Jain Journal 1993 01

SR No.: 520109
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication
Publication Year: 1993
Total Pages: 57
Language: English
Classification: Magazine, India_Jain Journal, & India
File Size: 4 MB

Page 23

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JAIN JOURNAL
Many other books on Jainism which emphasize, though quite correctly, the supreme vows (mahāvratas) of the Jaina monks and nuns, do not always give equal treatment to the religion of the laity-the Jaina religion in practice. Very rarely one finds information about things like samvatsari and khamā-khamäuni.
Appears to me that to take the supreme and universal message of ahimsa to the wide world, Jaina scholars will have to reorient and redirect their attention.
In addition to talking to professors of religious studies, I have also spoken to several researchers in centres for the study of peace, or peace study programs. Invariably, no one has yet mentioned to me that know of a religion whose basic premise is ahimsā paramo dharamḥ, though they will mention the name of Mahatma Gandhi or the Quakers, the Mennonites, the Antitrinitarians of Poland at the time of the Reformation, or the Nazarenes of Hungary in the nineteenth century, or the Church of the Brethren and the Seventh-day Adventists in the United States.
There are several reasons for this gap of understanding about the role of Jains and Jainism in propagating the most unique theory of social relationships peace and non-violence.
1. Jains comprise about 1/2 of 1 percent of India's total population, though some Jains would argue that the number of Jains in India is much higher. The current figures are so low, they point out, because some Jains do not declare themselves as Jains in national censuses, but as Hindus. Even if the number of Jains was a shade more than the current estimates, they are not very numerous.
The number of Jains living outside India is not very large either. By some estimates there are about 5,000-8,000 Jains in North America, and about 30.000-50,000 Jains live on the British Isles and the European Continent.
These are not significant numbers. Perhaps that is the main reason why some authors and editors of books on world religions fail to include Jainism as one of the world's living religions.
2. Jains, as a community, are not very organized and are not very