General Systems Theory (GST) and Concepts of Indian Philosophy May Provide A Holistic View of Consciousness and Its Evolution

Universal Journal of Psychology 4(3): 142-164, 2016 http://www.hrpub.
org
DOI: 10.13189/ujp.2016.040305
General Systems Theory (GST) and Concepts of Indian

Philosophy May Provide a Holistic View of Consciousness
and Its Evolution
Surendra Singh Pokharna1,2,*, Dilip K Bobra3
1
Indian Space Research Organization, India
2
Bhagwan Mahaveer International Center for Scientific Research and Social Innovation Studies, India
3
Vascular Surgery Doctor in Tempe, USA
Copyright2016 by authors, all rights reserved. Authors agree that this article remains permanently open access under the
terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License
Abstract This paper describes limitations of the Keywords Science, Knowledge, General Systems
scientific knowledge and the scientific formalism which is Theory, Entropy, Jainism, Consciousness, Evolution,
currently used to study living systems and human systems in Amazing Memory
general [1-7]. It is suggested that there is a need to explore
the General Systems Theory (GST) for better understanding
of these issues [8-9]. General Systems Theory (GST) is a
generalized methodology to study properties of both the 1. Introduction
physical systems and the social systems [10-13]. It is shown
that the concept soul and soul-matter interaction of Jainism Science and technology and their use in economic
[14-16] and their concept that knowledge is structured in the development and commercialization have revolutionized the
consciousness needs to be examined in the modern context. whole world in such a way that everything appears to have
Three examples are given which shows that the concept of changed in last 100-200 years. Developments in the field of
knowledge of consciousness has a great meaning and it can space technology, atomic energy, electronics, biotechnology,
be good example to be pursued by the scientists. They lead modern agriculture, telecommunication, and manufacturing
one to infer that there exist higher dimensions of knowledge systems are some of the examples of these changes. These
including Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) which are not yet changes have also played a key role in making this world
properly explored in a systematic way in the context of truly global. However, they have also resulted in an increase
understanding soul [17-20] As a consequence of this, it is in population, depletion of natural resources, damage to the
also mentioned that Darwins principle of Survival of the environment, increase in terrorism, threats of nuclear wars
fittest should be compared to a wider principle Live and and so on. It can be observed that all these consequences
Let Live of Jains based on higher dimensions of knowledge have resulted in a large scale increase in entropy in the world
which put more emphasize more on underlying identify at different levels in different fields [3]. In addition, because
(common soul) among all living beings than differences of these changes and domination of science and technology
among them [3, 21]. This comparison could provide a new in all walks of life, an impression has been created that
way of looking at the concept of evolution and so the concept scientific knowledge is the supreme and anything other,
of spiritual evolution should be also examined in the modern which does not fall into this domain is not very relevant.
perspective. Ultimately it appears that the characteristics of a However, Science and technology are just two hundred years
pure soul as described in Jainism may provide new ways and old only and there was a concept of knowledge and
new concepts to the modern scientists in understanding the technology even before the modern science came into the
soul/consciousness. Their concept of pure knowledge seems existence.
to be quite close to the concept of Implicate Order of Actually one finds that scientific methods developed to
quantum mechanics as described by David Bohm [22]. study the physical systems are not adequate when biological
Finally it is proposed that the process of spiritual evolution as and human systems are also included [1-4], because all living
described in Jainism to achieve the highest state of soul may systems are essentially irreversible in nature that is they
be accompanied by decrease in rate of entropy production at grow and decay, they are open systems compared to the
every stage and building up of some new type of order [3]. physical systems which are closed systems. So the biological
Universal Journal of Psychology 4(3): 142-164, 2016 143
and social systems cannot be strictly subjected to the process consciousness might be closely related with some kind of
of measurement and exactly describable in the terminology information layers and order at different levels. Also the
of the physical sciences [8-9]. Also any type of concept of Moksha discussed in the Indian philosophy can be
experimentation is not possible in case of human systems, as compared with a concept of Goal directed systems in the
they have memory, free will, creativity, tendency to interact General Systems Theory, where effect determines the cause
strongly with other fellow beings and the environment. In and not the conventional concept of science in which cause
addition, there are micro controls in the form of thought determines the effect. Hence General Systems Theory (GST)
processes which cannot be easily adjusted in any planned is used for better understanding of the whole problem
"scientific experiment". They also have a property of infinite because by its intrinsic nature, GST can give a better picture
amplification because of the thought processes, which makes of the interconnectedness of various components of the
it difficult to study human systems in a strictly scientific way. Human-Earth-atmosphere system. It is finally a problem of
Expressed in a different way, it is now felt that the standard order versus disorder [3] at all levels and so when we talk of
concepts used in any scientific study like development and evolution, we should talk about the
compartmentalization, reductionism, causality, mechanism, development of the order and evolution of order for complete
induction, empiricism and passivism etc. [21] cannot be used understanding of the term development. They will have
to strictly study the biological systems and social systems. significant impact on all the problems of the modern life.
Not only this the basic parameters used in science like energy, It also appears that it will be necessary to explore the
mass, linear momentum and angular momentum are concept of consciousness for better handling of the current
basically defined for isolated closed systems, so they may problems and its connection with the knowledge. It is here
not be the best choice for describing the biological and social that the concept of knowledge as enunciated in Indian
systems [23,24]. The final blow to limitations of scientific philosophy in general and Jainism in particular needs to be
methodology is being done by Godels incompleteness brought into the picture. (For brief description of Jainism,
theorems [5,6,7] which have virtually shaken the foundation see Appendix 1 and [14]. Actually the Jain concept of
of modern science that modern science can describe the knowledge is so extensively discussed with five different
reality or the truth. There is another dimension of this types of classes of knowledge that it needs to be further
problem and this deal with the direction of development and explored in view of modern concepts of knowledge in
computer science, neurosciences, possibility of information
evolution in general. In the modern time, the concept of
being stored in space-time geometry and others. However,
development is interpreted only in terms of economic
this paper emphasizes that scientific knowledge has
development whereas in the case of evolution, we talk about
limitations and there can be knowledge beyond science and
Darwins principle of evolution. However, in Indian
still meaningful. So, it is mentioned that the concept of
philosophy in general and Jainism in particular, we talk of
knowledge needs to be enlarged further by taking
spiritual evolution which essentially talks of evolution of
consciousness into account [34]
consciousness. [25-32]. In view of several problems faced by
Some examples are given from Indian philosophy in
the modern world, there is a need to have a detailed
general and Jainism in particular which indicates that during
comparison between these types of concepts of development the higher stages consciousness, there is a possibility for
and evolution so that some better model of development and existence of new frontiers of knowledge and evolution [3].
evolution can be evolved. A mysterious example also is They include the possibility of estimating sizes of
given in which a person living today has not taken food or microscopic particles of matter through knowledge
water from last 75 years. He was medically tested by a team structured in the consciousness [12], extraordinary memory
of twenty three doctors in Ahmedabad 2003 and the team of spiritual masters [32,36], exploring system of fourteen
inferred that this example is a challenge to the modern stages of consciousness and five different type of bodies of
science [33]. Such examples may provide new domains of human beings whose extensive details are available in Indian
knowledge not yet explored in the modern science. Last but philosophy in general and Jainism in particular [14].Many
not the least; even the process of scientific study needs to be other properties of soul as mentioned in Jainism are
enlarged by taking state of consciousness into account even described along with karma theory with elaborated
within classical physics. This is illustrated through the soul-matter interaction in a very comprehensive way.
famous Einsteins relation between energy and mass and its It is also illustrated that spiritual processes mentioned in
utilization in the World War II. Jain philosophy could provide new direction for
In view of these issues, it is observed that most of the development and concepts of knowledge and evolution
development in science and technology and their economic which may be accompanied by a reduction in entropy
exploitations have resulted in a large increase in the entropy production in the brain as well as in the society and the
at all levels starting from the human brain to the whole atmosphere at different levels.
biosphere. [34] Hence the concept of order as defined in Not only this, the role of consciousness and thought
the case of General Systems Theory needs to be closely processes is also elaborated by David Bohm [22]. His
examined in view of irreversibility of the human systems. It concept of the implicate order and explicate order provides a
is proposed that the Jain concept of evolution of new way of looking at the world. This concept of implicate
144 General Systems Theory (GST) and Concepts of Indian Philosophy May Provide
a Holistic View of Consciousness and Its Evolution
order may be very close to the concept of a type of economic development is required for smooth running of a
knowledge system, very different from the conventional society and everybody wants it. However, with the
knowledge system and close to concept of keval jnana advancements of science and technology, a huge industrial
(absolute knowledge) mentioned in Jainism. revolution took place in the whole world. Due to this
Section 2 briefly summarized the consequences of economic activity started concentrating in a few places and
scientific, technical and economic development in producing in a few cities. Their activities started polluting the natural
entropy in the world. Section 3 illustrates the limitations of resources in a highly damaging way. The whole process of
scientific methodology due to conservation laws, Godels polluting the environment can be traced to these increased
incompleteness theorems, Darwins principle of evolution industrial activities and increase in population due to
versus the Jain principle of Live and Let Live and many decrease in the death rates. Due to the congestion of the cities,
others. They all imply a need to develop an abstract concept their results a cut throat competition among people for
of consciousness or soul. Section 4 elaborates limitations of survival. The old value system based on simplicity, honesty
science as applied to living systems and need to use General and sincerity started getting replaced by complexity,
Systems Theory. Section 5 explains that there is a need for a consumerism, dishonesty, and unwanted domination of
concept of consciousness and its evolution in the modern certain groups and countries over others. It has also resulted
science if we look at these issues in a systems perspective. in a large scale corruption in many places in the world. The
Section 6 highlights some factors, attributes and systems emphasis on economic development has become so much so
which implies a need for recognizing a need for the concept that all other types of developments have been set aside.
of consciousness within the modern science. Section 7 Thus women in many countries who used to work towards
discusses the concept of soul and knowledge through soul in spiritual evolution, religious activities and family welfare,
Jain philosophy, along with the soul matter interaction and have all started working for economic development only.
the concept of evolution in Jainism. In section 8, it is Also indices based on economic growth are so much
mentioned that we must treat scientific knowledge as only dominating the peoples mind that the impact of economic
small sub set of total knowledge which can be perceived development on the environment is totally ignored. One can
through the consciousness. Section 9 gives three examples of mention the following as the most challenging problems of
higher stages of consciousness and spiritual order with a the modern society:
quantitative evidence about sharp memory of Swamy Population is increasing and resources are shrinking.
Vivekanand. Two examples of shatavdhanies are also given Automation/Computerization is increasing but jobs are
which clearly illustrates higher stages of consciousness decreasing
which may involve extraordinary capability of the human Environment is getting polluted and care for animals is
mind and consciousness. An example is also given which decreasing.
shows that ancient Jain acharyas might have directly Competition is increasing and love and affection are
perceived the smallest particle of matter and even tried to decreasing.
estimate their sizes during these higher stages of pure Risk and uncertainty in life are increasing.
consciousness. In section 10, a hypothesis is put forward that Development is interpreted in the economic sense only.
spiritual processes may be defined as that set of processes in But gap between rich and poor is increasing.
which rate of entropy production and total entropy decreases, Sperm counts in males have gone down by 50 percent
along with reduction in consumption of natural resources and in last 50 years. Means maleness among men is
is accompanied by the emergence of a new type of order. In decreasing [37].
section 11, some examples of order in nature are given. Females are developing male like characteristics.
Whereas section 12 describes five different types of bodies In last forty years, half of animal and insects have died
for living beings, which can exist in nature and have some due to human activities, climate change and other
mysterious structures and functions which include factors [38].
movement of soul from one birth to another, even after death. Around 25,000 biological species are getting extinct
In section 13, we provide an exploratory view about every year [39].
consciousness, information layers and an optimal strategy
with ideas coming from different sources to understand soul. Effectively one can say that final consequences of these
The Discussion and conclusion are given in section 14. activities have resulted in a very large increase in the
disorder (entropy) of the environment and the society. Here
entropy is to be understood in terms of mixing of objects
2. Science, Technology, Economic and/or entities with time which results into more information
to know these objects and/or entities (Shannon equation
Development and Entropy Production form). Some examples are given below where one finds the
In this section we shall see how a unidirectional concept of ideas of entropy increase in one way or the other.
Economic development and its modifications due to science Mixing of hydrocarbons like petrol and diesel vapor
and technology have destroyed the environment and is with air and water etc. which were otherwise distinctly
degrading the life support system irreparably. Actually separate.
Spread of industrial chemicals and other pollutants in This condition is called space-time invariance condition in
rivers and ponds. science. In addition, we define conservation laws of physics
Flow of millions of tons of fertile soil in the sea every which are the foundation of all scientific measurements.
year. Thus we have conservation laws for energy, linear
Adulteration of food and medicines and many industrial momentum, angular momentum etc. Now all these
products. conservation laws are defined for isolated closed systems,
Spread of electromagnetic pollutions in atmosphere due thus approximating the nature. Thus energy is defined as that
to very large increase in use of mobiles, internet and variable of a closed isolated system which does not change
other electric gadgets. over time [23]. But in principle we can never have a totally
Decrease in orderliness in music and increase in noise. closed isolated system. Similarly linear momentum is
Mixing of the roles of men and women. defined as that property of a closed isolated system which
Increase in corruption and black money due to which remains invariant with any spatial displacement and so on.
unaccounted money is diverted from the main Hence the mere definitions of conservation laws do not
Economy to areas and accounts which are not counted describe the reality accurately, because they first divide the
in GDP and so on. world into closed isolated systems and then interaction
among these systems are studied by considering the nature
and magnitude of the interaction among them. Recently Lee
Explanation of increase in Entropy Smolin [24] has discussed this topic in detail. For biological
Petrol & Diesel are Petrol and Diesel have systems which are so strongly interacting with each other,
Confined to the Earth entered into the atmosphere this type of formalism cannot be applied in a satisfactory way
in a real sense. Here interactions among different subunits
and their organization are as much important as the
individual subunits themselves.
3.2. Godel's Incompleteness Theorems and Scientific

