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Bhagwan MAHAVIR
And His Relevance in Modern Times
Dr. NARENDRA BHANAWAT Dr. PREM SUMAN JAIN
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BHAGWAN MAHAVIRA
AND
HIS RELEVANCE
IN
MODERN TIMES
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BHAGWAN MAHAVIRA AND HIS RELEVANCE IN MODERN TIMES
Editors:
Dr. Narendra Bhanawat Department of Hindi. University of Rajasthan.
Dr. Prem Suman Jain Department of Sanskrit, University of Udaipur.
Associate Editor :
Dr. V. P. Bhatt Department of Sanskrit, University of Udaipur.
Publisher:
AKHIL BHARATAVARSHIYA SADHUMARGI JAIN SANGHA
BIKANER
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Published by:
Akhil Bharatavarshiya Sadhumargi Jain Sangha
Samata Bhawan Rampuriya Marg,
BIKANER (Raj.)
܀
First Edition-1,000
1976
Price: Rs. 25.00
Printed by:
Friends Printers & Stationers
Johari Bazar, Jaipur-3 (Raj.)
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE
We have great pleasure in presenting "Bhagwan Mahāvira and His Relevance in Modern Times" before the Jaina World on the auspicious occasion of the 2500 years of Nirvāna of Lord Mahāvīra, In commemoration of the start of Lord Mahāvira Nirvāna Year, we published “Lord Mahāvīra and His Times” and “Bhagwān Mahävira Ādhunika Sandarbha Main” (Hindi) written and edited by Dr. K.C. Jain, Vikram University, and Dr. Narendra Bhānāwat, Rājasthān University respectively; and the present volume marks its end. The present volume which is an embodiment of the great labour of the distinguished scholars of almost all parts of India, deals with various subjects like Religion, Philosophy, Science, Language and Literature etc.
Shri Akhila Bhāratvarshiya Sadhumārgi Jaina Sangha was founded in September 30, 1962 at Udaipur, Rajasthan with the main objectives of rendering financial assistance to the promising and dedicated students and scholars by providing scholarships, boarding house facilities, publishing important books, encouraging moral education and running workshops for women. Besides, the Sangha also does everything possible for the upliftment of the backward people.
The present volume is one of the fruits of the major activities of the Sangha,
We take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have very kindly contributed their valuable articles
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Mahāvira and His Relevance
to this volume and thus enhanced its grace. We are grateful to the Editors Dr. Narendra Bhānāwat and Dr. P.S. Jain as well as Dr. V.P. Bhatt, who accomplished this entrusted task very efficiently in time,
We hope this volume will pave the way for better understanding of the teachings of Lord Mahāvīra and also will provide a key to the solutions of the burning problems of today.
Gaman Mal Chordiya
President
Bhanwar Lal Kothari
Secretary
Shri Akhila Bhāratvarshiya Sadhumargi Jaina Sangha Bikaner,
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EDITORS' NOTE
On the eve of the 2500 years of Lord Mahāvira’s Nirvāna, a large and varied number of publications are being brought out by many Institutions all over India and abroad. On this auspicious occasion the present one is an addition to the series pertaining to the teachings of Lord Mahāvira. A serious study on the relevance of the thoughts and the teachings of Lord Mahāvira in the modern times has been a desideratum. Hence, it was decided by the Akhila Bhāratavarshiya Sadhumārgi Jaina Sangha to bring out two volumes (one in Hindi and another in English) to meet this long-felt need. Volume in Hindi is already out and in English is before you which is the embodiment of the Sangha's strong determination.
Though all the articles received could not be included in this volume, yet, we feel that most of the topics depicting Lord Mahāvīra's thoughts and teachings have been incorporated. The articles which have been presented here exhibit profound erudition of the scholars.
The life of Lord Mahāvira is full of revolution. Mahāvīra himself was an embodiment of revolution. He led the people from darkness to light and taught them the art of living. He not only radically changed the social pattern of those days but also the mental pattern of life of the people and that is still influencing the people today. He endeavoured and succeeded in completely changing the society by the over-all progress of an individual. By describing and enumerating the eight-fold virtues of Samyag
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Editors' Note
Darshan, Mahāvira, first of all, made individual perfect, and subsequently made him responsible for social welfare. He propagated, with all vigour, the vows of Ahimsā and Aparigraha with a view to ensuring equal distribution among all living beings. Mahāvira implemented it in his own life and thus put forth an example before the people.
In the field of religion and philosophy, Mahāvira propagated independence of individual and manysidedness of truth. He rejected the idea of being guided by an invisible force and preached that a man is architect of his own fortune. It was Mahāvīra only who, for the first time, advocated absolute liberty in every field of life. Today's value of life is by no means different from it. Every individual in this world wants to lead an independent life and wishes to make progress. He is no longer prepared to tolerate any external interference either of human being or divine. From this view-point the theory of Karman propagated by Mahāvīra gives the message of self-dependence of the individual as well as of the masses.
The theory of Anekānta propagated by Mahāvīra has a great relevance today. It is not wise to stick to any one-sided approach to a problem. One has to ponder over all the aspects and has to consider the manysidedness of truth. The threads of national integration are rooted in it. Regarding the concept of the world etc., Mahāvira's ideology is very much scientific. Many of these ideologies have been found correct by modern scientific inventions also.
The articles of A. N. Upadhye, P. L. Vaidya, J. C. Jain, Nathmal Tatia, Beni Prasad, Prabhakar Machwe and S. C. Jain have been taken from the Indian Institute of World Culture, Bengalore, No. 25; Proceedings of Prakrit Seminar, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, 1968; Proceedings of the Seminar in Prakrit
Studies, University of Poona, 1969; Bhikshu Smriti Grantha,
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Xiii
Calcutta; Jaina Cultural Research Society, Sammati publications No. 1, Varanasi, 1951; Tirthankar, Februaı y, 1975 and Tirthankar, February, 1975 respectively. We are thankful to the publishers for their permission.
We are extremely grateful to the contributors who have been very kind to contribute their valuable articles for this volume. We are also thankful to Dr. K.C. Sogani Asso. Prof. Deptt. of Philosophy of Udaipur for his suggestions,
We are particularly grateful to Shri Devendra Mohan Kasliwal, B. A., (Retired R. A. S.) for taking pains in going through the manuscripts and their printed copies from time to time, and preparing the corrigendum. We are also thankful to the Press (Friends Printers, Jaipur) for timely printing of the book.
Lastly, it is because of the determined efforts of the members of the Executive Committee of the Akhil Bhāratvarshiya Sadhumārgi Jaina Sangha, Bikaner, that this volume could see the light of the day. We are highly thankful to them for this.
1 JANUARY, 1976
EDITORS
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CONTENTS
Publisher's Note
Editors' Note
1. Mahãyira and his Philosophy of Life
... A.N. Upadhye 2. Mahāvira and Prākrit Dialect... P.L. Vaidya 3. Prākrit and Hindi
... J.C. Jain 4. Nayas : Ways of Approach and Observation
... Nathmal Tatia
5. Anekāntavāda and Bertrand
Russell's Doctrine of Perspectives
... P.K. Mathur
6. Anekāntavāda and World
Peace
... Bhagchandra Jain
7. Jaina Dielectic and Modern
Thought
...T.G. Kalghatgi
8. Bhagwan Mahāvīra's Ahimsa
and World Peace
... S.C. Diwakar
9. Mahāvira’s Non-violence in
Modern Scientific Age 10. The Concepts of Mind.
... D.S. Parmaj
... J.C. Sikdar
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Contents
11. Scientific Spirit in Mahāvira's
Philosophy
why
... M.S. Murdia
72
77
12. Relevance of Mahāvira's
Message in the World of today ... J.P. Jain 13. Mahāvira on Individual and
His Social Responsibility ... K.C. Sogani
81
14. Social Significance
Ethics
of Jain
... R.C. Dwivedi
86
15. Socialistic
Mahāvira
Discipline
and
... P.M. Upadhye
92
16. World Problems and Jain
Ethics
... Beni Prasad
97
17. Mahāvīra's Thought and its
Relevance in Modern Times
... P.S. Jain
107
18. Jainism and Modern Age
... Prabhakar Machwe
113
19. Philosophy of Samatā (Equality) ... Acharya Shri Nana Lalji in Modern Outlook
Maharaj
118
20. Lord Mahāvīra's Theory of
Samatvayoga : (A PsychoAnalytical Approach)
... S.M. Jain
127
21. Mathematical Foundations of
Jaina Karma System
... L.C. Jain
132
22. Lord Mahāvīra and Emotional
Integration
... V.R. Nagar
151
23. Lord Mahāvira and National
Character
... Narendra Bhanawat
156
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24. Pictorial Factors of Jain Miniatures Viewed in Modern Context
25. Jainism in Economic Perspec
tive
26. Institutional Models of State
and Government in Mahavira's
Tradition
27. Educational
Jaina Philosophy
28. Education in Jaina Canons
29. Pudgala in the Philosophy of
Mahavira and Modern
Science
Foundations of
Our Contributors
Corrigendum
...
...
Mahavira and His Relevance
O.D. Upadhya
S.L. Mandawat
C.M. Jain
S.C. Jain
C.M. Karnawat
H.S. Saruparia
162
.167
177
186
190
196
213
218
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MAHAVIRA AND HIS PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE
A. N. Upadhye
In the East, along the fertile banks of the Ganges and the Jumna, there flourished in India a succession of ascetic Teachers, who, hailing from rich families, had enough leisure for high thinking and religious meditation. For them, the spirit in man, and also in all animate beings, was the focus of religious meditation as well as an object of investigation in relation to all that is inanimate in the universe. This brought them face to face with the problem of the life here and elsewhere, since both spirit and matter were real for them-real, and therefore essentially eternal, though passing through the flux of change. Life here and hereafter was the result of the beginningless connection between spirit and matter, which was the source of all the misery in this world; and the aim of religion was to separate matter from spirit, so that the latter might achieve a state of liberation in which it would exist in a plenitude of purity, bliss and knowledge. Man is his own master; his thoughts, words and acts have made him, and continue to make him, what he is; it is in his hands to make or mar his present or future; the great Teachers of the past are his ideals to inspire him along the path of religion; and he has to struggle, with hope, on the well-trodden path of spiritual progress, following a code of moral and ascetic discipline, till he reaches the goal of spiritual Emancipation or perfection.
Thus it will be seen that here, in the Eastern stream of religious thought, there is no place either for a Deity who shapes the universe and meddles in its matters, or for a priest invested with mysterious powers to propitiate him. This line of thought is well represented by Jaina Tirthari karas like Neminātha, Pārsva and
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Mahāvīra, by Ajīvika Teachers like Gosala, by Sāṁkhya philosophers like Kapila and promulgators of Buddhism like Buddha.
With the political freedom of our land, there is great enthusiasm all over the country, particularly patent and eloquent among the educated classes who have started revaluing the ancient Indian heritage in a new perspective. It is in the fitness of things that great personalities like Mahāvīra and Buddha are remembered with reverence in this context. I have often wondered how these great Teachers, whose preachings have such an abiding human appeal, could have been somewhat neglected for some time in the very land which they enriched and elevated in its moral stature. It is, however, a happy augury that their greatness is being appreciated to-day all the more. As usual, it is an irony with us, that Western Scholarship has to make us aware of the greatness of our men and matters. Very valuable work in the fields of Jaina and Buddhist literatures was done by Western savants; and to-day, we are in a position to appreciate the greatness of Mahavira and Buddha; better than we could do in earlier days.
Mahāvīra was a contemporary of Buddha, and he stands as the 24th Tirthařkara whose preachings fully breathe the spirit of what I have called the Eastern stream of thought in India. All that Mahāvīra and his predecessors have preached goes under the name of Jainism to-day, but that should not come in the way of our appreciating and putting into practice the great principles preached by Mahāvīra which stand to-day embedded and elaborately interpreted in Jaina literature in different languages.
Those of you who have visited Bihar can testify to the fertility of that part of India but more than that, in the history of Indian thought and culture Bihar has played an important role. The great champions of Ātman philosophy like Buddha, Janaka and Mahāvīra hail from this part. It is Mithila in Bihar that has made substantial contributions to Mimāṁsā, Nyāya and Vaiseșika systems. Some 2500 years ago, Vaiśālī (modern Basarh, some 30 miles to the north of Patna) was a prosperous capital. Suburb of it was called Kundapura or Kșatriyakunda; and here in the place of King Siddhārtha of his queen Trišalā or Priyakariņi Mahāvira was born; to emphasise his various outstanding traits, he was also known as Jñāta-putra, Vaiśālīya, Vardhamāna, Sanmati, etc. His mother belonged to the family of Cetaka, the mighty Licchavi ruler of
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3
Videha at whose call Licchavis as Mallas cooperated both for defence and offence. Tradition is not unanimous about his marriage; according to the one, he was a celibate throughout; while according to another he married Yaśodā and had a daughter called Priyadarśanā. As a prince, having excellent connections with ruling dynasties of his times, it was expected of him to rule with authority and enjoy the pleasures of a prosperous career after his father. But that was not to be. Just at the age of 30, Mahāvīra decided like a hero to relinquish the comforts of a princely life and undertook the life of an ascetic with a view to attain spiritual happiness, and thus place before the world the correct values of life and an example of his having solved its problems in a successful manner. Attachment and possessive instincts have been the greatest obstacles in the attainment of spiritual peace and purification; and he gave them up in an ideal manner. Physical comforts are not an end in themselves; and Mahāvira became a Nirgrantha, and went about practising severe penances, even without any clothes on his body. We have graphic description of his hardships given in detail in the Ācārānga, etc; people abused him, boys pelted him with stones, and thus he was subjected to many calamities in the Eastern part of Bengal. After twelve years of rigorous penances, Mahāvira had a truimph over physical weaknesses and limitations; and he attained pure and perfect knowledge which transcended the limits of space and time; he became a Kevali, a Sarvajña. Srenika Bimbasāra was his contemporary and was ruling at Rājagraha; Mahāvīra delivered his first sermon on the hill Vipulācala in the vicinity of Rajagraha. For full thirty years he visited different parts of the country; and it was his Vibāra, or religious tour, as well as that of Buddha, that gave Magadhan territory the name of Bihar Mahāvīra's parents belonged to the school of Pārsva. During his Vihāra, Mahāvira explained to his society various problems of life and their solutions. He laid maximum stress on the sanctity and dignity of the spirit, and, his preachings were meant for one and all who conformed to the religious discipline outlined by him. The organisation of his followers, including princes as well as poor peasants, conformed to the fourfold pattern consisting of Monks, Nuns, Householders and House-ladies; this nomenclature continues in Jainism even to this day. The influence of the great principles preached by Mahāvīra is seen in India even outside Jainism. He was a Tirthankara,
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who prepared a ford for the suffering humanity to achieve peace here and bliss elsewhere. In view of the all-embracing character of Mahavira's principles, Samantabhadra, as early as c. 2nd century A.D., called the Tirtha of Mahavira by the name Sarvodaya, which term is so commonly used now-a-days after Gandhiji. At the age of 72, Mahāvira attained Nirvāņa at Pava in 527 B.C. and this day is celebrated with lights all over India as the Divāli day.
A large amount of literature, both ancient and modern, is available on the life and activities of Mahavira; and many myths, miracles and legends have grown about his personality, as usual with all religious dignitaries. Scientific and historical scrutiny unaffected by sectarian prejudice and religious bias is made difficult by the very nature of the sources from which the information has to be gleaned. What I have attempted above is a bare outline of Mahavira's biography. If it is difficult, or beyond the means of historical study, to know all about Mahāvīra, in my humble opinion, it is more important to understand and put into practice the principles preached by Mahavira than to discuss this detail of that about his personal life.
In this connection, you will excuse me, if I make a little digression of introducing to you some aspects of Vaisālī (spelt as Vaishali), the birthplace of Mahavira. The town was at its height of prosperity, and by its association with Mahāvīra it became farfamed in the religious world of India. Teachers from Vaishali preached great principles for the uplift of humanity and lived an austere life of fast and penances; and Mahavira stood out as the most prominent of his contemporaries. According to the Mahāvastu, Buddha sought his first teachers in Alara and Uddaka at Vaishali and even started his life as a Jain under their teachings. After discovering his Middle Path, he became more and more honoured at Vaishali, receiving even royal reception; the city built for him a Kūtagāra-śālā, a pinnacled rest house, in its suburban park known as the Mahāvana. It is at Vaishali that the Second Buddhist Council held; and it came to be looked upon as a holy spot where differences in the Sangha could be ironed out. His celebrated disciple Amrapali was a resident of Vaishali at which place she bequeathed her park to Buddha and the community. Vaishali had its political significance too. It had a Republican Government, and King Chetaka, the Licchavi, Republican President, organized a Federation of Republics comprising Mallakis, and 18 Gaṇa-rājās of Kāśi-Kośala, besides the
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Licchavi Republics.' The working of the Vajjian Confederation so vividly described in the Dighanikāya, is an unique example of its kind and essentially contributed to the efficiency and solidarity of the Republic. Further Vaishali was a commercial capital where seals were issued by three classes of guilds, namely, Bankers, Traders and Artisans. When Fa-Hien visited India (A.D. 399-414). It was an important religious, political and commercial centre; but its fall began in the next three centuries, and what Hiuen-Tsang (A.D. 635) saw there was more or less in ruins. And to day it is a neglected village.
The Indian Republic of to-day has inherited a great deal from the spirit of Vaishali, and the Vajjian concord is the pedestal of our Democracy, apart from the fact that Ahimsā with its corollaries, viz-Pancasilās, is the bed-rock on which our policies are built. By adopting Hindi as the State Language, our Central Government is only carrying on the policy of Magadhan Governments which gave more importance to the language of the masses than to that of the classes. The inscriptions of Ashoka are all in Prakrit.
Through the ravages of time and tide, and due to political vicissitudes Vaishali fell into ruins, and we had nearly forgotten its identity. But you will be pleased to hear that Vaishali has not forgotten its worthy sons. Among the Jaina and Buddhist relics, the most important remnant is a plot of fertile land, owned by a local significant family of Simha or Nātha Kşatriyas, which is never cultivated, as far as the family memory goes, because for generations it is believed in the family that on that spot Mahāvīra was born and hence it is too sacred to be cultivated. It is remarkable event in the religious history of India that the memory of Mahāvira is so concretely kept at his birthplace by his kinsmen though 2500 years have quietly elapsed.
The period of which Mahāvira lived was undoubtedly an age of acute intellectual upheaval in the cultural history of India; and among his contemporaries there were such religious teachers as KeśaKambalin, MakkhaliGośāla, PakudhaKaccāyana, PurāņaKaśśapa, SañjayaBelatthiputta and Tathāgata Buddha. Mahāvīra inherited a good deal from earlier Tirtharkaras. He left behind not only a systematic religion and philosophy but also a well knit social order of ascetics and lay followers who earnestly followed and practised what he and his immediate disciples preached.
For Pr
ernational
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Mahāvīra and Buddha lived in the same age and moved about in the same area with the same dynasties and rulers in view. They stressed the dignity of man as man, and preached to the masses in their own language high moral ideals which advanced the individual on the spiritual plane and further contributed to social solidarity. To posterity, they are the best representatives of the Eastern or Magadhan religion, or what is generally called the Sramanic culture; the basic literature embodying their utterances, has luckily survived to us. A comparative study of the early Jain and Buddhist works presents a remarkable similarity and breathes varily the same religious and moral spirit which has not only stood the test of time of the last two thousand years and more but is also serving today as the master key to the solution of many a human problem. Truth and non-violence as preached and practised by the Mahātmā can be better appreciated against the background of the moral code preached by Mahāvīra and Buddha. The references to the Nirgrantha tenets in the Pali canon are of great value for assessing the relation of Jainism and Buddhism.
The history of the Jaina Church has many a bright spot here and there. After Mahävira the Church was led by a series of eminent monks and received patronage from kings like Śreņika Bimbisāra, Chandragupta Maurya, etc. Many religious monks, ruling dynasties, wealthy traders and pious families have contributed to the stability and continuity of the Jaina Church with the result that Indians can feel proud of the Jaina contributions both to its civilization and culture in matters of art, architecture, literature and moral code.
The preachings of Mahāvīra are embedded in the canonical texts, and they are interpreted by series of commentaries known as Niryuktis, Cũrņis, Bhäşyas and Tīkās. Individual topics are discussed in manuals and further illustrated by extensive narrative literatures. The doctrines are logically defended by a number of authors in comparison with and contrast to other Indian systems. Jaina contributions to Indian literature embrace various subjects; and they are spread in different languages like Prākrits (including Apabhramsa), Sanskrit Tamil, Kannada, Old Hindi, Old Gujarati, etc. Jaina authors have considered language only as means to an end; they never invested any one language with religious sanctity. Thanks to their broad outlook, they could make salient contributions
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to Sanskrit and Prakrit; and how they have enriched Tamil and Kannada at least the learned audience here needs no further elaboration from me. Bühler wrote many years back about Jaina literature in the manner : "In grammar, in astronomy as well as in all branches of belles letters the achievements of Jaina have been so great that even their opponents have taken notice of them and that some of their works are of importance for European Science even today. In the South where they have worked among the Dravidian peoples they have also promoted the development of these languages. The Kanarese, Tamil and Telugu literary languages rest on the foundations erected by the Jaina monks. Though this activity has led them far away from their own particular aims, yet it has secured for them an important place in the history of Indian literature and civilization.” This prophetic observation of that great German scholar is not only fully borne out but later finds and researches have also shown that if Bühler had lived today, he would have been more eloquent on the Jaina contributions to Indian Literature. With such meticulous care and perseverance the Jainas have preserved MS. collections in places like Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Pattan and Moodbidri that these are a part of our national wealth. They built these collections with such an academic and catholic outlook, that there was hardly any place for religious bias. It must be said to the credit of the builders of the great collections at Jaisalmer and Pattan that it is here that we could trace certain original Buddhist works which otherwise were known to us only from Tibetan translations.
A dispassionate and critical study of Jaina literature enables one to get a fair idea of the Jaina outlook or view of life. By the Jaina view of life we mean the view of life sanctioned by Jainism as apparent from an objective and judicious interpretation of the fundamentals of Jaina metaphysics and ethics, and not the outlook on life which the followers of Jainism generally have to-day.
Metaphysically speaking, all souls, according to their stage of spiritual evolution or progress in terms of Guņasthānas) have a legitimate place on the path of religion. Everyone's position is determined by his Karmic limitations, and his progress depends on his potentialities. The Jaina God is neither a Creator of the universe nor a dispenser of favours and frowns. He is a spiritual ideal, but also a being who has reached absolute perfection. If He is praised and worshipped, it is with a view to remembering His virtues, so that
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we may cultivate them in ourselves and attain the same status. Every soul must reap the fruits, pleasant or painful, of all it has done; for it is, in the last analysis, the architect of its own fortune. The question of exchanging one's sins or merits with any other soul is irrelevant. Now, clearly such an attitude does not leave one to work with confidence and hope. The individual, however criminal under the stress of internal and external forces, need not despair because he is latently divine, and a day will come when he will realize himself.
Jainism lays down certain ethical standards, which are duly graded, for the uplift of the individual as a social being. As long as he lives as a member of society, besides what he owes to himself for his spiritual betterment, he owes a good deal to the society in which he is living; but if he relinquishes the world and leads the life of an ascetic, his ties with society and his responsibilities forwards it are considerably reduced. In Jainism, the duties of a householder are in miniature those of a monk; and a householder, while duly carrying out his household duties, rises steadily to the status of a monk.
Ahimsā is the most important principle that permeates the Jaina outlook on life. In simple language it means the greatest possible kindness towards the animate world. Jainism has prepared a graded series of living beings; and a religious person has to strive his best to minimise harm to them. Every living being has a sanctity and a dignity of its own : and one has to respect it as one expects one's own dignity to be respected. A man of kindly temperament sheds around him an atmosphere of kindness. Jainism has firmly held that life is sacred irrespective of species, caste, colour, creed or nationality. A resident of Hiroshima or Nagasaki is as sacred as one in New York or London : what his colour is, what he eats, and how he dresses – these are external adjuncts. Thus the practice of Ahiṁsā is both an individual and a collective virtue; and this kindly attitude, which requires that our hearts be free from baser impulses like anger, pride, hypocrisy, greed, envy and contempt, has a positive force and a universal : ppeal.
The second virtue which Jaina ethics lays stress on is good neighbourliness; one hould s eak the truth and respect the right of pro; erty. It is thus that one becomes trustworthy in society, and at the same time creates an atmosphere of security for others. One's
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thoughts, words and acts must be consistent with each other; and they must, further, create an atmosphere of confidence and safety round about. It is no use being untrue to one's immediate neighbour and pretending to be highly cosmopolitan and benevolent towards people living beyond the seas. Ind vidual kindliness, mutual confidence and a reciprocal sense of security must start with the immediate neighbour and then be gradually diffused in society at large, not only in theory but also in practice. These virtues can go to constitute coherent social and political groups of worthy citizens who yearn for peaceful co-existence with the well-being of the entire humanity in view.
The third virtue is a steady and progressive restraint on acquisitiveness which manifests itself either in the form of yearning for sensual or sex pleasure, or for acquisition of property. This virtue is to be practised in different degrees at different stages of one's spiritual or religious progress. An ideally religious man is entirely free from acquisitiveness in thought, word and deed; his last vestige of property is his body alone, and his wants are the minimum required to sustain it, and th's too he voluntarily relinqui hes in the end when he finds that it gives him no more aid in the practice of religion. Pursuit of pleasure is an endless game; individual inclinations and passions must be duly trained and curbed; thus indeed does one get mental poise and spiritual balance. A voluntary limitation of property is a community virtue which results in social justice and fair distribution of utility commodities. The strong and the rich should not weed out the weak and the poor but such voluntary restriction on their instincts and possessions that the underprivileged too have a fair chance in life. Any attempt to enforce these qualities by an external and legal authority, either on the individual or society, will lead to hypocrisy or secret criminal tendencies. It is for sensible individuals to practise these virtues, and thus set an example from which an enlightened society will gradually be developed.
There are many elements which go to constitute the intellectual make-up of an individual; his inheritance, environment, upbringing, studies and experiences. It is his intellectual make-up that shapes his convictions and opinions : if he lacks in intellectual honesty and integrity of expression, these latter may be got perverted. All these, moreover, get a different colouring according to the
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motives and ambitions of individuals, singly or collectively. This is why one finds that unanimity of opinion or agreement in views is very scarce. For most of us, even presuming that all of us are sincere, it is easier, nay almost natural, to differ rather than agree on any given topic. To meet this situation Jainism has presented to the world two significant instruments of understanding and expression : one is the Nayavāda and the other Syadvāda. The Nayavāda enables one to analyse the various points of view and appraise their relative validity : It is a remarkable method for the analytical comprehension of a complex question. Naya is a particular approach. It reveals a partial or a particular view of the totality, and it should not be mistaken for the whole. A synthesis of these different viewpoints is an imperative necessity; therein every viewpoint must retain its relative position : and this need is fulfilled by Syādvāda. One can say 'yes' or say 'no' or even express one's inability to state anything : these three basic statements, when combined, can give rise to seven predications which are qualified by the term “Syāt' or may be, 'indicating the limits of understanding and expression. Syādvāda, in course of the process of assertion or denial, curbs down and harmonises the absolute viewpoints of individual Nayas. “Syādvāda," says Professor B. Dhruva, “is not a doctrine of speculative interest, one intended to solve a mere ontological problem, but has a bearing upon man's psychological and spiritual life.” It has supplied the philosopher with catholicity of thought, convincing him that Truth is not anybody's monopoly with tariff walls of denominational religion while furnishing the religious aspirant with the virtue of intellectual toleration which is a part of that Ahimsā which is one of the fundamental tenets of Jainism.
Human beings have limited knowledge and inadequate expression. That is why different doctrines are inadequate : at the most they are one-sided views of the Truth which cannot be duly enclosed in words and concepts. Jainism has always held that it is wrong if not dangerous to presume that one's own creed alone represents the truth. Toleration is, therefore, the characteristic of Jaina ideology. Even the Jaina monarchs and generals have a clean and commendable record at their credit in this regard. The political history of India knows no cases of persecution by Jaina kings, even when Jaina monks and laymen have suffered at the hands of other
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religionists of fanatical temper. Dr. Saletore has rightly observed : "The principle of Ahimsa was partly responsible for the greatest contribution of the Jainas to Hindu culture-that relating to toleration. Whatever may be said concerning the rigidity with which they maintained their religious tenets and the tenacity and skill with which they met and defeated their opponents in religious disputations, yet it cannot be denied that the Jainas fostered the principle of toleration more sincerely and at the same time more successfully than any other community in India."
11
Time was when man was at the mercy of nature to-day, however, he has dived deep into the mysteries of nature and become her master instead of her slave. There is such rapid progress in the various branches of science; and the scientist's achievements in nuclear physics and atomic weapons are so astounding that, if he so intends, he can destroy the entire human race and change the face of the earth. Thus to-day, the human race is standing on the verge of catastrophe; its mind is getting befogged and bewildered; and it is rushing towards the very precipice which it wants to avoid. Obviously, we are required to revalue our values.
The progress of science is the corollary of an attempt to achieve greater happiness for man. But unfortunately, man as man is not properly understood; and there is, too, a great deal of international misuse of language. By the term "man" many have only "the white man" in view; and such an attitude is subversive of all ethical standards. If some parts of the world are apparently more civilized, very often it is at the cost of the other parts. Cooperative and collective amelioration of the entire mankind has to take the place of colonial exploitation. The sanctity of mankind have to be recognised in preference to our separate affluence and supremacy. Scientific skill must be accompanied by a Saint's wisdom. Thus man has to understand man as man. In this technically unified world, there is very little difference between oneself and others; if I wish well to myself, that is practicable, only if I wish well to others. The doctrine of Ahimsā, if rightly understood and sincerely practised, supplies the necessary basis for this humanitarian outlook of a worldcitizen.
The organised atrocities of man need not make us despair. The doctrine of Karma tells us that we are the architects of our own fortune. It is for us to look into ourselves, analyse our motives,
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estimate our objectives, both individually and collectively, without salvishly prostrating ourselves before any power for fear or favour; and thus work on with confidence and hope that man must progress for his existence and betterment. Every individual has the potentiality of the divine, and it is for him to realise this by following the path, of religion. Physical science and technical skill have given us power, and it is for us now to choose whether we want to make forward progress for the betterment of man and his environment or just reduce ourselves to a heap of radio-active ashes.
Good neighbourliness and restraint on the acquisitive instinct are a contagious virtue : what is true of an individual is also true of a group, social or political. The man who does not know himself and refuses to know another man as man can never live at peace with himself, or obviously, at peace with others. A clear understanding of oneself and of others can alone remove mutual suspicion and counter-balance the constant threat of war, thus leading us to a true condition of peaceful coexistence.
Today, liberty of thought and speech is increasingly getting crippled in a subtle manner, tendentious propaganda not only conceals but also perverts the apparent facts, and the world is put on a wrong track. This means that the thinking man has to keep himself vigilant, understand the limitations of his knowledge and thus learn to respect the viewpoint of others, as laid down by Nayavāda and Syādvāda. Let us not lose faith in man as man, and let us learn to respect each other as man. We must see that man lives under healthy and progressive conditions as a world citizen. The basic principles of Jainism (such as Ahiṁsā, Vratas, Nayavāda and Syādvāda), if correctly understood and earnestly put into practice, can make one a worthy citizen of the world.
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MAHAVĪRA AND PRĀKRIT DIALECT
P. L. Vaidya
What is Prākrit, is the first question in the mind of every body. My answer to it is that Prākrit is the oldest and natural language of Indian people, spoken by all from their childhood, out of which Sanskrit, the polished language of the cultured classes has developed. Some may feel that this is a startling statement made to magnify the importance of the Prākrit language. Far from it, there are evidences available to prove my statement : and they are called from the oldest and most reliable works in Sanskrit itself. If you take the Mahābhāşya of Patanjali (2nd Century B. C.) you find the words like goņa and goņi which mean a cow are mentioned by Patañjali, the great grammarian and champion of Sanskrit, who asks his listeners not to make use of these words, as they are Apabhramba, degraded, and as such unfit to be used by cultured classes at least on sacred occasions like the performance of a sacrifice. But words like goni, goņā, goņa were so popular and current among the people, that completely banning their use became impossible, and so they made a rule, recorded by Patañjali himself or by his immediate predecessors that one must not use such words at least on sacred occasions; yajña-karmaņi nāpabhțmśitavai. Later classicists like Bhartshari went a bit further and enunciated a theory that Prākrit words, so numerous and current among the vast population, are incapable of carrying any meaning by themselves, but they do have a meaning through the medium of Sanskrit only. To make the point clear, they mean to say that words goņa, goņi, goņā do not convey to the listener the meaning of a cow or bull directly, but only through the medium of Sanskrit. Their equation is thus : goņi, gau. I do not think it requires any elaboration to prove that the natural
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language of the people of Āryāvarta at least was Prākrit out of which the polished language Sanskrit has developed.
There is a still older evidence available of Prākrits being popular languages in the 6th and 5th centuries B. C. Mahāvīra, an older contemporary of Buddha, preached his sermons in a Prākrit dialect called Ardhamāgadhi, Buddha probably delivered his sermons in a Prākrit dialect called Māgadhi, both of which dialects were current in a region from Saketa in the West, Rājgir-Gayā in the Southeast and Kapilavastu in the North. Buddha insisted that his disciples should understand the Master's teaching in their mothertongue-sakāya niruttiyā and not convert or translate it into their own. No argument is needed to prove that this mother-tongue was not Sanskrit. Thus, we know that Mahavira preached his sermons in Ardhamāgadhi and the collection of his sermons in Ardhamāgadhi constituted the oldest records of the Jainas. When these records migrated from Vaishali in North Bihar to the south there was a slight modification in the structure of that language, the contents still remained the same; and the language was named either Jaina Mahārāştri or Jaina Sauraseni. Buddha's preachings are found even to this day in Pāli, half-Sanskrit or hybrid Sanskrit (i. e. Sanskrit with Pali influences) Prākrit and even Apabhramba. All these languages could not be named Sanskrit, as it is understood by champions of Pāniņi.
It has, however, to be admitted that the cultured classes of the population, particularly those who stuck to the Vedic Cult of sacrifice, used more or less a polished language which they named Sanskrit; but it should be noted that even this Sanskrit language did not remain uniform or pure. There was the Sanskrit language of the Vedas side by side with the Sanskrit language called Bhāṣā, the popular Sanskrit which in days to come was codified by Pānini and other older Sanskrit grammarians. But along with these Vedic and Classical Sanskrit dialects, there was another dialect in which there is a vast literature such as the Mahābhārata, Rāmāyana and the Purānas which I would call Bardic Sanskrit. My point in narrating these details is to point out to you that Sanskrit was not the sole language of India : that Sanskrit was undergoing changes from time to time in order that it should be understandable by the people along with popular dialects known under the generic name of Prākrits, including Pāli. Mahārāştri, Śaurašeni, Paiśācī, Māgadhi and Apabharamsa. In all these Prākrit dialects there was a vast
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15
-
literature of which only a fraction has come down to us. The loss of this literature to us is so great that I cannot proceed further without referring to a famous popular work, the Bșhatkathā of Guņādhya. This Gunādhya probably lived in the period prior to the Christian era and composed a huge work in the Paiśāci Prākrit containing a large number of stories. He wielded great influence not only over the whole of India, but even outside India in Siam upto Indonesia. The name of this poet Gunādhya and his work Bphatkathā disappeared from India so completely that by sixth century A. D., with Danidn, it remained in name only:
भूतभाषामयीं प्राहुः अद्भुतार्था बृहत्कथाम् Luckily for us, there were two works in Sanskrit, Budhasvāmin's Ślokasamgraha and Somadeva's Bịhatkathāsaritsāgara from which we know at least the contents of the original Bșhatkathā. I need not point out that the 12th Book of the Jaina canon is similarly lost by the early centuries of the Christian era.
Coming to the Middle ages, we find that a new form of popular dialects, the fore-runner of Modern Indian languages, had come into being. This dialect is called “janma bhāṣā' which is another name for deśa-bhāṣā or māts-bhāṣā, The Kashmirian poet Bihlana (1085 A. D.) while describing the languages used in his State, says:
यत्र स्त्रीणामपि किमपरं जन्मभाषावदेव ।
प्रत्यावासं विलसति वचः संस्कृतं प्राकृतं च ।। In Kashmir, even women in every home, make use of Sanskrit and Prākrit, like their own native language. Indeed it is a veritable tri-bhāṣā-sutra of the Age, and clearly shows that along with the native tongue Sanskrit and Prākrit were being spoken in every Kashmirian home. Conditions may have been the same more or less in other parts of India, particularly among the cultured classes.
If we study the Nātyaśāstra of Bharata and Dramatical literature from Bhasa to Rajasekhara, we find the use of various Prākrit dialects in dramas side by side with Sanskrit. There are dramas in Sanskrit but there are dramas in Prākrits also which are known as Saţtakas. Such dramas in Sanskrit and Prākrit could not have been written bv poets and enacted on the stage, unless the audience was capable of understanding and appreciating both the
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languages. Of course, Bharata in his Natyasastra' has laid down that the main Prakrit dialect in dramas should be Sauraseni:
शौरसेनी पुरस्कृत्य भाषाकार्या तु नाटके |
This dialect, being nearest to Sanskrit, was easily understandable and also was the central of all Prakrit dialects.
In my opinion the Apabhramsa language is a forerunner of all modern Indo-Aryan Languages, and has its counterparts in old Rajasthānī as in Dholla-Māru or Prthviraja Raso, old Gujarati in the numerous pieces going under the name of Rasakas. I have come across the writings of Mr. R. C. Dhere who gave the name of old Marathi to the Apabhraṁśa language of Puspandanta's Mahāpurāna. We have yet to see to what extent the interest of these champions of modern Indo-Aryan language is really deep in the Apabhramsa language, for in my opinion, Apabhraṁśa, Prākrit cannot be correctly understood without a corresponding study of other Prakrit dialects. Nay, I may go still further and say that none of the Prakrit languages can be correctly understood without a proper backing of Sanskrit. Similarly I may say that our Sanskrit scholarship cannot attain its natural depth without the study of Prakrits including Pali. It is a great mistake to imagine that scholarship in the middle and modern Indo-Aryan languages is complete only with the knowledge of Sanskrit, as all such scholarship is superficial without the study of Prakrits.
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PRĀKRIT AND HINDI
J. C. Jain
According to Namisädhu, the commentator of Rudrata's Kāvyālamkāra, the basis (Prākriti) of Prakrit dialects is the natural current language of the People ungoverned by the rules of grammar. Prakrit is a common medium of expression and communication, opposed to Sanskrit which has a uniformity like a shower of rain, and peculiarity on account of particular regions and its smooth flow.
R. Pischel, who is in agreement with the above definition, holds that all Prakrits have their origin in popular dialects, and all their essential elements originally developed from the living speeches. But all such dialects, according to him, were raised to the status of literary languages like Sanskrit, and underwent significant alterations.
This view is contrary to the opinion of some ancient grammarians and rhetoricians, who maintain that the basis (Prakriti) of Prakrit languages is in reality Sanskrit, "the language of the Gods', and hence the Prakrit languages are nothing but the lineal descendants of Sanskrit. Pischel, on the other hand, has traced ihe common grammatical and lexical characteristics between Prakrit dialects and the Vedic language thereby supporting the antiquity of Prakrits. Sanskrit influenced by Prakrit :
The Middle Indo-Aryan comprises all the Prakrit languages dating from the 6th century B. C. to the 11th century A. D. which marked the beginning of the New Indo-Aryan stage. These Middle Indian dialects attained at ascendancy as cultural languages for a period of nearly seventeen centuries when they were a medium of communication.
At a later stage, the Middle Indian dialects became so powerful
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that they exerted their influence of Sanskrit. In this connection, some of the Buddhist and Jain works are worth meniioning. The works of Mahāyāna Buddhism are written in Gathā dialect or 'mixed Sanskrit, and so is the Cūrni literature of the Jaina composed in Prakrit mixed with Sanskrit. Not only the works like Lalitavistara and Mahāvastu of Northern Buddhism show traces of Prakritism, but their influence can also be seen in Sadharmapuņdarika, another work of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Its prose is in pure Sanskrit and the Gāthā in mixed Sanskrit. It is contended that the work originally consisted only of verses with shori prose passages by way of introduction. Lüders holds that the original text was written in Prakrit was gradually sanskritised.
Jain authors of Sanskrit works also do not seem to be free from the influence of Prakrit which is obvious in many Sanskrit texts such as Parisistaparvan of Hemachandra, Dharmapariksā of Amitagati, Samarādityasaṁksepa of Pradyumanasūri and others. Even the Sanskrit digests of Bịhatkathā are influenced by Prakritism in their language. There are evidences in Bșhatkathākoşa of Ravişeņa( 10th century A. D.) which prove that the author has made an attempt to sanskritised certain Prakrit words. The words arjikā (ajjiyā in Prākrit), ujjavana (ujjavana in P), Kathānaka (Khanaga in P), ksamāpaņa (kamāvana in P), Kahajjaka (khajjaga in P), gahillaka (gahilla in P) chilataka (chilāa in P), dohala (dohala in P), Prāghūrnaka (Pahuņņaya in P),maithunika (mehuņiya in P),rathyā (rachcha in P), and many others can be cited as examples (A. N. Upadhye, Brhatkathākosa Introduction, pp. 95-96, 110-112). Why Jains preferred Prakrit Dialect
The Prakrit literature is very important from the point of view of the study of modern Indian languages. The Jain authors of Prakrit literature took great care to see that their writings were accessible to the common people. It is laid down in ancient Jain scriptures that the Jain monks should be efficient in the regional languages of the place concerned so that they are able to impart instruction to the people easily. Consequently, the Jains used Prakrit, Sanskrit, Apabhramsa, and later, Indian vernaculars to preach religious sermons. Development of Narrative Literature :
The Jains have developed a voluminous narrative literature in the form of epics and novels, dramas and hymns in simple languages.
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Like Buddhist monks, they too delighted in elaborate sermons and converting worldly stories into legends of saints. To swell the ranks of their adherents, they elucidated their doctrines by means of examples, parables, dialogues, questions and answers, riddles, tests, adages, proverbs etc., thus exploiting the inherent love of the Indians for fables. The stories whether they be in prose or in simple words or elaborate poem, novels or epics, were never intended for mere entertainment, but always served the purpose of imparting religious instructions and edification. New Trends in Narrative Prakrit Literature :
After the advancement of Jainsim there came a stage when people were getting disinterested in the mythological Brahmanic legends. Vimalasuri (4th century A. D.), the author of Paumacaria aware of this fact, was inspired to compose his epic poem wherein he did not intend to follow Vālmīki. According to him, the Rāmāyana of Vālmīki is full of contradictory and untrustworthy data, hence it cannot be treated as authentic. The same point is raised in Dhūitākhyāna of Haribhadrasûri (8th century A. D.) wherein using his imaginative power, the author ridicules the highly coloured stories of the Rāmāyana the Mahābhārata and the Brahamanic Purānas thus providing the futility of these works. Common Man's Portrayal :
Consequently, instead of mythological stories, narratives, keeping the common man's interest in mind, were introduced in which the hero was not a king, or his minister, or a wealthy man, or a leader of a caravan, or a general, but an ordinary being struggling for existence.
In his Upadeśapada Haribhadrasüri has depicted the pathetic life of a poor man who had with him just a little barley-meal (sattū) a little of ghee, sugar and milk, but everything was spilt on the ground, and he had to go without food. In Haribhadrasuris' Samarāiccakahā which is described as a religious novel (dharmakathā), we come across numerous stories, parables and fairy tales, which we often come across in Indian literature; some of these may be said to belong to universal literature.
There are other Prākrit works which have been composed keeping in view the above tradition. In Rayaņacūựacaria of Nemichandra (18th century A.D.) there is a portrayal of wealthy woman
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who was extremely stingy and never offered alms to religious mendicants. Once when they came to her house she hounded them away with a burning stick. In his Bhavabhāvanā Maladhari Hemacandra has depicted the character of a quarrelsome mother-in-law who always found fault with her daughter-in-law and who never entertained any sādhu.
All these narratives were based on events from every day life in Prakrit literature, which, later on, influenced Hindi literature. Introduction of Love Stories :
The realistic touch in narrative literature was not effective; hence the Jains introduced erotic sentiments in their stories. While enumerating kathās, Haribhadrasuri mentions erotic story (kāmakathā) as one of them. He has compared kathāsundari (story in the form of a lovely woman) to a new bride, who is beautiful, who has put on alamkāras has a lively gait (lalitapada), and is sweet-tongued (samlāpa). Samghadāsagani (5th century A. D.), the author of Vasudevahindi, elucidating this point, has stated : “People are delighted on listening to the popular love stories such as Naravāhanadatta and others. As sugar tastes bitter to a patient who is suffering from billious fever, so too does seem religion distasteful to people. As a physician prescribes medicine of his choice to a patient who is reluctant to take an unpleasant pill, similarly, I wish to narrate the religious stories under the garb of erotic tales, to those whose mind is engaged with sexual love stories.”
After this the Jain writers composed various love narratives such as Taramgavatīkatha, Malayavati, Magadhasenā, Bandhumati, Sulocanā and many others which are unfortunately not traceable. Taramgavatīkathā was probably the first independent work of Pādaliptasūri, a renowned poet in the court of Häla, alongwith Gunādhya. The poet Dhanapala in his Tilakamanjari has compared this important work with the sacred Ganges which takes a graceful course. However, this work was restored in abridged form as Taramgalolā by Virabhadra, composed after one thousand years of the original work.
These love stories were replete with descriptions of festivals in honour of cupid (Madanamahotsava),festival of spring (Vasantakrida) wedding ceremony, pleasure-houses, the necessity of studying erotic
science and so on. Here is one of them. A young man gazes at a
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maiden, he loses control of his senses, and he is love-stricken. She is also in the same state after she returns home. Camphor, sandalwood paste, and the fan sprinkled with water are used to help them regain their consciousness. They start writing love letters on the sly and as soon as the parents hear this, their marriage is arranged. In some, a boy and a girl fall in love but when they are not given permission by the elders to get married, they elope and have a Gāndharva marriage.
