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Appendix - 4
Some examples from modern science to illustrate Stanza-3
According to Acarya Amṛtacandra, the word 'Samaya' in Gäthä-3 means any Dravya (eternal substance) living or non-living. Therefore, we can attempt to illustrate the theme of this Gatha from the point of view of modern Physics
also.
In the spiritual world, it is well known that every soul is eternal. A soul does not burn. A soul cannot be cut by a sword, and... so on. In this Gathā, Ācārya wants us to recognize similar beauty of eternal nature in all living and non-living substances. Did you ever think of any material thing that cannot be burned and cannot be cut by a sword? This Gäthä leads us to contemplate and have such realization. Do you know that even in the burning of a piece of coal all the basic constituents of the coal are not burning? Can you visualize that the basic constituents of coal are eternal? When you do visualize such non-burning eternal entities in coal, then it would be easier to appreciate the beauty of Samaya as revealed in this Gāthā. So long as we are unable to visualize the eternal nature of the basic constituents of coal, our vision would be limited to the creation and destruction, i.e., to the movie of the bonding.
Question: The burning of coal is real and we see by our own eyes. How can we visualize non-burning at the time of burning (or so called burning)? Is it simply a jugglery of words?
Answer: No, it is not at all a jugglery of words. The answer of this question is expected to enrich one's world view. If one uses the eyes of modern physics then he would note that the burning of coal is expressed by the following equation:
Carbon + Oxygen from air =
Carbon dioxide gas + Heat energy
In the chemical equation form it is written as follows:
C+012 = CO2+ Heat energy,
i.e., in the burning of coal one atom of carbon combines with one molecule of oxygen of air, and as a product one molecule of carbon dioxide gas and heat energy are formed. This is a simple description of the burning process. Now let us investigate at nano-level.
