Jain Journal 2008 01 No 03

Author(s): Satyaranjan Banerjee
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/520269/1

Page #1

ISSN 0021-4043 A QUARTERLY
ON
JAINOLOGY
VOL. XLII
No. 3
January 2008
Jain Journal
JAIN BHAWAN PUBLICATION

Page #2

With best compliments
A person becomes a monk by equanimity, a Brāhmaṇa by practising celibacy, an ascetic by acquiring knowledge and a hermit by his austerities.
LODHA CHARITABLE TRUST
14 Government Place East
Kolkata - 700 001

Page #3

a quarterly on Jainology
JAIN JOURNAL
Il a 422 #1
JAIN BHAWAN
CALCUTTA
JAIN BWAWAN

Page #4

Vol. XLII
JAIN JOURNAL
No. 3 January
Rupees Fifteen
Copyright of articles, stories, poems, etc. published in the Jain Journal is reserved.
All contributions, which must be type-written, and correspondence regarding contributions, and book-reviews should be addressed to the Editor, Jain Journal, P-25 Kalakar Street, Kolkata-700 007.

2008
For advertisement and subscription please write to the Secretary, Jain Bhawan, P-25 Kalakar Street, Kolkata-700007.
Subscription: for one year : Rs. 60.00, US $ 20.00: for three years: Rs. 180.00, US$ 60.00. Life membership: India: Rs. 2000.00, Foreign: US $ 160.00. Cheques must be drawn in favour of only Jain Bhawan Phone No: 2268 2655.
Published by Satya Ranjan Banerjee on behalf of Jain Bhawan from P-25 Kalakar Street, Kolkata-700 007, and composed by Jain Bhawan Computer Centre and printed by him at Arunima Printing Works, 81 Simla Street, Kolkata-700 006.
Editor: Satya Ranjan Banerjee

Page #5

Contents
CONTRIBUTION OF THE JAINS IN DEVELOPING MORAL FIBRES OF THE INDIANS
Satya Ranjan Banerjee
111
CONCEPT OF DRAVYA (SUBSTANCE) IN JAIN PHILOSOPHY
Veer Sagar Jain
139
COMMUNICATION SPIRITUAL CHALLENGES OF THE DAY
Sadhvi Yogakshem Prabha
152

Page #6

Page #7

JAIN JOURNAL
Vol. XLII
No. 3 January
2008
CONTRIBUTION OF THE JAINS IN DEVELOPING MORAL
FIBRES OF THE INDIANS
Professor Satya Ranjan Banerjee
I Preamble :
Indian culture is represented by three languages and their literatures. These three languages are Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit. The Sanskrit language has given us a vast amount of literature and the thoughts and ideas contained in it. So also the Pali language whose literature contains the speeches and doctrines of Lord Buddha which later on codified by his followers. The third language is Prakrit in which Lord Mahāvīra preached his doctrines and philosophy and later on his speeches were compiled and codified by his discipiles and followers. The literature in Sanskrit ultimately gave birth to Hinduism, and the Pali literature to Buddhism and the Prakrit literature to Jainism. Although, at a later stage, Sanskrit was used by both the Buddhists and the Jainas, the major and the basic contributions of both the sects were in Pali and Prakrit. So to study the Indian history and culture, we will have to remember the contributions of these three languages in Art and Archaelogy, in language and literature, in sociology and Anthropology, in Ethics and Psychology, in religion and philosophy, in cosmology and cosmography, and in what not. We will have to remember at the same time that apart from Hinduism, both Buddhism and Jainism have contributed quite a lot to frame the Indian history and culture, particularly in developing the moral fibres of the Indians. As the Jains have stayed in India all through its life, its contribution is very great and many Jainistic thoughts and ideas are integrated and have become a part and parcel of Indian life in general. It is, of course, very difficult now to separate them from Indian life, but they are

Page #8

JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
interwoven in Indian thoughts and ideas. It is not easy to point out the basic contribution of the Jains for making India as an abode of morality.
112
It is to be remembered at the very initial stage that the Jain religion is very old. The first Tīrthankara Ṛṣabhadeva or Adinātha belonged to the pre-historic era and so also the other twentyone Tīrthankaras. But the last three Tīrthankaras - Ariṣṭanemi, Pārśvanātha and Mahāvīra belonged to the historic times and we could, to some extent, place them to the historic period. As Ariṣṭanemi is related to Kṛṣṇa, his date is assigned to 1000 B.C., and Pārśvanātha, according to the Cambridge History of India, belongs to 817 B.C., and the date of Mahāvīra is assigned to 599 B.C. and his nirvāņa to 527 B.C. Historically, these dates are, more or less, accepted and we talk about Jainism on the basis of these dates.
Though Jain literature was codified in the 5th cent. A.D. (approximately 454 or 463 A.D.) by Devardhigani Kṣamāśramaņa at Valabhi in Gujarat, its contents were very old, as old as Mahāvīra. Here I shall confine myself with the contribution of the Jains to the question of ethics in Indian life.
II Approach to the subject:
It is more or less established by the Jain thinkers that all living beings residing in heavens and hells suffer quite a lot in their existence. To get rid of this suffering the first step to avert this suffering is to acquire the knowledge of the causes of this suffering by eliminating ignorance one after another. The Jains in this respect have prescribed certain aspects of knowledge in different walks of life which have a pan-Indian effect to the people. Before acquiring knowledge the Jains say that men in a society must receive certain ethical or moral qualities in order to build up his character which is one of the most fundamental bases of men. These basic moral qualities are interspersed with different aspects of Jainism.
As all the doctrines and moral values of Jainism are leading to the path of Salvation (mokşa-marga), the Jains believe that for the realization of nirvāṇa, certain rules of conduct must be observed.

Page #9

SatyaRanjan Banerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin DevelopingMoralFibresofthe Indians
And by observing them one must acquire the corresponding virtues of these vows. These vows and qualities are not only meant for the monks and nuns, but also for the laity. These vows and qualities are grouped together under some technical terms, such as, pañca mahāvrata, tri-ratna, trigupti, pañca-samiti and so on. Some of the points included in these technical terms are overlaping. However, some of the vows and moral qualities are described below as parts of the moral values. We must note at the very beginning that in this limited space and time, it is not possible to give a detailed study of the subject, but what is utmost possible is to give a kaleidoscopic view of the subject to form and frame our basic ideas on what we mean by moral values of the Jains as reflected in Indian life and society.
113
III Five great rows:
Of the five great rows, technically known as pañca mahāvratas, the Jains think that for the foundation of moral character the first priority should be given to satya-bhāṣaṇa, speaking the truth. Unless men speak the truth, the subsequent character-building of morarity will not be firm. The word used by the Jains is asatya which literally means 'not speaking the truth', i.e., abstaining from telling lies. The word satya is formed from the root as to be with the suffix saty making it sat, a participial form. Then the suffix yat is added to it and the word becomes satya. The basic meaning of the word is that which always exists in the same way is satya, truth. Under any circumstances, when a thing is always the same, and does not undergo any change is sat. And that which remains the same from the beginning of creation till date, is satya. Because, it is truth (satya), the Jains adhere to the principle of satya and adore it as a basic priciple of human character. That is why, the Jain monks assert that under any circumstances, people should refrain from telling lies. Most of the monks, whenever they got any chance, preach about the quality of truth. Hemacandra (1088-1172 A.D.) in his Yogasāstra (II. 53-64) has eulogised the effects of speaking the truth. Robert Williams in his Jaina Yoga (1963) at p 78 has summed up the effect of asatya in the following manner.

Page #10

114
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY, 2008
“The consequences which may ensue from speaking asatya are dwelt on by Hemacandra. A liar may have his tongue and an ear cut off, may be beaten and imprisoned, treated with contumely, and deprived of his possessions. In another incarnation he may be afflicted with dumbness, speach defects, and foetid breath. Wilful calumny in particular is the root of endless miseries. On the other hand, one who always speaks the truth will, so popular belief avers, never be beaten by a serpent.”
The Jain monks further reiterate that men, without any rhyme or reason, intentionally or unintentionally, or without any cause, take resort to untruth (asatya). It is seen that falschood has become a part and parcel of their life; as a result, people have lost faith in themselves, the consequences being quarrel and hatred, controversy and disputes, and injury and killing are constantly engulfing the society. That is why, the Jains consider that men should always speak the truth, behave truthfully, and live a life perfectly ir. consonance with the truth. According to the Jains, if a person lives an honest life accompanied by truth, he will be free from violence (himsā), greed (lobha), anger (krodha), fear (bhaya) and what not. That is why, the Jains emphasize that men should always take resort to truth, so that his life may be pure and serene. This rule of morality is not only meant for the monks and nuns, but also for the laitz.
The next moral fibre which the Jains preach is asteya which means 'abstaining from stealing'. In many Jaina texts theft is considered as one of the seven calamities (vyasanas). In the Ratna-karanda (III. II), as quoted by Williains at page 83, the definition of theft is given as--
nihitam vā patitam vā su-vismsiam vā parasvam avissșțam /
na harati yan na ca datte tad-akyśa-cauryād uparamaņam //
“Not taking the property of others whether pledged or dropped or completely forgotten unless it has been given, the enjoyment of that unearned property is due to theft”.

Page #11

Satya Ranjan Banerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin DevelopingMoral FibresoftheIndians
According to the Jains not a single thing is to be taken unless it is given by the person who is the possessor of the thing. The Jains even say that if a fake thing is considered as real and vice-versa, fraud, deception and a business of a prohibited things are to be considered as caurya (stealing). This idea is also expressed by Manu in a different way.
yo'nyatha santam ātmānam anyatha satsu bhāṣate/ sa papakṛt-tamo loke stena ātmāpahārakaḥ //
[Manu IV. 255]
115
"If one does not express what he is really, then he is a sinful man, he really is a thief, because he conceals himself."
Manu further says-
vācyārthā niyatāḥ sarve vāñ-mūlā vāg-viniḥsṛtāḥ / tām tu yaḥ stenayed vācaṁ sa sarva-steya-kṛnnaraḥ //(iv 256)
"Everything is based on speech, everything is indeed speech, from speech everything has come down (to us). If a person steals (the truth) by means of untrue speech, he, in fact, steals everything."
Mahāvīra also asserts that stealing is a bad habit for humanity at large and from stealing there arise lots of inhuman activities which are detrimental to the society, and a sort of chaos and catastrophy will prevail thereupon. So non-stealing has another effect upon the society; it will inculcate a sort of tolerance in the society, and so non-stealing is recommended by Mahāvīra as one of the elements of tolerance.
The third point which the Jains, nay even the whole Indian Dharmaśāstras, emphasise is celibacy, brahmacarya, which means abstaining from amorous dalliance. In Jaina tradition any kind of käma is to be abandoned. Devagupta (1016 A.D) in his Nava-padaprakarana (verses 48-50) has described kāma in various ways. Robert Williams in his Jaina Yoga (1963) at page 84 has nicely summed up the whole issue:

Page #12

116
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
"Brahma (abstinence from sexual intercourse) is of eighteen kinds, nine relating to celestial females (vaikriya) and nine to terrestrial females (audārika). Maithuna (copulation) is twofold, relating to the vaikriya and audārika classes and the latter is again divided up into animal and human categories. Under this last head are distinguished: sva-dāra (one's own wife or concubine), para-dāra (any women under the authority of another man) and vesyā (a prostitute who is considered to have no owver)".
By brahmacarya the Jainas give emphasis on sexual intercourse, but there are some other ways also by which sexual manifestation is expressed. These are --
smaraṇam kirtanam kelih prekṣaṇam guhya-bhāṣaṇam / samkalpo'dhyavasāyas 'ca kriyā-nirvrtir eva ca // etan maithunam aștāngam pravadanti manīsiņaḥ/ viparītam brahmacaryam etad evāșta-lakṣaṇam //
[Mallinātha on Kirāta I. 1.] “Passionate remembrance (smaraņam), wistful description (kīrtanam), sports (kelih), gazing with longing (prekșaņam), secret conversation (guhya-bhāṣaṇam), imagination (saṁkalpaḥ), resolution (adhyavasāyah) and crowning of love (kriyā, nirvrtih) are the eight kinds of carnal enjoyments and opposite to all these are in brahmacāri and they are also, therefore, eight kinds.
The Jain monks also think that for a brahmacāri all these eightfold carnal enjoyments are to be considered bad and a brahmacārī should always be free from these bad elements. In the case of a monk, all these maithunas are to be avoided under any circumstances, and for the safety of the society these are to be used in a measured way.
According to the Jains, the restraint is actually life (samyamaḥ khalu jīvanam). The Jain philosophers think that if a person lives a life of celibacy, then his life will be much elevated, particularly in body, speech and mind. In Hindu, Bauddha and Jain scriptures, this type of character (śīla) is greatly praised for the benefit of the society.

Page #13

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin DevelopingMoral FibresoftheIndians
In all the scriptures, this is considered as the greatest virtue of human beings. The Jains believe that if human beings observe celibacy (brahmacarya) for the formation of their character, their lives will be greatly uplifted. The human society will also be greatly protected from the defilement of character. This rule is to be observed by the sādhus and sādhvis without any exception, but in the case of laymen and women, this vrata (vow) can also be observed in a limited way. The rule of celibacy is practically for the betterment of human life and society.
One of the finest moral values as propagated by the Jains is their economic measurement as expressed by the term aparigraha which means "to renounce all interest in worldly things, and not to keep any property." The word parigraha has many meanings. Kālidāsa has used the word parigraha in the sense of marriage. Kālidāsa has said kṣatra-parigraha-kṣamā (I. 21) marriageable by the kṣatriyas, parigraha-bahutve 'pi (1.31) even though I have many marriages. But in Jainism, it is used in a special sense. The term aparigraha means not to keep any kind of property, land property or rice and paddy property. It is opposite to parigraha which means keeping or accumulating things (paritaḥ sarvataḥ sākalyena vā gṛhnāti iti parigraha-pari-grah+ac). Every now and then human beings are accumulating excess property beyond the limit of his demand and necessity. As a result, the desire for increasing property is getting heaped up day by day and men have become greedy gradually. For that reason, the desire (kāma), anger (krodha), delusion (moha) and envy (mātsarya) are generated in a society. In the Gītā (II. 62-63) the effect of these qualities is illustrated thus:
dhyāyato viṣayan puṁsaḥ sangasteṣūpajāyate/ sangat samjayate kāmaḥ kāmāt krodho 'bhijāyate // krodhad bhavati sammohaḥ sammohat smṛti-vibhramaḥ/ smrti-bhramsad buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati //
117
"The man dwelling on sense-objects develops attachment for them; from attachment is born desire, and from desire generates anger.

Page #14

118
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY 2008
From anger arises infatuation, from infatuation (arises) confusion of memory; from loss of memory (comes] loss of reason, and from loss of reason one goes to destruction.”
The Jains consider that from parigraha (possession), greed (lobha) is generated, and from greediness destruction comes, and so aparigraha vrata is to be followed not only by the sādhus and sādhvis, but also by laymen and women.
At a much later stage, Siddhasena Gaņi (9th cent. A.D.), Somadeva (959 A.D.), Amstacandra (11th cent. A.D.) and Asādhara (1240 A.D.) described aparigraha vrata vividly. According to them, parigraha is of two kinds : internal (ābhyantara) and external (bāhya). The internal parigrahas are false-belief (mithyātva), anger (krodha), pride (māna), deceit (māyā), greed (lobha), sense of the absurd (hāsya), pleasure (rati), displeasure (arati), fear (bhaya), sorrow (śoka), disgust (jugupsā), male sex urge (puṁveda), female sex urge (striveda) and androgyne sex urge (napuṁsaka-veda) (cf. Williams, ibid, p 93). The ten external parigrahas are-- land (kşetra), houses (vāstu), silver (hiranya), gold (suvarņa), wealth (dhana), grain (dhānya), servants (dāsa / dāsī), livestock ( catuṣpada), cloth (kupya) and bed (sayyāsana). (cf. ibid, p. 93).
It is seen in the society that possession of property, both material and non-material, movable and immovable, makes a man greedy and any kind of possession is detrimental to the personality of a man. Property has not only made the people greedy, they become obsessed for their own aggrandisement. So Mahāvīra advises people not to hoard up lots of property for the benefit of the society.
IV The three qualities :
For the path of liberation, i.e., to release oneself from the "cycle of transmigration" the Jains believe that the ratna traya, or otherwise known as guņa-traya, popularty also known as tri-ratna, is to be carefully observed. The guņa-traya is a technical term which includes the three qualities like samyag drșți (right vision), samyag jñāna (right knowledge) and samyak caritra (right conduct). The acquisation of

Page #15

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
119
these three qualities will lead someone to the path of liberation. That is why, in the Tattvārthasūtra (1.1) the subject begins with the statement--
samyag-darśana-jñāna-cāritrāņi mokşamārgah.
“The right vision (or faith), right knowledge, and right conduct are the path of liberation”
Grammatically, here the word samyak (sam-añc+kvip) is to be construed with all the members of a dvandva compound by the dictumdvandvădau dvandvānte ca śrūyamāņam padaṁ pratyekam abhisambadhyate iti vacanāt, i.e., “in the beginning or at the end of a dvandva compound when a word is syntactically connected that word is to be construed with all the members of the compound. And so, we have samyag darsana, samyag jñāna and samyak caritra. The Sarvārthasiddhi of Pūjyapāda (6th cent. A.D.), a commentary on the Tattvārthasūtra, has explained the sūtra thus :
“The attribute right is added to faith in order to include faith on true knowledge of substances. Knowing substances such as the souls as these actually are is right knowledge. The attribute right is intended to ward off uncertainty, doubt and error in knowkedge. Right conduct is the cessation of activity leading to the taking in of karmas by a wise person engaged in the removal of the causes of transmigration. The attribute right is intended to exclude conduct based on ignorance or wrong knowledge. That which sees, that by which it is seen, or seeing alone is darśana. That which knows, that by which it is known, or knowing alone is knowledge. That which acts, that by which it is acted, or acting alone is conduct. (S.A. Jain, Reality, p.3.) V Control of mind, speech and body :
The Jainas also lay stress on self-control as one of the measures of mental activity. As a measure of self-restraint, the Jainas consider that the triguptis which are vāg-guti, kāya-gupti and manogupti are to be followed as an indication of a perfect self-restraint man.
to To control the mind the first step that the Jains ask people to do is, vāg-gupti which means the control of speech. Unless speech is

Page #16

120
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY 2008
controlled in day to day life, the mental peace is not restored. Bad or blasphemous speech is considered as a kind of hiṁsā (violence) - vācā duruktam vibhatsam na samrohati vāk-kşatam - “if bad speech is uttered by language, it is obnoxious, the injury by speech is never healed up." So the Jains always avoid to use any contemptuous language in talking to persons. On this point the Sarvarthasiddhi says: "Speech is of two kinds, physical and psychical. Therein psychical speech is material, as it arises on the destruction-cum-subsidence of energy-obstructing karmas and sensory and knowledge obscuring karmas, and on the rise of physique-making karmas of limbs and minor limbs. For in the absence of matter there can be no functioning of psychical speech. Matter prompted by the active soul endowed with this capacity takes the mode of speech. Hence physical speech is also material. (S.A. Jain, Ibid, p. 145)
Kāya-gupti means the control of activity of body. Through kāyagupti the control of body from different points of karma is described. In the Tattvārthasūtra (II. 36) the different forms of bodily action are mentioned. These are audārika-vaikriyikāhāraka-taijasa-kārmaņāni śarīrāņill
“The gross (audārika), the transformable (vaikriyika), the assimilative (āhāraka), the luminous (taijasa) and the kārmaņa (the body composed of karmic matter) are the five types of bodies." The commentary Sarvārthasiddhi explains these terms as follows:
The word sarīra (from srtiran) is used in this context in the sense of that which is destroyed or dissolved. As the body of a man is gradually emaciated and ultimately destroyed or dissolve
e word sarira is used here.
The audārika (from udāra) body is a gross body which is the effect of the rise of particular karmas. The gross body is perceived by the senses.
The vaikriyika (from vikriyā) is a body which has transformation as its objects. As it is transformable, it is called vaikriyikam.
. The ahāraka body is that body" which is originated by a saint of the sixth stage of the gunasthāna), in order to resolve a doubt or to

Page #17

Satya RanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe JainsinDeveloping Moral FibresoftheIndians
ascertain the nature of a minute object or to dispel non-restraint. (S.A. Jain, ibid. 76).
p.
The taijasa body is the luminous body. It is the cause of the brilliance in a body.
121
The karmic body is the body composed of karmic matter. Except audărika, the other bodies are not perceived by the senses.
The third type is the control of mind (manogupti). In fact the control of mind is considered as one of the best ways of achieving the path of liberation. Human mind is fickle and feeble (cañcalam hi manah) and to control it is to control all hazards of life. The Pujyapāda
says
"The mind is of two kinds, physical and psychical. The physical mind characterized by capacity (for comprehension) and consciousness is material, as it is assisted by matter. Similarly, owing to destruction-cum-subsidence of knowkedge-covering and energyobstructing karmas and the rise of name karmas of limbs and minor limbs, particles of matter transformed into mind assist the living beings tending to examining good and evil, remembering thinks. Hence the physical mind also is materical. It is contended by others that mind is a different substance, that it is bereft of colour, form etc., and that it is of the size of an atom. Hence it is improper to consider it as material (S.A. Jain, ibid, p. 145).
Pujyapāda ultimately says that mind is connected with the soul and the soul stirs the mind to activity. He then concludes that for the purification of the soul, the control of mind is necessary.
This idea of trigupti (kāya, manas and vāk) is also reflected in the Gītā (17. 14-16) as a course of tapasya. Kṛṣṇa says that tapasya is of three kinds : sarira (bodily), mänasa (mental) and vācika (vocal). He then enumerates these three thus:
deva-dvija-guru-prājña-pujanam saucam arjavam/ brahmacaryam ahimsă ca săriram tapa ucyate //

