Sambodhi 1977 Vol 06

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 23

The convergence of the...Jainism
do not believe in any God and their claim that some definite laws inherent in the above universe completely govern the functionings of different phenomena, removes all umbelievable doubts. The law of cause and effect is still another important aspect which make their theory most scientific. Along with this main theory another important theory which is self.consistent and unifying in nature is the doctrine of Karinas. The fact that 8 main types of Karmas and soul are essential ingredients to generate the whole biological kingdom is a very successful and complete theory for all biological systems.
After discussing the beauty of Jaina's theories we analyse the shape of the universe which has appeared in Jaina canons. We illustrate how important facts are reflected from this simple figure.
3. symmetry-Antisymmetry in Jainism :
The figure appearing on the left is a crosssect'on of the upiverse according to Jainism 5-6. Without going into the controversial scientific issue of the finite or inliniteness of the universe, we start from a very basic property, which is reflected from this figure. If we draw a vertical line AB in the middle of the figure then we see that the figure is symmetrical about the axis AB. If we draw a horizontal line CD in the middle of the figure then we see that the figure is not symmetrical (antisymmetrical) about the axis CD. This figure then indicates that symmetry and antisymmetry are the two most
fundamental attributes of this universe or we can say that this universe is nothing but a composition of symmetry and antisymmetry. The meanings of these two words are so wide that it is necessary for us to give some examples to clarify the importance reflected from them.
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(a) Symmetry and Conservation laws1,8-10 :
In all scientific theories, one attempts to describe different systems in terms of some physical variables like energy, momentum etc. The reason behind this description lies in the fact that if the given system is not interacting with rest of the enviornment then these quantities for the system do not change with time i.e. they are conserved. Thus all scientific studies are performed in terms of some conseryed quantities. A deeper analysis
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