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place of external aspects. Consequently, in other Sšamaņictraditions like the Buddhist etc. also began to emphasize the inner aspects of dharma. But till the time of Mahāvīra, the emphasis on external aspects was not fully over, rather culture of Yajñas, Srāddha etc. spread even more in the Brahmana tradition. On the other hand, the thinkers who were emphasizing on internal aspects started ignoring the external aspects of spiritual endeavor completely; with the result, they also reached an extreme form of one-sidedness. Therefore, Mahāvīra tried to establish a synthesis of these two and said that religious endeavor is connected with life as a whole; and in that the internal inspirational force is even more important than external action or rituals in conduct.
Thus, Bhagwan Mahāvīra emphasized on both (i) the inspirational aspects of conduct (2) the consequences of conduct in religious life. He established a harmony between both knowledge and action. In Narasinha-purāna (61/9/11) also, like Āvaśyaka-nirukti (p. 15-17) the combination of both knowledge and action has been described in many ways with examples or allegories. This proves that this thought-process of the Jaina tradition has influenced the Hindu tradition.
PROCLAMATION OF EQUALITY OF MAN
Among the social problems of that period the institution of Varna was a major or significant problem. It was birth that was considered as the basis of Varna rather than one's station and one's personality traits or talent. With the result the institution of Varna got distorted and led to the division of society into higher and lower castes, and that in turn led to a disharmony in social health. Jaina thought-process was
Jainism and its History 52
| SR No. | 032590 |
| Book Title | Jainism And Its History |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Sagarmal Jain |
| Publisher | Research Foundation for Jainology |
| Publication Year | 2018 |
| Total Pages | 328 |
| Language | English |
| Classification | Book_English |
| File Size | 34 MB |