Jaina World of Non Living

Author(s): N L Jain
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

Page 67

The Jaina world of Non-living
areas only where these motions occur. Thus, time is not an objective reality but a form of other realities. In contrast, the D-version maintains the two varieties of time as above. But it defines them little differently. The absolute time is an independent reality maintaining continued existence of entities. It is like fine atomic in nature like the gems and innumerable in number while the apparent time is that form of this reality which regulates modifications in the entities through various time units like Samaya etc.
As with other three non-material realities, the Jaina concept of absolute and independent reality of time was quite substantiated upto pre-relativistic age. However, the relativistic age seems to change this concept. Accordingly, both space and time co-exist in presence of matter. It postulates the following:
(1) The time is not an absolute entity but a relative one correlated with space forming the reality of space-time continuum.
(2)
It has eternality undergoing progressive and regressive cycles. The space-time reality vanishes when there is no matter. (The Jainas postulate pure space only in the absence of matter).
(3)
(4) The concept of present time has a variable length depending on the location and speed of the observer. It is observed that time appears to flow slower near the massive body like earth and at higher speeds. It has been calculated that a man moving in spaceship at the speed of light will increase his age by two years only in two years while the man on earth will move to the age of 70 in the same time. Thus, the present will be defined as the interval between the incident and its observation.
(5) The concept of simultaneity, thus, is an illusion. It has only relative meaning.
(6) The practical unit of time is second. Measurements upto 1029 seconds have been made. (The Jaina Samaya unit is comparatively very small).
We, thus, find the changing concepts in relativistic age in respect of all the non-material entities postulated in Jaina cosmology. However, it must be pointed out that we are still using simpler Newtonian theories for all practical purposes as the difference between its predictions and of
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