(Disclaimer: Read only if you're Jain. You may not get this post otherwise.)
I have always wondered about how Jain cosmology was so wrong. Everything else I have read in the Jain scriptures seemed to be in consonance with science. Why then was there so much difference between Jain cosmology and what modern science says about the universe?
I have been searching for explanations for this difference. I never found any. Then yesterday, I suddenly found this article by Amit Jain titled "A Reevaluation Of Space And Time Descriptions In Jain Annals". This article offers a series of very rational hypotheses on the Jina's teachings on cosmology and how these could correlate to what modern science says.
The trouble is in the misinterpretation of the Jina's teachings. Over-enthusiastic sadhus down the ages have corrupted these teachings and many other teachings of the Jinas so much that the current form of the religion is very, very different from what the Jinas preached.
Coming back to the article, the author provides a good summary in the following lines:
Namo jinanam!
I have always wondered about how Jain cosmology was so wrong. Everything else I have read in the Jain scriptures seemed to be in consonance with science. Why then was there so much difference between Jain cosmology and what modern science says about the universe?
I have been searching for explanations for this difference. I never found any. Then yesterday, I suddenly found this article by Amit Jain titled "A Reevaluation Of Space And Time Descriptions In Jain Annals". This article offers a series of very rational hypotheses on the Jina's teachings on cosmology and how these could correlate to what modern science says.
The trouble is in the misinterpretation of the Jina's teachings. Over-enthusiastic sadhus down the ages have corrupted these teachings and many other teachings of the Jinas so much that the current form of the religion is very, very different from what the Jinas preached.
Coming back to the article, the author provides a good summary in the following lines:
This paper is an attempt to introspect the annals and introduce an alternate model that is based on the Sutras of Jina, and is also in sync with modern science and its findings. This model tends to convey that the current interpretation of Jain Sutras on cosmology is wrong on below points:
When you think about it, this makes a lot of sense. For those who are well-versed with the Jain version of the universe and the scientific version, these hypotheses make a lot of sense. Of course, none of this can be proved. Who can prove such things though? But this did put my mind at ease.
Namo jinanam!
Comments
Thanks for referring my article at your blog.
Its greatly appreciated.
Amit
Mind your language how dare you call jain monks and people as idiots you are not even capable and worthy of becoming the dust which stick their body . Jain knowledge is so vast with deep description of even the smallest atom with charges, subatomic particles, etc
. How do you know if cassini rock went to saturn or any where else. Where you sitting there. If you don't have true knowledge don't insult the ocean of true knowledge got it.
How dare you call jain as idiot you are not even worthy of becoming the dust which stick to their body. Our jain books have deep knowledge of atoms and subatomic particles charges etc and of various scientific facts how can you trust science which changes it words every 2 days and did you sat on cassini rock? Our each practice is ahimsak and scientific jains are most prosperous community in country you should keep quiet if you don't have true knowledge better keep in mind
Also science cannot be ignored fully because many things are practically seeming right but total purity and faults of science can only be stamped by Keval Jnani Bhagwan and for our sad fate they are not available to us at present. So correctness of everything of science will remain secret. According to Jainism science till date has been able to know Only infinitieth of what is said in Jainism the Great