Gems of Jainism

SR No.: 001803
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Hemant Shah
Publisher: Academy of Philosophy
Publication Year: 2008
Total Pages: 142
Language: English
Classification: Book_English, Articles, & Religion
File Size: 8 MB

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establish his religion all over the world. He will die but will not leave it, will not give in. This is the essence of Crusade or Jehad in Christianity or Islam. It is an attempt to win back the control from those who belong to non-Christian or non-islamic sect or religion.
Gems of Jainism
I would also like to note one more aspect of fundamentalism. It is irrational or anti-ratioual in nature. No rationalist, in the right sense of the term, can be a fundamentalist. In fundamentalism reason has no place. Power of faith operates in fundamentalism and it propels the fundamentalist to fundamental acts. A fundamentalist is irrationally staunch in his fundamental action.
It is some time believed that a fundamentalist is an uneducated person. This is not correct. Even highly educated person can be highly fundamentalist. Education does not always inculcate rationality. History records even persons who have received modern education have become fundamentalist and terrorists. The myth of belief that modern education will prevent fundamentalism and terrorism is proved to be baseless and false.
Fundamentalism, thus is a big threat due to its forceful and irrational insistence on others, and adopting violence and killing for those who do not submit.
Fundamentalism and Jainism:
There is no fundamentalism in Jainism, There can never be fundamentalism in Jainism. Do you know why? Because, Jainism is in complete contrast to fundamentalism. The implementation of non absolutism leaves no scope for force. Besides, Jaina theory of knowledge says that an object has infinite forms and qualities. We can't know them all. No body can claim to know all. No body can claim to know absolute truth. One can know only a few of the infinite aspects of an object. And therefore, one's knowledge is necessarily partial and relative. No fundamentalism can be built on relative and partial knowledge.
There is one more fact, about Jainism, worth noting with reference to fundamentalism. There are no commandments in Jainism. Jain Gods have not given commandrnents. They have always