In Prākrtakathāsaṁghraha there is a story of Sundaridevi, the learned daughter of a well-to-do merchant, who falls in love with king Vikrama on hearing his adventures. She sends him a casket of jewels with a parrot perched on it. From the stomach of the parrot the king discovered a priceless necklace and a love letter written with musk. On reading the contents he becomes restless, undertakes a voyage to Ratnapura to meet this young girl. They meet and finally get married. Rayanaseharikahā of Jinaharsagani (15 the century A.D.) is yet another interesting narrative with love as its theme. The king of Ratnapura learns about the beauty of the princess of Ratnāvati of Simhaladvipa and gets enamoured of her. His minister puts on the garb of a “jogiņi' and leaves for Simhaladvipa to meet the princess, who enquires from the jogini about her would-be husband. She replies that whosoever would enter the temple of cupid for gambling would marry her. As already planned, the king entered the temple and both were united in wedlock.2 Points of Comparison :
A large number of narratives which appear in Prakrit works can be traced in medieval Hindi literature. The princess Ratnavati of Simhaladvipa of Rayanaseharikahā for example, can be compared with Padmini Simhaldvipa of Padmāvata of Jāyasi (1540 A.D.). Such tales have a very ancient tradition in Indian literature. Sriharsa (7th centure A D.) in his RatnāvāliNātikā, describes Ratnāvalí as a princess of Simhala. Kouhala in his Līlāvai refers to princess Lilāvati of Simhala, who was married to king Sātavāhana of Pratisthāna. Karkandu of Karkandacariu of Kanakāmara also proceeds to Simhala to marry Rativela.
Besides, there are other points of similarity between Padmāvata of Jāyasi and older works of Prakrit and Apabhramsa. For instance, the description of a yogi in Jogikhanda of Padmāvata seem to be
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based on the description of Kaulācārya and Bhairavānanda of Lilavatikathā, Karpūramañjari and Jasaharacariu.
Another point of comparision is with regard to samasyāpārti (compling in incomplete stanza) in the narratives. The topics of samasyāpārti in Sripalakathā of Ratnasekharsūri (14th century A.D.) can be compared with similar references in Kirtilată of Vidyāpati, Mādhavānalakāmakandala, Dhõlamārū rā, Dchā and Padmāvata of Jāyasi. *Motifs' and `Types':
Besides certain poetic treatment which is common in Prākrit and early Hindi literature, there are various ‘motifs' which reveal a definite story. The importance of ‘motifs' for comparative study is to show what material of a particular type is common to other types whereas the 'type' shows the way in which narrative motifs form into conventional clusters.
In Prākrit narratives there are various motifs such as pregnancy desire (dohada) magic, marvels, tests, reversal of fortune, chance and fate, reward and punishment, and so on. Needless to say that these have enriched the later Hindi Literature, particularly the folk-lore.
The parable of Man in the Well'elaborated in the Samarāiccakahā of Haribhadrasūri occupies an important place in world literature. In one of the stories, an enterprising hero undertakes a voyage. The ship is wrecked and he gets stranded. In his absence his wife's chastity is put to test, but after sometime the hero returns with a bride. The art of magic is also employed which produces marvellous results. Various devices are used to test the intelligence of his daughters-in-law by their father-in-law and of ministers by the King. The parrot or a swan which plays an important role in the narrative is not merely a bird but a symbol which gradually unfolds the story.
These aspects of Prākrit narratives are also common in later Hindi literature. The Lyrical Poetry :
The lyrical poetry, which is essentially secular in character, also occupies an important position in Prākrit. The best known of such poetry has come down to us in the form of an anthology, known as Gāhāsattasai (about 1st century A.D.) consisting of seven hundred lyrics, ascribed to Hala. It is composed by a number of well-known
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poets in Mahārāștri which is considered to be the best Prākrit. It is noteworthy that no other dialect other than Mahārāştri has been phonetically modified to such an extent for artificial purposes. The songs or musical stanzas of Gā hāsttasai of Hāla and Vajjālagga of Jayavallabha are much admired by Bāņa, Rudrața, Mammata, Vāgbhata, Viśvanātha, Goverdhana and others. These stanzas are scattered in their writings concerning various rāsas and alamkāras by way of illustrations. According to Govardhana, such a fine expression of poetical sentiment is possible in Prākrit poety alone. Keith has also remarked that Prākrit lyric in the Sattasai emerges with a definite character and appeal of its own which cannot be reproduced in Sanskrit.
This lyrical poetry has given rise to various love and devotional songs not only in Avadhi and Braj but also in old Gujarati, old Bengli and old Marathi. On the model of Sattasai, various other poetical works were composed in Sanskrit, Hindis and Gujarati. The reserences to lyrical songs of love and morality and mention of Rādhā, Krşņa and Gopis in Gāhāsattasai is reflected in later Hindi literature, particularly in Ritikāla, known for its predominence in erotic sentiment. Prākrit Languages and Hindi :
The middle Indian dialects which are related to the dialects of Hindi are mainly Sauraseni (the language of Surasena, or the middle Gangetic Doab or its neighbourhood), Magadhi (the language of Magadha, the modern South Bihar), and Ardhamāgadhi (belonging to the region between sauraseni and Māgadhi). For lack of sufficient proofs it is rather difficult to point out exactly from which Prākrit dialects evolved the dialects of Hindi. Nevertheless, it can be stated that the above mentioned Prakrits through their Apabhraṁsa dialects have influenced Hindi. For instance, Saurasenī, the Western Prākrit, must have influenced Braj4, Kanoji and Bundeli, the dialects of western region of Hindi area. In the same way, Māgadhi or Eastern Prākrit, must have influenced Maithili, Magahi and Bhojpuri, the three main dialects of Bihar. Then, Ardhamāgadhi, which shared the characteristics of the above two dialects must have had its influence on Avadhi, Bagheli, and Chat isagadhi, known as Eastern Hindi dialects.
With regard to the study of Avadhi (also called Koshali or Poorvi Hindi) in the 12th century AD. Uktivyaktiprakaraņa by
Damodara Sharma is worth mentioning. Here we have a specimen
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of Avadhi or Koshali dialect, which is about three hundred fifty years older than the oldest specimen hitherto known, and over four hundred years older than the works of Tulsidas. It is to be noted that this language of the people of Eastern U. P. was fully developed and was receiving due recognition even from Sanskrit Pandits.
Varṇaratnākara of Jyotirīśvara and Kirtilata of Vidyapati are also worth mentioning as they were both composed in Mithilā, a centre of learning like Vārānasi. It appears from the above mentioned three works that the use of Tatsama words was increasing in spoken dialects during this period. In Kuvalayamālā of Udyotanasūri, some expressions of different types of dialects (desibhāsā) spoken in Golla, Magadha, Antarvedi, Keera, Dhakka, Sindnu, Māru, Gurajar, Lāta, Mālava, Karnātaka, Tajika, Koshala, Mahārāstra and Andhra are given. Some interesting dialogues between students are also incorporated here indicating the dialects in vogue in the 8th century of the Christian era.
Prakrit words in Modern Hindi :
A number of Prakrit words and expressions are prevalent in Hindi. The absence of 'ne' in eastern Hindi dialects, use of 'sa' in place of 'sa' and the use of a number of other so-called desi or 'corrupt' words can be attributed to the influence of Prakrit. There are certain couplets concerning moral preaching and sayings which can be traced in Hindi and Rajasthani literature.5
Many of the species of fish, enumerated in Paņṇāvaṇāsutta of Jains can be identified with the species of fish known in Northern Bihar.6 A large number of nautical words used in Prakrit narrative literature are still to be identified.7
The Hindi word nāï is derived from the Prakrit word nhaviya (nhāvi in Marathi, snāpita in Sanskrit, i. e. one who gives bath) and not from napita as found in some lexicons. Bāp is not Sanskrit word derived from vaptr (Vapta-the sower) as Hemachandra or the author of Prabandhacintamani understands; it is from bappa. Similarly, cchutta (cchutnā in Hindi, to escape), baddā (badā in Hindi; big), betiya (beti in Hindi; daughter), bailla (bail in Hindi; ox), pottali (potali in Hindi ; a small bundle), Khalahāna (khalihan in Hindi, a barn), culli (culla in Hindi a fireplace), khattika (khatik in Hindi; a low caste); baddala (bādal in Hindi; clouds); ukkuraḍa (kudi in Hindi; dunghill) uḍḍa (udna in Hindi; to fly), cchaḍḍa (cchoḍna in Hindi to leave), dekkha (dekhnā in Hindi; to see), bolla (bolnā in
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Prākrit and Hindi
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Hindi; to speak), cidaya (cidiyā in Hindi; a bird) should be treated as desi Prākrit words used in Hindi since long.
The following words used in BỊhatkalpabhāsya (4th century A.D.) are to be noted : arahatça (rahat in Hindi; a revolving wheel for drawing water from the well), ukkhala (okhali; a wooden mortar), uvattana (ubatanā in Hindi; unguent), Kakkadi (kakdi in Hindi; cucumber), kavaddaga (kaudi in Hindi; cowrie), Kuhada (kuhad in Hindi; an axe), kolhukka (kolhū in Hindi; an oil-press), ganthi (gāth in Hindi ; a knot), gadda (gaddhā in Hindi ; a ditch), gobbara (gobar in Hindi; cow-dung), calini (calni in Hindi ; sieve), cukka (cūknā in Hindi ; to miss), cokkha (cokha Hindi ; good), coppala (caupal in Hindi ; a place of assembly in a village), challi (chāl in Hindi ; bark), dakka (dank in Hindi ; sting), dhakkana (dhaknā in Hindi ; lid), dusiya (dhussã in Hindi ; shawl), dora (dor in Hindi; string) dhovana (dhonā in Hindi ; to wash), pallanka (Palang in Hindi : bedstead), pinjiya (pinjanā in Hindi ; to clean cotton from the seed), bahilaga (bahali in Hindi ; two wheeled cart), Mandaga (manda in Hindi : chapati), makkodaga (makoda in Hindi; black ant), mauggana (maugi in Bhojpuri ; wife), sedhi (sidhi in Hindi; ladder), lindi (lendi in Hindi ; goat's dung), cholliyā (cholna in Hindi ; to scrap), and pittana (pitnã in Hindi : to beat).
The following words were used in Prākrit narrative literature from the 8th century onwards; gaddariya (gadariya in Hindi; shepherd), sambhaliya (samhalna in Hindi ; to take care of), latta (lāt in Hindi; leg), takkara (takkar in Hindi ; dash), gandalibhua (gandal in Hindi ; dirty), kuttae (kūtnā in Hindi ; to pound), thikkariya (thinkari in Hindi ; broken pieces of earthernware), tauni (tauni in Hindi : a small earthen pot), vanijaraya (banjārā in Hindi; a small trader), cuntiuna (cuntana in Hindi; to pluck), tambolabidao (tāmbūl ka bida in Hindi ; folded betel for chewing), kappasapuni (kapās ki puni in Hindi; rolls of cotton for spinning), bhettio (bhetnā in Hindi ; to meet), galidana (gāli denā in Hindi ; to abuse), nikkaleum (nikālnā in Hindi ; to turn out), dala (däl in Hindi ; branch), topi (topi in Hindi; cap), jhullanti (jhūlna in Hindi; to swing), thukkiuna (thūkana in Hindi ; to spit), thagio (thagnā in Hindi ; to cheat), jhillio (jhelnā in Hindi ; to bear), kudanti (kūdná in Hindi; to jump), pattalla (patel in Hindi ; headman of a village), khillei (khelnā in Hindi : to play).
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It appears that there is no uniformity among the grammarians when dealing with Prākrit languages as they seem to have laid down rules on the basis of literary languages prevalent at that time. However, on the strength of whatever material is available, it is for the scholars to probe thoroughly into the relation between Prakrits and Hindi and thus encourage a comparative study of various modern an guages of India.
REFERENCES
* 1. See Comparative Grammar of Prakrit Langauges, P. 4. 2. The narrative can be compared with Padmavata of a Malik Muhammad
Jayasi and Gora Badal ki katha of Jatmal. 3. For a comparative study of Gahasattasai and Biharisatasai, see Introduction
to Gahasattasai, pp. 37-53 by Mathuranath Shastri; Jagadish Chandra Jain, Prakrit Sahitya ka Itihas, pp. 576, 578, appendix 2; J.C. Jain, Introduction
to Prakrit Pushkarini. 4. Before Sita was to be sent out of Ayodhya, because her chastity was in
doubt, it is stated in Upadesa pada of Haribhadrasuri that one of her cowives asked her to prepare a painting of Ravana. Since Sita had seen only Ravana's feet, she prepared a painting of his feet which was shown to Rama who was very annoyed with her. This incident: is also in folk song of Braj.
Jagdishchandra Jain ibid., p. 497. 5. See Jagdishchandra Jain ibid., pp. 228, 536, 469. 6. See Jagdishchandra Jain, ibid.. p. 113. 7. Thomas Roebak's An English Hindustani Naval Dictionary of Technical
Terms and Sea Phrases, written in 1811 can be useful for this purpose.
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NAYAS : WAYS OF APPROACH AND OBSERVATION
Nathmal Tatia
The Jaina philosopher has made some astonishingly original contributions in the field of logic and epistemology, which have not been properly assessed and appreciated by the rival schools of Indian thought. Among those I here propose to deal with is a problem which has living interest not only for the professional philosophers, but also for practical men of the world. The problem will have interest for the journalists, politicians and administrators who have to arrive at a decision and chalk out a line of action in the midst of conflicting views and demands actuated by diverse interests and inclinations. This problem is called Nayas-ways of approach and observation. Even when the problem is a selfidentical singular question of fact or act, persons of different interests and inclinations are bound to study it in different lights and each will claim the infallibility and imperative necessity of his point of view being accepted and implemented. It is not necessary that all of them will be erroneous or misdirected. It is quite possible that there is truth in each of these conflicting presentations. It is a question of paramount importance that these different views and conflicting assertions and truth-claims should be assessed at their real worth and assigned their proper value in an impartial estimation of the situation confronting a thinker.
The Jaina philosopher asserts that each fact, however trivial it may appear, can be thoroughly understood in the context of the entire reality and only in the light of its inter-connection with the
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rest of reality. A real is possessed of an infinite number of aspects and attributes which can be thoroughly comprehended only by a person who is directly acquainted with the whole order of reality, in one word, who is omniscient. But this does not mean that the Jaina here offers a counsel of perfection which amounts to a counsel of despair for a person like us whose resources are limited. Though the full knowledge of all the possible characteristics even of a particle of dust cannot be claimed by anyone of us, the knowledge of one or the other attribute can be attained if we are dispassionate and free from bias for one angle of vision and prepared for approaching it from other stand points. The standpoints are called Nayas. A Naya is a viewpoint and way of approach from which a person looks at the particular aspect of a thing impelled by a consideration which is in its turn determined by his interest, inclination and aesthetic, intellectual as well as moral equipment. It is entailed by our mental constitution and the exigencies of the human understanding that we should isolate one aspect of the reality and concentrate upon it. There is nothing to impune its validity or expediency provided it does not make us blind or hostile to the other aspects which present themselves to other viewpoints. The conflict becomes irreconcilable when the advocate of a particular aspect develops a fanatic zeal and refuses to view it from other angles of vision. The rivalry and antagonism among philosophers, followers of different religious creeds and also politicians derive their genesis from this exclusive emphasis upon a particular glimpse of the truth.
As we are interested in the logical problem, we select examples of philosophical interest to drive home the truth of our position. As entity can be viewed as possessed of diverse characteristics as they are unfolded to different ways of approach. For instance, a pen is an existant fact and this shows that it has the character of existence which it shares in common with all other entities. Again, it may be regarded as a pen possessed of penhood which it shares with other pens. Again it is found to possess a distinctive individuality which distinguishes it from all other things -- pens and notpens. Now the first character of existence is entirely devoid of diversity. The second character is diverse and unitive. It is diverse from not-pen and is the unitive common character of all pens. So it may be called genericcu-specific. The third is entirely specific as it belongs to the particular pen. The pen is thus found to possess
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an entirely generic (Avisuddha) an entirely specific (Visuddha) and generic-cum-specific (Visuddhāvisuddha) character. None of these is to be dismissed as an untrue estimation of the character of the pen. This truth is also attested in ordinary assertions of workaday life. Asked about his residence a man may observe that his residence is in Asia or India or Bengal or Calcutta or Chowringhee or a particular house with a particular number. Ultimately he may observe for the sake of exactitude that as a soul he lives within his own body. Now all these observations are true though the first statement presents a broadly generalized concept and the last the most specific one, the intermediate locations representing graduated scale of specification. This way of approach has been called Naigama Naya - the way of pantoscopic observation,
Now all these different traits are present and real. The philosophers of the Nyāyavaiseșika school approach reality from this point of view and the result is the discovery of these multiple traits varying in the scale of generalization down to the ultimate limit of specialized content which does not admit of any unitive common bond. The fallacy of this approach, according to the Jaina philosopher, consists in regarding these diverse traits as numerically and qualitatively different from one another and also from the substratum in which they are embodied. The Jaina philosopher admits the reality of these distinctive traits but insists upon their integration in a concrete - real, which is incompatible with their absolute otherness and diversity. They are necessarily bound with the substratum and one another only by virtue of their being related by way of identity-cum-difference. While appreciating the acuteness of the observation of the philosophers of the Nyāyavaišeşika school, he accuses them of abstractionist outlook which prevents the consideration of the unitive bond subsisting interse.
The second way of approach is called synthetic vision which ignores the concrete entity in which the unity manifests itself. Now, a concrete entity is possessed of generic, generic-cum-specific and purely specific characteristics. The most generalized character which any entity exhibits is existence which is also the necessary characteristic of all existent facts. It is creditable for the philosopher who discovers the unitive bond in the diversity of multiple characteristics. But when he regards this as the sole and absolute characteristic of reality and dismisses the diverse attributes as unreal
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appearance, swayed by the dictates of formal logic, he is held guilty of extremism and exclusiveness of outlook. The Vedantist of the monistic school has approached reality from this angle of vision and arrived at the conclusion that existence is the only character of reality. The diverse characters such as substantiality, cowhood and the shape, magnitude, colour etc. are dismissed as unreal appearance on the ground that they cannot claim reality if they be other than existence. And the only reality they can claim is due to their identity with existence. This facile way of condemning the plain testimony of experience and the preferential treatment of a part of its content are regarded by the Jaina philosopher as the result of this way of approach and observation. If, however, a person stops at this discovery of a common bond and asserts it to be the character of reality without any commitment regarding the other characteristics he will not be guilty of an aberration. Certainly the knowledge of a slice of reality cannot be false unless the fanaticism of the observer makes it the sole and sufficient character of it. This is called Sangraha Naya - the synthetic approach and observation.
All extremism is by its very nature bound to create a reaction in the opposite direction. This has been called the dialectic movement of thought by Hegel. An extremistic assertion is compelled by the dialectic of its nature to pass into its opposite. The purely ministic outlook as exemplified in the aforesaid approach and angle of vision finds itself confronted by its diametrically opposite point of view which is called Vyavhāra-naya - the analytic and particularistic approach. The exclusively synthetic approach culminates in posting pure being as the only reality. But pure being is equivalent to non-being because both of them have no character and are as such indistinguishable. It may sound paradoxical that being and non-being should be regarded as identical. But the paradox will disappear if one calmly reflects on both. It is generally supposed that pure being represents plentitude of wealth and non-being stands for absolute poverty. But both are abstractions, pure and simple. And when one thinks that being is something positive and affirmative as opposed to the negativitity of non-being one has before one's mind the idea of some concrete real. A pure universal is only an empty idea if it is divorced from concrete facts of experience. What we experience is always a concrete individual and the so-called universal is only an ideal abstraction. Whatever has no individuality of its
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own is a chimera. The sky-flower, a barren woman's son, a mare's nest are only names. They are never perceived by anybody. It is only individuals say a pen, a table, a jar a coat that we happen to
observe.
Moreover, the criterion of reality is found in causal efficiency. A universal ex-hypothesis has no causal efficiency. It is the individual cow that yields milk and not the so-called cowhood. It is the pen that writes and not penhood. The so-called universal are only hypostatized concepts which pass for real only because the mental inertia of the average man prevents him from the labour of judging their worth. Not only the verdict of experience is against these universals but also logic confutes their reality. Well, is the universal different from the particulars or identical with them? If it is identical, then it becomes the individual only, and if it be different it transpires to be an illusory fiction just like the ass's horn. A universal unrelated to individuals is an unthinkable concept, a mere name, an empty nonsense. Well, the opponent swears by the tree-universal or cow-universal or the pen-universal, but what is the tree-universal apart from the tree? If it be different from the trees it will be the negation of the tree and so, like the jar or pen, will cease to have any connection with the tree. No honest thinker can think of a tree which is not the oak or the mango or the teak etc. Nobody can conceive of a triangle which is neither equallateral nor isosceles nor scalene. Experience is the proof of existence of a thing, and not pure thought. Experience always confronts individuals and not universals. A universal without an individual is an unperceived fact. This analytic empirical approach is sponsored by the nominalists and conceptualists. The Jaina philosopher convicts it of extremism because it puts the telescope on the blind eye like Nelson. The synthetic unity among the particulars of a class which renders classification possible cannot be ignored. Of course, the absolute identity of the universals in different individuals is not endorsed by the Jaina Philosopher. But he does not repudiate the universal as an unfounded concept. The universal is an empirical concept and must be given a status in the scheme of reality. The close resemblance of the individuals of a class is too pronounced and patent a fact to be dismissed without incurring the charge of infidelity to experience.
31
Now the particularistic approach which takes delight in the analysis of a real into particular component cannot stop short at the
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substantive individuals. And if the individual be regarded as an enduring and abiding entity persisting through the past, present and future, it amounts to the assertion of a universal in another way. The past is defunct and the future is unborn. And if experience be the proof of the existence of a thing, the past and future existence of a fact must be rejected as the real traits of the individuals. What we perceive is the present and so it is the present that can be real. Furthermore, the past has no casual efficiency and so also the future. The real tree does not serve any purpose or give any advantage or disadvantage. So logical consistency demands that we should regard only that as real which is existent in the present moment. This line of approach has been pursued by the Buddhist Fluxist who declares all reals to be momentary in duration.
This approach has been called Ṛjusūtranaya, that is, the approach which gives the straight and direct glimpse of the thing. The present is the real character of the individual. The past and future determinations are as alien to it as the character of other entities. It, of course, does not consider the differences of name or of gender and number thereof as the determination of the real individual. And so these differences of expression do not affect the individuality of the thing.
The advocate of the next Naya goes one step further in the process of particularization. He agrees with the advocate of the previous approach in the assertion that the present alone is real. But as the real is expressed and characterized by work and words are significant and not unmeaning symbols, the real must be understood in the light of the connotation of the term that stands for it. Each term designates an action, being derived from a verbal root, and it is this action which stamps the fact meant with its distinctive character. And so the word 'Ghata' (a jar) which is derived from the Ghata 'to exert' stands for the thing which is capable of action viz. drawing water etc. This is the case with all words. The king is one who is possessed of sovereign power. If a man is called by the name 'king,' it has not the meaning of the word 'king.' Similarly the portrait or the statue of a man is loosely identified with the man. The heir apparent to the throne is addressed by the Sycophants 'Your Majesty'. These are all unmeaning expressions because they do not possess the function which the word connotes. Of course this constitutes the difference of the Naya from the previous one.
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This view also maintains that the connotation of the terms is bound to differ if they differ in gender and number. The terms with different number and gender cannot be identical. They are as different as their antonyms. The verbal expression is not an external label but has a definite connotation which is bound to differ when the number or gender differs. Man and Woman are different because they differ in gender. It is expressive of an entitative difference. Of course the advocate of this Naya makes concession in favour of synonyms. The synonyms have different connotation no doubt, but as the denotation is identical the reality is not made different by them. The other terms only signify the different attributes and functions which however belong to the same substratum. This is called Sabdanaya - the verbalistic approach.
The next Naya is called “Samabhirūdha' which goes another step further in the process of specification by identifying the etymological meaning (Vyutpattinimitta) with the real meaning (Pravșttinimitta). The advocate of this line of approach maintains that the meanings of words must differ with the difference of words. Each word has got a distinctive connotation of its own, So there can be no synonyms in the true sense of the term. Well, the jar is called Ghata Kuta, and also Kumbha in Sanskrit. They are derived from different radicals and each of them has got a distinctive meaning. Thus the 'Ghata', stands for a particular action; ‘Kuta' stands for crookedness; and Kumbha' which is derived from Ku
+umbha 'to fill up' stands for this action of filling. The derivative words should therefore be properly affixed to facts which have these acts as their connotation. It is not consistent to maintain that the words with different connotations do stand for a self – identical denotation.
If the difference of number and gender constitutes real difference in the meaning, the differences of the so-called synonymous words must be held to be expressive of real differences. The advocate of this line of approach maintains that there can be no synonyms. Each word must have a different meaning of its own, and the etymological meaning is the real meaning of the word. He does not subscribe to the view that the real meaning and the etymological meaning are different. The very fact that a different word is called into request shows that it must have a different meaning etymological
as well as real. Otherwise it would be reduced to nonsense.
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The last verbalistic approach, called “Avaṁbhūta', affirms that only the actualized meaning of the word is the real meaning. The word signifies an action and the fact which actually excrcises the action should be regarded as the real meaning. So the word Ghata should mean the jar which actually draws water and not the jar which remain inside in a corner of the room. The latter does not possess the connotation and so cannot be designated by the word. Thus the king is the person who actually exercises sovereignty, the minister is one who actually exercises the function of a counsellor and framer of state policy. So when the king is engaged in domestic affairs or talking to his wife he is not the king proper. The exponent of the preceding approach hits upon the truth that difference of words entails - difference of meaning, but he fails to grasp the real significance of the connotation when he affixes the word to the fact which is bereft of the action connoted by it. The idle jar is as different and distinct from the water-carrying jar as the pen. If however the word could signify a fact devoid of the connotation there is no logic why it would not be labelled upon a different fact having a different connotation. Light, for instance, means an entity which actually illuminates. If it could be affixed to a lamp which has gone out it could with equal logical properiety be affixed to an opaque stone.
Now all these approaches may be employed in the determination of truth and their misemployment is bound to lead to aberrations. The Jaina philosopher with his characteristic catholicity of outlook and tolerance for other views and readiness to accomodate them and assess them at their proper worch has no hesitation to receive them as estimation of reality. This toleration is however subject to the proviso that they must not be allowed to outstrip their proper jurisdiction. The unitive bond in the midst of diverse
is endorsed by the Jaina logician as it is attested by uncontradicted experience. What the Jaina emphasizes is that all these traits are not isolated aspects but integrated in the concerate fact which we experience. The so-called antinomies conjured up by the dictates of abstract logic are only figments of formalism. Pure logic suffers from the defect that is ascribes rigidity to the different aspects and makes them fixed characteristics which come into conflict with their opposites. There is nothing fixed in the world. Everything is impelled to change by the inner dialectic of its constitution.
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So the opposition of unity to diversity is only a fignent. The different approaches only illustrate the truth that the tendency to differentiation and specification, if not checked by reference to the other - concomitant traits, will culminate in disastrous results. The specification begins from the third approach. The fourth only concentrates the attention of the knower upon the immediate presents. The fifth makes the word a determinant factor and the sixth follows it up by abolishing all synonyms. The seventh asserts the actual presence of the verbal meaning to be the sole and determinant of the reality. If however it were conceded that each trait is a real factor and it is indifferent to the other traits, then each of them can be accepted as a true estimation of the reality. Of course each way of approach only succeeds in catching hold of a part. But the actuality of the part is undeniable. If the advocate of these different ways of approach asserts that the several findings are exclusive and sole character of the real he will expose himself to the charge of extremism and fanaticism.
In practical life when a politician concentrates on the immediate need of the hour and refuses to take a retrospective or prospective view he makes himself guilty of exclusiveness. All dogmatism owes its genesis to this partiality of outlook and fondness for a line of thinking to which a person has accustomed himself. The Jaina logician welcomes all the light that comes from different ways of approach and integrates them in one whole in which all these finite traits can subsist as moments. This intellectual charity will resolve all conflict and rivalry. So whatever may be the calling and avocation a man may be called upon to pursue he can achieve success and combine it with benevolence and amity if he is alive to the importance and the utility of all the different ways of approach in the study of problems.
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ANEKANTAVADA AND BERTRAND RUSSELL'S DOCTRINE OF
PERSPECTIVES
P. K. Mathur
The Jaina philosophy is through and through realistic. It represents a consistent form of realism at its best in the history of Indian philosophy. Realism is a prominent trend in contemporary Western philosophy also. It has emerged as a reaction against the idealistic philosophy of the Hegelian Absolute which swayed the minds of many a great thinkers of the West for quite a long time. The recent growth of scientific realism too has had great impact on the growth of philosophical realism in our times. In view of this, the study of Jainism seems to be more relevant in the context of presentday thinking.
Bertrand Russell--one of the greatest scientific thinkers of our times-has also advocated realism in one form or another throughout his long and chequered philosophical career. It is exceedingly surprising to note that in regard to the problem of our knowledge of the physical world there is some striking resemblance between his view and that of the Jaina thinkers. There is nothing on record to evince the influence of Jainism on Russell. It is a strange coincidence that the two view points are similar in certain respects which should be of special interest to the student of comparative philosophy.
Both Russell and the Jainas believe that the world is objectively real and that Reality is manifold. Reality, according to Binism, does not consist merely of the multiplicity or diversity of
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reals but "cach real is equally diversified.”] This principle of the multiple nature of reality is known as Anekāntavāda. Each object of knowledge has infinite number of characters (Dharmas) all of which cannot be known by us simultaneously at a time. We look at the object from a particular point of view at a time and hence acquire only a partial knowledge of it. Such partial knowledge about some one aspect or character of the object to the exclusion of innumerable other aspects of it, is called naya. A naya is thus a particular point of view from which an object is looked at. There are innumerable ways or standpoints from which an object can be looked at but a naya represents only one of the many ways or standpoints. This method of standpoints is known as Nayavāda. The whole object cannot be identified with any particular point of view although that point of view is real.
The particular points of view which give us partial knowledge about the object, are expressed in the form of judgments. Each judgment which expresses a particular standpoint about an object is thus also partial and hence relative. This logical expression of Nayavāda is called Syādavāda. Syādavāda reminds us that every judgment or proposition should be qualified by the word syāt which means 'from a certain point of view' or 'in a certain sense'. This leaves the possibility of other alternatives open and does not bind us dogmatically to a single, absolute and unqualified judgment or proposition. Since all judgments are relative, Syādavāda is the expression of Sāpekşvā da as against Nirpekşavāda which is a sort of logical dogmatism. Nayavāda and Syādavāda are thus two important doctrines that result from Anekāntavāda. “Anekāntavāda is the heart of Jaina metaphysics and Nayavāda and Syādavāda (or Saptabhangi) are its main arteries". 2
Anekāntavāda in general and the doctrines of Nayavāda and Syādavāda in particular have great resemblance to Russell's doctrine of perspectives the early exposition of which is found in his Lowell Lectures which he delivered in 1914. According to Russell an object presents many appearances at a moment. These appearances known as sense-data, reveal different aspects of the object in question All these different aspects are real but the object as a whole cannot be identified with any one aspect of it. On the other hand, the object or the 'thing' of common-sense is neutral between different
aspects of it. It is logically constructed out of sense-data. As he
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says, "All the aspects of a thing are real whereas the thing is a merely logical construction".3 Thus on Russell's view also a 'thing' cannot be identified with a single aspect of it though it is real from a particular point of view at a particular moment.
In speaking of the construction of the physical object out of sense-data Russell does not mean simply a group of sense-data actually perceived. For if it is so, then the object exists only when perceived and goes out of existence when perceived by no one which is absurd. There is nothing on this view to explain the gaps between observations. In order to avoid absurdity and to account for the persistance of the physical object, Russell has postulated the existence of 'possible' sense-data to which he gives the name 'Sensibilia'. 'Sensibilia' are the unsensed sense-data. They are the a pearances of the object from places which are not occupied by human minds. Of course, we cannot reasonably speak of any appearance at all at a place which is not inhabited by a perceiving mind but continuity suggests that there must be some appearance at that place. All these appearances have their basis in the objective reality of the object and are not subjective creations of the human mind.
An object is thus, on Russell's view, the totality of its aspects which include not only the perceived aspects (sense-data) but also the unperceived ones ('sensibilia'). A person can see only one aspect of it at a time from a particular point of view (which is, no doubt, real) and thus he gets only a partial knowledge of it.
Though the external world is real, a person perceives it from a point of view peculiar to himself. We might say, using the common-sense language, that two people see the same thing when they do not find any difference in the two appearances of a thing but according to the law of perspective two people can never see the same thing simultaneously. There is always some difference in the appearance of a thing because of the difference in the point of view. The world thus perceived by each person at a moment is peculiar to himself. To such a world seen by each person Russell calls a 'private world'. 'Private worlds' are confined only to the perceiving minds but there are (in Russell's supposition) infinite number of worlds which are unperceived (as the law of continuity suggests). Thus only some views of the world are perceived and there are many views which are unperceived. The system consisting of all views of
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the universe, perceived and unperceived, Russell calls the system of 'perspectives'. Only such views of the universe which are actually perceived are called 'private worlds'. A 'private world'4 is thus a 'perceived perspective and the views or aspects of the world which are not perceived by any mind are 'unperceived perspectives'.
A thing as has been said above, appears in an indefinite number of different perspectives in which it is possible to establish a correlation between two neighbouring perspectives which are more or less similar. All these appearances may be collected together to form a 'system' which may be indentified with the thing at a particular moment. Thus sian aspect of a 'thing' is a member of the system of aspects which is the 'thing' at that moment”.5
On Russell's view, it is possible to know an object or a 'thing' in its entirety at a moment provided all its perspectives - perceived and unperceived – are collected together (which is possible only by applying the method of logical construction). But since all the aspects of a 'thing' are not actually perceived by us in a single look at a time, some aspects of it always remain unperceived and hence our knowledge of the 'thing' also remains partial though true.
The foregoing account makes it fairly clear that there is great similarity between the Jaina viewpoint and the view-point of Russell in so far as the problem of knowledge of the physical world is concerned. The world is objectively real and is not subjectively contemplated. Objects or "things of the world are complex entities. They have innumerable characters or aspects all of which cannot be known simultaneously at a time. We look at them from particular points of view and in consequence acquire partial knowledge of them. Knowledge thus acquired is relative and not absolute, An object or a 'thing' cannot be identified with any single aspect of it though that aspect is real from a particular point of view. There are 'possible' points of view (or “unperceived perspectives' in Russell's terminology) from which the object can be looked at.
The Jaina conception of the relativity of knowledge is comparable to the scientific thinking of many other contemporary western thinkers also. Thus the philosophical thinking of the Jainas in India is quite significant in view of the present-day thinking in the West.
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2.
1. Mookerjee S.: The Jaina Philosophy of Non-Absolutism, The Bharati Mahavidyalaya, Calcutta, 1944, P. 70.
3.
4
5.
Mahāvīra and His Relevance
REFERENCES
Padmarajiah Y.J.: A comparative Study of the Jaina Theories of Reality and Knowledge, Jain Sahitya Vikas Mandal, Bombay, 1963, P. 273.
Our knowledge of the External World, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1914, Revised Edition, 1926, P. 96.
The phrase 'private world' easily suggests the subjective idealist point of view and hence it is thought to be mental in the Berkeleyan sense. Of course, the doctrine of 'private worlds' each containing a private space or rather spaces, is subjective in character, but this subjectivity, according to Russell, is physical and physiological and not mental in the Berkeleyan
sense.
Our Knowledge of the External World, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London, 1914, Revised Edition, 1926, P. 96.
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ANEKĀNTAVĀDA AND
WORLD-PEACE
Bbagchandra Jain
Ours is an age of intellectual dwarfs and selfish giants. We are so elated at our achievements, small or big, that we attribute to ourselves all the good qualities of head and heart. We regard ourselves as extra ordinarily unusal. We are so sure of our righteousness that anybody who differs from us is promptly labelled as imbecelic. Honest divergence of opinion has become a rare commodity. Our egoistic tendency and mean mentality cause us to disregard other conceptions and notions. Further on account of our materialistic and atheistic tendencies we are unable to overcome the social problems that are staring us in the face.
The clashes and conflicts that abound the world are due mainly to the derth of economic equality, sound ecclesiastic outlook, tolerance and humility. The real threat to the world-peace comes from superstitious or suffen ideological gulf which exists between one na ion and another, between one people and another. It is the doctrine of Anekāntavāda and Syādvāda that can sound the deathknell of this ideological conflict.
By nature every person is loveable and peace-loving. But his indelible brand of faith makes him restless, causing him to go astray. Today people have assumed the shape of power-mongers. They hanker after physical pleasure and worldly fame. Faithlessness and immorality carry them to an unfathomable depth of ruin. Destructive nuclear weapons have intoxicated the animal nature in man. Our hope for world-peace, whether in democracy or commu
nism, Nazism, or Fascism, is reduced to dust. The recent Indo-Pak,
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Mahāvīra and His Relevance
Indo-China, Israel-UAR. clashes reveal that there is recklessness inhumanity in our iniernational relations.
Syādvāda is a strange weapon in the armoury of Jainism. It can uproot our differences no matter how deep-set they are. Syadvāda believes in bridging the gulf yawning between the conflicting ideologies. It strives to establish a liberal attitude in our feelings and dealings. Difference of opinion is bound to exist between one person and another. But one must not be abdurate in his opinions. He must make room for admitting opinions other than his own.
In the eyes of Jaina philosophy, everything is multifaceted. It is neither only true nor only false, neither eternal nor transitory. It can be true from some angle and false from some other. According to one notion it may be eternal and according to another it may be transitory. Existence of various shades of one and the same thing amounts to Anekāntvāda. Syadvāda is an apt synonym for it. While Anekāntavāda deals with the descriptive aspect, Syādvāda refers to the terminological aspect of any given thing. In other words, we can say that Anekāntavāda, the theory of non-absolustic standpoint, strives to incorporate the truth of all systems with its two organs that of Nayavāda, the doctrine of standpoints, and Syädvāda, the dialectic of conditional predication. The term “Syāt” presupposes relatively in thought and expression. It does not imply probability or doubt as some philosophers falsely proclaim. The natural outcome of this view point is the feeling of understanding and sympathy. So long as we regard only our own notions as practical and consistent, we can not respect and evaluate other opinions. Anekāntavāda, in the shape of Syādvāda, is the only remedy to overcome all evil in thought, speech and action.
The feeling of sacrifice or selfdenial forms the kernel of Syādvāda. Without the renunciation of anger, hatred or force, worldpeace will be the name of a doubtful omen. In “End and Means” Huxley has aptly observed: “In fact we can-not achieve anything without painful toil. While the people of every country crave for peace, all of us display criminal connivance in establishing it. The conditions which are the harbingers of peace are disarmament, ostracism of imperialism and acceptance of Ahimsā in every sphere of life” This observation of Huxley holds good even today.
Every person ventilates his views about a given object according to his attitude and capacity. His limited knowledge is inad
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equate to throw a flood of light on the entire object. Out of some many facts, he deals with only one or some. This partial knowledge and partial success is dangerous especially when he feels that his knowledge is complete and correct. It is, therefore, imperative that we should study others opinions logically and impartially, eventhough we belong to a certain brand of faith to try to understand others and accommodate others views, even though they clash with ours, is a real humanitarian outlook. Samantabhadra said it the "Sarvodayatirtha". Haribhadrasuri's quotation points in the same direction. He means to say that we must think objectively irrespective of our religion and ideology.
ग्रही वत निनीषति युक्ति, तत्र यत्र मतिरस्य निविष्टा । पक्षपातरहितस्य तु युक्ति यत्रि तत्र मतिरेति निवेशम् ||
43
Acharya Hemachandra also opinons that we must not swallow uncritically any idea simply because it comes from a great man. The validity of that idea must be tasted on the touch-stone of logic. पक्षपातो न मे वीरे, न द्व ेषः कपिलादिषु । युक्तिमद्वचनं यस्य तस्य कार्य प्रतिग्रहः ||
*
Thus the Anekāntavāda is a zig-zag to the peace lovers. It is a world-court which walks the chalk for welfarism. It is a vertoscope and vidco which stall off staircase illusin about the objects. This view paves the way to establish the world-peace and washes away waspishness of persons and nations.
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JAINA DIELECTIC AND
MODERN THOUGHT
T. G. Kalghatgi
Our age is an age of uncertainty. There is social and political instability and intellectual commitments to ideologies. There is distrust and dogmatism. It is a decadent society. Each insists upon his views as right and is unable to understand others points of view. And in this welter of confusion we have to find a way for a stable and harmonious social structure and a coherent thought structure. We are witnessing 'an armed conflict of ideologies. Strife and misery have been rampant.
Advancement in science and technology have added to the instability of the fast-moving society. We have secured confident control over nature. But we have lost the man. But we realise that methodological enquiry of science shows that the concepts of science are more descriptions and its laws are hypothetical and contingent. Its findings are true in a limited sense of being convenient. Scientific laws are only conceptual shorthands. Such conceptions may furnish admirable descriptions of the phenomena of nature, but they explain nothing'.1
Scientific laws are more ‘Pale reflexions of the concrete world' ignoring personal, ethical and spiritual valuation.2
But to understand life and nature we have to transcend the category of casual connection and to get a synoptic view of life.
If we survey the philosophic development in the West, we find that by pursuing the apriori and the empiricist ways, phylosophers reached different the empiricist ways, philosophers reached different directions, sometimes irreconcilable.
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Deductive and apriori methods were first used by Parmenides and his disciple Zeno, who made, for the first time, a distinction between sense and reason. The philosophic speculations of Plato were largely based on apriori methods. In the middle Ages of Europe, philosophy was sustaining itself under the shadow of theology and Aristotle's deductive methods. In the modern Age, Descarates and Spinoza built systems of rationalism. The result is, Spinoza's Substance become a lion's den to which all tracks lead and from which none return. In Hegel and Bradley we go much further away from common sense. We see the superstructures of philosophic speculation, and we are left in the world of appearance only to gaze at the ivory towers in which these philosophers lived.
Empiricism used aposteriori and inductive methods. In the Theatethus, Socrates explains the Protagorean doctrine that knowledge is through perception and shows the impossibility of arriving at any objective truth. English empiricism repeats this logical movement but does not save itself from its own conclusions. Berkeley denied matter, and Hume denied everything except impressions and ideas. Knowledge became impossible and philosophy could go no further without a radical reconsideration of its fundamental position. The Human tendency has been recently revived, by the Cambridge Philosophers who brought philosophy to the brink of extinction. Wittgenstin states that all the truths of logic are tautologies, and logical proofs are only mechanical devices for recognising categories. Mathematics consists of equations, and the propositions of mathematics are also without sense. The metaphysician talks nonsense in the fullest sense
t sense of the word, as he does not understand the logic of our language". Metaphysical suggestion is like the composition of a new song. We are told that he made no essential change in his attitude towards the aim of philosophy.3 This was a metaphysical crisis in the development of Western thought.
In India, we were saved from this crisis because philosophy, with us, is essentially spiritual : it takes its origin in life and enters back into life. In Sankara we come to a great speculative system. Still, we do not feel ourselves strangers, here, as we are not cut off from the ideals of life. "Sarkara presents to us the true ideal of philosophy, which is not so much knowledge as wisdom, not so much logical learning as spiritual freedom.” 4
II. And to save philosophy from this impasse, we have to
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adopt a synoptic view towards the problems of Philosophy. We should realise that reality is complex and life is a many-coloured dome. Idealism was unable to see the trees in the wood, while empiricism could not see the wood in the trees. These were two ways of approa. ching the problem; but they are not the only ways, nor were the approaches absolute. This is the synoptic outlook.
The Jaina view of anekānta comes nearer to this approach. Anekānta consists in a many aided approach to the study of problems. Intellectual tolerance is the foundation of this doctrine. It eaphasizes the many-sidedness of truth. Reality can be looked at from various angles.
Although Anekānta was a special feature of the Jaina point of view, it is possible to say that some other schools of thought were aware of the view. In Buddhist Philosophy the phrase "majjhima magga" bears the same significance as Anekānta. It is suggested that the doctrine of evolution as propounded by the Samkhya school implies the Anekānta attitude. The Jainas perfected the doctrine and systematized it. In the Bhagavatīsūtra, there is a dialogue between Mahāvira and his disciple Gautama.
“Are the souls, O Lord, etes nal or non-eternal “The souls are eternal in some respects and
non-eternal in some other respects”......"They are eternal, O Gautama, from the point of view of substance and non-eternal from the point of view of modes.”
Two doctrines result from the anekāntavāda : (1) Nayavāda and (2) Syādavāda. Nayavāda is 'primarily conceptual and the Syādvāda is synthetic and mainly verbal.• Naya refers to the point of view one takes when one looks at the object. A naya is defined as a particular opinion or a view point of looking at an object. A methodological scheme consisting of seven ways of looking at reality has been formulated. The Āgamas have mentioned two points of view : (1) Samgraha naya, the second Paryāyika naya. Siddhasena Divākara adopted the two points of view and distributed the nayas under two heads. He described the six nayas. But the generally accepied classification of nayas is sevenfold. For instance the noumenal point of view in the Samvaha Naya or the Niscaya naya and the Phenomenal point of view is the Vyavahāra Naya. According to the Jainas, Nyāya vaiśeşika Sāṁkhya, Advaita Vedānta and the Buddhist systems adopt one of the nayas, but they believe that their
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point of view is absolute and unerring. They present only partial truths.
III. Syādvāda is the logical expression of the nayavāda. This has been possible by means of sevenfold predication. It is called "saptabhangi' because of its sevenfold predication. It is the formulation of the doctrine of the possibility of apparent contradictions in a real whole. In the syādvāda all the aspects of truth are woven together into the synthesis of the conditioned dialectic. It is that conditional method in which the modes, or predications (bhangah) affirm (vidhi) negate (nişcdha) both affirm and negate severally and jointly in seven different ways a certain attribute (bhāva) of a thing (vastu) without incompatibility (avirodhena) in an certain context (Presuavasat).
