________________
Medical Sciences in Jaina Canons : 555
essential chemicals and biochemicals, implantation and transplantation of body parts and creating psychologically satisfying conditions and purer environment are some of the methods used today. 62 This has resulted in increasing the average lifespan of Indians from 27 to 57 yrs. after independance. The deterministic kārmic theory of the Jainas has taken a dynamic form in physical sense even in twentieth century. The medical science is moving the way to attain immortality in this visible world because it has learnt about the immortality of primary basic cell of life. The After Life
The Jaina canons point out the existence of four destinities for the living beings - human, sub-human, hellish and celestial. It is presumed that every living being is reborn in any one of these after his death in current life. The omniscients and liberated ones are exceptions. They do not have rebirth. When one dies, the inner of the living associated with caloric and kārmic bodies moves up for one, two, three or four instants of time in straight or curved line and assumes his destined place for the next birth, of course leaving his gross body what we call as dead. Most of the Indian philosophies b rebirth. However, parapsychologists are not unanimous about it. They feel it a question of faith and self-experience rather than actuality. However, the concept of rebirth has proved to be one of the important psychological tool for men to satisfy their optimism about the better future. Conclusion
The above description shows that there are large number of contents on different aspects of contemporary medical science - called Prānāvāya or Ayurveda. It suggests that theoretically, they have every point of current medical learning. However, looking to the contents, the quality may not be very perfect. It has more visual, empirical and external nature. It does not contain internal structure, mechanism and components responsible for curing the normal or deficiency diseases.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
