Scientific Secrets of Jainism

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

Page 310

'Vigais' And 'Mahāvigais'
279
A gastric juice named lactose is secreted in our body. It transforms the carbohydrates named lactose occurring in milk into lactic acid. If lactose is not produced or slightly produced in the body, it is preferable to eat curds instead of milk. Milk is heavy to digest., while curds are light. It is, therefore, a stupidity to say that curds is spoiled milk.
Generally, it is popular belief that curds are not coagulated without bacteria and, therefore, curds should not be eaten. From a study of microbiology, we come to know that some bacteria that are sometimes found in milk etc. do not die by any means even if you boil the milk as long as half an hour, because as the atmospheric temperature rises, bacteria of this kind make protection cover all around them which is called spore, and lie sleeping inside the cover till the atmosphere becomes favourable.
The bacteria that turns milk into curds are of a special kind. In our body too, there are a large number of bacteria and micro-organisms. Even if milk is taken instead of curds, when it goes to the stomach, mixes with hydrochloric acid and gets transformed into curds. We should, therefore, believe that curds can be taken as food even if it contains bacteria because the atmosphere favourable to their life, is present in our body also and therefore, they do not die and that is why curds are not prohibited in Jain scriptures. But after two nights the curds become unfit to be eaten because the bacteria that make curds grow profusely and there is a possibility of growth of microorganisms of other kinds.
Scientifically speaking, all food items are mixed to a small or great extent with viruses and bacteria. No food is, therefore, fit for us to eat. But all food tems do not become unfit to be eaten simply because they contain bacteria.
It is necessary to show here that dicotyledons from which oil cannot be extracted i.e. pulses namely black beans, moonga, chola (kind of pulse), gram, methi (foenugreek seeds) etc. are not fit to be eaten with unboiled milk, curds (products of cow-milk, buffalo-milk). But dicotyledons from which oil is extracted namely oil-seeds, ground nuts, charoli (kind of dry fruit i.e. chirongia sapida), almond etc. are fit to be eaten with unboiled milk, curds and their products. The verses about pulses are as under :