Reality
The most attractive aspect of scientific knowledge is its
mathematical basis. We generally feel that this mathematical
representation of various scientific facts makes our
knowledge more precise and accurate. However, from the
Creation of the so called ordered systems (say concrete following theorems which have been put forward by the
jungles, industries etc.) in the name of economic great mathematician Kurtz Gdel, we find that any
development have basically led to the generation of entropy mathematical representation of any physical reality limits
in the biosphere. Such ordered systems can be called as our knowledge of that reality [5, 6, 7]. Not only has this but
Non-biological Ordered systems generating large entropy. the theorem also implies that none of the languages or
Now to understand the root cause of these problems, one representation can express the reality of nature with
has to closely examine the basic laws of science and find out perfection. Complete knowledge must necessarily have its
whether this type of analysis can provide better alternatives foundation in an unexpressed, un-manifest field of
and new directions of development and evolution, intelligence. The two theorems are given in what follows:
knowledge and, order etc.
3.2.1. Gdels First Incompleteness Theorem
This theorem says that the truth of a formalism (which
3. Limitations of Scientific Approaches describes any phenomenon) cannot be proved. Thus no finite
to Understand the Reality expression of mathematical knowledge can ever provide a
basis for comprehensive knowledge even of the elementary
In what follows, we describe limitations of scientific properties of the counting numbers. Thus if one starts with a
knowledge in describing reality from widely different collection C of symbolic mathematical (or any other) axioms
perspectives. which is specifiable by a finite number of mechanical rules,
and if C is consistent, then there will be a true statement
3.1. Limitations of Scientific Methodology Due to about the counting numbers which cannot be proved from
Conservation Laws the axioms C, using the standard rules of mathematical logic.
The proof of this theorem shows that from C one can
Any phenomenon is called scientific if it can be verified in construct a sentence S in the simple mathematical language
a laboratory under a given set of controlled conditions and is of elementary number theory whose meaning is: This
reproducible at any point of time and at any place in space. sentence is not provable from C. Once S is constructed it
follows easily that S must be true but not provable from C. some hypothesis. As per this hypothesis, living beings only
Thus on the basis of any finitely specifiable collection of look at nearby future and attempts to survive. His laws do not
axioms C, one cannot prove all true propositions about the provide any goals or objectives and directions of
counting numbers. development for the species. They only look at nearby future
and attempts to survive. Recently Bhakti Nisakama Shanta
3.2.2. Gdels Second Incompleteness Theorem [26] has written an interesting paper which summarizes the
A formal language (mathematical or any other) if Objections raised by several scientists which shows the
consistent cannot define its own truth i.e. the definition of limitations of the Darwins principle. In particular he
truth for a theory must be of a higher order than the theory mentions that In his book, Evolution: A View from the 21st
itself. We can also say that the consistency of any specifiable Century, James A. Shapiro, Professor in the Department of
collection of axioms can never be established on the basis of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of
mathematical arguments which can be justified by these Chicago, provided ample examples where molecular biology
axioms. Thus to establish the validity of any single has recognized cell cognition from cell sensing, information
mathematical system one must necessarily utilize a more transfer, decision-making processes. In this book Shapiro,
comprehensive system, to validate the latter system one has thoroughly dismisses the traditional Neo-Darwinian
to investigate an even more comprehensive system. In these evolution theory that is widely accepted by biologists. In
examples, Godels theorems are applied to some cases in Darwinism, organisms are often assumed as optimally
abstract mathematics, but they are now being explored in designed machines blindly engineered by natural selection.
various other branches of sciences. However, as discussed However, based on cell cognition, Shapiro challenges that
above, a concept of consciousness is required to go beyond view: Given the exemplary status of biological evolution,
the current scientific thinking. we can anticipate that a paradigm shift in our understanding
of that subject will have repercussions far outside the life
sciences. A shift from thinking about gradual selection of
3.3. Darwins Principle of Survival of Fittest and the localized random changes to sudden genome restructuring by
Jains Principle of Live and Let Live: Are They sensory network-influenced cell systems is a major
Contradictory or Complimentary? conceptual change. It replaces the invisible hands of
geological time and natural selection with cognitive
At this juncture, it is also important to discuss another
principle from the modern science which has become very networks and cellular functions for self-modification. The
controversial these days [26, 40].It is the Darwins principle emphasis is systemic rather than atomistic and information
of Evolution. As we know this principle is based on the rule based rather than stochastic.
of natural selection and was brought into limelight by In view of this scenario, we have the Jains principle of
Charles Darwin. An assumption is made that all life emerged evolution which is characterized by the principle of Live
from the slow evolution from a single ancestor. The basic and Let Live in contrast to the Darwins principle of
idea of his hypothesis is that due to limitation of resources, Survival of the fittest. The former principle emphasizes on
various species of living world struggle for survival. Those recognizing the underlying identity among all living beings.
which have slightly superior functionality will survive and Darwins Principle of evolution needs to be thoroughly
others which do not have these additional functionalities will reexamined.
be eliminated and the whole process is very slow. Hence
those who can adjust to the change in time, survivors and 3.4. Why There Is a Need to Enlarge the Scope of
others are eliminated. This is therefore being described in Scientific Methodology to Study Reality in a Better
short by a well know saying that is the survival of the Way: An Example from Agriculture
fittest. This principle was enunciated by Darwin about 150
years ago. At that time there was no genetics. With this new As another example of limitations of science, we consider
development, the same principle was termed as case of High Yielding Varieties (HYV) of wheat and other
Neo-Darwinism. Under this name natural selection at the crops which were found in some cases in late seventies and
genetic level is considered during mutation and those genes were tested for small fields in few trials. They were then
are selected which are superior in functionalities. recommended for large scale and in many states in India for
Darwin also talks about the evolution of human beings and example. After few years, they were found to result into
mammals and observes that all humans have striking depletion of ground water say in Punjab and poisoning of the
similarities with apes and hence humans evolve from apes soil due to heavy use of pesticides. Now the number of
through natural selection in very slow processes over long cancer patients in that state has gone up significantly [41].
time. However, Darwins ideas are based on analysis of past This only shows a need to study these processes in totality
data and develop correlations between them to establish and see their interconnections.
Table 1. (From: John Gigch, 1978 [9])

