Jain Philosophy: Scientific Heritage Of Jain Philosophy  

By ASHOK RAJ  

Jain Philosophy: Scientific Heritage Of Jain Philosophy  

Although ancient Jain scientific thought is not so well known, it is a rich source of Indian scientific heritage. The grand Jain spiritual tradition and its masters broadly influenced Indian thought and rationality in three key areas:

Atomism, non-absolutism and mathematical concepts including the theory of numbers: As realists, a satisfactory explanation for the origin of the material world was important to Jain philosophers. Karma, according to the Jains, is paudgalika or of material nature. By its linkages with body and thus with the outer world, the soul is literally penetrated with material particles of a very subtle kind.

These come to represent karma and build up a special body, the karmana-sarira, which remains a part of the soul until its final emancipation. Thus the atoms of karma-matter are believed to be invested with a peculiar faculty which manifests into the effects of merits and demerits, finally deciding the way to the soul's emancipation.

Jain thinkers further extended this soul-karma manifestation towards explaining the material world. According to them, ''matter is an eternal substance, undetermined with regard to quantity and quality - it may increase or diminish in volume without addition or loss of particles, and it may assume any form and develop any kind of quality. Material substances may coalesce into one substance, which may divide into many. The Pancastikayasara , defines and describes the nature of paramanu, while the Bhagavati-sutra fully elaborates this theory. Perhaps no ancient worldview is comparable with that of the ancient Jain thought in proposing the theory of non-absolutism or epistemological relativity. Jain thinkers had fully realised that the world is much more complex and subtle than it looks. They explicitly rejected 'the law of the excluded middle'. Jain theory had two main

seven-fold systems.

The Syadvada or the doctrine of 'may be', and saptabhangi or the seven-fold division , according to which, there are not merely the two possibilities of existence and non-existence, but seven. An object or event can have seven aspects of predication. The Nayavada or the theory of standpoints is also a seven-fold system of predication that delineates ways of approaching an object of observation.

The pluralistic realism in Jain thought had a direct bearing on their praxis towards a quantitative understanding of the material world. The range of conceptual ability of Jain masters was truly amazing. From the complexities of paramanu, to highly intricate interpretations of the cosmic world, they laid the foundation of distinct Jain Schools in mathematics (their main area of excellence), astronomy and geography. Jain monks established a rich tradition in mathematics as part of their spiritual practice. In fact, Sankhyana or mathematics became an important anuyoga to be mastered by every pious Jain.

The well-known Jain texts dealing with scientific topics are: Ganita Sara Sangraha, Tattvasthanadhigama Sutra, Sthananga Sutra, Jambudvipa Prajnapti, Anuyogadvara Sutra, Ksetra Samasa, Triloka Sara and Bhagavati Sutra. One of the greatest Jain mathematicians was the monk Mahaviracharya, who authored the Ganita Sara Sangraha. He was the court mathematician of the benevolent Rastrakuta King, Amoghavarsa Nrupatunga (815-878 AD). Like the emperor Chandragupta Maurya, this king also renounced his kingdom in his last days and became a Jain monk.

Ganita Sara Sangraha contains topics in arithmetic, algebra and geometry and represents a curious blending of a mathematician's sharpness with a poet's imagination. Like Bhasakra-II, Mahavira has also presented mathematical concepts in the form of beautiful poems. Science historians have pointed out that the Ganita Sara Sangraha, for many centuries was widely used as a textbook in South India.

It is clear that for Jain monks, scientific inquiry was not a specialised discipline but a way to achieve the final spiritual state in which the material basis of the world is fully understood and realised. Unfortunately, despite great interest in scientific inquiry by the Jains in ancient times, many ancient Jain scientific texts are on the verge of being lost. As part of the 2,600th birth anniversary celebrations of Lord Mahavira, a national effort towards retrieving and preserving ancient Jain scientific works, possibly with the aid of digital technology, would indeed be a befitting tribute to the founder of this great religion.

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See also: Jain Philosophy, Indian Festivals, Spiritual Guidance, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)