Gems of Jainism

Author(s): Hemant Shah
Publisher: Academy of Philosophy

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Gems of Jainism
theistic bias. The folk philosophy had however elements in it which in the hands of later writers were connected into logical doctrines remarkable for their originality, acuteness and subtlety'21 Jainism has been wrongly understood as a revolt against Vedas.
It will also be wrong to state that Mahavira was the founder of Jainism. According to Jain tradition there are 24 Tirthankaras and Lord Mahavira was the last of them all. “Bihar is the cradle of Jainism, though its founder, Rsabha, was born at Ayodhya, 22 out of 24 Tirthankaras, including Bhagwan Mahavira, were born in Bihar and achieved nirvāna in that state”22 Not discussing much about Jainism's meta-physics, epistemology, the dizzy height of syādvāda dialectics and extraordinary cult in ashimsā (non-violence), let us note that “such a religion, no doubt, is not for the majority; but it may not be without appeal for a selected few who are disillusioned of historic cults and are brought face to face with the eternal twins, Soul and Truth, the undeniable categories of human life and consciousness"23 The great French Scholar Louis Renou in his 1953 lectures on the religions of India, observed that 'the Jaina movement presents evidence that is of great interest, both for the historical and comparative study of religion in ancient India and for the history of religion in general. Based on profoundly Indian element it is at the same time highly original creation, containing very ancient material, more ancient than that of Buddhism, and yet highly refined and elaborated”24
Such a great religion, the Jaina religion exists and shines today "as the only religion with an uncompromising faith in peace and non-violence in thought and deed” Jainism, is one of the oldest, as old as Vedas, religious traditions of the world. 25
Lord Mahavira is the twenty fourth Tirthankara of the present era. As earlier said, he was not the founder, but was a great propounder of this great religion. Though there are differences amongst the scholars about the date of Mahavira, there is a general acceptance that he lived in the 6th Century B.C. (599 BC to 527 BC). He preached Jainism 2500 years ago, and “his preachings are