Dr. N.L. Kachhara
“Have faith only in that which you know and understand.”
- Mahavira
The existence of the soul has been accepted in most Indian philosophical traditions as well as Western religious traditions in some form. The soul is attributed with some properties that are not found in matter or other substances. Modern science has explored the realm of the physical order of existence in great detail and is trying to explain the processes taking place in the bodies of organisms on the basis of physical laws. Modern science accepts the property of consciousness as a special characteristic of living beings, but pleads that this is an emergent property of matter in some way. This theory, however, is not able to explain all of the observed phenomena and behavior in human beings and other organisms, and scientific opinion is divided on this particular issue. Some scientists do not hesitate to accept the existence of consciousness as a property independent of matter, but they are not able to offer any experimental proof for it. According to Jainism and other Indian philosophies, consciousness is a property of the soul, and the soul, being non-physical, cannot be directly verified by experiments.
This perspective makes it very interesting to study the concepts of Jain philosophy in the light of modern science, to highlight the properties of the soul which are exclusive to it but important to understand the structure, processes and other phenomena taking place in living organisms.
The Jaina conception of Jiva (Soul) occupies the first place among the doctrines of independent soul. The Jaina view of soul appears to be older than the views of other Indian systems of thought; it was well established as the object of meditation for liberation of Lord Parshvanath in the eighth century B.C. The Jaina doctrine of the soul has not changed between long ago and the present, as happened in the Buddhist and Vedic traditions.
In Jain metaphysics the universe is comprised of six kinds of substances. Two of them, Jiva (soul) and pudgala (matter), are active substances. Soul is a sentient and matter is a non-sentient substance, and the two can combine according to defined rules. The soul is a non-corporeal, living, eternal and permanent, and fixed (constant) substance of the Cosmic Universe, having the attribute of consciousness (Chetana). Consciousness and upayoga (manifestation) are the differentia of the soul. Consciousness is the generality of the attributes that distinguish the soul from the inanimate. Intelligence (jnana) and self-awareness or awareness (darshana) are agreed to be the two main manifestations of consciousness. Consciousness in mundane souls manifests itself in several ways: intelligence, knowledge, awareness, bliss, perception (cognitive elements), emotions, will, attitude and behavior, and the awareness of pleasure and pain. Life and consciousness are coextensive: wherever there is life there is consciousness and vice versa. Soul and consciousness in Jainism refer to the same entity and each is meaningless without the other.
The mundane soul is in impure state due to its association with karma pudgala. The mundane soul exists as a system with other components in the form of the karmic (information) body, fiery (energy) body and gross material body. This impure soul experiences transformation in its state according to the rules of karma and is forced to transmigrate and assume different forms in the living realms. The soul in such existences cannot realize its true nature and is made to suffer in many ways in each birth. The only way to experience natural bliss, the inherent property of the soul, is to remove one’s impurities by shedding one’s karmic load. Jain philosophy describes the soul in great detail and deals with the methods and process of its purification. The aim of spirituality is to attain the pure state of the soul by terminating its association with the body; the aim of science is to study the body. Jain philosophy describes the relationship between the soul and body also how to meet the spiritual needs of separating these two.
Jainism is known as scientific religion. Why? There are three possible arguments.
- Jainism, like science, recognizes nature as the fundamental principle and has no need for another supernatural power for its creation, structure and operation. The difference between science and Jainism is that science recognizes three substances (matter, space and time) in nature while Jainism admits the existence of six eternal substances.
- In science, changes in the physical world are described by the cause and effect theory. Jainism generalized this principle and stated that it also holds good for living systems. Thus the cause and effect theory is a universal principle and is applicable to all orders of existence. In Jainism, the soul substance is governed by rules in a manner similar to science’s rules for matter, although the set of rules for the two substances differ.
- Jnana is a property of the soul. The knowledge of external objects, including body(s), obtained by the manifestation of jnana is called vijnana (non-soul knowledge including science), which also is a part of the worldly soul. Vijnana is vaibhavik (other than the self)-jnana, but it becomes a big driving force in determining the states of the soul. The working of the mundane soul is guided by both the jnana and the vijnana; therefore the performance of the soul, religion, is vaigyanik (scientific), i.e. influenced by the properties of both the self and the non-self.
Science, including modern science, studies the universe as one consisting of three substances (matter, space and time), at the micro and macro levels. This study, handicapped by factors like distance and the limits of the laws that govern them, is far from complete; new discoveries are being made as new methods and means are devised for study. An entirely new scenario of nature emerges when the number of substances in the universe is increased from three to six, as suggested in Jain philosophy. Out of these three additional substances, the soul substance interacts with matter and substantively changes the way of looking at nature.