Syādvāda shows that there are seven ways of describing a thing and its attributes. It attempts to reconcile the contradictions involved in the predications of the thing.
(i) Syad Asti asserts the existence of the thing from the point of view of the substance (dravya), attribute (bhava), place (kşetra) and time (kāla), that from the context of these relations existence and other attributes are predicated.
(ii) Syād Nästi involves the negation of its opposite; and such a negation is a logical necessity. One is a necessary concomitant of the other. The two predications-affirmation and denial of the opposite are meant to rebut the possibility of unqualified and absolute existence and non-existence. It cannot be denied that it is possible to conceive the existence and non-existence of a thing though not ontologically real. The predications are, therefore, logically necessary to rebut such a conception of absolute existence and absolute nonexistence.?
(iii) Syād Asti Nāsti is a synthesis of affirmation and negation in a different context. It is not a mere summation of the first two predicates but an organic synthesis.
(iv) Syad Avaktavyam is a new predication. It is possible that the real nature of the thing is beyond predication, or expression in the form of words. In metaphysical speculations, the ‘Unknowable' of Herbet Spencer may be likened to predication of this type. "The given indefinite'—the unspeakable' or avaktavya, as it has been called, as distinct from the definite existence, presents something
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other than consecutive togetherness : it implies saharpaņa or co-oresentation, which amounts to non-distinction or indeterminate distinction of being and negation.”8
(v) The fifth predication is formulated as Syād Asti Avktavyam. From the point of view of its own contexts-(dravya, rūpa, kāla and kşetra) a thing is and is indescribable. It asserts the co-presence of the two attributes, existence and inexpressibility.
(vi) Syād Nāsti Avktavyam the sixth proposition expresses the negative aspect together with inexpressibility. In a context, it is not and is indescribable. In relation to the para dravya, para rūpa, para kşetra and para kāla it is not : it is indescribable.
(vii) Syād Asti Nāsti Avaktavyam is the seventh predication. It asserts existence, non-existence and inexpressibility. This predication gives a fuller and a more comprehensive picture of the thing than the earlier ones. The predicated attribute is a synthesis of the three attributes; still, it is not a more summation of the attributes. It brings out the inexpressibility of a thing as well as what it is and what it is not.9
IV. The theory of seven fold predication has been subjected to severe criticism from different quarters. From Samkara, Rāmānuja to modern thinkers like Belvalkar, Syādvāda has been severely criticised, Belvalkar says that syādvāda is sceptical and non-commital in its attitude. With this agnostic and negative attitude "one cannot have any dogma; and Sarkarācārya lays his finger accurately on the weakest point in the system when he says—'As thus the means of knowledge, the knowing subject, and the act of knowledge, are all alike, indefinite, how can the Tirthařkara (Jaina) teach with any claim to authority ?10 Prof. Hiriyanna makes Syādvāda a variety of scepticism. But it may be said that the conditions of doubt are not present in this assertion. Doubt presents lack of determination between the specific festures of the object. But in the case of the sevenfold predication the attributes of existence and non-existence are each defined by their specific determination.
Samkara points out the intrinsic impossibility of the predications of affirmation and negation because of the inherent contradiction involved in it. It violates the law of contradication. But if we take into consideration the different contexts referred to, contradic
tions can be reconciled.
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Saṁkara says that the saptabhangi doctrine is inconsistent with the other view of Jaina Philosophy. The assertions of existence, non-existence and indescribability are alike applicable to the doctrine of the soul and the categories. Similarly, the final release may exist and not exist and may be indescribablell. But, as Radhakrishnan points out that the Syādvāda doctrine is not inconsistent with the other views of the Jainas. And it is a logical corollary of the Anekāntavāda. “All that they say is that everything is of a complex nature, and identity in difference. The real comprehends and reconciles differences in itself.12
V. In Western thought, as we saw earlier, at the time of Greeks, attempts were made to formulate a dialectical method of approach to the problems of the reality, which may be compared in some rudimentary aspects to the Anekānta view. Parmenides' Being was vindicated in dialectical way by Zeno. He established the theory of Being by proving that Becoming is not. That was the beginning of the dialectical might in Western Philosophy. At the time of Sophists there was intellectual confusion because there were conflicting views about reality. Protagoras escaped the problem and said, Homo mensura. The Sophists left the wise "to wrangle with them and the quarrel of the universe let be.” But the Jainas did not accept such an escapist attitude. They faced facts squarely and tried to find out what was common between the conflicting views of the philosophers. This was the Anekānta attiude of the Jainas.
In Modern Western Philosophy Hegel's dialectic comes nearer to Anekānta and its expression syādvāda. Hegelian dialectic in thought moves from thesis, antithesis and synthesis. This is the movement of thought. Non-being is in the being, and the synthetic approach will present becoming. Being, nothing and becoming is the first Heglian 'triad'. The second category of the negation is not brought in by Hegel by any external source. It is deduced from the first category of affirmation, and, therefore, the first category contains its own opposite and is identical with it. There is no contradiction in this because being involves non-being and it both is and is not when it becomes. The third category contains within itself the opposition of the other two but it also contains its underlying harmony. Hegel distinguishes between understanding and reason. Understanding believes that the two opposites, such as being and nothing, absolutely exclude each other. But reason says that
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exclusion is not absolute and is not incompetable with the identity of the two opposites, although reason admits that they exclude each other in as much as they are opposites. It is of paramount importance to observe that the identity of opposites does not exclude the opposition of those opposites. A and not - A are identical. But they are also distinct. It is not only an Identity of opposites; it is also an identity of opposites. The opposition is just as real, as the identity. If we forget this and imagine that the identity means that the opposition is illusory, then this destroys our principle, for what we then have is not an identity of opposites, but merely an identity of identicals, of which the logical formula would be the old A - A1:. But Hegel has not been able to work out the Dialectic regorously in all cases. Had he brought about a synthesis, the synthesis between the understanding and reason, he would have brought the spirit of Anekānta in his system. He would have then made his philosophy more synoptic, comprehensive and not merely rigorously rationalistic, formal and deductive.
In recent western Philosophy, A. N. Whitehead has come nearer to Anekānta in his theory of coherence. He presents his attitude to reality by the complete problem of the metaphysics of substance and of flux as a 'full expression of the union of the two notions. Substance expresses permanance and flux emphasizes impermanance and change. Reality is to be found in the synthesis of the two. Whitehead shows that reality can be best understood by the intergal view point in which the ultimate postulates of permanance and flux are hormoniously blended. Heraclitus emphasized the partial truth of change and flux. Perminedes presented permanance and being as the reality. Reality is to be found in the blending with the two view points into a comprehensive whole.
Whitehead quotes the lines. :
“Abide with me; Fast falls the eventide' and
interpretes them that the 'two lines cannot be torn apart in this way; and we find that a wavering balance between the two is a characteristic of the great number of Philosophers. 14
For Whitehead, coherence would mean that the fundamental ideas presuppose each other. In isolation they are meaningless, It
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does not mean they are definable in terms of each other, though they are relevant to each other. 'No entity' can be conceived in complete abstraction from the system of the universe, and that it is the business of speculative Philosophy to exhibit this truth. This character is its coherence',15 'The systematisation of knowledge cannot be conducted in water-tight compartments. All general truths condition each other; and the limits of their application cannot be adequately defined apart from their correlation by yet wider - generalities.16
Jainisim has presented the Anekānta attitude. This synoptic out-look in life has permeated every field of speculation and activity. It is comparable to Jasper's 'unfanatical absoluteness,'
And Philosophy is not merely as academic pursuit of reality, but is intimatedly connected with life. It is a synoptic view of life and its function to promote understanding and to increase virtue. "Philosophy is an attempt to express the infinity of the universe in terms of the limitations of language. 17
Jaina theory of Anekanta. does this and it is necessary to interpret the Anekānta in terms of Western thought.
4.
1. Perry (Ralph. B.): Present Philosohpical Tendencies. (1919) p.p. 93.
2. Galloway (George): The Philosophy of Religion (1956) p.p. 192-193.
3. Stenius (Eric): Tractatus - A critical Exposition of its main lines of thought (1960) p.p. 226.
Radhakrishnan (s): Indian Philosophy, Vol. II, (1947) p.p. 447.
Upadhye (A. N.): Pravacanasara of Kundakundacarya edt. (Bombay) 1935. Introduction.
5.
51
REFERENCE
6. Syadvada Manjari (Edt. Dhruva) 1933. p.p. 142-43.
Satkari Mukerji Jaina Philosophy of Non-absolutism. Ch. VI.
8. Satkari Mukerji Jaina Philosophy of Non-absolutism, p.p, 166.
9. Ibid.
7.
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0.
"The Undercurrents of Jainism" (an article in the Indian Philosophical Review, Vol. I, No. 1, 1947, edited by A. C. Widgery & R. D. Ranade, Bombay) p. 33.
11.
Samkara's Bhasya on Vedanta Sutra, ii 33; Ramanuja's Bhasya on Vedanta Sutra, ii 2. 31.'
12.
Radhakrishnan (s): Indian Philosophy, Vol. I (Allen & Unwin) 1931. p.p. 304.
13.
Stace (W.T.): The Philosophy of Hegel. (Dover Publications, INC) - 1955 Page No. 96.
Whitehead (A. N.): Process and Reality. Part II, (Harper. Year - 1960) Ch. x, Sect. I.
15.
Ibid - Part 1, Section - 1.
16.
Ibid - Part 1, Section - IV.
The Philosophy of A. N. - White - head, (Etd. P. A. Schiepp.) (Tudor publishing - New York) 1951. Autobiographical notes: Page 14.
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BHAGWAN MAHAVIRA'S AHIMSA
AND WORLD PEACE
S. C. Diwakar
It is remarkable that the Jain tenets although very ancient are also most modern and up-to-date. The doctrine of Ahiṁsā and its rational, scientific and practical exposition in Jainism is unique and unparalleled in the history of human thought. This doctrine has attracted the attention of the entire globe due to its successful application in liberating India from the foreign domination by the struggle for emancipation based upon the principle of Ahimsa - nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi while presiding over a Jain function celebrating the birthday of Lord Mahāvīra at Ahmedabad in 1920 had paid glowing tributes to this Jain doctrine and had added that because of this ennobling and golden gospel of compassion Jainism can become the religion of the whole world. It is a matter of profound gratification that almost all religions of the world accept the superiority and majesty of this noble doctrine. The doctrine of non-violence, therefore, is the unique and most sublime contribution of Jainism to humanity.
According to Romain Rolland, “The rishis, who discovered the law of non-violence in the midst of violence were greater geniuses than Newton, greater warriors than Wellington. Non-violence is the law of our species as violence is the law of brute”. This basic principle of Jainism had much influenced Gandhiji from his boyhood. In his book “Mahatma Gandhi" Romain Rolland says, “His parents were the followers of the Jain school. Before leaving India his mother made him take the three vows of a Jain which prescribe abstention from wine, meat and sexual intercourse."
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George Catlin's book "In the Path of Mahatma Gandhi" points out “M. K. Gandhi's mother was under Jain influence.”
It is remarkable through the medium of Mahatma Gandhi the superiority of the weapons of Ahimsa over the armaments of destruction has been acknowledged. Gandhiji said, “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man”. In fact Ahimsa is the royal road to peace and prosperity. It is unfortunate that all nations are busy in manufacturing the most ferocious weapons of destruction which will destroy the whole stock cf human civilization and bring about utter extinction of the entire human race. The late John F. Kennedy, Ex-president of America, speaking on June 10th, 1963 about peace for all men and for all time had said, 'A single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all of the allied air forces in the Second World War. He had observed, 'No nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Russians suffered in the course of the Second World War. At least 20 million lost their lives. - Countless homes and farms were burnt or sacked...
A third of the nation's territory including nearly two-thirds of its industrial base was turned into a wasteland.”
The need of the hour is that people should sincerely try to imbibe the spirit of Ahimsa as enunciated in the sacred Jain Literature. When Gandhiji's path was darkened by unsurmountable difficulties, C. F. Andrews says, 'He very often turned the pages of Jain works for a Kindly Light in that encircling gloom. When I met Gandhiji in Wardha Ashram in 1934 he said, 'It is remarkable that unlike vedic religion, Jainism stands for pure Ahimsā without any reservation'. In view of the pre ailing hatred, vanity, discord, animosity and other evil tendencies it appears that we have unwisely constructed our houses over a silent looking volcano and no one knows what will happen, the moment it becomes active to emit fire out of it. The ambrosia of Ahiṁsā is the only effective and powerful remedy to undo the pernicious effects of unabated inaterialism and self-centred outlook, Mere name of Ahimsā or sweet orations in its praise won't serve our purpose. It must be honestly translated into life. The term Ahimsa or non-violence is a negative one implying abstinence from killing any living being. It is also a posi'ive virtue
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connecting compassion towards all living beings. Non-violence consists of purity of thought, word and deed actuated by universal love and compassion.
Jain thinkers have enjoined upon a votary of Ahimsa to get rid of such violent, callous and cruel practices as meat eating, hunting for sport and drinking which make the heart merciless and in fact kill the conscience. The noble ideal of sanctity of life should be honoured without any reservation. If one takes a broader outlook and adopts a benevolent attitude, he will immediately understand the utility of the above ordinance.
If a person fattens his body by the flesh of other animals his adoration of Ahiṁsā is, in fact, hypocritical. The point for serious consideration is, if a thorn which pricks into your foot, makes you uneasy and uncomfortable, would not your bullet-shot or stroke of knife cause indescribable agony to the helpless, miserable and poor victim, who unfortunately is not in a position to describe its pangs ? It is extremely puzzling and surprising to hear tall talk about morality, amity, harmony, fraternity and universal brotherhood from the cultured leaders of modern society, who forget the miseries of the mute animals, whose flesh they enjoy with great taste and satisfaction.
Jain thinkers have strictly laid down that a disciple should at the outset learn the lesson of sanctity of life. He should treat all life as sacred. Those who kill others forget that a time will come when they will have to reap the fruits of their cruel practices. If we sow the seed of a banyan tree how can we get an orange tree ? Likewise, if we nurse violence, cruelty or hatred in our hearts we will not only spread the baneful aura of the evil thought, but it will also give rise to more heinous evil tendencies. If on the other hand we sow the seed of goodwill, sincerity and friendship towards all beings, we are sure to reap a rich harvest of increased goodwill and friendship. The Bible says, “Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap. He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it. They have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind.”
Jain thinkers fully understand difficulties which come in the way of the practice of complete non-violence, since life is impossible without destruction of innumerable small insects. The life of a tyrant and a selfish short-sighted person has been condemned. Jain
teachers hold the opinion that the entire moral code must be in
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conformity with the gospel of Ahimsā and naturally, therefore, the other virtues like truth must be subordinate to this sublime doctrine of compassion and love.
There are various grades for the practice of this noble principle. The novice should abandon intentional injury to the vitalities of other creatures. If there is no “Means' rea” – guilty intention, one is not adjudicated guilty of violence, e. g. a surgeon carefully performs an operation with all attention and the patient may die. In that case the doctor will not be guilty of murder of the man, on the other hand, the burglar who robs a citizen of his valuables will be punished as a felon because of his evil motive. Motive is the important factor whether an act comes under the purview of violence or otherwise. With a view to achieve mental purity and equanimity one must try his level best to be as such merciful as the circumstances permit him to practise. The householder's non-violence is partial and he cannot attain perfection in its practice due to his various responsibilities and liabilities. As he advances in spiritual plane and controls his passion he can make rapid strides on the path of progress and gradually beco.ne perfect in his achievement. The complete and flawless practice of Ahimsa raises the man to Godhood. It is said, 'All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth'. This Ahiṁsā gives light, provides delight and bestows might to its faithful and honest disciple of Ahiṁsā was in fact on the lowest rung of the ladder. He aspired to practise the highest type of Ahimsā by becoming a nude Jain monk. When Churchill had rebuked Gandhiji by calling him 'A half naked Fakir' he had informed Churchill, 'I would love to be a naked Fakir but I am not one yet.' . It is to be noted that nudity of the non-violent saints is not an end in itself, but it is a means to attain the bliss of Nirvāņa. Jain Scriptures have strongly condemned that nudity which is not adorned with the highest type of noble and virtuous life. A monkey is naked innumerable living souls remain naked, their nudity shorn of sublime thoughts will do no good to their struggling souls. That nudity is commendable which is resorted to for self-purification. History records that these highly cultured, non-violent nude and elevated souls were respected and highly venerated by monarchs and the common men alike. The great grand-father of King Ashoka called Chandra Gupta Maurya had become a nude Jain monk. The act
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of subjugating inner passions and carnal cravings is not an easy affair. Poet Tagore's remarks made in his lectures in America are very significant. "In this natural world, with the help of science, man is turning the forces of nature into obedience. But in his moral world he has a harder task to accomplish. He has to turn his own passions and desires from tyranny into obedience.” Such a nonviolent saint enjoys the beauties and sublimities of the inner world. He sports in the Self-delights in the Self; for he has to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven hidden within.
Those souls who are mentally weak lead the life of householders and discharge their duties with a compassionate outlook. Jainism has not taken an extreme and one-sided view to Ahiṁsā for a layman. It has classified it into various stages according to the mental make up of the adherent. Even the use of weapons has not always been wholly condemned or discarded on the occasion of safeguarding and maintaining the dignity of Law and Justice, against the aggressive and vindictive measures of the culprits in the absence of some other better way and making it impossible for the miscreants to disturb the smooth and peaceful working of the society. As a matter of fact, the avoidance of voluntary or intentional injury has been enjoined upon all the votaries of non-violence. It is, therefore, consistent with the doctrine of non-violence to rule over vast territories. It is a historical fact that Tain monarchs such as Bimbasār, Chandragupta Maurya, Samprati, Khārvela, Amoghversha Kumārpāla etc. ruled over the country with remarkable success.
The celebrated Jain monk Swami Samanta Bhadra writes, 'Lord Shānti Nāth (the 16th Jain prophet) when a house-holder, had conquered over the multitude of monarchs of the whole world.' Chamundaraya, the renowned minister of Ganga, the king of the South and a great Jain devotee, had waged several wars himself. It is interesting to note that he had composed a book on Jain Ethics while on the battlefield.
Dr. G.H, Ojha observes, "Valour is not the monopoly of any particular community. India has produced chivalrous persons in every community. Rajputānā has always been the land of the brave. The jains have never lagged behind in this respect, in spite of the prominent place allotted to compassion in Jainism. Since many centuries the Jains have been occupying the exalted offices of the
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ministers and the like. In the hour of national calamity they had rendered remarkable services, references whereof occur in history.
The fundamental point is that one should not resort to violence as far as possible. He should not take pleasure in case he happens to destory life under compulsion. In his heart the genial current of compassion should never stop its inner flow. Although a warrior or a monarch he will never touch wine or meat since they disturb the purity of mind and equanimity, which are the guiding factors to take the right decision under the circumstances. Tolstoy has said, 'I flatly declare that a man fed on whisky and dead bodies cannot do the finest work of which he is capable.' The vision of the non-violent house-holder is not blurred by the pomp or power of the world. He knows his place in this huge world. He feels :
We are like sands upon the shore. A little wave and we are no more.
A person blessed with this wisdom tries his best to adopt a pure and pious course of life. Jain ethics are meant for men of all positions; for kings, warriors, traders, artisans, agriculturists and indeed for men and women in every walk of life. Do your duty and do it as humanely as you can. This in brief is the primary precept of Jainism
Lord Mahavira has warned the world against the callous life of a cruel and merciless person. He has said, 'All the misery spring up from violence - Hissa. A life of Ahimsā helps a person to attain God-hood and enjoy the everlasting bliss of beautitude.' These words of Jesus are noteworthy : 'God is love and he who dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God and God in him.' Those who ask for internal peace, worldly progress and plenty should concentrate their attention upon these words of Jain saint Kundkunda expressed in his Tirukkural, 'A person who has personally experienced what's injurious to his own life why should he inflict injury on other living beings ? Killing brings all other evils.'
Share your mean with the needy. Protect every living being.' This is the chief of all the moral precepts formulated by those well versed in scriptures.
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Not to kill is one good deed par excellence. Next to this comes the virtue of speaking truth.'
'Even though the happiness of heaven obtained by sacrifice be great, wise men despise it as worthless, because it is won by slaughter.'
These subilme thoughts of Saint Amitgati should illumine thinking soul, 'O my Lord, make myself such, that I may always have love for all living beings, pleasure in the company of the virtuous, sympathy for the afflicted and tolerance for those perversely inclined.'
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MAHĀVĪRA’S NON-VIOLENCE IN MODERN SCIENTIFIC AGE
D. S. Parmaj
How time was opportune for Lord Mahavira's Advent ?
If we look back into the past history with a searching mind to the social condition prevailing in India twety-five hundred years ago, it unmistakably indicates that the then Society had sunk to the lowest possible depths of ignorance, illusion, superstition, and violence, leading to social, economic, moral, cultural degeneration, not to speak of spiritual decline. Society was divided into numerous castes and creeds, one warning against the other in the name of false religion. Lord Mahāvīra, was born with realy a royal heroic heart, knew no fear from childhood, as his very name itself suggests, and soon grew up into an youthful prince with a prophetic vision and an Universal message to fulfil. He looked around and found that social unity and its re-construction was his inmediate mission for the fulfilment of which no price would be too dear, nor any sacrifice too great. So he decided to give up his royal life with all its earthly pomp and glory, lest it should prove to be an obstacle in realization of his Universal-mission for establishing peace and harmony in the society of his time.
After twelve year's life of ascerticism and meditation he attained real or transcendental knowledge. Dr, Zimmer, a German intellect and a western scholar, observes "The task of the Jain naked sage is to plunge even below, the below beyond the beyond, to break the mask even of highest god. This is the work of Release (Mokşa), the task of the naked sage (Jivanmukta) "one released in life". Lord Mahāvīra then spoke to the ignorant, suffering masses in their own
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folk language and explained to them the real meaning and singificance of life on earth by his own example. He tried to eradicate the caste system by reconstructing the Society or rational basis into only two divisions namely spiritual aspirants and householders i. e. (1) Monks and (2) Nuns, (3) Lay Brothers and (4) Law Sisters. This social reconstruction shows not only Lord Mahāvīra's prophetic vision but his realistic and practical foresight for basing his teaching on sound scientific foundation. Lord Mahavira's aim-not information but transformation :
Lord Mahāvira did not want to stuff the heads of the ignorant masses with mere symbols, rituals, and images in the name of religious truth, because his primary concern was not to present unwanted sophisticated mass of information to his hearers but transformation, a rationalistic change of man's defiled way of life. He wanted to bring about a renovation of a man's understanding both of the external physical world and its phenomena and of a man's own existence-a transformation in man's very concept of life and its ideals from a practical point of view as possible. In other words, he wanted to bring about fusion between the worldly, practical or scientific knowledge then available and the higher knowledge of reality as supplementary and complementary to each other. Scientific exposition of Mahavira's teaching :
Lord Mahāvīra adopted a simple, logical, convincing, realistic and also scientific method of explaining the basic but universal principles of his teaching. Real medical science expects a man to live a simple unsophisticated, pure life by breathing pure air, and taking simple but nourishing vegetarian food. So also laws of Natural Science require a man to live a simple, natural life and not a complex, excited, or artificial life, as we moderners are doing. Lord Mahāvīra, with a scientific foresight, explained to the ignorant suffering masses that Sin is nothing but impurity of life and perverted condition of both our intrinsic nature and soul. So he asked his followers first to purify their defiled minds by driving out impure thoughts and evil and selfish desires arising therein. So plain and pure living. hygienically, medically, psychologically and practically, if adopted as a way of life, would naturally, avoid, according to Lord Mahāvīra, impure and selfish thoughts and
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desires of which most of us are slaves. Purity is only another name for Holiness, which indicates cleanliness of your body and mind. This is why it is said and said truly that cleanliness ranks next to Godliness. Similarly Lord Mahāvīra simplified his Rule of Nonviolence by himself raising questions and getting obvious answers from his hearers in a logical, cogent and scientific manner. For example he put a question, though simple to appear but having far reaching consequences. "Can yon hold a red hot iron rod with your hands, if some one wants you to do it, and if your answer is “emphatic No" then what right have you to ask others to do a similar thing for your illusory pleasure, if you yourself cannot sustain the pain thereof ?” “Can you tolerate or put up with any injury or violence caused to your body or mind by other's deeds? If not, by what logic or reason, can you expect others to suffer injury or violence at your hands ? So naturally do unto others as you would like to be done by. Injury or violence to any life in any form animal or human is as harmful as it is to your own.".
Lord Mahāvīra explained the concept of Merit and Demerit (Punya-pāpa) in a simple, logical and scientific way. Sin is nothing else but causing injury to others or wounding their feelings. Punya or meritorious act is nothing but obliging others, who requires your help and which help, you are in a position to render. Punya or Merit is synonymous with Truth according to simplified teaching of his universal principle of Truth. To follow the natural Rule of Nonviolence is to follow science of Truth, Science of Nature, your own basic undefiled and unperverted tendency of your Inner Nature, though lying deep within you untouched except by higher sense. There cannot be one Law for one human being and another person in the realm of nature or pure science. So Lord Mahāvīra not only pointed out but demonstrated that real philosophy is practical, because it is a way of life to be lived and followed in our daily life on earth. Mahatma Gandhi has significantly observed that Rule of non-violence is not only the law of our human species but a rule of science as well. Special significance :
His teaching can be said to be all things to all men, because for a layman or householder, he simply taught to lead a simple, pure, natural holy life by following fivefold rule of conduct by avoiding
violence or injury, physical or mental, to others, avoiding falsehood
www
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in daily social transactions or dealings with others, avoiding theft of others' property and by following rule of temperance in sexual enjoyment and hoarding of property. As a healer of social and moral ills, he prescribed a stricter and higher dose of ethical medicine for the spiritual health of Monks and Nuns by pointing out the supreme theme of Liberation or final Release from ignorance and from passions of the world's general illusion or Māyā. Our desires and passions serve as fuel to the fire of our attachment to the worldly life and therefore the Jain concept of Nirvana suggests that we have to withdraw the fuel to quench the everhurning Fire of worldly attachment. As sin is the result of our ignorance Lord Mahāvīra condemned the sin more than the sinner, who is sympathetically sought to be improved by following his teachings. As his teaching significantly aims at transforming an impure, false, unholy life into a simple, pure and healthy one, no scientist, having any real regard for truth and purity can find fault with it. So Mahāvīra's teaching containing the very concentrated essence of human wisdom can serve as an eyeopener to a modern scientist who perchance is likely to misuse the power of his developed scietific intellect, unless the same is harnessed with the higher qualities latent in his heart.
Lord Mahāvīrā's Doctrine of Non-violence is practical and rational in its application in as much as it forbids only avoidable and intentional injury to any creature, as our very life cannot be sustained without breathing or following some avocation or other in which unintentional injury to some invisible insects or germs may be inescapable. Mahatma Gandhi, himself a great exponent of the Rule of Non-violence, observes “Rationalism is a hideous monster, when it claims for itself omnipotence. Omnipotence cannot be attribuied to human reason." In the name of modern scientific progress, intellect is fed too much at the cost of human heart, the real repository of all hidden higher qualities, which in their essence signify the real purpose and meaning of human existence.
Rule of Non-violence for Peace and Happiness?
Lord Mahāvīra, with his prophetic vision and insight, knew that the sense of fear in one form or other is ever haunting or shadowing a man's or woman's earthly life from cradle to the grave. If one is panicky of losing his dear and near ones, another is awfully
afraid of losing his property or the very source of his bread if not of
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butter, the third may be too anxious to ward off some disease or illhealth. Every human being, rich or poor, high or low, young or old is obsessed by this Demon of Fear. Lord Mahāvīra being a born hero both physically and spiritually, knew no fear of death or disaase, as self-denial was his never-failing weapon in all respects. So he explained to the suffering masses that the fear lurking in their minds is the result of their own ignorance, nay, illusion, and so they are unable to find out the real cause of their supposed fear for losing their happiness on earth. Lord Mahāvīra taught them to live fearlessly by banishing the devilish selfish instinct and to live in peace and harmony with the external world and its objects. The brute in man is the real obstacle in following the Rule of Non-violence. Walt Whitman has correctly observed “Given good health and enough food, an animal is normally happy but affording the same facilities to a man, he is unhappy. Why and wherefor ?” The question remains unanswered either by an intellectual or a scientist. It is only a few prophets, philosophers or world teachers like Lord Mahāvira, Lord Buddha or Lord Jesus Christ, who have not suppressed the real answer to this vexing question.
Lord Mahāvīra evolved his universal Principle of Non-Violence from the basic needs and necessities of co-existence, from purity of minds and hearts, from love and kindness for suffering life and from respect for human values. He pointed out that unless there is first inner disturbance i.e. mental violence (Bhāva Himsa) arising in our mind, there cannot be physical violence (Dravya Himsa). So our hearts and minds be kept pure and unsullied. So Ahimsa (Nonviolence) according to Mahāvīra means Universal Love. Mahāvira's Doctrine of Non-violence is summed up by an ancient saint writer in Sanskrit "Ahimsa Bhūtānām Jagati Viditam bramha paramam” which means “Verily the Rule of Non-injury to any living creature is regarded as the Divine Principle or Supreme Law of this world.”
No violent act originates in a kind or pure heart and inind. Just as anger begets anger, violence breeds violence, passion feeds on itself. So prophet Mahāvīra advised his followers first to control violent thoughts and desires before they manifest themselves into violent deeds and acts. Lord Mahāvīra, the greatest apostle of nonviolence, has founded his Rule of Non-violence on basic human values such as love and kindness, and as such this Rule is not only
eternal and universal, but realistic, though a self-server or an
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opportunist or pleasure-seeker may try to put forth some lame excuse or other for its breach. Human activities and Non-violence :
Mahatma Gandhi says "Non-violence is not a cloistered virtue confined to sages and cave-dwellers. It is the law of human existence. So rule of non-violence can be properly developed and extended to the domains of ethics, economics, politics, admin.stration, international commerce by introducing moral values as factors underlying this Rule of Non-violence. Truth, honesty, charity, tolerance, forbearance and other human virtues are only the corollaries flowing naturally by extension of this fundamental rule of non-violence cum love to various walks of life. So even in this scientifically advanced age, this rule, if followed both in letter and spirit, would facilitate the establishment of peace and happiness in the whole world as one unit.
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THE CONCEPTS OF MIND
J. C. Sikdar
Manas (mind) has been accepted by all the Indian systems of thought as the internal sense-organ. There is a difference of opinions among the philosophers in regard to many aspects of it, such as, nature, cause, function, character (dharma), place (sthāna), etc. The Vaiśeşikas? the Naiyāyikas2 and their followers, the Pūrvamimāṁsakas 3 have conceived manas as aņu (atomic), hence it is eternal, i. e. devoid of cause. The Sā mkhya-Yoga and their follower; the Vedānta have not accepted it as aņu; nevertheless, they have admitted it atom-like and producible, as its origination takes place from ahan kara“, the evolute of the Praksti or avidyā. According to the Buddhist and Jaina Philosophies manas is all-pervasive, but not atom-like. Both these traditions accept it as having intermediate dimension and producible. The Buddhist Philosophy maintains that manas is vijñānātmaka (consciousness-like) and it is the previous consciousness-like cause of the succeeding consciousness 5 According to Jaina Metaphysics, the physical mind is born of a kind of subtle non-living substance called manovargaņās (mind-particles) and it undergoes change like the body at every moment, while the psychical mind, because of being characterized by the capacity of knowledge and being knowledge-like, is born of the sentient substance.6
All the Indian systems of thought hold the view that the function of manas is to cause the birth of the qualities like desire, hatred, pleasure, pain, etc., and their experience, whether these qualities exist in the soul of are of the intellect? or self-evident, according to the theories of the Nyāya, Vaiśeşika, Mimāṁsaka and Jaina systems of thought, etc., or the doctrine of the Buddhist Philosophy, respectively. Manas becomes the cause in the emergence
of knowledge brought about by the external sense-organs and in the
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production of the qualities like knowledge, etc., which are born independently of the external sense-organs. According to the views of all the Indian philosophies with the exception of the Buddhist view, the dharmas (characters or essentials) like desire, aversion, knowledge, pleasure, pain, impression, etc. do not belong to manas. The Vaišeşikas and the Naiyāyikas, the Mimāṁsakas and the Jainas maintain that these qualities belong to the soul, but the SamkhyaYoga and the Vedānta hold the views that they belong to the intellect. The Buddhists have accepted manas in place of the Principle of Self (atma) without regarding it as a separate entity; therefore, according to its view, all elements like desire, aversion, knowledge, force, etc., which are called ātmadharmas (essentials of soul) or antahkarana-dharmas (essentials of internal sense-organ) by different philosophers are the elements of mind.
Some philosophics like the Nyāya-Vaišeşika and the Buddhists accept manas as hşdayapradeŝvartin (existing in the spacepoint of heart), while other systems of thought like the Sāmkhya, etc., hold the view that the place of manas cannot be stated to be the hşdaya (heart), because, according to their traditions, it is entering into the substle body (lingaśarira) which is itself a special body-like. It is known that the whole gross body should be accepted as the place of the subtle body; therefore, according to this tradition, the place of mind is decided to be the whole body. The Jaina tradition avers that the place of the psychical mind (bhāvamana) is the soul only, But there is found the difference of opinion in regard to the physical mind (dravyamana) among the Jainas. The Digambara tradition accepts the physical mind dravyamana as existing in the smallest point of the heart, while the Sverāmbara tradicion maintains that the whole gross body is stated to be the seat of the physical mind (dravyamana).
So mind is of two kinds, viz. physical and psychical (dravyamana and bhāvamana). “The psychical mind characterized by the capacity (for comprehension) and consciousness is material, as it is assisted by matter. Similarly, owing to the destruction-cum-subsidence of knowledge-covering and energy-obstructing karmas and the rise of nāma-karma of limbs and minor limbs, particles of matter transformed into mind assist the living beings tending to examination of good and evil, remembering things, etc. Hence the physical n.ind
also is material. It is contended by others that mind is a different
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substance that it is bereft of colour (form), etc., and it is the size of
atom. Hence it is improper to consider it as ma ter.”10 This is the Vaišeşika view an the concept of mind. Acārya Pūjyapāda, refutes this contention by advancing the argument whether the mind is connected with the senses and the soul or not. “If is not connected, then it cannot be of assistance to the soul, nor can it be use to the senses. If it is connected, then the atomic mind connected with one point cannot leave that point and be of use to the other parts of the soul or the other senses). Nor can it be said to rotate like the potter's wheel on account of an invisible force, as there can be no such capacity. The invisible force (adssta) is admitted to be the attribute of the non-material and inactive soul. Hence it is also inactive. Being inactive itself, it cannot be the cause of activity elsewhere. For instance, the wind is endowed with activity and touch, and it is naturally the cause of the wafting of plants and trees. But this invisible force is quite different from it and hence it cannot be the cause of activity."11 Bhāvamana (psychical mind) is jñāna (knowledge), which is the attribute of Soul, so it comes under Soul. “As the physical mind is characterized by colour, taste, smell and touch, it is a modification of matter. The physical mind is characterized by colour, taste, smell and touch, for it is the cause of knowledge like the sense of sight, 12"
Having followed the footsteps of Ācārya Pujyapāda, Akalaåka also deals with the concept of mind by refuting the Sāmkhya, Buddhist and Vaiseşika views regarding it in his own manner. He rejects the Sāṁkhya view of mind as the modification of the Praksiti ( Primordial Matter) by stating that when the Prakṣiti itself is non-sentient, then its modification also will be non-sentient, hence like jar, etc., it will not be able to perform the function like examining good-or evil, remembering; etc. Mind is karaņa (organ) of activity like thought. Then who will be the doer of this activity ? Whether is it the Prakṣiti or the puruşa (self)? The Puruşa is attributeless, therefore, there cannot bet he modification of Sattva (Essence) in it like thought, memory, etc. The Prakṣiti is nonsentient, hence there cannot be the sentient activities like thought remembering, etc., in it also. Mahat (Intellect), ahankāra (ego), etc., the modifications of the Praksti, are different from it, then the postulation of the identity of effect and cause stands refuted. If it is non-different, then there remains only the Prakrti from which no
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modification is possible at all. mind, 18
Therefore there cannot become
Next, Akalanka refutes the Buddhist theory of mind which is conceived as separate entity called vijñānarūpa (pure-consciousness-like), i. e. that which is upādäna-bhūtajñāna-kşaņa (material cause of past knowledge-moment) of cognitions is called mind (manas). But in the Bhuddhist view, when jñäna (knowledge) is momentary, it cannot apprehend the object at the present moment; then what is to speak of the previous knowledge ? When the present knowledge does not maintain any relation with the prior and posterior consciousness, then how can it examine good and evil, remembering, etc ?
Recognisation of an object experienced by oneself is made by one who has seen it in the past, but there is no possibility of the recognition of the object experienced by others or that of the object unexperienced by himself. In the case of the advocates of momentarism this succession of remembrance (recognition) cannot take place. Santāna (issue or continuity) is non-substantial. Therefore, with regard to it there is no rational ground for making the possibility of rememberance, etc. When pūrvajñanarüpamana (previous knowledge-like mind) is non-existence at the present time, then how can it perform the functions like examining good and evil, remembering, ete. ? If the seed-like store-house of consciousness (älayavijñāna) is accepted as permanent, then the doctrine of momentariness stands refuted. If it is momentary, then it cannot also be the support of remembrance. etc.14 Akalanka has followed the same procedure of his predecessor Ācārya Pujyapāda for refuting the Vaišeşika view of mind. 15
In modern psychology mind has been conceived as physical and psychical, just as it is accepted in Jaina Philosophy, as the evolution-theory demands a mind-dust.16 William James makes "the assumption that” our mental states are composite in structure, made up of smaller states con-joined.17” “Theory of ‘mind-stuff' is the theory that our mental states are compounds, expressed in its most radical from."18 “Each atom of the nebula ... must have had an aboriginal atom of consciousness linked with it; and just as the material atoms have formed bodies and brains by massing themselves together, so the mental atoms, by an analogous process of aggregation, have fused into those larger consciousness which we know in
For Private & Persona
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ourselves and suppose to exist in our fellow-animals."19 So according to this doctrine of atomstic hylozoism, “there must be an infinite number or degrees of consciousness, following the degress of complication and aggregation of the primordial mind-dust":20 This minddust can be compared well with the manovarganās, which constitute manas (mind) as conceived in Jaina Metaphysics. The comparative study of these brief outlines of the Indian Concepts of mind reveals that the Jaina Concept of mind has made a synthetic approach to this problem from the physical and psychical points of view like modern Psychology.
REFERENCES
1. "Tadabhavadanu manah", Vaisesika Sutra by Kanada. 7-1-23
2. “Na,yugapadanekakriyopalabdheh.........up to
Nyayasutra by Gautama,, 3-2-57-59.
yathoktahetutvaccanu".
3. “Prakaranapancika”, by Salikanatha Misra. p. 151,
4. “Yasmat karmendriyani buddhindriyani ca satvikadahankaradutpadaante,
mano api tasmadeva utpadyate", Matharavriti by Matharacarya. 27. (Karika)
5. “Vijnanam prativijnaptih mana ayatanam ca tat" "Sannamanantara titani vijnanam yaddhi tanmanah",
-Abhidharmakosa by vasubandhu, 1. 16, 17;
--Tattvasangraha by Santaraksia. 631. "Yat yat samanantaraniruddham vijnanam tattanmanodhaturititadyatha sa eva putro anyasya pitrakhyam labhate tadeva phalamanyasya bijakhyam/tatbehapi sa eva caksuradivijnanadhaturanyasyasraya iti manodhatvakhyam labhate/ya eva sad-vijnanad hatavah.. ...itiaretarantarbhavah..... yogacaradarsanena tu sadvijnanavyatirikto apyasti mano dhatuh/", Abhidharmakosa, Sphuturtha by Yasomitra. pp. 40, 41, vide
-Darsana and Cintana by Pandit Sukhlalji, p. 139.
6. Tasmaccittasya dharma
by Madhavacarya, p. 35.
yrttayo
natmanah",
Sarvadarsana Sangraha
7. Tamraparniya api hrdayavastu manovijnanadhatorasrayam kalpayanti",
Abhidharmakosa, Sphutar tha by Yasomitra, p. 41, vide Darsana and Cintan, p. 140.
8. Abh. K. Sphutartha, p. 41, vide Darsana and Cintana, p. 140.
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71.
9. Pramanamimamsa, p. 19, Pramana Mimamsa by Hemacandra, 10.
"Sarvarthagrahanam” tulana; “Sarvarthopalabdhaunendriyani prabhavanti iti sarvavisayamantahkaranam manah",
-Nyayabhasya by Vatsyayana, 1.1.9; Samkhyakarika by Isvarkrsna, 35. Sarvarthasiddhi by Acarya Pujyapada, 2-11 (Comm); Sarvarthasiddhi by Acarya Pujyapada, 5.19 (Comm.)
10. Sarvartha Siddhi by Acarya Pujyapada, V. 19 (Comm), Vide Reality, S.A.
Jain, p. 145.
11. Sarvarthasiddhi, p. 287. 12. Reatity, S. A. Jain, p. 131; Sarvarthasiddhi, V. 3 (Comm.) 13. “Pradhanavikara iti cet; na; acetanatvat”, Rajavartika by Akalanka, V. 19
(Comm), p. 473. 14. “Vijnanamiti cet; na; tat samarthyabhavat (32") Rajavartika by Akalanka. 15 Rajavartika by Akalanka. pp. 471-472. 16. The Principles of psychology by William James, pp. 145 ff. 17. Ibid., p. 145
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid., p. 147. 20. Ibid.
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SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT IN MAHĀVĪRA’S PHILOSOPHY
M. S. Murdia
Lord Mahāvīra attained liberation two thousand and five hundred years ago, but still the wisdom he bequeathed to humanity is profound and great. Masses view him as the great cherisher of moral pursuit and little is known to the people about the scientific spirit embodied in the sayings of the great ascetic. Syādvāda profounded by Lord Mahāvīra is a sort of Jain theory of relativity. As is well known the principle of relativity is one of the greatest achievements of modern age, but this theory was well established by Lord Mahavira in the name of syādvada. Similarly atomism propose by Lord Mahavira discusses the moden atom even more minutely than the present day scientistis. Ether (Dharmadravya), the motion and the structure of Universe finds elaborate mention in his philosophy.
Atomism :
According to Lord Mahāvira, Atom1 is indivisible and impenetrable. The atom has no length, breadth and depth. It is so small that it, itself is the beginning, middle and the end. The present day science speaks of many particles inside the atom and that, it is constituted of electrons, protons, neutrons and many other minute particles, e. g. mesons, nentrinos etc. This shows that this is not the real atom as described. by Lord Mahavira. With the progress of science, it is concievable that it shall be possible for the scientists to find out the smallest particle of matter. Further an atom travels from one space point to another in one 'Samaya' to its minimum and in the entire Lokākāśa from one end to the other, the its maximum.3
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"Samaya' is a Jain technical term and is the smallest unit of time. Grossly speaking it can be said that countless 'samaya' pass in the twinkling of an eye, and this shows with what great velocity atoms can travel. Perhaps science as yet does not know of anything which can travel with such a high speed. Velocity of light is considered to be the highest velocity that a particle can attain. However recently it has been estimated that velocity higher than the velocity of light is attainable and it is hoped that the scientists will be able to find out particles of higher velocity than the velocity of light. In ancient times, inspite of the fact that no experimental and instrumental approach was available, the description of the atom its speed and other properties as for example indivisibility, impenetrability, cannot be brunt is fire etc., is unique and unparalleled. Universe :
This universe consists of "Loka' and 'Aloka'. Lok is that part of the universe which can be reached.3 Lok consists of six Dravyas. 4
1. Jivāsiikāya (Soul) 2. Pudgalā stikaya (Matter and energy) 3. Dharmāstikāya (Medium of Motion) 4. Adharmāstikāya (Medium of rest) 5. Akaśāstikāya (Space) 6. Kāla
(Time) When Gautam, the principle disciple of Lord Mahāvira asked, "My Lord, what is the use of Ākāśa for the living and the nonliving,” then Mahavira replied, "If there was no Ākaśa, where the living and the nonliving would have remained ? Where Dharmāstikāya, Adharmāstikāya, time matter would have stayed ? This Universe would have been without any base.5"
Again when Gautam asked, "My Lord what is the shape of the 'Aloka' (The part of the universe which cannot be reached) ? then Mahavira replied, “This Aloka is like a huge sphere having infinite radius.” This means that loka is only an island in the vast ocean of space. In science also it is recognised that space has infinite dimensions, in so much so that the nearest star ALPHA CE NTAURI is five light years away (one light year means the distance travelled by light in one year at the speed of 3x10 10metres per second). In
fact some stars are so far that their light has as yet not reached the
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earth so far, though the earth is said to be millions of years in existence. Also this earth is one of the many earths existing in this universe. The earth has been existing for infinite time and will continue to exist for infinite time.
The view that this earth is one of the many earths existing in this universe received due corroboration from the present day astronomical researches, which accept that there are other planets like our own and just as the men of this earth are trying to reach other planets, through rockets, similarly men from other planets might also be coming to this planet as demonstrated by Flying Saucers.
Dharmadravya and Ether :
Dharmadravya is regarded as the principle of motion and is pervasive in the universe, though devoid of all sensuous qualities like colour taste etc. The Dharmadravya helps the Jivas and the atoms that is the living and the nonliving in motion, though it does not impart any motion to any of the objects of the universe. Thus it is inactive, though movement is impossible without it. Just as water is helpful to the fishes for their movement, similarly Dharmadravya is of help to the living and the nonliving in their motion.
