________________
134
Indian Ethnicity and Religious Heritage
believed in Adwait, thus completely discarding the Karta Theory of God. But Shankara seems to have developed this idea being influenced by the doctrines of Jainism and Buddhism. This is why he was called a "Prachchhanna Buddha" by his critics. However subsequent Bhakti philosophers took a contrary view and introduced the principle of duality. All these developments do emphasize a distinct departure of Jainism and Buddhism on one of the most fundamental and basic thinking of Hinduism.
Idol worship is common in "practice" in all the three religions of India. However, in "theory" it is not so, and can not be so, because the emphasis of Jainism and Buddhism is on the cultivation and development of "Atma" which excludes the concept of any authority outside your own self. It is most important to note that it was the influence of Jainism and Buddhism that efforts of man to realize the reality were taken out of the control of any out side authority and man was asked to rely on his own efforts. This concept of the existence and importance of "Atma" was the matter of subsequent
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
