Charlotte Krause her Life and Literature

SR No.: 001785
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Shreeprakash Pandey
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1999
Total Pages: 674
Language: English, Hindi, Gujarati
Classification: Book_English, Biography, & Articles
File Size: 11 MB

Page 253

208 Dr. Charlotte Krause: Her Life & Literature
particularly the 'Adarśa Sadhu' deserve fullest attention, since both of them are not only written on the basis of direct information, but also contain fullest details. For this reason, the 'Adarśa Sadhu' is often referred to in the present Rāsa and must be kept alongside the latter as a valuable supplement. On the other hand, the 'Adarśa Sadhu' describing the events only as far as 1918, the Rasa, in its turn, complements the former work, since it takes into consideration all the events till the Mahatma's death, and even describes the fate of the deceased Acarya's group of disciples in later years.
The Vijaya Dharma Süri Rāsa
In another respect too, the Vijaya Dharma Sūri Rāsa occupies a place of its own, viz., with reference to the spirit in which it is composed. I do not mean the spirit of genuine, and often touching, 'Gurubhakti', which is common to all and every of the extant biographies, but a spirit of enthusiastic devotion to the religious and sectarian ideal which the author professes as his own, and which he not only places high above the ideals of all other religions and sects, but in whose defence and glorification he often severely criticizes heterodox confessions and institutions. Thus, e.g., a devoted and convinced Terapanthī layman must surely feel offended on reading the venerable Upadhyāya's often sarcastic criticisms of the Terapanthi Sect and its dignitaries, and whosoever owes the formation and development of his spiritual self to European, i.e., Christian civilization, must needs feel utterly grieved on finding Christian society characterized as Bhārata Bhraṣṭa Karnāri ( i.e., ‘ruining India' ). But, going through the Rasa with the calm mind of an investigator of Jainism, one cannot but read even the polemic chapters with great interest, since they allow us to get insight into many an astonishing point of discrimination of the various sects and sub-sects, make us acquainted with many interesting monastic rules and customs, and exemplify the subtle way in which dogmatical discussions are being tackled in those circles. Moreover, the observer of social life gets some insight into