When Gautam asked Mahavira, “My Lord, How Dharmadravya (Dharmāstikāya) is useful for the living and the nonliving?" Lord Mahavira replied “Gautam, without dharmā stikāya, there would have been no movement possible for any object, no spread of sound waves, no mental and physical activity. This universe would have been completely motionless. All motions in the universe take place *with the help of dharmāstikāya.s
To another question of Gautam as to how Adharmāstikāya, is useful for the living and the nonliving, Lord Mahavira replied, “If there was no Adharmāstikāya, then it was impossible to remain standing or sitting or sleeping, seeing and even having concentration of the mind. This universe would have been in continuous motion. Objects are at their respective places of rest because of adharmāstikāya.8
Before nineteenth century, the scientist did not accept any thing like ether, but when the question of medium of motion of light rays from one planet to the other pressed it self, the hypothesis of ether gained ground. According to Einstein (the greatest intellectual
ever produced in the history of mankind so far), Ether has no motion
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in itself. It is nonmaterial, all pervasive in the universe, imperceptible and continuous substance. It is entirely inactive. It seems that thousands of years ago, when scientific techniques were not in vogue, this subtle substance of the universe was promulgated with great precision, and given due recognition on a scientific basis. Syādvāda and Theory of Relativity.
According to syādvāda, everything is considered to be in the context of its own space-time. Time is the fourth dimension as mentioned by Einstein also, the architect of the theory of relativity. An explosion in a nebulae, which is situated at a distance of one million light years away from the earth would be known to us only after one million light years, since light would take that much time to reach us. If by chance any human being talks to us regarding the event, then the conclusions regarding the time of the event will be different in the two cases. According to Einstein truth known to us is only relative and the absolute truth can be known only by an omniscient. According to Syadvāda, if a thing weighs 100 kg. then this is correct and incorrect also, as on the southpole the same will weigh 101 kg. and on the mediterranean line will weigh 200 kg. These conclusions are first looked with apprehensions but then when viewed in different aspects look to be logical. The same is said about the relativity theory. The theory of relativity is not difficult but the conclusions arrived at on that basis are difficult to admit (e. g. time as the fourth dimension was never clearly understood by the scientists before the time of Einstein).
Many questions of Gautam were answered by Lord Mahāvira on the basis of syādväda. Once Gautam asked, “My Lord soul is mortal or immortal ?”
Mahāvīra replied, “Soul is mortal as well as well as immortal.” It is mortal with respect to different forms it can attain. It is immortal as a soul remains a soul, whether it is past, present or future." Similarly about the atom when asked Lord Mahavira replied it is indestructible as well as destructible. It is destructible as it can change from one form to the other. It is indestructible as an atom remains an atom under all conditions of transformations. Thus on the basis of syādvāda many questions of the principle disciple Gautam were answered by Mahavira in a clear, thoughtful and precise manner.
Water contains living organisms is a fact well described in Jain
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scritpures, since long time. The present day science could believe this only after the invention of the miscroscope.
It is thus clear that Lord Mahāvira's philosophy contains scientific knowledge of tremendous significance for the human race and if properly studied may provide valuable information for the benefit of mankind. Even Loka which is so vast and possesses infinite dimensions finds elaborate mention as to its shape, size and various parts located in it and can prove useful to the scientist in the exploration of the universe which is being undertaken by spacecrafts, these days. The description of Jambūdvipa, Meru Parvata etc., provide enough-clues for further explorations in space.
REFERENCE
1. Bhagvati Shataka 5, Uddesaya, 7 2. Bhagavati Shataka 16, Uddeshaya, 8 3. Jain Siddhanta Dipika 1-8 4. Muni Nagraj, Jain Philosophy and Modern Science, p. 28 5. Bhagavti Sutra 13. 4.481 6. Bhagavati Sutra 11. 10. 420; Loka Prakash 2-26 7. Vyakhya Pragyapti Shataka-2, Uddeshaka 10 8. Bhagavati Sutra 13. 4. 480 9. Bhagavati Shataka 14. 34
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RELEVANCE OF MAHĀVĪRA'S MESSAGE IN THE WORLD
OF TODAY
J. P. Jain
Lord Mahavira, the great benefector of mankind, renounced all the worldly pleasures and delicated himself entirely to the service, not only of mankind but of all living beings. “The nobler a soul is, the more objects of compassion it hath,” said Bacon, and Mahāvira's compassion for all and sundry know no bounds. He has rightly been called the 'greatest apostle of Ahimsa'. With him non-violence was the highest religion and the concept of 'live and let live' the golden rule of all human conduct.
The conflict between 'Hiṁsā' and 'Ahiṁsā' dates from the beginning of man's history, but it was, perhaps, never before so poignant as at present. There is also no doubt that it was the first awakening of the Ahimsite attitude in the soul of the uncivilized, barbarous, primitive man which marked his transformation from a veritable brute into a human being. The moment he began to realise the truth and justice of the precepts live and let live' and 'do upto others as you would have others do unto you', augered the dawn of human reason, culture and civilization. The endeavour to translate these wholesome precepts into practice gradually humanised the brute in man.
The brute could, however, not be completely annihilated; it still lurked and lived. The attraction of gross materialism, the desire to indulge in unrestrained sensual pleasures and the greed to acquire
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and possess more and power and pelf tended to awaken the brute in man and goad it into fury. And, in the face of this inhuman fury, humanity has often found itself paralysed. It was, therefore, left to the great teachers who, renouncing even the very idea of mundane pleasures, devoted themselves heart and soul to the eradication of inhuman tendencies from human society and helped it to regain itself. Again and again, in different times and lands, such masters have been born to help mankind.
Among these, the Jaina Tirtharkaras of ancient India were the foremost in showing the suffering humanity the Ahimsite way of life and peaceful co-existence, not only by precept but also by their own practice and conduct. Beginning with Lord Rishabhadeva, twenty-four such Tīrtharkaras gave in their respective times this message of peace and good-will to the world. The last in this series of great teachers was Vardhaman Mahāvīra (599-527 B.C). He was a senior contemporary of the Buddha who always spoke with respect of this Nighantha Näraputta Mahāvīra, the last great exponent of the Śhramana or Arhat current of ancient Indian culture which had Ahimsā as its very keynote and fundamental creed.
Like the foregoing twenty-three Tīrthan karas, Mahāvira was a master propagator of what is now known as the Jaina creed and is credited with the recognization of its following into a regular Sangha or orders. At the same time, he was one of those great teachers of mankind through whom the problem of the perfection of man came to be recognized as the highest achievement for progressive humanity. All the rules of religious life, which he enjoined, were intended to be practical aids in the attainment of the perfection of the self. He did not preach to others what he had not practised himself. He was the path of patience, forbearance, self-denial, forgiveness, humanitarianism, compassion and consideration, in short, of sacrifice, love and kindness.
Mahāvīra, as his name indicates, was an embodiment of physical, moral and spiritual courage of the highest order, and the supreme lesson of Ahiṁsā rings out from every chapter and verse of his life. He believed in non-violence not merely in action but also in word and thought. He and, after him, the Jain saints who followed in his footsteps, never tired of reawakening humanity to its duty
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towards itself as well as other living beings. Ahimsā the first principle of higher life, is to be the rule of all conduct. Life is sacred in whatever form it may be found to exist. Jainist culture stands for universal well-being and of universal brotherhood. Its aim is spiritual uplift and ultimate perfection of the soul, hence it enjoins on its followers the greatest self-control. It deprecates the action of those who for their selfish ends, pleasure, wanton wilfulness, or even by careless or rash conduct, hurt others' feelings or deprive them of their life-forces. To treat others as one's own self is Mahāvīra's principle teaching. Once this truth is realized all other questions are easily solved. The end can not justify the means. Good cannot come out of evil. Violence cannot pave the way for peace and happiness.
According to Mahāvīra's faith every living being is endowed with a soul. All souls are alike and possess inherent goodness in them. Every one of them can attain the highest spiritual perfection, although it is dependent on the conditions of its bodily existence and on the environments i: finds itself placed in, still in however limited a degree or however slowly, it can always aspire to and achieve the supreme spiritual evolution. If men come to realize this noble community of interest among all living beings, they are sure to love one another and also subhuman life.
The path to this spiritual evolution, as practised and propagated by Lord Mahāvira, consists in a harmonious combination or right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. The last chiefly consists in Ahiṁsā or non-violence, truthfulness, honesty, celebacy and non-covetousness or possessionlessness. Without the other four, Ahimsa is meaningless. Everyone is at liberty to follow this noble path according to his or her capacity and circumstances. An aversion to covetousness, in other words, an ever present wakefulness to keep down one's own requirements and possessions, is a primary condition of the Ahimsite way of life.
Thus Lord Mahāvīra gave to the suffering world his noble message of salvation, physical, moral and spiritual, about two thousand and five hundred years ago, and it is still true and practicable. His teachings, and the values he cherished and advised others to cherish, transcend the limits of time and space. He was interested in the good, welfare and salvation of the entire humanity, without any
distinction of sex, class, caste, colour, race or nationality. One of the
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greatest of great men of all times and all lands, this saviour of mankind and his message are very much relevant in the present context. The many ills and evils of the modern civilization can easily be eradicated and the diverse problems of the world today can effectively be solved, if the rational teachings of Mahāvira, the Great Hero, are put into practice judiciously.
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MAHAVIRA ON INDIVIDUAL AND
HIS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
K. C. Sogani
Mahāvīra is one of those few towering personalities who fought for individual liberty in the context of social life. He revolted against the economic exploitation and social oppression of man and introduced vigorous innovations in the then existing social law and order. In a way, he was a social anarchist. In this way, Mahavira regarded individual and his social responsibility as the key to the progress of both the individual and society. He seems to be aware of the fact that the emphasis on merely individual progress without taking note of social responsibilities is derogatory both to the individual and society. Mahāvira was neither merely individualistic nor merely socialistic. In his attitude both individual and society are properly reconciled. This attitude of Mahāvīra is in consonance with his total approach to any problem that confronts him. He is averse to one-sidedness and therefore adheres to all-sided approach to a problem. His method is Anekāntic. Hence in Mahāvira's philosophy of life, if individual liberty is to be sought, social responsibilities can not be dispensed with
In order that an individual may acquire firm footing in life, Mahāvira advised the individual to be without any doubt in the various spheres of thought and in its multiple approaches. Doubt kills decision and without an act of decision individual does not muster courage to go forward. Now the question is : How to acquire the state of doubtlessness ? The answer can be given by saying that either the individual should stop thinking and resort to a sort of
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mental slavery or he should employ himself in the task of vigorous thinking. Mental slavery is the path of blind faith, but vigorous thinking is the path of awakened mind. To my mind Mahāvira must have subscribed to the later view. In man many kinds of experiences find their place and reason should be freely allowed to play upon every aspect of experience, so as to arrive at rational decisions in every department of life. Mahāvīra never threatened the critical faculty in man, in as much as he seems to be aware of the fact that by paralysing the critical faculty in man, he will be cut at its roots. Mahāvīra is convinced of the fact that in the philosophy of art, education, social science, history, religion, etc. no one point of view can be absolute; there will always be alternative possibilities open. Freedom in thinking can not be curtailed. No one philosophical view can be final. So long as man is alive and free to think, different philosophical views will continue to appear. Thus gradually faith in Anekānta will emerge. This faith is rational and not blind. It has emerged from the very processs of rational thinking. When the very nature of thinking is understood, the individual will be free from doubt regarding the posibility of alternative points of view emerging in the sphere of thought. Thus Mahāvīra wishes an individual to be Nihsankita. Besides, adherence to rational thinking may lead us in a different direction. When limitations of thinking are made intelligible, a state of frustration may set in. In certain viduals, there may be witnessed a tendency to transcend reason. There may be moments in life, when the transcendence of reason is very much satisfying. Here an individual comes across a new type of awakening which may be called suprarational awakening. The individual thereby acquires faith in supra-rational existence. The emergence of faith in Anekānta and Supra-rational existence makes an individual free from fear and pride; by virtue of this faith, he attains a sort of mental equilibrium, and consequently he does not fear death, pain, censure, insecurity etc.; he becomes modest, forsakes all pride of learning, honour, family, affluence etc,
After the individual attains clarity in cognitive functioning, he is required to impose upon himself restraint in the realm of desire. Man is a bundle of desires. Desires do not arise in vaccum. They presuppose goods. Desires may admit of two kinds, namely, possessive and creative, corresponding to two kinds of goods, namely material and creative. The difference between the two kinds of
goods is that the former admits of exclusive individual possession,
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while the latter can be shared by all alike. Thus the possessive impulses aim at acquiring private goods, whereas the creative ones aim at producing goods that can be enjoyed by all without any conflict. “Material possessions can be taken by force', but “creative possessions cannot be taken in the way". The desire for material goods makes man's personality ego-centric which is the cause of social tensions and frustration. Creative desires lead the individual towards self-satisfaction and social progress. When Mahāvira advised men to be free from desires (Nihkā ikṣita) he seems to be referring to possessive desires. Bertrand Russell rightly remarks, “The best life is one in which creative impulses play the largest part and the possessive impulses the smallest". (Political ideas, 6, 12). If we reflect a little we shall find that it is possessive impulses that give rise to Himsā. The society which encourages possessive individuals encourages the acts of Hiṁsā. So Mahavira made it obligatory for the individual to make himself free from the desires for material possessions.
The history of social thought reveals that with the advancement of knowledge social beliefs of a particular age are replaced by new beliefs. Many religious superstitions, social paths of life and other forms of follies and falsities are derogatory to individual progress, therefore they are condemned in every age of history. But the change is met with great resistence. The reason for this is that change is looked by individuals with doubt and uncertainty. Besides love for conventionality and vested interests run counter to the acceptance of novelties in thought. All these obstacles mar individual dynamism. The individual who is a slave to customary beliefs, however false they have been declared to be, cannot develop his own personality and his actions are just like machines. Mahāvira, therefore, preaches that an individual should be free from follies (Amūdhatas). It is only through such individuals that society progresses and a scientific outlook gains ground. Such individuals are forward looking, and are free from the pressures of narrow traditionalism. They are always open-minded and are ever eager to learn from history and experience.
It is no doubt true that cognitive and conative clarities are essential to individual progress. If man's mind is prejudiced and his actions are stereotyped and wrongly directed, nothing worthwhile can be achieved. In order that an individual becomes an embodiment of noble thought and actions, virtuous disponsitions are to be
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cultivated. This prepares the individual to do certain kinds of actions in certain kinds of situations. This is not just to think or feel in certain ways. There may be individuals who can think clearly and express good emotions whenever the situation calls for, but they may not act virtuously when required to do so. Consequently, Mahāvira preached that an individual should develop virtuous dispositions of honesty, gratitude, Ahimsā, forgiveness, modesty, straightforwardness etc. This individual characteristic is known as upavshaņa. It cannot be gainsaid that noble thoughts can be translated into action through the mediumn of character. Mere thought is important to bring about any individual transformation. It is only virtues in addition to thought that can effect transformation in the life of an individual and transmute existing state of affairs.
Mahāvīra, no doubt, greatly emphasized the development of the individuals, in as much as he was convinced of the fact that there is nothing over and above the good of the individual men, women and children who compose the world. But he did not lose sight of the fact that the individual develops not in isolation but among other individuals. The proper adjustment of 'I' and 'thou' leads to the healthiest development of both 'I' and thou'. Thou? may represent social and political institutions. Social and political institutions must exist for the good of the individuals. All individuals should live together in such a way that each individual may be able to acquire as much good as possible. Thus every individual, therefore, shall have certain responsibilities towards one another. This is the same as saying that an individual has certain social responsibilities. Therefore, social and individual morality are equally necessary to a good world.
Mahāvīra unequivocally says that the 'other' is like our own. This does not mean that there are no individual differences. Rather it means that individual should be allowed freedom to develop his own individualities. There should not be any distinction between man and man on the basis of religion, race, nationality. To create differences between one individual and the other on these factors is derogetory, therefore, should be condemned ruthlessly. Consequently, Mahāvīra exhorted us not to hate individuals on these accounts (Nirvicikitsā). These are irrelevant inequalities.
These negative conditions of not hating others is not sufficient, but the positive condition of loving them (Vātsalya) is very much
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necessary. To love is to see that equal opportunities of education, earning and the like are received by every individual without any distinction, of race, religion, sex and nationality. In his own times Mahāvīra fought for the equality of all men, and he reverred individual dignity. Where there is love there is no exploitation. To treat other individuals as mere means is decried and denied. Where there is Vātsalya, all our dealings with others will be inspired by reverence; the role of force and domination will be minimised.
It is likely that individuals may deviate from the path of righteousness. In dealing with persons they may become so selfish as not to allow others their due share of liberty, they may become very possessive. Pride of power, use of force, and exploitation of the weak may look to them normal ways of life. Creative impulses in man may suffer owing to their destructive attitude. When individuals behave fanatically with one another, the real good will be served if they are (convinced) to deal with others rationally. To establish them in the good life is “Sthitikaraña'. This is very much necessary in a society where the rule of creative impulses is to be established.
Lastly, the good ways of life, of thinking and doing things should be made widely known to people at large, so that they may feel obliged to mould their lives in that pattern. For this psychological methods of transmitting knowledge are required to be followed in all earnestness. The scientific techniques of radio, television and the like are to be utilised for propagating good ways of life. If the researches in the laboratories are not taken to and utilised in the fields, they will serve no significant purpose. They will be like doing things in seclusion. Similary, if the findings in the human laboratory in the realm of values are not taken to human beings in general, things will deteriorate and conditions will not change. Mahāvira, therefore, says to propagate values of life (Prabhāvanā).
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JAIN ETHICS
Essence of Jain ethics provides the best raison d'etre for Mahavira's relevance in our times. Melvin Radar in his book 'Ethics and Human Community' holds in opposition to the relativist, subjective, intuitional and a priori theories that ethics should be based upon human nature and its potentialities. 1 He finds expression of man's deliberate attempt to make himself at home in the universe 'through religious sense of community' which enables him "to escape from his loneliness and self-alineation' in the ancient Egyption religion, in the Confucian doctrine of humanheartedness and universal kindness; the Taoist sense of mystic unity with nature; the Buddhist emancipation from selfhood' the Hindu vision of all-encompassing, all-penetrating spirit; the Moslem idea of One God One Humanity; the Hebraic devotion to a God of love and justice; and the Christian fellowship of all men in God."2
R. C. Dwivedi
Moral aphorisms of all religions, including Jainism, confirm their community-mindedness. Religion that ignores society has no chance of survival. 3 Ethical ideals of universal love and brotherhood, Ahimsa, charity, simplicity, chastity, truthfulness and non-attachment to worldly interests and gains are extolled in all religions. There may be some difference of emphasis on these ideals in one or the other religion but none preaches hatred, malice, pride, prejudice, passion, exploitation of fellow human beings or disrespect of life in all its varied and various forms. And if religion is not to be mistaken for dogma or ritual which sometimes sanctioned intolerance and disrespect for life, it can be affirmed without fear of contradiction that religion is no antithesis to humanism, social development, univer
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sal understanding and democratic spirit. True Dharma founded on the cardinal ethical virtues is Sanātana, eternal and universal.
Jainism prescribes strict and in fact, extremely severe ethical discipline both for the house-holder and the ascetic, the śrāvaka and the Sramaņa. It lays equal emphasis on faith, knowledge and conduct which together constitute the way to individual freedom. The Jain philosophy divides the world primarily into the duality of self (Jiva ) and not-self (Ajiva) with their inherent pluralism. The self is infinite, alike, eternal and of various forms implying different stages of development. Its intrinsic nature of perfection, infinite intelligence, infinite peace, infinite faith and infinite power is obscured by its union with matter. Its ethical aim is to cast off this malignant influence of the not-self and realise its real nature which is perfect enlightenment. Perfect knowledge is never inactive. Knowledge does not exist without right action and conduct. Enlightened self leads active life for the good of others, as he can do no more of good to himself. The seven tattvas postulated by Jainism, namely, Jiva, Ajiva, Asrava, Bandha, Samvara, Nirjarā and Moksa, underline all-absorbing concentration of Jainism on the ethical perfection of the self as the real objective of metaphysical or philosophical enquiry. This is in bold contrast to other systems of Indian philosophy where ethics does not occupy such an important place in the scheme of philosophical categories, It is, therefore, no surprise that Jainism has propunded in great details the path of ethical discipline both for the clergy and the laity.
Jainism lays down five vows for the ascetic and the same are prescribed for the house-holder with some modification. They are Ahimsā (non-injury), Satya (truth), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacarya (Chastity) and Aparigrala (renunciation). While an ascetic has to fulfill these vows fully and completely, the same can be achieved only partially or in small degree by the house-holder. Thus the great vows (Mahāvratas) of the ascetic become aņuvratas in the case of the house-holder. These vows have significance only in relation to the community. Without social reference the vows lose their virtue. Amongst these Ahimsā occupies the foremost place. And in way, all others are a ineans to achieve the perfection of Ahiṁsā, which, though apparently a negative term signifying non-injury to life, is in essence positive as it will include respect for all forms of life through love not only of human beings but also of all the creatures and plants
and in fact, of any form of creation vibrating with life. The one
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word that sums up the whole of Jain ethics is Ahimsā which inspires a Jain for active social service and makes him to pray for the good of the all. “Let there be rain in every proper season. Let diseases die and famine and theft be nowhere. Let the Law of Jaina give all happiness to all the living beings of the world”.
The vow of truth enjoins upon the ascetic that he will not resort to falsity either for his own sake or for the sake of others through fear or frown. Even the truth that hurts others is no truth.5
The Asteya is an ethical discipline of neither accepting or causing to accept even the most insignificant thing without the permission of the owner nor approving such an act of stealing the articles which belong to others.
The ethical vow of Brahmacarya is the cultivation of good moral character, of celibate life renouncing all forms of sensuous pleasures and company of prostitutes or concubines. “Wine, meat, gambling, erotic music with song and dance, personal decoration intoxication, libertines and aimless wanderings, these ten are the concomitants of sexual passion”. 26
Parigraha is characterised by attachment to worldly gains. Problems of modern Indian society, nay, of all the nations are rooted in the spirit of acquisition.
The world today is divided into two classes of exploiters and the exploited. There will be no final redemption from this evil unless the vow of Aparigraha is observed both in letter and spirit. Greed for amassing the wealth, hoarding of goods of social need, cornering the material and intellectual wealth of the world for the good of one against others mark our age. Parigraha (acqủisition) has resulted in the depletion of natural resources and pollution of atmosphere. The mankind faces in near future the problem of its extinction. Scientists are worried over the environmental catastrophy. What has brought about this sorry state of affiairs in the planet which has been ruled since long by scientific slogan os conquest of nature which has been achieved through fierce spirit of competition and unprincepled greed and suicidal violence ?
As a result of violence (Hiṁsā), falsity (Asatya) of various ideologies base on some or the other kind of violence, enslavement
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of nations (Steya), permissiveness of sex and a life of luxury and indulgence (Abrahmacarya) and amassing of physical and intellectual wealth by a nation or a group of nations (Parigraha) the world is now sitting over volcano of its own making facing its extinction through its own instruments of death and destruction. What can save us from this mad pursuit ?
Lord Mahāvira preached the ethical discipline of five vows not merely for the salvation of some individuals but for the survival and development of the whole world through the cardinal doctrine of Ahiṁsā and its other corollaries. The social good in its ultimate analysis depends upon the perfection achieved by individual. There is no opposition between the good of the community and the individual, the two are inextricably inter-linked.
Those who followed Mahāvira during the 2,500 years of his Nirvāņa perfected the details of essential ethical descipline which are significant only in relation to the spirit of his message. Many of these details are also significant as they underline the social and objective content of the virtues to be cultivated by a true Jain. Thus it was to perfect the cardinal principle of Ahiṁsā that the concepts of (i) Mūlaguņas (primary moral virtues), (ii) the seven Silavratas (vows of conduct educating the individual for the life of renunciation) (iii) the eleven Pratimās and the (iv) Sallekhanā (spiritual preparation for inevitable death) were developed for the house-holder by a galaxy of Jain thinkers. For ascetics, the ethical discipline is more rigorous as is evident from the description of (i) five great Vows, (ii) the five Samitis (carefulness) (iii) the six Āvasyaka Karmas (essential acts) consisting of Sāmāyika, Stuti, Vandana, Pratikramaņa, Pratyākhyāna and Kāyotsarga, (iv) conquest of twenty-two Parişahas? (obstacles of various kinds caused by others), (v) six kinds of both the internal and external austerities, (vi) various types of meditation and finally (vii) espousing the spiritual death by a muni.
While Jainism prescribes individual and spiritual values which seem to have an indirect relation with society, it does not in any case ignore the social values which have been listed by Dr. K. C. Sogani in his book entitled Ethical Doctrines in Jainism (p. 266). These are universal compassion and friendship (Bhūta-Anukampā and Maitri), charity (Dāna), non-hatred towards the diseased (Nirvicikitsā), commendation of the meritorious (Pramoda) and
active compassion for distressed (Karuņā) or helping those who are
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miserable, thirsty and hungry, indifference towards the arrogant (Madhyastha), non-acquisition (Aparigraha), non-injury (Ahiṁsā), forgiveness (Kşamā) and propagation of moral and spiritual values through adequate means (Prabhāvanā).
The concept of Punya (merit) and Päpa (demerit) again bears a social objective. There are nine ways of earning Punya : through service of Anna (food to the needy), Pana (water to the thirsty), Vastra (clothes to the poor), Layana (shelter to the needy and the monk). Sayana (providing beds), and social service through Mana (mind) Sarira (body), Vacana (speech) and Namaskāra (a sense of humility).
Himsa or inflicton of any kind of suffering has been considered the greatest sin. The other seventeen sins are untruthfulness, dishonesty, unchastity, covetousness, anger, conceit, deceit and cheating, avarice, attachment, hatred or envy, quarrelsomeness, slander, false stories to discredit others, finding fault with others, lack of selfcontrol, hypocrisy and false faith. The cultivation of the punyas and abstinence from the sins, enumerated above, does not only lead to the spiritual fulfilment but goes to make world perfect and worth living. This then underlines the relevance of Mahavira's teachings and social significance of his ethical discipline.
The noted American physiologist, Prof. M. B. Visscher declared in his plenary lecture (reported briefly in the Times of India, Delhi, dated 24 October, 1974) at the 26th International Congress of Physiological Scientists meeting at Delhi that one of the most pressing problems for human society today is the kind of organised violence we call war. Personal violence, too, is not an insignificant problem as the increase in the incidence of kidnapping, high-jacking, He said that murder, robbery and rape all over the world indicate. a world in which thermonuclear weapons existed in such a quantity as to be capable of destroying all life on our planet, it behoved The fact society to learn more about violence and how to control it. of information that violence has biological roots is not sufficient. It is true that human animal has tendency towards violence and lust for power and money. Thus Himsa and Parigraha, are biologically rooted in man, should we then give to despair because of the tendency of human animal to use his intelligence in the pursuit of Himsā and Parigraha and should we conclude with a large number of scientists that the future prospect is hopeless? Mahāvīra would 'No. His
say
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indispensable ethical teachings of Ahimsa and Aparigraha, to name only two out of the five cardinal Vows, are the way for freedom, peace and prosperity of the world troubled by excessive violence and overpowering spirit of exploitation and acquisition.
REFERENCES
1. Published by Holt, Rinchart and Winston, inc. 1964 see preface p. V. 2. Ibid; p. 417.
See Pratt, The Religious Consciousness. pp. 7. 12. 4. Umasvati, Tattvarthadhigamasutra. I. 1 5. See Dasavaikalika, VI. 11. 6. Yasastilaka and Indian culture, p. 267. 7. See for details Dr. K. C. Sogani, Ethical Doctrines in Jainism. pp. 88. 89,
138. 141.
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SOCIALISTIC DISCIPLINE AND MAHĀVĪRA
P. M. Upadhye
In the past, we have no such fulfledged ideas of socialism or socialistic discipline as understood in this century but the religion played an important role to bring about the welfare of mankind in general and the religious community in particular. No prophet of religion of any country is an exception to this rule. Prophets like Mahavira, Buddha, Jesus Christ and others were moved by the sufferings of the poor. Socialism or we may call it, socialistic discipline, may be motivated by the religious or moral convictions of its advocates. It has been rightly said that from early times religions have encouraged man to dream of a better life and socialism is just a continuation of this tradition.1 We can safely say that the religious thinkers of the world had in their mind the welfare of all beings as the chief principle of their teachings. Socialistic discipline may mean welfare of the society as a whole and welfare may be material as well as spiritual. 'Men cannot live by bread alone' is quite famous. With this background of socialistic discipline in the sense of welfare of the beings, if we analyse the teachings of the last Tirthankara, Mahāvira we will come across several principles enunciated by him which would bring about peace and welfare of the society. It is not possible to take into account all teachings of Mahāvīra in this small article and so we would restrict ourselves to some of his views and teachings which bore the s amp of socialism or welfare of the people.
Dr. Bhagavan Das says that the one craving of Humanity is bread (a) bread spiritual and (b) bread material and all religions seek to minister to both the needs. It is well-known that Pārsvanatha taught four ways of the crossing of the ocean of suffering viz. Ahimsa
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(non-violence), Satya (truth), Asteya (non-stealing) and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) and Mahāvira added the fifth vow viz. Brahmacarya (Chastity). All the Jain works mention these vows to be followed by lay men and lay women as well as monks and nuns alike. These five vows as taught by Mahāvīra constitute the very basis of Jain religion with which followers of Jainism would obtain welfare here and after. The Uttarādhyayanasūtra says that life is a great commerce, in this, human being is capital, divine-condition is profit therein and in case of the loss of capital viz. humanity, it will lead to hell etc.3 Here the human being is considered to be very important, just as an individual is so important in modern society in the set of socialistic pattern of society. Mahāvira was against the caste-system based on birth and heredity. This is one of the main principles in the context of socialism. All are equal and they are to be ranked on the basis of their calibre and qualifications, not on heredity or family or birth. This brings us to the vow of Ahiṁsā or principle of non-violence. The spring of Mahävira's teachings is the message of Ahiṁsā or nonviolence which is equated with Dharma itself. Ahimsā is also the very basis of ethical outlook of Jainism. Every living being has a right to live and a human being should follow Ahimsã in letter as well as in spirit for the welfare of beings. It is also said that Ahiṁsā is both an individual as well as a collective vow. We know from the story in the Nāyādhammakahão as to how a monk who had been given a food full of poison, could not throw it anywhere with the fear that it would kill many beings and so he ate that food himself and died. 4 Mahāvīrā's Ahimsā is also at the root of other vows such as truth, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possession of property. Moreover all these vows are essential for the sane order of the society which is also the aim of socialism. International injury or violence should be avoided at any cost. Hiṁsā of any type, physical, mental, and verbal is not good for the welfare of the society, so Mahāvira has condemned the violence of any type. Man should be treated as Man and the principle of Ahimsā would bring the warring nations together on the human foundation and would also bring about the end of world-wars, thereby saving the destruction of human beings along with their belongings. This message of Ahimsā of Mahāvira cannot be ignored at any time, it is so fundamental to the socialistic discipline for the welfare of the state. For the survival of mankind and welfare of beings, this is the only requisite even today. In this
context we may quote the views of Prof. P. A. Sorokin, "Humanity
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craves life instead of inglorious death and seeks peace, it is hungry for love. To be or not to be is forced to pursue its eternal quest for survival and immortality."5 Mahavira's Ahimsa would direct us to this goal.
Along with Ahimsā, value of service to humanity is also emphasised. Sevādharma is essential for the effective functioning of society. Mahavira himself and his disciples were fine examples in this respect. Mahavira, though born in a royal family, left his palace in search of knowledge and when he attained omniscience, he started his service to humanity in the form of preaching important, social, moral spiritual vows for the welfare of society. As said earlier, his teachings do bear a stamp for this mission.
976
In the context of socialistic discipline, Mahavira's two principles viz. charity and non-possessiveness are worth considering. Charity or Dana of various types, is recommended and it is a virtuepar-excellence. This is coupled with the vow of Aparigraha. Wealth should be properly distributed and if this is the aim of our modern shciety, this principle is seen behind the vow of Aparigraha. Lust for gold is too dangerous for the spiritual path and this inordinate lust will breed inordinate hate. It is not congenial to the progress of society. The Uttaradhyayanasūtra says that people who follow wrong ways, obtain wealth by evil deeds will loose it, and fall into the snares of their passions. Mahāvira donated all his belongings to all the needy persons." To have selfcontrol and mortification of body, various facts were observed and the result was that a person would have little interest in acquiring a lot of property and be not proud of it. This does not mean that one should not acquire property but one should acquire wealth by righteous method and distribute it for the benefit of many. Dr. Winternits calls the Jain literature as ascetic literature because of the spirit of ascetism therein. The idea of sacrifice is behind such spirit and this is useful for the spirit of socialistic discipline. In fact, Aparigraha and Ahimsa, the guiding principles, will bring peace and security to the whole world in general and to India in particular. Jainism believes that since desires are limitless and sources are limited there will be disruption and disharmony in society, so Aparigraha is essential from the point of view of society. To overcome many evils, knowledge and universal love are recommended. The UNESCO has been trying to minimise man-made evils and Mahavira gave a direction in the form of
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Anekantavāda which enlightens us about the apparent differences and reconciles them under the guise of spirituality.
95
In a democratic country, the language of the people is used as the official language. In the part, the necessity of such regional language was realised by Mahāvira and Buddha for the propagation of their thoughts. It was in a way a great revolution of that age when Sanskrit was the medium of sacred writings and sacred literature. Mahavira preached in the Ardhamāgadhi language in order that people would understand him and his teachings. Later on their teachings were incorporated in the Jain canonial literature in Prakrit language and this gave a shape to a regional language as a literary language for the first time. It was in a way social justice done to the people of that era. The credit goes to prophets like Mahavira and Buddha.
Mahavira's life is an example which shows how a man can be raised to a status of Tirthankara by penances and glorious deeds. This is a lesson to all individuals in society. From Vardhamāna, he became a Vira, from Vira he became Mahavira by strenuous efforts and in the end he became a prophet of humanity. In socialism, all are given opportunities and any person can aspire to be a great person by his efforts. Mahāvira's life is a true testimony to this principle enunciated today.
Thus we find that Mahāvīra belonged to the class of sages and saints who did sympathise with the sufferings of the poor and down-trodden and did serve humanity by their sincere and pious deeds. Socialistic discipline and Mahāvīra are not divorced from each other but the teachings of Mahavira were enunciated for the welfare of the people. It is the real aim of all religions and Mahavira's Jainism is no exception to this rule. Dr. S. K. Iyer says that Religion and Culture will thrive better in a socialistic society than in our acquistic society. We may also quote late Pandit Jawahrlal Nehru, "We must not forget that essential objective to be aimed at is the quality of the individual and the concept of dharma underlying it."8 Mahāvira's views aimed at this goal. It cannot be said, as started earlier that the modern views on socialistic discipline are found in Mahāvira's teachings but it cannot be denied at the same time that if socialistic discipline is to bring about welfare of people, Mahavira's teachings are undoubtedly meant for the welfare of people here and after.
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Now a stage has come when different cultures of the world are coming nearer so that there is possibility of formation of the conception of world-culture. This conception of world-culture embodies better human understanding for human values especially when many great powers of the world are striving to dominate other nations in their interest and fully exploit all opportunities to achieve this goal. According to Dr. Radhakrishnan pursuit of wisdom, i. e, philosophical understanding of the nature of ultimate reality and the practice of love irrespective of distinctions of caste and creed and community these are the basis assumption of all living faiths.9 Mahāvira preached such philosophy by which some social order be established on the firm foundations of universal love and universal brother-hood, and spirit of altruism which are the basic principles of socialistic discipline of any age and of any country. It is our prime need of today so that social integration, national integration and international integration be achieved if Mahāvira's teachings of Ahimsā, charity to all, respect for all and non-possessiveness and other principles as said before are adhered to.
REFERENCES
1. "Role of Socialism in Development" by S. K. Iyer in the issue of Southern
Economist, Vol. X, No. 17-18, p. 15. 2. His book. Essential Unity of all Religions. p. 644 3. Uttara. pp. 7-16. 4. Nayadhammakaha, Chapter, XVI. 5. Reconstruction to Humanity. p. 48 6. See for his life in Acaranga, Gunapala's Maharira Carita. 7. Ibid. Page 19. 8. Foreword to Socialism in Indian Planning by Shriman Narayan. 9. Vide page XcIII of Essential unity of all Religions by Dr. Bhagavan Das.
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WORLD PROBLEMS AND
JAIN ETHICS
Beni Prasad
The Scope of Religion :
The term religion has been defined in various ways, but psychologically it may be said to represent an adaptation, at once extensive and intensive, to the totality of the universe and to whatever spiritual principle may underlie it. Accordingly on the one hand it comprises a view of life and matter in their wholeness and inter-relationship, and on the other hand covers in broad outline the modes and associations through which man finds expression and selfrealisation so far as this last aspect is concerned, it is worth while to enquire how religion incorporates those principles which the growing experience of the human race seems to establish as calculated to secure universal welfare. In other words, how far does it embody the permanent elements of social justice, welfare and happiness ?
Jain Ethics :
From the social point of view, then, we may briefly review the ethical code of Jainism. Briefly, it begins with five aņuvratas or little-vows - (1) Non-violence (Ahimsā), (2) Truthfulness (Satya), (3) Honesty (Asteya), (4) Continence (Brahamcarya), (5) Stoicism (Aparigraha). It will take too long to expound all these Vratas, Anuavratas, Guņavratas and Sikşāvratas and the features (Lakşaņa) of Dharma. But it may be permitted to say a few words from the standpoint of social relationships, attitudes and organisation on the five Anuvratas which constitute the foundation and the most impor
tant part of the ethical code. There is no more conclusive evidence
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of the deep insight of our ancient teachers than their recognition of non-violence (Ahimsā) as the first and the greatest of the principles of higher life.
Non-Violence (Ahimsa) :
The Role of Force and Fraud in History-So far human relationships have been regulated very largely, though not exclusively, through the instrument of brute force, that is through the exertion of superior prowess by individuals, groups, classes, nations or races to exploit others, to keep them in subordination, and to make them minister to their own interests. All this has constituted a standing negation of the worth of personality as personality, the dignity of man as man. Human adjustments have thus been permeated by force and fraud, so that a modern sociologist has concluded that they are just the principles on which civilisation has so far been based.
War in the Social Context :
It is necessary to point out that war, armament and Machiavellian diplomacy are not isolable phenomena. Immediate motives and occasions apart, they represent a method of pressing claims, a way of resolving disputes; in short, an instrument of policy natural to a scheme of things which admits the validity of violence (Hiṁsā) and is grounded in part in the exertion of force by group upon group. If disputes have been settled on the plane of force, it is because social life has been moving on the corresponding planes of hatred, frustration and exploitation. They have permeated international relationships, internal organisation, literature and outlook so deeply. Force and fraud are still writ so largely over associated life that reform must be anchored to the first principles. A tremendous effort, rational and moral, is needed to bring home to the world that a way out of the present strife into universal peace and welfare lies in revising human relationships so as to substitute the principle of non-violence (Ahiṁsā) for that of force. Lesson of Experience in International Affairs :
The experience of the League of Nations, set up in 1919, and that of disarmament commissions and conferences, which continued upto 1934, demonstrated that the elimination of war, which is really a symptom, depends on the elimination of the deeper cause -- the
violence which underlies group adjustments all round. A move to
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the higher plane of non-violence implies that the whole idea of domination of a group over another be given up in the realm of politics and economics and the principles of freedom of growth and equality of opportunity be recognised in a practical form for all peoples, in Europe or America, Asia or Africa. Non-violence in Internal Affairs :
Here is envisaged a new chapter not only in international relationships, but also in internal arrangements. For it is clear even to a superficial observer that much of the internal economy in most countries rests on a denial of equality of opportunity to large sections of the population. Our systems of caste and class rest in ultimate analysis partly on force and make-believe and partly on tradition and habit. The new possibilities of plenty have knocked out whatever rational validity had been derived from the antiquated insufficiency of material commodities to round. The way has now been cleared for the - application of different maxims to human affairs. The principle of non-violence really means that equal regard be paid to the welfare of every single man, woman and child, and equal, effective and maximum opportunities of self-realisations be placed within reach of all. The Positive Role of Non-violence :
It will thus appear that the principle of non-violence, far from being a negative percept as the term suggests, is in its practical application, a positive principle of the furthest reach. It points to a wholesale transformation in the internal Government of States as well as in their mutual contracts to a revision of social and economic arrangements. It is a matter of the first importance that all institutional re-organisation be accompanied by a corresponding mental attitude; in short, a corresponding outlook on life. As Plato and Aristotle realised, every set of institution requires a virtue, a morality in harmony with it. If the latter is not forthcoming, institutional re-organisation looses organic vitality and becomes mechanical, and in the long run, either ineffective or perverted. Hence the principle of non-violence has to be accepted as a creed. It may be desirable here to guard against one misapprehension. Dimensions of the Problem :
It is not implied above that human relationships are based entirely on force. That would be an impossible condition of things.
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Society simply could not endure in such an environment. A great deal of sympathy and mutual aid, affection and solicitude, sacrifice and devotion have always gone to the making of the family, the wider associations and of community as a whole. The point which it is sought to enforce here is that there has not been enough of them; that there has been too heavy an alloy of brute force and that the latter has to be eliminated to make room for a complete way of the social virtues. It must, in the second place, be brought home that there exists a necessary organic connection between the ethics of the so called individual life and the social environment. Individuality is a social affair; that is to say, personality is a social product. It is embedded in social adjustments. All human experience goes to prove that exhortation and persuasion are not enough to call forth the moral life on the community-wide scale. The seed requires an appropriate soil and atmospheric conditions which constitute the environment. That is the truth uuderlying the proposition that a life of real non-violence is possible for mankind as a whole only within a set or social institutions and practices that are based on nonviolence. The principle of non-violence, then, really implies that life should be elevated altogether from the plane of force to that of reason, persuasion, accommodation, tolerance and mutual service. Truthfulness (Satya) :
It will be observed that the principle of non-violence is closely allied to that of sincerity or truthfulness. It has been pointed out above that force from above evokes fraud from below. We have also seen that force is by itself frequently incapable of achieving the objective, that it entails too severe a strain and that it usually calls for the assistance of fraud or deception. This is the truth underlying the dictum that all is fair in war. War indeed includes stratagems of all possible kinds. It has under modern conditions become totalitarian dependent, that is to say, on a complete mobilization of intellectual, moral and material resources. The weight of armaments seems at first sight to crush public opinion into an irrelevance; but the totalitarian character of modern war really enhances the importance of public support and explains the assiduity with which the originised might of governments seeks to manufacture assent through psychologised propaganda at present. So, it has well been
said shat truth is the first casuality in war.
Compulsory primary education ranked as the most solid
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achievement to the credit of the 19th century. But its gains seem to have been more than counterbalanced by the propaganda with which the atmosphere is literally charged today and which can be picked up by radio machine anywhere on land or sea or air. Nor is the situation radically different in the home politics of States. Standards of veracity are proverbially low in elections and touch lower depths in the intrigues that surround courts and bureaucracies.
Here again the way of truth is as straight as that of nonviolence. There is a proverb that truth conquers (Satyameva Jayate). It is true if it means that truth or sincerity prevails in the long run. But it is misleading if it is held to signify that truthfulness in word, thought and deed is an easy road to success. Today the path of sincerity is strewn with thorns. It is beset with opposition, persecution and suffering. It demands courage, fortitude and stoical endurance. Untruthfulness, indeed, is an aspect of the process that revolves round force and can be eliminated only with the latter. It may be possible for men today to speak the literal truth in private life. But that does not touch more than the fringe of the problem. The problem is two-fold; how to render it feasible for the average man to behave with perfect sincerity, honesty and straightforwardness in private as well as public life and how to render it feasible for corporations; political parties and States, specially in their dealings with foreigners, to maintain the same standards of sincerity and frankness as are expected in private life.
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will
The social interest demands an environment in which truth pay not only in the long run but also immediately and readily. Here again we perceive that life is a single whole; its aspects are interdependent; things inevitably form a circle. It is necessary to break a vicious circle at as many points as possible. It is patent that a conscious effort at higher standards of truth is necessary both in national and international affairs. The higher the standards of truthfulness, the easier it would become to lift society from the present rut to a place of greater reason and higher morality.
Honesty (Asteya):
It is obvious that such a social re-organisation postulates cordial and habitual respect on the part of every one for the rights of every one else. This is the inner core of the third Aņuvrata
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styled Asteya or Acaurya. Literally, it only means abstinence from stealing; but the underlying spirit of it is that one should not encroach on the rights of others but should always keep the social interest in view.
It is not necessary here to discuss the philosophy of rights (Svatva) but it may be pointed out that rights are those social conditions which are necessary or favourable to the development of
personality. Th: rights, that is to say, the right conditions of social - life are to be enjoyed by all. They are to be enjoyed in common.
Rights cannot be a purely individual affair, they are essentially cooperative. By dint of co-operation they are brought into being, by dint of co-operation they are sustained. If the conditions of right living are to be maintained for all, every one has not only to expect them for himself but also has so to act as not to hamper their enjoyment by others. Nay more, every one should positively encourage such condition for all. What is a right in regard to oneself is a duty in regard to others. Rights and duties are thus interdependent. They are two aspects of the same thing. If one looks at them from one's own stand-point of others, they are duties. Both are social and both are, in substance, conditions of right living to be secured to all members of society. It is futile to consider whether rights are prior to duties or vice versa. Both hang together. They are the counterpart of each other. If every one insisted on his rights for himself but neglected his duties towards others, there would soon be no rights left for any one. This is the basic lesson in that art of living together, which every one has to master afresh.
It need scarcely be pointed out that respect for the rights of others is also an application of the principle of non-violence.
Continence (Brahmacarya) :
Respect for rights and regard to duties are things that cannot be imposed for any length of time from above. Indeed, the enforcement of morality is contradiction in terms. It is possible, of course, to promote morality indirectly by organising conditions favourable to its observance. We have just seen that non-violence can be practised on a large scale only in an environment no longer permeated by force. But the inner core of morality is something beyond external control. The attitude has to grow from within. Social life
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is founded, in ultimate analysis, in self-control. That is the implication of the fourth Aņuvrata, Brahmacharya, in the wider sense.
