________________
Jaina Religion: Its Historical Journey of Evolution 23 Vedic tradition. And in the worship rituals Tīrthankaras were invited or summoned and were relinquished (visarjana) like Hindu gods. Jainas accepted the rituals of worship of the Hindus with some verbal changes in expressions of the mantras. This is how tapas, meditation and samādhi became secondary, and worship and its ritualistic practices became primary. The result of this mutual influence was that the Hindu tradition accepted Rşabha and Buddha as avatāras and the Jaina tradition recognized Rāma and Krşņa as salākāpurusas. Thus both streams got merged with each other.
Today, we should attempt to understand this mutual influence in an objective and impartial manner, so that the gaps that have been created between different religions could be bridged and their nearness could be understood in the right perspective.
Unfortunately, some foreign elements are trying to create a divide not only between Hindus and Muslims but also between Jainas, Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs which are all parts of the broader Indian tradition; and generally it is being publicized that Jaina and Buddhist religions are not only independent religions but are also opponents of Vedic or Hindu tradition. Jaina and Buddhist
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