A COMPARISON OF ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING SYSTEMS TO WHICH THE ANALYTICAL MECHANISTIC APPLY WITH
ASSUMPTIONS OF SYSTEMS TO WHICH GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY APPLIES (Courtesy: John P. van Gigch (1978) Applied General
Systems Theory)
Assumptions of systems to which analytical- Assumptions of systems to which general systems theory
Properties of Systems
Mechanistic approaches apply applies
Nonliving systems Living systems
Living or nonliving
Closed; with feedback: Limited properties of open Open
Closed or open systems
Wholes are irreducible
Separability Wholes can be broken down into component parts
Whole can be more than the sum of parts
Aggregativeness The whole is a sum of the parts
High interdependence: parts cannot be treated in isolation
Interdependence Low interdependence parts can be treated in
isolation Organized complexity
Complexity
Organized simplicity: unorganized complexity Entropy and information
Central concepts
Force and energy Systems resist the trend toward disorder by:. Importing
Entropy and order energy and .information from environment.
Equilibrium: maximum disorder
Purpose and teleological The consequences are of interest
implications Antecedents are of interest(causality) (Goal- directed systems)
Organization and hierarchy Properties at higher systems levels inferred from Properties of organizations cannot be inferred from those
those at lower systems levels of sub-systems.
3.5. Limitations of the Physical Sciences as They Apply to that working in the field of consciousness in particular. In
Living Systems this era of modern science, can someone believe that there
exists a person in India who has not taken food and water
Actually all living beings are essentially irreversible in from almost last 75 years? He is currently 87 years old. He is
nature, which is they grow and decay and they are also open popularly known as Mataji by his disciples and he himself
systems compared to the physical systems which are closed is a disciple of Deity Mother Ambe. He has a very super
systems. They constantly interact with the environment like
natural experience when he was 11 years old and since then
human beings take information and oxygen from atmosphere
he has no desire to take food and water or releases stool or
and releases carbon di-oxide and other waste products.
urine. He was thoroughly examined by a team of 23 doctors
Certain order is maintained in them. Human system has
from all medical faculties in Sterling Hospital, Gurukul,
memory, free will, creativity, tendency to interact strongly
Ahmedabad (India) from 13-22 November 2003 [33]. All his
with other fellow beings and the environment. Furthermore
medical observations were found to be normal as if his lack
there are micro controls in the form of thought processes
of taking food/water or releasing stool and water does not
which cannot be easily adjusted in any planned "scientific
have any effect on these parameters. Of course, no scientist
experiment". More differences are given in the Table 1 like
will make any generalization of this 10 days study to 75
importance of order and entropy and teleological
years, but his disciples and he himself says that it is like this
developments etc. Hence biological, human systems and
social systems cannot be subjected to the process of only. The point to be emphasized is that he does not have any
measurement and hence they are not exactly describable in urge or desire for taking food/water or releasing stool/urine.
the strict terminology of the physical, sciences, hence it is He does meditation in a cave in a temple town called
very difficult to perform experiments on human systems and Aambaji, near Ahmedabad (Gujarat). Every day he goes in a
predicting events about them from a purely scientific point of Samadhi and in a state of great bliss in which he gets an
view. Hence such systems are studied in a different way by exposure of enormous amount of light and energy.
using statistical procedures. In such methods only some Occasionally he comes out of the cave and visit houses of his
rough trends or patterns can be found. Hence these living disciples. The author had his Darshan two times and once has
systems are better studied using the General Systems even shared a dais during a programme organized to honor
Theory. him.
3.6. Can a Person Remain without Food and Water for 75

