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THE JAIN CONCEPTION OF MATTER
By Prof. Ghansi Ram Jain
M.Sc. , Victoria College Gwalior
The different scholls of Indian philosophy have always looked upon this world as a state on which the prakriti Nature)
and /Purush (man) the Jarh and Cetan i.e. Matter and life or the living and non-living substance have been playing their role.
According to Veedantis, it is the God and His Maya which manifest themselves in different forms.
It is a matter of life surprise that Jain philosophy were not satisfied with any of the above nomenclature
and searched out quite a new and very significant worked for the matter Viz, Pudgala. The root meaning
of word Pudgala is; “The entity which manifests itself in various forms by the process of combination
and disintegration.” One who is familiar with the modern developments in atomic physics cannot but
admire the choice of the wordPudgala to denote matter and energy. We now know fully well that all
atoms are in assemblage of fundamental particles called the electron, proton and neutron respectively.
The negative, the position and the neutal particles of lectric energy. In the phenomemon of radio- activity
atoms of Uranium, Thorium and Radium are seen disintegrating iwj;fUr xy;fUr bfr iqnxyk% I themselves of
their own record into simpler atom ultimately changing upto lead. In the phenomenon of artificial
radio-activity the bombardment of different atom by high energy by L-particles protons and neutrons
unbelieveable transformation have been brought about for instance Nitrogen was converted into Oxygen
&Sodium into Magnesium, Magnesium into Alminium , Alminium into Silicon or Phosphorous by
bombardment with fast moving bullets Sherr and Bain bridge in 1941 actually realised the
dreams of the alchemists when they produced Gold from Mercury for the first time, not by mining
anything but by mining anything but by a rocess based on the fundamental definition of Pudgala.
The atom of Mercury has its weights 200. It is bombarded by a proton whose weight is one. The proton
is absorbed by the nucleus Mercury atom, its weight become 201. Then an L-particle is ejected from the
nucleus of the new atom. The nucleus of the new atom. The weight of the L-particle is 4. Therefore the
weight of atom left behind is reduced by 4. The result is the atom of weight is 197. This weight is an
atom of gold. Thus we see how beautifully the idea of combinations and this integration as postulated by
Jain thinkers in the definition of metal fits into facts.
From the study of Jain literature we find that matter has been classified into six sub classes-solid
liquid gas energy fire matter beyond sense perception and extra fine matter.
In the classical physics of Newton and Gallileo , Energy was regarded as perfectly weightless and
without any association with matter. It was the genius of Prof. Albert Einstein who definitely proved
that Energy has a mass and that there is no difference between matter and energy except that of form.
According to Einstein if all the energy liberated by complete combustion of 3000 tons of the best
variety of coal could be weighed in a balance, it will have a mass of 1 gm. It is really a wonderful
that this great discovery of Einstein which has been called by President Eisenhower of U.S.A.,
the greatest discovery of the age, lies buries in the MSS of Jain Literature written several
centuries before by Jain Acharyas. According to these writings, every form of energy is a manifestation
of Pudgala. It is definitely mention there that matter in energy and energy is the matter, one can be
converted into another. Heat and Light have been enumerated as the forms of energy and matter.
The word has seen with its own eyes how matter has been converted into an enormous of energy in
the atom bomb and scientists have succeeded in changing energy into matter cosmic-ray experiments
performed in their laboratories. In the recent reported discovery of the anti-proton oaa part f the
bombardment, energy is converted into matter.
(Science and Culture Dec. 1955)
Sutra 33 of Tathvarthdabrigam Sutra Chapter II reads as follows:-fLuX/k :{kkRo}uy% Atoms form higher aggregates of matter by virtue of the fact that some of them are Snigha and other Ruksa. Then further Shri Pujyapad Achara in his commentary of this Sutra writes:fLuX/k :{kr xq.k fufeRrks fo+rA (Lightning discharged in clouds is produced by the qualities of Snigdha ad Riksa.) The clearly shows that the terms Snigdha and Ruksa do not mean smooth and rough but connote positive and negative forms of electricity. Just as these words were used by scientists arbitrarily to denote the two kinds of electric charges; in same manner the Jain writer used the word Snigdha and Ruksa; only then they could think of the production of lightning by the amalgamation of two opposite kinds of electric charges. In his book, Dr. B.N. Seal has rightly remarked that the Theory of Chemical Combinations of the Jains is possibly based on the observed electrification of smooth and rough surfaces. Therefore the above Sutra can be interpreted to mean that elementary positive and negative particles of electricity ombine to form what the modern science call an atom. In other words different atoms area combination of positive and negative charges alone. This we know now to be a solid fact. There is one more important feature of the Atomic Theory of Jains.
The unit of space is called Pradesh and is defined as the space occupied by an indivisible particle of matter (ijek.kq l Gkofr O;ofr"Brs l izns'k) but the part of definition which follows is significant.
It runs thus:-
