Why do I write ?

This question asked by raised by Pandit Todarmalji in Moksha Marg Prakashak  in the beginning of the book  itself and answered in the following way :

“ Just as big lamps require large amount of oil , so the one could not afford so much oil can use a smaller lamp and conduct his business; in the same way the large scriptures require lot of capability on  the part of the reader to understand it, therefore for those desirous of reading and do not have such capability ,  a simpler book is easier to understand . Hence I write it. “

While he has used a metaphor of lamp for denoting self, the only possible  way I could describe my contribution is that of a glow worm. However it does serve a purpose i.e. it confirms the presence of light to those who are in the darkness. Once one knows that the light exists then they can make effort to search for it.

In current times , the study of religion, particularly Jainism is hardly feasible except for what little that is provided by parents to the children. Due to the materialistic environment , one hardly has time or place for learning of religion. This is a big handicap for the children of present times. There is no scope for spiritual growth. Another problem is that English being the major language in use in most of the places, Hindi takes a back seat and is generally ignored. In the process , although children do learn Hindi , after some time they avoid it altogether and are not very comfortable with it.

Most of the Jain scriptures were written in Prakrit or Sanskrit  for which not many experts are there. Fortunately in the last century because of advent of publishing , a large amount of them were translated in Hindi and other regional languages and are therefore available.  Still the culture of reading these books hardly exists. Very few books are available in English. The reason is that the vocabulary of English is inadequate to cover the large amount of spiritual and siddhant words used in Hindi. The translation is very difficult and at times quite confusing. This is one of the major reasons why Jainism has not been exposed much to the western countries. In the process Jainism does not get the due recognition which it richly deserves. The students also more comfortable in learning in English than in Hindi. But hardly any material is available on Jainism. Whatever little is available scratches at the surface than touches the depth of it.

In view of these I have made a small attempt to write in English for the benefit of those who may be interested in learning through this medium. For those conversant with Hindi , my advice would be to read directly from the original Shastras. Since most of the siddhant words do not have any equivalent in English, I have used Hindi words since it would make them familiar with those words for future.

It does not matter if nobody reads it, since it would have still served the purpose of improving  my own understanding of the subject. Further you never know when someone stumbling upon this site, reads a line , which can trigger a change in his life.

I remember that earlier I used to think all religions were alike and more of common sense. After all , you have to do good and be good. What else is religion ? It was my uncle who explained the difference of Jainism. “ Do you know that in  Jainism the Punya and Pap are treated as equal ? “ He asked me . I was perplexed. “ How could this be ? “ It demolished all my theory of common sense being the religion. This small question brought a change in my life and outlook. It triggered me to learn of the subject and find answers to the questions.

That is why my blog site is created with the hope that it may change someone’s life. To others it does not matter one way or the other. 

Acknowledgements

Although I read quite few books of Dravyanuyoga but it still used to appear incomplete and inadequate since the structure of religion was not clear. How do things happen in specific way was the question. Several times I tried to read Labdhisar by Pandit Todarmalji but it was in Dhundhari and difficult to understand. I used to give it up after few pages. Fortunately for me sometime in 2007  I came across Dr Ujjwala shah and Pandit Dineshbhai shah. They called me for a shivir at Deolali  organized on the study of Samyak Gyan Chandrika Jeeva kand written by Pandit Todarmalji which Dr Ujjwala shah had translated in Hindi. It was a game changer for me. The structure of Jainism was unfolded. It opened the doors for the study of Dhavala and Jayadhavla. By studying these through the lectures of Dr Ujjwala shah I could get some insight to the system of Jainism. No words  are adequate to convey my gratitude towards them. I sincerely acknowledge  their contribution. 

