Scientific Secrets of Jainism

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

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Jainism And Science : Solutions of Some Problems
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Another question also arises. If favourable conditions for life are removed from the place where there is multitude of living organisms, the multitude of living organisms will die. There will be decaying and the vegetables will not last for a long time. But bulbous roots remain fresh for use for a long time. If they have lives, they can remain protected underground. If they are taken out of earth, living organisms die and decaying will begin. But these beliefs are entirely wrong. Bulbous roots do not become lifeless after they are taken out of the ground. They continue to retain life for a long time after they have been taken out of the ground. There are only two ways to make the bulbous roots lifeless. It becomes lifeless by means of weapons such as knife etc. With a knife they should be cut into pieces or they should be cooked on fire.
It should also be noted that after living organisms i.e. souls have ended up, they do not decay as a rule. In order to preserve dead bodies for a long
the dehydration technique was adopted in ancient Egypt and it is also adopted in modern times and the mummies found from pyramids of ancient Egypt are a testimony to it. Even after lives in bulbous roots have ended up, if they are dehydrated, they do not decay, e.g. ginger. After lives have ended up in ginger, it automatically get dehydrated. But potatoes etc. do not automatically get dehydrated. They get dehydrated only after they have been cut with knife etc. Therefore, dry ginger is fit to be eaten but potatoes etc. are not fit to be eaten even after they have become dry.
It can also be argued that micro-living beings are found in non-bulbous roots but bulbous roots are quite clean, when they are cut. But here it needs to be noted that Jain scriptures say that it is a characteristic of Sādhārana Vanaspatikāya ( having infinite souls in a single body or cell of a plant ) that when it is cut, it is cut in regular pieces and there are no fibres and knots nor do leaves have veins. Really speaking, in scientific terminology, bulbous roots are a modifications of roots. Bulbous roots therefore, cannot become fit to be eaten just because they are neat or clean.
Purity of life or character or conduct depends on purity of food. Purity of food is, therefore, necessary.The potato, the radish etc. are Sādhārana Vanaspatikāya. It is, therefore, best to abstain from them. There are some people who argue that there cannot be any reference to potato in our ancient scriptures because it is originally not a product of India. In 1586 A.D. Sir William Raleigh brought it to England from South America (Brazil). Later