Character :
Human nature is neither good nor bad. It is plastic, that is, raw material for character. Growth consists in achievement of harmony and balance as part of an expans ve and progressive adjustment to the environment. It implies the interfusion of all impulses with a more or less definite idea of purposes; that is to say, moral judgement as an outcome of fusion of intellect and emotion. It implies, secondly, a harmony or balance of impulses with one another. From such a balance and from such an interfusion emerges a unified trend of endeavour which may be styled volition. Will is the unification for the time being of various volitions. A completely old fashioned will is the most penetrating of all the definitions of character that have been offered. Its basis is not that crude expressionism which some pseudo-psychologists have, in their reaction to old fashioned repressions, been tempted to champion, Selfexpression by itself may range through many grades 10 anarchy, destructive of all the values and of the abiding happiness. In the interest of personality, self-expression is to be pei meated with purpose, harmony and with that higher social accommodation which rests on something which is variously called altruism, sacrifice or service and which represents the highest reach of personality. Here is the case for discipline, internal discipline radically different from coercion. Coercion may lead to down-right repression or frustration. Discipline (Samyama), like the pruning of a shrub, assists the beauty and flowering of the soul.
Sublimation :
If a person were to follow every chance impulse, to surrender to every stimulus from the environment, he would be lost in contradictions, trivialities and superficialities; the deeper springs of life would remain untouched and he would soon be overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness. He must grow in self-control as in so many other ways. He must select, form habits of selection and harmonise the selections. He must deliberately transfer the interest from the rejected possibilities to those which are selected. The energy evoked by the rejected stimuli is enlisted in the service of those which are
selected. The cravings which are generated but not followed up
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are diverted to mix with those which are accepted as satisfaction. This process of sablimation begins as soon as the child absorbs the social morality. The individual grows in sublimation with the increase in energy, stimuli and cravings on the one hand and moral selection, organisation and self-control on the other. Sublimation is the moral antithesis of repression. If impulses, cr. vings and tendencies were not controlled they would dissipate energy in all directions, arrest growth and ruin the constitution. But if they were merely repressed, they would form complexes, generate internal conflict and disharmony and force their way up in disguise through dreams, motives, anxieties and perversions.
It
Sublimation is the organic device of achieving self-control without disintegration of personality. Every one attains to sublimation in a greater or lesser measure but it remains imperfect or is fixated at a point without the force of ideas and ideals, the inspi ation of a purpose and a vision of the higher life. Sublimation represents an equilibration of energy in accordance with moral growth and aspiration and a traightening of growth as a whole. Automatically, it resolves tensions and therefore opens the way to a healthy development of the sense of good and bad, clarification of ideals and to spontaneous and energetic participation in the common life. facilitates the all-round organisation of self which is the mainstay of morality. But for it, the individual would be doomed to a plane of knowledge, efficiency and practical ambition for below the best of which he is capable. Sublimation is part of growth because it raises the moral standard of life and forestalls the tendency of the subconscious and the unconscious, (as they are called, though not with perfect accuracy) to drag the course of life down. Sublimation co-ordinates the frontage of the mind with the hinterland and maintains the unity of life, weaving the impulses, sentiments and ideals into a harmonious whole. The elimination or transmutation of disturbing factors secures the wholeness and, therefore, the freedom and continuity of development of personality. It is the rise of personality to moral order, practical orientation of the individual to the realm of value, resoluteness of the tension between him and the environment. It is the way to happiness which eludes short-cuts because it is a condition of personality resulting from the development and harmony of all the aspects. Unhappiness is the natural outcome of the conflicting and confused expression of motives and tendencies.
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Discipline :
Sublimation is akin to discipline, the organisation of powers, the canalisation of energy, in the service of social ends whose value has been perceived. It will be observed that the essence of discipline is self-control from within and that it is the very opposite of repression from out-side. One is not drilled into discipline; one grows into it as one learns to find ones own good, in the general good and to pursue it unflinchingly. Discipline is a constructive force, a positive, not a negative control. It directs the flow of energies into specific channels; produces thoroughness and a sense of responsibilities. It is at once the socialisation and the individualization of the mind. It contains a large intellectual elements, a perception of the meaning of caste, a choice among the divergent tendencies induced by the various factors of all facts and difficulties and an adjustment to the ends conceived and the means available. Discipline furnishes the supreme illustration of the interpenetration of intelligence and morality. Social concepts, the meaning of social institutions and situations must be so thoroughly grasped as to be integrated within the activities of life. The disciplined person continually recreates the moral order in which he has his being and contributes continuously to the moral life of the society of which he is a part.
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Self-control :
In social relationships, this discipline may be described as self-control. It is the foundation of all higher moral life in its social, economic and political aspects. Custom or law would be powerless in the absence of self-control on the part of those whom they seek to guide. A certain measure of self-control is fortunately present in every society. It is necessary, however, to deepen it as well as to enlighten it, so that it may form the basis and radiate an energy requisite for the type of economic state that would foster universal welfare.
Stoicism (Aparigraha) :
The discipline (Samyama) inculcated by the fourth Aņuvrata leads logically to the fifth and last of the Aņuvratas. It is called Aparigraha and is in its many implications original to Jainism. It really denotes a certain self-restraint in the face of pleasures, a certain stoicism before temptations, a certain detachment from
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superfluities and super-abundances. In expounding its implications, ethical writers emphasised that one should not feel too much attachment towards his own material possessions and should resist all temptations. One may keep wealth and commodities to satisfy one's requirements but should not lose oneself in the pursuit of material gain. At the same time, one should rise above prejudices, jealousies, greed, vanity, fear, hatred and susceptibility etc.
If this Anuvrata were followed, it would prevent that ruthless and lustful competition for wealth and empire which is the bane of the present age and is responsible for its gravest ills. The attitude of mind which it inculcates is perhaps more necessary today than ever before. It is the negation of sordid, all absorbing materialism. Science has multiplied production and scattered superfluities here and there. Modern industry and commerce have fostered growth of large towns where life is lived not only in great hurry but also on an artificial plane. Men are caught up in a vast network of impersonal forces which seem to defy understanding. They succumb to psychological maladies, nervous break-down, partial or complete, which is one of the most tragic phenomena of the present age. The battle of life, that is the higher life, has become very difficult and can be fought only with that attitude of stoicism which the fifth Aņuvrata stresses. From slightly different point of view, this Aṇuvrata may be described as the right sense of proportion, a perception of the true scale of values.
Ethical Wholeness :
It will be apparent from a review of the Anuvratas that they are interdependent and supplementary. The application of one to human relationships leads logically to that of others and in fact would stultify itself without the others. Only there is primacy belonging to the first of them, that is, non-violence. It is the foundation of all higher life. In the Jain as well as Buddhist code, it is wider than humanitirianism, for it embraces the whole of sentient creation. Its comprehensiveness, logically complete, is a further illustration of the ethical life being a function of mental attitude and outlook. Like non-violence, honesty (Asteya) and stoicism (Aparigraha) are negative only in appearance and really positive in their application. Together the five Anuvratas constitute a single conception of life, ethical and spiritual, a consistent loyalty to the great principle of selftranscendance, a transvaluation of values.
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MAHAVIRA’S THOUGHT
AND ITS RELEVANCE IN
MODERN TIMES
P. S. Jain
The significance of the fundamental teachings of Bhagavān Malāvira is great and everlasting and, therefore, it undoubtedly retains its relevance in the changing modern world. It was never confined to any particular social or political group or language. It was virtuaily based on the reality. Its ultimate goal was to accept the reality though it had its origin in one particular time.
When one dives deep into the depth of Bhagavān Mahāvīra's thoughts he arrives at the conclusion that there has never been a real change in them but there has been advancement. It is to be borne in mind that it was Bhagavān ķişabhadeva who, for the first time, gave expression to the fundamental teachings of the Sramaņadharma which were needed at that time and subsequently Bhagavān Mahavira propagated them by making them wider and exhaustive. He not only paid his attention to the values of life but also to the values of selves and consequently it was promulgated that non-violence does not merely confine to physical actions only, but also confines to thought. Personal procurement though related to one's property, was generalised by him by his teachings on Aparigraha. Pandits regarded it as a renunciation of Mahāvīra from the world. But the fact is that Mahāvira came out of the house, walls and city and embraced the whole world. He abandoned narrowmindedness. Now his findings were dedicated to the welfare
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of every living being. Thus he pushed the Jain religion beyond space and time. That is why the religion preached and propagated by Mahāvīra could not loose its impact upon the world which has been constantly changing for the last two thousand years.
According to some people the present world is altogether changed. Changes in the norms of society, deterioration of values, culture of disbeliefs, life full of hindrances and harassments, deprivations and corrupt-politics, medium of communication and the problem of languages, attachment towards materialism etc. are the factors which are to be held responsible for changes in the modern world. But if viewed from the view-point of Bhagavān Mahāvira, nothing has changed. Such circumstances, on the contrary, broadened the outlook of Jaina religion. The same is the case with Buddhism also. However, some difference may be noticed between the peoples of those days and those of today. During that time a particular section of society was influenced by them viz., prosperous persons and outstanding thinkers only were endeavouring to explore permanent values of life. Rest of the people followed suit. But today every individual is contributing to the changing world. He is so much disgusted with the traditional beliefs and values that he is adoring the universal values of life which will lead him to the place which is free from evils of today's life. Bhagavān Mahāvira's religion is the religion of the people as, in it, are rooted his basic teachings for the welfare of the people. Hence, today his principles are extremely useful.
Ahimsā finds its supreme place in the religion of Bhagvān Mahāvira. It has been interpreted in different ways by many. Today everybody is a revolutionary in one way or the other for, he is experiencing bitter aspects of modern life. He is determined to change everything including the very system of the society which obstructs his share coming down to him. With the result, violence is committed. He resorts to destructive activities. But the changes brought about by such means are bound to be impermanent. Violence spreads over the entire society and annihilates it consequently.
Definitions of non-violence such as “Abstaining from killing any living being,” “Abstaining from eating meat” etc. are too inadequate today to comprehend fully the manyfold types of it. The thought of otherness has so much developed that one commits
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violence without coming into contact of his opponent. Hence today's prevalent compelling circumstances have necessitated that we must go back to take refuge under Bhagavān Mahāvira. Bhagavän Mahāvira teaches and stresses that one should realise his complete identity with everybody. If someone is suffering then others should feel that they themselves are suffering. It is this realisation of absolute identity which can uproot one's ego, jealousy etc. which are solely responsible for violence. Besides, Bhagavān Mahāvira's Ahiṁsā is a key to the solution of a number of problems of modern times.
His doctrine of Aparigraha is nothing but an extension of it. It is regretted that its meaning has been frequently misunderstood by many. It is not that poverty or limitation of means is meant by it, but, on the contrary, it means something else. Bhagavān Mahāvira never commended poverty. He wanted perfection and, therefore, advocated perfection of everything. Hence it is to be borne in mind that there is no relation of Aparigraha with the so called modern socialism at all. The modern socialism means : “Nobody should surpass me in any field. All should be equal to me." It is difficult to bring about such an equality. What Mahāvira means by Apari- . graha is that no one should lag behind me; no one should remain inferior to me, i.e. whatever I possess, belongs to everybody. This kind of thought is quite practicable if a complete identity is realised. Then, Aparigraha will never remain a slogan only. It starts from the very level of an individual and proceeds upward whereas the modern socialism never attempts to touch the level of an individual. Aparigraha, in fact, is that which allows all to share one and the same property. In other words, in Aparigraha ownership of a particular thing is altogether rejected and its common distribution is approved. So, the materialism in itself is not so terrific as the way in which it is being accepted and implemented. Aparigraha on one hand, restricts the people from being hoarders and, on the other, carries them beyond materialism and leads to the path of spirituality.
Materialistic attitude is not as much responsible for conflicts as the conflicting ideologies. It so happens because people do not care for others. In early days there did exist controversies. It used to come about due mainly to the diversities of the interpretations of the scriptures. But today the point has undergone a complete change. There are now disputes over territorial matters. Horrified differences
emerge on the style of slogans. Hot discussions prevail on framing
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the definitions of democracy. A great controversy takes place over the question of language. Everybody is endeavouring to propound his own theory without least bothering for others and, this results in anarchy.
In such circumstances it is very difficult to tell as to what could be the role of Jain religion or any other religion. One thing can be learnt from the history of Jainism that it never confined itself to only one language. It accepted the different languages which were in vogue as a medium of communication in different times and the history witnesses that by dint of this broad-outlook Jainism was highly benefited. It is, therefore, necessary to adhere to only one language in order to have a common medium for all. The principle of Anekāntavāda may be proved useful today in the extinction of conflicting views of the peoples. Without being liberal in thinking it is impossible to protect Ahiṁsā and Aparigraha.
If one seriously contemplates, be undoubtedly comes across the fact that most of the principles propagated by Bhagavān Mahāvira are penetrated into society of present day. The Jainreligion advanced by Bhagavān Mahāvīra is playing an important role in the field of knowledge and science as well as in the modern society. The discoveries and inventions of the modern science have not dispelled the mataphysical principles of Jainism but substantiated them. The definition of Dravya in the Jainism as Utpadavyayadhrauvyayuktamsat is to be found supported by it. It is one of the most significant characteristics of Jainism that it has recognised perfection in animate and inanimate. The modern science also is trying to attain perfection. For the same, Bhagavān Mahāvira had dedicated himself throughout his whole life. Today every thing is changing rapidly and nothing remains constant. In a short period of time every thing grows old and is considered out-dated and soon is forgotten. Again new things are discovered and made use of them. However, there is something which persists in them throughout. This is nothing but the reality of life which had already found expression in the teachings of Bhagavān Mahāvira. He taught that the forms of things are not immutable but are of the changing nature. The Paryayas when grow old turn into new ones. Thus Bhagavān Mahāvira could peep into the reality long long back. The revolutionary ideologies, fashions etc. are bound to come about because
every substance by its very nature, is everchanging. In the inodern
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art and literature what we see that abstracts and symbols are used. By means of them it is tried to grasp the very fundamental truth existing inherently in them. The same can be had in the thoughts of Bhagavān Mahāvīra who promulgated that if one (ie, self) is known everything is known. Besides, today, everybody wants to live originally without hypocricy and this modern desire of a modern man finds expression in the teachings of Bhagvān Mahāvīra who promulgated that Yathārthaśraddhānaṁ Samyagdaršanaṁ.
In the modern age the value of liberty has immensely increased. Everybody desires to enjoy full freedom. The intense desire of an individual to lead an independent life, is the basic thing which is responsible for democracies in many nations of the world. Mahāvira had already presented this notion. He asked that one should not give up one's own originality. He also said, at the same time, that one should allow others also to retain their own originality.
The thought that every animate or inanimate is absolutely free, leads Bhagavān Malāvīra to disbelieve in the rulership. He, therefore, rejects the theory according to which there is a Supreme Ruler of the world. Thus he becomes an atheist. He, unlike others, views that Guņa which exists in everything, is the supreme of all. Hence this view enables everyone to be an architect of his own fortune.
Bhagavān Mahā vīra discarded the idea of superiority and inferiority among people on the ground of independent existence of every substance as they all have one and the same self within them. He vehe.nently rejected the distinction between two persons belonging to different castes or religions. The ideology resulted in the fact that he himself abandoned the princely life and eventually he got mixed up with the common inen. However, his followers could not do that. They again preferred to lead a luxurious life. With the result, Jainism remained confined to a particular class of people only. But, today people are coming out of the narrowmindedness and following the path of Bhagavāni Malāvira by least caring for caste and creed. Thus, Jainism again is touching the heights of universalism. In fact, Jainism does not belong to them who have traditionally been carrying it on but, on the contrary, would belong to them, who are imbibing its principles in their heart.
It is not that Bhagavān Mahāvīra paid his attention to only an individual's progress, but he was very much careful for the
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masses too. He did not neglect society, is amply proved by the fact that he taught Samyag-Darsana which has got eight limbs among which the last four are concerned with the moral duties of a person towards society. The first four, however, concern an individual's virtues.
Thus the foregoing detailed treatment leads one to the conclusion that the teachings of Bhagavān Mahāvīra are very much relevant today since they deal with the permanent values of life. They are everlasting in spirit and therefore, they could be followed in every time. They are extremely precious for an individual and the society as well. If they are truly understood and followed, they could be proved remedies for all the problems of the world of today.
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JAINISM AND MODERN AGE
Prabhakar Machwe
In this 2500th year of Mahävira's Parinirväņa, it will be appropriate to discuss the relevence of his philosophy and preachings to modern times and modern man. I think that three contributions of Mahāvira are such which stand out as eternal varities and unquestionable values. Non-violence :
The greatest contribution of Jainism is non-injury to anything living. The scope of term 'life' and 'living' is extended by Jains to all Pudgals, like Leibnitz's, Monads, to the smallest and insignificant particle of this creation. The real Jain raises the question : Pray, what is insignificant in the scheme of things ? What is great or small is merely our mental measurement and prejudice; while the mind itself is flexible and relative and never stagnating process of cognition. What is needed is right cognition and right action shall follow,
Modern ecologists and psycho-biologists would corroborate the fact that nothing living is irrelevent in the scheme of things. It is merely our ignorance which pooh-poohs respect for life. As Gandhiji, wrote to Tilak in a letter : "It is our moral cowardice and impatience that we take recourse to violence”. In reality, violence destroys the very cause which advocates it. Let us look at the various political murders done by mad or high-strung abnormals : the recent murders of Gandhi, Bandarnayake, Kennedy and King may be recounted. Large-scale violence, may it be Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Pearl Harbour or Mi Lei, Vietnam or Bangladesh, or even earlier at
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Auschiltz, or Siberian camps, only proves the point. Not that India has been free of wanton large-scale killings and arson and destruction, the riots after partition and the unnecessary bloodshed is a recent example. All this deliberate and pointed killing of men by men, or even of men by man (as in recent hijackings) lead to only one conclusion that as early man can take life, he cannot give. Science and technology have come to his aid to add to the poignancy and lethal power of this nihilistic activity of man. And under what sweet names and masks and cloaks does he enact this drama of cloak and dagger, war to end war, what not !
Mahāvira's teachings, carry the prognosis of this element of pugnacity in the inherent animal nature of man, Nietzsche called war a biological necessity. All that may be partly true of the lower scales of lifemanifestation and life-assertion. But man does not live by Darwinian survival of the fittest rule of the mightiest setting in the right. Even Marxism which advocates class-war, dialectically defends violence and under the name of Cultural Revolution or suppression of any dissenting vioces violence has been used freely even in those countries which claim to have achieved the El Dorado of equality and fraternity (if not exactly liberty). The rise of New Class or a new serfdom only proves that violence is a sterile activity and in the human context, it only leads to super-violence,
While man has unlimited capacity to destroy, he has very limited means to re-construct or build or heal or enliven. Mahāvira's teachings, if widely applied would include all Pacifist movements in politics, all trusteeship and reconciliatory methods of arbitration in economic disputes, all guidance and readjustment therapy in social psychology. Advocates of extreme violence argue that they have no other alternatives. The Israilies have a motto in Hebrew which means 'No other way'. So do all terrorists and anarchists and Marxists-Leninists and what not theorize and call themselves Panthers or Quick-remedy believers. If one thinks coolly, in the ultimate analysis, it is merely loosing faith in man's goodness, in the possibility of a change of heart, in the basic trust an individual can transform a system.
The one objection which is generally raised against the type of non-violence advocated by Mahāvira, that it is humanly impracticable. But the argument can be rebutted by saying that all
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civilization and culture, all intellectual activity and even human commerce would lose its meaning, if man is to eternally doubt the other and believe that law of the jungle alone would prevail. This is too pessimistic and rigid a view of life, however great the minds like Spengler or Iqbal or even Sartre may believe in it. Life's gates have not the motto engraved on it in an iron mould 'No exit'.
or
Tumhāri Tehzib apne hāthon se khudkushi karegi! Jo shākhe-nazuk pe ăshianā banegā nā-pāyedār hogā !!
(Your civilization, (O West) will commit suicide by your own hands! The nest built on a very weak twig will be without foundation !!-Iqbal).
With such a philosophy a kind of will to power, a clarioncall to convert the world to Aryans (Krinvantu Vishvam Āryam) a race-ego can be fanned where people with a 'Khudi' will consider themselves greater than God (Khudā), Holy wars can be fought for recapturing Holy Land, but man's basic moral stature would not be advanced by a millimetre. Therefore, Mahāvīra's emphasis on Ahimsā still serves as a beacon-light. Syadvada or Anekanta (Logic of Probability and Relativism) :
The second great contribution of Mahāvira to human intellect is the logic of probability. In the Aristotlean scheme of things all trouble strated with A and non-A, as Erich From aptly points out in his “Art of Loving". There is always a third possibility, the hoary wisdom of the East, pointed out. Lao-Tse told through parables that it depends on how you look at things; there is no final judgement on human behaviour and choices. The leeway or freedom given to man highlighted by many a philosophers in the east. The Iśavasyaopanişad raised the query : “Those who go after Sambhūti are going to blind darkness; those who run after a-sambhuti are running after a greater blindness". Different philosophers, from Sankara to Acārya Vinobā Bhāve have given different interpretations of these terms. But the Jain logician introduced a very important category of what Vahinger would have called "The Philosophy of As If' (Syād). This relativity of knowledge and perception, of cognition and even volition is accepted by modern logicians in the West, even existentialist psychologists and anthropology-based histriographers.
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In fact this is India's greatest contribution to world thought. It is not always of Schweitzer would have categorized world and life assertion and world and life negation. Man is not constantly closing himself up in cages and shutting himself into 'switch-on' and 'switchoff' mechanizations. Man is not the object but the subject of this dividing line, if any. And there is always the third possibility. Jains added this great dimension to human thinking and peeped into the world beyond. Why should we always insist on Belief in God or Non-belief in God; there can be a third Agnostic possibility. Are all so-called good or bad things always and everywhere good or bad? The same applies to the man made divisions and antinomies in every field of thought and action.
Mahavira and His Relevance
I think the greatest contribution of Jain logic is to the category 'inexpressible' (Avaktavyam). Many a thing may exist there but may be beyond human reach. Are not many starry firmaments and galaxies existing beyond human telescope-viewing; are not micro-biological specks and molecules existing beyond human microscopes. And what is true of sensual vision may be equally true of what is philosophy or literary-artistic vision. This brings Jain logic very close to modern linguistic and analytical logicians. In fact Jains applied mathematics to logic and carried it to the viable extremity. This is a field in which more research needs to be done.
Aparigraha (Non-Possession)
How far can one go in non-possession? There is a famous story of Diogenes, the Greek philosopher who lived in a tub, that the day he discovered that he could drink by cupping his palm, he threw way the half coconut-shell which he had been using as a cup. So there are Indian Sadhus who call themselves Karapātri (those who use their hands as cups or dishes). Jain mendicants carried the question to its logical extreme and said that clothing is also not necessary. A real monk is one for whom the directions and the sky are the dress and apparel (Dig+ambara). This shows that in a world where men are after material possessions and amassing things; there can be a few who can be pursuing existence and its essence without things. Matter is not all; in fact matter is naught. What matters is man and not matter.
mere
For this Jain ethics insisted on regarding outside things as means and not end in themselves. Partly because the com
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munity in which this philosphy spread were merchants and traders and partly because they did not travel beyond India, or even not in all parts of India, this part of their philosophy, though very noble was not fully practised. We find amongst the Jains the 'richest and the wealthiest families of this country. This fact could be reconciled by the fact Mahāvira taught two different sets of observances for the Şramaq and the Șrāvaka, the monk and the layman.
Moreover wealth in itself is nothing, if it is not related to human welfare, to the betterment of man. Mahāvira insists on Dāna (charity) and also the various phases of man's disinterestedness in outer things. The very relationship of inner life with outer world is such that the possession and the possessed try to get over the better of each other. So the way of the Jain arhat was to get gradual emancipation from this bondage of Karma, Jain way of getting lighter by discarding the weight of this bondage, the process of shedding-off' (Karma-Nirjarā) is what is advocated by modern western psychotherepists also. The world is too much with us' bemoaned Wordsworth and exclaimed “What man has made of man'. So did Indian poets : Chandidāsa said "Man is the highest truth' (Sabar oper manus satya, tahar oper neyi). Keshvasut said "Man has made man so low ! (Narech Kela heen kiti nar). Maithilisharan Gupta sang : ‘Manuşaya ho manuş ya ke liye maro' (You are a man, die for a man). Jainism preached this humanism. If we shall not share our possessions, we shall be eating ourselves, Mahāvira, 2500 years ago, pointed out the way : 'If man has to survive, he has to respect every other man, irrespetive of caste, colour, creed, community or class'.
Let us remember Mahāvīra and try to learn from him and gather the ray in our own small gardens of hearts, in the hope that some seeds would sprout; some buds would blossom. Great men elevate, their memory ennobles.
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PHILOSOPHY OF SAMATĀ
(EQUALITY) IN MODERN OUTLOOK*
Acharya Shri Nana Lalji Maharaj
Equality is the philosophy of human life and human society. The aim of all walks of life - spiritual, religious, economical, political, social etc. is equality because 'equality is to be found rooted in the human mind. Hence, eradication of artificial inequality and the obtainment of equality is desired by all. As the souls are originally equal but they appear to be different on account of Karma action. But they can be made equal by the control of senses and by adhering to Niyama. Likewise, by strict adherence to healthy Niyama system and restraining the senses, equality in the society of the entire human beings can be brought about.
Today as much the inequality prevails, so much are there demands for equality. The basic reason for the inequality is this that people are after power and property, either individually or unanimously. This reason is a great hindrance which comes in the way of real humanity. Only the realisation of Samatā i.e. equality can be proved a solution for the welfare of all.
Human life is constantly changing. New thoughts arise in its mind. Having been illuminated they illumine others. With the result, in the society there prevails harmony in the thoughts. From them only Yugapuruşas glean out valuable and fundamental principles.
*
Translated from Hindi article of the author.
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It is said that time is powerful. It is, of course, true that time is powerful that it takes away people with it in its flow. But these are the great personalities who are never overcome by the time but instead they overcome this time and lead the masses to right direction. From these very invaluable thoughts of these great personalities Samatā-Darsana finds its origin. This bears, on one hand, the impression of their thoughts and the impression of the flow of time on the other. So, when we concentrate on the SamatāDarśana and wish to show its relevance in contemporary age, then we must dive deep into the thoughts of these personalities.
History witnesses that the Samatā-Darsana for the first time found its expression in the speeches of Lord Pārsvanātha and Lord *Mahāvīra. When the human society was victimised by the violence then Lord Mahāvira rose to the occasion. He propounded and propagated the philosophy of Samatā and rescued the world.
Despite the great changes in the society, the stream of thought propagated by Lord Mahāvira still flows and is a constant source of inspiration for us all.
Mahāvīra explained both the aspects of Samatā i.e. philosophy and its implementation. He not only aired the principles but also implemented them in his own life. Mahāvira firstly recognised the central point of Sau atā. He proclaimed that all the selves are equal. That is to say, every self has got equal power to progress to the extreme. There is, of course, a problem concerning its origination and development. But there is no reason of being disappointed Hence, he elucidated the point Atmā so Paramātma'i.e. individual is not different from the Supreme self. That is to say, God is not a different power who has remained a God from its beginning. But the fact is that the very self, living in the world, reaches the heights by its efforts. The self becomes the supreme self ultimately. That supreme self is then omnipotent and omniscient but he, in that condition, does not have any relation with the world.
The revolutionary thought that God is not the creator of the world was voiced by Lord Mahāvira. He also decried the traditional belief that nothing moves without the desire of God. He laid
the foundation of the Samatā philosophy by showing that the origin
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Mahāvira and His Relevance of the world is based on and in accordance with the eternal Karman.
On the very basis of the philosophy of Samatā, Mahāvira aired first of all this message that one should be samadarši i.e. one should look at every one with equality i.e. one should not discriminate any one from anybody. It was regarded by him as the basis for the progress of life. The etymological meaning of samadarsi is to have equality in outlook, but the essence of it is extremely deep and, therefore, it is to be pondered over seriously. So far as one's mind is uncontrolled and imbalanced, his mind remains fluctuating. There is no stability in him and goes on bewildering. He remains unable to sense what is good or bad. He can not discriminate between good and bad. One knows that the fickleness of mind is governed by attachment and hatred. Attachment leads one's mind to one side and hatred leads to the other. Thus one is bewildered. This thing is out and out responsible for one's creation of otherness.
That is why Mahāvira hit the fickleness of one's mind recognising the fact that it is the only root cause of one's downfall. It is the mind only which is responsible for one's ascendancy and downfall. It is the root-cause of one's bondage and liberation. Fickleness of mind perishes when one is able to control his mind. If attachment and hatred are got over than instability will be no more.
Where there is a discrimination there is a problem. If there is no discrimiantion there is no problem. As soon as discriminating outlook goes away there is achieved indiscrimination i.e. Samadssti. There will arise an indicrimination in one's mind as soon as one refrains from the discriminating attitude.
First of all indiscrimination in outlook should be attained. This is desirable for, one who will have this outlook will certainly inspire others also. If this thing happens and spreads, the regulating system of the society will move rightly.
To be endowed with the thought of indiscrimination is a just beginning on the road of Samatā, one is just at the threshold of Samatā. After it, Mahāvīra shows the way of undergoing rigorous training of actions. After having shown the path of indiscriminating
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outlook, he proceeds further and recommends to act accordingly. For this he has presented two levels. The first category has been provided for Śrāvakas. Twelve apuvratas have been put forward to be followed by all Sravakas. Among them five are enumerated as basic virtues and the rest of them have been regarded as latter virtues. The basic virtues are as under: Non-violence, Truthfulness, Non-stealing, Celibacy and Non-attachment to worldly objects. The other virtues which are helpfull in keeping the virtues given above are as follows: Diśāmaryādā, Upabhoga-Paribhoga-Parimāņa, Anarthadaṇḍa tyāga, Sāmāyika, Deśāvakālika, Pratipurna pauşadya and Atithisamvibhāga-vrata.
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The basic five vratas of Sravaka are to be followed by a Sadhu also. These are his Mahāvratas.
The difference between them is this that while Sravakas abandon outworldly violence, untruth, stealing, dishonouring others bed, co-habitation and attachment, the Sadhu completely abandons them. From one point of view Mahavira's way is the way of renunciation of everything: nivṛtti. His teachings take one on the path of illumination where there is a light of true knowledge which keeps him out of the ocean of materialism. Just contrary to renunciation is attachment i.e. having been unconcious of one's own internal power and to wander after external fallacy of materialism. Where there is hankering, where there is selfishness, there is naturally discrimination. With a view to bringing one on the line of Samatā the higher categories have been advanced and propagated.
The usefulness of knowledge is in the devotion and the devotion is only possible when that knowledge is implemented. The greatest importance has been attached to the implementation of one's knowledge. It is action only which leads one to the path of progress. It is, of course, to be borne in mind that action should be in right direction.
Where there is no discrimination, where there is no difference in outlook, no partiality, no expectation, there is to be found Samatā. Where there is Samatā there in no room for selfishness. The very meaning of Samatā is this that there should be no discrimination between any two. No partiality for any body. It, however, does not mean that we should follow the traditional path blindly. There
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should not be extinction of independent thinking and writing. Such thing should be left absolutely free.
When equality in thought and action will go together then Samatā will certainly have impact on the society. Then every one will dedicate himself for the welfare of others. The fruit of the unprejudiced or unbiased thinking would emerge from the thought of Samatā only. But when the evils like pride, obstinacy and desire for fame etc. are kept connected with it then eventually it would result in anarchy which will pave the way for conflicts. Such conflicts can be avoided if the Anekāntavāda of Mahāvira is adhered to. The Anekāntavāda puts forth the fact that truth has got many sides. There is always possiblitily of truth in every system of thought. Nothing is absolutely wrong or right. So one should develop such an understanding and should not jump on the conclusions in haste. This will certainly help in determining the truth. One should, therefore, try to benefit himself by the experiences of others. This kind of understanding undoubtedly will pave the way for harmony and goodwill.
There are five vows for the Ācāra Samatā. If a man goes on to follow them naturally there would be no conflict. When the thought of attachment towards hoarding is controlled or it is minimised and to get over attachment or hatred, then consequently violence will have no place in man's life. Thus stealing, untruthsullness will also have to die, the extremity of sensuality will also be no more strong. To sum up, the Samatā philosophy of Mahavira is quite capable of putting an end to the evil of selfishness provided one strives for it wholeheartedly.
What Mahāvīra founded the four fold Samgha with a view to make the Samatā philosophy practicable. Its very foundation-stone was laid on this Samatā. In this Saṁgha, Sādhus and Sadhvis, Srāvaka and Srāvikās have been given place. Though there exists a difference between one standard of meditation and the other, yet the Srāvakas and Sädhus have been put in one Sangha, for both of them have got one and the same goal in their life.
. On the other hand, no difference has been recognised on the basis of sex. Sadhvi and Srāvikā have been given place in the
Sādhu or Srāvaka Sangha. Mahāvira was against the idea of
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discrimination between two on the basis of sex. He opposed it vehemently and founded Samatā which was the base of the fourfold Samgha. Mahāvīra not only established the Samatā philosophy but also made it practicable. He was the extraordinary personality who gave it a concrete shape and implemented it in his own life.
Circumstances change as the time elapses. The living standards of people change accordingly. It is, of course, true that the fundamental Vratas never change. Truth will always be acceptable to all in all ages but the very forms of it may change as the time rolls on. It is quite natural. Society of human being never stands stagnant, but, on the contrary, it is always changing. The very meaning of gati (i.e. change) is nothing but ever moving or changing
Man is a social animal endowed with thinking power and is able to arrive at sensible conclusions. He advances on the path of progress on one hand and falls down also on the other. In this changing wheel the outlooks also change. What one has a look at a thing with paricular idea today, may change tomorrow. Thus it would be healthy to understand the flow of time and thus the fundamental points should not be forgotten.
Thus it is desirable to understand the very concept of Samatā philosophy in the present day context and it should be brought into action accordingly.
The advancement of modern scientific instruments are out and out responsible for the great revolution that has taken place in our society. One's acquaintance which was extremely narrow yesterday has been broadened today because of the great strides of science. Today every ordinary man has got wide acquaintances. His knowedge has become wide and deep for the reason that radio, television, news-papers etc. have been invented and introduced.
This acquaintance has made a man social in extreme sense for he has missed his sole refuge. This has necessitated his dependence on the society for his vast and varied acquaintance and contact have resulted in social anarchy. Spread of socialism means the emergence of new social power.
As long as the impression of a man was deep, the impact of
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united strength of the society was negligible. Hence, the progress of society entirely fell on the shoulder of a man's mind and capacity. Then political and economical points used to revolve around a man only. Then the monarchism was prevalent and the king was regarded as God. The law was nothing but to follow and obey his wishes. The entire economy used to be under him. But, today the advancement and progress of science has reversed every thing.
The chapter of modern history which shows how many countries of the world fought with the monarchs and sacrificed every thing and ultimately won independence. With this liberation and independence opens the chapter of the history of democracy. The strength of the united desire of the people has come into force and the democratic governments have come into being. On this foundation, parliamentary system was set up which was essentially democratic in character. Democracy is the Government of the people by the people and for the people. In this system not an individual's desire prevails but the desire of the entire group of people. One man or individual can be both good or bad or sometime good and other time bad. Hence, it was regarded undesirable from the view-point of Samatā to have the entire nation's fate based on the will of only one man. The will of a group does not change suddenly, nor it turns to the wrong path all of a sudden, thus the endeavour of giving importance to the will of the masses came into being and thus was the birth of democracy.
In the name of democracy political equality was established. Right was given to every one, without any discrimination, to exercise his franchise in the election. And the representative was elected on the basis of majority. This is to be put aside that how a person being blind of his own interests can destroy and disrupt best methodological arrangements, but the very aim of democracy is that all should enjoy equality, the will of all should prevail and not of an individual. To control an individual's unbounded wishes for the sake of many is the basic idea behind the democratic system.
As the outlook advanced, attempts were made for its implementation in the economic and social fields. These efforts proved useful eventually. With the result there came into being socialism and communism. Gradually these thoughts became prosperous and strong and ultimately, they became completely
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philosophical systems of thought. For the philosophy of communism credit goes to Karl Marx. Marx, alike Mahāvira, earnestly wanted that the wealth should not embrace only one person but instead, should be used commonly by all.
When we look at the scientific development of social life we find that money has played a major role in this process. Whichever group had the reins of wealth in its hands, dominated the society in every respect. To be frank and precise, the group which had money is responsible for disrupting all management. Whatever efforts were made in order to bring about Samatā amongst people they were made futile by moneyed people. Today also the same can be observed here and there.
So long as money remains in one's control and is used for certain people the evil is bound to persist. Hence, it is necessary to decentralise money. All these are nothing but external experiments and these can be successful only when the internal foundation is made for them. One instrument can be used for both good and bad. Science is not its own master. Knife can be used for peaceful purposes like cutting vegetable etc, and the same can be used for one's assassination. A good man never finds faults with any body. He always finds goodness even in rubbish things. But a wicked man destroys every thing even by good means.
Any work has got two aspects. A man can attain highness by restraining his senses and by constantly practising and thus goes on the rail of Samatā. These things should go together. Then only an individual will form the best society and in turn the society will form a good individual.
Generally we find that most of the people belong to the common character and need to be guided in proper way. It requires certain restrictions to be imposed on them. Otherwise it is feared that they may not follow the right path. So, those who are consicious should not follow the path of corruptness, but on the contrary, should create beautiful environment so that common people also fall in line with them. This is most desirable.
Today in the atmosphere of undesirable corrupt practices
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we badly need the lofty outlook of Samatā in every direction which can only save us. Then not only the human beings but also all living beings will be endowed with joy by getting rid of all evils. One and all must struggle for the eradication of all prevalent evils
of society.
Mahavira and His Relevance
It is of course a fact that every thing changes as time rolls What is today will be no more tomorrow, and what would be tomorrow, would in turn, again change. A person falls down and again gets up and thus this process goes on. But the humanity will never perish altogether and so the existence of human values. This is the right time to rise to the occasion and to save human values. This would be a real revolution.
on.
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LORD MAHAVIRA’S THEORY
OF SAMATVAYOGA : (A PSYCHO-ANALYTICAL APPROACH)
S. M. Jain
Our age is the age of tremendous growth of knowledge and scientifie discoveries. Yet, paradoxically, at the same time we can call it also the age of Anxiety and Mental Tension. Our traditional values and beliefs have been thrown away by this growth of scientific knowledge. We know much about the atom but not about the values needed for a meaningful and peaceful life. We are living in a state of chaos. Our life is full of excitements, emotional disorders and value-conflicts. In this age of anxiety alone, American peoples
spending more than 10 billion dollars a year on liquors and tranquilizing drugs. Today, what is needed for a man is mental peace and capability of complete integration with his own personality and with his social environment. This can only be achieved through the practice of Samatva i.e. Mental equilibrium or balanced state of mind. The theory of Samatva Yoga has been preached in India more than two thousand years ago by Jainism, Buddhism and the Gitā.
Concept of Samatva in General :
Concept of Samatva is a key concept of Jainism. It is a pivot around which the ethics of Jainism moves. In English, we can translate it as equality, equilibrium, harmony, integration and rightness. But none of these terms can convey the complete meaning of the word Samatva in which it is used in Indian philosophy. And
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so it will be better to use it without translating into English. The word Samatva has different meanings in different contexts. Some times it means a balanced state of mind which is undisturbed by all kinds of sorrows and emotional excitements, pleasures and pains and achievements and disappointments. Sometimes it refers to the quality of a personality which is completely free from the vactors of aversion and attachment or a personality with a mental - equilibrium. (Vitarāgatā or Sthitaprajñatā). The word Şamatva also means the feeling of oneness or equality with the fellow-beings (Atmiyatā). Loosely speaking, it also conveys the meaning of social equality and social integration. Ethically, the term “Sam' or Samyak means rightness (Samyaktva). Though we must beware of the fact that in all its different shades (meanings) the term Samatva is associated with some or other kind of mental or psychological state, yet it has some impact on our social and individual adjustment,
Mahavira's Concept of Samatva :
In a Jain text known as Vyākhyāprajňaptisutta there is a conversation between Lord Mahāvira and Gautam. Gautam asked Mahāvīra, what is the nature of soul ? and Mahāvira answered the nature of soul is Samatva (Ayäe samāiye). Gautam again asked, "What is the ultimate end of soul ?” and Mahāvira replied "the ultimate end of soul is also Samatva”.
This view of Lord Mahāvīra that the real nature of soul is Samatva is further supported by Acārya Kundakunda. Kundakunda in his famous work known as Samayasāra, in which Jain philosophy reaches its culmination, deals with the nature of soul. In the whole of Jain literature he is the only person who used the word Samaya' or Samaya-sāra instead of Atman or Jiva. I think the Acārya has purposely used this word for Atman. So far as I know, no commentator of Samayasāra has raised the question as to why Kundakunda has used the word “Samaya’ for Jiva or soul ? I think the word Samaya may be a prakrit version of sanskrit - words : samayaḥ yah :, which means one who has the quality of Samatva. Further, the word Samayasāra can also be defined in the similar fashion. We can say, one who possesses Samatva as his essential nature is to be called Samayasāra (Samatva yasya sāram tat samayasāram). Acārya Kundakunda also equated the word “Samaya' with Svabhāva or essential nature, He used the words Sva-Samaya
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and Para-Samaya, Sva-Samaya means inner characteristics (Svabhāva Lakşaña) and Para-Samaya means resultant characteristics (Vibhāva Lakşaņa). Further, Sva-Samaya has been explained as an ultimate end. In this way according to Kundakunda also the nature and ultimate end of soul is Samatva. Not only this, but according to the Jain Ethics the way through which this ultimate end can be achieved is also Samatya which is known in Prakrit as Samaiya or Samari. In this way three basic presuppositions of Jain Ethics, the moral agent (Sadhaka), the ultimate end (Sādhya) and the path through which this ultimate end can be achieved (Sādhana Marga), are equated by the term Samatva. In Jain Ethics ends and means do not exist as same thing external to the moral agent; they are part and parcel of his own nature. They are potentially present in him. Then somebody may ask, what is the difference between a Siddha and a Sādhaka ? My answer to this question is that the difference between a Siddha and Sādhaka is not a qualitative one but it is only a quantitative one. It is a difference between a capability and actuality. By means of Sādhanā we can only exhibit that what is potentially present in us. In other words, I can say that the whole process of Sadhana is the changing of capability into actuality. According to the Jain tradition if Samatva is not our real potential nature then we can not achieve it by means of Sadhana and Sādhanā is nothing but a practice of Samatva. The threefold path of Right knowledge, Right attitude or belief, and Right couduct, solely depends on the concept of Samatva for its rightness. The threefold path is only an application of Samatva in the three aspects of our conscious activities, i.e. the knowing, the feeling and the willing. According to the Jain Ethics Samatva should be a directive principle of the activities of knowing feeling and willing.
Organic Basis of 'Samatva':
What is the justification in saying that our essential nature and our aim of life is "Samatva' or that Samatva should be the directive principle of our life ? And what is the ground for its justification ? To answer these questions, first of all, we must have to understand the human nature. By human nature I mean his organic and psychological make-up what we mean by a living organism? What is the difference between a living and non-living - organism ? By living organism, we mean an organism that has a
power to maintain its physiological equilibrium. In Biology, this
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process has been known as homeostasis, which is considered as an important quality of a living organism. Second essential quality of a living organism is its capacity of adjustment with its environment. Whenever a living organism fails to maintain its physiological equilibrium and to adjust itself with its environment, it tends towards death. Death is nothing but an utter failure of this process. In this way we can say that where there is life, there are efforts to avoid unequilibrium and to maintain equilibrium.
Psychological Basis of Samatva :
Nobody wants to live in a state of mental tension. We like no tension but relaxation, not anxiety but satisfaction, this shows that our psychological nature is working in us for a mental peace or a mental equilibrium. Though Frued accepts that there is a conflict between our Id (Vāsanāmaya Ahaṁ) and super Ego (Adrśya Atmā) but at the same time he agrees that our Ego or conscious level is always working to maintain an equilibrium or for the adjustment between these two poles of our personality. It is a fact that these are mental states such as emotional excitements, passions, anxieties and frustrations but we cannot say that they form our essential nature; because, they do not exist for their own sake; they exist for satisfaction or expression. Secondly, they are resultantive created by some other external factors. An important process of our personality is the process of adjustment and adjustment is nothing but a process of restoring peace, harmony and integration. In this way we can say that the concept of Samatva has a sound ground for its justification in our organic and psychological nature.
Samatva as a Directive Principle of Living :
Someone may remark that the Darwinian theory of evolution goes against the concept of Samatva. Darwin presented a theory of evolution of life, in which he suggested that “struggle for existence is the basic principle of life. Apparently it is true that there is a struggle for existence in our world and nobody can deny this fact. But due to certain reasons, we cannot call this a directive principle of life. And it may be questioned, why ? My humble answer is that first of all this theory is self - contradictory because, its basic slogan is 'live on others, in other words, 'living by killing.' Secondly, it is opposite to the basic human nature and even animal nature to certain extent. Struggle is not our inner nature
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(Svabhava Lakşaņa) but it is only a resultant nature, it is imposed on us by some outer factors. Whenever we have to struggle we struggle in compulsion, and whatsoever is done in compulsion cannot be a guiding principle of our life, because it does not follow from our inner nature. Thirdly, it goes against the judgments of our faculty of reasoning and the concept of natural law. If I think that nobody has any right to take my life, then on the ground of the same reasoning, I have no right to take another's life.
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The theory 'Live on others' is against the simple rule that all living beings (Atmavat Sarva Bhuteṣu) can only give us a right directive principle of living with fellow beings. The directive principle of living is not 'live on others' but live with others' or 'live for others' (parasparopagraho Jivānām).
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MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATIONS
OF JAINA KARMA SYSTEM
L. C. Jain
I. Introduction :
Extensive set-theoretic approach to expose Karma theory is available in several Prākrit texts. Yet for a mathematical and symbolic treatment of Karma representations and operations the detailed commentaries of Gommațasāra, Labdhisāra and Kșapaņāsāra form the only available exhaustive material.2 We propose to concentrate upon this prominent source.
No substantial research on mathematical foundations of Karma theory has been done so far, although the works of Datta, Singh, Sikdar and Jain had been just on the lines to the end. In this article we propose to pose the problem of recognizing evey basic concept and principle of Karma theory through mathematical rigour on modern lines.
