Scientific Secrets of Jainism

Author(s): Nandighoshvijay
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

Page 292

25. Advantages And Secrets
Of Penance : The Scientific View-point
The Jainism prescribes various means to follow dharma for spiritual evolution of soul. Whatever chief means you adopt, other means also become useful in a subsidiary way.
A very important means of self-realization is penance. Penance is chiefly of two kinds : External penance and internal penance. Century after century non-Jain philosophers pondered over the external penance prescribed in Jain scriptures and every time they presented it as mortification of body or supression of self or supression of senses. Even in the scientific age of today, we are overawed by splendour and prosperity of external penance but they who call it as useless and hypocritical are not few. Really speaking, though external penance restrains sensual pleasures and desires, purification of soul or thought or mind is not attained because external penance is not combined with internal penance. The external penance alone can, therefore, not lead one to salvation. The kinds and rules of external penance, shown in the Jain scriptures are full of secrets of science. Though they cannot lead one to salvation in the present era, they are very beneficial from the physical and hygienic view-ponts.
First of all, let us think of abstention from taking food at night,
Various magazines etc. often write about scientific advantages of ab. stention from taking food at night. It is, therefore, not necessary to deal with it in detail here. Generally, physical activities and exertion are not engaged in at night and therefore, the function of metabolism is very slow and therefore, he who eats food at night probably suffers from indigestion and diseases of gas. At night in the absence of sun-light minute insects are born in the atmosphere and do a lot of harm. Only the sun-light, having mysterious power or energy, can destroy atmospheric pollution and useless insects and prevent the production of new insects. Jain scriptures forbid to take food at night, including forty-eight minutes before sunset and forty-eight minutes