Jain Metaphysics (Set of 2 Books)

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आचार्य कुन्दकुन्द विरचित पंचास्तिकाय-संग्रह - Acarya Kundakunda's Pancastikaya-Samgraha- With Authentic Explanatory Notes in English (The Jaina Metaphysics)

Jain Metaphysics and Science : A Comparison

The name of Acarya Kundakunda has an auspicious significance and is uttered with great veneration. Almost universally, the Jainas - ascetics (muni, sramana) and laymen (sravaka) - recite the above verse as a mark of auspiciousness at the start of their activities.

The Scripture (agama) - the Word of the Omniscient Lord

There were eleven ganadhara in Lord Mahavira's (599-527 BCE) congregation, with Gautamasvami, also known as Indrabhuti, as his chief disciple. After liberation (nirvana) of Lord Mahavira, sequentially, in the course of next sixty-two years, three anubaddha kevali attained omniscience (kevalajnana) - Gautamasvami, Sudharmacarya, and Jambusvami. They are called 'sequential' or `anubaddha' kevali because of the fact that Gautamasvami attained omniscience on the day Lord Mahavira attained liberation, and so on.

Acarya Visuddhasagara maintains that the mark (laksana) or the dharma' of the true ascetic (muni, sramana) is the disposition (bhava) of equanimity (samya). Since the words of the true ascetic are incontrovertible, it follows that, for him, enemy (satru) and kinsfolk (bandhu-varga), happiness (sukha) and misery (duhkha), praise (prasamsa) and censure (ninda), iron (loha) and gold (svarna), and life (prana-dharana) and death (prana-tyaga) are alike.

Acarya Visuddhasagara has showered me with his divine blessings in this project. His divine blessings have had wondrous effect in making both, the process and the end-result, most gratifying for me.

I bow my head in utter reverence to Acarya Visuddhasagara and each disciple-ascetic (sisya muni) of his congregation (sangha).

I make deep obeisance to the supremely holy Acarya Kundakunda, the composer of the supreme Scripture Pancastikaya-samgraha' Acarya Kundakunda stands out in the assembly of venerable sages like the moon in the assembly of the constellations of stars.

My reverential salutations to the most learned Acarya Amrtacandra, the composer of Samayavyakhya', and Acarya Jayasena, the composer of `Tatparyavrtti’, for composing these masterpiece commentaries on Pancastikaya-samgraha’. These commentaries have enabled me to get to the depth of the profound tenets expounded by Acarya Kundakunda in this holy text.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages

Human mind has always been inquisitive. Who am I? Where from I have come and where will I go? Why there is biodiversity? Who has made this world? Why is the world as it is? Who governs this universe? Such questions agitated the human mind and led to the emergence of philosophy and science. The process of enquiry is as old as human being is and shall continue until humans inhabit this world. Does it mean that these questions shall never be answered? The answer is both, 'yes' and 'no'. Some enlightened people found the answers but others have not. Like the questions, the answers are also personal. The answers found by the highly powerful omniscient, though perfect, may not satisfy our faculty of reasoning. The truth can only be 'experienced' and not communicated. Everyone has to experience' the full answers to put a full stop to such inquisitive questions.

What is the truth? Is what we see the truth? All philosophies in the world deliberate on this question. What we see is the relative truth, which is temporary and transient. From this point of view, it is also untrue. The world is therefore both, true and untrue. The visible world appears to be powerful, but this is not correct. If we had the inner insight, we would discover that the visible world is the weakest and the invisible etheric world is much more powerful. The invisible world is the source of energy for the visible world, and the understanding of this needs a deeper vision and perception. Making use of the invisible energy from the invisible world needs a higher spiritual pursuit.

Is there any scope of comparison of philosophy and science'? There is one view, which outrightly denies it. According to it, science and philosophy are poles apart. In the field of spirituality, which is a part of philosophy, the nucleus is non-corporel substance-soul. On the other hand, science confines itself mainly with the corporel substance-matter. The physical order of existence has been explored by science through powerful apparatuses, but the non-physical order of existence (consciousness or soul) is beyond the range of such apparatuses. This (above) view is however not acceptable to all. Hence, in the field of science itself, some eminent scientists are of the view that there is a scope of comparison between science and spirituality or science and philosophy. Albert Einstein, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrodinger, David Bohm and many others like Sir Arthur Eddington, Sir James Jeans, and Herman Weyl have dealt with at length on this topic. Fritjof Capra, in his famous work, Tao of Physics, has very aptly put forth his views on the comparison of science (mainly modern physics) and the oriental mysticism. I would like to quote a few passages from Tao of Physics to show that the author of our book, Dr. N.L. Kachhara, has indeed made a commendable effort to justify his idea of comparison of Jain metaphysics with science.

**Contents and Sample Pages**