Years?
4. General Systems Theory and Its
Implications
There is another very mysterious phenomenon which will
be of great interest to the scientific community in general and Hence to handle these problems mentioned above, we
look for General Systems Theory (GST).John Gigch, 1978 c is the velocity of light. It shows that mass has tremendous
[9], and Bertalanffy, Ludwig Von, 1976 [8] have developed amount of energy and this energy can be produced through
these ideas to handle such complex systems and to handle atomic reactions. This discovery of Albert Einstein was later
some of these issues. Different sets of rules are there to on used by the American, British and Chinas politicians to
describe and understand such systems (Table 1). drop atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two big cities
This concept takes into account both physical systems and of Japan, which killed thousands of people and affected
biological and social systems. Actually system's properties several lakhs over years. In the present example, we find that
depend on their domain. The domain of systems is the field when Einstein discovered this famous relation between mass
over which they extend. It can be classified as to whether: (a) and energy, then his mental state of his mind or the state of
Systems are living or nonliving, (b) Systems are abstract or consciousness was to understand the laws of physics at micro
concrete, (c) Systems are open or closed, (d) Systems exhibit levels. On the other hand, the mental state or state of
a high or low degree of entropy or disorder, (e) Systems consciousness of the politicians of America, Britain and
display organized simplicity, unorganized complexity or China at that time was totally different and was totally
organized complexity, (f) Systems can be ascribed a purpose negative from humanitarian angle.. The Second World War
or not, (g) Feedback exist or not, (h) Systems are ordered in was going on at that time, and Japan was showing great
hierarchies and/or Systems are organized, (i) System and strength and was not ready to accept defeat. At that time
associated processes are reversible or irreversible and so on. these politicians came across this great discovery by Einstein
In this analysis pure physical sciences are now categorized and it struck to them to perform an experiment on Japan. This
as hard systems and subjects like sociology, religion, decision resulted into the famous Manhattan project which
psychology, biology etc. are classified as soft systems [8,9]. proved the power of atom bomb and created first example of
It has been developed to handle such diverse systems and is a destructive use of Einsteins discovery.
serious attempt to reconcile physical sciences with social It is very important in this story to understand the state of
sciences. As per this theory, all systems are characterized by consciousness of all players ranging from Einstein to the
the transfer of information, knowledge and entropy/order politicians to understand this total reality. We therefore need
which are much more important than any other attribute. a better methodology which can talk about feelings and state
Even energy comes next to them. of consciousness also. Jainism provides such a methodology.
Hence even religion also falls in this domain, as some type It includes five components compared to only two
of system in which, there is information and knowledge components (space and time) in scientific studies. These five
transfer going on continuously. Actually the physical components are: Desh (space), Kala (time), Bhava (feelings
systems like physics, chemistry and mathematics are called or state of consciousness), padarth (matter and its quantity or
Hard systems, whereas social systems such as sociology, the scale on which it is used), and Nimit(prevailing
biology, religion, political science and economics are called conditions). It should be noted that Einstein was studying
Soft systems. Thus religion and science can be reconciled property of matter only theoretically but the process of
in this formalism. making atom bomb involved a large quantity of matter. So it
explains the beauty of Jain method of description where
matter and consciousness are also included. Nimit
5. Need to Extend the Method of (~condition) was the prevailing condition of war at that time.
It is very similar to the situation in quantum physics and the
Scientific Study by Including State of famous Copenhagen interpretation, where the state of an
Human Consciousness for Better electron (or say a photon) depends on the state of
Description of the Reality: An consciousness of the observer. Thus if the observer wants to
see the wave aspect of electron then it can be observed
Application of General Systems through the diffraction or interference experiment, but if the
Theory and Jainism observer wants to see the particle aspect then he will go
As mentioned above, the methodology of science is based through the photoelectric effect. The state of consciousness
on the conservations laws and the space time invariance of decides the property of the electron. So the concept of
the law. That is if an experiment is repeated at any place or at consciousness comes into the picture even in classical
any time, the results will be same within statistical errors. physics when the role of observer is also taken into account
However, we feel that there is a distinct role of ones feelings in totality.
and state of consciousness in describing the reality which
requires a more broadened view of our concepts and 6. Consciousness and Its Evolution
description and measurements. Let us illustrate this by taking
an example. Albert Einstein discovered the famous relation
Should Be a Fundamental Element of
between mass and energy, which is described through the Any New Paradigm of Total Systems
famous relation: Approach to Deal with the Modern
E = mc2 Problems
Here E is equal to energy and m is mass of an atom. Small This situation was probably realized by several Indian
schools of thought, who talks about consciousness and its are assumed to have some indivisible units which are called
evolution. This is assumed to be main characteristic of all as pradeshas (like quanta), which are not further divisible
living beings and is different from matter. In particular, and these pradeshas are extremely small in size. In case of
Jainism assumes that knowledge is structured in the soul, the number of pradeshas is treated as infinite whereas
consciousness. Several experimental studies have been in the case of matter and space, they are treated as
carried out to recognize various states of consciousness like innumerable.
sleeping. Waking and dreaming stages. A fourth state of
consciousness is well established now (Transcendental 7.2. Main Properties of a Soul
Meditation). Many more such studies are required in this
direction as Indian yogis and monks talk of several higher Jainism has defined the soul as the basic constituents of all
stages of consciousness. Also one finds that in Indian context living beings. Soul has the following properties which are
this evolution of consciousness is closely related with given below: (Jindhammo in Hindi)
practices which are carried out while living with nature and
hence persons deeply involved in such pursuits are very 7.2.1. Soul Has a Utility (Upyogamay):
close to nature, so they are strongly helping in preserving the The most important property of soul is that it has certain
environment [25]. This must be recognized in view of the utilities or uses. Knowledge and institution are the primary
serious threat to the environment caused by uncontrolled utilities of a soul. Apure soul has infinite knowledge, infinite
materialistic developments. Such ideas of spiritual evolution intuition, infinite bliss and infinite power (Figure 1).
should be therefore examined while talking about Although a pure soul has other characteristics but the
development. A lot of progress has been recently made in the knowledge has been regarded as the chief characteristic of
field of neurosciences, quantum mechanics and General soul. Kundakunda (Mehta 1980) has stated that although
theory of Relativity for searching and understanding the from the empirical point of view there is a difference
concept of consciousness. In particular the work of Prof between the soul and knowledge yet from the transcendental
Penrose and Prof Stuart Hameroff is very outstanding in this point of view it is sufficient to say that the soul is knower and
respect who have used quantum gravity and tubulins of nothing else. He further said that there is no difference
microtubules in neurons and have introduced a concept of between the knower and his knowledge. From an empirical
Orchestrated Objective Reduction (Orch OR) [30, 31].It point of view an omniscient (Kevali i.e. a pure soul)
appears that GST, concept of ORCH OR and Indian perceives and knows the whole of reality and from the
philosophy can help a lot in further exploring the concept of transcendental point of view he perceives and knows nothing.
consciousness and its evolution It has a capability of perception and cognition. It has
structural as well as functional attributes. [Kachhara 2014]
As per Jainism, telepathy and clairvoyance do exist and
7. Concept of Substances, Soul, are being categorized as examples of direct knowledge. Now
Consciousness and Knowledge in the modern science these faculties are not recognized as they
Jainism are not observed consistently in any scientific experiments
and do not follow the repeatability criteria of space-time
Let us now look at the concept of knowledge in Jainism. In invariance. However, one should realize that these two
Jainism, the world is assumed to be consisting of six distinct paranormal faculties are properties of living systems which
substances. They are: Dharmastikay (Medium of motion), are irreversible systems with memory and are open systems.
Adharmastikaya (Medium of rest), Akashastikaya (Space), Hence even at fundamental level, it will not be appropriate to
Pudgalastikaya (Matter), Jeevastikaya (Living beings assume that these phenomena should follow the rigid
having a soul) and Kala (Time). This medium of motion is conditions of spatial-temporal invariance and criteria of
interpreted as something which causes motion of matter and repeatability. We feel that these phenomena can exist and
is interpreted as equivalent to gravitational force or ether, they need not follow the criteria of modern science.
whereas medium of rest is responsible for position (stability)
of matter and is interpreted as inertia or mass. Matter and 7.2.2. Soul Always Exists But Shows Different Modes or
soul are defined as two completely different substances, Characters (Parinami Nitya)
virtually nothing common in between. Space is defined as a A soul has permanent status that is it is neither born nor
substance which contains all the above substances except dies. However, it shows different modes or characters at
time. Time is treated as a substance which helps in different times but its inner existence remains.
describing change or is also a cause of the changes in matter,
soul and medium of motion. Thus two slightly different 7.2.3. Soul Is Formless (Amurta)
interpretations are there [15]. It does not have any physical form. Thus it is
non-corporeal and has no colour, no taste, neither cold nor
7.1. Concept of Quantization in Jainism hot, neither male nor female etc. Thus it does not have any
property of matter. It may be mentioned that the author has
Space, matter, medium of motion, medium of rest and soul proposed that a pure soul may be an entity for which
causality is neither obeyed nor violated. (Appendix 6) a soul whose names are given in the Appendix 7. It may be
noted that some of these properties are quite similar to the
7.2.4. Soul Is Action Oriented and Directly Enjoys the model of consciousness proposed by Penrose and Hamreoff
Pleasure and also Suffer Because of Its Action using quantum gravity based considerations where concept
(Kartaand Sakshat Bhokta) of Plancks polygon is proposed as the smallest indivisible
Actually soul is also the doer of everything and also unit of space-time geometry with spin-foam like structures
responsible for all actions of a person. It is soul which feels which are dynamic and can contain information.
pleasure or pain, it is soul which has intelligence, it is soul
which is conscious of itself and also conscious of its
surroundings.
7.2.5. Soul Has Innumerable Indivisible Parts Known as
Pradshas (Asankhyat Pradesha)
All souls consist of an innumerable number of parts which
are extremely small and are not further sub-divisible. These
parts are called atma pradesha.
7.2.6. Soul Has a Property of Expansion and Contraction in
Pradesha of Soul (Atma Pradeshame Sankochaur
Vistarkagun)
The pradesha have a property of expansion and
contraction. In principle the flexibility is so much so that for
a very small sized living being, it can occupy just one
Pradesh of space whereas if required then it can expand so Figure 1. Four main characteristics of a soul.
much so that it can occupy the whole universe (akasha).
Table 2. Categories of knowledge and their sub-classification in Jainism
7.2.7. It Has Exactly Same Shape as the Body Which It [15]
Occupies (Swadeh Pariman) SN Type of knowledge Sub classes
It shape is exactly same as the body which it occupies. 1
Mati Jnana(knowledge acquired through 340 and 28 in two
Thus an elephant will have a bigger soul and an ant will have ones own mind different ways
Shruta Jnana(knowledge acquired 18 and 20 in two
a smaller soul. But the number of atma pradesha is the same 2
through external sources) different ways
in both the cases. Actually soul has a property through which
3 Avadhi Jnana (Clairvoyance) 6
its pradesha can contract or expand as per the size of the body.
4 Manha Paryaya Jnana (Telepathy) 2
A comparison with a flame of a lamp is given to describe this
character, which can become small as well as large. 5 Keval Jnana (Absolute knowledge) 1
Otherwise the two souls are exactly same. It is mixed up with
matter like milk and water, but they maintain different 7.3. Definition of Matter in Jainism May Help in Better
identities. Each living being has a unique soul. Understanding of the Difference between Soul and
7.2.8. Invisible and Mixed up with Matter from Infinite Past Matter
(PudgalicAdrashta-van) These days lot of discussion is going on whether soul or
The association between soul and matter is there from an consciousness in obtainable from matter as some kind of
infinite past. But through spiritual practices, the matter can emergent property or it is totally different from matter.
be slowly removed and the soul can be made completely free (Shanta 2015). However the definition of matter in Jainism is
from matter. very interesting and may be useful in the context of
distinguishing soul from matter. As per Jainism, the term
7.2.9. It Affects Matter and in Turn Is Affected by Matter used to describe matter is known as pudgal, a Sanskrit word.
(Parasparprabhav) The word pudgal consists of two parts: pud means to
Because of the above property, the soul can affect the combine and gal means to dissociate. If we look at chemical
matter and in turn can be affected by the matter. reactions or the process of making mixtures and compounds
or even in radioactivity or in particle physics, then this
7.2.10. It Is Not Like a Molecule (Anurupnahihai) definition holds quite well, because in all these cases,
It is practically neither like a molecule nor very large in process of making and breaking is going on at all levels. But
size. It is exactly equal to the size of the body which it this property is not present in case of other substances of
occupies. nature like soul. Thus if we use the definition of matter as
In addition, to these major characteristics of a soul, given in Jainism, then it can probably better help in
Kachhara has provided a list of forty seven characteristics of understanding the difference between matter and soul.
7.4. Soul-Matter Association in Jainism: An Analogy The relative number of various elementary excitations
with Quantum Field Theory in Solid State Physics present in a system is different at different temperatures and
this number varies with temperature. In a similar way the
According to the Jain doctrine of Karmas, a pure soul can number of karmas changes from one animate to another and
have an infinite knowledge, infinite intuition, infinite bliss within a given animate they vary from time to time,
and infinite powder (Four infinities). But from an infinite depending on ones mental state and state of evolution. Their
time in the past, it has been infected by matter. This matter relative quantities are given by the following rule: The age
has been held responsible for the disorder present in the determining species receive the smallest part; a greater
worldly souls. This form of matter has been termed as Karma. portion goes to the body determining and status determining
(The word Karma in Jainism does not mean work, but it is ones, both of which obtain an equal portion. More than that
means a type of very fine category of matter). The whole goes to the knowledge obscuring, intuition obscuring and
universe is full of that kind of matter which can become power hindering species each of which gets an equal portion.
Karma. Due to the presence of different types or karmas Still a larger part than this goes to the belief and conduct
indifferent quantities, different characteristics arc manifested obscuring species and the greatest of all goes to the feeling
by worldly souls i.e.by different living beings. producing species. It is obvious that these karmas are not
We feel that there is an interesting analogy between this very similar to the matter which constitute the bodies of
karma theory of Jains and the quantum field theory used to living beings but are different and could represent state of
study phenomena at low temperature like superconductivity matter.
and super fluidity [42]. Thus a perfectly ordered pure soul is This difference in the number will then determine
analogous to a perfectly ordered ground state which is free different properties of different animates. In case of concept
from any elementary excitations. These elementary of elementary excitations, it is again the number of these
excitations then correspond to Karmas. excitations which determine the disorder in the state of these
At every moment, an empirical soul is attracting this systems, say at different temperatures like thermal and
matter towards him by his actions through mind and body. acoustic properties of these superfluids and superconductors.
This matter which has now become karma then remains
latent (in memory) in the empirical soul for some time which C. Life Time
is determined by the passions at the time of arrival of new The interaction among various excitations causes
matter. Passions in turn are determined by karmas which are scattering among them. Thus in a particular state an
already present. Karmas have the following four excitation stays only for some definite time. Similarly the
characteristics (A) Nature, (B) Number, (C) Lifetime and (D) lifetime of the incoming karmas depends upon their
Intensity interaction with karmas already present which actually
A. Nature determine one's passions. This lifetime is then determined by
karma-karma interaction.
Different properties of different systems originate from
different elementary excitations. Thus phonons, rotons and D. Intensify
vortices are meant for different properties of superfluid Pure matter is neutral. The various effects are manifested
helium at different temperatures. Similarly in case of because of its association with the soul. The effect which
superconductors, there is a superconducting state with very these karmas show depends upon their rasa (juice) which is
high order and there are elementary excitations over it in determined by the passions of the empirical soul. This
form of Cooper Pairs. Similarly karmas have the following intensity is analogous to the energies of different excitations
species. (number in front of each specie indicates its which show different properties. Thus phonons and rotons
sub-categories). determine propagation of sound in liquid helium. The
Knowledge obscuring karmas (5) properties of sound will depend on the contribution from
Intuition obscuring karmas(9) different parts of the spectrums of these excitations.
Feeling producing karmas(2) The concept of elementary excitations can also explain the
Age determining karmas(4) phenomena of phase transitions. Thus different phases of
Belief and conduct producing karmas (28) helium have been tried to explain in terms of elementary
Body determining karmas(103) excitation picture. Similar situation occurs here in this theory
Status determining and karmas(2) also. There are fourteen stages known as Gunasthnas which
Power hindering karmas (5) have been recognized in this theory through which one
Each one of these is held responsible for different types of passes before acquiring the pure soul, starting from a state of
disorder present in the empirical self and impedes the highest sinfulness. These have been nicely explained in
manifestation of true nature of soul. Jainism claims that all terms of various karmas and their mutual interaction.
properties of living beings can be explained in terms of these
8 karmas and their 158 categories.
7.5. Procedure for Spiritual Evolution in Jainism
B. Number
All living beings may be physically different but exist in
the world from the past which does not have any beginning. (through heart), Vachan (through communication) and Kaya
It is due to their attachment with material particles known as (through physical body) and three karans that is bad action
karma that they continuously take births in the world again should not be done by oneself, should not get it be done by
and again. The direction of evolution should be therefore others and it should not be supported if some other is doing it.
towards a goal of liberalizing the soul from all material Several sub categories and concepts are given to handle this
attachment that is all karmas. A process of selection is process in minutest possible details with very extensive
involved in spiritual evolution and certain rules and description.
principles have to be followed described for ordinary It appears that this systems and practices lead to very
humans and for enlightened souls like acharyas and sadhu stable life, increase in self- confidence, recognition of inner
(male monks),sadhvies (female monks) etc. A full fledge strength of soul, and ultimately evolution of ones soul. It is
system of Navatatva (Nine elements) has been developed to preached that one should reduce ones requirements in such a
explain the process of reducing the karmas from past and way that even if there is scarcity of resources, lower
stopping inflow of new karmas. As ones soul evolves, the consumption will guarantee survival of all in a cooperative
number of karmas decreases. It appears that the larger the way.
number of karmas associated with a soul, larger will be the
entropy. 7.6. The Jain Concept of Evolution of Soul through
Several rules have been developed to practically Fourteen Stages with Increasing Knowledge and
implement these concepts in daily life. Five main principles Order
of Jainism known as Mahavratasviz. Satya (truth speaking),
Asteya (Not to do theft), Ahimsa (nonviolence), The path of evolution of soul in Jainism is described
Brahamacharya (Celibacy) and Aprigraha (Minimizing through fourteen stages, through which one has to pass
materialistic possession) have been developed so as to have a through before getting liberalized, that is becoming a pure
discipline life during all stages of evolution. These are the soul from an impure soul which is associated with many
principles to be followed strictly by monks, aacharyas and material particles known as karmas. These fourteen stages or
higher ups in the ladder of evolution. For ordinary human phases are called fourteen Gunasthanas [3]. They are given
beings smaller vratas have been defined which are called in Table 3.
Anuvratas. These are a simplification of the above rules Guna means characteristics and sthan means a position or
meant to start the process of evolution at a very stage. Thus situation. It is very interesting to know that the Jain acharyas
twelve vratas (rules) are there to be followed by shravakas have gone into great depth to describe these fourteen stages
and shravikas(ordinary religious men and women). There are (Kachhara 2014). They are being described through twenty
different types of fasts (Ekasana= eating only once in a day, nine parameters. [3]. The logic used in taking up so many
Aayambil= eating food once in a day without oil, sugar, salt parameters is highly impressive and there are several
etc, Upwas = Not to eat anything in a day, not to eat food for subcategories among these twenty nine categories also. An
days together and their higher version (Maskhhaman that is excellent description is given about the movement of a
fast for one monthand Varsitapthat is fast for one year), and worldly soul from one birth to another and so on. With each
many different types of meditations. stage of development, the knowledge content of soul goes up
To distinguish true knowledge from false knowledge, a and up. A state of highest orderliness is defined as a pure soul,
concept of three jewels is defined knows as samyaka jnaja towards which, everyone has to evolve. This is compatible
(right knowledge), samyaka darshan (right vision) and with the formalism of General Systems Theory where
samayaka charitra (right action or character) etc. Another definite goals are defined.
important concept developed is of three yogas: Manha
Table 3. Different stage of consciousness as discussed in Jainism (Kachhara, 2014) Kindly note the sequence from bottom to top showing direction of
evolution.
stages Name of stage Degree of knowledge or order (14 is a pure soul)
14 Ayogi kevali Static Omniscient State
13 Sayogi kevali Dynamic Omniscient State
12 Kshina mohniya CSR with eliminated greed
11 Upshant mohniya CSR with suppressed greed
10 Sukshma Sampraya CSR with subtle greed
09 Nivrati-Badar CSR with uniformly mild volition
08 Apramat Sayant Complete Self-restraint (CSR) with unprecedented volition
07 Pramat Sayant Careless-free Self-restraint
06 Virtavirat (Deshvirati) EWV with Careless Self-restraint
05 Avirat Samyagya dristhi EWV with partial Self-restraint
04 Mithyatatva Dristhi (Mishra) Non-restrained Enlightened World View
03 Samyagya Mixture of Deluded and Enlightened World view
02 Sasvadan Lingering Enlightened World View
01 Mithyatatva Deluded World View
8. Need to Realize That Scientific processes are possible in the human brain even at biological
temperature. It is claimed that human sub-consciousness
Knowledge Is Only a Subset of the mind works on the basis of quantum computers (through
Total Knowledge System and Actual group of tubulins acting as a cellular automata), and so its
Knowledge Might Be Structured in activities are hidden from us. When the Orch OR takes place,
the Consciousness one enters into classical world. To have a clearer picture, let
us look at the following numbers [43]:
With the advent of science and the resulting technology, a Number of neurons in the human brain: 1011
misunderstanding and misconception has developed among Number of synapses per neuron in the human brain: 103
the masses that the scientific knowledge is the only ultimate Number of operation per synapses in one second: 103
knowledge in the world. Not only this, it also presumed that Number of bit states per second in the human brain:
the knowledge which is experimentally verifiable and 1017
repeatable at any place and at any time alone is the actual Number of tubulins per neuron : 107
knowledge. This is far from the truth. The fact is that the so Number of oscillation per Microtubule : 108
called science is just around 200 years old and the concept of Nanosecond switching in Microtubule automata per
knowledge existed much before that for several centuries. neuron per second : 1016
Vedas, Upnishads, Puranas, Agamas, Mahabharat, Hence for a human brain, number of bits offered per
Ramayana, Koran, Bible have lot of knowledge about life second: 1027
and controls to be followed.
Actually the recent developments in computer science and Thus till quite recently, capacity of human brain was
neurobiology clearly show that knowledge is nothing but assumed to be possess 1017 bits states per second in the
information organized in some way (Goldsmith 1990). And human brain. It was based on the assumption that there are
in turn, information is just organization of data in some 1011 neurons in the brain, and on the average there are 103
fashion. It is also realized that human consciousness (and synapses per neuron and again there are around 103
even animal consciousness) is capable of organizing these operations per synapse per second. And these are treated as
data and can generate information and hence knowledge in classical bits. However, with the new discovery of tubulins
some way. Therefore what we call as scientific knowledge is who individually and collectively (entanglement) behave as
just a subset of this grand concept of knowledge, which can quantum systems, this human capacity has gone up to 1027
exist in the human consciousness, because all interpretations quantum bits of information. It is so because now there are
of all scientific experiments are ultimately done by human around 107 tubulins and there can be at least 109 (actually in
consciousness. the range of 109-1011oscillations per second). So this number
Actually it is argued that quantum computers like of 1016 has to be multiplied with the total number of neurons
in the brain, which is 1011. This may be compared with state of orderliness is achieved and is related to his/her
performance of the best supercomputer in the world that is A behavior as Yogi ?
1 exa FLOPS (EFLOPS) computer system, which is capable
of performing one quintillion (1018) floating-point operations
per second. However, in case of brain, these bit states are not
classical bits but quantum bits (known as qubits, which are
very different from ordinary bits of current computers).
Hence this will ultimately leads to almost infinite
information, as per the latest work in the field of quantum
computers and quantum information. This means that a
human brain essentially can possess almost infinite
knowledge. This idea is therefore very close to the concept of
infinite knowledge possessed by a pure soul in Indian
philosophy in general and Jainism in particular. However,
this needs to be further updated with some more discoveries
in the field of quantum gravity as per them, the smallest unit
of quantized space-time geometry which is known as
Plancks polygon whose size is 10-35 meters multiplied by
Figure 2. Swami Vivekanand, who was known for extra ordinary,
10-43 seconds. These polygons contain spin foams which in photogenic memory
turn can carry information. In that case the information
content of soul would be so huge that infinity will not be a
right word. It would be rather infinity.infinity. It therefore
appears that the ancient hypothesis of Indian monks and
rishies and munies that knowledge is structured in the
consciousness is now probably getting a good support from
the modern
Scientific discoveries: The whole issue therefore needs
further exploration.
9. Need to Study Higher Stages of

