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236: JAINS TODAY IN THE WORLD there are seven ways to say things, five types of knowledge, eight kinds of main “karma" and one hundred and forty-eight“karma" of minor importance, etc. In the Tattvārtha-sūtra, they define specific units of time; give a particular table of numbers and special measures of space, they determine with very precise methods. They identify four kinds of celestial beings of the empyrean, eight kinds of luminous, of the forests, of the mansions, thirty-six or thirty-nine heavens, seven hells with their colours, etc. all with an almost disconcerting mathematical self-assurance that shows their attention to details and preciseness, even if sometimes they leaves room to a bit of imagination.
Jain scholars have neglected no domain, be it physical, chemical, biological, cosmological, medical or other. Their works and researches have permitted science to greatly progress, but they are absolutely against the use of this knowledge for destruction of any life, and thus against the use of nuclear weapons that India possesses only to defend it against aggressions by the same way or by another one.
At economical level, very numerous lay Jains are traders since a long time. They are shopkeepers, craftsmen, and merchants in various sectors in accordance with their main tenet of non-violence. Among them we find many sellers of ingredients for vegetarian meals and of non-alcoholic beverages. Some are bankers, estate agents, accountants, reporters; others are jewellers, barristers, civil servants, doctors, writers, teachers, etc. They are active in all domains where it is possible to work honestly, to live in respecting their religious principles. Some are even farmers, as we have said, mostly in South India; others are in the manufacturing industry, especially electronics and informatics where they manage the field in Bangalore city.
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