Relevance of Jainism in modern times

Yes these are modern times wherein we can travel thousand of Km in an hour, talk across oceans at the touch of a button, collect information across the globe sitting in a chair. But has it changed the reality ? The sun still rises from the east, we still feel the hunger, we still eat food and sleep and in spite of all the modern health care we fall sick also and above all , still die. What does it all imply ? It means that in spite of all the modernisation there are certain truths which cannot be changed. Even though we may bury it deep, hide it, forget it , still it would reemerge as truth only without any change. Bhagwan Mahavir’s teachings belong to the same category which cannot change by   vagaries of times. In fact he did not preach anything new , he merely reiterated what was already told by Bhagwan Adinath thousands of years earlier. Due to passage of time, the truth was getting eroded and by his sermon he revived the same truth. He did not change the contents or character of the same. Truth is timeless and remains unchanged irrespective of vagaries of time , whether times are modern or ancient .

          The truth he described  is the nature of reality. We as jivas or souls are entirely different from the ajiva or matter. We are conscious souls who have the capability to be all knowing and seeing while matter is inert without consciousness. Unfortunately we do not realise this and treat the matter as ourselves and establish oneness and ownership with the same. This ignorance alone is the cause of endless transmigration of soul through times. Right realisation or samyak darshan would lead us to the differentiation of the soul from the matter which in turn would lead us to right knowledge and conduct thereby resulting in attainment of sidhhahood of the same type which Mahavir attained. These principles only are the nature of reality which can also be called as Dharma which is as fundamental to soul as death to an earthling. Hence even if these principles  are called by another name rather than Jainism , it cannot change the reality. Similarly , the passage of time cannot modify it in any way.

          In these modern times people tend to ignore the reality and talk about practicality. In fact this question haunts quite a few parents whether to teach their children to be truthful or honest. After all the world is full of corruption , deceit and dishonesty. They worry that if the children are honest and truthful, then they cannot survive in this competitive world and hence they need to be practical and street smart, therefore they need not be entirely truthful or honest. This practicality and manipulative nature would ensure their survival and growth to higher levels in their business or jobs.

Similar statements are also made about the community also when such difficulties arise due to external reasons. Then also it is expected that community should organise actions using their influence , resources , so as to get justice. It is common to hear people saying that  survival of Jainism is at stake and one should contribute towards its uplifting by whatever means.

The question arises whether such activities and principles are against the values taught by Bhagwan Mahavir or not ? Just as teaching children to be street smart or manipulative maybe  considered to be a practical way of survival in future , in the same way , can agitations or  fighting be considered to be a practical way of survival of the community and  Jainism.

To answer these very pertinent and burning questions , we can look at some of the examples given in scripture as well as history.

Our puranas do contain several instances which can be used to guide us through such difficulties. First instance is the episode of Muni Akampanacharya who along with 700 of his followers decided to enter Sallekhna  till the atrocities of the King Bali towards themselves and animals was not removed. Ultimately they were rescued by Muni Vishnukumar. This example tells us that basic principles of Jainism cannot be compromised even at the cost of own lives as demonstrated by Muni Akampanacharya. In the same story , we can also recall how Muni Srutasagar entered into argument with Bali and his friends which led to the taking of revenge by Bali. Even though Muni Srutasagar was innocent , but his argument with wicked people led to hardship to all. The message is that the life is too short to enter into such indulgence in worldly affairs and  spend it, even if you are right.

One may think that the example quoted above is that of a Muni who are anyway practicing severe conduct hence they can take afford to take such drastic steps while ordinary menfolk cannot take such decisions. Therefore let us take a look at the example of a ferocious lion who was told by two munis not to kill animals for food purposes. That lion attained right belief and once he had the right realisation , he started practicing severe penance with fasting without killing animals and ultimately became lord Mahavir ten births later.

Now this lion could have answered the two Munis back that he is merely an animal and that too carnivorous hence he cannot abstain from killing animals for food. Nor did he ask the opinion of other fellow lions on the course of action to be taken in response to the call given by the munis . He did not ask the community of lions to take collective vow to abstain from killing either. He took the decision of proceeding on the right path irrespective of what other lions do or not do. He straight away adopted and followed the principles of non violence on his own , even at the cost of his own life. This is a very simple and effective example of how a Jain should lead his life even in these modern times. It is by following the same values and same principles at whatever cost.

