Facets of Jaina Religiousness in Comparative Light

Author(s): L M Joshi
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 51

FACETS OF JAINA RELIGIOUSNESS
released by faith (saddham) and go beyond the realm of death."21 “Faith is the supreme friend, Nirvāṇa is the supreme bliss" (vissāsa paramä ñāti nibbānam paramam sukham).22 "Faith goes beyond the path of death and shows the path of excellent release" (śraddha atikramu mārapathas ya darśika uttama mokşapathas ya).28 "Faith is the supreme vehicle by which the (spiritual) leaders go out of samsāra); therefore, a wise man should follow (the Dharma) with faith. The pure Dharma does not flourish in a faithless man; just as a green shoot does not come forth from seeds burnt by fire."24
The nature and function of braddhā in Jainism and Buddhism have not received a serious attention of scholars which they certainly deserve. The idea of God-Creator should not be taken as the source of faith; in fact, the idea of God-Creator is the product of faith. The non-theistic religious traditions are also products of faith, but they have nurtured a non-theistic view of ultimate truth which needs to be appreciated.
It is clear from the fore going preliminary remarks th at faith is the foundation of religiousness and soteriology in Jainism. One of the most important and fruitful manifestations of the faith of Jaina community is the doctrine of the holy pentad. The doctrine of the holy pentad is summed up in a sacred mantra, a prayer formula, known as pañca-namaskāra-mantra, to a consideration of which we now turn our attention.
III. ii. THE FORMULA OF FIVE-FOLD OBEISANCE
Faith is often accompanied by worship and devotion. Indeed, the triad of śraddha, bhakti and pūjā, “faith', 'devotion', and 'adoration' brings us directly to some of the core elements of classical forms of Indian religiousness. One of the briefest and commonest ways of expressing faith in and offering adoration to the ideal of ultimate transcendent Holiness as conceived in Jainisn is to recite and meditate on the famous and sacred formula of 'five-fold obeisance' (pañca-namaskāra-mantra, pañca-ņamokkāramangala, pañca-parameșthi-stuti). The five members of the holy pentad who are adored in this formula are : the arhats, the siddhas, the ācāryas, the upādhyāyas, and the sādhus. These words or symbols will be explained in some detail in the following pages. Let us first review the textual structure of the formula and its position in Jaina literature.
; In a critically edited (Prakrit) version of the Pannavaņāsutta we find the following text printed within square brackets :
21. 22. 23. 24.
Ibid. (Nalanda edition), p. 440, verse 171 (P.T.S. edition, verse 1145). Dhammapada, verse 204. Nārada Thera translates vissāsa as 'trusty' which is meaningless. Ratnolkādhārani quoted in the Sikşasamuccaya, p. 5. Daśadharmasūtra quoted in the Siksa samuccaya, p. 6.