Consciousness in a Systematic Way:
Three Examples Which Show That
Concept of Knowledge through
Consciousness and Orderliness
Should Be Seriously Studied
We now give three good evidences which show that there
Figure 3. Srimad Raj Chandji, Guru of Mahatma Gandhi, who was Known
is a need to take the concept of knowledge through as a shatavdhani
consciousness in a very serious way. These examples are
given below:
9.2. Shatavdhan: Demonstration of Extraordinary
Capability of Memory
9.1. Remarkable Memory of SwamyVivekanand
It is mentioned in section 7 that a perfect consciousness
If we look at some meaning of the term consciousness in with the four infinities perceives everything of the universe
the scientific perspective than we find that it is a property of simultaneously and completely by a single cognition.
all biological systems. When our acharyas, rishies and However, a worldly soul (an enlightened soul but not yet
munies talk of realization of a higher state of consciousness perfect) can also have rich knowledge contents due to
which has certain characteristics, then it is worth examining spiritual growth and religious practices. One example of this
the following examples. The first concerns with hypothesis is given below which is called shatavadhan.
extraordinary sharp memory of Swami Vivekanand [32]. As Shatavadhan (Shat- 100 + Avdhan-attention) is a power to
per this Swamiji had such a sharp memory that he almost cover 100 different activities in a single act of attention. One
remembered 11 volumes of Encyclopedia Britannica, which who reaches the stage of shatavadhan is called Shatavadhani.
he had just read once. A question is to be raised by the A shatavadhani can remember 100 different things in a 100
scientific community, what is the mechanism and how this different orders, spoken by 100 different people. This
unbelievable power has been attained by a handful of people facts in ascending, descending and random order. The details
over the human history and because it occurs during a very of questions are given in the Appendix 3.
high stage of spiritual development. This is possible only
when one is able to have self control in order to experience
the power of the soul. According to the modern scientific
belief, a normal human being utilizes hardly 2% to 3% of his
total mental potential. A common man can hear and
remember serially 3 or 4 at a time. This is based on the
conscious mind. Anyone with exceptional intellect can
extend this number from 3-4 to 10-11. However, taking this
number to 100 is beyond the powers of most of the people.
Shatavadhan is the ability to receive, retain and retain 100
activities accrued through the eyes or ear during one period
of attention and carried from the conscious to the
subconscious. A Shatavdhani can utilize a maximum of
mental potential which demands immense concentration.
That is the reason that history can name only countable
shatavdhanis .
In Jain tradition one can name Shrimad Rajchandra, Guru
Figure 4. Pujyaniya Maha Shatavdhani Muni Shri Ajit Chandra Sagarji
of Mahatma Gandhi [36] from whom he learned the concept Maharasahab, disciple of PujyaniyaAacharya Shri Naya Chandra Sagarji
of ahimsa (non-violence). Shrimad exhibited his mnemonic Maharasahab
powers in late 19th Century in Mumbai. Gandhiji[44] had a
great impact of Shrimad of his religious beliefs. This is also
narrated in his autobiography.
The procedure adopted by Shrimadji in giving these
demonstrations of his rare powers was indeed most exacting.
In one demonstration, he could carry out fifty two activities
in a sequence (Appendix 2). He would begin all the fifty-two
activities at once, simultaneously. He would attend to a
portion of each task at a time. He will then attend another
second task, next move on to yet another third task, fourth
task, and so on. After some time, he would return to the first
task. He would cover these rounds, one after the other, until
he had covered the entire fifty- two task. He made it a rule
not to put down any points on paper while attending to these Figure 5. Pujyaniya Mahendra Muiji of Terapanth Samaj who is known as
Shatavadhani
various activities, nor to take any notes and to ask anyone to
repeat anything. This demonstration was done twice in Ahmadabad (Nov
In year 1887 AD, Shrimadji reached the peak of his 16, 2008 with one hundred questions and on January 9, 2009
achievements in this direction. He was Mumbai at the time. with one hundred and eight questions). The former was held
There he gave a demonstration of his powers for in the Town Hall and author was present there. The other
simultaneous mental attention, this time covering a hundred programme was organized in front of Jain medical doctors of
different activities. He gave these demonstrations at centers the country on January 9, 2009 in Ahmedabad. On March 4,
including Faramjee Cowslip Institution at Dhobi Talao in 2012, he gave a demonstration of 200 questions, situations
Mumbai. The demonstration of powers to attend to a hundred and events in the famous Shan Mukhanand Hall in Mumbai
different activities simultaneously earned him a tremendous (and again the author was present there) in presence of
amount of admiration all around. People were profoundly around 5000 persons. It was a mind boggling experience for
impressed by his extraordinary mental powers. (Author a scientific mind. This monk was just 19 years old (in 2008)
could not get the list of these hundred activities). and is a strictly following celibacy and has not spoken from
After one hundred and twenty five years of performance last few years. Now he is around 27 years old.On November
of the Shrimad Raj Chandra at the age of 19, another 16, 2014, Pujyaniya Maharasahab Shri Ajit Chandra Sagarji
Shatavdhani is creating history, again in the same age range. has given demonstration of 500 avdhans in the presence of
This great young Shatavdhani is respected young Muni Shri around 5000 people at Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel stadium in
Ajit Chandra Sagarji Maharasahab, disciple of Pujyaniya the National Sports Club of India in Mumbai from around
Aacharya Shri Naya Chandra Sagarji Maharasahab (sitting 08:30 am to 04:00 pm in the evening. He listens and
on right side of Ajit Chandra Sagarji Maharasahab in the observed to 500 questions or events for about five hours and
Figure 4). He once reproduced not only 100 facts but 108 then answered them in same sequence, reverse sequence and
random sequence. The accuracy would be around 99 percent evolution, their resource consumptions go on reducing. We
with two or three elapses or delayed in exact response. The seriously feel that the various religious and spiritual practices
whole programme was telecasted live on Arihanta TV developed by the ancient Indian seers like Yoga, Meditation,
channel and the author has seen the whole programme. This Sadhna and others are all aimed at an overall decrease in the
will be a unique event in the history after 500 years, when rate of entropy production of this biosphere. Although the
such a demonstration was given. There are few more processes initiated at an individual level but it expands in the
satavdhanies there in India, but their details are not available, society through the various interlinkages present in the social
nor documented properly. Pujyaniya Shri Mahendra Muniji system. It appears that as the number of persons carrying out
of Terapanth Samaj is also one of them (Figure 5). these practices increase the average overall rate of entropy
production of this biosphere decrease. In addition this may
be accompanied by the appearance of a new kind of order
9.3. Did ancient Jain Aacharyas Tried to Estimate Size of
which is being described above and could be linked with an
Smallest Particles of Matter through Some
orderly state of consciousness. Therefore there is a need to
Advanced Knowledge System
investigate the different states of human consciousness
Another example is taken from ancient Jain scriptures which can be in highly ordered states as mentioned in the
known as Triloy Pannati [3] Appendix 4 gives a Table for above sections.
measurement of length. It starts from the smallest particle of
matter and goes up to one Yojana (a commonly used unit of
length prevalent in India even now. This is an octal system 11. Some Examples of Order in Nature
till step 12. It indicates that ancient Jain acharyas have made
an attempt to develop a table for measurement of length in 20 Now let us understand what we mean by order in the
steps. As explained in the Appendix, if we statistically present context. The following examples attempt to illustrate
interpret it then we find that as per their assessment, the size our point of view.
of the smallest particle of matter is 2.9X 10-11 cm. Hence the (a). Climatological order through precise movement of the
size of the smallest particle of matter that is avsannasanna Earth around Sun and the Moon around the Earth along with
skandha is around 2.9 X 10-11 cm. This value lies in between proper mix of various gases in atmosphere with a narrow
the size of a modern atom (10-8 cm) and size of a temperature range etc.
nucleus(10-13 cm). Now we may not know the meanings of (b). Three and up to six seasons on various parts of the
many of the objects used in this Table. But statistically, this Earth, which occur in the periodic way.
is a very significant observation and should be taken quite (c)Agricultural order like crop cycles, water cycles,
seriously by the scientists. At least it cannot be ignored. The weather cycles, soil cycles and their interrelations constitute
mere fact that it was arrived at from the telepathy of advance another example of order in nature.
level through which one can see even the smallest particle of (d). Various cyclic processes in many biological systems
space known as a pradesha in Jainism, should be a very including human systems (cybernetics)
exciting observation. This again shows that the Jain concept (e). Self-organized structures in brain and our body.
of knowledge should be taken very seriously by the scientific (f). Maintenance of economic order in world economy.
community and should be further explored in a careful way. (g). Order in a laser beam
Now the mere fact that this concept might have evolved (h). Order in the life supporting systems, (which could be
through a realization of this higher level of consciousness is some combination some of the of the above) and others
worth examining. It appears to involve advanced telepathy In the present context, order can be defined in terms of the
(known as avadhijnana in Jainism) or some type of advanced Orch OR theory of Hameroff and Penrose as an ordered state
knowledge. An acharya who is having this capability must of a Quantum Computer made of tubulins of microtubules of
have brain in a very high state of order. neurons in human brain with largest number of memory.
Going further, even the information contained in the
space-time geometry which can be made fully available to a
10. Do Spiritual Processes Help to pure human consciousness can be treated as a highly ordered
Reduce Entropy Production and state.
Resource Consumption in the A very advanced concept of order known as Implicate
order in quantum mechanics is also discussed in the
Biosphere? Appendix 5 and it may be very relevant in the present context
From this analysis, we find that Jain Acharyas have as it could represent a pure soul of Jainism and the ultimate
spiritually ordered mind and if we look at their behavior and order one can think of.
daily practices then we find that they consume minimum
resources and hence generate least entropy in the
environment. As they go to higher and higher stages of
12. Concept of Five Different Type of concepts and methodologies from all possible sources like
Eastern philosophy, Western philosophy, modern science,
Bodies as Described in Jainism Which sharp observations of even mysticism. Following are some
May Be Useful in Understanding of these factors which might be relevant here.
Possibilities of How Soul Interacts Non-locality, entanglement and holographic properties
with Matter and Travels after Deaths of consciousness.
Meaning of information, information layers and their
and How Rebirth Takes Place [15] interrelationships.
In Jainism, five different types of bodies are defined which OR, ORCH OR and other mechanisms operating at
some living beings can have. They are defined as follows. different levels.
Audaric body - The body that we see from the outside. At Several other approaches which might be relevant in
the time of death, the soul leaves this body behind. This body this context.
can dissociate and can be cut into parts and so on. Evolution of consciousness and its relation with
Tejas body - This body is responsible for digestion, heat, information.
etc. intheAudaricbodyThis body is responsible for sending Mechanism of Backward propagation in time.
major substances derived from food to various parts of the ESP at various stages of evolution.
Audaric body. At the time of death, it accompanies the soul Signal to Noise ratio in the brain of yogis and monks
and helps to create a new Audaric body for the soul. Systematic exploration of different spiritual systems
Aaharac body - This body is possessed by some special (particularly in India) to see new concepts.
souls. This body is made from auspicious matter, innocent Look for approaches involving non-rigid
but useful for executing some tasks. Aharac body is very spatial-temporal invariance conditions of the modern
small in size. Through these bodies, one can travel to distant science also.
places. Sometimes monks who possess this body or can As per Godels incompleteness theorems, any
acquire through a special spiritual exercise known as a formalism about soul has to be non-mathematical and
Labdhi, use it to travel to the other part of the universe or free of any languages.
to visit a Guru to remove their doubts or to learn new things Concept of Implicate order of quantum mechanics
etc. The whole action is done very quickly. proposed by David Bohm along with the concept of
Vaikriya body -This body can be made very small or very para vidhya, Keval Jnana, mentioned in Hinduism
largein size, very thin or very thick etc.It does not contain (Jainism).
blood, flesh or bones. It cannot rotten nor it can be Higher stages of consciousness and properties
dissociated. The heavenly beings and hellish beings possess associated with them may fall into the domain of
this body by birth. Some human beings do have a capability mysticism but they may provide new avenues of
to develop such bodies using some mysterious thought and should be examined with an open mind, not
mantrasandlabdhies etc. necessarily a scientific perspective. Particularly the
Karmic/Causal body: The karmic matter that covers the forty seven attributes mentioned in Jainism about soul
soul is called karmic body. At the time of death, the soul is needs to be rigorously studies as such concepts only can
accompanied by this body for the next birth. The karmic provide new ideas.
body along with tejas body forms the basis of the other newly We do not want to go into developing any approach as
produced audaric body. such in details, but would like to mention that the above
This concept can help in understanding the movement of factors should be included in any such approach. Also above
soul from one place to another and from one birth to another. sections describe many other ideas and concepts which
There is a need to find out their equivalents in the modern should be part of any such formalism, before any general
concept in which space-time geometry is used to understand hypothesis about consciousness can be developed. A simple
the concept of the consciousness through Objective example of possible information layers is given below to
Reduction. At least this type of interdisciplinary studies in illustrate the true spirit of General Systems Theory. It
the spirit of GST will provide new avenues of thought. illustrates a large number of information layers which might
be important in the process of evolution of consciousness. A
possible set of information layers and their description is
13. Need to Evolve an Optimal Search given below. It starts from bottom with vague and very large
Method to Understand Soul in scale and goes up with decreasing scale and possibility of
Totality increasing complexity and information content. The
implicate order could be the ultimate. The Universal level is
As General Systems Theory takes into account structures, very ordinary scale and provides highly approximate
activities, processes and other connected concepts and even information: (As one goes up from serial number 14 to 1,
methodologies into account, hence an optimal approach is upwards information becomes very rich).
required for better understanding of soul taking ideas, 1. Implicate order.
2. Space-Time geometry level highly ordered states of satavdhanies. In another