As the soul is non-corporeal, the traditional scientific methods of experimentation (in the laboratory) fail to study the combination of soul and matter. A different technique based on direct cognition is needed to access the soul, but this is beyond the scope of science. This subjective method does not have the approval of science, which believes only in objective methods. Knowledge of the composite structures made by the combination of the soul and matter, i.e. living organisms, is far more complex than the knowledge of matter alone. The true knowledge of such structures is obtained in the omniscient state, so it is beyond verification by the traditional methods of experimentation used by science. This direct method of cognition reveals the true knowledge of Nature, which takes into account all six substances, their interplay and their interactions. It is this knowledge that Jain philosophy presents to us, and it is a treasure for all of humanity.
So we see that science, even assuming that all the laws of (physical) nature will be discovered in the future, shall only constitute a small fraction of the knowledge of the omniscient. Further, it must be noted that the omniscient can express and communicate only a small part of his knowledge; the remaining, vast part is only experienced, i.e. absolute truth can only be experienced and not expressed: such is the nature of truth. Therefore the study of Jain philosophy is rewarding in many ways: it helps individuals to make spiritual progress, to gain insight into the nature of the soul and the composite structure of the soul and matter, and it also helps to overcome the limitations of the scientific method to know more about matter itself, particularly at the subtle level and at distant locations that cause problems in scientific investigations.
Modern science only began about four centuries back. Are there any similarities between Jainism and modern science? Based on the same principle of cause and effect, the two approaches yield many similar results. I have been trying to explore the vast potential and scope of this comparative study of Jainism and science, a challenging task indeed. It is heartening to find that modern science is helpful in making logical interpretations of many of the tenets of Jainism, and on the other hand many tenets of Jainism can help modern science to make a new approach to find answers to some of its unresolved problems. The interaction between Jainism and modern science holds great promise for humankind in finding the ways and means to achieve peace and happiness in life.
One special feature of Jain philosophy is that the propositions of all life principles have a psychic component and a corresponding physical component. The psychic component is dealt with in detail in the scriptures, but the physical component now needs explanation in terms of modern science. Although such an explanation is not necessary for spiritual attainment, it is very much required for realizing and appreciating the beauty of psychic processes in the modern context. I have studied Jainism from a scientific perspective and have tried to understand the Jaina doctrines in relation to modern science. This approach is reflected in my articles published in journals, magazines and conferences. Much of the matter in this book has been presented in those articles.
A living organism is not merely an integration of limbs and flesh, as assumed by science, but it is the abode of the soul. An organism is a living system consisting of three main sub-systems: the soul, the gross body, and the subtle body. All of these components have their particular properties, but they are interrelated in their functioning. In isolation, no component can completely describe the organism. The performance of the living system can be understood only through a holistic approach studying each component in relation to the other components. The reductionist approach of modern science, which studies the gross body alone, cannot provide information about all aspects of this system. Jainism follows an integrated approach and describes the organism as a system that yields complete knowledge of its working and performance. However, modern science has discovered many details of the gross body which are not available in the Jain scriptures; it is therefore desirable to study the information available in the Jain texts and scientific literature and correlate them to enhance our understanding of the behavior of the organism. The body of a human being is so complex that only a few aspects have been discovered by modern science. For example, it has a strong immune system that protects it from the attacks of bacteria, viruses, the environment, and disorders produced in the body itself. Without this self-healing power, the body could not survive. This is only a tiny indication of the might of the soul; its powers are boundless. With further progress in science we may expect to know more about it, but it is impossible that all aspects of the body shall be discovered by a scientific approach. It is necessary to take into account the presence of the soul and the subtle body to gain a full understanding of the living system.
Jainism recognizes the place and importance of matter and its influence on life. These influences could be favourable or unfavourable, producing pleasure or pain, respectively. In order to reach the state of permanent bliss, the connection between the soul and matter has to be snapped. This is the main message of Jainism. Reaching the state of omniscience is the end of the journey that is normally suggested to be made quickly through living an ascetic life. The devotee experiences spiritual ecstasy in this journey. There may be another way of making this journey in a slow manner, which offers opportunities to explore the nature in detail. In the first method, one’s knowledge explodes from a low level to infinity in a short span of time. The second method consists of pushing the frontiers of srutijnana with the help of matijnana to higher and higher limits on the way to omniscience; it is only in the very final stage when one may have to take up an ascetic life to jump to the final state of infinite knowledge. This method has its own merit, as it offers chances to serve humanity in various ways during the journey. Although the complete truth is only known in the omniscient state, the knowledge of srutijnana is no less powerful. A clear example is the progress made by modern science with the help of mati and srutijnana and this is likely to continue in future. So in practical life mati and srutijnana have great significance, although the traditional, direct method of cognition has been given preference in spiritual attainments. It will not be wrong to assume that scientific enjoyment of spirituality is made by the slow mode. Those who wish to proceed in the fast manner may forget about the scientific way, which of course is not essential, and concentrate on the ascetic mode of making the journey.