The history also provides us some examples which we can consider to guide us through. First example is that of the twelve year famine which caused migration of large number of Jain sadhus from North to South to avoid difficulties in getting alms and prevent hardship on the residents.  A certain segment stayed behind which was forced to compromise on certain basic issues and giving up certain values. Later this segment reconciled to this change in values and got used to it and hence when time came to correct the mistake they decided that it was not required to do so and they could justify the decision taken.  This example is very pertinent and important.

This shows that the compromising with the values can lead to distortion/obscuration  of reality at our own peril. The truth gets further away from us with time and it becomes harder to rediscover it.

The times today are much worse or more difficult than two thousand years back. At every step on the way such requirements of compromise and amendment is felt. But while such adjustments  may appear to be  acceptable for survival of people and the religion but we forget that we as individual have been doing the same from beginningless time and are yet to see the end of the tunnel of darkness. Such erroneous decisions ensure our continuity in the same transmigration cycle. This is not what Bhagwan Mahavir preached and by diluting his teachings we cannot attain the right result.

Another historical example which can be quoted is the happening in Tamilnadu around 7^th century at the time of King Pandiyan who was a non Jain. Rather than submit to his dictates , 8000 sadhus left the village overnight each writing a verse which was known as Naladiyaar.

In this example also we see that the values taught by Mahavir are not compromisable even at the cost of life or difficulties.

Thus from these examples we can derive certain basic fundamental rules which are inherently evident. Firstly , since each Jiva is independent of other jiva , and everyone of them enjoys the fruits of his karmas individually , one cannot pass it on to others nor share it with others. Therefore one should not expect others to protect him or help him. Secondly , the basic principles of Jainism taught by Bhagwan Mahavir cannot be compromised or diluted just because certain difficulties are experienced or because the times are modern. What is at stake is much much higher than current life. It is a matter of choosing between the salvation and endless journey into transmigrations. One wrong decision can push us back by  millions of years rather than just few years of current life. Hence the choice has to be clear.

We already know that we are living in 5^th kala i.e. the Dushma kala of the Bharata Kshetra time cycle. We accept that there is no Moksha in this period here. But we are not able to reconcile with the deterioration of the values during this period and hence we get agitated and perturbed saying that survival of Jainism is at stake. Actually nothing should  surprise us if we believe the scripture truly. Our test is to remain unperturbed by these happenings around us and accept all the good and bad events with the same spirit of equanimity and detachment. That only would avoid accrual of karmas due to attachments. In fact by doing so only we would be practicing the values preached by Mahavir. Otherwise it would be only an oral tribute. All calamities whether man made or natural should be viewed with the same spirit of veetraga or detachment.

It may happen that Jainism may not survive the onslaught of time due to various fanatical pressures of the modern world. This should not perturb us from practicing the true values we know. Since, even  if that happens , it would still not change the value of Mahavir’s preaching nor the truth. This is not the first time it would have happened since this happened between the times of all tirthankaras but it did not obliterate the truth or its principles. Every tirthankara had to rediscover it and preach it for the benefit of mankind. But for those who want to traverse on the path to liberation , it does not change at all.

Why do we need to read the Scriptures ?

A question is usually asked “ Why do we need to read the Shastras ( scriptures ) ? After all we do worship, prayers fasting etc.

The answer is that if your capability of learning is not much then surely worship and  prayers are enough. Capability of learning denotes the Kshyayopasham of Gyana , i.e how much of the knowledge is unobscured by the Gyanavaraniya karma . Lesser obscuration means you can learn more. The animals ( Tiryanch) and lower life forms do not have much capability to learn hence they do not worship or pray either. However as a five sensed human being having  mind  we have a high capability to learn. The question is, when you have the capability , what do you utilize it for ? Do you use it for becoming an Einstein or an Ambani ? Will that be a suitable utilization of that capability ? If you think that  it probably is not the best utilization, then which one is ?