3. Nuclear level example, it is shown that ancient Jain Aacharyas might
4. Electronic level have even tried to estimate the sizes of the smallest
5. Atomic level particles of matter like atoms and nuclei during the
6. Amino acid level higher stages of consciousness.
7. Tubulin level 6. Jain literature also talks of five different type of bodies
8. Microtubule level which a human being can have. They are also dealt with
9. Neuron level so that these concepts can be further explored in view of
10. Psychological level possibility of involvement of space-time geometry in
11. Sociological level the field of consciousness and possibility of life after
12. Biosphere level death and rebirth etc. This description can provide new
13. Astronomical level ideas as how soul can carry some type of matter also
14. Universal level etc. with it even after death.
There can be many feedback loops among them at many 7. It is also mentioned that the Jain principle of Live and
Let Live should be compared with the Darwins
places. This is an example of a grand system and any
principle of evolution described by Survival of the
formalism about consciousness must explain these
fittest. The difference between the two will have a
hierarchies of possible information layers and all phenomena
totally different impact on the concept of development
like those given above for this formalism to be successful.
and the society in general and direction of evolution in
General Systems Theory (GST) can provide such an
particular.
approach.
8. It is then mentioned that a new world view provided by
the concept of the Implicate Order of quantum
mechanics as enunciated by David Bohm is also
14. Discussions and Conclusions relevant here and can provide an alternative view to
look at the reality. This implicate order could be closely
Following are the conclusion of this study.
related with concept of Para Vidhya (Knowledge
1. This paper attempts to explore the limitations of
beyond) in Hinduism and Jains concept of Keval
scientific methodologies found so successful to study
Jnana (Single absolute knowledge).
physical systems and infer that they are not adequate to
understand biological and human systems. Hence a This is an exploratory study only but it indicates a need for
concept of General Systems Theory (GST) is required a multidisciplinary approach where many loosely defined
to develop a unified formalism which includes both terms and concepts needs further investigations. They need
physical and biological systems like social systems and to be further refined and explored.
human systems. Through this type of approach, even
science and religion can be reconciled.
2. It is mentioned that the concept of information and Acknowledgement
knowledge has to be also enlarged by taking the
concept of knowledge through consciousness into I am extremely grateful to several Jain Acharyas whose
account. We have to realize that all scientific preachings, Darshan and their lifestyles and blessings have
knowledge is just a small set of knowledge structured in highly motivated me to take up this type of work. The list is
the consciousness. unending but some prominent ones are late Aacharyashri
3. In particular it is shown that Jains concept of Ganesh Lalji Maharasa, Late Shri Nana Lalji Maharasa, Late
knowledge through consciousness (soul) can be very Aacharya Shri Tulsi Maharasa, Late Aacharya Shri
useful to have an enlarged concept of knowledge, Mahapragnyaji, Aacharya Shri Kanaknandji Maharasa,
which can include extra sensory perception (ESP) also. Aacharya Shri Rajyash Surishwarji Maharasa, Prof.
4. It is shown that the Jain concept of evolution in which a Maharasa, Aacharya Shri Nandi Ghosh Vijayji
soul become more and more pure and its knowledge Maharasahab, Acharya Shri Gyan Sagarji Maharasahab,
contents increases, along with increase in orderliness is Aacharya Mahashramanji, Shri Mahendra Muniji
very promising towards better understanding of the Maharasahab, Late pujyaniya Shri Mahesh Yogiji and many
concept of soul. Hence it is argued that such processes other Jain and Hindu Sadhuji and Sadhvijies who have been
of spiritual evolution may be accompanied by a my inspiration and who have motivated and encouraged to
decrease in rate of entropy production at different levels. take such interdisciplinary studies.
This concept is similar to that of fourteen lokas in I am very happy to thank Prof. H. Froehlich; Prof. B. D.
Hinduism (Chopra and Hameroff, 2011). Josephson, Late Prof. E. P. Wigner, Prof. E. C. G. Sudarshan,
5. Some examples of knowledge and order are given like Late Prof Richard Feynman, (whose lectures on physics have
those of Swamy Vivekanand to illustrate the meaning tremendously helped me in better understanding of the laws
of this order. Two more examples from Jainism are of nature). Prof. K. P. Sinha, Prof. C. L. Mehta, Late Prof. D.
given which show extraordinary states of mind in S. Kothari, Prof. M V Murthy, Late Prof Dalsukhbhai
Malvaniya Sahab and my all teachers and Maharana Bhupal Practitioners believe that non-violence and self-control are
College, Udaipur, for interesting correspondence, discussion the means by which they can obtain liberation.
and sending highly critical comments with appreciation Jains believe in the notion that truth and reality are
about some of the above work. perceived differently from diverse points of view. This
I am also thankful to Late Dr. U. N. Upadhyay, Dr. K. C. doctrine is formally called anekantavada. According to it,
Sogani, Dr. L. K. Kothari, Prof. Narendra Bhandari, Prof. human beings are limited in their perception and knowledge
Rajmal Jain, Prof. Paras Mul Aagarwal, Shri Jitendra Shah, about the reality. They can thus have only partial information.
Dr. Sudhir Shah, Dr. Sanjeev Sogani, Dr. Narayan Lal Philosophical and theological disputes arise only because of
Kachhara, Late Shri H. S. Sarupria, Shri F. C. Mehta and the partial knowledge of human beings. The Jain doctrine
Shri D. L. Mehta for their keen interest in this work. stresses on the existence of soul. According to Jainism, every
However, this work was possible only because of inspiration living being is a soul and have a separate existence from the
and foundation laid by my parents Late Shriman Balwant body that houses it. This soul undergoes a cycle of
Singhji Sahab Pokharna, mother (Baiji) late Shrimati Lahar reincarnations. Jainism postulates the existence of fine
Kunwarji Pokharna, my grandmother late Shrimati Bhur particles of matter called karma. These karmic particle sticks
Baiji Pokharna, my Bhuwasa Shrimati Mohan Deviji to the soul on account of the soul's interaction with the
Chowdhry, Phuphasa Shriman Daulat Singhjji Chowdhry, karmas and it is through this karma that the soul is
my elder brother Shri Jagat Singhji Pokharna, Late Shri reincarnated and feels pleasure and pain.
Rekhab Chandji Ostwal, Late Shri Mohan Lalji Khaliwal, The word Jainism is derived from a Sanskrit verb Ji which
Late Shri Paras Mulji Ostwal, Late Shri Prem Chandji means to conquer. It refers to a battle with the passions and
Ostwal, my wife Sunanda Pokharna and several relatives and bodily pleasures that the Jaina ascetics undertake. Those
friends. who win this battle are termed as Jina (conqueror). The term
Jaina is thus used to refer to laymen and ascetics of this
Appendix 1. (See Kachhara, [14], Mardia and Rankin tradition alike.
[47], Bhandari [48], Kumar Pal Desai [49] and [50] for Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jains
excellent digital source of books on Jainism traditionally trace their history through a succession of
twenty-four propagators of their faith known as tirthankara
Jainism, traditionally known as Jaina Dharma is an Indian
with dintha as the first tirthankara and Mahvra as the
religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all
last. For long periods of time Jainism was the state religion of
living beings and emphasizes spiritual independence and
Indian kingdoms and widely adopted in the Indian
equality between all forms of life. The essence of Jainism is
subcontinent.
concern for the welfare of every being in the universe.
Appendix 2. List of Activities that could be carried by Shri Raichandji one after the other without using any pen or
paper
1. To play the game of chopat, a kind of checkerboard, with three different player 1
2. To play cards with three different persons 1
3. To play chess with one person 1
4. To keep a tally of the chimes of a Zalar a small gong 1
5. To Keep computing sums mentally invoking addition, Subtraction, multiplication And division 4
6. To count the beads on a thread 1
7. To compose verses on sixteen diverse topics selected afresh, and in metrical forms Chosen by various referees 16
8. To answer about eight new riddles 8
9 To recall four hundred words given at random from languages including Greek, English, Sanskrit, Arabic, Latin, Urdu,
Gujarati, Marathi, Bengali, rearranging them in proper Order such as subject, object etc. all the while attending to various
other matters. 16
10 To explain certain things to a student 1
11 Commentary on certain items of figures of speech 2
Total activities = 52
Appendix 3. Details of one hundred questions answered in the same sequence by Shri Ajit Chandra Sagarji
Maharasahab. (These questions are actually from another demo which he gave during a Jain Doctors conference
held on January 10, 2009 in Ahmedabad, India)
1 to 10 One Line sentences may be in questioners form
11-20 Words of Wisdom in a sentence of 5 to 7 words
21 First line of a Sanskrit Shloka
22 to 30 Synonyms or Antonym in Gujarati

