Scientific Secrets of Jainism

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

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Scientific Secrets of Jainism
"If barley, a special other kind of barley, wheat, paddy, a variety of rice, i.e. juwar, millet etc. are stored in a vertical cylindrical container of grains etc. made of mud and if it is properly covered, daubed with cow-dung etc. they live as seeds possessing life as long as three years and then the organ of generation gets destroyed and seeds become lifeless. They do not grow even if they are sown i.e. They become lifeless.
Thus even if they are stored with great care as shown above, sesame seeds, different kind of pulses like moong, lentil, field peas, black beans, chola, kalathi, pigeon peas, grams, vaals etc. certainly become lifeless after five years.
If linseeds, cotton seeds, kangoo (cereals like yellow rice), kodara ( a kind of cheap coarse corn), jute, white rapseeds, kodari (husked grains of kodara), ralaka ( a kind of kangoo), radish etc. are stored in a vertical, cylindrical container and preserved as above, saved from insects as described above, they can possess life as long as seven years as living seeds and then they certainly become lifeless."
The life span shown above is the longest. The shortest life-span for all kinds of grains is an Antarmuhurtta i.e a period of less than 48 minutes. It means that after life is created in a grain/seed, if its life span is completed within 48 minutes, it becomes lifeless. But omniscient beings know it. Nescient beings do not know it. Therefore, even if a seed has become should not be used. This is the reason why Śramaņa Bhagavān Mahāvira did not grant permission to his thirsty group of monks to drink from pond water which had naturally become lifeless on account of destruction of water body's lives caused by the heat of the Sun.
As shown above, grains can be lifeless. Therefore, abstinence from greensvegetables does not cause that much sin that is caused by the use of greens. As a result there is less bondage of karma.
There is one more logical and scriptural reason why man should abstain from greens on parva-tithis. If he abstains, he does not develop attachment towards greens, fruits etc.
Generally, green vegetables, fruits etc. have much more taste, sweetness etc. than dry pulses. Man, therefore, prefers green vegetables, and fruits to dry pulses. If he eats various fresh vegetables, fruits etc. he will