Science And Jain Philosophy

Author(s): Raksha J Shah, Abhijit Muni, Pooja Banthia
Publisher: International Conference on Science and Jain Philosophy

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S1 + S2 = P. PROF. MUNI MAHENDRA KUMAR presentvictory@gmail.com
"Agama Manishi", "Bahushrut" and "Preksha Pradhyapak", Prof. Muni Mahendra Kumar is a Jain monk and scholar who graduated and got initiated in 1957. He is a prolific writer, a translator and a critical editor of more than 60 books
There is an old story of a blind man and a lame person. Both of them got arrested in a forest. Suddenly a fire broke out in the forest. Everyone started running away to save his/ her life. What a pity! The blind man could not understand where to go and the lame man, in spite of knowing the way out, could not run because of his disability. Both of them decided to join hands. The lame man sat on the shoulder of the blind person. The blind man started running while the lame man guided him. Both safely overcame the calamity. Probably, Albert Einstein, in this context had uttered
"Religion without science is blind,
Science without religion is lame." Let us equate Sl with science
S2 with spirituality
and P with peace. Then S1 + S2 = P The ICSJP is probably an unprecedented event both in the history of science as well as spirituality. The vision is: Science and Technology have played the prime role in bringing about an unprecedented development in the history of humankind. On the other hand, Spirituality, which, in itself, is spiritual science, has nurtured the human mind with the values like non- violence, compassion, forgiveness, self-discipline, universal love and friendliness and so on and so forth.
The major global problems that have raised their ugly heads have baffled not only the scientists but also the academicians, social scientists, psychologists, political stalwarts in International Relations and the most intellectual humans. All seem to be groping in the dark to find a way out. Probably, the situation is even worse than that faced by the blind man caught in the wildfire.
Jain philosophy, propounded by Bhagawan Mahavira, nearly 3 millennia ago, perhaps, holds the key to the solutions to the present day burning problems. Spirituality, in general, and spiritual doctrines and practices like meditation, yoga, penances etc, prescribed in Jainism, in particular, are found to affect positively the emotional brain, called the Limbic System, and as a result, it has been scientifically experimented and shown that the negative emotions like violence, cruelty, hatred, anger, fear etc, are amenable to undergo change.
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