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62 / JAIN STUDIES AND SCIENCE
regressive and progressive half-cycles. According to this principle, time returns and there is also a recurrence of events associated with the past. There is nothing new in this world; there is nothing that has not happened before.
By clarifying the cyclic concept of time, Mahapragya has given us a new dimension which is quite useful. Professor Hawking too is not far from the conception that if time can be treated independent of space, then theoretically and mathematically, time can assume negative values meaning thereby that time returns to the past. In Jain philosophy space and time are treated as fundamentally separate substances, and thus the possibilities of negative time calculations are wide open. 10. Electricity - Animate (live) or inert (lifeless)
This topic has resulted in such a hot discussion that it has itself flared up as Agnikaya! To pour cold water on this burning topic and to extinguish, once and for all, the fire created by it, Mahapragya has authentically answered the two pertinent questions -
(i) Can electricity be classified as Agnikaya (fire)? (ii) If yes, is it live or lifeless?
If these questions are answered beyond doubt, any confusion regarding the usage of electrical appliances will be rendered redundant. The salient relevant points of Mahapragya's essay on this subject are presented here.
10.1. What is Sachitt-Agni and Achitt-Agni?
What is fire? Scientifically, it is the fourth state of matter beyond solid, liquid and gas - called plasma. In this state, matter is present neither as atom nor as molecule but as electrons and ions. In Jain canon, there is a fine distinction between 'fire as a jiva' (Agnikaya) and 'fire as a group of Pudgals (matter) without soul'. The essential difference lays in the presence of intelligence (jiva or soul) in the former, while its absence in the latter. According to Jains, a jiva is one who possesses the necessary intelligence to self-perpetuate oneself. In Shadjivanikaya six classifications of jiva are mentioned. Their elaboration in Sthanang-Sutra clarifies that the first five of them namely, prithvikaya, aupkaya, tejaskaya, vayukaya and vanaspatikaya are stationary in nature and can exist in both states of sachitt (with intelligence) and achitt (lifeless).
So, the million dollar question is - can electricity be classified as
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