Gandhis Teachers Rajchandra Ravjibhai Mehta

Author(s): Satish Sharma
Publisher: Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad

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Chapter 3 Jainism and Jain Goal of Life
in Chapter .. the life of Rarchandra has ech hriefly described and he forthcoming chapters will present some aspects of Rajchandra's thought and the answers he provided to Gandhi's posed questions from South Africa. These topics are deeply rooted in Rajchandra's life as a Jam and his efforts a seeking moksher through the Jain path. A basic knowledge of Jainism and Jain goal of life. therefore is essenual in order to properly follow Rajchandra's thought and his teachings.
fainism is ä prime dial religion and in some respects it uredates the Hindu Vedic tradition. There are references of the sain practices and of tirthankurs" in the Vedas and in Hindu scriptures like Vishnu Purana and Bhagavuia Purana. The relics of the Indus Valley Civilization also indicate the presence of religious practices sunilar to the Jain practices and it is therefore likely that some form of Jainism has existed all along and the tradition may te older than the Hindu Vedic tradition. But, in its present form, Jainism is of a later origin and is dated between 599-527 B.C"
Jainism and Buddhism were born as reactionary responses against some corruptive practices in Hinduism, which included manipulative control of people by Hindu priests, excessive ritualism, animal sacrifices, and occasionally human sacrifices. Both Jainisin and Buddhism condemned such practices and emphasized that people should move away from formal priesthood and ritualism of all kind. Both religions also emphasized nonviolence in all walks of life, though they did not directly acknowledge any Super Power and did not accept the authority of the Vedas for guiding peoples' lives
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