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92 : Śramaņa, Vol 65, No. 3 & 4, July-December 2014 upon all living beings as upon themselves. He explained the Jaina belief in eight types of karma - law of cause and effect - and in the theory of reincarnation, widely supported by philosophers, theologians, and prophets the world over, as it provides the raison d'etre of injustice and misery in the world. He asserted that the Jaina prophets could reveal the minutest divisions of living beings with their inner eye and envision“ how many organs of sense minutest animalcule has', much before the discovery of microscope. He informed the audience that there were works on biology, zoology, botany, anatomy and physiology in the Jaina tradition, written centuries before the birth of modern sciences.? He rejected the common view upheld about the Jainas as atheists or agnostics. Although the existence of a First cause or that of a creatordeity is absent in the Jaina cosmological scheme, the Tīrthankaras recognize the subtle essence underlying all substances, 'conscious as well as unconscious, which becomes an eternal cause of all modifications and is termed God.' While the Brahmins recommend devotion (bhakti) and action (karma), and the Vedantists emphasise the path of knowledge (jñāna) to reach the Ultimate Reality, Jainism teaches that ' knowledge and religious observances' are the means to obtain the highest happiness. In conclusion, he spoke of the pañcamahāvrata or five great vows of ascetics, namely, ‘not to kill; not to lie; not to take that which is not given; to abstain from sexual intercourse; to renounce all interest in worldly things or to call nothing one's own.'8 These vows which bear verisimilitude to the five yamasrestraints- in the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali, are regarded by the Jainas as means to attain the Supreme spiritual state of a Siddha Parameşthin. In his final address( September 27), V R Gandhi thanked the organizers of the Parliament for their hospitality, kindness,“ liberal spirit and patience with which they heard the views of delegates from the Orient. However, in view of occasional notes of disharmony, Christian claims to superiority over other religions, and some direct
| SR No. | 525089 |
| Book Title | Sramana 2014 07 10 |
| Original Sutra Author | N/A |
| Author | Ashokkumar Singh, Rahulkumar Singh, Omprakash Singh |
| Publisher | Parshvanath Vidhyashram Varanasi |
| Publication Year | 2014 |
| Total Pages | 122 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Classification | Magazine, India_Sramana, & India |
| File Size | 9 MB |