ISJS Jainism Study Notes E5 Vol 03

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

Page 131

truth value of others'.17 Hemacandra was a saint who composed his works in praise of Siva. This liberalism was maintained by later saints also, who composed their works in Hindi or Gujarati like Anandaghana and many others. Sri Jugal Kishor Mukhtar says:
Buddha Vira Jina Harihara Brahma ya usako svādhina kahol
Bhakti bhāva se prerita ho, yaha cira usi men līna raholl
Tolerance as endurance The practice of noble action in life is not possible without the capacity for enduring pain. With this capacity are linked all sublime actions and unique achievements. That is why it is said that-'He who bear hardships, endures pain touches the summit of progress. It is great power of our consciousness. Today's man is so intolerant that he cannot bear hardships and this is the dreadful malady of the age. Remembering the endurance borne by Lord Mahāvīra, one should capacity of endurance within.
Person Cult: a threat to the spirit of Tolerance Jainism strongly opposes person cult (vyakti-pūjā). It holds that the object of veneration and worship is not a person but the perfectedness. The Jains worship the quality of the person not the person. In the sacred Namskāra Mahamantral8 which is in itself an example of tolerance, veneration is paid to the spiritual posts such as Arhat, Siddha, Ācārya and not the individuals like Rsabha, Mahāvīra or anybody else. The word 'love' and 'savva demonstrate the generosity and broader outlook of the Jains. Haribhadra in Yogadrstisamuccaya19 remarks that, "the ultimate truth transcends all states of worldly existence, called nirvana and is necessarily 'single' even then it is designated by different names as Sadāśiva, Parabrahma, Siddhātmā, Tathāgata etc.'
We get ample literary references of tolerance in Jaina scriptures. We have references of tolerance in Vyākhyāprajñapti, 20 one of the early works of Jains, where an old friend of Gautama, who was initiated in some other religious sect, came to visit him; Mahāvīra commanded Gautama to welcome him and the Gautama did so. A work named Rşibhāsita21
17 Prof. Satkari Mukerjee, Foundation of World Peace: Ahimsă and Anekanta, Vaisali Research Bulletin NO.1, p. 229 18 Namo Arhantānam, Namo Siddhānam...... Vyakhyaprajñapti, 1.1 19 Yogadrstisamuccaya, 130 20 Vyakhyvprajñapti, 2/1 21 Isibhasiyaim, 1/1
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