Jainism is credited by the scientific community as being among the first religions to postulate the existence of unseen microbiological life centuries before the invention of a microscope..
The universe for Jains is an elaborate system.
Jain cosmology is very distinctive, although it shares some features with other Indian religious traditions.
It is centred on the everlasting and non-originating nature of the universe, and thus excludes the notion of a creator-god..
The Jains have a distinctive attitude to science and knowledge.
The Jain approach defines science as encompassing all forms of knowledge, including the physical sciences, the humanities and the spiritual journey..
In Jain belief, minute karmic particles – 'karmons' – are attracted to the soul and produce karmic matter.
This karmic matter is attached to the soul and attracts more 'karmons'.
Karmic matter is classed as either positive or negative.
The soul seeks to escape karmic matter and revert to its original pure state..
Although some Jain believers consider that their cosmology contains the roots of modern science and that the latter has to be ignored, the majority of them take a practical approach and accept scientific developments while continuing to study traditional cosmological theories for religious reasons.
The Jain cosmology defines the shape and functioning of the universe (called Loka) and its constituents.
These constituents are living beings, matter, space, time, etc).
According to texts in Jainism, a Jain cosmology diagram resembles a man standing with his legs apart and his arms on his waist.
The first is the world space ( loka-ākāśa ), which is a vast but limited area where all souls live in the different body-forms they take according to their rebirths in the various worlds.
The second is the non-world space ( aloka-ākāśa ), which is endless.
The Jain universe is perfectly structured and ordered.
Because of this remarkable discovery, Jainism is credited by the scientific community as being among the first religions to postulate the existence of unseen microbiological life centuries before the invention of a microscope.
Moreover, science can be used to rationalize many Jain practices and rituals.
