________________
AN INTRODUCTION TO JAINISM
The Evidence Regarding the Ancient Origin of Jainism.
Jainism has been in existence from times immemorial and it is older than many religions of the world. This point is evident from the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, and the opinions expressed by Indian and foreign scholars. In his preface to "Jain Dharm Ane Teni Prachinata" (in Gujarati) Pandit Ambalal writes, "Buddhism emerged only two thousand five hundred years ago. Buddha expirenced the impact of the Jain doctrines. This is more than evident. Not only this; it is also evident that Bhagwan Buddha gave currency to his famous Middle-path only after being fed up with the apogee of the wisdom that had been expounded in Jain doctrines and theories; and that Middle-path became disseminated under the name of Buddhism. This is an indisputable historical truth”.
The language and meaning of the Vedagranthas which constitute the Prime source of Hinduism, remain recondite and abstruse even to this day. Through the centuries several commentators have written commentaries on the Vedas in consonance with their respective philosophical outlooks, but some of the names that appear in the Vedas are suggestive of the names of the Jain Tirthankars. The same tradition is clearly discernible even in the grantha, Shrimad Bhagavata. The author of Shrimad Bhagavata has tried to narrate clearly the story of Bhagwan Rishabhdev. He has been given a place in the twenty four Avataras (incarnations of God) of Hinduism. All these facts naturally point to the conclusion that the Jain Dharma as a rich tradition has been in existence from times immemorial. The twelve great "Ganadhars (Erudite disciples) of Bhagwan Mahavir and most of the great Acharyas that emerged later were brahmins who had attained an absolute mastery over the Vedic Shastras. Because those scholars found that their knowledge was incomplete, they received the Jain Diksha and became initiated into the “Charitradharma”. This ought to strengthen anyone's faith in Jain Dharma.
13
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
