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Jaina Religion: Its Historical Journey of Evolution 17
scriptures have made a commendable effort of this synthesis of pravṛtti and nivṛtti. Similarly, in the Śramana stream the elements of pravṛtti have been introduced later. Buddhism, another important form of Śramana culture, has absorbed so many elements of pravartaka form that in its journey from Mahāyāna to Tantric Buddhism it has gone further away from its main essence. In the history of evolution of Indian religions we cannot overlook the mutual exchange of this kind with the passage of time. And because of this mutual give and take these traditions come very close to each other.
In fact, Indian culture is a culture of synthesis. We cannot understand and study it in separate compartments. Just as the functions of the body cannot be understood by dividing it into its various parts, like wise a piece meal study of Indian culture will destroy its essential from. We can understand Indian culture in a holistic manner only if its different components such as Jaina, Buddhist, Hindu religion and philosophy are studied rightly and in their colligated form. Without this the knowledge of the components alone is incomplete. To understand the functions of an engine we are not only required to study just its parts or components but also how they function by being together or as collocation of parts. Therefore this fact should be borne in mind that a study of For Private & Personal Use Only
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