Nandanvana

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

Page 43

Chapter - 3
THEORY OF RELATIVITY AND RELATIVISM*
A story is narrated that once Mrs. Einstein asked her husband about the theory of relativity. Smilingly, he told about the feeling of time under (a) when a boy spends time with his girl friend and (b) a boy is asked to stand on a hot platform. In the first place hours seem minutes while in the second case minutes seem to be hours. This is the real polyviewstic approach. The theory of relativity started a revolution in ideas since early twentieth century. The whole world thinking has been affected by it except per chance the Jaina system - so immune to new ideas - per chance there are none, as all have existed in the perfect knowledge of the omniscients. The Jainas have no worries for the physically and intellectually growing knowledgefronts. They seem to be pleased with their preservative attitude towards their traditional intuitional knowledge. It will, however, be a humble effort to visualize our current position with respect to the theory of Anekāntavāda (Relativism). Types of Knowledge
In early days of human thinking, religion, philosophy and science were not separated as they are today. The Greek word 'Phys' for physics meant to study the essential nature of things involved in everything associated with the world and its phenomena. The earliest human thinking starts with monistic hylozoism or animism as evidenced from the first principles of Vedas, Jaina and Chinese scriptures and early Greek schools involving pantheonism, cosmic breath and nature by itself. This principle was later modified to dualism in terms of spirit and matter, soul and body, mind and matter, living and matter. Living and the non-living separate from each other
This paper was published in Tulasi Prajña, Ladnun, Vol. 22.2 p. 47-69.