Cosmology
In the religion of Jainism, there are many unique ideas that the Jains have about the universe. The word that the Jains use for the universe is Loka. Loka is the framework of the universe which includes not only our world, but also the worlds of heaven and hell. They believe that the universe has always existed and always will exist. Jains do not believe that any God or higher power created the universe, and it is regulated by cosmic laws and is kept going by its own energy processes. At first glance this concept might be hard for one to even begin to believe, however scientist have looked deeper into Jainism beliefs about the universe and found that their beliefs are compatible with modern scientific thinking. Jains believe that within the universe everything can be put into two categories, Jivas, which are living souls, and Ajivs, which are everything else, including space. In Jainism there seems to be a much bigger difference between space and the universe. For example, they believe that space is infinite while the universe is not. In the Jains’ eyes nothing in the universe is ever created or destroyed; it just changes from one form to another. Jainism is much like Buddhism in the sense that their main goal is to liberate their soul. In Jainism this is known as Moksa while in Buddhism it's known as Moksha. The way Moksa is achieved is by following the five great vows, protecting other souls, and protecting nature. This religion has many unique and interesting views on the universe which help open one's eyes to a whole new way of thinking about space and the universe.