An example is usually quoted of Shivabhuti  Muni , wherein even without having any knowledge , he attained keval gyana and salvation. The story is that he was utterly dumb so his mother sent him to a guru  to learn . The Guru , after seeing his capability to learn did not teach him anything. He just told him to remember Ma Rush Ma Tush ( which means do not indulge in raga i.e. attachment and dwesh i.e dislike ) and sent him home. Shivabhuti kept reciting these two words to remember them but on the way , he stumbled due to which he now remembered the words as TushMash. He used to recite these without understanding its meaning. One day he saw an old woman cleaning pulses of Urad Daal. He asked her what she was doing. She answered that I am separating the Daal (Mash) from skin( Tush ). At that moment he realized the meaning of what he used to recite. Just as skin is separate from the daal , our body is different from the soul. With this understanding he immersed in himself and contemplated on the self with the result that he attained Keval gyan in due course.

When we look at this example to justify our lack of interest in shastras ,  we are observing from an external point of view of what we are able to observe. Can we say anything about his thought process ? Knowing and saying that body is different from soul is one thing , but realizing or believing it is another. The greatness of Jainism is that it is not important what we speak or know, it gives weightage to what we believe and feel internally, which is known as bhava. It is the bhava only which scores over all other external pretensions when the question of spiritual advancement is raised.

Another example can be quoted of  animals ( tiryanch) who are known to attain upto 5^th Gunasthana (5^th  level of spiritual advancement) even in that stage, while 4^th Gunasthana is the lowest level of self realization which is called as Samyak Drishti ( having right knowledge and belief). Just imagine that even the animals are able to reach 5^th level of spiritual advancement whereas we are struggling to attain 4^th !

How do they achieve it when they do not read any scriptures ? When their knowledge is so inferior to ours ! This is where the real greatness of Jainism can be realized . It does not give weightage to what we talk or pretend to be, it gives  weightage to what we feel inside and how we believe it. Even the animals without knowing the names of 6 types of dravyas and 7 types of Tatvas ( elements) may experience them and understand them for what they are. They may not talk but in their heart they may be knowing themselves as different from body with far more conviction than us . Same way they may not recite prayers but internally they may be having respect for the one who has provided them with the knowledge. With the same knowledge internally they deliberately avoid harming other animals. Hence no wonder they can also reach 5^th gunasthana !

Thus in both these examples we see that it is not what we read or talk which is important , it is the intent and our beliefs. Shivabhuti muni can attain liberation even without knowledge because he made full use of what little knowledge he had and learnt from it. Same applies for the animals.

If we do read scriptures also, we should question our own intent. Is it because I shall be called a Gyani or Pandit ? Or whether I shall attain a PhD degree with that knowledge ? If these are the objectives then even that learning is of no use. After all it was also a source of attachment / Kashaya bhava. These are no different than the objective of making money or earning fame.

In reality , be it the reading of shastras or the worshiping, the objective is to know the soul only. In fact soul also does not do anything more than knowing the self being fully incapable of doing any act of the body. Hence all our acts should lead to knowing of the self, the completeness of which is achieved when we realise the soul in nirvikalpatmak  anubhava  ( unperturbed self experience). For this objective only the efforts are directed in the vikalpatmak ( thoughtful form) in the process of reading or reciting.

So how can we know and experience the soul ? We should remember that Jainism is of the nature of Anekant i.e Pluralism which means that we know the soul totally when we know the non soul also. We cannot know the soul without detaching ourselves from the body , relatives or our own anger, greed, desire etc. Even the gender is not mine. For this purpose only the scripture in Jainism is divided  into four types namely Prathamanuyoga, Karananuyoga, Dravyanuyoga, Charananuyoga . These deal with mythology,  karma mathematics, philosophy and conduct respectively. But if we examine them deeply we find that all four aim to teach us about the soul only in one way or the other. By knowing about it only we can experience it better.

Thus so long as we are clear about our objective, we can read scripture or worship whichever we want  depending upon how much our interest remains sustained without becoming a burden on the self.