31 Second line of the same Sanskrit Shloka
32 to 40 Idioms
41 Third line of Sanskrit Shloka
42 to 50 Any first line from five Pratikraman or Navsmaran (religious books)
52 to 60 Names of any priest, religious book or religious place
61 A mathematical puzzle
62 to 70 Name of any philosopher, scientist or patriotic person
71 First part of 16 Blocks- mathematical miracle
72 to 80 See and Remember (DarshanAvadhan)
81 Second part 16 blocks- mathematical miracle
82 to 90 See and Remember (DarshanAvadhan)
91 9 Blocks- Mathematical miracle
92 to 99 Mathematical calculation with 8 persons
100 Day of the Birthday
101-104 A line from Religious, cultural or patriotic song
105 to 108 Shloka from Jain Aagams
Appendix 4. Table of Measurement of Length as Found in the Jain Literature (Gupta 1975)
(1) Infinitely many parmus = 1 Avasannasannaskhandha
(2) 8 Avasannasanna units = 1 Sannasannaskandha
(3) 8 Sannasannaunits = 1 Trutreu
(4) 8 Trutreuunits = 1 Trasareu
(5) 8 Trasareu units = 1 Rathareu
(6) 8 Rathareu units = 1 Uttamabhogbhmiblgra (U. b.b.)
(7) 8 U. b. b. Units = 1 Madhyamabhogbhmiblgra (M.b.b.)
(8) 8 M. b. b. Units = 1 Jaghanyabhogbhmiblgra(J.b.b.)
(9) 8 J. b.b. Units = 1 Karma bhmiblgara (K.b.b)
(10) 8 K. b. b. Units = 1 Liks
(11) 8 Liks units = 1 Yk
(12) 8 Yk = 1 Yava (Barley corn)
(13) 8 Yava units = 1 Angula(Finger breadth)
(14) 6 Angula units = 1 Pda
(15) 2 Pda units = 1 Vitasti
(16) 2 Vitasti units = 1 Hasta (Forearm)
(17) 2 Hasta units = 1 Rikku or Kisku
(18) 2 Kisku units = 1 Dada or Dhanus (Bow)
(19) 2000 Dadasunits = 1 Krosa
(20) 4 Krosa units = 1 Yojana
Here a parmu has been defined as the smallest particle of matter having no length, no breadth and no height. This is
defined as a particle which can be only thought of but is not practically perceivable. The particle which is perceivable is a
group of parmnus. The smallest of such skandha is anavasannasanna skandha. Let us therefore estimate its size by roughly
taking the average size of a finger to be equal to 2 cm. We can therefore write the following simple formula by using the
above Table: 2 cm = 812 of size of avsannasanna skandha. Therefore Size of avsannasanna skandha = 2X8-12 cm. = 2.9 X
10-11 cm. This value lies between the size of an atom 10-8 cm and the size of a nucleus that is 10-13 cm
Appendix 5. Implicate Order of Quantum mechanics, quantum states. Whatever their nature and character,
Para Vidhya and Keval Jnana according to Bohm, these parts are considered in terms of the
whole, and in such terms, they constitute relatively
An abstract concept of Order has been also explored by autonomous and independent "sub-totalities". The
David Bohm, who proposed a cosmological order radically implication of the view is, therefore, that nothing is entirely
different from generally accepted conventions, which he separate or autonomous.
expressed as a distinction between the implicate and This implicate order of quantum mechanics as interpreted
explicate order, described in the book [22] by David Bohm by David Bohm seems to be quite close to the Jain concept of
In proposing this new notion of order, Bohm explicitly Keval Jnana (absolute knowledge) as described in Jainism
challenged a number of tenets that are fundamental to much that is when all worldly knowledge disappear in this state and
scientific work. The tenets challenged by Bohm include: only absolute knowledge is left. In this state, a pure soul
1. Those phenomena are reducible to fundamental perceives all aspects of all substances in the Universe. Total
particles and laws describing the behavior of particles, past, total present and total future of everything knowable in
or more generally to any static (i.e. Unchanging) the Universe like all material entities, all living beings,
entities, whether separate events in space-time, medium of motion, medium of rest and their all infinite
quantum states, or static entities of some other nature. properties are perceived in one single glance. Once a person
2. Related to (1), that human knowledge is most acquires this knowledge, all obstruction to the knowledge
fundamentally concerned with the mathematical disappears. Actually some more research is required to study
prediction of statistical aggregates of particles. these two similar aspects of reality visualized in two
3. That an analysis or description of any aspect of reality
different systems.
(e.g. Quantum theory, the speed of light) can be
unlimited in its domain of relevance.
4. That the Cartesian coordinate system, or its extension to Appendix 6. Can a soul be an entity for which causality is
a curvilinear system, is the deepest conception of neither obeyed nor violated?
underlying order as a basis for analysis and description
In order to explain, the concept of soul as Indian
of the world.
philosophy in general, Pokharna [46] has introduced an
5. That there is ultimately a sustainable distinction
abstract entity for which causality is neither obeyed nor
between reality and thought, and that there is a
violated B. This is an entity for which causality is neither
corresponding distinction between the observers and
obeyed nor violated. The principle of causal connection points
observed in an experiment or any other situation (other
out that for every effect there is a definite cause behind it (or a
than a distinction between relatively separate entities
large number of causes behind it) and every effect in turn
valid in the sense of explicates order).
becomes a cause of some other effect. Now when we say that
6. That it is, in principle, possible to formulate a final
causality is violated then it can have the following two
notion concerning the nature of reality; e.g. a Theory of
different meanings: (i) when the causality is violated then this
Everything. can mean that temporally the role of cause and effect has been
According to David Bohm, in the enfolded [or implicate] reversed so that first we have an effect and then there is a
order, space and time are no longer the dominant factors cause. This is the situation believed to be existing in the case
determining the relationships of dependence or of tachyons (particles moving faster than light). They are
independence of different elements. Rather, an entirely assumed to be moving backward in time so it is said that
different sort of basic connection of elements is possible, causality is violated by tachyons.(ii) Violation of causality
from which our ordinary notions of space and time, along can also mean that there may be some effects (causes) whose
with those of separately existent material particles, are causes (effects) may not be known to us orno physically
abstracted as forms derived from the deeper order. These reasonable causes (effects) can be searched for given effects
ordinary notions in fact appear in what is called the (causes). This is the situation which we have found in
"explicate" or "unfolded" order, which is a special and quantum mechanics where we have found that there are some
distinguished form contained within the general totality of all uncontrollable fluctuations in the predictability of the state of
the implicate order. a system in a given measurement process. These fluctuations
In Bohms conception of order, then, primacy is given to are such that we cannot assign any known factors or causes
the undivided whole, and the implicate order inherent within responsible for it. Hence this is an entity in search of perfect
the whole, rather than in parts of the whole, such as particles, determinism. (Prof. B D Josephson admired this idea through
quantum states, and continua. For Bohm, the whole a letter, I am grateful to him)
encompasses all things, structures, abstractions and
processes, including processes that result in (relatively) Appendix 7. Forty Seven characteristics of a soul as
stable structures as well as those that involve metamorphosis defined in Jainism: (work is in progress to understand
of structures or things. In this view, parts may be entities their meanings in the modern context (Kachhara [51])
normally regarded as physical, such as atoms or subatomic
particles, but they may also be abstract entities, such as 1. Life Power (Jivatva Shakti)
2. Consciousness (Chiti Shakti) laid foundation for doing this type of work.
3-4. Self-awareness and Intelligence Power (Drisi Shakti ---------------------------------------------------------------------
and Gyan Shakti)
5. Bliss Power (Shukha Shakti)
6. Spiritual Energy (Virya Shakti)
7. Almighty Power (Prabhutwa Shakti)
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------------------------------------------------------------
Systems Theory and Jain Philosophy Could Provide New
This paper is dedicated to Pokharnas parents that are Ways of Looking at the Field of Bioethics, The Journal of
mother Late Shrimati Lahar Kunwarji Pokharna and Inter Religious Dialogue (JIRD), Issue 12, Spring 2013. Also
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Universal Journal of Psychology 4(3): 142-164, 2016 http://www.hrpub.

