Jainism Eternal and Universal Path for Enlightenment

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

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Jainism : The Eternal and Universal path for Enlightenment
modern scientific observations, we come to the conclusion that some aspects such as the units of time and space, geography and some aspects of observational astronomy as described in these compilations, have been corrupted (Appendix 1) since they are mentioned differently in different places. This is reason enough for a critical assessment and reinterpretation of as many aspects as possible in terms of modern scientific thought.
There are areas where religion and science are exclusive, i.e. in the domains of spiritualism, and there are also some areas where overlap between them exists, since as mentioned above in the subject matter of various texts, Jainism devotes as much importance to physics, chemistry, biology, botany, astronomy and geography, as it gives to spiritual aspects of soul, and procedures for its purification. There are bound to be disagreements but our effort is to reconcile the two where ever and to the extent possible.
This book is based on my notes prepared to understand Jainism. It should not be considered as an authoritative treatment but rather as a primer, compiled in a book form. The main purpose is that other seekers like me may find it useful and save time in their quest of getting familiar with Jain thought. The book is intended to introduce the reader to minimum basic concepts of Jainism, both in theory and in practice, and the procedures suggested for achieving enlightenment. It is not meant to be exhaustive, nor we quote much from the scriptures to authenticate the version presented here. A learned reader may find that rigour has been sacrificed for sake of simplification, but that is the approach taken in this book. As far as I could understand, Jainism is based on five pillars: tmavid, Karmavid, Anekintavéd, Kriyly d and Lokavid. They are discussed here briefly.The book is divided in two parts, the first dealing with the first four aspects and the second part dealing with various aspects of Lokvad. Thus, the first part deals with basic tenets of Jainism and the second part compares Jain thought with various branches of science like physics, cosmology, chemistry and biology. After arguing the universal applicability of Jainism (Chapter 1), the book deals, rather briefly, with the main foundations of Jainism i.e. The cardinal truths (Chapter 2), Anek-ntav?d and Karmavid (Chapters 3 and 4). There are numerous books and treatises from learned and enlightened scholars on these aspects and therefore the purpose here is not to deal with these aspects in rigorous or comprehensive way but just to make the reader aware of the essential aspects of Jainism. The later part of this book, Chapters 5, 6, and 7 deal with the path recommended for salvation, as one goes to higher states (Guasthéns, Chapter 5), by practicing Jain procedures (Chapter 6) which also deals with their physiological and physical effects. The Part II of the book deals with a