वनस्पतिकाय : जैन मान्यता और आधुनिक विज्ञान

Summary

The text discusses the Jain philosophical concept that plants possess life, a belief that was scientifically validated centuries later by Indian scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. Bose's experiments demonstrated that plants are sensitive, reacting to stimuli like injury, anesthesia, and alcohol, and showing signs of fatigue similar to humans and animals. He invented the 'crescograph' to measure these responses. The text notes that while this was a revelation to modern science, it was a long-established tenet in Jain scriptures. It further cites experiments by American scientist Clive Backster, who recorded plants reacting to thoughts of harm and showing distress when a woodcutter passed by, and Russian scientist V. N. Pushkin, who found a connection between plant and human nervous systems. The text then details the Jain classification of plant life, dividing it into 'pratyekakaya' (individual-bodied) plants, where one soul inhabits one body, and 'anantakaya' or 'sadharana' (common-bodied) plants, where countless souls share a single body, such as in tubers and roots. It explains that these classifications are based on observable characteristics like how a plant breaks or regrows. The text concludes by asserting that Jain philosophy's ancient insights into plant life, along with other principles, are being validated by modern science, reinforcing the relevance and depth of Jain thought.