However, this article is a preliminary attempt towards the formulation of a unified mathematical model to explain biophysical phenomena, and it is hoped that future researches will tend to make this perfect, correct and helpful for the cause of being beneficial to all.
At the outset it may be made clear that this work presupposes fundamental and philosophical knowledge of Karma theory4 in Jaina School. The development of Karma theory set up in the Jaina school of mathematics for dealing structural bonds appears to be neo-classical. 4 (a)
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II. Basic Concepts and Principles :
Let us concentrate first on a mundane soul along with all its Karmic bonds with matter-particles. (The case of many souls may be treated on statistical lines). Relative to generation the bond relation is ab-aeterno, and the correspondence is one-many. 5
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Owing to procreation through becomings (Bhāvas) of a mundane soul, kinetic effect (kriya) alongwith potential effect (Pariņāma) may be called Karma.6 The matter-particles procreated to effect (Pariņāma) at the very instant (Samaya) due to the instrumental cause may also be called Karma. The matter particles then get transformed into five types of bodies. The mundane soul is also procreated to change due to instrumental cause of the Karmic matter at the very instant. This is specific causality.
Thus the relation between a mundane soul and its Karma is conjugate, and becomings of each, form mutual images or mappings. Karma of a soul may therefore be treated mathematically in various types of spaces-one being that of the becomings of a soul and its dual, the second being that of the becomings of Karma-bound matter-particles and its dual, and the third being the space of the Karma-particles along with its dual. As will be clear later, these spaces will be found to be having properties of neo-linear spaces of operands, operators and transforms. For interactions they may be
non-linear.
The topology of becoming-spaces of a soul in general, becomes the subject of the totality of five distinctive types of its becomings.7 The becomings of controls of a soul, which manifest owing to subsidence of its corresponding Karmas are called subsidence-becomings (Aupaśamika Bhavas). The becomings of controls of a soul, which manifest due to annihilation of its corresponding Karmas are known as annihilation - becomings (Kṣāyika-Bhāva). The becomings of controls of a soul, which manifest because of combinatorial situations of annihilation and subsidence of its corresponding Karmas are annihilation-cum-subsidence becomings (Kṣayopaśamika-Bhāvas). The becomings of controls of a soul, which manifest due to rise of Karmas instrumental in their creation (generation) are called risebecomings (Audayika-Bhava). Whereas the becomings of controls of a soul, happening without any relation to rise, subsidence, annihilation, annihilation-cum-subsidence are recognized as effectual (Pāriņāmika) becomings.
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So far as Karmic phenomena is concerned, the operand, the operator and the transform becoming spaces come under the study of volition (Yoga) becomings and affection (Kaşāya and Moha) becomings of a mundane soul. There are maximum and minimum domains and ranges of combinatroial situations of such becomings (known as leśyā - Bhāvas) at their various stations. The accomplishable soul, in times to come, is able to tend its volition and affection becoinings to zero, 9 resulting in various types of Karmic and non-Karmic phenomena, at various control stations (Guņasthānas).
The performance of the dynamic system of a mundane soul depends upon operations of Karmic bound matter 10 (the five types of bodies) or upon those of body, organ of speech and mind.11 Such operations are called volitions (Yogas) 12 and bring input (creation) and instantaneous bond of Karmic matter into the points of the kinetically active soul every instant, subject to life-stay and recoilimpartation bond as well if accompanied with affections (Kaşāyas and Moha).13 Thus necessity arises to define the unit of inflow (creation) of Karmic matter, or else the unit of outflow (Annihilation) of Karmic matter, the unit of volition becoming, and the unit of affection becoming. Further the unit of bond, the unit of outflow and those of the becomings effecting the clos' re of inflow (creation), accelerating the rate of inflow or that of outflow, and many operations will be considered.
First we define the least effective volition or a neo-quantum of volition 14 Let all the points of a soul (having a volume measure equivalent to the set of all points of the universe (Loka) be established. Among all such points, let the point be traced out where the least volition becoming exists. Take such a point and extend the volition becoming found at that point by abstraction. Find out the point containing such a volition becoming which may be greater than the least volition or a neo-quantum of volition becoming. The increase in difference between the least volition and the greater volition becoming so found (setting an order through inequality relations) is called an indivisible - corresponding - section (AvibhāgiPraticcheda) of volition becoming. This is the quantum of volitionaction. The least effective volition or a neo-quantum of volition contains non-summable universes of indivisible-correspondingsections of volition becoming. This neo-quantum of least effective volition is called a basic vector (Varga),15 The successive neoquanta of volition then form a sequence of an additive semi-group
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135
of integers as an indivisible-corresponding-section of volition is added to the neo-quantum of volition. The collections of various such semi-groups form various types of neo-quanta known as vectors (Vargaņās), 16 tensors (Spardhakas), 17 and geometric regressions (Guņahānis). 18
Thus a neo-quantum of volition, being a kinetic effect, brings about an inflow (creation) of another neo-quantum of attracted suitable Karmic matter set into a special type of configurative motion rendering it a nature structure 19, (Praksti) of Karma. Such a neoquantum of Karmic matter, in turn, when annihilated or decayed at its rise will naturally impart a reaction-impulse to the attached soul in its bond, 20 producing in it a neo-quantum of volition again. Such actions and reactions are mutual. Let it be noted that such volitions or affections are extra-becomings (Vibhāvas) and do not belong to the real controls like the knowledge of the soul. 2 1
The above description is available in certain texts, but the definition of such a neo-quantum of affection of a soul has not appeared to the author anywhere. However, the measure of the least effective affection may correspond to the least potential effect which has been defined to be containing non-summable universes of indivisible-corresponding-sections of power at an affection station corresponding to an ultimate particle of matter.22 The least increase in this power may be called its indivisible-correspondingsection. Thus basic vector (Varga), vector (Vargaņā), tensor (Spardhaka) and geometric regression (Guņahāni) etc. may also be defined, corresponding to affection. Similar picture of volition is to be described in case of the Karmic matter brought into four kinds of bonds due to their natural configurative structure, affine and anti-afsine indivisible-correspondings- ections of touch, and other causes. We may further state that just as a neo-quantum of volition effects (i) the inflow (creation) of a neo-quantum of Karmic matter (Pradeśas) and (ii) sets it rolling into a nature configurative structure (Praksti), so also a neo-quantum of affection procreates (i) a life-stay (life-time) of Karmic existence (Sthiti) as an ordered set of instants in the neo-quantum of Karmic matter so inflown, with various lifestays for different nature-structures, and (ii) an intensity of reactive impartation (anubhāga) as an ordered set of indivisible-correspondingsections into the neo-quantum of Karmic matter. Thus all the naturestructures, particles, life-stays, and impartation-intensity of neoquantum of Karmic matter, known as instant-effective-bond, are
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Mahā vira and His Relevance
subject to mathematical representation in terms of basic vectors, vectors, tensors, geometric regressions, affine and anti-affine touches, in relation to every Karmic particle.23 Various types of Karmic collections of structural particles may be called KARMONS. The display of actions and reactions of the neo-quanta of a soul and its corresponding Karmic matter is then subjected to various types of mappings which may be studied through various mathematical structures and functionals as a dynamic bio-atomic system theory.
The following neo-matrix forms, having basic vectors in terms of the fractional multiples of v as elements, regressive with fractional multiples of basic vectors d as common difference, vectors w as number of rows, tensors s as number of columns, starting from extieme right lowest corner represent various n geometric-regressions subject to Karmic bond in an instant, usually. (In special case they are multiples, i.e. , each element is multiplied as is done in usual matrix-multiplication). First Geometric Regression of Karmic matter :
V-(ws - 1) d , ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... V- (2w - 1) d, v-(w - 1) d
V-(w (s - 1)+1) d ... ... ... ... v-(w+1)d,
v-W (s - 1) d ,.................... v- wd , Second Geometric Regression of Karmic matter :
v-d v
Ž -(ws-1) ...-(2w-1)
- Ž -(w-1)
-(w (5-1)+1, ..-(w+1) Ž - Ž (w (5-1)) ....- Ž
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The nth geometric regression of Karmic matter :
d
V 2n-1
--(2w-1)
2n-l
V
2n-1
V
2n-1
sc+1
-(ws-1)
SC
-(w (s-1) 1)
-w (s-1).
d 2n-1
d
2
2n-1
3......
V
2n-1
V
2n-I
First Geometric Regression (recoil intensity) :
sc+ (w-1)
.2c+(w-1)
V
2n
2c
V
2n-1
.2c+1
,
>
d
2n
(w-1)
The following neo-matrix forms, having the same number w of rows and the number s of columns, as above neo-matrices have, and having c as a notation for indivisible-corresponding-sections, represent the impartation (recoil) intensities associated with each basic vector of the corresponding elements of the above matrices according to the positions in row and columns.
-(w−1)
d
2n-1
d
2n-1
"
C
c+1
V
2n-1
d
n
>
V
2n-1
"
137
d
2n-1
c+ (w-1)
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138
Mahāvira and His Relevance
Second Geometric Regression (recoil intensity) :
2sc+(w-1) .... ... ... ... ... ... (s+2) c+(w-!) , (s+1) c+(w-1)
2sc+1 ...................... (s+2) c+1 , (+1) C+1
2sc ...................... (s+2) c , (s+1) c nth Geometric Regression (recoil intensity) : nsc+(w-1) .......... ( (n-1) s+2) c+(w-1), ((n-1) s+1)
c+(w-1)
nsc+1 ...........( (n-1) s+2 ) c+1, ((n-1) s+1 ) c+1 nsc. ... ....... ( (n-1) s+2) , ((n-1) s+1) c
All the above matrices are pertaining to a particular natureconfigurative structure in relation to Karmic bonds, etc.
In case of matter-neo-quantum-matrix bound at an instant, known as an instant-effective-bond, 24 structure is similar or isomorphic. However, instant effective-bond or its integral multiples may also be bound at an instant, and the matrices' structures would remain the same. The matter matrices will be simply multiplied by an integer, i.e., the number of elements thereof will all be
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Mathematical Foundations of Jaina Karma System
139
multiplied by the integer for that instantaneous bond, because there will be a simple addition of the same elements at the place, an integral times. Yet it is important to note that the intensities of corresponding elements will not change. Further, perturbations may change the tensorial structures of matrices. III. A Quantum-Picture :
Thus in manipulating any cell-element of a matrix such that the amount of matter is added but the intensity of the added matter remains the same, we shall adopt a neo-principle of correspondence for representing the elements of both the forms of neo-matrix simultaneously like Heisenberg's.25 The "existence of Karma-bond" as depicted through triangular matrix26 in the Prakric texts suggests the following formulation of the elements of a triangular matrix with altitudes as well, as rows and columns. The rows “p” start from bottom right most corner from which also start the columns "c" and the altitude “a”. The general element is proposed to be a nisus (Nişeka) 27 :
ga e 20 i Vr,c tr,c
arico
Here 'q part is the Karmic bond matter of structure-nature a, r and c being the rows and columns giving its position in the geometric regressions of a particular instant-effective-bond column, fed every instant from right as an input. This is the element which is the functional of space and the involved number of particles. This may also be said to be an occupation representation number method. V r, c will represent the indivisible-corresponding-section set and its position in r, c. Similarly the t r, c will represent the position of instant in the dynamics process of existence states, input material, output material as well as the transformed existence state every instant. The element represents the function of time and intensity. Thus the total matrix picture, in place of being a plane one, now will be a space neo-matrix and its three infinite dimensions will depict the above phenomena. For example, the orthogonal altitude z, row x, column y arrays stand as follows :
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140
Mahāvīra and His Relevance
a
anivery toly
< INPUT (COLUMN SINGLE ROW & ALTITUDE)
-----COLUMNSE--------
STRUCTURE
SALTITUDES ROWS V OUTPUT (ROW SINGLE COLUMN & ALTITUDE)
For simplicity, we may tackle the case of a single nature-structure by taking a constant value of an altitude, leaving apart time-lag or obstruction period calculations. There are eight fundamental classes of nature-structures of a Karmic bond, bound at an instant (subclasses being 148 or else non-summable universes), and the matter of fundamental nature-structures get automatically assimilated in proper proportions at proper places. For a particular naturestructure we have the existence (subsistence) state matrix as shown :
Qxl
Q(x-1) 2 Q (x-2)3.
INPUT
Q53
Q43 Q3 (y-2)... Q33 Q2 (y-1) Q2 (y-2)... Q23 Qly Qi (y-1) QI (y-2)... Q13
Q52 042 232 Q22 Q12
251 041 231 Q21 QUI
OUT PUT
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Mathematical Foundations of Jaina Karma System
Z
2iVx, y tx, y
WHERE x is equal to y, Qx, y is equal to q
x, y
for z equal to one of the nature-structures. It is now important to correlate Vr, c with affiine (Snigdha) and anti-affine (Rukşa) properties or control levels of ultimate particules in Karmic bonds. 28 As affection (Kaşaya) is of the types positive (love) and negative (malice), it is correlated with positive (affine)-and negative (antiaffine) charges, measuring the degrees of the touch controls of material Karmic bonds particles corresponding to affection-bonds, This includes ranging from negative infinity to positive infinity. 29 zero charge or the ground charge as well. Thus the Karmons give a unified picture of the bosons and the fermions, etc.
141
e
The triangular matrix of substance of Karma, at any instant represents the total energy of Karma, potential and kinetic, with input and output every next instant. Further manipulation of such a Hamiltonian and column operator matrices will be helpful in exploring the Karmic mechanics, through the method of poisson's brackets, and other approximate methods for subtler problems.
REFERENCES
1. Vide Pu, Gu, Ne.
Pu Puspadanta and Bhutabali: Satkhandagama, Books 1-16, edited by Dr. H. L. Jain, covers first five parts of the texts. The last part is Bhutabali's Mahabandha, edited successively by Pt. S. C. Diwakar and Pt. P. C. Shastri. The first five parts alongwith Dhavala commentaries by Virasena were published at Amaraoti and elsewhere from c 1938 to 1958. The last part, Mahabandha, was published by Bhartiya Jnana Pitha, Kashi, from 1947 to 1958 in seven volumes. The original works were in Kannada script on Tada Patras and rewritten during 1895 to The texts were 1922. The last part is also known as Mahadhavala
composed in c. 2nd century A. D.
Nemichandra prepared condensed works, Gommatasara, Labdhisara and Ksapanasara from the above texts. Reference follows:
Gu Gunadhara Kasaya Pahuda Sutta, edited by S. C. Diwakar, published by B. C. Shaha, Phaltana (Satara), 1968. Commentary by Virasena and Jinasena of this text is known as Jayadhavala. Another edition by Pt. H. L. Shastri appeared from Calcutta in 1955. The original text was composed in c. 2nd century A. D.
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142
Ne: Nemicandra, Gommatasara Jivakanda, Gommatasara Karmakanda, Labdhisara and Ksapanasara, (abbr. as G. J. K., G K. K., L. S. and K. S. respectively), alongwith three Gandhi Haribhai Deokarana Jaina Granthamala, Calcutta, (Publication year not mentioned. Appears to have been published round about 1910).
commentaries;
The above texts belong to Digambara School. For a bibliographic list of the texts belonging to Svetambara school, cr: Jhl: Jain, H. L,, Bharatiya Samskriti men Jaina Dharma ka Yogadana, M. P. Shasana Sahitya Parisada, Bhopal (1962).
procured :
Mahavira and His Relevance
Jj Jaini, J. L. and Br S. Prasad, The sacred Books of the Jainas, Gommatasara Karmakanda, vol. iv, Pt. I (1927) vol x Pt. II (1937) Central Jaina Publishing House, Ajitashrama, Lucknow. Abridged Hindi available without
transliterations of the original verses of 'Ne' are also mathematical details :
For a convenient reading, English editions of Karmakanda may be
Jk: Jain, K. C. Gommatasara (Jivakanda), Rajchandra Ashram, Agas, (1959).
3.
2.
Lm1 Lal, M., Gommatasara (Karmakanda), Param Shruta Prabhavak Jain Mandal, Bombay (1929).
Lm2 Lal, M., Labdhisara, Parama Shruta Prabhavak Mandal, Bombay (1916).
Cf. Ne, Op. cif.
Vide.
Dai Datta, B. B., The Jaina School of Mathematics, Bul. Cal. Math. Soc., Calcutta, vol. xxi, (1929), pp. 115-145.
Da2 Datta, B. B. Mathematics of Nemichandra, The Jaina Antiquary, Arrah, vol. i, no. ii, (1935) pp. 25-44.
Si Singh, A. N., Mathematics of Dhavala, Satkhandagam, (Pu) book iv, (1942), pp. v-xxi.
Si Singh, A. N. History of Mathematics in India from Jaina Sources, The Jaina Antiquary, vol. xv, no. ii, (1949), pp. 46-53; and vol. xvi, no. ii (1950), pp. 54-69. The Central Jaina Oriental Library, Arrah.
Sji Sikdar, J. C., The Jaina Concept of Time, Research Journal of Philosophy, Ranchi, vol. iv, no. 1, (1972), pp. 75-88.
Sj2 Sikdar, J. C. Jaina Atomic Theory, Indian Journal of History of Science, vol. 5 No. 2 (1970), pp. 199-218.
J11 Jain, L. C. Tiloya Pannatti ka Ganita, Reprinted from introduction
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Mathematical Foundations of Jaina Karma System
143
to Jambudiva Pannatti Samgaho, (1958), pp. 1-109.
Jivaraja Granthamala, Sholapur,
J12 : Jain, L.C., On the Jaina School of Mathematics, Babu Chhotelal
Smriti Grantha,Calcutta-1, (1967) pp. 265-292. Eng. Sec. .
J18: Jain, L. C., Set Theory in Jaina School of Mathematics, Indian
Journal of History of Science, vol. 8, no. 1, pp, 1-27(1973). 4. Vide.
Me : Mehta, M. L. Psychological Analysis of Jaina Karma Philosophy,
Thesis, B. H. U. 1954, S. L. Jaina Dharma Pracharaka Samiti, Amritsar.
Sj3 : Sikdar, J. C., Doctrine of Matter in Jainism, approved thesis, ___Jabalpur Universtity, 1968. 4. (a) Vide “The Foundations of Mechanics”, C. I. M. E. Lectures, 1965 by
Walter No. 11, International Mathematical Summer Centre, Bressanone, Italy, June, 1965. pp. 1-33.
5. पयडी सील सहावो जीवंगाणं अगाइ संबंधो । करणयोवले मलं वा ताणत्थितं सयं सिद्ध ।।2।।
Cf. Ne, G. K. K., v. 2.
6.
Cf. Mahabandho (Bh), vol. 1, (1947), pp. 45-47. Another interpretation for Classifications of Karma is
कम्मत्तणेण एक्कं दव्वं भावोत्ति होदि दुविहं तु । पोग्गल पिंडो दव्वं तस्सत्ती भाव कम्मं तु ।।6।।
Cf. Ne. G. K. K., v. 6.
7. प्रौपशमिक क्षायिको भावौ मिश्रश्च जीवस्य स्वतत्त्वमौदयिक पारिणामिकौ
च ।।।।।
Cf. Puj: Pujyapada's Sarvarthasiddhi, chap. II, v. 1 English Translation by Jain, S. A., Vira Sasana Samgha, Calcutta (1960).
.8, जोग पउत्ती लेस्सा कसाय उदयाणुरंजिया होई ।
तत्तो दोण्णं कज्जं बंध चउक्कं समुद्दिट्ट ।।490॥
Cf. Ne, G. J. K., v. 490. 9. किण्हादिलेस्स रहिया संसार विरिणग्गया अणंतसुहा । सिद्धिपुरं संपत्ता अलेस्सिया ते मुणेयव्वा ।।556।।
Cf Ne, G. J. K., v. 556.
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Mahāvīra and His Relevance
10. atetetu Afect otat ateTfU #FATTAFATI पडिसमयं सव्वंगं तत्ताय स पिंड प्रोव्व जलं ।।3।।
Cf. Ne., G. K. K., v. 3.
11. #10913 77: F TTT: 11111
Cf Puj, Chapter vi, 1. 1. 12. qat:11211
Cf. ibid., Chapter vi, 1. 4.
13.
014101TUT: FIFTCITEC2721: 11411
Cf. ibid., chapter vi, 1. 4.
14.
Cf. Ne, G. K. K., p. 310 et seq. Cf. also Mahabandho, vol. jv (1957), p. 5 et seq.
15.
A basic vector corresponding to a nature is the set of non-summable universes (Asamkhyata Loka) of indivisible-corresponding-sections of least effective volition or of least affection or of least effective intensity of impartation (Anubhaga) of a Karma-ultimate-particle.
Cf. Ne, G, K. K., P. 310 et seq.
16.
A vector (Vargana) is the set of the basic vectors having the same number of indivisible-corresponding-sections. The vector consisting of the least set of non-summable universes of the indivisible-correspondingsections is called the least basic-vector and the set of the least vectors constitutes the least vector.
The set of the vectors each of which have one indivisibe-corresponding-section more than those in the set of the least basic-vectors (Vargas) is called the second vector.
The set of the basic-vectors each of which have two indivisiblecorresponding-sections more than those in the set of the least basic-vectors is called the third vector, and so on. Cf. Ne, p. 310, et seq.
17. The least tensor (Spardhaka) is the set of vectors (Varganas), which
begins with the least vector and ends with the vector which contains the basic-vectors each of which has one indivisible corresponding-section less than twice as many indivisible-corresponding-sections as are in each of the basic vectors of the set of the least basic-vectors. The second tensor begins with the vector containing the set of basic vectors each of which has twice as many indivisible-corresponding-sections as are in the least basic vector, and similarly the third tensor begins with the
vector containing basic vectors each of which has thrice as many
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Mathematical Foundations of Jaina Karma System
145
la system
indivisible-corresponding-sections as are in the least basic-vector, and so on.
Cf. Ne, p. 310, et seq.
18.
A geometric regression is a set of tensors. The first geometric regression begins with the least tensor. The second geometric regression begins with the vector in which the number of basic vectors is half of the number of basic vectors of the least vector of the first geometric regression, and in its first tensor, the number of indivisible-correspondingsections in its first vector are as many as are obtained by multiplying one more the number of indivisible-corresponding-sections in the least vector, and so on. All geometric-regressions contain equal number of terms, called Ayama (length), the total number of geometric regressions being called Nana-Gunahanis (various-geometric-regressions). Twice the length of a geometric regression is a Nisekahara (nisus-wreath). The product of the length of a geometric regression and the number of various geometric regressions is called Sthiti-Ayama (Stay-length). Two raised to the number of various geometric regressions is called the Anyonyabhyasta Rasi (inutual-product set).
Cf. Ne, p. 310, et seq. Cf. also Ne, vv. 223 to 229, for full details of a volition station.
19. ferrifah T ufuateua TMÀTI
समय पबद्ध बंधदि जोगवसादो दु विसरित्थं ।।4।।
Cf. Ne, v. 4.
Instant-effective-bond may be called a unit of Karmic inflow, and through various volition quanta, multiples of Karmic matter is inflown. The amount of the inflow of instant-effective-bond set is either equivalent to the infinitesimal part of the transfinite set of emancipated souls or is equivalent to infinite times the least-yoked-infinite (Jaghanya Yuktananta) set of nonemancipable souls.
परमाणूहि अणंतहिं वग्गरण सण्णा हु होदि एक्का हु। Trfa fpqHI TRIT441 42 41 424 5.
Cf. Ne, G. J. K., v. 245. जीवादोणंत गुणा पडि परमाणुम्हि विससो वचया । sit IT 4 THồ I VỀ f= HHTUI 3 1124911
Cf. Ne, G. J. K., v. 249. जोगा पयडि पदेसा ठिदि अणुभागा कसायहो होंति । Afmgfogunity at atefefa Fizz FT 1125711
Cf. Ne, G. K. K., v. 257.
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21.
The following verses relate that although a soul and its Karmic matter are instrumental for each others transformations, the doer and done becoming relation does not exist between them :
जीव परिणाम हेदु कम्मत्त पुग्गला परिणमति । पुग्गल कम्मरिणमित्त तहेव जीवो वि परिणमइ ।।80।। ण वि कुव्वइ कम्मगुणे जीवो कम्म तहेव जीव गुणे । अण्णोणरिणमित्तण दु परिणाम जारण दोण्हंपि ।।8।। एएण कारणेण दु कत्ता आदा सएण भावेण । पुग्गल कम्म कयाणं ण दु कत्ता सव्व भावारणं ।। 8211
-Cf. Ku, vv. 80-82
Ku: Kundakunda Bharati, edited by P, Lal, Balchand Deochand Shaha,
Phaltan (1970).
In is also important to note the structure recoils of Karmic matter which are of four types.
देहादी फासंता पण्णासा णिमिणताव जुगले च । थिरसुह पत्ते यदुगं अगुरुतियं पोग्गल विवाई ।। 47।। पाऊणि भवविवाई खेत्तविवाई य प्राणु पुव्वीप्रो । अद्वत्तरि अवसेसा जीवविवाई मुणेयव्वा ।।48।।
-Cf. Ne, G.K.K., vv. 47, 48. Cf. Ne, G.J.K., p. 374 et seq. Cf, also ibid, p. 257. Following matrix represents the numerical-symbolic form of variousgeometric-regression set relative to Karmic matter ultimate-particles (vargas) or Basic vectors.
22. 23.
Geometric Regression
Vectors
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
144
18
8th
160
7th
6th
5th 4th
176 192 208 224 240 256
104 112 120
3rd 2nd
30
128
32
Ist
Total :
1600
800
400
200
100
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Mathematical Foundations of Jaina Karma System
147
Here total basic vectors (Vargas) are 3100, life-stay is 40 instants, length of geometric regression is 8, the number of various-geometricregressions is 5 and the mutual-product-set is 32. Algebraic symbols for the above in case of volitions are as follows : -
Fluent , Life - time ā,
Length of geometric-regression.
Various-geometric-regression set
Mutual Product Set.
Where = is the volume of universe, a is non-summable, , 9 is the
hollow measure (Palya) of time. The numerical matrix representation for indivisible-corresponding.
sections contained in the above basic vectors is as follows :
Geometric Regression
First Tensor
Second Tensor
First.
11 10:10 9:9:9 8:8:8:8
19 18:18 17 : 17 : 17 16:16:16:16
Second
35
27 26 : 26 25 : 25 : 25 24 : 24 : 24 : 24
34 : 34 33 : 33 : 33 32:32 : 32 : 32
Third
43
51
42:42 41 : 41:41 40 : 40 : 40 : 40
50 : 50 49 : 49 : 49 48 : 48 : 48 : 48
Fourth
59
67
58 : 58
57 : 57 : 57 56: 56 : 56 : 56
66 : 66 65 : 65 : 65 64 : 64 : 64 : 64
Fifth
83
75 74 : 74
82 : 82 73 : 73 : 73
81 : 81 : 81 72:72: 72 : 72 80 : 80 : 80 : 80
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Station
Indivisible-corresponding
sections in a vector.
Basic vectors in a vector.
Vectors in a tensor.
Tensors in a geometric-regression
Tensors in a volition
station.
24.
6th
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
100
Cf. Ne, G.J.K, Todaramala's Artha Samdristi, p. 232.
For example, in the first geometric regression, each of the basic vectors of the first vector of the first tensor contains eight indivisible corresponding-sections. The complete picture of the above in algebraic and numerical notation is as follows:
Name
25.
5th
18
20
22
24
26
28
30
32
200
4th
36
40
44
48
52
56
60
64
400
3rd
72
80
88
96
104
112
120
128
Mahavira and His Relevance
Algebraic Notation Numerical Notation
800
= a
Cf. No, G.J.K, Todaramala Artha Samdristi, p. 231 ()
In case of a Karmic bond of matter at an instant, say an instanteffective-bond, the matrix for Karmic ultimate particles with impartation intensties are depicted as follows in numerical symbolism :
a
Gunahanis (Geometrte Regressions)
-
ā
प
a a
1
. 2nd
144
160
176
192
208
224
240
256
1600
a
a
1st
288
320
352
384
416
448
480
512
3200
8
256
4
9
5
1
Grand Total: 6300
Such progressions have been given simple rules for manipulating the sum, number of terms, common differences or multiples there of and so on. Cf. G.J.K., p. 252, p. 519 et seq.
Total Karmic ultimateparticles-intensities.
Cf. He, Heisenberg, W., the Physical Principles of the Quantum Theory, Dover, 1930, 109 et seq.
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26.
Vide the chart attached. Cf. G.J.K. p. 519, et seq. The triangular matrix shows the state subsistence (Sattva) bond and rise at an arbitrary instant. A new column matrix with an altitude enters every instant into the triangular state subsistence matrix and a row matrix with an altitude exits every instant from the state subsistence triangular matrix altitude. Thus the Karmic phenomena could be depicted through a neo-space-three-dimensional-matrix-mechanics, where the variations in the occupation representation numbers are taken into account.
समय पबद्ध पमारणं होदि तिरिच्छेण वट्टमागाम्मि । पडिसमयं बंधुदो एक्को समयप्पबद्धो दु ।।942।।
Cf, Ne, G.K.K., v. 942.
The total number of Karmic-particles existing at an instant is given by the following verses :
सत्तौं समय पबद्ध दिवड्ढ गुण हाणि ताडियं ऊरणं । तियकोण सरूवद्विद दव्वे मिलिदे हवे रिणयमा ।।943।। उवरिम गुणहारणीरणं धरणमंति महीण पढम दलमत्त । पढमे समय पबद्ध ऊरणकमेण ट्ठिया तिरिया ।।9441।
--Cf. Ne, G.K K., vv. 943, 944.
It may be noted that this is subject to change in the circumstances when extraordinary activities take place.
जीरदि समय पबद्ध पयोगदो रोगसमयबद्ध वा । गुणहाणीण दिवड्डै समयपबद्ध हवे सत्त ।।5।।
---Cf. Ne, G.K.K., v. 5. Cf. also v. 4, loc. cit. 27. ग्राबाहूणिय कम्मदिदी णिसे गो दु सत्तकम्माणं ।
पाउस्स णिसेगो पुण सगढिदी होदि णियमेण ।।1601
-Cf. Ne, G.K.K. V., 160 The above gives the form of a nisus and its order is given by the following two verses : अाबाहिं वोलाविय पढम णिसेगम्मि देय बहुगं तु । तत्तो विसेसहीणं बिदियस्सादिमरिणसे ओत्ति ।।161।। बिदिये बिदिय रिगसेगे हाणी पुग्विल्ल हारिणअद्ध तु । एवं गुणहारिण यदि हाणी अद्धद्धयं होदि ।।162।।
-Cf. Ne, G.K.K., vy. 161, 162.
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8.
The theory of material bonds has been discussed in details by G.R. Jain as well; Vide Jgr : Jain G.R., Cosmology old and new, Central Jaina Publishing House, Lucknow, 1942.
The details are given from page 208 to 222. Sj, loc. cit. may also be consulted for other Indian metaphysical works. The above related verses are from Umaswami (Umaswati)'s work, Tattvartha Sutra, ch. V: स्निग्ध रूक्षत्वद्वन्धः ।।33।। स्निग्धरुक्षत्वगुण निमित्तो विद्यु त । is a sentence from Sarvartha Siddhi, v. 24, loc. cit. Cf. Jgr, p. 209, footnote. 7 TOFU TUTA 113411 TT ATT AÇIFTH 113511 fifa TAI D 113611 Trasferit giffa71 7 113711
-Cf. also, Sj2 The levels of affine and anti-affine controls (analogous to positive and negative electricity or charges concept) are as follows :
All Levels
Even Levels
Odd Levels
Affine
Anti-Affine
Affine
Anti-Affine
une
Affine
Anti-Affine
Here all is Sarva, Level is Ansa, Even is Sama, Odd is Visama, Affine is Snigdha, Anti-affine is Ruksa. The symbol I stands for infinite (Ananta), S stands for Summable (Samkhyata) and A stands for the Non-summable (Asamkhyata) Cf. Ne, Todaramala, Artha Samdrsti, (G.K.K.) p. 184 (*)
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LORD MAHAVIRA AND EMOTIONAL INTEGRATION
V.R. Nagar
India, being a country of vast dimensions comprising various geographical, historical, social, ethnic, religious and linguistic divisions, has presented an intricate problem of national, emotional and cultural integration since Vedic times. The Vedic seers always endeavoured to find the fundamental unity underlying these multiple diversities. In the Vedic hymns we come across such songs as awaken the spirit of man to realise this unity or oneness, pervading the humanity as a whole. The conception of one nation had a subordinate role to play though it was never lost sight of. “May we apply our strength together, may our intellectual pursuit be illlustrious, may there be no hatred amongst us'. The Samjana Sukta of the Regveda proclaims the eternal message of oneness-in thought, speech and action. Along with the Vedic seers Rşabha, Pārsvanāth, Mahāvira and Buddha preached and practised this doctrine of unity.
From time immemorial various methods and courses were adopted to achieve this unity. Religion was the first to be employed to cultivate this spirit among different social stratas. Rulers like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the great tried to bring a very large part of Indian continent under one political authority. But Emperor Ashoka realised that real unity could not be achieved through military might and that the sword of steel could bend the haughty heads of the enemies while the wheel of religion “Dharmacakra” could win the hearts of the vanquished. Manu and
Yajnavalkya the architects and custodians of social code prepared
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the legal and social manuals to regulate-under recognised pattern-the behaviour of individuals belonging to different groups of Indian Society. Philosophers tried to bring home the idea of oneness through the intellectual pursuit and spiritual realisation of the ultimate reality, the Brahma.
But inspite of all these attempts of national and emotional integration, separatist tendencies tended to disintegrate the solidarity of India. Periodical political upheavals, social disorders and religious fanaticism have put the whole nation al cross-roads. Factionalism invited the foreigners to dominate and they adopted the policy of 'divide and rule'-which proved a curse to national and emotional integration of India.
The religion preached by Mahāvīra has been very charitable and cosmopolitan in outlook. It has cherished the basic values of human life namely Truth, nonviolence, tolerance, social service, compassion and generosity. Liberty, equality and fraternity'--the modern concepts of democratic institution were preached and practised by Mahāvira and consequently by Jaina Acāryas.
Mahavira was the twenty-fourth and the last of the Tirthankaras. The Jaina purānas reveal that his parents - king Siddhartha and queen Trisalā were staunch devotees of Parsvanath. They belonged to the illustrious races which cherished democratic institutions.
Mahavira undertook severe penance for twelve years. His austere discipline was crowned with spiritual enlightenment culminating in the revelation of three divine Jewels i.e. Right vision, Right knowledge and Right conduct which ultimately crystalised into a code of practical ethics. He attained 'Kaivalya or Omniscience, the highest goal of human endeavour which is termed 'Parama puruṣārtha'. Mahāvīra, was moved to ameliorate the pitiable condition of masses. He toured a vast territory of land and revealed the nature of human existence. The adherents of his faith mounted to millions. He prescribed a code of conduct based on Ahimsa both for the householder and the Muni. This code is the minimum prerequisite of a person moving on the spiritual path leading to emancipation. Jainism has thus paved the path for emotional integration. This common code for all persons-irrespective of caste, creed and colour created in them a community of aspirations
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and endeavours. The magnificient edifice of Jainism has been built on Ahiṁsā serving as the foundation stone. Other principles are the offshoots of Ahimsā. Mahāvira's contribution to the national and emotional integration of our country can be seen in many ways.
(1) Mahāvīra with his royal relationship with the then existing Republics, brought together the heads of Governments Most of the rulers were initiated into the Jaina doctrines. Political rivalries were pacified and the war-threats were replaced by the peace efforts, Nonviolence became a cementing force and the public at large followed the footprints of the rulers.
(2) Mahāvīra made no distinction and discrimination on account of caste, colour or creed. With a humanist spirit he admitted the masses into his faith and established the dignity of an individual based on the merits of personal conduct.
(3) Mahāvira dealt his opponents rationally and reasonably. He heard their views very patiently and gave a cool contemplation. He judged each case on individual merits. As the legends go he faced the fierce criticism of Gautam and Jamali without loosing his temper and equanimity. A spirit of accommodation and charitable outlook ultimately won the hearts and changed the minds of the diehard critics. He seldom took recourse to forcible conversion or coercion. This liberal attitude created a climate conductive to the propagation of Jainism. This credit goes to his philosophy of 'Syadvada' of which he was the sole architect
(4) He preferred to preach and sermonise in popular dialects of the provinces he visited. Communication of ideals and exchange of views can best be done in regional languages. This created a hypnotic effect on the minds of the masses, which hitherto were dumb-driven cattle. They realised that the message of Lord Mahāvīra was for them, by them, of them'. Popular sentiments were being ventilated in local dialects—and thus these languages became important factors to promote emotional integration.
(5) Religion without philosophy degenerates into blind faith and philosophy divorced of religion becomes dialectical gymnastics. Lord Mahāvira propounded a practical religion based on firm philosophical foundation. This is why, he stressed equally the importance of Right vision (of truth), Right knowledge and Right
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conduct. All these three yoked together result in the perfection of human personality. A group of such personalities create the core of cultural society, which indeed constructs an awakened and enlightened Nation. This type of planning is a pre-requisite of emotional and national integration. Dedication and devotion to duty-at all levels result in solidarity. Lord Mahāvīra by his keen foresight paved the way which India needs most in modern times. He realised that “philosophy is not only an 'idealist view of life' but a 'practical way of life'. This scientific system has well stood the test of time.
(6) Mahāvira established monastic institutions which prepared devoted missionaries, who set the standard of public conduct. They in return propagated the ideas and ideals in remote corners of this vast continent. Many cultural centres, seats of learning, temples, chaityas, caves, community centres and spiritual memorials were erected, which with passage of time became tourist, spots. The initiated disciples cautiously preserved the rich literary and cultural heritage of the age for posterity. Public welfare was carefully attended to. To foster fraternal relations community life was resorted to, as community centres for prayers, feeding, fasts and festivals. All the energies of the nation were harnessed to rejuvinate the vital forces of solidarity. Artists, architects, poets and critics lent their support to bring out the cultural synthesis of India. A living contact with all sections of society, with all social groups and economic classes was incessantly maintained from a rural threshold to royal palaces. As such, a genuine spirit of oneness, equality, co-workmanship pervaded the atmosphere.
(7) The extraordinary and originally novel contribution of Lord Mahāvira is the philosophic doctrine of Syadvada or Anekantavada which serves as the basis of Jainism. But for this all pervasive, all-inclusive scientific attitude towards life, Jainism would not have won the admiration of the intellectual sections of human society. It has been rightly observed - “It is not exaggeration to say that Ahimsā and Anekānta are the greatest contributions of Jainism to world thought in general and Indian thought in particular.” Anekānta is the scientific attitude of man to keep his mind open to receive multiple suggestions to solve a given problem. Each suggestion is an expression of partial truth and all different angles of vision put consistently together present a complete picture of the problem.
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There is no “absolute truth' regarding anything. The spirit of enquiry and multiplicity of results are best explained by the anecdote of seven blindmen and an elephant. Each experience is a fragment of truth and the totality constitutes comprehensive truth. There can be as many expressions of an event as the spectators. This vision wards off obstinacy, doggedness and tenacity of the seeker of truth and wards him with a spirit of accommodation, charity and pure catholicity. Lord Mahāvīra discovered this panacea to eliminate discords, dissensions, quarrels and quibbles which lead to conflicts and wars. Difference of opinion must be respected if human society wants to have co-existence and co-operation of individual units. Syadvada is an effort to accommodate and harmonise the viewpoints of others. This mental attitude born of the concept of Anekāntavāda is pregnant with the possibility of eliminating the chances of war and offering the war weary humanity prospects of peace and progress. This scientific system has attracted the attention of many renowned thinkers of the modern world.
Thus, the role and relevance of Mahāvīra's teaching in contemporary age cannot be disputed. Modern India especially of post-independant period is fast deteriorating, degenerating and disintegrating in almost all spheres of human activity. Politically at cross roads, economically depressed, socially suppressed at all levels, morally doomed, and culturally bankrupt - India appears like an incurable patient. At such a time, it seems to me that Mahāvīra's message of Ahiṁsā Anekānta and Aparigraha is the only guiding lighthouse which can save the nation and humanity as a whole from the ship-wreck in the turbulent ocean of life.
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LORD MAHAVIRA AND NATIONAL CHARACTER
Narendra Bhanawat
An individual is a foundation-stone of a nation. A nation is built up by a well-organised and empowered group of individuals. The concept of national character is determined by the customs and ideals as well as traditions. Thus the very base of a national character is the character of an individual. The character of a nation would be as strong and fair as an individual's character would be.
The important condition for building a character, either of individual's character or of national character, is the recognition of the existence of freedom, strong desire for living and the power of powerful determination to march on without any break on the strength of self endeavour. 2500 years ago, Lord Mahāvīra lit this idea of self-freedom of an individual. He proclaimed-O Atman, you are the architect of your own fortune. The good deeds are your friends and the bad deeds are your enemies. You can control your Vikāra and eventually can become Paramātmā. Thus Mahāviira instructing the self freedom told us that one is absolutely free to become like Ishwar himself and he is not dependent on any other thing. He can attain that though he belongs to any group or religion, provided his thoughts and actions are right.
The instructions given by Lord Mahāvīra about the self
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freedom are the pillars on which the entire building of character is based. Today that is weakening; consequently every one is the victim of non-belief, distrust, disappointment, and diffidence. He is progressively feeling a sense of irresponsibility. In such case how can a nation progress? In such circumstances it is only Lord Mahāvira who can stand in good stead. His invaluable principle of Karman is capable of leading a man who is full of evils like distrust etc., to the right path by boosting in him the sense of selfdependence, self-confidence and self-help. It is his principle which paves the way for a man who is reduced to extreme helplessness to strive and to achieve his goal and to do his duty with renewed vigour strength, courage and confidence.
The awareness of one's own existence makes one liberal and sensitive and with the result, he begins to recognise others existence, This point explicitly makes it clear that non-violence is a social thing. Lord Mahāvira was the greatest exponent of the deepest meaning of non-violence. He promulgated; real wise is he who does not kill any living being. To whom you intend to kill is no other than what you are. He is like you, full of consciousness. So, think that you are that. Mahāvira's non-violence is extremely subtle and profound. According to him not only killing of a living being is violence but also thinking of it makes it so.
This very outlook of Mahāvira resulted in the extinction of the thought of higher and lower, superior and inferior. It brought about integrity and harmony. He criticised and refuted casticism and others who were responsible for disintegrity and disharmony. He asserted and taught that none is great by birth or caste itself. He becomes great by his deeds and virtues. Mahāvira came forward with the thought of revolution against the social evil of superior and inferior. Persons like Harikesi, born in Śūdra caste, were among his Sādhusangha. He fought for the freedom of women. He not only initiated a woman like Candanbālā but he went to the extent of making her a leader of the Sādhvi Sangha.
A nation can only progress when her each and every limb enjoys equal respect and iinportance. Mahāvira looked with equality not only every human being but also every living being. Today's world is full of tensions because of religions, schools and castes. Difference is seen between black and white. It is only
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Mahāvira who can lead us to the right path. His teaching of Samabhāvītā is capable of keeping us out of this evil. His teaching inspires us to keep friendship with every living being : Mitti mai savvabhuesu vairam majhań na kenai.
Equality in the whole nation is only possible when there is no disparity of wealth in it. Where there economic disparity prevails, there become two groups-one is full of prosperity-possessing wealth more than necessary and another full of adversity deprived of even meeting his bare necessities. This difference gives birth to violence and war. Though today scientific advancement has increased the specd of production but at the same time it has not been able to control the greediness of the people. With the result, man hoards things and brings about an artificial scarcity of things. Hence, the world is suffering and starving. Today man is mad after material prosperity. He wishes to be prosperous without toiling hard. He wishes to have other's share and this leads him to corrupt practices. The result is that the entire country is in the jaws of smugglers and black-marketeers and the evils like bribary, adultera.. tion, hoarding and tax-evasion are rampant.
Lord Mahāvira in order to control the economic disparity and stealing gave vent to the teaching of non-possession and nonstealing. He spoke : There is in the world no bondage equal to possession. To hoard things more than necessary is a sin. It is a social crime. The key to pleasure and peace is to minimising necessities, controlling desires and abstinence from hoarding. Greediness makes a man miser and unsympathetic and he looses sense of discrimination. He tries to gather money by hook or by crock. Adulteration of injurious things in the edible articles is the explicit result of it. Lord Mahāvira taught non-stealing with a view to stop greediness. He asked men not to purchase those things which have come through stealing nor should they help a thief in any way. One should not do business violating the rules of the Government nor should he resort to any dishonest practice in selling any thing.
Considerable emphasis has been laid on non-attachement in order to stress on aparigraha. It is the duty of a good householder that he should not accumulate things in abundance. It is to be kept that much only which is essential and without which life
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cannot be sustained. Hoarding should be abandoned in order to make it available for others (i.e. needy persons), and the received things should be used for the welfare of poor persons. Lord Mahavira explicitly proclaimed Asamvibhagi na hu tassa mokkho : i.e. one who is of the nature of hoarding and does not give away things what he has in abundance never gets liberation.
159
What Lord Mahavira gave expression to his thoughts in those days in regard to the abstinence from parigraha and hoarding holds good today also. When the developed and the developing countries of the world will set up certain principles with regard to export and import of goods, then only peace in the world will be possible. Mahavira proclaimed: Parasparopagraho jivānāṁ i.e. real life is that which is dedicated to the help of poor persons.
The strong development of national character is out and out based on national unity. In nation like India national unity is safe only when equal importance and respect will be given to all religions, customs, languages, styles of upāsanās etc. The root cause of conflict, anarchy are abstinacy (i.e. duragraha) and onesidedness. When one tries to understand another's view-point he becomes liberal and Suhṛdaya.
Lord Mahavira propounded and propagated that truth is He manysided. Every thing has got more than one aspect. thereby wanted to bring about harmony among people. It was stated that one should not insist that this or that thing is essentially such and such. Such narrowminded statements are bound to lead to conflict and controversy. If all the aspects of a thing are perceived and examined carefully then truth will be found and conflict will be avoided. This thought of Lord Mahavira paves the way for right direction. The very essence of it is this that no principle of any philosophical school is absolutely right or wrong. One should, therefore, not stick to any particular principle. Opponent's principles may also be right. Hence, they are to be respected if not accepted. A person can not master everything, nor he can know each and every thing. There is no way which can lead one to know everything absolutely. One cannot perceive all the aspects of all the things. So the ways shown by others should be considered as reliable as
ours own ways are.
