Jainism the Oldest Living Religion

SR No.: 001195
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jyoti Prasad Jain, Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: P V Research Institute Varanasi
Publication Year: 1988
Total Pages: 66
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, History, Religion, E000, & E999
File Size: 3 MB

Page 36

The Oldest Living Religion
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Still there are some scholars who, owing mostly to deeprooted prejudices and other sentimental reasons, persist in believing and asserting that Jainism is an offshoot of Brāhmanism or that the Jainas are merely Hindu dissenters like the Buddhists, even though their religion is quite independent of and much older than the latter.
As would be clear from what has already been said, there are absolutely no grounds for holding such an opinion. There are innumerable references in the Erāhmanic literature from the Vedas down to the Purāṇas and other medieval literature, to the Jainas, their religion, its Tirthankaras and even their doctrines, sometimes ridiculing and denouncing them 2 and sometimes praising and applauding them,* while
1 Word 'Arban is often mentioned in the Rk and other Vedas (see Max Muller's edition 1854, vol. II, p. 579). The Jaina ascetics are referred to therein as “Windgirdled i.e, nude (see Weber--Ind. Ant. XXX, 1901). For other relevent Vedic hymns see, «Veda Purāņādi Granthon men Jaina Dharma kā Astitva', 'Virodha-Parihāra', 'Satyārtha Darpaņa. The Śramaņas of the Vedas who were antagonistic to animal sacrifice in the Yajñas, the Vrātyas, the Mahā-Vrātya (i.e. Rsabha), their Prajāpati Paramesthin etc. all refer to Jainas. Many of the Upanişads esp. the Chāndogya and Mundaka, the latter using many Jaina technical terms. Its discussions are also quite akin to Jainism, its author Angiras was formerly a Jaina Muni ( see Dr. Johannes Hertell). Mahābhārata (Santi Parva, Moksa Dharma ch. 228 v. 6; Anušāsana Parva ch. 14, v. 18, ch. 149, p. 41, 50, 80). Rāmāyaṇa ( Bālakāņda 14, 22 ), Yoga Vāśistha ( 15, 8 ), Hanuman.Nātaka, practically all the Purānas and most of the other religious and even secular works. For the similarity between the Brahma-Vidyā.Vādins. of the Upanişads and the Jainas see (IHQ—IIJ, p. 307-15-article of Umesh Chandra Bhattacharya).
2 Abuse of Jainism in Non-Jain a literature-J. G. May 1917, p. 144. The author says, “What are generally attacked in Jainism are not the true principles of this religion, but.
* See on next page