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Jaina Religion: Its Historical Journey of Evolution 31
these. First Kriyāvādins emphasized more on the outer aspects of conduct. Theirs was a predominantly ritualistic category. In the Buddhist tradition this concept is called 'śīla-vrataparāmarśa'; the second is Akriyāvāda. The essential bases of Akriyāvāda or Jñănavāda were either different kinds of fatalistic viewpoints or those who nourished the philosophical concept of Ātman as unchanging and imperishable and inactive reality. These traditions were exponents of Jñāna-mārga. For Kriyāvādins, karmas or rituals are everything in spiritual endeavour, for Jñänavādins or Akriyāvādins knowledge is everything for spiritual endeavour. Kriyāvāda propounded action or ritual and Akriyāvāda promulgated knowledge as ultimate. A third category of Ajñānavādins was of the view that the realm beyond sensible and the mundane world is just unknowable (ajñeya). Its philosophy took two forms: (i) mysticism (ii) skepticism. Other than these three there was a fourth tradition called Vinayavāda, which is accepted as the prior form of bhakti-mārga. Vinayavāda is another name of bhakti-mārga. Thus, in that period the traditions of Jñāna-märga, Karma-mārga, Bhakti-mārga and Ajñeyavāda were established in different forms.
Mahāvīra tried to explore a synthesis of the above Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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