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It is needless to say that sɔme of the elements of these principles, more or less, have influenced our nations' foreign policy. As Anekāntavāda accepts truth in other schools of philosophy, accepts their authenticity and gravity, likewise the principle of nonallignment values the policies of other nations, values their sovereignty and independence.
The very process of character-building starts with an individual. Hence, for the strong character of a nation the very first condition is awareness of an individual. Awareness is a must on both the stages of man i.e. spiritual and emperical. Lord Mahāvira proclaims that Jiva is full of both consciousness and unconsciousness This is responsible for Karmaphala. One should, therefore, endeavour to destroy cause of it in order to attain pure consciousness. This is to be activated by getting rid of the evils of the world i.e. sensual pleasures, anger, greediness etc. Hence, Lord Mahāvira gave a slogan Utthie no pamayae i.e. get up, don't be careless.
The carelessness inay be understood to have been responsible for the day-today indiscipline, anarchy and lawlessness among people. When one looses control over his mind, speech and actions, then such dangerous things emerge.
It is necessary to control oneself in order to overcome them. Lord Mahāvira emphasises the purity of character. Defining the character, he said avoiding ill-actions and doing good deeds makes a man good charactered.
Faith, broad outlook and devotion all together makes one good charactered. With a view to this Lord Mahāvira put forward a series of twelve Vratas. One who abides by them faithfully, is a Sramana, an ascetic, and one who abides by them partially is a śrāvaka, a householder. The Vratas have been divided into three classes : Five aņuvratas, three guņavratas and four śikṣāvratas.
By faithfully following the śrāvakāahiṁsā, one achieves vātsalya and maitri, by truthfullness controls his tongue, by nonstealing controls greediness, by celebacy controls sensual desires and by non-attachment gives up hoarding of things.
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In the guņavratas the field of activity has been restricted. Exploitation and violence have been restrained and gradually their minimisation is aimed at. In the śikṣā vratas stress has been laid on the performance of anuşthānas. They have been prescribed in order to purify heart. Considerable emphasis has been given on the values of controling desires, penance and renunciation. -
To sum up : The teachings of Lord Mahāvira have full relevance in present day life for all. There is no scope for narrowmindedness in them. They pave the way for universalism where there is no room for evils like hoarding, violence, exploitation and so on.
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PICTORIAL FACTORS OF JAIN MINIATURES VIEWED IN MODERN CONTEXT
O. D. Upadhya
Instrumentalism :
The art-historian's view (of art as style) would refer Jainminiatures as a kind of 'Folk-style'. Thus Dr. Shivrammurti aptly puts Jain-miniatures as a Prakrita style of art. Accepting this view it seems obvious that this accentuation on a Folk-style-formula' by these miniaturists could easily find a direct relation with Mahavira's idea of teaching in Prakrita rather than in any other language for the benefit of the commonfolk. The Jain-miniaturists were great aesthetes also, having a very comprehensive outlook on art, and were capable of bringing down their great synthesis of iconography, pictorial space, surface breaking and foreign influences to the taste of the common folk. This aesthete's trend in modern context, is upheld by one of the most influencial art-critics of to-day Clement Greenberg, who says, 'things that purport to be art, do not exist, do not function as art until they are experienced through taste.'2 This functionalism has a direct descendant in modern era's most successful art-form of mid sixties - POP ART. These pop-artists have two very clear-cut principles in their creative configrations: The first is, 'most pop art is essentially embelmatic in its conjunction of word and image.3 And the other one is given by one of the most popular of pop-artists - Tom Wesselmann, "Advertising images excite me mainly because of what I can make from them.4 Now
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considering the great role played by the visual advertising in the formation of to-day's taste and having in view the relation of words and image in Jain-miniatures it would require very little effort to correlate the basic approaches towards aestheticism and instrumentalism in Pop-Art.5 and Jain-miniatures.
Sanctum Sanctorum :
Since Jain-miniatures are mostly book-illuminations it would be in context, directly, to elaborate the importance of book-illuminations in the present day world of art. To a modern scholar art book-illuminations have a special significance for their very personal touch of the creator, the collector and the meditator. Moreover illuminations gain rare importance since they are not kept open to the casual visitor in museum or library. It has become a very significant trend in aestheticism to-day to go for the sketches of the artists for their very personal art; to find such significant trends in rare manuscripts; and to have the satisfaction of enjoying materpieces very personally in ones own sanctum sanctorum. To-day's excellent printing methods have given this satisfaction in art books printing and thus art is really breaking away from the rigid boundaries of museums. Shouldn't we think that our miniaturists had forethought it?
When a work of art is thus brought to the close scrutiny of the onlooker its pictoriallity and aestheticism is apt to become open to a critical justification : As such the onlooker (to-day's) has gained a 'modern' sight in enjoying pictorial arts. We shall now further assess the Jain-miniatures in this modern context,
Pictorial Factors :
Modern art has given an insight into the development of art forms and pictorial factors starting from a complete blank canvas to reaching back to it. During this journey a person is subjected to the experiencing of not only the formalistic factors (starting from Plato's famous maxim 'Beauty of line, colour and form' and accepted by the fathers of modern art - The cubists-in their significant-form movement), but the whole course of modern art carries one into almost all of the visual and psychological aspects of pictorial configuration. Thus we have a glaxy of such significant factors
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making this modern context in which we have started viewing Jainminiatures.
Flatness & Delimitation :
Starting our reconnaissance again, let us take the flatness of the miniatures. It is a widely accepted fact now that the 'truth' of canvas lies in keeping it flat “Flatness and delimitation of it as Clement Greenburg would put it. To secure this fatness the cubists used visually suggestive extensions of the force of line and the flatness of colours. Jain-miniaturists brought it out with an easethe 'flatness' in colours, tones and in contour lines as shown by the cubists in modern times. Further, Jain miniatures are called the 'miniaturised murals of the ancient tradition' hence they have the quality of expressing the continuum of mural configurations. To have a further insight into this 'flatness and delimitation of the picture surface of Jain-miniatures (which brings them on par with the graphic subtleties and expressions in contemporary art), it is worth while to recall the latest trends in American Art. Today's great American painter Noland, expresses this flatness and infinite space with a few horizontal lines on a long horizontal canvas; $o does the Jain-miniatur st do! He divides his horizontal picture plane mostly with horizontal bends (a horizon is always suggested as a ground line of figures expressing other worldliness). And not only this our miniaturist would further enhance this 'infinite' sensitivity with the surface breaking with verticals.
Abstract Tendencies :
The expressive energy of modulations (so called 'nervousforce') in the lines and contours of Jain-miniatures can easily be analogized with the abstract-expressionistic tendencies of Modern art.
In colours the peculiar juxtaposition of blue and red colours (which are almost always placed together, in Jain-miniatures, with equal tone and intensity) is expressive of an optical illusion analogous to contemporary OP Art. Of such illusions the sociological import is the depersonalization which is unavoidable in order to arrive at new aesthetic truths'. Op Art appears to be a systematic attempt to take hold of the human organism through its visual sense and to
change first its somatic, and then its psychic, state”6. Adopting
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this to the 'Op' juxtaposition of colours in Jain-miniatures, one can easily deduce that these miniaturists used this visually powerful vehicle first to depersonalize the onlooker and then accentuating in whites and blacks the icons represented so that the onlooker enlivens the visual-aroma of Jain-images.
Human-Motifs :
About the 'figuration' in Jain-minatures it would be worthwhile recollecting that when Samant, one of the outstanding modern painters of India, met late Picasso (the greatest of the human-painters in modern art) the latter advised him to switch over to Jain-miniatures. Thus 'figurations' in Jain-miniatures do have a graphic (aesthetic) satisfaction for modern sensiblity. Through cubists we have architectonic and rational construction of human image reaching a dramatic ideom in Picasso; Expressionists conveyed personal dreads, 'Matisse moved logically, concerned with man's image only as a motif in a grand scheme of light, movement, decoration and pleasure'7. In this modern journey of human motif presentday artists have added cool, withdrawn, nonentity or depersonality of human image.
165
and
Leaving aside present day's broad range of techniques concentrating on the aspects of human-motif find that Jain-miniatures have a grand scheme of human-motifs having not only the wide dimensions of human psychology but touching even the realm of beyond-the Gods (provided their inconography is read properly). Apart from this land of beyond, if the figures are judged from the formalistic logic, we find in them a perfect plastic logic having planes, textures, colours and lines placed in a most 'significantly' beautiful way, and on the on such motifs, in their totality, are expressive of a personality which is possible to be interpreted philosophically in art's language, as an archaic image'. Such figure motifs have 'expression' and 'coolness' when as such is desired by these miniaturists. Instrumentalistic critics could find in Jain-imagery and iconography motifs expressing emotions from surrealism to romanticism.
The above mentioned few of the factors of analogizing Jainminiatures with the modern plasticides should be viewed considering the limitation of the space of this paper. The arguments could be further advanced taking into the account many sided studies done in current aesthetic theories.
we
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REFERENCES
1. Indian Painting Page 86, 87. 2. New Art in Sixties - Studio International April, 1970.
3. L. R. Lippard, Pop Art - T & H London 1966 Page 125.
4. Ibid - Page 80.
5. Pop-Art is also considered to be the Folk Art of the Citics.
6. E. B. Feldman, Varieties of Visual Experience Pub. E, N. Abrams Inc.
N. Y. Page 434.
7. Ibid, Page 402.
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JAINISM IN ECONOMIC
PERSPECTIVE
S. L. Mandawat
The role of institutions in the process of economic growth and the overall prosperity of the masses is very substantial. These institutional arrangements often stand in the way of a more rational use of available resources and they may well offer the main explanation for the slow rate of economic development of the under-developed economics. Such discouragingly slow progress often supports Veblen's position that institutionalized traditions may contiminate' socioeconomic reforms and prevent them from attaining full fruition. Professor Rostow has suggested that 'actions which result in economic advance need not be motivated by economic goals'. Religion is of immense importance among all other social institutions which can restrict or promote the economic interest of a nation in general and a community in particular.
Though Jainism, is indigenous to the soil, and it has a rich, vast and multifarious literature and yet it is virtually neglected in any assembly of scholars in Economics. Viewed in historical perspective, it had the privilege of being the religion of kings like Chandragupta and Bimbisāra. Most of its founders (Tirthankaras) were also from highly prosperous and royal families. In such a spectacular historical background on the one hand and the asceticism or austerity preached by Jainism on the other, economic prosperity has blossomed, substantially contributing to the stream of economic development of the country. At first sight, it appears
like a paradox. But the fact, however is different which lies at the
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root of the religio-economic aspect of prosperity. The doctrines of Jainism have impelled its followers to economic achievements.
Religion and economic motivation :
Before we try to establish a relationship between religion and economic motivation, it should be clear in our mind that religion is an important economic institution. In a dynamic context it seems a logical conclusion that religious and economic influences are continually conditioning and re-conditioning each other. The immediate question in this context before us is not whether and how far religion is influenced by economic considerations, but whether and how far economic life is guided and influenced by religion. Professor Spengler1 while classifying the factors affecting economic growth has observed that the values men set, store by, together with the patterns of motivation associated with these values, have much to do with how men canalize their activities, and that, economic growth will proceed most rapidly, therefore when the dominant values favour activities which are both economically productive and conducive to capital accumulation and technical progress. To the extent that some of the dominant values and institutions in a community are associated with religion, economic life can be said to be influenced by religion.
It is too great a simplification to conclude that religion is always indifferent in making economic decisions or, in a broader sense, in the process of economic growth. The role of influence of religion in the process of economic progress of a particular community of a particular nation has been well recorded by the Economic History. While discussing the importance of religion as a factor in rapid economic growth Professor Lewis2 has observed that even if it were true that religious doctrines always gave way to economic interests, it would still not follow that they do not restrict change, for they might both slow down the rate of change, and also distort its effects. More fundamentally we cannot accept the conclusion that it is always economic change that causes economic or social change. It is not true that if economic interest and religious doctrines conflict, the economic interest will always win.
Has Jainism an economic responsibility ?
The outlook for collaboration between Economics and Jaina
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Ethics is more or less the same as it has been applied to other religions while assessing their economic aptitudes. Max Weber published his famous study of the Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism'in 1905. Ever since there has been controversy about the impact of religious belief on the economic actions of mankind. Religion preaches several moral conceptions which are responsible, directly or indirectly in shaping the values of its followers. The natural corollary in shaping the values of its followers. The natural corollary of this phenomenon is that it is not possible to isolate on individual's economic actions with his ethical beliefs. The honesty of Jaina traders is famous and honesty is useful because it builds the very basis of credit; therefore one ought to be honest. Their wealth is also famous; formerly it has been maintained that more than half the trade of India passed through their hands.
The second important characterstic of Jainism is its emphasis upon thrift. A notable thriftiness-pushed by Jainism to sheer asceticism-combined with the concept of the fulfilment of earthly duty as the highest purpose of life, could not but bring about the formation of capital. Weber in his Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism quotes John Wesley : “The Religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce rickes. The compulsory saving the asceticism worked also among them towards the use of accumulated possessions, as investment capital rather than as funds for consumption or rent. On the basis of these and many more other ideals it is not very difficult to find out the nosegay of prosperity and economic responsibility in Jainism".
Jaina ethical ideals with their economic implications :
While delivering lectures on "The Ancient Foundations of Economics in India' Prof. K.T. Shah had very truly pointed out that it consequently happens that our hoary ancient past is shrouded in the haze of legend, or lost in veil of mystery. The principal actors moving and acting on an enormous stage-as vast as it is varied-are but shadows dimly seen through clouds of myth or marvel; their action unaccorded, their motives unintelligible. But the very lack of blazing publicity and confusing comment, so dazzling a characterstic of modern times, makes for an easier appreciation of such material as is available or can be traced. The present subject will
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dispel the common misapprehension that Economics is a modern Science of comparatively recent growth; but will also show how profound, how suggestive, were the economic ideals and objectives of Indian sages of thousands of years ago; how appropriate and effective were the solutions they advised. The five great vows in Jaina Ethics are of much significance in the present context.
Aparigraha (non-possession) :
Out of these five commandments, the most important and economically significant commandment for the laity is the limitation of possessions. One should have no more than 'necessary'. Moreover, the possession of wealth beyond a certain minimum is dangerous to the holy. One should give his surplus to the temple or to some other welfare institution in order to gain service merit. Here we meet with an apparent contradiction that inspite of the vow of non-possession the rich people always formed a major part of the Jaina community.
In this connection, it may be noted that the acquisition of considerable wealth is in no way forbidden only the striving after wealth and attachment to riches; this is rather similar to the ascetic Protestantism of the Occident. 3 As with Protestantism, Joy in possession (Parigraha) is the objectionable thing but not possession or gain in itself. The Daśavaikālika Sūtra4 says:
And rightly by parigraha our saviour hath not meant physical possession. By it he meant attachment.
'Only for preservation, so that they may practise restraint, necessary objects are possessed by the wise; for they do not have any attachment even for their own body.'
Greed is always unbriddled. It has been very aptly observed in the Uttaradhyayana Sutta5.
'As the wealth and riches accentuate, the cupidity also increases. Gains cannot satisfy the unbriddled cupidity, rather they enhance cupidity.'
Why it happens is also being replied.6
'As the sky is endless, so are the human desires.'
The wealth or the means are limited in this world and the
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human wants are unlimited. In this situation it is not possible to gratify unlimited wants by limited means. A pond where millions of gallons of water can rest, to put a few gallons of water would be insignificant.?
The idea of limited means and unlimited wants may be well regarded as a good analogy to Robbins' definition of Economics. The curtailment of wants resulting into the state of wantlessness is of immense importance in this connection. Jainism has pleaded limitation on innumerable desires rather then limiting essential wants required to keep body and soul together. Joy in possession' must be forbidden because it is the root cause of all the maladies haunting the present world. It is the joy in possession which increases human desires to an unlimited extent. Desires have been compared with a vehicle having enormous speed which needs to be checked.
So aparigraha is a great vow, a Mahāvrata; monks and nuns are required to practise it - to have no attachment to anything, wealth, property, animals or grains. But for the laity aparigraha is prescribed as an Annvrata - small vow. The commandment to retain no more than necessary (Parigraha - viramanavrata) provided but a very elastic restriction to their extensive accumalation of wealth. Mrs. Stevenson (Heart of Jainism) mentions the motive offering of a Jaina of a recent past to earn, ‘no more than Rs. 45,000, and to give the surplus as a gift, whereby apparently it was assumed that to earn this amount presented no difficulties.
Thus said Ananda (the great devotee) unto the Lord' with tonsured head I cannot court total renunciation. But from the Beloved of the God, do embrace the five asuvratas and seven lessons, total twelve, as prescribed for the laity.
Then he limited his will as to coins of gold to four crores that lay underground, and four crores that lay invested and the four crores that was the value of his property.'
A wealthy person like Ananda who could retain a total of 12 crores of gold coins with him without breaking the vow of nonpossession is a self evident instance of the Flexibility of the vow for the laity. The distribution of the enormous wealth under three heads by Ananda reveals a few interesting points. Out of the total
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possession by Ananda 1/3 was kept under-ground by him. The only thinkable reason behind this under ground hoarding can be the motive of security. But it does't mean that he was unaware of the role of investment to augment the existing wealth. Out of the total wealth of twelve crores of gold coins he had invested 4 crores in productive channels to reap the advantages of investment. Here we find the nesegay of entrepreneurship among the ancient Jainas without being limited by the vow of non-possession. The lay followers are required to observe this vow by keeping property in all forms to a certain limit consistent with their standard and profession and not to hanker after more. This is a religio-economic consideration. But it does great good to the society too.
By limiting one's property, the vow keeps in check the concentration of wealth and paves the way for its wider and more even distribution. The wide gulf between the rich and the poor is dangerous to the society. Aparigraha removes a social headache which has affected the present day man every-where. The problem of inequality in the distribution of wealth can best find its solution in the vow of aparigraha.
Asteya (non-stealing) :
The ethics of Jaina religion is based on the noble principle of non-stealing or the prohibition of dishonesty in other words, which does not allow any kind of falsehood even in everyday life. Here again we find a similarity between Jainism and Protestantism of the Occident. The Jaina commandment of asteya forbids saying anything false or exaggerated; the Jainas believe in absolute honesty in business life, all deception (māyā) is prohibited, including especially all dishonest gain through smuggling, bribery, and any sort of disreputable financial practice (adadtta-dāna).
All this excluded the sect on the one side from typical Oriental participation in Political Capitalism? (accumulation of capital by officials, tax framers, state purveyors) and, on the other it worked among them and among the parsees, just as for the quakers in the Occident in terms of the dictum (of early capitalism)” honesty is the best policy.8 From the very beginning the Jaina merchant has been well-known for his honesty in trade. In the ancient past they used to export various goods from India to a
Jain Éducation International
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number of foreign countries. The group of businessmen going outside the country for trade was known as “Sārtha' As a result of the vow of non-stealing they were quite conscious about the quality of goods to be exported to the foreign countries which is an essential pre-requisite to earn credit in a foreign market. Quality control is a very important requirement in an attempt to capture a foreign market and it is still a problem before the export trade in India.
The extent of vow extends further--the hoarding was forbidden in case of essential commodities. It was a moral instrument to check the price spiral at the critical times like war and famine. An economic necessity linked with the moral values tend to have more influence on a common man's mind as well as upon the trader.
Anuvrata based on the great vow of non-stealing can be summarized under the following heads :
(1) Not taking anything belonging to others with a view to
stealing it. (2) Neither intentionally purchasing stolen goods nor aiding
a thief in stealing. (3) Not dealing in the goods prohibited by law. (4) Not resorting to nefarious practices in business. (5) Not misappropriating the property or money belonging
to a trust or an organization in the capacity of an officer of such an organization.
Ahimsa (Non-violence) :
The principle of Ahiṁsā has been minutely discussed in Jainism. No layman will intentionally kill any living being. The practice of Ahiṁsā led the Jainas to exclude all industrial trades endangering life, hence all trades which made use of fire, involved work with sharp instruments (wood or stone work) from masonry and in general from the majority of industrial callings. 9
It is maintained that agriculture was completely excluded; ploughing, especially, always endangers the lives of worms and insects. But here one meets with contradictory claims made by the various scholars of Jainism. It is said that the kind of ahimsa
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pleaded by Jainism did't put any restriction on agriculture. There are many instances among the Jainas whose main occupation has been agriculture. Inspite of the fact that some of the Jainas had agriculture as their chief occupation, the vow of ahimsa developed a kind of negative attitude towards many occupations involving huge hiṁsā, as a result of which they confined themselves to the trading class.
Restrictions imposed on various occupations could not but limit the scope for an entrepreneur. It also resulted into the confinement of Jaina religion among a very few people and failed to attract a large number of lay followers.
All the same time the vow of ahiṁsā instituted the idea of the Economics of peace before the ancient Jaina rulers. In the absence of frequent wars expenditure on defence preparations may be saved and it can be directed to other developmental projects. This will be the practical value of the doctrine of non-violence.
There are two other great vows; viz.. the vow of truth and the vow of celibacy. Though both of them are much related with the ethical regulation of life but at the same time they are econmically consistent too. Jainism preaches total denunciation of untruthfulness for a śrāvaka. To give false evidence or to write false documents is forbidden. Similarly avoidance of any sort of unchastity and strict loyalty in marriage is also a fundamental vow for the laity. This may be regarded as the moral restraint on population explosion which very often becomes a problem in mos of the countries.
Viewed as a whole, the five great vows and the aņuvratas prescribed for the Jaity, are economically consistent They had always been helpful to the Jaina community in particular and paved the way for economic prosperity. Austerity and economic prosperity :
At the first sight it may be asked how economic prosperity could flourish in a strict code of conduct prescribed by Jainism. It is however, a known fact that Jainism adopts the path of renunciation and holds the view that desire is insatiable and can never be completely fulfilled. The Uttarādhyayana Sūtra expresses this view as follows:
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“And if somebody should give the whole earth to one man, it would not be anough; so difficult it is to satisfy anybody. The more you get the more you want; your desires increase with your means. Though two masas would do to satisfy your wants, still you would rarely think ten millions sufficient. 10
It is this paradoxical nature of the ascetic life which cannot be easily understood by scholars who do not try to go deep into this spirit. Although Jainism propounds moral principles even for the householders, Jaina ethics is predominantly for the monks. The householder is required to observe only the Aņuvratas. Perhaps the Jainas are the first who are successfully carrying out the typical dualistic organization : the community of monks as the nucleus., the laity (upāsaka) as a community under religious rule of the monks.
Inspite of the predominance of the monk clergy, the laity have always exerted strong influence in Jainism. The laity could do so because it represented predominently bourgeoise classes. The limitations, whatever they might have been, were to be imposed by the person concerned voluntarily, without any fixed limit. It gave much freedom to the laity with regard to the possession and utilization of wealth. They are free to invest and to earn profit to their respective risk-bearing capacities This kind of freedom would naturally result in prosperity.
It may be said that the strict methodical nature of Jaina ethical way of life is favourable to the accumulation of wealth. The strict code of conduct result in a rigorous control over consumption of the lay followers. In this way, the ascetic influences are, however, consistent with their business philosophy in the sense that they strengthen their already high propensity to save. Thus asceticism as well as rationalism tend to encourage economic application of knowledge and the propensity to invest. Viewed in this perspective the paradox of prosperity amidst austerity vanishes and it appears to be a quite logical conclusion that the Jaina ethical ideals are not only not inconsistent but at times they have encouraged higher rate of savings and investment. 11
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REFERENCES
1. J. J. Spengler, Social Structure, the State and Economic Growth quoted
by S. Kuznets, Economic Growth : Brazil, Indian and Japan 1955, pp. 363-70.
2. W. E. Lewis. The Theory of Economic Growth, 1955, Pnge 106. 3. Max Weber, The Religion of India, 1960, pp. 192-204.
Na so pariggaho butto nayaputtena taina muccha pariggaho butto iti buttam mahesina 11 sabbatthubahina buddha samraksana pariggahe abi appano be dehammi na'yaranti mamaiyam 13
5.
Jaha laho taha toho laha loho pavaddhai.
6.
Iccha hu agasasama.
7. Jaha laho taha loho laha loho pavaddhai domasakaym kajjam kidiye vina nitthiyam
Uttaradhyayana Sutra. 8. Max Weber, The Religion of India, Chap IV, pp. 192–204. 9. Ibid. 10. S. B. E. XIV, Vittaradhyayana Sutra, VIII, 16, 17, p. 34. 11. Vikash Mishra, Hinduism and Economic Growth, 1962, p. 24.
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INSTITUTIONAL MODELS OF
STATE AND GOVERNMENT IN MAHĀVĪRA'S TRADITION
C. M. Jain
Like the Hindu mythological and historical sources of Hindu polity, the contemporary Jain sources too, especially in the tradition of Lord Mahāvira, gives an elaborate account of the political systemthe political norms, structure and behaviour, which was in force in these societies.1 The Jain sources indicate that the entire political infra-structure and the frame-work was based on ethical and religious norms which were manifested through the doctrines of "Ahimsa' (non-violence) (Satya (Truth), Asteya' (Non-stealing). "Bramacarya' (Chastity) and “Aparigraha" (non-attachment). These five norms, as would be clear from the subsequent discussion, though were preached religiously, had their bearing on the political roles and obligations of the governing elite as well as the non-governing masses.
The impact of these norms was so deep and penetrating that the model of political system contemplated and envisaged by Jain Sadhus and Tirthai karas were in some respects distinctly different in contrast to the models presented by other contemporary sources of Lord Mahavira.
Political norms :
In Jain canonical literature and post-canonical literature like of Somadeva, and Munibhadra Shri and other celebrated works like
Chandraprabha Carita, Vardhamāna Carita, Sāntinatha Carita,
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Nemikāvya etc. have revealed an intra-relationship between ethical values, political norms and social attitudes. They have, likewise, identified the subservience of political system to the ethical values
in Tain tradition and social needs. Somadeva talks of three jewels, 'Right faith', 'Right knowledge and Right conduct’ Lord Mahāvira contemplated of a political structure which was based on normative characteristics, such as, (i) non-violence, that is, suffering to none and compassion for living creatures, (ii) adherence to truth, that is, seeking to avoid divulging of secrets, slander, backbeting, forgery and perjury. As a political norm the 'truth' in wider connotation even implies : one should not even talk about the wives of others nor speak against the king nor indulge in antisocial talks. One should take care not to make any unfounded statement. Exaggeration, fault-finding and indecent speech must be avoided, one should always speak words that are noble, beneficial and concise... (iii) nonstealing implying no falsification of measures and theft, and nonaccumulation of wealth in war or no effort to receive stolen property. (iv) 'Chastity' which means aiming at controlling the worldly pleasure which in politics in negative context prevent the decay of the ruler at the hands of his subordinates and in positive sense strengthen the king to play his role in public interest, (v) and finally 'the non-attachment which condemns the concentration of mind on wealth or property or acquisition through greed. In the context of politics the policy of attachment leads to expansionism, aggression and ultimately the annihilation of mankind.
In Mahāvira's tradition, these five canons of human behaviour, when are embeded into a political system would make the latter highly democratic, welfare-oriented and humanistic. This is why the political order which was conceptualised by Lord Mahāvīra and his followers laid great stress on obligations than on sights, diplomacy and peace than on war and aggrandisement, and moral responses than on sheer political power. In fact, the political moralism therefore became the basis of the entire political mechanism and also the political obligations of the ruler as well as the ruled.
Political structure :
The political campass and the governmental apparatus envisaged by Lord Mahāvira and his followers were in several
respects not only similar to the contemporary Hindu political order
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but has been quite close to our modern political mechanism. The Jain sources gives a detailed account of the political order beginning from the emergence of Kingship to the discussion of roles, punishment, rewards, taxes and even diplomacies and war. Before a critical assessment of the political structure that emerged in the Mahavira's tradition could be attempted, it would be appropriate to analyse briefly the nature of the Governmental machinery which existed in those days.
(i) Institution of Kingship :
In the entire political setting the office of the king was placed highly respectful and sacred. King was the main key of the ordered society and the institution of the king was re-inforced by healthy traditions and conventions. The tradition of heredity was generally observed and accordingly the oldest prince, of the king had all the claims of being sworn in as king in succession, but in situations of conflict arising out of rival claiment princes or when both king and the prince had decided to relinquish politics and took 'Dikṣā'. The usual practice was to resolve the conflict either through undergoing different types of tests and the prince who was successful in clearing those tests was enthroned, and in the case of voluntary political exit the sister's son was often preferred to be appointed as the king. But the contemporary Jain literature also gives instances when princes in order to secure kingship sought open battles and even killed their kings. It was therefore often advised to the kings to observe restraint, control and keep a close watch on the ambitious behaviour of their princes. 5
The prince before he could be appointed as king was required to go through a coronation ceremony which was attended to by honoured guests drawn from all walks of life and the prince in their presence was annonated. The sources indicate that Champa, Mathurā, Vārānasi, Srāvastī, Sāketa, Mithilā, Kāpilya, Hastināpura, Rajgrahi were the main capitals where coronation was generally celebrated.6
A comparative study of Jain traditions with that of Hindu traditions reveals that the gap between the two was very marginal and insignificant. They were identical in so far as the need, philosophy, and mode of coronation were concerned, save the
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practice of choosing the sister's son when the king and even the prince simultaneously quited politics for ‘Dikṣā'. But inspite of whatever limitations, the institution of kingship was the chief repository of power, and to them no conception of an organised society could fructify in the absence of this high office which was sanctified by traditions and the praiseworthy achievements of the king, who was gifted with the knowledge of eighteen languages, equipped with all types of war-strategies and who was nurtured in the tradition of kingship by Purohits and others the king's courtiers.? It is thus clear that the kingship was the main instrument of a disciplined and an ordered society to which the contemporary subject-masses greately honoured and respected.
Structure and role of Governmental machinery :
The Governmental organisation, according to Jain sources, comprised of the king, the cabinet, the departments and departmental personnels. In the Vardharnāna Charit, the kings were classified into five categories. The Rāja', the head of the City or Janapada, the ‘Mahārājā', the head of larger Kingdom having more powerful army, the Mandalik, the head of the State with several vaosals and kings under him, the Ardhacakravarti, the head of three small sub-continents (Khandas) having power to rule and ordain them and the Cakravarti, the lord of six sub-continents (Khandas) and who was honoured with jewels and other precious articles. 8
Somadeva in his celebrated works Yaśastilaka and Nitivākyämsta discussed at length the guiding principles for rulers which were quite close to the instrument of instructions in our times. The kings have been depicted as servants of the people and it was treated dangerous for the kings to incur displeasure of the people by favouring the unworthy and dishonouring the worthy. 9 The viability between the ruler and the subject masses was so frequent that the kings who apparently appeared feudal and monarchical were at no stretch of imagination less democratic.
The king had a full cabinet with ministers and departments attached to his office. In Jaina canonical literature-five officials, namely, the Rājā, Yuvarāja, Amātya, Sresthi (Nagar Setha) and
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Purohita, have been depicted as Pradhāna Puruşa, who ruled the State and were like eves and ears of the Government. 10
But in the post-canonical literature, the king's cabinet consisted of twelve heads named as Purohita, Amātya, Saciva, Mantri, Dandanāyaka, Mahattara, Pradhāna-Senā pati, Dūta, Yuvarāja, Pattanahisi, Jyotişi and Koşādhyakshall and in the same context their roles and obligations have also been defined. But in Somadeva's Nītivākyā msta,' specific stress is laid on the interpersonal relationship between the king and his cabinet and intrarelationship in the cabinet colleagues. The guiding principle for the kings was generally to choose honest persons to serve him, who could truthfully play their roles and help him in fulfilment of his varried obligations. They should be men of pure lives, legal and well versed in the science of Government, they should be men of high birth and natives of the country. But Somadeva in 'Nitivākyāmsta' warns the kings of 'ministerial corruption' who could cause sedition among the citizens, depletion of treasury, decimation of the population, disaffection of kinsmen, hostility of friends and the emigration of the high born.12 Hence the king was advised to exercise strict watch and control over his officials.13 He opines that "kings who enjoy pleasures at will, leaving the charge of the kingdom in the hands of the officials are foolish indeed.” Of all the cautions, Somadeva warns kings to be on their guard in their relations with women. 14
Various departments :
The organisation of Government also included the functioning of various departments, of which the four were the most important ones such as Judiciary', Taxation & Revenue , ‘Police & Army' and 'Foreign Affairs, '15 The Judiciary comprised of eminent judges & all types of crimes were subjected to severe punishments, depending on the nature of crime involving punitive measures from rigorous public condemnation to even capital punishment. Even women, except the pregnant ones, were subjected to similar punishments for the same offence. Jails were highly abominable and prisioners were contemptuously treated and penalised. The second department of Taxation and Revenue was headed by 'Sunkpal', who imposed taxes, I lowed by stringent punitive measures in the cases of
default. 16 T'he universe of taxes, according to Dhanañjaya, was
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minerals
fairly comprehensive implying imposition of taxes on agriculture, industries, animals, imports and exports. The third department related to Police and Army, where there used to be a net-work of spies in the State who were categorised and named differently like, Kaptika, Udasthitha, Graphatic, Vadehak, Tāpas, Sūtri, Tikshan, Rasadha and Parivrājaka etc. Similarly, there was a 'Chaturangini Army' and horses and elephants constituted the main stream of national defence. The defence department also included forts, armaments and organisation of army and the department was headed by Commander-in-chief who used to be a brave and skilled fighter and a strategist. The last important department was Foreign Affairs, which conducted diplomacy, war and peace. In diplomacy, the stress was laid on negotiation (Sama), monetary allurements (Dāma) dissention (Bheda) and punishment (Danda). The diplomat (dūta) as described in Nitiväkyāmṛta, was required to be aged Brahmaņa learned, eloquent, forbearing in face of provocation and amiable, he was to be efficient, courageous' pure, wise, bold and ready-witted. 17 Somadeva mentions of Sandhivigrahin who was officer incharge of peace and war or better called as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Affairs department also framed the foreign policies and according to Padmanandakāvya, the specific object was to secure negotiation (Sandhi) dissention (Vigraha) war (Yan) isolution (Asan) war and peace (Dvedibhara) and seeking politred umbrella (Sanśraya) 18. The department of foreign affairs, also concerned with building strategies and applying tactics during all the nine categories of warfares. War was generally avoided and it was only resorted to when diplomacy had ended. However, they had also rules of war which were uniformly observed by all the belligerent powers involved in warfare.
Political behaviour and culture :
People in general during the period of Lord Mahavira were in no way different than that has been depicted by historions other than the Jain sources. The king was neither omnipotent nor autocratic and nor the people obeyed authority purely out of fear or threat of life. They obeyed State as a natural necessity. There were no means of interest articulation except a direct appeal to the ruler. There existed no anomic associations which could warrant
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ruthless suppression. There were, of course, some stray examples of rebellious activities when Yuvarāja or wicked minister revolted against the ruler. But by and large the political behaviour was oriented to political system indicating largely an integration of goals and happy viability between the ruler and the ruled.
The above discussion of Governmental organisation and state craft in Mahāvíra's tradition does not show any vital deviation with the one depicted in Hindu sources. This uniformity in State organisation may be attributed to identical socio-economic makeup of the contemporary societies. According to both sources the institution of the State emerged out of a common desire for guiding a self-disciplined and organised society. State and government were treated as institutions of power, force and pre-condition for a regulated society. Even in the field of external relations, the instruments of diplomacy and foreign policy were well-built and developed. The rules of warfare, too, as depicted by grammarian like Pāṇini, Patanjali and Cā nakya and others were almost uniform and in agreement with Jain traditions.
But despite all this, the Jain traditions of polity were little different from the contemporary Hindu tradition, since the former, unlike the latter, treated State more as a means than an end itself. This is why the institutions of diplomacy and war were not as much developed in Mahāvīra's time as one finds in Cāņakya Arthaśātra. Nevertheless it may be observed that during post Canakya Jain literature, the institutions of diplomacy and polity had gone rather more advanced. Polity in Jain traditions was in the real sense a mainfestation and even extension of ethical norms and such the king and the cabinet were as a policy not required to resort to expansion extortion, compulsion and aggression but to secure peaceful settlement instead through negotiation, arbitration and adjudication. In the broader frame work of ethical and moral obligations, the state machinery was to function on the principles of Ahiṁsā, Salya, Asteya, Brahmcarya, and Aparigraha. It would have been contradiction to them if the governmental machinery stood in contrast with the contemporary social engineering and moral order which they were keen to build. State, therefore, in Jain traditions, was the embodiment of moral order which was to assist the people to secure to those human ideals to which Lord Mahāvīra incessantly
inspired and preached.
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It may also be concluded that the nature and character of State polity, in as was envisaged by Lord Mahāvira and his followers, was though not modern in time but was modern in spirit. The institution of kingship which in complexion may appear to us little feudalistic and ascriptive, but in practice it was highly democratic and achievement oriented. The organisation of departments too in many respects resembled with what we have today. The approach towards Government was not legalistic as much as it was humanistic and socialisitic. Manisfestly the structuring of the Government was no doubt monarchical but in actual functioning it was unlike monarchical and unlike traditional.
REFERENCES
1. See. Jain J.C. “Life of ancient India as depicted in Jain canons” 2. Handioni, K.K., Yasastilaka and Indian Culture p. 103-106. 3. Vyavaharabhasya, 1 p. 128. 4. Raja Udrayan, who despite of having a prince decided to transfer kingship to his sister's son when he went to Lord Mahavira for Diksa.
--Bhagavati, 13.6.
5. Prince Kaunika secured political power by arresting king Srenika
with the help of his brother and then king Srenika committed suicide by taking poison.
-Avasyakacurni 2, p 179.
6.
Nisithasutta, 9.19.
7. According to Dhananjaya, the king was required to be brave,
philanthropic, and winner of physical weaknesses, (Indriyavijayi) like, Kama, Krodha, Mann, Lobha, Harsa and Mada, Alone such king could defeat the enemies in the battlefields.
--Dvisandhanamahakavya, 2.11.
8.
See-Shastri, N.C.; "Sanskrit Jain Kavyon me Varnita Rajanititatva."
- The Jaina Antiguary, vol. XXIV, No. 1, p. 1.
9. Handiaui, Yasast, p. 103.
10.
Vyavaharabhasya, 1, p. 129.
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11. See-Shastri, N.C-Ibid p. 6–7. 12. See, Somadeva's Yasastilakacampu, p. 431. 13. Ibid, Chapter 17 and 18.
14. Ibid, Chapter 24-Examples are cited of Manikundla, Vasantima
tivikodari, Madirakshu who killed their kings.
15. See, Devendra Muni :-Bhagwan Mahavira; Eka Anusilana.
16. See, Uttaradhyayanasutta, Sukhabodhatika, p. 71. 17. See, Soma Yast., Book III, p. 111.
18. Sandhipramukhagunahsat-Padmanand 6/16.
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EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS OF
JAINA PHILOSOPHY
S, C. Jain
Aims of Education :
Since, the supreme aim of life, according to the Jains, is the spiritualization of the individuality of a person, the supreme aims of education can be none other than to make the pupil realize his inherent potentialities to achieve that final goal. Thus, a Jain teacher is expected to inculcate spiritual values in that pupil's life and to try to divest him of his Karmic load, so that he may be helped to lead a life which may culminate in the liberation of his soul. But it does not imply that Jainism over-emphasizes individuality. According to Jainism, every individual is fundamentally divine. This leads the Jains to be catholic in their outlook and tolerant in their views. In fact, the Jaina principle of Syādvāda is a result of the catholicity of the Jaina philsophy of life, and this Syādvāda is a guarantee that emphasis on individuality will not undermine the general interests and the general welfare of society.
The Five Principles of conduct as the Five Disciplines of Education :
Ahiṁsā, satya, asteya, brahmacarya and aparigraha being the five great principles of conduct in Jainism, shall also be the five great disciplines in the Jainistic system of education. A student in a Jainistic School apart from his bookish studies in different subjects, will be trained to integrate his personality through the integration of his knowledge, his actions and also through the practice of the five great disciplines of conduct prescribed by the Jaina philosophers.
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Such a practice would be very valuable not only for the spiritual growth of the individual but also for the general progress and general welfare of human society.
Stages of knowledge :
There are five stages of knowledge according to the Jains. The first stage of knowledge is Mati or the knowledge acquired by the senses, the second stage is that of Sruta or the knowledge gained by learning, the third stage is that of Avadhi or the psychic knowledge, which is directly acquired by the soul without the medium of the activity of mind or sense, the fourth stage is Manaḥparyaya, the knowledge of the ideas and thoughts of others, and the final stage of knowledge is the Kevala which connotes the supreme knowledge or omniscience attained only when all the Karmic load is divested from the soul or Jiva. These five stages of knowledge correspond to the five stages of mental development or the stages of self-purification of the aspirant soul. The purer the personality, through self-discipline, the higher the stage of knowledge one can achieve. Such gradation of knowledge is definitely far superior to the present gradation of various degrees awarded by our Universities.
The Lecture Method with Dristantas and Upamas :
At the stages of Mati and Sruta knowledge, the Jaina teachers employ the lecture method of teaching. But, their lectures are not dull or dry. The Jaina teachers are expert at supplying beautiful driştāntas (stories illustrating a point) and upamās (similies) while they are explaining something during the course of their lecture. At the higher stages of knowledge, supervised self-study, silent reading and the observation of the five great principles of conduct are emphasized. In contrast with this, our modern university education is inferior because it lays no graded courses of conduct for the student and even a misconducted fellow can very well become an M. A., if he secures pass-marks in the academic examination. Our universities could learn a lesson from the Jaina theory of education in this respect.
Universal Education in the Mother Tongue :
Jainism denounces caste system or any hierarchy of classes in society. Hence, Jainism believes in universal education through the mother tongue. In the Indian history, the Jaina ācāryas have
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always stood for education and enlightenment of each individual who has come to them. In consonance with the principle of equality of opportunity for all and that of universal education, the Jaina ācāryas have always used the language of the masses as the medium of instruction unlike our present universities which take pride in using a foreign language for the same purpose.
Self-punishment for self-purification :
Jaina theory of ecucation allows the use of punishments. But, the concept of punishment in Jaina theory of education is different from that of the other schools of thought. Instead of corporal punishment, the Jaina guru will allow the pupil to punish himself voluntarily through japa, tapa, or vrata as the occasion demands. Whatever be the punishment, it must be an answer to the inner call of the aspirant himself and not an imposition by the teacher in anger.
The pupil-teacher relationship :
The pupil-teacher relationship is the bed-rock of pedagogy. The Jaina guru believes in direct relation with his disciple based on mutual affection and respect. It is based on freedom and deep love on the part of the teacher a d high esteem on the part of the pupil. The pupil who has no faith in the teacher is unable to learn anything from him. Similarly, a teacher should not teach merely for the sake of livelihood, as is the case today, but his mission should be well-up in his heart out of sheer love, compassion and a feeling of selfsacrifice for the sake of the pupil. But, it is important to note that right faith is not synonymous with blind faith in the guru. Faith according to the Jaina teacher, should be judicious and the disciples should be encouraged to put their doubts and queries freely before the teacher. The teacher, according to the Jaina thought, should be an embodiment of high character as well as high learning. He should have an ideal and inspiring personality. He should be a real image of Samyag Darsana, Samyag jñāna and Samyag Chāritra. He should strictly and regularly practise in his own life what he preaches to his students. He should assume full responsibility of his student's actions. He should not rouse fear in the minds of his pupils as regards their shortcomings. The teacher, according to Jainism, should have a pleasant and peaceful attitude and the pupil should be
an embodiment of modesty and devotion.
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The above discussion gives a modest but vivid picture of the educational foundations of the Jaina philosophy of life. We have seen how beautifully the Jaina philosophers and teachers have established a close relationship among life, philosophy, religion and education. The most significant characteristic of Jaina theory of education is that there is no need of moral education apart from the general education of the educant. The type of education recommended by the Jaina ācāryas, itself creates an environment for the spontaneous inculcation of moral values. In the end, the Jaina theory of education can be summed up in the following main points :--
1.
Spiritualization of individuality is the supreme and the foremost aim of education.
2.
Individual soul possesses inherent potentialities for
divine self-realization.
3.
As regards methodology, concentration of mind, meditation, self-control, strict and democratic disciplines, five great principles of conduct are the only sound means to right education,
The teacher-pupil relationship based on freedom and deep love on the part of the teacher and high esteem on the part, of the pupil, is an essential condition of successful education.
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EDUCATION IN JAINA CANONS
C. M. Karnawat
Like Buddhistic system of education there is no clear mention of formal education in Jain-canons. (Agamas). There is also little mention of formal centres of learning, where the Jain system of education had been practised, except Jain monks who worked as mobile institutions and the religious places like Upāórayas where the Upādhyāyas taught their pupils (monks). Even then there have been important discussions about the concept of education, its purposes, curriculum and methods of teaching meant for Jain monks and nuns.
Concept of Education :
Education according to the Jain Agamas covers physical, mental, social, intellectual, moral, emotional and spiritual aspects. It should develop spiritual powers and enable the soul to free ones ownself from all bondages. While describing qualities of a pupil in the Uttarādhyāyan Sūtra, words like 'Sikkhasile' and 'Vijjā' have been used for education. Dealing with the qualities of pupils the word 'Saccarae' has also been used. These words connote the desire for knowledge, and search for truth respectively.2 THE CONCEPT OF TEACHER-PUPIL AND THEIR
RELATIONSHIP.
The Teacher :
In Jain-canons the teacher has been named as Ācārya or Upādhyāya. In the Avaśyaka Sutra, the qualities of an Acarya have been given.3 They are-five vows of observance of complete
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Education in Jaina Canons
non-violence, truth, non-stealing, celebacy and nonpossession of any kind. Five Acāras-Jñānācāra, etc., control over five senses of knowledge eye, ear etc. control over pride, greed, anger etc. The Acarya must be well versed in the knowledge of Jain He should be fit physically mentally and intellectually for propogating education.
canons.
