Historical Facts About Jainism

Author(s): Lala Lajpatrai
Publisher: Jain Associations of India Mumbai

Page 37

Yet, their influence on Arjuna was that he fouglıt well and vanquished his opponents. King Janak is another notable instance of a very successful ruler although he was leading an ascetic life. Similar is the history of Maliomedans fighting on declaration of Zihad or religious war and Christian Crusaders uniting to recover the lost holy land of Jerusalem.
No SPECIAI, INCAPACITY.
Now we shall consider if there is any specially or inherently incapacitating element in the Bud. dhas and Jains preventing them from being successful politicians or cliplomats which may be pointed out as the invisible root-cause of the political evil-effects of Jain, Buddha influence. We do not find any. Tyaga cannot lead to any evil results and besides Tyaga is aclmittelly comnion to most Indian religions. The Jains and the Buddhas cannot therefore be said even in an abstract and invisible nanner to have caused the political clownfall of India. The allegations about the course of conduct laid downı for Jain laity have been already dealt with, and the high potentiality of the doctrine of Ahimsa has been also pointed out. Apart from these special rules of conduct the Jains are like any other people and there cannot therefore be anything specially or inherently incapacitating them. The Buddhists are even now rulers in China, "Tibet and Japan, so that fact speaks for itself.