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Is There An Origin of Life?
unique theory and solved many problems related to the universe. Most of the religious leaders believe that the whole universe is without beginning and is endless. But scientists do not accept it. They believe that the earth has both a beginning and an end. The living world was created after crores of years of creation of the earth and it developed gradually.
This is what scientists have been believing. But according to the Jaina philosophy, the world of living being is never created. Since beginningless time the living word has been on the earth and it will continue to be there till endless time. It has neither a beginning nor an end. It goes on ascending and descending. The periods of ascent and descent are respectively called utsarpiņi kāla and avasarpiņi kāla. The present time is avasarpiņikāla. The geological fossils etc. which are evidences of the famous theory of evolution presented by 'Charles Darwin, can be evidences of avasarpiņikāla of the Jaina philosophy and they can disprove the theory of evolution because even Darwin's theory of evolution is ultimately based on inferences and not on direct proofs or evidences. In short the living world is neither/never created nor destroyed.
Before thinking of the origin of living organisms, according to the Jaina philosophy, let us examine various theories presented by different scientists; the experiments made by them in order to prove their theories and their results and reasons for such results according to the doctrines of Jaina philosophy.
Since many centuries, the problem of origin of living organisms has been a headache to scientists and philosophers. In the beginning, philosophers believed that there was someone who created all kinds of animals, insects, etc. i.e. all living beings and they called him the creator. But this theory of special creation is not acceptable to scientists nor is it acceptable to the Jaina philosophy. A great question arises to it is that if the creator made all, then there must be someone to make the creator. Who made the creator? Nobody can give a clear explanation to this.
Regarding the beginning of the living organisms, ancient scientists believed that the first living thing perhaps came from a heavenly body i.e. celestial object or most micro-organisms came here as cosmic dust. But this cosmozoic theory is also not acceptable to scientists because even on other planets there is no atmosphere conducive to life. The problem of existence of the living organisms on the other planets, has not been yet solved. But according to Jaina Geography and astronomy these are many regions which are vaster even than the earth and human beings, animals, plants, insects etc. made the all living beings there, but no object can come from it to this earth. All animals, human beings, insects are
तुलसी प्रज्ञा जनवरी-मार्च, 2000
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