Jainism in a Global Perspective - Collection of Jain papers of 1993 Parliament of World Religions, Chicago

SR No.: 014010
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sagarmal Jain, Shreeprakash Pandey
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith
Publication Year: 1998
Total Pages: 402
Language: English
Classification: Seminar & Articles
File Size: 23 MB

Page 338

Can Jainism Survive in the 21st Century
309
There is another sort of knowledge which I believe is of great importance. That is knowing to read the scriptures which contain these pearls of wisdom. Many of the authentic Jaina scriptures have been written in Prakrit and Sanskrit, and it is not possible for everyone to know these ancient enchanting languages.
Much Jaina literature has been translated to Gujarati, Hindi and other modern Indian languages. There is always a price to pay when scriptures are translated the cost of making the scriptures available to the masses involves losing some of the charm and effect of the words. Fortunately, since the modern Indian languages are only modified forms of Sanskrit and Prakrit, translation into these languages is not accompanied by a huge tradeoff. However when these scriptures become translated further into English and other European languages there is the danger that there will not be adequate or appropriate words in the language to preserve the spirit of the religion, which may lead to much distortion and dilution in meaning. Hence, I believe that for Jainism to survive in the 21st century knowledge of the Classical languages or at least modern Indian languages in which translated scriptures can be obtained is not merely an advantage but a requirement.
How to put Philosophy into Practice
At university, people often tell me that the philosophy sounds fine in theory but seems impossible to practice in the reality of the modem world. I defy this. I believe that such comments only arise out of ignorance - people do not really understand what we are trying to achieve. Jainism is not asking us as laypeople to renounce the world or sit in meditation all day long. Jainism is a way of life. Indeed there is one set of strict rules for the monks - the Sadhus and Sadhavis who have renounced the world, and another set of more lenient rules (yet preserving the purpose of Jainism) for the Sravakas and Srāvikas (layfollowers). I suppose the word doctrines would be more appropriate than 'rules' for rules suggests a strict, inflexible set of commandments. The beauty of the Jaina doctrines is that they are not limited any particular era for they represent the fundamentals of peacefulliving, and hence can be made to fit into any age or generation. The same set of doctrines preached by Lord Mahāvira more than 2500 years ago, if earnestly practiced by the youths of today, will determine whether