Page #18

122
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY 2009
“Worship of gods, the brāhmaṇas, the elders and wise men, purity, uprightness, celibacy and non-violence-this is called bodily penance.
anudvegakaraṁ vākyaṁ satyam priyahitaṁ ca yat /
svādhyāyābhyasanan caiva vānmayaṁ tapa ucyate // “Language which causes no annoyance and is truthful, palatable and wholesome, the study of the Vedas and the other śāstras, this is called the austerity of speech.”
manaḥprasādaḥ saumyatvam maunam ātma-vinigrahaḥ/
bhāva-saṁsuddhir ityetat tapa mānasam ucyate // "Clarity of mind, placidity, taciturnity, control of self, perfect, purity of feelings - all this is called mental austerity.”
In every religion the controlling of mind, speech and body is considered as the greatest virtues of human beings and to maintain all these qualities means a congeneal atmosphere in a society. VI. Maitrī, Pramoda, Kārunya and Mādhyasthya :
Like Buddhism, Jainism has also preached the idea of maitri (friendship), pramoda (affection), kārunya (charity) and mādhyastha (equanimity). Though all these qualities are interspersed with every aspect of Jainism throughout its history, it is Somadeva (959 A.D.), who in his Upāsakādhyayana, i.e., the sixth, seventh, and eithth books of his Yasastilaka which constitute an excursus on the śrāvakācāra, has emphasised the positive aspect of ahimsā which, in his opinion, is maitri, pramoda, kārunya and mādhyasthya. He then goes on explaining all these terms subsequently. In his opinion, maitri is the friendship with men and the animals by practising non-infliction towards the creatures. Pramoda is the affection coupled with the respect for the beings, while kārunya is charity to help the needy, and mādhyastha is a state of equammity. It may seem strange, but nevertheless perfectly true that Amitagati (993 A.D.) has prayed before his Lord to maintain these four qualities in his life-time in the following verse:
sattveșu maitrim guņișu pramodań, klișteșu jīveșu kypā-paratvam/

Page #19

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
123
mādhyasthya-bhāvam viparita-vrttau,
sadā mamātmā vidadhātu deva // "Lord, may my atmā ever entertain friendship towards all living beings, rejoicing at (the right of) the virtues, highest compasion for the suffering souls and an attitude of detachment towards all ill-behaved:”
By this prayer Amitagait wanted to inculcate a sense of friendship and tolerance with all living beings. VII. Dāna, śīla, Tapas and Bhāvanā :
It is, indeed, in this connection I can say that Jainism also asserts the four important religious practices for the laymen and women. These are dāna, sila, tapas and bhāvanā. Dāna is defined by Umāsvāti (3rd/5th cent. A.D.) as - anugrahārthaṁ svasyātisargo dānam (VII. 38), i.e. "Charity is the giving of one's wealth to another for mutual benefit.” Pūjyapāda explains this aphorism as follows : Anugraha means beneficial to both the giver and the recipient. The giver accumulates merit, and the gift promotes right knowledge and so on in the recipient. Sva means wealth, possessions or belongings. Be
Bestowing one's possession on another for mutual benefit is charity. (S.A. Jain, ibid, p. 213).
Sila is virtue. Sīla is self-restraint or discipline. It is mentioned among the ten moral virtues or duties. In various Jain literature sila (conduct) is variously eulogised and there are many stories which tell us how character triumphs over all hardships and difficulties. In one of the Rājasthānī texts, Kāṇhada Kathiyārā ri Caupai (1690 A.D.), edited by me, the effects of śīla is nicely described:
dāna sila tapa bhāvanā, iname idhako śīla / sevijai bhavīyaņa sadā, inabhava parabhava lila //3// silai sura sānidha karai, silai siha siyāla / silai sankața sabi ţalai, phaņadhara huvai phula māla //4/1 silai sukha saṁpada milai, silai bhoga rasāla/
kathiyārā kāņhadataņā, phalai manoratha māla //5// “Gift, character, penance and spiritual attitude (bhāvanā) - of these (four) character is prime importance. If the beings always serve it, then people get pleasure in this world and in the other world. //3//

Page #20

124
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUA
The gods come near by the influence) of character, by character lion becomes like a jackle; by the influence) of character all sufferings are removed, just as a venomous serpent looks like a garland. //4// A good message is received through character, by character palatable food is gained, and the wood-cutter Kāņhada receives his desired objects.”//5/1
By tapas the Jains basically mean the fasting which is intended to promote self-control and discipline, destruction of attachment, destruction of karmas and attainment of meditation and spiritual knowledge and not temporal benefits. Umāsvāti has described both the external and internal tapas in his Tattvārthasūtra (VIII. 19-20). The external tapas are fasting (anaśana), reduced diet (avama), special restrictions for begging food (audārya-vrtti-parisankhyāna), giving up stimulating and delicious dishes (rasa-parityāga), lonely habitation (vivikta-syyāsana) and mortification of body (kāya-klesa). These are considered as external, because they are dependent on external things. The internal austeries are-expiration (prāyaścitta), reverence (vinaya), service (vaiyāvstta), study (adhyāya), renunciation (vyutsarga) and meditation (dhyāna), These are called internal, because they are dependent on the mind.
Penance (tapas) is greatly extolled in Indian life, Jainism in particular. It is seriously considered as one of the greatest vows in Jainism. It is greatly praised in various ways and even till today penance among the Jains is constantly practised for the purification of the soul. Penance is not suffering, but it is one of the ways for self purification. Bodily austerity is recognised as a sign of self-aggrandisement for the soul. That is why, in the Dasavaikālikasūtra (I.1), penance (tapas) is included as one of the best dharmas :
dhammo mangalam ukkitham ahimsa-samjama-tavo /
devā vi tań namaṁssanti jassa dhamme sayā mano // “Non-killing (ahissa), controlling of mind (samjama) and penance (tapas) are the best (ukkiţtham) and auspicious (mangalam) religion. Even the gods bow down their heads to him whose mind is always on religion."

Page #21

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
125
Similar idea is also found in the Dhammapada (XIX. 6) where ahiṁsā, samyama and dama are mentioned along with truth and dhamma. The verse says --
yamhi saccam ca dhammo ca ahiṁsā saññamo damo /
sa ve vantamalo dhīro thero iti pavuccati // “Where there is truth, religion (dhamma), non-violence, self restraint and controlling of mind (damo), it is without any dirt, that is normally called dhiro (patient) and sthavira.”
In fact, even in Hindu scriptures, penance is highly adored. A verse (source not known) tells us that if a person does severe penance, even the gods are also frightened.
yad duşkaraṁ yad durāpa yad durgam yacca dustaram /
tad sarvaṁ tapasā prāpyar tapo hi duratikramam // “What is difficult to do, what is difficult to get, what is difficult to overcome or to get, what is difficult to cross, all can be got by penance, for, indeed, nobody can transgress (the fruit of) penance.”
There are innumerable stories in Indian mythology where it is found that in order to disturb the penance of the mortals, some sorts of nymphs are sent, because even the gods are also frightened by the penance of the mortals.
Bhāvanā is the spiritual attitude which could be attained through pūjā (worship). In Jain scriptures, there are twelve spiritual attitudes (dvādaśa bhāvanā). These are -- (i) anitya (on impermanence), (ii) āśaraņa (on helplessness), (iii) saṁsāra (on the cycle of transmigration), (iv) ekatva (on solitariness), (v) anyatva (on the separateness of the self and body), (vi) asucitva (on the foulness ot the body), (vii) āsrava (in the influx of karma), (viii) samvara (on the checking of karma), (ix) nirjarā (on the elimination of karma), (x) loka (on the universe), (xi) bodhi-durlabha (on the difficulty of enlightenment), and (xii) dharma (on the attainment of peace and salvation)
These bhāvanās have been narrated by the Svetāmbaras who also call them as anuprekşās, while the Digambaras enumerate sixteen bhāvanās, which are different from the above. Cāmundarāya in

Page #22

126
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY 2008
his Cāritra-sära has given a different list of mental attitude which are not even common to the above list. However, bhāvanā is accepted by both the sects as one of the mental attitudes for spiritual life. VIII. Non-violence (Ahiṁsā):
Last but not least, I must mention the doctrine of ahińsā, nonviolence, as propagated by the Jains. In Indian soil the doctrine of animsā has always been considered as pure and serene. Whenever, there is a question of ahiṁsā it has always been eulogised without any exception. In Vedic literature there are ample passages where "no animal is to be killed” is emphasized. In Buddhism also, particularly in the Suttanipāta and in the Dhammapada, kindness towards all beings (mettī) and non-violence (ahiṁsā) and many other ethical doctrines are found. It is true that both the Hindus and the Buddhist have accepted the question of ahiṁsā, it is practically the Jains who have raised the status of ahiṁsā into a system of philosophical order. The quintessence of ahiṁsā has made Mahāvīra an outstanding exponent of social equality and justice. !
The basic idea of Mahāvīra about ahiṁsā starts from the fact that every living creature on earth including vegitable kingdom has a right to live side by side with men and it is the prime duty of human beings to show respect to that right of all creatures. We can understand this attitude of Mahāvīra from a text named Daśavaikālikasūtra codified later on where it is said-- savve jīvā vi icchanti jīviuṁ na marijjium / taṁhā pāņivaham ghoram nigganthā vajjayanti nam // [1.6.10] "All animals wish to live, and not to be slain; therefore, the Jain monks must relinquish the dangerous killing of animals.”
That vegitable kingdoms have lives had been expressed by Manu 22 hundred years ago. Manu (3rd / 2nd cent. B.C.) proclaims that even the trees or vegitable kingdoms have lives and they have feelings and they can have happiness and sorrows (antaḥsamjña bhavantyete sukha-duḥkhāh samanvitāḥ, 1. 49). The idea of Manu was proved true by Jagadish Chandra Bose in 1902 in his “Response in the living and non-living." In Indian literature there are many occa