Similarly, Upadhyaya, the Jain monks, observing all the vows and code of conduct of the Jain monks must have command over the Jain literature and be capable enough to teach it to their pupils (the younger monks).
191
The teacher according to Jain canons must be a man of high moral character. He should not only be an academician of high repute. There is more emphasis on the character of the teacher than that of the knowledge of the different subjects he ought to possess.
The Pupil :
The pupil is possessed with all potentialities. By acquiring knowledge he/she can uncover and unfold them and realizes the self.
Submissive and polite behaviour is an essential quality of the pupil. A pupil is fit for receiving education then and then only when he develops the polite behaviour and respect for the teacher. The first chapter of the Uttaradhyāyana Sūtra and eleventh chapter of it have been devoted for the discussion of the qualities of pupils.3 The learned scholar has been compared with the steeds of Kamboj, the mighty lion and the moon of the full moon night. Same way the learned pupils have been compared with the strong and powerful elephant, the best bull with strong shoulders, the Sun and Indra the master of gods etc.
Pupils desirous of receiving education must be of reserved nature; they must have restraint upon the senses of knowledge and action. They should avoid anger and greediness. They should not lack good character and conduct and lastly they must have love of truth. 4
away
The dull pupils have been compared with the bitch driven from every house, the pig eating the dirt etc.
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Teacher Pupil Relations :
There had been very cordial and homely relations between teachers and their pupils. School going ceremony was observed with great zeal and zest. Presents to guru were given and sweets and other things were distributed among the students. Such a ceremony was organised by Lord Mahavira's father at the time of his admission to Lekhasala. Mahavira was sent to school with great pomp and show in a royal manner. 5 Similarly in Nāyādhamakahā there have been given an account of Meghkumar etc. and their education.
It has also been found in the above canons that the gurus were given financial help by the guardians of the pupils after they had completed their education.
Aims of Education :
All education according to Jain canons must aim at achieving realization and exaltation of the self. Some specific aims of education have been stated in the Sthanangasutta.R
Mahavira and His Relevance
As stated in the Sthānanga Sutta, the aims of education are five fold:
1.
The aim of education is to get knowledge, the knowledge given by Jinas, the liberated souls. Here the content aims at the objective knowledge. One should know at least for the sake of knowledge and for liberating ones ownself from bondage.
2. Education should aim at developing the right faith.
3. After knowledge, and faith the education should be imparted to develop right conduct.
4.
5.
Along with these three the education be received to remove wrong beliefs that cause loss of the spiritual values.
Lastly education should enable an individual to know the self and discriminate the self from the matter surrounding in the material world.
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The Curriculum :
There is a mention of various Kalās numbering to 72 of which the curriculum should comprise. These Kalas and Vidyās include Grammer, Drama, Fine Arts, Craft, Science, Mathematics and other subjects.?
The curriculum for study and practice has been given in "Upāśakdassānga Sūtra', where 12 vows of the householder have been given in details. They have been describing the lives of 10 ideal house-holders of Lord Mahāvīra. By study and practice of which any individual can lead an ideal house-hold life.
The curriculum has been divided in several parts. The first is Sruti, the knowledge of Jain canons. The Sruti has again been divided into Dravya Sruti and Bhāva Sruti. The Dravya Sruti is one which does not serve any purpose for spiritual upliftment; while Bhāva Sruti is the knowledge obtained with spiritual purposes for the purification of the soul.
Study of the Āgamas and Noāgamas has again been taken under each of the Dravya Sruti and Bhāva Sruti. Study of the books other than knowledge given by Jivas, the perfect souls, has also been allowed if it is done with the spiritual deliverance. 8
In Vyayahārsutrabhāşya certain principles of gradedness, utility and readiness are mentioned keeping in mind the age level and the capabilities of learners.
Thus, there is a combination of experiences of worldly life and spiritual and moral values of life. The curriculum should be such as may be useful and needful for learners. It should be so as may develop the individuality of the individual and prepare him an ideal human being for the society also. This contributes to the happy life of the individual as well as the society one lives in.
Methods of Teaching :
The Svādhyāya or the self study has been an important method of education in the Jain canons. The method consists of the five steps which are of course the five types of it. The word
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Mahavira and His Relevance
'Svadhyāya' connotes not only the self-study but study of the literature which proceeds one towards salvation of the soul.
In Sthānangastūra the five steps of the method have been mentioned as: Vayana, Pucchana, Pariyattana, Anuppeha and Dhammakahā.
The first step of the Svadhyaya is Vachana, i. e. the study of the literature done by one's ownself or by the Acārya or Upadhyaya. The pupil this way develops the habit of study by self and can cover study of the larger material. Pracchana is the step where pupils put questions to their Acaryas. Whenever the clarification is needed. It is actually stage of questions and queries. The third step is 'Pariyattana' which is meant for revising and strengthening the material studied. This is actually the stage of
assemelation.
The fourth step of the method is 'Anupreksha' again gives pupils an opportunity to think, rethink and meditate on the study and strengthen and further the knowledge thereby. This meditation through concentration adds to the experience of pupils. The Dharmakatha the last step comprises of the discussion of the content studied among others. This way disseminating the knowledge gained by pupils.
The Jaina monks and nuns devote three-fourth of the day and night's time to this self-study or Svadhyāya.9
Education of the self, in Jaina canons can produce a solution in this rapid growth of materialism in our life. It can establish a fair balance. Education in Jaina canonical literature leads an individual to know fully ownself and to attain liberation and happiness, which is a cherished goal of life.
4
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Education in Jaina Canons
1. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Jain Jain Agamaon Men Bhartiya Samaja. p. 298-299.
2.
Ratan Lal Doshi, Uttaradhyayan Sutra, 11/5.
3. Ibid., 11/16, 20, 25.
4. Ibid., 11/4-5.
5. Dr. Jagdish Chandra Jain Op. Cit. p. 293.
Muni Ghasilalji-Sthanang Sutra Tika 5/3/30.
7. Acharya Hastimalji Muni-'Nandi Sutra' 42.
8. Ibid., 41.
Ratan Lal Doshi, 'Uttaradhyayana Sutra', 26/12-18.
6.
REFERENCES
9.
195
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PUDGALA IN THE PHILOSOPHY
OF MAHĀVĪRA AND MODERN SCIENCE
H. S. Saruparia
Lord Mahāvira has resolved the whole universe to be composed mainly of two everlasting. uncreated and co-existent substances (Dravya) namely, soul (living, Jivā) and non-soul (nonliving, Ajiva)1 This non-living (Ajiva) continuum is further sub-divided into Dharma (Medium of motion for soul and matter), Adharma (Medium of rest for soul and matter), Akāśa (Space), Kāla (Time) and Pudgala (Matter and Energy). Thus, in all there are six Dravyas (substances), existing in this cosmos.? Leaving aside (for want of space) the discussion of other five Dravyas, we shall confine over attention to the last named substance Pudgala and ascertain how far its Jain conception stands the modern scientific
test,
The word 'Pudgala' has the derivation grafa Tufa fa qorça (Pud means to combine and gala means to dissociate), 3 that which undergoes modification by combinations and dissociations (with other particles). This definition conveys full significance in the light of modern Physics and Chemistry. Physical test :
Uranium being a radio-active metal-element emits day and night unceasingly Alpha (streams of Protons), Beta (streams of Electrons) and Gamma rays (ordinay light). It is then converted
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Pudgala in the Philosophy of Mahāvīra and Modern Science
19
into Radium, which being also radio-active, after emitting the above three kin ts of rays, is converted into lead. This is an instance of dissociation of particles Galana (Fig. 1).
URANIUM
RADIO ACTIVE
RADIUM
Fig. 1
LEAD
7N14 + 2He4=8017 +1H1
Alpha Proton
If an alpha particle bullet is shot into the nucleus of Nitrogen
ALPHA PARTICLE
Fig.2
PROTON NEUTRON NUCLEUS OF NITROGEN
ATOM - BEFORE BOMBARDMENT
Atom (Atomic wt. N11), (Fig. 2) the said bullet becomes embedded
therein and the resultant element is Isotope of oxygen (atomic wt 0,7).
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Mahāvira and His Relevance
In this bombarding by Alpha particle, a proton from the nitrogen is
Fig. 3.
PROTON
Oo oo
O
O
O
NUCLEUS OF OXYGEN ATOM - AFTER BOMBARDMENT
expelled (Fig. 3). This is a good example of the combinational (Pūrayanti) character of Pudgala Dravya. In beryllium there are two Alpha particles and one ‘neutron' inside the Nucleus. When an Alpha particle is shot into it, the said particle becomes embedded in it with the resultant atom of carbon and a neutron expelled out. This confirms both combination and dissociation. In Lithium (L.) there is in the nucleus one alpha particle, one proton and one neutron in free state. If a proton bullet is shot inside, the result is of two Alpha particles which make the Nucleus burst and both ‘Alpha' particles fly in opposite directions. This is Pūrayanti and Galayanti. Two atoms of hydrogen if combined with one atom of oxygen form H,O (water). This is a case of combination. By a more intricate process mercury (Hg 200) can be converted into gold (Au 197). Irene Curie and F. Joliot have by the discovery of artificial radioactivity quoted transformations of aluminium into phosphorus, silicon into aluminium and radio-sodium into magnesium etc. (Ch XIII Atomic Physics. Rajam).
Chemical test—If we mix copper turnings with sulphuric acid in a flask and heat it, we get copper sulphate, water and sulphur oxide. The formula is :
Cu+2 H,50,=Cu SO4+2 H,0+S02 शरीर वाङ् मनः प्राणापानाः पुगद्लानाम् । सुख दुःख जीवित मरणोपग्रहाश्च ।।
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Main Functions :
With Body :-Out of the various functions of this Pudgala (Matter) some of them connected with living souls are enumerated :Matter is the cause of formation of organic (Audarika) bodies, invisible and transformable (Vaikreya) bodies and subtle bodies (Ahāraka). Electric body (Taijasa) is constituted by electric molecules, while the subtle inner body (Kārmāna) is made by Kārmāna Varganā6 (group of particular atoms of 8 kinds of Karmas). Speech and mind are formed by Vacana' and Manovargana'. Another group of matter is responsible for our respiration. This is a scientific process of inhaling oxygen and exhaling carbon-di-oxide. Soul experiences pleasure and pain, life and death through the agency of this matter. So also one piece of matter is capable of producing physical and chemical changes on other, resulting in its amelioration (Butter or ghee increases intellect) or deterioration (wine or dhatura Nux Vomica spoils intellect).
Properties :
TO TH TE ATAT, granuT 79TT (Uttara. 28/12) #fam: qocar: (Tatia. 5/4). The matter possesses the properties of colour (5 kinds), smell (2 kinds), taste (5 kinds) and touches (8 kinds). They (pudgalas) have forms, are tangible, corporeal. The Jain omniscients have given an up-to-date and scientific classification :
1.
Sthūla-sthūla- Solids viz. earth, stone, gold etc. divisible and portable.
2.
Sthūla-Liquids, melted butter etc., non-divisible but portable.
3.
Sthūla-sūkşma-Energy which is perceptible to the eye but cannot be handled viz. sunshine, light, shadow etc.
4.
Sūkşma-Sthūla-Which is not visible but felt by other sense organs, viz. heat, air, sound, electricity, magnetism.
5. Sūkşma-Fine matter responsible for thought activities,
Karmic matter, fine molecule beyond sense perceptions,
protons, electrons; etc.
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Mahāvira and His Relevance
matter, streams of
6. Şukşma-Sukşma-Extra fine
indivisible matter? (Parmanu).
Number of Elements :
Before the investigation of Nuclear (Paramanu) Science (Protons, Electrons, Neutrons etc.), the Physicists and the Chemists divided matter into three main classes of solids, liquids and gases.. An element was then assumed to be a substance which has not been resolved or split up by chemical analysis into two or more simple or dissimilar substances. 8 Originally these elements numbered 92, beginning with Hydrogen (H) as the lightest and Uranium as the heaviest with atomic weight 235, but further this list has been exten led to 105, Larsium 103 (Lw Atomic weight 254) and an artificial product of Kurchatovium 104 (Ku Atomic weight 257).9 The last has not yet been nained. From the electronic point of vie'w an element is meant to be a substance which consists wholly of atoms having the same nuclear charge. Later on by the discovery of Einstien's theory of Energy-Mass x Velocity of Light? (mc2), it has been proved that mass and energy are interchangeable. One element can be converted into another element or into Energy. Just as radiant energy possesses double nature of wave and particle, matter also has particle and wave. The Jain seers have long before proclaimed that these modifications are covered by the capa ity of Pudgala adopting all various phenomena.10 :
शब्द बंध सौक्षम्य स्थौल्य संस्थान भेद तमश्छायाऽऽतपोद्योत वन्तश्च ।।।
Manifestations of Pudgala (matter) take the form of sound, union (bondage), fineness, grossness, figure, divisibility, darkness, shade or image, heat, sunshine and moonlight. Maiter exists either in the form of indivisible elementary form (Aņu) or their combinations (Skandha). Literally speaking Aņu according to Jain idea, is the last indivisible particle of matter which cannot be further subdivided. It has got one colour, one smell, one taste and two touches. In the common usage it may be called Paramāņu The atom of modern scientific nomenclature is not Aņu. It is a molecule (Skandha) a combination of many elements. J. K. Thomson in 1897 discovered that an atom consists of Electron (negative charge) and Proton (positive charge). Juliot and Madam Curi discovered the existence of Neutron. In 1932, Anderson discovered Positron an opposite of Electron : Yukava of Japan found Messons. Now-a
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days, Pi-messons, Mu--messons and K-messons are also known. It is not known where shall the end take place. Even protons, neutrons and electrons are assumed to be composed of 3 types of quarks. The final definition of Paramaņu is not yet settled.
Shabd (Sound) :-It may be mentioned here that some Indian systems of thoughts (Vaišeşikas, Naiyayikas) associate sound with Ākāsa (space). But Akāśa is incorporal (Amūrta-devoid of the properties of matter).12 On the other hand sound is caught by the ears.13 Amūrta Substance can not generate the attributes of Mārta (Material-corporeal). Process of audibility :
The waves of sound particles (Sabdavargaņā) while striking against the ear's membrane produce quivers in it. These quivers cause motion in the three thin bones - Incus, Malicus and Stepes of the middle part. As a result the liquid perilymph of the inner ear begins to ripple, which in turn causes agitation in the cells of corte organ. These agitations send sensations through auditory nerves to the brain. According to Jain conception, when two physical bodies (organic, inorganic or mixed afga, aga, f#7) strike against each other automatically (Svabhavatah) or by physical effort (Prayogatah) the sound particles (Sabdavarganā) adopt the phenomena of sound. It is Sūkşamasthūla. These sound waves require some medium for onward transmission and made audible. In vacuum it is not audible. In air its velocity is 1100 ft. per second. In different mediums liquids or gass it has different velocities which also differon temperature or pressure. Sound particles are composed of matter, as has also been corroborated by the modern science, so much so that these sound particles (Phonons) can be converted into electric currents which in turn by oscillating a mirror transform into light waves. Light waves are reconverted into electric current which produce (by compression and rarefaction of air) sound waves to the hearer. Telephone, tape-recorder, public address equipments etc, are the instances of how sound waves are converted into eletric current which by striking against the cone through the amplifier are converted into sound waves. 14 Thus sound is nothing but a modification of matter (agitation) created by violent knocks of two physical bodies (Skandha). It is on this very basis of sound that the Jain seers have pronounced an individual atom (Paramanu) as
unsounding itself. It has been defined as having a minutest .
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indivisible form, the cause of elements like earth, fire, water, air etc. and unsounding, is not a Kārya Paramanu (composed of further Aņu). It has one colour, one smell, one taste and two touches (either Snigdha positive electricity or Rūkşa negative electricity) and cold (Sita) or hot (Uşna).15 Bandh Union : It is also of two kinds. Forced (Prāyogika) and Natural (Vaisrasika). Union of matter with matter (lac and wood etc.) Soul and Kārmic matter (by the efforts of body, speech and mind) is of the first kind, while the lightning, clouds, 16 rainbow etc. are the instances of the second variety. The combination of Snigdha (positive charge) and Rūkņa (negative) formulates atoms or molecules.
Saukshmya-sthaulya : Fineness and grossness are each of two kinds (Antya) extreme and (apekshika) relative. The parmanu furnishes the example of extreme fineness, while the universe constitutes the example of extreme grossness (Mahaskandha). Material combinations of two atoms or numerable, innumerable or infinite atoms of all intermediary stages vary relatively to each other in quantity. The parmāzu of Jain Metaphyics aforesaid has no middle or end or Pradesa. It is indivisible. The atom of scientific parlour is according to Jain definition a Skandha (molecule) The scientists smallest atom of Hydrogen (H) can be called Vyāvahāra (practical usage) Parmā ņu. Its weight is 164X10-24 grams. Diameter=5X10-8 cm. Sansthāna is the shape of a body-Regular geometrical shape, circular, triangular, rectangular or irregular etc. as of clouds. BhedaDivision is also of six kinds : Utkatra-Seperation by sawing etc., Churna (powder viz. flour), Khanda viz. breaking into parts (eg. pitcher), Churnika-Chaff, Pratara (splitting of layers-in a sheet of mica) and Anucaru as the smithereens of blacksmith's workshop. 17
Tamas :—The Jain omniscients have also pronounced darkness to be a modification of matter. The hypothesis of the Naiyayikas and Vaiseșika (that (tama) darkness is only a negation of light) is not tenable. Jains have described darkness a positive reality possessing the property of vision and touch of coolness. The particles of matter on the availability of lamp etc. become bright and in its absence assume the modification of darkness.18 These
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particles of darkness play a decisive role in the development of a photographed film. Darkness is thus composed of matter.
Fig. 4
X RAYS GAMMA + BEYOND EINLIMIT →
VISIBLE
ULTRA
VIOLET
BLUE
GREEN
M0713A
ORANGE
INFRA RED RAYS
T RED
40 1000 2000
3000
4000
5000
60
7000 8000
gado
WAVE LENGTH 11 Augum
[ 1 Angsirons = 10+cm ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM VARIOUS WAVE LENGTHS FROM X RAYS TO
INFRA RED RAYS
The British scientist Harshall in 1800 A.D., discovered that the visible spectrum of light (obtained after passing the sun's rays through a prism in a dark room) possesses on its both sides invisible bonds which exhibit heat on measuring by a thermometer, that this temprature rises when we pass from Red visible band to Invisible Infra red rays (Fig. 4), That these invisible ultra violet or Infra red rays also possess the capacity of Reflection, Refraction or Diffusion as do the visible rays. 19
Conversion of Invisible into visible rays. (Fig. 5) Fig.5
IMAGE CONVERTER TUBE
Eye
INVISIBLE INFRA KEL
> L:3:17 GREEN RAYS
VISIBLE L: Convex LENS
Bz BATTERY OF S - PHOTO ELECTRIC SURFACE
6000 - 12000 E: ELECTRIC CONDENSER
VOLTAGE
P: PHOSPHOR (- : Electron)
T:Tongston
Fllament 1. Ball FFiller
10
In 1934, the scientist Holst designed an instrument called Image Converter tube in which the invisible Infra Red Rays were converged through a convex lens, inside a tube in which at the point S (hole) there was a photo electric surface. This photo electric surface on coming into contact with the invisible Infra Red Rays emits electrons which are passed through an electric condenser, of which one end is connected with negative rod and another end
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with positive rod of a battery of 6000-1 2000 volts. By gradual increase of voltage, the energy of electrons augments. These electrons collide with the Phosphor Surface (P) and release their energy which changes invisible rays into green rays outside and made visible. A tungston filament bulb is covered with a filter (F) which allows only Infra red rays to pass and blocks all other kinds of rays. This appliance filled with a telescope is utilised in searching out an object in darkness also 20 up to a distance of 200 yards. It is therefore confirmed by science also that darkness is material.
Chhaya (shadow) is caused by the rays being obstructed on account of their being unable to enter the intermediary obstacle. The images are of two kinds-virtual and real. Virtual images are produced by plane mirorrs etc. which show objects laterally inverted i. e. left side reflected as right and viceversa, while the images in a lens or cinema screen are real.21 Thus it means that Energy manifests itself in the form of Shadow i. e. the obstruction of light. In virtual the rays appear to come from the image while in real, they actually come from it.
Atapodyotavantaśca :-This division of light into these categories is also based on scientific consideration. Atapa is the sun's light or light of fire, eletric lamp, furnace etc.22 Udyota is the moonlight, light exhibited by jewels, phosphorescent light of fire-fly, lightworms and some fishes etc. 23 Atapa fire predominates in heat. Udyota predominates in light rays, only 7% of electric lamp and 15% of arc lamp is converted into light and the rest into heat, only 35% of sun's radiaton appears in the form of light and the rest in heat. The efficiency of light in glow-worm is 99%. The above division of Atapa and Udyota reflects credit on the part of ancient Jain thinkers.
Weight of Heat :-By Einstien's theory of E=mca, it has been discovered that the Energy in the form of heat does possess weight; quantity of heat required to convert 1000 tons of water entirely into steam would weigh less than 1/30 gram. If sun shines on a mile area for a minute, the weight of sun's light would be 23 tolas, while the weight of heat obtained by burning 3000 tons of coke would weigh 1/12 tola. It is thus confirmed that Energy is Mass and Mass is Energy, which appropriately confirms the truth of
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Pudgala in the Philosophy of Mahāvīra and Modern Science 205
Jains view of Pudgala and its manifestations into various phenomena. 24
Anavah Skandhāsca :-Matter exists in the form of Aņu indivisible elementary particle or of Skandha combination of those particles. We have already pointed out that the modern scientific atom is not the final indivisible Aņu as envisaged by the Jain view. It may be called a Vyavahāraparmā 2u. However, for estimating the wonderful minuteness of the modern science, it may be cited that one grain of sand has been found to contain 1 x 1016 atoms, the place occupied by a pin point can accommodate 55 x 1018 atoms. A point marked by a ball-point pen when weighed in the most sensitive quartz balance in the Leningrad observatory of Russia, was found to weigh 0001158 gram.
5
Dynamic nature of Pudgala :
112 6
पोग्गल
दव्वाणि अरण, संखेज्जादि हवंति चलिदाहि "" -The elementary Parmāņu in a Pudgala Dravya and the aggregate of numerical or innumerical atoms are all in a state of motion. These motions are of two kinds. Natural or externally propelled. This is exactly the version of modern dynamical theory and Electron conception. According to Sir Rutherford the interior of an atom is a solar system.
Structure:
By various experiments he concluded that an atom contains within its centre a massive charge of positive electricity (protons), with a number of negative electricity particles called electrons going round the former with a great velocity, in a fixed orbit like the planets round the sun. The simplest atom of Hydrogen has one proton and one electron. The diameter of an electron is 5 x 10-12 cm., while the diameter of Hydrogen is 2x 10-8 cm. Its weight already shown to be 164 x 10-24 gram. The weight of its proton is just as above 164 x 10-24, that of electron is 1/2000 part of the weight of Hydrogen.
The electrons in an atom travel round the nucleus (concentrated electric charge in the centre) with a speed of 1300 miles per sec. The attractive force between Proton and Electron is electrical binding energy. If the proton be magnified to the size
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of myrobalan (Anwala) distance between Proton and Electron will be about 2 ft. These statistics tend to show that matter is extremely porous and capable of accommodating other infinite number of atoms in this porosity which view has long before been held by the Jain Thinkers, 27 “If we eliminate all the unfilled space in a man's body and collect the nuclei and electrons into one mass, we could be reduced to a speck just visible with a magnifying glass"Eddington. It is the attribute of an atom to contain the same number of electrons as the number of protons.
Fig. 6
ELECTRON
PROTON
HYDROGEN Hydrogen has 1 Proton 1 Electron (Fig. 6)
. Fig. 7
HELIUM Helium-2 Protons 2 Electrons (Fig. 7)
Fig. 8
BERYLLIUM Beryllium-4 Protons 4 Electrons (Fig. 8)
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Silver contains 47 Protons, 47 Electrons (Ag), Copper has 29, 29 (Cu), Silver possesses biggest nuclear binding energy.
Gold contains 79 Protons, 79 Electrons (Au), Mercury has 80, 80, (Ha).
Uranium contains 92 Protons, 92 Electrons (Ur), Kurchetovium 104, 104 (Ku).
Uranium contains smallest nuclear binding energy.
The Jain system of classification of molecules in groups of 27 Varganā according to their respective functions seems to be more emperical and concise. This nuclear binding force is the energy binding proton and neutron at the Nucleus.
Bhedasamaghatebhyah-Utpadyante :-(Tatta. 5/26)-Molecules Skamdha28 (or combination of particles) are formed by three processes (1) by Division, (2) by Union and (3) by Combined process of Division and Union simultaneously. Procuring pieces of stone by breaking a stone slab, producing lead by emission of rays from radium, or splitting water (H,O) into hydrogn and oxygen by electrolysis demonstrates the instances of Division; mixing hydrogen H, with oxygen we get H., O (water) by burning magnasium in open air we get magnasium oxide 2 Mgo. It is an instance of formation of Skandha by union, while by diluting zinc in sulphuric acid Zn+H_50,=Zn S04+H, we get zinc sulphate and hyrogen emitted, it is a process of obtaining Skandha (molecule or aggregate body) by division and union. The advanced researches of physical Chemistry by the Electronic theory of Valency have found three methods of linking atoms :--Electrovalent linkage, covalent linkage and co-ordinate linkage applying to inorganic salts, organic compounds and sharing of electrons respectively. These three modern processes are transference, sharing (union) and combined transference and sharing. 29
Bhedāt Aņu :-The ultimate particle called Aņu is obtained by division of Skandha (not by process of union or fusion). It is
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Sūkņmātisūkşma not visible to the eye 30 and can be inferred by its effect in formation of visible Skandha. 31 "HEIGU” (Fig. 9)
बहानको मसल महार पुरिषम मासिक का.वि
we mein feufna uzoma Frame with
(Fig. 9)
We have already discussed above the phenomena of sound, heat (Atapa) light etc, as the various modifications of matter (Pudgala). Here, I shall demonstrate by the application of Einstien's the ry of E=MC?, how a mass pudgala can be converted into the heat energy? We already know that all the physical bodies of inatter are combinations of electric charges. Each atom contains at its centre protons of positive charge and neutrons of no charge, while round this nucleus rotate the electrons of negative charge. The attractive force between the protons and electrons is called nuclear binding energy. Disintegration of an atom is possible only if some more powerful binding energy is bombarded at its nucleus. In Uranium this binding nuclear energy being weakest, when a forceful bombardment by a neutron is made by cyclotron machine on the nucleus of u235. Uranium is split as under into Kr.95 and Ba 139 with two neutrons coming out plus immense energy. These neutrons strike again it another particles of Uranium and thus a chain of Neutrons produced, controlled by Carbon or hard water. The action is as follows :
+
=
U235 Uranium
+
n1 neutron
+
Kr95 Kripton
tron - Kristina
Ba 139 Barium
+ 2n? neutron
If in this action ‘m’ is the decrease in uranium weight, by Eienstien's theory AE = Amca, where 'E' stands for energy
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Pudgala in the Philosophy of Mahāvīra and Modern Science 209
produced, 'm' is loss in weight 'c' is the velocity of light in vacuum vz 3 x 1010cm per second, we can calculate the energy so produced. As a matter of fact the correct weight of Uranium U235 is 235.124 (Atomic mass unit), that of Neutron (n1) is 1.0089 Amu. After disintegration the fixed Atomic weight of Isotope Kripton (Kr95) is 94-945 Amu, that of Barium (Ba139) is 138-955 Amu. Thus Atomic weight before disintegration was 235 12410089 or 236 1329 Amu, and after disintegration the resulting weight is.
94-945138.955+20178-235-9178 Amu.
Difference viz loss of Uranium so used is 0.2151 Amu. Substituting these values in the formula ^E=mc2 we get.
e
*.
1 Amu
C
AE (2151 x 1.66 x 10.24) (3 × 1010) 2
2151 x 1.66 × 9 × 10-4 ergs.
2151 x 1.49 × 10-3
ergs.
2151 × 1.49 x 10-3 X 10-7 x6-242 × 1018 EV
2151 x 931 x 106 EV
m
=200.2581 × 106 EV
or 200 Million Electron Volt (MEV)
= •2151 Amu
=
=
Again 107 ergs=1 Jule
10-7 Jule
or 1 erg and 1 Jule
6.242 × 1018 Electron Volt
=
1.66 × 10-24 grms
3× 101 cm
=
Actually energy obtained is between 195 and 200 MEV. In 1 Kilogram of Uranium235, energy produced is 2× 107 Killowatts an hour This huge energy so produced is utilized in preparation of steam, which when dashing against the turbine, propells it and this in turn rotates the Reactor (Strong magnet rotating in copper coils) and thus Atomic Power (Electricity) is produced. Such power houses by atomic fission work at Trom near Bombay, Tarapur and Kotah etc.
Bhedasanghātābhyaṁ Cakṣuşah :-Molicules or Skandhas are some times produced by the combined action of division or
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union and made perceptible to the eye. As above H2O water is produced by combination of 2 hydrogen atoms and one oxygen (which are both invisible). Hydrogen combined with chlorine (invisible) gives Hydrochloric acid Hcl. A beam of Xrays projected into air, separates positive and negative charges. Particles called ions (invisible) are produced, but when from an aeroplane some metallic particles are sprayed those ions turn into visible rain showers. This process exactly confirms the above Jain view.
Conclusion-Centuries ago, in ancient times there existed no laboratories nor any sophisticated appliances, yet Lord Mahavira by his omniscience and his learned saints and subsequent preceptors, by their sharp acumen, minute observation and vast empirical experience, predicted some of the most fundamental truths of Nature, which have been substantiated by the modern science after innumerable experiments. The sole aim of those ancient philosophers and seekers of truth was the amelioration of this spirit and manifestation of Perfect Divinity-the attainment of everlasting Beatitude-Salvation; but in order to understand the various phenomena of this mundane soul, incidentally they had also to investigate the various modifications of Non-souls and their interactions. Almost all the non-Jain metaphysicists had denied existence of any life in the five elements of Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Vegitable Kingdom. But after the illustrious researches of Dr. J. C. Bose and other scientists, life has been found in all vegitable kingdom as predicted by the Jain thinkers. Some of the modern scientists have confirmed life in Live Earth and water. The day is not far off when air and fire will be confirmed to possess life as foretold by the Jain preceptors. The modern science in order to solve the various problems of light waves (Photons) and the Electoro Magnetic Nature (Maxwall) had to postulate the existence of Ether (Dharmastikāya) as its medium, and the field for force of gravitation in causing rest (Adharmastikāya). Space and time are indispensable for the working out of the Theory of Relativity (Einstien) and four dimensional Universe. The Jain definition of matter as possessing energy and capable of undergoing various modifications of light, heat, sound, magnetism and electricity (Snigdha-Rukṣa-Bandha) has been confirmed by the modern science and epitomized by Einstien's formula of E=mc2. Matter and energy are interchangeable. Louis de Broglie in his thesis (1929) has
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proved by the Principle of ‘Nature loves Symmetry' that since radiant energy possesses a double nature of wave and particle, matter also possesses this dual nature of particle and wave.
It will be not out of place to make a slight mention that the Science of Parapsychology and mitempsychosis (Punarjanma) have in a number of cases proved the existence of soul by correct confirmation of the facts of past lives. The mental vibrations composed of matter (Manovarganā) have been proved to impress the photographic plate depicting the image of the thing thought. For want of space, I do not go into details of this topic. Our attention is to be confined only to 'matter'. All these dessertations lead us to the conclusion that in near future Soul and Karma (matter), and their various phenomena in this universe as theorised by the Jain omniscients, will prove fundamentally correct. It is the bounden duty of the learned to undertake deep researches of Jain Metaphysics in the light of modern science. The scientists are yet indeterminate in pronouncing the final indivisible particle of matter as postulated by the Jain theologists (Parmāņu). I thus close this subject in the words of Dr. L. P. Tessitory "Jainism is a Relegion of very high Character. Its chief principles are based on science. The more the science of things progresses, the more it proves the. principles of Jain Philosophy.”
REFERENCES
1.
Anuyogadwara, 141.
2.
Uttaradhyayan sutra, 28.7; Rajavartika, 5.1-24.
Kalpadruma.
4. Experiments in Cavindish Laboratory, London. by Lord Rutherford. 5. Tatvartha sutra, 5.19-20; Gomatasar jivakanda, 207, 607-608. 6. See Kamma Payadi. regarding Vargana. 7. Niyamsara, 21.
8. Democritus.
9. Medliffs list of elements.
Vignana Pragati, July 1969.
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10. Utta., 28, 12-13. 11. Tatva, 5.24, 12. Visesavasyak Bhasya, 20.13, Uttaraydhyan 13-9. 13. (A) Utta., 32-33. (B) Syadavada Manjari, 14. 14. Jinvani 26/10, 26/12, 27/12. 15. (A) Bhagavati sutra, 4.667. (B) Pancastikaya, 85. 16. Sarvartha Siddhi, Tika, 24; Bhagawati Sutra 14.2. 17. Rajavartika, 5.24-18. 18. Syadavad M. 5. Tika. 19. Vignana Pragati Aug. 1971, p. 272. 20. Vignana Lok 5/12, p. 27. 21. Sarvartha Siddhi, 5/24. 22. Arhat Dipaka, 658. 23. Bhagavati, 7.10. 24, Cosmology, G. R. Jain. 25. Hindustan Weekly, 14 May, 1967. 26. Rajavartika, 7.16. 27. Sarvartha, 5/78. 28. Pragnapana Vratti. 29. Structure of Molecules-Science Progress. 30. Utta., 28.
31. We cannot see atoms and never shall be able to. Even if they are
million times bigger it would be impossible to see them with the most powerful microscope.-Prof, Pilley.
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OUR CONTRIBUTORS
(1) (Late) Adinath Neminath Upadhye, M.A., D. Litt.
Specialization in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsa studies. Editor of numerous Mss. of Oriental Learning. General Editor of Bhartiya Jñanapeetha, Delhi. Former Professor of Ardhamagdhi and Deen of Arts Faculty, Shivaji University, Kolhapur. Professor and Head, Department of Jainology and Prakrit, Mysore University, Mysore (Karanatak).
(2) Parashuram Laxman Vaidya, M.A., D. Litt.
Specialization in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsa studies. Editor of numerous Mss. of Oriental Learning. General Editor of Mahabharata. Former professor ol Sanskrit, Darbhanga University and Banaras Hindu University. Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Poona-4 (Maharashtra).
(3)
Jagdish Chandra Jain, M.A. (Philosophy), Ph. D., Shastri. Former Professor of Hindi in Bombay University, Peking (China), and University of Kiel (West Germany). Former Professor of Prakrit and Jainology at the Prakrit Research Institute, Vaishali (Muzaffarpur U. P.)
(4)
Nathmal Tatia, M.A. D. Litt. Specialization in Jainism and Buddhism. Author of studies in Jain Philosophy and other valuable monographs in Pali and Prakrit studies. Former Director of Research Institute of Prakrit and Jainology, Vaishali. Director, Nav Nalanda Vihar, Nalanda (Bihar).
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(5)
Pratap Karan Mathur, M.A. (English & Philosophy), Ph. D. Specialization in Philosophy of Bertrand Russell and Indian Philosophy. Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
(6)
Bhagchandra Jain, M.A. (Sanskrit, Pali, Ancient History).
Sahityacharya, Ph. D. (Ceylon). Specialization in Buddhism and Jainism. Head of the Department of Prakrit, Nagpur University Nagpur (Maharashtra).
(7)
Tavanappa Gundappa Kalghatgi, M.A., Ph. D. Specialization in Jain Philosophy, Psychology and Indian Philosophy. Former Professor of Philosophy, Karnatak University, Dharwar. Professor and Head of the Post Graduate Department of Jainology and Prakrit, University of Mysore, Mysore (Karnatak).
(8) Sumer Chandra Diwakar, B.A. LL.B., Nyayatirtha.
Vice-President, Akhila Bhartiya Digambar Jain Mahasabha. Specialization in Jain Philosophy, 751, Agrawal Colony, Garha Road, Jabalpur (M.P.).
(9) Dharmendra Satapa Parmaj, M.A. (English), LL. B.
Specialization in Jain Philosophy. Advocate, Anantshayan Gali, Belgaum (Karnatak).
(10)
Jogendra Chandra Sikdar., M.A., Ph. D., D. Litt. Specialization in Jain Philosophy and Modern Science. Scholar of Prakrit literature and Indian culture. Senior Research Officer L.D. Research Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad-9 (Gujarat).
(11) Mahavir Singh Murdia, M. Sc., Ph. D.
Specialization in Jain Philosophy and Modern Science. Assistant Professor of Chemistry, University of Udaipur
(Rajasthan).
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Our Contributors
(12) Jyoti Prasad Jain, M.A. (History, Politics and English) LL.B., Ph.D., Itihasaratna.
(13) Kamal Chand Sogani, M.A., Ph.D.
(14)
Specialization in Jain History, Culture and Literature. Editor of Jain Antiquary, Jain Sandesh Shodhanka, Voice of Ahimsa. General Director of World Jain Mission. Jyoti Nikunj, Charbagh, Lucknow-1 (U.P.).
Specialization in Ethical doctrine of Jainism, Scholar of Indian philosophy. Associate Professor and Head, Department of Philosophy, University of Udaipur (Raj.).
Ram Chandra Dwivedi, M.A., Ph.D. Sahityacharya, Darshanacharya.
215
Specialization in Indian poetics and philosophy. Professor and Head of the Department of Sanskrit and Deen of the Faculty of Humanities, University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
(15) Prabhakar Mahadeo Upadhye, M.A., Ph.D.
Specialization in Sanskrit, Prakrit studies and Indian culture. Professor and Head of Sanskrit Department, Parle College, Bombay. 10, Snehawardhini, Garegaon (East), Bombay-63 (Maharashtra).
(16) (Late) Beni Prasad, M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc. Econ. (Lond). Former Professor of Political Science, Allahabad University.
(17) Prem Suman Jain, M.A. (Pali, Prakrit & Jainism, Ancient Indian History & Asian studies), Ph.D., Sahityacharya.
Specialization in Pali, Prakrit language and literature and Indian culture. Research work and cultural study of Pali and Prakrit Katha literature. Assistant Professor of Prakrit, Department of Sanskrit, University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
(18) Prabhakar Machwe., M.A. (Philosophy & English). Ph.D., Sahityaratna.
Specialization in languages and literature of India, Ancient Indian History and Philosophy. Former professor of
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Mahavira and His Relevance
Philosophy, Madhav College, Ujjain and former Secretary, Sahitya Academi, Delhi. 2, B, Girnar Apartments, Pali Hill, Bandra (West), Bombay-50.
(19) Acharya Shri Nanalalji Maharaj.
( 22 )
Specialization in Jain literature and philosophy. Acharya of Sadhumargi Jain Sangha.
(20) Sagar Mal Jain, M.A., Ph.D., Sahityaratna.
Specialization in Jainism and Buddhism. Head of the Department of Philosophy, Government Hamidia College, Bhopal (M.P.).
(21) Laxmi Chandra Jain, M.Sc., D.H.B.
Specialization in Jain School of Mathematics, Astronomy, Cosmology and other Exact Sciences. Professor & Head of the Department of Mathematics, Government P.G. College, Khandwa (M.P.).
Vishnu Ram Nagar, M.A. (Sanskrit & Hindi), Ph.D.
Specialization in Indian Poetics and Sanskrit poetry of the Jain tradition. Associate Professor of Sanskrit, University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
(23) Narendra Bhanawat, M. A., Ph.D. Sahityaratna.
Hony. Director, Acharya Shri Vinaya Chandra Gyana Bhandara Shodha Pratishthana, Jaipur. Hony. EditorJinwani (monthly journal of Jainism). Specialization in Lecturer in the Hindi, Rajasthani and Jain literature. Department of Hindi, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. C. 235-A, Dayanand Marg Tilaknagar, Jaipur-4 (Raj.).
(24) Om Dutt Upadhya, M.A. (Yugoslavia), Diploma in Applied Arts.
Specialization in Fresco and Mosaics. Doing research onA comparative study of the Art of Ajanta and Sopocani. Assistant Professor of Drawing & Painting, University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
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Our Contributors
217
(25) Shyam Lal Mandawat, M.A., Ph.D.
Specialization in Economical studies through the Jain sources. Lecturer in Economics, Government College, Sikar, (Rajasthan).
( 26 )
Chand Mal Jain, M.A., Ph. D. Specialization in Ancient Indian Political Thought. Assistant Professor of Political Science University of Udaipur (Rajasthan).
(27) Swaroop Chandra Jain, M.A., M.Ed., Sahityaratna.
Specialization in Education and Research Methodology. Health Education Officer, Central Health Education Bureau, Government of India, Kotla Road, New Delhi.
( 28 ) Chand Mal Karnawat, M.A., M.Ed.
Specialization in Jain Education and Philosophy. Lecturer in Vidya Bhavan Teachers Training College, Udaipur. (Rajasthan).
( 29 ) Himmat Singh Saruparia, B.Sc., M.A., LL.B. Jain Sidhanta
charya. Specialization in Jain Philosophy and Modern science. Retired R. A. S. Vice-President, Akhil Bharatvarshiya Sadhumargi Jain Sangh, Bikaner., 18/38 Kheradiwada, Udaipur (Rajasthan).
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CORRIGENDUM
Page Line
Incorrect
Correct
1
2
4
3 5
21 6
8
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35 37 38
triumph When Fa-Hien visited India (A. D. 399-414) it was saw there it was appeal should speak property Individual this too relinquishes restrictions be placed on their instincts that their mother-tongue
OO
919
19 27
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12
37
by
truimph When Fa-Hien visited India (A.D. 399-414). It was saw there was ppeal hould s eak pro erty Ind vidual th s too relinqui hes restriction on their instincts that this mother-tongue bv attained at ascendancy Jainsim (15the century seem to be comparision (compling Bengli predominence sufficient earthernware) casual efficiency entitative properiety concerate that is ascribes
23 11
16
38 3
attained an ascendancy Jainism (15th century seems to be comparison (compiling Bengali predominance sufficient earthenware) causal efficiency initiative propriety concrete that it ascribes
26
8
34 34 34
21 33 36
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Corrigendum
219
1
2
I
26
43
16
21
23/ 24
16
49
24
fignent
figment a pearances
appearances indentified
identified evaluate other opinions evaluate others opinions Out of some many facts, Out of so many facts, opinons
opines tasted
tested illusin
illusion empiricist ways, phylo- empiricist ways, philososophers reached different phers reached the empiricist ways, philosophers reached predicates
predications it is not a more sum- it is not a mere summation mation festures
features contradication
contradiction attiude
attitude hormoniously
harmoniously merely as academic merely an academic its function to promote its function is to promote remarkable through remarkable that through pre ailing hatred prevailing hatred posi ive
positive 'Share your mean
Share your means subilme
sublime singificance
significance or rational basis
on rational basis Law Sisters
Lay Sisters everhurning
ever burning scietific
scientific substle
subtle it is the size of
it is of the size of ma ter
matter view an the concept view on the concept “If is not connected “It is not connected nor can it be use
nor can it be of use Whether is it
Whether it is
14
3 29
34 6
5
10
19
20
3 5
68
32
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D
220
Corrigendum
1
2
33
23
be the Therefore that cannot become etc ? radical form degrees proposed by csientists to its maximuma. be burnt in fire as well as immortal
9 11 25 13
5
bet he Therefore there cannot become ete. ? radical from degress propose by scientistis the its maximum. be brunt is fire as well as well as immortal miscroscope delicated more and power later view posibility taken in the way". resistence disponsitions derogetory reverred Similary Egyption propunded libertines inflicton fulfledged s amp shciety In the part, Jawahrlal as started basis clea ed uuderlying originised shat
28
microscope dedicated more power latter view possibility taken in this way". resistance dispositions derogatory revered Similarly Egyptian propounded libertinism infliction full-fledged stamp society In the past, Jawaharlal as stated basic cleared underlying organised
18
22
sa
94
18
4 32
10 16 16 36
100 100 100
38
that
TUU
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Corrigendum
221
1
2
21 8
15
101 102 103 104 104 104 104 104 106 110 113 113
18
32 22
2 17 1
117
119 120 121 122
123 123
18 28 23
as well as public life Th expans ve sablimation cr vings inspi ation traightening traichte for below humanitirianism mataphysical relevence irrelevent philosphy Sa atā and in accordance helpfull possiblitily paricular knowedge attain highness rail evey combinatroial clos re indivisible-correspondingsections particules In is (Geometrte Regressions) ery configrations embelmatic materpieces glaxy Jain-miniatur st and on the on such motifs
as well as in public life The expansive sublimation cravings inspiration straightening far below humanitarianism metaphysical relevance irrelevant philosophy Samatā and is in accordance helpful possibility particular knowledge
attain greatness trail every combinatorial closure indivisible-correspondingsections particles It is (Geometric Regressions) very configurations emblematic masterpieces galaxy Jain-miniaturist and on such motifs
25
125 125 132 134 134
11
5 21
135
29
29
4
13
141 146 148 162 162 162 163 163
18 19
16
164
20
165
28
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222
Corrigendum
1
2
175
17
181
188
8
1677 contiminate 169
characterstic 175
anough predominently bourgeoise
classes 178 9 backbeting 181 2 eves 181 13 varried
37 llowed 183 27 mainfestation 186 13 philsophy
ecucation 188 20 ad 193 4 Grammer 196 10 over attention 196 21 (ordinay light) 200 12 exten ed 200 22 capa ity 203 7 temprature 203 9 Diffus on 203 Fig. 5 T=Tongston Fllament
Ball 204 13 mirorrs 204 21 eletric 204
radiaton 216
Academi
contaminate characteristic enough predominantly bourgeois classes backbiting eyes varied followed manifestation philosophy education and Grammar our attention (ordinary light) extended capacity temperature Diffusion T=Tongston Filament
Bulb mirrors electric radiation Academy
6
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________________ Doa (OOL Published by SHRI AKHIL BHARATVARSHIYA SADHUMARGI JAIN SANGHA BIKANER (Raj.)