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
profound concepts simply to mental abstractions, in absence of experimental or theoretical framework, available in the ancient times. but they point towards some kind of divine vision, attained by techniques such as meditation and Samadhi, by which one can connect to the omnipresent Bodhi (conscious) field of the Universe.
In spite of numerous insights into wide range of topics such as working of microcosm, brain, mind and the laws governing the universe etc., some of which have been mentioned above, the texts do contain statements, related to geography and astronomy which are definitely inconsistent with scientific observations. Some scholars have argued that this may be a case of erroneous interpretation, but surely such anomalies raise much doubt. It is also difficult to justify that many scientific concepts, like forces in nature, which gouern all the processes in the universe do not find any mention in the scriptures.
A clinching evidence in favour of divine revelations would be some new insight not established by scientific theories so far. Numerous such concepts exist in scriptures, but for them to be true, they need to be scientifically established, by experimentation or by logic, within the scientific framework. A case in point is the origin of life. Scientists are working on the materialistic model of life, in which life originated from matter, whereas some faiths believe in biocentric origin of the universe in which soul (Brahma) is the cause of the material universe. Jainism, in contrast, propounds that soul is eternal, without origination and destruction. Considering the tremendous efforts currently being made, this problem may be resolved during the present century. Some of these aspects may be discussed during this Conference on Science and Jain philosophy, which assumes a great importance in this context. Hopefully Jainism and science can be amalgamated and deliberations during this conference would lead to further advancement of scientific theories by incorporating some of the Jaina concepts, which are very appealing.
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