Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

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HINDU AND JAINA CONCEPTS OF MAHAPRALAYA
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geologists. They have given it the name of 'Glacial Epoch'. The reason for the glacial epoch is assigned as follows: All the creatures of the Earth tend to increase the quantity of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, during the various metabolic processes going on in their bodies; also the various industrial operations increase the quantity of carbon-di-oxide. With this increase of carbon-di-oxide in the atmosphere, the rate of loss of heat by the earth from its surface is reduced and the earth grdually warms up so much so that the ice caps on the Poles melt and the resulting flood envelopes the entire earth.
In Pingala Upanışad there are mentioned two types of Pralaya—incidental and total. As already remarked, in the incidental dissolution of the universe, life of every form is destroyed but not the substance. The universe is thus alternately created from and dissolved into its material cause at the end of every Brahmāratri and Brahmādina.
The Prākştıka or Mahāpralaya occurs at the end of the life period of Brahmā, which is of 100 yearsduration, each day and each night of the year being of 4,320,000,000 years. In this absolute Pralaya everything in the universe, material as well as non-material, is dissolved into atoms. The earth is resolved and drawn in into water, water into fire, fire into air, air into aether, aether into egoism (ahankāra), egoism into intellect (Mahat), intellect into productive principle (avyakta) and lastly Avyakta into Puruşa. (The Supreme Being). Not only the matter and space are dissolved into Him, but also the Time. “The Supreme Being Himself now becomes the universal Time. The heaven of Vişņu with all its inmates is absorbed into the Paramātman (Supreme Self). According to Hindu theory, the Supreme Self is the cause and the source of the whole universe. In other words we may say that the universe is the projection of Lord God Himself.
After the dissolution of the Earth, the Supreme Self goes into Yoganidrā, enjoying perfect bliss. At the end of the yogic sleep a
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The life period of Brahmā, according to our reckoning, is 315 trillion years, 1.e 315 X 1012 years.