Page #23

Satya RanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
127
sions where the protection of trees is emphasized. In the Manu-saṁhitā in many places, and particularly in the eleventh chapter many cautious warnings are given for the protection of the trees or vegitable kingdoms. We are surprised to see how in such a hoary antiquty Manu was cautious about the protection of envirnment. At a later stage, a verse (source not known) says how a prayer is made for the protection of a tree. The verse says-- mā bhavantam analah pavano vā vāraṇo madukalah parasur vā / vāhini jalabharaḥ kulisam vā svasti te 'stu latayā saha vrkșa // “Oh the (vskșa) let you be auspicious with the creeper. Let fire not (burn you), let wind not (break you), let ichor drunken elephant not (uproot you), let an axe not (cut you), let the soldiers not (make you branchless), let cloud not (lose your root by excessive rain) and let thunderbolt not (burn you into ashes)".
However, Mahāvīra's emphasis was on the fact that life is dear to all sorts of creatures. The Acārānga says savve pāņā piyāuyā and nāivijjai kiscana (I.2.4). wherever, Mahāvīra has got any chance, he propagates non-killing and asserts that non-killing is the essence of life. In the Sūtrakrtānga (I. 11. 10) it is said--
eyam khu rāniņo sāram jam na hiṁsai kimcana /
ahiṁsā samayam ceva eyāvantaṁ viyāniyā // “This is the quintessence of wisdom: not to kill anything. Know this to be the legitimate conclusion from the principle of reciprocity with regard to non-killing."
There are innumerable passages on ahiṁsā in the Jain scriptures where Mahāvīra wants to emphasise that we must not be goaded by the passions and impulses of killing. But, to all intents and purposes, we must control our mind to allow us to grow stronger mentally, so that our life can become serene, pure and holy.
In this connection it will not be out of place here, if I mention that though in the Hindu scripture the killing of animals for sacrificial purposes is not despised (tasmad yajñe vadho 'vadhaḥ (Manu V. 39),

Page #24

JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 200
Manu, in fact, in general has described the excellence of ahimsa. In his opinion ahimsa as a quality of good religion is to be inculcated by all human beings:
128
indriyānāṁ nirodhena rāga-dveṣa-kṣayena ca/ ahimsaya ca bhūtānām amṛtatvāya kalpte // (VI. 60) "By the restraint of one's senses, by the destruction of attachment and hatred, and by the abstention from injury to the creatures, one becomes fit for immortality."
Even in the Gītā (IX. 5. XII. 13; XIII. 7: XVI. 2 etc) there are many passages where ahimsa is greatly eulogised.
It will be, perhaps, a paradox to say, though it will be nevertheless perfectly true, that the greatest influence of ahimsa is found in the Mahabharata. In the various parts of the Mahābhārata, ahimsā is greatly praised. In the Vanaparva (III) there is a long conversation between Draupadi, Yudhiṣṭhira and Bhima on lots of ethical questions in which Draupadi praises the doctrine of ahimsă (ch. 206-208). In the Santiparva, the greatness of ahimsā is firmly established. It is said there-
jivitum yaḥ svayaṁ cecchet katham so'nyaṁ ghatayet/ yad yad ātmani ceccheta tat parasyā pi cintayet //
[12.254.22]
"He who himself wants to live, how he can kill the other. What one wants for himself that is to be thought of others."
The greatest story of Tuladhara and Jajali in the Santiparva of the Mahabharata has proved beyond doubt the excellence of ahimsă as a superior religion to anything else. Tuladhara is the pedlar and Jājali is the brahmanical ascetic. In their conversation Tuladhāra appears as a teacher. The brahmin Jājali well-versed in the sastras has asked Tuladhāra about the essence of religion. To this Tuladhāra replies --
adrohenaiva bhūtānām alpadrohena vā punaḥ/ yā vṛttiḥ sa paro dharmȧstena jīvāmi Jājale //

Page #25

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
129
“Oh Jājali, without injuring the animals or doing less injury (to animals), if one lives, that is a great religion. I want to live by following that religion.”
In this way in many passages Tulādhāra goes on saying that ""there is no higher law than forbearance towards all living beings. Therefore the breeding of cattle is cruel, because it involves the torturing and killing of animals. Cruel, too, is the keeping of slaves and traffic in living creatures. Every agriculture is full of sin, for the plough wounds the earth and kills many innocent animals.” To this Jājali replies--
krsņā hyannam prabhavati tatas tvam asi jīvasi/ paśubhis coșadhibhisca martyā jīvanti vanijaḥ // tato yajñaḥ prabhavati nāstikyam api jalpasi /
na hi varted ayam loko vārtām utsrjya kevalān // "Food is produced by agriculture, and you, too, are living on it, people live on cattle-breeding and agriculture from that sacrifice is performed, you are talking like an atheist, people could not live alone by giving up the business of his livelihood.”
To this Tulādhāra replies with a long discourse upon the true sacrifice which should be offered without the desire for reward, without priestly deception, and without the killing of living beings. Then he goes on praising the ahiṁsā which is, in fact, a slogan of the day.
ahimsā paramo dharmas tathāhiṁsā paro damaḥ/
ahimsā paramaṁ dānam ahimsā paramaṁ tapaḥ // "Non-violence (ahińsā) is the highest religion, in the same way ahiṁsā is the highest restraint, ahiṁsā is the highest gift, and ahiṁsā is the highest penance.”
sarva - yajñeșu vā dānam sarva-tīrtheșu vā plutam /
sarva-dāna-phalaṁ vāpi naitat tulyam ahimsayā // “Ahimsā is the best gift in all sacrifices, it is a raft (boat) in all tirthas, oreven it is the result of all gifts, nothing can be compared with aḥimsā.”

Page #26

JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
Whether this portion of the Mahabharata is greatly influenced by Jainism or not, is a matter of speculation now. But it is true that the spirit of all these passages is in accordance with the tone and tune of Jaina ahimsā.
130
IX. Tolerance in Jainism :
In the end I come to the question of tolerance in Jainism. It is to be remembered that one of the greatest contributions of the Jains to the domain of morality is the teaching of tolerance. Jainism has taught us how to inculcate the habit of tolerance. It is expressed in different contexts in different ways. Through his whole life, dedicated to the cause of Jainism, Mahāvīra showed the people the way of tolerance for becoming a perfect man in different walks of life. Mahāvīra practised tolerance first in his life and then preached it. At the age of 30, Mahāvīra left his home and did severe penance quite a lot for the Salvation of his soul. While preaching and propagating his doctrines in different parts of eastern India, Mahāvīra came to the land of Radha and in that country he suffered a lot from the hands of the people. In the second part of the Acārāngasūtra, it is stated that the people of Radha had mocked at him, had sneered at him and threw stones at him. Even dogs and ferocious animals used to attack him for biting. It is said in the same book that Mahāvīra withstood all these sufferings calmy and quietly. This is one of the greatest instances of Mahāvīra's tolerance.
Apart from this incident as narrated in the Acārāngasūtra there are other stories also where Mahāvīra's tolerance is illustrated. While wandering in the different parts in eastern India, he met lots of rival groups, such as, the Ājīvikas, Gosala Mankhaliputra and so on who challenged some of the views of Mahāvīra, but Mahāvīra encountered them calmly and quietly maintaining the sense of tolerance. One of such encounters is given in the seventh chapter of the Upāsakadaśāsūtra where Gosāla attacked Mahāvīra and challenged all his arguments which Mahāvīra calmy endured and answered them. Mahāvīra never used any filthy and foul-language to subdue his rivalry.group. The only weapon which Mahāvīra adopted to defeat his enemies is the weapon of tolerance.

Page #27

Satya RanjanBanerjee:ContributionoftheJainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
131
It is to be noted that there are lots of stories in Jain literature where the practice of tolerance, as one of the highest qualities in Jain religion is adumbrated. One of such stories is the story of Caņdakauśika. Candakausika was a very big black poisonous snake. He used to bite many people. As a result, many people did not dare go to the field for cultivating. Once Lord Mahāvīra came in contact with him and tried to tame him and persuade him to practise ahiṁsā. At the initial stage he was very reluctant to follow his advice, but ultimately defeated by his argument, he listened to Mahāvīra and started practising non-violence. Gradually, because of his practising non-violence, Caņdakausika became harmless. Seeing Candakausika harmbess, the villagers started teasing him and threw stones at him. After a few days of Candakausika's miserable plight, Lord Mahāvīra met him and asked him about his present condition. To which Candakauśika replied, “Lord, you have asked me to practise nonviolence and I have followed your path. Now I have become tolerant. To which the Lord replied, “Caņdakausika, I have asked you to stop hurting people, but I have never told you to stop hissing at men. This is, perhaps, one of the greatest stories of tolerance in Jain literature.
In a similar way, lots of stories and sub-stories can be cited from Jain literature to show how the sense of tolerance is illustrated. In the Samarāiccakahā of Haribhadra (705-775 A.D.), lots of stories and sub-stories are interwoven where the tolerance through pañca mahāvrata and trigupti is illustrated.
In the same way, in the Kuvalayamālācampū of Uddyotana Sūri (779 A.D.) many stories are found for tolerance. The wanderer, who is the hero of the story, travelled different parts of India and wherever he went he faced lots of difficulties to encounter with the people belonging to different parts of the country. Because he followed particularly the message of trigupti in his wanderings, he overcame all sorts of difficuties in his life.
The Jain literature is full of stories to illustrate the different aspects of Jainism, and tolerance is one of them. In this short space and time, it is not possible to ransack all these stories where the episodes on tolerance are adumbrated.

.

Page #28

132
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
Besides stories illustrating the idea of tolerance, Umāsvāti (bet. 3rd and 5th cent. A.D.) in his Tattvarthasutra has propounded the essence of tolerance in his famous aphorism - parasparopagraho jīvānām (v.21) "Live and let live" which tells us that every living being should live together without harming each other. The idea of Umāsvāti is that it is not enough to say that one should live in this world by any means, but one should live together without harming anybody. It is in a sense a revolt against the conception of matsyanyaya or "survival of the fittest". Umāsvāti's motto is - you live and let others live. On this sūtra the commentator Pujyapāda says that "it is mutual help between the master and the servant, the teacher and the taught. The master renders help to the servants by giving them money. And they serve their master by doing him good and protecting him from evil. The preceptor teaches what is good here and in the next world (birth) and makes his disciples follow his teachings. And the disciples benefit their preceptor by their devoted service. What is the purpose of the repetition of the word upagraha? It indicates that living beings are also the cause of pleasure and pain, and life and death of one another." (S.A. Jain, ibid, p. 147).
Here in this connection I might cite some examples of tolerance or otherwise known as seculiarism, from the pages of history. In the history of Gujarat, some of the Jain kings, Vastupāla, for example, in the 13th century A.D. practised tolerance to all sorts of religious beliefs. What is securliarism to day, was also practised by Vastupāla at that time. One verse from the Puratattva-prabandha-samgraha shows how Vastupala was honoured by all sorts of religious people. The verse runs thus:
bauddhair bauddho vaiṣṇavair viṣṇubhaktaḥ saivaiḥ śaivo yogibhir yoga-rangaḥ/
jainais tāvajjaina eveti kṛtvā sattvädhāraḥ stuyate vastupālaḥ //
"Vastupāla, the depositor of strength, is praised in this way by the Buddhists as Buddha, by the Vaisnavas as a devotee of Visņu, by the Śaivas as Śiva, and by the Yogis as a devotee of yoga, and also by the Jains as a Jina."

