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70 / JAIN STUDIES AND SCIENCE
UNIVERSE (LOK)
Jains envision the entire universe to be comprised of six entities (we have christened them as mattereals)
1. Dharm-astikaya (Medium of movement) 2. Adharm-astikaya (Medium of rest)
3. Akash-astikaya (space)
4. Pudgal-astikaya (Sthul-matter & Sukshma-energy) 5.Jiva-astikaya (conscience/intelligence) 6. Kaal (time)
All these six entities (mattereals) co-exist simultaneously to manifest the Universe. Interestingly, science even today cannot add or subtract anything from this all exhaustive list cited above. Jain literatures call the universe as Lok. Excluding this finite Lok is said to be infinite Alok. Jain philosophy has laid a logical foundation to the ever enigmatic questions of creation of universe, its extent, its composition and its time factor. Founding postulates of Jains are
There is a finite and tangible Lok situated in the midst of an infinite void called Alok.
Alok is infinite, yet the relative positioning of Lok with respect to Alok is well defined as the directions travel in the Alok as well.
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Lok has a well defined and stable geometrical shape.
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Lok has fixed basic constituents which are finite and maintain a constant sum.
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Activities within the Lok are so spontaneous that it is not created by anybody. Lok possesses default intelligence and not the designed one. Periods in Lok have starts and ends, but cycles of periods are eternal - having neither beginning nor end. Matter present in the Universe is dynamic by way of transportation and transformation, which is the very basis of LIFE.
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