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opposed to this kind of caste system, and proclaimed the equality of mankind. On the one hand Harikesibāla of lower caste was ordained and on the other hand the aspirant like Gautama who was a Brahmin by birth was initiated in the spiritual order with the same sense of equality. Not only were caste differences considered meaningless, economic disparity was also disapproved of. For example, in their viewpoint the Emperor of Magadha and Punia an ordinary householder, were regarded as equals in Jaina tradition.
Thus, Jaina tradition by rejecting the concept of higher and lower class structure emphasized on equality of man. This also had an influence on Hindu tradition, and thus in the postGupta Bhakti period there was an opposition to the institution of Varna and the supremacy of the Brahmin class. In fact, the influenceis evident during the period in which the Mahabharata was written (i.e. about 4'h century AD).
INDEPENDENCE OF MAN
The other problem of that period was that man's independence was being ranked low in eyes of people and society. On one side were theistic thinkers and on the other were eternalists or fatalists who began to reject the independence of man. Jaina philosophy understood this difficulty and revitalized the spirit of human independence. It proclaimed that neither God nor any other divine power is the determining force of human being; it is only man himself who is the creator of his own being. Thus, it liberated him from the concepts of creatorship of God, which was taking away human null independence, and established that the staunch faith in human independence alone can become the true basis of religion and
53 Jainism and its History
| 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 |