Page #29

Satya RanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresofthe Indians
133
We can easily say that this one piece of information is good enough to say that seculiarism as one of the administrative measures was followed by one Jaina king, Vastupāla by name, in the 13th century of the Indian history.
A similar type of verse (source not known) found in several books where also a sort of seculiarism is focused, can be cited in this connection. The verse in guestion says that the lord of the three worlds (Trilokanātha) is considered as the same by different religious groups. The verse says -- .
yam saivāḥ samupāsate siva iti brahmeti vedāntino bauddhā bhuddha iti pramāņa-pațavaḥ karteti naiyāyikāḥ/ arhann ityatha jaina-sāsana-ratāḥ karmeti mimāṁsakāḥ
so'yaṁ vo vidadhātu vāñchita-phalaṁ trailokyanātho hariḥ“ “Whom the Saivas worship as Siva, and the Vedāntins as Brahma, the Buddhists as Buddha, and the Naiyāyikas, expert in logic, as the creator and the Jainas, adherent to the teachings of Jina, as arhan (i.e. Jina) and the Mīmāínsakas consider as the karma (actions) that Hari, the Lord of the three worlds, gives us the fruit desired by us."
From these two verses mentioned above, it will not be a case of exaggeration if we say that a sort of seculiarism in the modern sense of the term was followed in the middle history of India and by that a sense of tolerance among the kings and people was prevalent where all sorts of religous faiths could live together in harmony and without any enmity.
Without much ado, I must mention here the Paryūṣaṇa festival of the Jains which, it seems to me, is one of the finest festivals which lead people to the goal of friendship and tolerance in a society. In this festival the Jains maintain a friendship between men and men, and even between men and animals forgetting their enmity, wrath, anger and jealousy. It is one of the compulsory festivals of the Jainas which is normally held between the end of August and the beginning of September of every year. The main purpose of the festivals is to sing and hear the life-stories of Lord Mahāvīra from the Kalpasūtra and

Page #30

134
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
par
also doing penance (tapas) for eight days. At the end of the paryūṣaṇa festival, every body begs for pardon (kṣamā-yācña) and asks for doning any misdeeds done during the previous year. It is a sort of atonement for any misbehaviour in a society. Everybody says to everybody the following verse --
khamemi savva-jīve savva-jīvā khamantu me! metti me savva-bhūesu veram majjham na kenņa vi // "I pardon all the animals and let all the animals pardon me. I have friendship with all animals and I have no enmity with anybody."
At the end of the paryuṣana parva this verse is uttered by every Jain and under the spell of this festival all the Jains come under one canopy. Just as desera of the Hindus, so also the paryuṣaṇa of the Jainas.
Finally, it can be said without any hesitation that tolerance in Jainism as a part of moral discipline is well-treated through the principles of pañca mahāvratas, triguptis and ahimsa. The path of nonviolence will restrain human beings from doing any harm to the society and, therefore, human beings will not behave like butchers where life of all sorts is annihilated. Mahāvīra emphasises that if this principle of non-violence is practised and followed then there will be no violence in the world and a heaventy bliss of tolerance will prevail all over the world.
X. Influence of Jain Moral values on Indian life:
Having described some aspects of moral values as enunciated by the Jains throughout the centuries almost from its very inception, it is now time to see how these moral values have influenced the lifestyle of the Indians all these years. It is, in fact, very difficult, almost impossible to distinguish the Jain moral values from the other systems. As the Jains have lived in India all through with the Hindus, there has been a reciprocity of actions between them. The thoughts and ideas of the Jains are thoroughly integrated with the life-style of the Hindus, and it is often difficult to distinguish one from the other. Which ones of the Jains are adopted by the Indians, and which one not, is not easy to ascertain. Many Hindu ideas are assimilated by the Jains and vice versa.

Page #31

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresoftheIndians
135
In social and cultural life there is very little difference between a Jaina and a Hindu. In outward life-style nv distinction is visible between the two. No Hindus ever hesitate to go to a Jain Temple and vice-versa. There is hardly any Jains who have not visited any Hindu temples. Even in the Durgā-Pūjā festival, many Jains take part in it forgetting that it is a Hindu deity. Similarty, in the Paresa-nātha procession held in the Kārttika-pūrnimā day, particularly in Calcutta, thousands of Hindus flock together to witness the procession. Sometimes in the mid-fifties of the 20th century, I myself was in the procession and the Jains did not hesitate to allow me to be in the procession.
George Bühler has pointed out that “the precepts of Jainism on the conduct of life agree in many respects with those of the Hindu Dharmaśāstra (Glasenapp, p. 494). Bühler further says, "The Jains have directly borrowed a great number of rules from the Brahminic law-books. The occupations forbidden to Jain laymen are almost totally those, which the Brahmanic law forbids to a Brāhmaṇa, when necessity compels him to live like a Vaisya, and further reminds us of parallel passages from Manu's Law-books and other works in Jainawritings" (ibid, p. 494).
I have mentioned earlier the influence of ahiṁsā on the Mahābhārata. I now say that there is an apparent influence of Jaina ahiṁsā on Vaişnavism. The Vaisnavas advocate vegetarianism and opposition of sacrifices. “Jina is considered, says Glasenapp, "as an Avatāra of Vişnnu. It is taught in the Padma-Tantra I. 1.44 ff. that Vişņu as Rşabha proclaimed the Ārhataśāstra. Rşabha is called an incarnation of Vişnu in Bhāgavata purāņa V. 3 ff. and XI. 2. as also in other holy works of Vişnuism." (Glasenapp, ibid, p. 494).
In South Kannada, Madhvācārya's ( 1192-1278A.D.) philosophical systems of Vaişņavas, there is a clear traces of Jaina influence. As Madhva lived in South Kannada, where Jainism was a ruling religion for centuries, the influence of Jainism could be really understood
In South India Saivite-systems were greatly influenced by Jainism. G.U. Pope (The Tiruvāsagama, Oxford, 1900, p. 86) thinks that “the doctrine of Saiva-Siddhānta of the three fetters (Pāsa) or

Page #32

136
JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
impurities (Mala) which estrange soul from its true nature is reminiscent of Jaina-ideas. (Glasenapp, ibid, p. 494). A group of people thinks that there is an influence of the karma-theory of the Jainas upon the doctrine of Anava-. Some scholars labour under the idea that the influence of Jainism is also probable on the doctrine and cult of the Lingayats". (Glasenapp, ibid, p. 495).
Even the Muslim rulers were greatly influenced by the moral values of the Jaina codes. The forbearance (kṣamā), humility (mardava), uprightness (ārjava), absence of greediness (nirlobhatā), truthfulness (satyatā) and many other good qualities, and the philosophy of the Jains have attracted many Muslim rulers in the mediaeval India. And they did quite a lot to the Jain monks and religion. At the initial stage there was some misunderstanding with the Jains, but at a later stage both the Muslims and the Jains became very good friends, and even today the Jains can go well with the Muslims of the country. From the pages of history, I will cite a few examples to demonstrate the truth of this assertion.
After the foundation of an Islamic state in Sindh sometime in 712 A.D., the position of the Jains as well as the Hindus was not very congeneal. At the invasions of Mahmud Gazni (1001 A.D.), Mahammed Ghori (1175 A.D.) and Ala-ud-din Muhammed Shah Khilji marching through Gujarat in 1297-98A.D., the Jains were very much distrurbed. Even though the position of the Jains was not congeneal at the initial stage, the relationship between the Muslims and the Jains gradually became very friendly. The good relationsship was possible by the influence of the Arabian missionary Pir Mahābir. Khamdayat, who came to India in 1304 A.D. He, by his sheer eloquence, brought both the Jains and the Muslims under one canopy. As a result, many Muslim rulers honoured many Jain poets. For example, Ala-ud-din gave the Jaina poet Ramacandra Sūri many presents. In a similar way, Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq (1351-1388 A.D.) honoured Ratnasekhara, the author of Śripālacarita.
In this connection the name of Emperor Akbar (1566-1606A.D.) can be mentioned. Emperor Akbar showed immense kindness to one Śvetambara Jaina teacher Hiravijayaji. It is said that Akbar took great

Page #33

SatyaRanjanBanerjee:Contributionofthe Jainsin Developing MoralFibresofthelndians
137
interest in Jain religion and there was a rumour that Akbar embraced Jain-faith. In 1593 A.D. Akbar issued a sanad by which the five hills of Rajgir, the Pārsvanātha hill in Bihar and other Svetāmbara shrines were declared as holy places and killing of animals in the surroundings was forbidden. Akbar had also contacts with Vijayasena, the successor of Hiravijaya, and also with Jinacandra, the head of the Kharatagaccha.
Similar type of encouragement was continued by subsequent Mogul Emperors. Emperor Jahangir (1605-1627 A.D.) showed his respect to Jinacandra and his successor Jinasimla was honoured with the title Yugapradhāna. Jahangir also issued a Farmān for the protection of Satruñjaya. Shahjahan and his sons Murad Baksh and Aurangzeb (1659-1707 A.D.) issued a similar Farmān and awarded the district Satruñjaya with its 2 lakhs income as Inām to Satidās, a Jaina court-jeweller. Ahmed Shah (1746-1754) did the same thing with the Mountain Pārsvanātha which was awarded to Jagat Seth Mahtāb Rāi and his successor for the Jains.
In this way a good relationship has been established between the Jains and the Islamic Emperors. (For this piece of information, see Glasenapp, Jainism, pp. 73-75)
Before I conclude I must not forget to mention the name of Mahatmā Gandhi who was exceptionally influenced by the ahiṁsā of Jainism. Under the influence of ahiṁsā, Mahātmā Gandhi proclaimed "non-violence civil disobedience” for the independence of India. Mahātmā Gandhi himself was a Vaişņava and under the influence of a Jaina Sādhu his mother made him to take a vow not to take meat, alchohal and women in England while he would be there for studies.
I believe there could be a very good thesis to write on the influence of Jainism on Indian life, philosophy and literary activities.
The foregoing account of this discourse is intended neither to disparage the views of the Jains nor to avoid queries from inquisitive corners, but solely to illustrate the differences in taste and outlook which may account for the discrepancy between the Jaina and Hindu estimates of the present dissertation.

Page #34

138
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
Bibliography
Banerjee, S.R.--- Mānasāgara's Kāṇhada Kathiyarā rī Caupai, a middle
Rājasthānī text of the oldest period 1690, Calcutta, 1980 Banerjee, S.R. --- Introducing Jainism, Jain Bhawan, Calcutta, 2002. Glasenapp, Helmuth von --- Jainism, an Indian Religion of Salva
tion, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Ltd. Delhi, 1999. Jain, S.A. --- Reality, English Translation of Pūjyapāda's
Sarvārthasiddri, Vira Sasana Sangha, Calcutta, 1960. Williams, Robert --- Jaina Yoga, a Survey of the Mediaeval
Srāvakācāras, Oxford Univerty Press, London, 1963.