One of the role models which we can try to emulate is Shrimad Rajchandra who was spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi and had extensive knowledge and capability to learn. Within the life span of 34 years he had learnt most of Jain scriptures and guided others also. It can be easily said that he made full use of his life span for self realization and spiritual advancement. On the other hand we can be like an Einstein and know  all about stars without any knowledge of the self. We should wonder what use is that knowledge which does not know the self. 

Jain Mathematics : Numbers and units of space and time

Note : This article is written for those who find it difficult to read Hindi. For those who can read Hindi , it is recommended to read the original material from “ Samyak Gyan Chandrika by Pandit Todarmalji ”. Here I have tried to simplify the language, however the original Hindi words are retained as it is since there are no equivalents.

The relationship between numbers is represented by 14 series in Jainism. The very first is the Sarva Dhara which is nothing but serial sequence of numbers as 1,2,3,……and so on. However the important difference is that the last number is keval gyan, which we have seen as the highest infinity and no number can exceed that. It may also be noted that this number is believed to be even and divisible by 4. The other series is sequence of even numbers and odd numbers and so on. But the most interesting is  the series of square of 2, number 2 being the min samkhyat ( Numeral).

The Series of Square of 2 ( Dwiroop varg dhara)

The series starts with square of 2 being first number and the subsequent numbers are square of the previous number. This can be seen in the table below:

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Number	4	16	256	65536	4294967296	1844-----
	2^21	2^22	2^23	2^24	2^25	2^26

The table shows the first six numbers of this series. Each position in this series is called Varga Shalaka. For example the number 65536 has varga shalaka of 4 since that is its position in the series. This number is given the name Panathhi since it begins with number 65. The fifth position is a 10 digit number which is called Badaal since it starts with number 42. The next number in the series is 20 digit number called Ikathhi since it starts with number 18. These names itself tell us how important these numbers were  in ancient times since they were given specific names. Another word which needs to be learnt at this stage is called “Ardhachheda” which is Log₂(Number)  , in other words   2 ^Ardhachheda  = Number

For example if Number is 32 then Ardhachheda =  5  since 2⁵ =32

If Number =65536 then ardhachheda= 16   since  Ardhachheda= Log₂( Number)  = Log₂(2^2⁴)= 2⁴= 16

Another relationship which can be seen is that Ardhachheda=  2^{Varga shalaka}

We can also derive that Varga shalaka = Log₂(Log₂Number)= ardhachheda of ardhachheda

It can be easily seen that although they did not call this  mathematics as Logarithms, the principle  was just that. Another interesting thing any student of computer science would have noticed is the remarkable use of  series of square of 2, since that forms the basics of binary system. In Jainism also the decimal numbers were not so much prominent as the binary numbers to base of 2.

With this introduction we will proceed with our series of square of 2.

It can be seen that the number grows at a very fast pace in this series. The sixth position itself give the number as 2^2⁶ = 2⁶⁴ . This number is prominent in Jainism since 2⁶⁴-1 is the total number of non repetitive letters possible with 64 letters of vocabulary hence that is the total extent of sruta gyana. Now if we proceed further in this series , we find that virtually all the important quanitities are part of this series. This is denoted by indicating its position in the series of square of 2 , as follows:

1)      Position – several samkhyat position ( where samkhyat represents numerable)

Number = varga shalaka of Min ParitaSamkhyat   ( where Min ParitaSamkhyat is min innumerable). Note that the number has not reached Min Paritasamkhyat but its varga shalaka which is far smaller number that Min ParitaSamkhyat ( MPS).

2)      Position – several samkhyat position further

Number = ardhachheda of MPS

3)      Position – several samkhyat position further

Number = square root of MPS

4)      Position -  one position later

Number =  MPS

5)      Position – several samkhyat position after 4)

Number = Min Yuktasamkhyat = One Avali

Where avail is a unit of measurement of time.

