This book shows that it can be very fruitful for science to study other thought-systems than those in which we were born and raised. In our days we can make use of the entire heritage of the mind-created global mosaic of cultures. Much more of such type of research should be done by able philosophers and scientists. Ancient thinkers have come up with insights that lack us today - causing unnecessary ignorance and suffering. Probably no philosopher in the world would disagree with the statement that there is no knowledge higher than Truth-but that there are many ways for the mind to approach her.
Jainism is definitely more spiritual in its understanding than Western science and philosophy. It also covers subtle aspects of nature as yet unknown to or ill-understood by mainstream science.
The book contains so much information on the modern science, including, for example, the latest theories and speculations of physics, chemistry, cosmology and genetics, and other disciplines, that for this reason alone it could be used as a general textbook for science students. But the great extra value of it is the extensive exposure of Jain ideas laid down in scriptures throughout the last two millennia by scholars and Jain acharyas (ascetics, monks). Then both traditions-modern science and Jain science-are thoroughly compared. |