Page #35

CONCEPT OF DRAVYA (SUBSTANCE). IN JAIN
PHILOSOPHY
Dr Veer Sagar Jain
1. Need to know the nature and form of substance/dravya.
As per Jain philosophy, this cosmos (loka) is another name of an amalgam of infinite substances. Therefore to know this cosmos, it is essential that we understand properly the concept and nature of substance (dravya). Without knowing the nature of substance, we cannot understand the characteristics of any entity properly / correctly. As the cosmos is said to be an amalgam of infinite substances, knowledge of the nature of substance will help us understand the entire process of origination, destruction and changes taking place in the cosmos better. One of the Jain ācāryas has gone to the extent of saying that the foundation of all worldly or spiritual knowledge is the knowledge of the dravya itself.'
Ācārya Nemicandra Siddhāntadeva, in the first gāthā (verse) of his text Dravyasangraha, given below, says that the main reason of our worshipping the Jain preceptors (Jinendradeva) is that they gave us the true description of the substances like jīva (living beings).?
jīvamajīvam davvam jiņavara-vasahena jena niddițțham. Devirda-vinda-vandam vande tas savvadā sirasā.
“We pay our homage by bending down our heads to Jinendra ķaşabhadeva, who has given us the sermons of jīva (living beings)
1. Anena dhimăn vyavahāramärga huddhvă punarhodhati suddhamārgama.
Niyama Sāra kalasa52. 2. Dravyasamgraha - 1

Page #36

140
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
and ajīva (non living beings) and who is adored by the entire community of heavenly gods.”
Thus without having the knowledge of dravya, how can any body know correctly the supreme soul (Jinendradeva)? If one does not know the true nature of the supreme soul, how can one worship them properly and with all obeisances ? Therefore, one of the most respected ācāryas today, Kundakunda says that the main reason to destroying delusion is to know the substance, its attributes and modes as given in the following verse.
jo jāņadi arihamtam davvatta-guņatta-pajjayattehim, so jāņadi appāņam moho khalu jādi tassa layam
“One who knows the supreme soul by its substance, modes and attributes, knows his selfand destroys the delusion in the process.”
We, therefore, infer that knowledge of substance, its modes and attributes enable us to get the correct knowledge of soul and supreme soul thereby destroying delusion, the root cause of all our problems. Hence it is not only important but essential to have full knowledge of the nature and concept of substance.
2. Characteristics of substance/dravya.
Dravya is a definitive term of Jain philosophy which in general represents an entity of an object. This is why Jain Ācārya Umāsvāmī (2nd century AD) writes :
sat dravya-lakṣaṇam" i.e. reality (existent) is the characteristics of dravya / substance. What is real is substance. Now, the question arises what reality / sat is. He then proceeds to say the following:
utpāda-vyaya-dhrauvya-yuktan sat
3. 4. 5.
Pravacanasāra - 80 Tattvārthasūtra 5/29 ibid 5 / 30

Page #37

Veer Sagar Jain: Concept of Dravya (Substance) in Jain Philosophy
i.e. reality is with origination, destruction and permanence. As per Jain philosophy, all objects / entities in this cosmos, whether sentient or insentient, are with origination, destruction and permanence characteristics are substances. New form of an entity is called its origination; giving up its old state is called destruction and the continuation of the nature of the substance is permanence; e.g. destruction of the state of milk results in origination of the state curd and the continuation of its being dairy product of cow (go-rasa) for use by us continues its existence." This way each and every entity in this cosmos goes through origination-destruction-permanence continuously at every moment. Hence all these entities are termed as substance and are therefore real, sat.
Besides reality/existent, another characteristic of substance in Jain philosophy is that it is always with attributes and moeds (paryāya) as given by Umāsvāmī in the following sutra.
guṇaparyaya-vad dravayam'.
Those parts of the substance, which co-exist with it, are called attributes (guna) and those that occur serially (krama) are called modes (paryaya). There is no entity in this cosmos, which is not always accompanied with attributes and modes. Knowledge, intuition, happiness etc. are the attributes of living beings while mind-based knowledge, verbal testimony etc. are the modes of knowledge. Similarly form, taste, odour and touch are the attributes of matter (pudgala) and black/white/yellow etc. are the modes of attribute colour.
141
Thus we conclude that dravya is what is real and real is with origination-destruction and permanence or with attributes and modes.
Jain texts use the word dravya primarily to represent substance. However, we also find the terms like object (artha), thing (padartha),
6. Āpta-mīmāmsā, karikā 72
7. Tattvärthasūtra 5/38

Page #38

142
object of knowledge (jñeya or prameya) etc. aryate gamyate parichidyate vā eti artham' i.e. the entity is cognized in the object. Similarly all other terms used are with the object of acquiring knowledge about them. Dravya is also called existent (vastu) as ‘vasanti guṇāḥ yasmin tat vastu' or an entity in which attributes exist is called substance.
3.
Number / quantity of dravyas.
There are infinite substances in this cosmos, but they can be all classified in six main categories namely:
:
Jiva Pudgala :
Dharma
Adharma
Ākāśa
Kāla
JAIN JOURNAL VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY 2008
:
:

Living beings
Matter
Principle of motion Principle of rest
Space Time
It is significant to know that most of the philosophics of the world talk about Mono-ism or advaitavada i.e. only one type of existence and everything emanating from it. But Jain philosophy talks about duality of existence / reality i.e. it propagates Duopoly of existence of living and non-living beings. The Jains say that both living beings as well as non-living beings are existent and hence eternal truth and not imaginary or pseudo-reality is imagined. Similarly knowledge and object of knowledge, eternal and temporary, soul and supreme soul etc. are all existent and real.
We shall briefly discuss each of these now, Jain literature, however, discusses at length the nature of living beings and matter as these are primary substance types which are helpful in following the path of spiritual purification and attaining emancipation.
a. Jiva or living beings.
An entity with consciousness and its manifestation as

Page #39

Veer Sagar Jain: ConceptofDravya (Substance) in Jain Philosophy
knowledge and intuition etc. is termed as living being. From absolute point of view, living beings do not possess attributes like taste, touch, odour or colour and hence are non-concrete. While existing in the cosmos as empirical living beings, it lives/exists due to its capabilities of breathe, sense organs, life span and overall energy as pure soul, whereas it exists at the summit of cosmos and exists / lives forever with its attributes of knowledge, intuition and bliss.
Acarya Nemicandra Siddhantadeva in his text DravyaSamgraha, has explained in a lucid manner the true nature of Jiva based on its nine special characteristics as given below.
143
i. Jivatva
An entity which lives as per absolute viewpoint with the force and capability of its consciousness and as per practical viewpoint with its four forces/capabilities of breathe, lifespan, sensual organs and its energy, is called to have Jivatva or is called Jiva".
ii. Upayogamaya or able to manifest
Here upayoga means primarily manifestation of consciousness into intuition (darśanopayoga) and knowledge (jñānopayoga). There are further sub divisions of these two manifestations of consciousness which we do not discuss at this stage. However, it is to be understood that this manifestation of consciousness is the primary or main characteristic of Jiva in Jain philosophy e.g. the verses 'upayogo lakṣaṇam'10 and 'cetanālakṣaṇo jivaḥ' indicate this concept clearly.
iii. Amurtika non-concrete:
Jiva by its nature is non-concrete and attributes like touch, taste, colour and odour are not associated with it.
8.
Dravyasamgraha - 1/2
9.
ibid 1/16
10. ibid 1 /17 11.ibid 1/18

Page #40

144
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY, 2diß
iv. Kartā or Doer / Agent :
From absolute point of view, it is the doer of its nature and from practical point of view it is the doer of its matter karmas.
V. Svadehaparimāņa or is of the size of the body it owns. :
Jīva expands or contracts in shape and size according to the body it lives in at different times. When it is liberated of all its kārmika impurities, it is of the size and shape slightly less than the last body it owned.
vi. Bhoktā or enjoyer:
From absolute viewpoint, it is the enjoyer of its nature and from practical point of view it is the enjoyer of its matter karmas.
vii. Samsārastha or exists in this cosmos.:
From the beginning-less time, it exists in this cosmos at different places and destinies.
viii. Siddha or Pure soul ::
When it is fully free from all the kārmika impurities, then it attains the status of siddha (one who has attained its objective) or mukta (free from bondages). It stays in this status forever and is omniscient, detached and in a state of bliss. It is not born again in any other form (no reincarnation).
ix. Urdhvagamana or to move upwards :
Like the flame of a fire, its nature is to move always straight up, but due to kārmika bondage it appears to move in different directions.
b. Pudgala or matter :
An entity that has the characteristics like touch, taste, odour, colour (i.e. subjects of the five sense- organs of human beings) is called matter. The word pudgala is a definitive term of Jains which

Page #41

Veer Sagar Jain:Conceptof Dravya (Substance)in Jain Philosophy
145
means pud (fusion) and gala (fission) i.e. an entity which is with fusion and fission is pudgala. Whatever our sense-organs can cognize directly is matter. The remaining five substance types are non-concrete and cannot be cognized by our sense-organs directly. Word, Bondage, subtle, gross, darkness, shadow, light, heat etc. are the modes of matter.2
Based on the smallest part (aņu ) and their combinations (lump or amalgam), matter can be classified as paramāņu i.e. smallest indivisible part and combination of two or more paramāņu called as lump (skanda). Skandha is further classified in six categories as follows.
Gross-gross.
Lump which can be broken in parts and the parts cannot be lumped together again e.g. wood, stone.
Gross
Lump which cannot be broken in parts, but divided and can be mixed up together again e.g. milk, water etc.
Gross-subtle Those which can be seen but cannot be
touched or held e.g.shade, light etc. Subtle-gross Those which cannot be seen but cognized
by some other sense-organs e.g. words,
sound, heat, odour etc. Subtle
Cannot be cognized by any sense-organ
directly like karma particles. Subtle-subtle Even smaller e.g. lumps of two or three
paramāņus. c. Dharma or Principle of motion :
Here the terms dharma and adharma do not mean the contemporary meaning or religion and non religion. Jain philosophy
12. ibid 1/17

Page #42

146
says that like living beings and non-living beings, there are two more entities known as dharma or principle of motion and adharma or principle of rest. Both are real and existent and hence have all the attributes associated with dravya. Because they are non-concrete, they cannot be cognized directly by sense-organs. Even the scientists have proved the existence of these entities.
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
Principle of motion supports the motion of those objects (living beings and matter), which are moving e.g. water supports the movement of fish or the rail-lines support the movement of trains. It is one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
d. Adharma or principle of rest:
It is a substance which supports the resting entities (living beings and matter), e.g. the shade of a tree supports a tired traveller's intention to rest. It is like force of friction in modern science. It is also one in number and omnipresent throughout the cosmos.
It is important to note that both these principles of motion and rest are the efficient cause (nimitta) only for the entities to be in these states. They on their own do not encourage or cause these entities to move or rest. This point is very emphatically clarified in all texts of Jain philosophy e.g. the Dravya-saṁgraha13 in both gāthās (12 and 13) say 'acchantā ņeva so neī and 'gacchantā ņeva so dharadi on the subject clearly say so.
e. Ākāśa or space :
The entity which provides space for all jīva and matter, is called ākāśa or space. It is also one in number and omnipresent through cosmas and beyond. Even though it is one in number, yet from the point of view of six substance types, it is divided in two conceptual parts, namely lokākāśa and alokākās. Lokākāśa is the space where all the substances are found. It is surrounded by an infinite called
space
13. ibid I/18