6)      Position – Next position after 5)

Numbet = square of Avali = Prataravali = Min Asamkhyatasamkhyat

7)      Position – several innumerable steps after 6)

Number = varga shalaka of AddhaPalya 

AddhaPalya is a unit of measurement of time

8)      Position – several innumerable steps after 7)

Number = ardhachheda of addhapalya

9)      Position- several innumerable steps after 8)

Number = square root of AddhaPalya

10)   Position- one step after 9)

Number = AddhaPalya

11)   Position – several innumerable steps after 10)

Number = Soochyangul

Where soochyangul is the number of spatial units(Pradesh) in one Angul space.

12)   Position – next step after 11)

Number=  Pratangul  ( square of soochangul)

13)   Position – several innumerable steps after 12)

Number= Cubic root of Jagatshreni

Where Jagatshreni is the height of Lokakash in spatial units of Pradesh.

14)   Position – several innumerable steps later

Number = Varga shalaka of Min Paritanant

Number = Ardhachheda of Min Paritanant

Number = Square root of Min Paritanant

Number = Min Paritanant

Here four steps are given which occur in sequence each after several innumerable steps except the fourth which is immediate next after square root of Min Paritanant.

15)   Position – several innumerable steps later

Number = Min Yuktanant

16)   Position – next step after 15)

Number = Min Anantanant

17)   Position – several Infinite steps after 16)

Number =  Varga shalaka of Jivas

Number = Ardhachheda of Jivas

Number = Square root of Jivas

These three occur after several infinite steps after each other. Jivas is the number of all  life forms in the universe.

18)   Position – Next step after third part of 17)

Number = Jivas

19)   Position – several infinite steps after 17)

Number = Number of Permaanu ( atoms) in the universe

This shows the relationship between number of life forms to the matter.

20)   Position – Several infinite steps after 19)

Number = Number of time units from past to future in units of Samay.

21)   Position – several infinite steps later

Number = Height  of the Akash in spatial units of Pradesh.

Here the Akash implies both Lokakash and Alokakash together. While Lokakash is bound space in which all jivas and matter is present. Alokakash is inifinite space surrounding the Lokakash wherein no jivas or matter or time are  present.

22)   Position -  Next step after 21)

Number = Number of space units in Pratarakash

Pratarakash is square of the Akash spatial elements in  height form.

23)   Position – After infinite steps

Number = Number of avibhaag pratichhedas of Agurulaghutva quality in Dharma and Adharma dravyas

Here abibhaag pratichheda represents the smallest indivisible unit of the quality of agurulaghutva . Dharma and Adharma are two primary dravya or elements of the universe. Agurulaghutva is one of the qualities possessed by all the six prime  dravyas or elements of the universe.

24)   Position – After infinite steps

Number = Number of avibhaag pratichhedas of the agurulaghutva quality of the single Jiva which increases in six orders of magnitude namely: infinitesimal increase, innumerable part increase, numerable part increase, numerable times increase, innumerable times increase, infinite times increase. The decrease also occurs in a similar six order manner.

25)   Position – After infinite steps

Number = Number of avibhaag pratichhedas of the min infinitesimal  single letter knowledge of the smallest Nigod Jiva.

26)   Position – several infinite steps later

Number = Number of avibhaag pratichhedas of the quality of Kshayik labdhi of asamyat samyak drishti Tiryanch (animal) Jiva.

27)   Position – several infinite steps after 26)

Number =   varga shalaka of Keval Gyan

Keval Gyan is the knowledge units of omniscient.

28)    Position – several infinite steps later

Number = ardhachheda of keval gyan

29)   Position – several infinite steps later

Number = Eighth square  root of the keval gyan

30)   Position - + 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 steps later

Number = 7^th, 6^th, 5^th, 4^th, 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st square root of keval gyan

31)   Position – Next step after 30)

Number = Avbhaag Pratichhedas of the Keval Gyana

Thus we see that the series of the square of 2 contains quite important numbers , namely number of Jivas, Number of permaanu , number of akash Pradesh, number of time units , as well as Keval Gyan. Thus in  a single series we get to know the relationship of one with the other.

