asking this question? Or is it the number of years one will live before the eventual death? It is in the later sense we shall be treating age. After statistical analysis of growth and decay of an average human body, Dr. Carlson stated that the mathematical model forecasts an age of 150 years for humans. However, going by the stress and polluted environment, we are still far below the magical number of hundred years. In order to reach the peak age of 150 years (no proof of such a human exists so far), Mahapragya says that it is as much important to thoroughly know our ephemeral body as to know the eternal soul.
Normally, first twenty years are of growth, during which the body gains size, weight and strength. Beyond this age, the body decay begins. The first victims are - sight, hearing and digestion. In fact, the flexibility of eye lenses start reducing from ten years onwards. Though this decay is trivial, the real effects of ageing manifest after the age of forty years. After this age, the eye
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