Page #43

Veer Sagar Jain:ConceptofDravya (Substance)inJain Philosophy
147
alokākāśa which is like void i.e. no other substance exists there except just space. To give one example, consider a glass half full with milk, Then in speaking terms one can say that this glass is with milk and this glass is without milk to give a feeling that there are two glasses though only one glass exists. Similarly ākāśa is just one but divided in two parts for the sake of understanding and function!
f. Kāla or Time. :
The entity which supports transformation or change taking place in living beings and matter, is called kāla or time's. It is also nonconcrete and is innumerable in number. Like jewels, it is spread throughout space (lokākāśa). From practical point of view, it is denoted as year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second etc. but these are all modes of kāla. If there is no kāla, then no change or transformation in living beings or matter will be possible. This fact itself proves the existence of kāla. In Svetāmbara texts, generally they do not consider kāla as substance, but because of its usefulness, sometimes they do accept kāla as substance also.
Thus there are six types of substances in this cosmos. Jain texts have clubbed these six substances in two categories namely sentient (jiva) and insentient (ajīva). All the five substances except sīva being insentient are clubbed together in one category. Ācārya Nemicandra Siddhāntadeva in his text Dravya-samgraha, has accordingly said that there are two types of substances only sentient and insentient.16
Similarly substances are classified as concrete and non-concrete or active (sakriya) and passive (niskriya) or sva-dravya and paradravya') as below.
14. ibid 1/19 15. ibid 1 /20 16. ibid 11 17. Paramātma-prakāśa 2/29, commentary,

Page #44

18.
ibid 2/29 commentary
a. Concrete and non concrete: Only matter is concrete and the rest are non concrete.
b. Active and passive: Only jiva and matter are active and the remaining four are passive or supporting in
nature:
c. Sva-dravya (self-same) and para-dravya (others): This classification is seen in spiritual texts only where the soul / ātmā is svadravya and all other living beings and other substances are para-draya. This classification is essential to understand and contemplate on the self for spiritual purification1 d. Astikāya (many space points) and an-astikāya (one space point only): Except time, all other substances
are with many space points and hence are classified as astikāya. Time is with one space point only and not an astikāya. Kala is also called as without any space point. Thus, except time, all other substances are clubbed together and are called pañcāstikāya. The famous text Pañcastikaya of Kundakunda describes these five substances only.
S.no. Name:
Nature
Number Space point Concrete
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Jiva
Knowledge, bliss
Pudgala Touch, taste, colour, smell
Dharma
Supports motion
Adharma
Supports rest
Ākāśa
Provides space
Kāla
Supports change
infinite innumerable No. No.
do Yes
No.
No.
No.
No.
infinite
one
one
one
innumerable
do
do
do
one
Sentient
Yes
No.
No.
No.
No.
No.
Active Astikāya
Yes
Yes
No.
No.
No.
No.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No.
148
JAIN JOURNAL : VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 200

Page #45

Veer Sagar Jain:Conceptof Dravya(Substance)in Jain Philosophy
149
It is important to note that as per Jain philosophy, the number of substances in this cosmos do not change i.e. no new substance is created and no existing substance gets destroyed ; they just change form. Hence all substances are eternal i.e. they were existent in the past, exist now and will continue to exist forever. Also it is true that they keep on transforming continuously. No substance stays in the same state even for a minute faction of a second i.e. transformation is the nature of all substances.
It is also to be noted that transformation of any particular substance is within certain limits. No substance will ever leave its nature i.e. sentient can never become insentient and vice versa. For example, a male child keeps on transforming as a male only while a female child keeps on changing as a female only. Similarly Jiva can never become matter and mater can never become Jīva . Similarly we can surmise for other substance types also."
Similarly each substance is the material cause of its own transformation : no other substance can be so. Other substances can have a relationship like cause and effect only i.e. other substances can be the efficient cause of transformation in the main substance.20
Another important feature of substances in Jain philosophy is that each substance is eternally independent and complete in itself. No substance has origination ab-initio i.e. totally new and no substance gets totally destroyed. Similarly no substance is dependent on other substances. No substance does anything for any other substance and does not obstruct in the functioning of other substances. From practical point of view, however, it is said that all substances are inter-related, but from absolute viewpoint no substance is the doer of anything for any other substance. Every substance stays in its nature
ng. Samayasāra commentary 309
Samayasāra chapter on kartā-karma

Page #46

150.
and they do not enter or interfere in the nature of other substances. The following verse from Kundakunda is worth mentioning here in this context.
annonnam pavisaṁtā diṁtā ogāsa-maņṇa-maṇṇassa, melaṇā vi ya other, niccam sagasabbhāvam na vija hamti11
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
These substances do meet each other, interact with each, support other's activities: but they never leave their nature or adopt the nature of other substances.
Like Kundakunda, other ācāryas have also said similarly, notably ācāryas Vīrasena and Kartikeya.
General and specific attributes of substances. :
As we have said earlier, each substance has infinite attributes. Some attributes are generic in nature i.e. found in more than one substance, while the others are termed specific or unique to a particular substance. Generic attributes are found in all substances, be they sentient or insentient which are as follows:
·
Existence / eternal existence (Astitva) i.e. by its virtue the substance exists forever and can be neither created nor destroyed.
Causal efficiency or functionality (Vastutva) i.e. every substance is capable of performing a purposeful action (artha kriyā)
Substantive-ness or fluency or persistence (Dravyatva) i.e. due to this attribute the substance keeps on changing e.g. the ocean keeps on changing its modes by having waves at every moment but it still always stays as ocean.
• Objectivity or measurability (Prameyatva) i.e. by its virtue a substance can become an object of knowledge.
21. Pancastikāya-saṁgraha

Page #47

Veer Sagar Jain:ConceptofDravya (Substance)inJain Philosophy
151
• Extension in the space / occupying space or some sort of form (Pradeśatva) i.e. by virtue of this attribute a substance can occupy space and have some shape / form.
• Eternal persistence or identity/ essence/invariance (Agurulaghutva) i.e. an attribute which prevents the substance and its attributes from leaving its substancehood or attributes, e.g. sugar even if mixed with poison does not leave its nature of being sweet.
Generic attributes which are found in more than one substance:
i.
Insentient e.g. matter, space, time etc. except living beings.
ii. Non-concrete e.g. all substances except matter.
Specific attributes, specific to a particular substance type, are as follows:
i. Living beings knowledge, intuition, conduct, bliss, energy etc. ii. Pudgala Touch, taste, odour, colour or form etc
iii. Dharma
Supports motion
iv. Adharma
Supports rest
v.
Space
Provide space to stay / exist.
vi. Time
Supports change / transformation
We have thus concluded our discussion on substances as per Jain philosophy.

Page #48

Communication:
SPIRITUAL CHALLENGES OF THE DAY
Sadhvi Dr. Yogakshem Prabha
Now-a-days, man is living in the age of science. The chariot of era is coming with the higher achievements of science. Science of today has become the part and parcel of the life. It is, indeed, the need of the day. Nobody can deny its importance in this modern age. The world as it stands today is unconceivable without science. It has made a man giant in knowledge, but poor, dwarf in essential human feelings and internal efficiences. Spiritually deals with human feelings and internal upliftment with the help of inner resources. So it is the need of time to coordinate science with spirituality. Mere materialistic progress is not sufficient. It is true that man does not live by bread alone, he needs the food of spirit also. The materialistic progress and the mechanical development cannot reach the real aim of life that is why Eins Hen, the great scientist of the past century said, "I have searched till the matter only. I desire that if there is a re-birth, I will wish to know about myself, the knower". The great scientist also felt the need to synchronize science with spirituality. Science is necessary, but not only the necessity because without peace and tranquility all is in vain.
There are two basic factors that sustain human life: spirituality and morality. Spirituality has an eternal value. Morality is the reality related to time and place. Spiritualism has its influence on all the time, it can never be avoid of morality. At present even social beliefs tend to encourage immorality. The people occupying positions of power also indulge in such acts to protect that power. Thus, corruption and immorality are pervading top to bottom from teachers to layman, all have sunk in it deeply. The uncontrolled desires and selfishness are giving birth to the burning problems.
After a period of fifty years, the spiritual challenges are

Page #49

Sadhvi Yogakshem Prabha:SpiritualChallenges ofthe Day
153
multiplying day by day. The spiritual values like tolerance, patience, self-confidence, self-restraint, emotional balance, self-analysis, love, brotherhood are neglected now-a-days. It is the crying need of the day to understand the relevance of them. If the social order, laws and religion cannot leave any impact on human life, then it is imperative to bring about social awakening which is, indeed, needed apparently.
It is evident that the advantages of the half century are wonderful. India has obtained too much success in the field of economics, industry, computer technology etc. After independence India has ascended on the peaks of progress. Needless to say that the achievements hold water. In spite of obtaining much, the problems are still unsolved. Economic and industrial development and surfeit of consumer goods cannot reduce violence, crime, corruption etc. On the contracy, they can be instrumental for increasing them.
Violence, terrorism, secessionism, addictions to intoxicating substances are the challenging problems before the country. Lots of discussions are going on for the solution of these problems. But the signs of solutions are nowhere in sight. The reason is obvious. There are frantic efforts for the immediate solution but less attention is being paid to the root causes of them.
Among these problems violence and crime are two major problems we are facing today. This is a fact that violence was also prevalent in the past. But it becomes a problem when there is no check on the emotions. The root cause of violence is attachment for material things. The deeper the attachment and instinct of possession the more terrible would be the violence. At that time violence gives birth to crimes. One more factor behind it is the individual tendency to grab more and more denying the others of their shares. This exploitation is an important cause of it.
To prevent violence, training in non-violence is necessary. Training in non-violence (AHIMSĀ) means training in controlling emotions, practice for changing life-style. This kind of training is the all tịne solution for violence. On this basis, Ācārya Mahāprajña, a

Page #50

JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
spiritual personality of the world, has started an effort of the training in non-violence on international level. If the scheme is successfully implemented, then the sun of peaceful co-existence can shine with full brightness by dispelling the darkness of violence and cruelty.
154
In this cyber age, the remarkable development of material world cannot leave any impact on human life, then it is imperative to bring about social awakening which is needed apparently.
In this cyber age, the remarkable development of science is seen evidently. After the cloning of cow, cat, goat etc. human cloning is also possible, but how to control the animal brain of human being, how to change the secretion of hypothalamus science has no answer. In spite of the extravagant researches of life on Moon, Mars etc. the life on Earth is not so happy. The world of today is full of tensions. Because of that a large number of psychological disorders arise, leading to serious and grave health problems. Many psycho-somatic diseases have snatched happiness of mankind. Under these circumstances we need appropriate remedies if such remedies are not sought out there can be serious repercussions both of the mind and body.
Acārya Mahāprajña, a great spiritual personality of the world, has given a great boon of Preksha-meditation, in the form of many readymade formula on scientific base. The practice of P.M. can provide positively very interesting elves to cure the body as well as mind.

