ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 02

Author(s): International School for Jain Studies
Publisher: International School for Jain Studies

Page 347

ध्याय परम
B.6.0.C
SAMAŅA-SUTTAM Dr. D.N. Bhargava
1.0 Introduction Religion is a transcendental spiritual experience which is permanent, trans-subjective, blissful, intuitive, supersensuous, infinite, incommunicable and ineffable. It is the nonconceptual state of existence wherein all differentiations disappear. The Jaina view of religion lays stress on realizing the transcendental nature of self, which the individual feels as his own.
It should be borne in mind that the present book, Samaņa-sutta is the central book of Jainism. It is a compendium of Jaina teachings. It presents Āgamas in a nut-shell. It is as sacred as the Āgamas themselves. It comprises the essence of Mahāvīra's philosophical thinking. Just as the Gītā, the Bible, the Dhammapada, the Koran and the like represents the teachings of Kışņa, Christ, Buddha and Mohammad respectively, similarly the Samaņa-sutta stands for Jainism. It consists of 756 Prakrit verses divided into 44 chapters (with an Apendix) dealing with various aspects of Jainism. It is called Samaņa-sutta because it contains suttas, delineated by the great śramaņa Mahāvīra along with other Śramaņas following the tradition of Mahāvīra.
Samana-sutta is a unified text of the Jainas in which the essence of Jainism is given in the original words of Lord Mahāvira and in ancient Jaina ācāryas belonging to both the major sects - the Digambaras and the Svetāmbaras.
It was at the initiative of Acharya Vinoba Bhave, a direct disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, that the ācāryas belonging to all the four sub sects of Jainism that sat together to make a collection of the Gāthās from different scriptures of their sects so as to present a volume which will represent the essence of Jainism in the most authentic way and at the same time shall be acceptable to all the sects of the Jainas. It beautifully summarizes the teachings and philosophy of the Jainas in a lucid fashion.
1 Samana Suttam, Compiled by Jinendra Varni, Edided by Prof. Sagarmal Jain, translated by Justice T. K. Tukol & Dr. K. K. dixit, Sarva Seva Sangha Prakashan, Rajghat, Varanasi-221001
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STUDY NOTES version 5.0