General Systems Theory (GST) and Concepts of Indian

3.2. Godel's Incompleteness Theorems and Scientific

Table 1. (From: John Gigch, 1978 [9])

3.6. Can a Person Remain without Food and Water for 75

stages Name of stage Degree of knowledge or order (14 is a pure soul)

14 Ayogi kevali Static Omniscient State

13 Sayogi kevali Dynamic Omniscient State

12 Kshina mohniya CSR with eliminated greed

11 Upshant mohniya CSR with suppressed greed

10 Sukshma Sampraya CSR with subtle greed

09 Nivrati-Badar CSR with uniformly mild volition

08 Apramat Sayant Complete Self-restraint (CSR) with unprecedented volition

07 Pramat Sayant Careless-free Self-restraint

06 Virtavirat (Deshvirati) EWV with Careless Self-restraint

05 Avirat Samyagya dristhi EWV with partial Self-restraint

04 Mithyatatva Dristhi (Mishra) Non-restrained Enlightened World View

03 Samyagya Mixture of Deluded and Enlightened World view

02 Sasvadan Lingering Enlightened World View

01 Mithyatatva Deluded World View

9. Need to Study Higher Stages of

2. Space-Time geometry level highly ordered states of satavdhanies. In another

22 to 30 Synonyms or Antonym in Gujarati

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