Page #51

JAIN BHAWAN: ITS AIMS AND OBJECTS
Since the establishment of the Jain Bhawan in 1945 in the Burra Bazar area of Calcutta by eminent members of Jain Community, the Jain Bhawan has kept the stream of Jain philosophy and religion flowing steadily in eastern India for the last over fiftyeight years. The objectives of this institution are the following:
1.
To establish the greatness of Jainism in the world rationally and to spread its glory in the light of new knowledge.
To develop intellectual, moral and literary pursuits in the society. To impart lessons on Jainism among the people of the country. To encourage research on Jain Religion and Philosophy.
To achieve these goals, the Jain Bhawan runs the following programmes in various fields.
2.
3.
4.
1. School:
To spread the light of education the Bhawan runs a school, the Jain Shikshalaya, which imparts education to students in accordance with the syllabi prescribed by the West Bengal Board. Moral education forms a necessary part of the curricula followed by the school. It has on its roll about 550 students and 25 teachers.
2. Vocational and Physical Classes:
Accepting the demands of the modern times and the need to equip the students to face the world suitably, it conducts vocational and physical activity classes. Classes on traditional crafts like tailoring, stitching and embroidery and other fine arts along with Judo, Karate and Yoga are run throughout the year, not just for its own students, but for outsiders as well. They are very popular amongst the ladies of Burra Bazar of Calcutta.
3. Library:
"Education and knowledge are at the core of all round the development of an individual. Hence the pursuit of these should be the sole aim of life". Keeping this philosophy in mind a library was established on the premises of the Bhawan, with more than 10,000 books on Jainism, its literature and philosophy and about 3,000 rare manuscripts, the library is truly a treasure trove. A list of such books and manuscripts can be obtatined from the library.
4. Periodicals and Journals:
To keep the members abreast of contemporary thinking in the field of religion the library subscribes to about 100 (one hundred) quarterly, monthly and weekly periodicals from different parts of the world. These can be issued to members interested in the study of Jainism.
5. Journals:
Realising that there is a need for reasearch on Jainism and that scholarly knowledge needs to be made public, the Bhawan in its role as a research institution brings out theree periodicals: Jain Journal in English, Titthayara in Hindi and Śramana in Bengali. In 37 years of its publication, the Jain Journal has carved out a niche for itself in the field and has received universal acclaim. The Bengali journal Śramana, which is being published for thirty year, has become a prominent channel for the sbvgftr54pread of Jain philosophy in West Bengal. This is the only Journal in Bengali which deals exclusively with matters concerning any aspects of Jainism. Both the Journals are edited by a renowned scholar Professor Dr Satya Ranjan Banerjee of Calcutta University.

Page #52

156
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
The Jain Journal and Śramaṇa for over thirty seven and thirty years respectively have proved byond doubt that these Journals are in great demand for its quality and contents. The Jain Journal is highly acclaimed by foreign scholars. The same can be said about the Hindi journal Titthayara which is edited by Mrs Lata Bothra. In April this year it entered its 25th year of publication. Needless to say that these journals have played a key-role in propagating Jain literature and philosophy. Progressive in nature, these have crossed many milestones and are poised to cross many more. 6. Seminars and Symposia :
The Bhawan organises seminars and symposia on Jain philosophy, literature and the Jain way of life, from time to time. Eminent scholars, laureates, professors etc. are invited to enlighten the audience with their discourse. Exchange of ideas, news and views are the integral parts of such programmes. 7. Scholarships to researchers :
The Bhawan also grants scholarships to the researchers of Jain philosophy apart from the above mentioned academic and scholastic activities.
8. Publications:
The Bhawan also publishes books and papers on Jainism and Jain philosophy. Some of its prestigious publications are :
The Bhagavati Sūtra [in English] Parts 1 to 4
Barsat ki Rat (A Rainy Night) [in Hindi], Panchadarshi [in Hindi] Bangal ka Adi Dharma (Pre-historic religion of Bengal) Praśnottare Jaina-dharma (in Bengali) (Jain religion by questions and answers).
Weber's Sacred Literature of the Jains.
Jainism in Different States of India.
Introducing Jainism.
9. A Computer Centre :
To achieve a self-reliance in the field of education, a Computer training centre was opened at the Jain Bhawan in Fabruary 1998. This important and welcome step will enable us to establish links with the best educational and cultural organisations of the world. With the help of e-mail, internet and website, we can help propagate Jainism throughout the world. Communications with other similar organisations will enrich our own knowledge. Besides the knowledge of programming and graphics, this computer training will equip our students to shape their tomorrows. 10. Research :
It is, in fact, a premiere institution for research in Prakrit and Jainism, and it satisfies the thirst of many researchers. To promote the study of Jainism in this country, the Jain Bhawan runs a research centre in the name of Jainology and Prakrit Research Institute and encourages students to do research on any aspects of Jainism.
In a society infested with contradictions and violence, the Jain Bhawan acts as a philosopher and guide and shows the right path.
Friends, you are now aware of the functions of this prestigious institution and its noble intentions. We, therefore, request you to encourage us heartily in our creative and scholastic endeavours. We do hope that you will continue to lend us your generous support as you have been doing for a long time.

Page #53

English:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ganesh Lalwani - Jainthology
G. Lalwani and S. R. Banerjee-Weber's Sacred Literature of the Jains
Prof. S. R. Banerjee - Jainism in Different States of India
9.
Prof. S. R. Banerjee - Introducing Jainism 10. K.C.Lalwani - Sraman Bhagwan Mahavira 11. Smt. Lata Bothra - The Harmony Within
12. Smt. Lata Bothra - From Vardhamana to Mahavira 13. Smt. Lata Bothra- An Image of Antiquity
Hindi:
1.
2.
Ganesh Lalwani - Atimukta (2nd edn)
translated by Shrimati Rajkumari Begani Ganesh Lalwani - Śraman Samskriti ki Kavita, translated by Shrimati Rajkumari Begani Ganesh Lalwani - Nīlānjanā
translated by Shrimati Rajkumari Begani 4. Ganesh Lalwani - Candana-Murti,,
3.
nd comm
6.
JAIN BHAWAN PUBLICATIONS P-25, Kalakar Street, Kolkata - 700 007
Bhagavati-Sutra - Text edited with English translation by K.C. Lalwani in 4 volumes; (śatakas 1-2) (satakas 3 - 6)
Vol - I Vol - II Vol III (satakas 7-8)
Vol-IV (satakas 9 - 11)
James Burges - The Temples of Satruñjaya, 1977, pp. x+82 with 45 plates
[It is the glorification of the sacred mountain Satrunjaya.]
7
P.C. Samsukha -- Essence of Jainism translated by Ganesh Lalwani,
Ganesh Lalwani - Thus Sayeth Our Lord, Verses from Cidananda
translated by Ganesh Lalwani
translated by Shrimati Rajkumari Begani Ganesh Lalwani - Vardhaman Mahavir Ganesh Lalwani - Barsat ki Ek Rat, Ganesh Lalwani - Pañcadasi Rajkumari Begani - Yado ke Aine me,

Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price : Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
157
150.00
150.00
150.00
150.00
100.00
15.00
50.00
15.00 100.00
100.00
100.00
30.00
25.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
40.00
20.00
30.00
50.00
60.00
45.00
100.00
30.00

Page #54

158
9. Prof. S. R. Banerjee - Prakrit Vyakarana Praveśikā Price: Rs. 10. Smt. Lata Bothra - Bhagavan Mahavira Aur Prajatantra
11. Smt. Lata Bothra - Sanskriti Ka Adi Shrot,
Jain Dharm
12. Smt. Lata Bothra - Vardhamana Kaise Bane Mahavir
13. Smt. Lata Bothra - Kesar Kyari Me Mahakta Jain Darshan
1. Ganesh Lalwani - Atimukta
2.
3.
4.
5.
Price: Rs.
14. Smt. Lata Bothra - Bharat me Jain Dharma
Price: Rs.
15. Smt. Lata Bothra - Aadinath Risabdav Aur AustapadPrice: Rs.
16. Smt. Lata Bothra - Austapad Yatra
Price: Rs.
17. Smt. Lata Bothra - Aatm Darsan
Price: Rs.
Bengali:
6.
7.
8.
JAIN JOURNAL: VOL-XLII, NO.3 JANUARY. 2008
2.
Ganesh Lalwani - Śraman Sanskritir Kavitā
Puran Chand Shymsukha - Bhagavān Mahāvīra () Jaina Dharma.
3.
Prof. Satya Ranjan Banerjee
4.
Praśnottare Jaina Dharma
Prof. Satya Ranjan BanerjeeMahavir Kathamrita
Some Other Publications:
Dr. Jagat Ram BhattacharyaDasavaikälika sutra
Sri Yudhisthir Majhi
1. Acharya Nanesh - Samatā Darshan O Vyavahar (Bengali) Shri Suyash Muniji - Jain Dharma O Sasanavali (Bengali).
Sarak Sanskriti O Puruliar Purākirti
Dr. Abhijit Battacharya - Aatmjayee

Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.

Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Shri Suyash Muniji - Śrī Kalpasūtra (Bengali) Edited by S.R. Banerjee
Shri Suyash Muniji - Aṣṭāhnikā Vyakhyāna(Bengali) Edited by S.R. Banerjee
5. Panch Pratikraman Sutrani.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs.
Price: Rs. Price: Rs.
20.00
15.00
20.00
15.00
10.00
100.00
250.00
50.00
50.00
40.00
20.00
15.00
20.00
20.00
25.00
20.00
20.00.
50.00
100.00
60.00

Page #55

“GANGES” FOR QUALITY
JUTE GOODS
Manufacturers of : Canvas, Tarpaulins, Special & Ordinary Hessian including
fine Carpet Backing All Sacking Twine
THE GANGES MANUFACTURING
COMPANY LIMITED Chatterjee International Centre 33A, Jawaharlal Nehru Road, 6th Floor, Flat No. A-1 Kolkata - 700 071
2226-0881 Gram : “GANGJUTMIL”
2226-0883 Fax : +91-33-245-7591
Phone Telex : 021-2101 GANGIN
2226-6283 L 2226-6953
Mill : BANSBERIA DIST: HOOGLY
Pin-712 502 Phone : 26346441 / 26446442
Fax : 26346287

Page #56
Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India Under No. R. N. 1212/66. Winter - 2008 He, who himself is restrained, should speak of only what is seen and that with moderation and clarity. His utterance should be whole, intelligible and direct, with no verbosity or emotion. With Best Compliments from Kotak Securities 3A, Landmark, 3rd floor, 228A, AJC Bose Road, Kolkata - 700 020 m. to Phone : 2283460