Series of Cube of 2 ( Dwiroop Ghan dhara)

The previous series started with square of 2, this series starts with cube of 2 and the subsequent numbers are square of the previous ones.  The first four positions are shown below:

Position	1	2	3	4
Number	8	64	4096
	23	43	163	2563

The series can be worked out similar to the previous of the square of 2. It may be noted that this series will not overlap with the previous one. It means that the same number will not appear in both series. On the other hand it is complementary to the previous with some important differences which are highlighted below:

1.       While series of square of 2 has cube root of Jagat sreni or the height of lokakash as one of the elements  {see 14) in previous description}, here Jagat sreni is the constituent.

2.       While previous series had Number of Jivas as the elements, here cube of same occurs.

3.       In this series the cube of entire akash i.e. lokakash and alokakash together is a constituent.

4.       The last number in this series is cube of the second square root of Keval gyan. If we try to derive the next number then we find that it becomes cube of the square root of Keval Gyan which will be higher than kevan gyan . Hence such a number is not possible.

Series of cube of cube of 2 ( Dwiroop Ghanaghan dhara)

            This is the last of the 14 series which are used to describe numbers and their relationship. This series is that of cube of the cube of 2, and the subsequent numbers are square of the previous ones.

Position	1	2
Number	512	262188
	(23)^3	((23)^3)^2

As can be seen above the series grows at a very fast pace. The important numbers here are :

1.       The number of Pradesh  or units of space of Lokakash.

2.       Several numbers pertaining to the Nigod and single sensed JIvas  and their life span.

3.       Here the last number is the fourth square root of Keval Gyan

With these 14 series the relationship of most of the important quantities related to numbers , space, duration and even the bhava i.e the number of  thoughts of the mind are related to each other and one can understand the magnitude of those numbers.

Units of Space and Time

Units of space : Pradesh   The smallest element in the universe is permaanu or atom. However it is not same as the atom described by our science. In fact it is infinite times smaller than atom because it is the single particle by which all the atoms  and matter has been made. In that sense it is similar to the God particle  described today. In Jain philosophy such a particle is cause of all the material seen. The permaanu is indivisible smallest particle of matter which occupies a single unit of space which is called Pradesh. It is also described as the distance travelled by one permaanu at slowest speed in one samay where samay is the smallest unit of time. It is important to note that slowest speed is mentioned since at highest speed the permaanu can travel from one end of the universe to the other.

Now permaanus join with one another and create skandh or molecules. This joining also follows specific laws and is quite scientific. Interestingly the matter is named Pudgala which itself means one who has property of associating and disassociating. This is precisely what matter is wherein the permaanus keep adding or subtracting at any given time. Even infinite permaanus form the skandh which will still not be visible. The smallest is called avasannasann skandh. Without going into details we quote the value 8¹¹ times of this skandh will be equal to one maize seed. 8 of these equal to one angul i.e. one finger. This is also known as Soochyangul or Vyavhar angul. However this is another angul called Prananangul which is 500 times that of previous one. This corresponds to the finger of Bharat Chakravarti king in the fourth  cycle of Avasarpini kaal prevailing now. At that time the body of humans was largest equal to 525 Dhanush. His angul is called Praman angul since all measurements with respect to the seas, oceans and space are related to that absolute measurement. The table below now shows  the relationship of the space units further.

500 Utsedh Angul	1 Praman Angul
6 specified angul	1 paad
2 paad	1 vitasti
2 Vitasti	1 hand
2 hands	1 rikku
2 rikkus, 4 hands	1 dand or dhanush
2000 dand/ dhanush	1 kos
4 kos	1 yojan
500 vyavhar yojan	1 praman yojan

       This praman yojan is the basic unit by means of which the islands and seas are measured. For example the diameter of Jambu dweep on which we reside has a diameter of 1 lakh yojan.

