The Jaina Doctrine of Karma And The Science Of Genetics: Birth of Life in Jainism

According to Jaina Philosophy life comes into being through the following three ways:

1. Sexual reproduction birth,
2. Sammurcchana birth,
3. Upapāda birth.

'Sexual reproduction' takes place through male and female mating. The birth of Jīva takes place by automatically gathering life giving and supporting atoms together from the surrounding atmosphere is called 'sammurcchana' birth. Creatures with single sense organ to non-substantive five sense organs of animals and some of the substantive five sense organs of animals and men too are born through 'sammurcchana' birth. In this type of birth the favourable combination of matter atoms acts as a genus and here birth takes place without male and female mating. 'UpapŒda' birth is restricted only to hell and heavenly creatures. Life through sammurcchana process does not materialize in the absence of favourable conditions. We have to remember that origin of soul is impossible. Soul is eternal but origin of various life forms is possible. Some of the scientists believe that life didn't originate on the earth, rather life or various life forms originates here while the seed of life (the spirit or soul) perhaps came from any distant planet or star.

Now, the question arises—how did various different species of animals and plants come into existence from the primal single creature or being? This too may be grasped in the light of Biology. There are two points here. The first point is that in the everchanging atmosphere, different genuses constantly came into existence under varying temperature, pressure and with the presence of various material atomic dusts. Whenever their came into being a new genus fit for the birth of a new species of creature took shape. Thus, in the ever changing atmosphere of the earth new species of creatures took birth and ever new genuses went on growing. According to Jainism genuses are cold, hot covered, and uncovered and various other forms.

Human sperms are single sensed creatures. When male sperm meets the female egg inside the female uterus both get fused and fertilization takes place. In this process the sperm and the egg lose their existence and form a new cell. Human embryo takes shape from this cell and the embryo is born inside the female womb growing up gradually. This new cell established in the female womb at a favourable temperature and pressure is the genus of man. The source of origin that is formed in the female womb is fit for a human being to be born. Thus, it is clear that through the fusion of two single cells (sperm and egg) takes shape a new cell, through which is born a multicelled creature, man. It mean to say is that there may have been fusion of two single celled creatures in the changing atmosphere long ago, and then there may have taken shape such a cell containing the source of origin of a multi cellular creature (possessing two or three sense organs) and then may have come into existence new forms of creatures. It is always possible and this theory is in no way contradictory to Jaina principles.

Through the process of a single cell prototypical creature evolving into multiple species creatures we must understand that some primordial creatures (single celled) went on losing their existence through fusion and forming new genus in the new atmosphere though which came into existence new species of creatures. In fact, creatures with two sense organs from one sense organ or creatures with three sense organs from two sense organs did not evolve rather, some creatures with single sense organ prepared the genes for creatures with two sense organs losing their own existence.

According to the theory of gradual development of creatures there occur genetic changes in living being, which are self-originated and sudden. Jaina karma theory too seems to confirm this hypothesis. According to chronological sequence there occur the following changes in the measurements and number of backbones in the body of creatures:

S. No.	Era	Measurement	No. of Backbones
01.	Suṣmā-Suṣmā	6000-4000 hands	256
02.	Suṣmā	4000-2000 hands	128
03.	Suṣmā-duṣmā	2000-500 hands	64
04.	Duṣmā-suṣmā	500-7 hands	48-24
05.	Duṣmā	7-3.5 hands	24-12
06.	Duṣma-duṣmā	3.5-1.0 hands	12

If Darwin propounded the theory of 'natural selection', Jainism fixed the number of genuses. According to the theory of natural selection only those creatures could have survived who possessed the potential to adopt themselves to the changing conditions and atmosphere. While Jainism says the number of genus determines the number of species to be born to whom environment favours. Excluding this, birth of any species is not possible. Total quantity of genuses is 84 lacs and out of these genuses 199.5 species can take birth. By this it is clear that Jaina theory of karma agrees origin of life of organism on the earth and their successive development theories of genetics. It is only needed to understand Jaina Theory of karma in a systematic scientific way.^[34]