Proceeding in the slow mode, I am enjoying my journey and deriving the joy of making a scientific enquiry into spirituality. An ascetic may question this way of life, but to my mind this provides an opportunity to promote spirituality in a scientific way that appeals to modern, rational minds.
Some specific questions to know nature in its many aspects can be asked, such as:
- A living system being a combination of soul and matter,
- What is the role of matter and what processes take place in the body to structure, operate and maintain the system?
- What is the role of the soul in bodily processes and in the performance of the system?
- What processes take place in the system through the joint efforts of the soul and matter?
- How do the soul and matter interact in the absence of direct contact?
- What are the properties of the subtle matter that constitutes the subtle bodies and the physical mind?
- What is the scientific nature of karma and what is the way of its working?
- What is the role of the fiery body, prana energy, in the working of the gross body and how does it help the system?
- What is the role and effect of the soul on the universe and natural processes?
This book cannot answer these questions but only addresses some of them partially. However, it does open our mind to an entirely new way of looking at nature, in comparison to the restricted and incomplete view offered by science. A study of this kind, I believe, shall help to make progress in science as well as spirituality. The book starts with a brief description of the soul in Jain and other philosophical systems. Chapter 2 deals with the eleven spiritual doubts raised by the future chief disciples of Mahavira. The doctrine of karma, the central principle of Jainism, and its scientific overtones are discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 presents a model of the soul cognition process and finds logical definitions for terms like intelligence, buddhi, manah, ahamkara and bhava. Chapter 5 presents the concepts of psychical and biological intelligence and faculties of the soul and shows how the intelligence of the soul is manifested in the body. It also suggests possible solutions to some of the observations that are unexplained by biologists. In the next chapter, the soul is presented as the intelligent designer that produces forms of diverse species found on Earth. The source of emotions and bhava are discussed in chapter 7. Mind in Jainism is different from the soul. Chapter 8 describes a model of the mind and discusses the interactions between the soul, mind and body. The epistemological performances of living systems and its allied concepts in Western philosophy are described in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 discusses the question of valid and invalid knowledge and presents the modern and Jaina views of manifested intelligence. Modern science is trying to find the source of consciousness in bodily phenomena, particularly neural processes, and advocates quantum approaches to consciousness. These theories are studied in Chapter 11. Chapter 12 describes the path to emancipation as described in Jainism and discusses the scientific view of the method of contemplation. Chapter 13 examines whether the Jain loka is a multi-region (or multiverse) structure. The traditional division of loka into three parts can be extended to have six major divisions and 22 regions connected with each other but with distinct characters. The scientific universe is assumed to be the middle loka of Jainism. The last chapter discusses the fate of the universe and shows that any prediction made on the basis of matter alone may lead to erroneous conclusions like the heat death of universe. A balanced view that considers the presence of both souls and matter leads to a steady, stable and unending universe as described in Jain philosophy.
This is only a preliminary attempt to understand the scientific nature of Jainism. Much more remains to be done by philosophers, scientists, psychologists and medical science. I hope the book shall inspire readers to undertake analytical studies, to further explore Jainism on scientific grounds, and to help integrate science and spirituality.
I am grateful to Prof. Paras Mal Agrawal for writing the Foreword that makes a good addition to the book. My thanks are due to Samani Dr. Chaitanya Prajna, Dr. Pratap Sanchetee and Dr. Surendra Singh Pokharna for reviewing the manuscript and writing their opinions on the book, and to Dr. Dalpat Singh Baya and Dr. R.S. Shah for going through the manuscript and suggesting some corrections. I am also thankful to authors whose works have been referred to in this book; this has greatly helped in the authentic presentation of this subject matter and the effective blending of Jaina and scientific concepts. My thanks are also due to Mrs. Chelsea McGill for the laborious work of language editing. I shall be failing in my duty if I do not acknowledge the silent support of my wife Sushila, whose cooperation was essential for keeping me occupied with study, writing and compiling ideas that led to giving shape to this book. Lastly, I thank Kundakunda Jñānapīṭha, Indore for publishing this book.
“One who goes deep into spirituality knows the physical world and vice versa,” says Mahavira.
“As an upholder of dualism of self and non-self, Jainism propounded non-absolutism. Knowledge of the self is not complete without the knowledge of the non-self, nor is the latter achieved without the former. The knowledge of both in their completeness is therefore a vital necessity.”
- Acharya Mahaprajna
Narayan Lal Kachhara
Emeritus Professor
Department of Jainology and Comparative Religion & Philosophy Jain Vishva Bharati Institute, Ladnun
Ex - Principal, Motilal Nehru Regional Engineering College, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
