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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International Conference on Science and Jain Philosophy 2016
preceptor, thus making it the original and unvarnished narrative, unmediated by commentaries.
The Jaina and Bauddha canons followed much the same demarcation between what was originally imparted by preceptors to their pupils, which subsequently became the object of commentaries, elucidations and glosses. The intensification of debates occurred when the Vaidikas, Jainas, Bauddhas, Ajiuikas and Bārhaspatyas vied to establish their positions as valid based on argument (tarka), not the ipse dixit of preceptors. Remarkably these schools also taught astronomy, mathematics, medicine and even statecraft, all of which benefited from the rules of tarka-śāstra which commanded universal acceptance. From antiquity down to recent times, the great centres of civilization had a flourishing trade in ideas as much as it did in commercial goods. The ground was prepared for the sixteenth century scientific revolution by Indian mathematics with its use of zero and the decimal place value system which made arithmetic child's play. The geometrical framework of the Greeks was leavened by the arithmetic, algebra and trigonometry that were carried by the Arabs from India to the West. A similar claim can be plausibly made for the 20th century scientific revolutions.
Few civilizations have shown the ability to exchange ideas freely and not feel threatened by scientific advances. In the Indian case, this feature was reinforced by the distinction between parā vidya and aparā vidya, transcendent knowledge and its everyday counterpart, adumbrated in the Mundaka Upanişad. The latter realm included even the four Vedas and six Vedāngas, which were regarded as propaedeutic, stepping stones to the knowledge of reality, which was virtually on par with advances in worldly knowledge in that it did not threaten transcendent knowledge that had sanctity and was linked both to theory and to meditative practices. The other-wordly and the this-wordly - the latter including the canonical texts as well - were placed in distinct realms. Modern science thus posed no threat and was eagerly embraced by our thinkers.
The power and prestige of modern science is such that even the most hallowed of ancient traditions seek to engage with it and even to enlist its support which is a sure sign that the victory of science is complete. From scientific studies of meditative states which commenced half a century ago, to ideas that overlap with modern science, the traditions of transcendence choose science as the universal yardstick of knowledge. This raises a plethora of questions. Science is notoriously fickle, yesterday's heresy could become today's dogma. It is knowledge based on the human senses and its amplification via instruments, which allows us to probe microscopic as well as macroscopic scales. It is irreverent and the community of seekers recognizes no rank or authority. A distinction between supersensory and sensory knowledge holds in science as homologues of instrumentally enhanced and unaided human cognition, which is not, however, adequate for traditions of transcendence, though I must confess I did at times find the temptation to hold such a view irresistible. Even more telling is the fact that the idea of alternatives to modern science sought in ancient traditions is also in thrall to science as we know it today. That is not meant to be a criticism of the traditions nor of modern science. The presiding genius of the 17th century scientific revolution, the incomparable Isaac Newton, was characterized by Keynes as the 'last of the great Magi'. Newton spent more time and energy on biblical prophecy, Judaeo-Christian theology and alchemy than in mathematical physics, making him a transitional figure between the old and the new philosophies of nature. Indeed Newton was an arcadian who thought that the ancients knew everything and that discoveries such as his must be in the Biblical
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