Innumerable soochanguls together equal to one Jagat sreni i.e the length of lokakash in which all jivas and matter reside. The space is called Akash which is divided into two parts namely lokaksh and alokakash . In lokakash all the other 5 dravyas or the elements of the universe are found namely Jiva, ajiva, kaal, dharmastikaya and adharmastikaya. The volume of lokakash is equal to cube of Jagat sreni also known as ghan loka. The length of Jagat sreni is also known as 7 Raju where 343 cube raju is the volume of the lokakash.

Unit of Time : Samay  As per Jain scripture the lokakash is packed with units of time known as kaal which is known as different dravya or one of the six constituents of the universe. The lokakash is supposed to be comprised of innumerable number ( not infinite) of pradesh units while alokakash comprises of infinite space units surrounding the lokakash.  While kaal element is packed through out the universe, it by itself is inert but is the cause of modification in the jiva and matter at every instant. Hence its function is that of a catalytic agent. From a practical point of view the time taken by a single permaanu to cross one pradesh of space is called one samay which is the smallest unit of time. This is indivisible unit of time far far smaller than the unit of time which we call “second”.

Innumerable samay units constitute one Avali  which is still smaller than second. This innumerable number is Min Yuktasamkhyat which we have encountered in the article on infinity ( Jan 09/2017)

The following table represents some of the other time units

Min Yuktasamkhyat	1 Avali
Numerable Avali	1 breath = 2880/3773 seconds
7 breaths	1 stok
7 stok	1 love
38 ½ love	1Ghadi =24 Minutes
1 Ghadi= 48 minutes	1 Muhurta
30 Muhurta	24 hours = 1 day
30 days	1 month
12 months	1 year

However in Jainism the time measurement needed to be far far higher than years. Even millions of years are not sufficient to define age of a typical Heaven or Hell resident. Hence another type of unit is used which is called Upama Maan  i.e. the unit defined by Simile or Anology.

Upama Maan Imagine a well having the diameter of 1 Praman Yojan and a depth of 1 Praman Yojan. This filled to the brim with the tips of the hair of newborn sheep ( which is born in superior Bhoga Bhumi , where the hair is thinnest). The number of hair in  this well is called one Palya or Palyopam. This number can be computed to be equal to a 45 digit number. Now take out one hair at an interval of 100 years each. The period in which all the hair are taken out, measured in number of samay units is equal to the number of samay in one Vyavhar Palyopam.

                Now multiplying this with number of samay of innumerable years give rise to number of samay of Uddhar Palyopam. Further multiplying with another number of samay of innumberable years give rise to number of samay of Addha Palyopam. 10 Koda Kodi of Addha palya is equal to one Addha Sagar which is a major unit of measurement of life span in heaven or hell, period of Karmas and so on. One koda kodi represents one karod karod or 10⁵x10⁵. Incidentally  the analogy of Sagar is quite apt because this one sagar period would be the time taken to empty the water of Lavan Sea with surrounds our Jambu dweep taken  at a specific rate.

                Further the place like Bharat Kshetra where we reside undergoes time cycle of upward or downward trend. Currently we are undergoing downward trend known as Avasarpini Kaal. This duration is total of 10 Koda Kodi Sagar in which we positioned at  about 2500 years of the fifth period known as Dushma kaal. This cycle would terminate at about 39500 years from now and the Utsarpini kaal of 10 koda kodi sagar would start. Thus 20 koda kodi sagar constitute one kalpa kaal.

Conclusion  The purpose of such units of time and space demonstrates the limitless of time and space  as told by the omniscient. It also conveys to us the insignificance of our life span compared to the millions and millions of years in which we are migrating from one form to another without reaching any type of destination. If we take a look at the presentation of Panch Paravartan , it would be more clear to us. Typically the Jivas  have a maximum life span of 2000 sagar in which they take birth as  two sensed or above  life form , after which invariably they revert to one sensed life form in which they may spent unlimited years. Hence the urgency for self realization  is felt more strongly if we keep in mind this fact.