Jain Journal 1971 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 19

Mural depicting life of Seniormost Grand-pa by Indra Dugar.
The Cult of the Grand-pa's in the
Jaina Spiritual Tradition
[Only recently the 800th anniversary of Dada Manidhari Jinacandra Suri was celebrated at Meherauli, a suburb of Delhi, which was attended by men of all castes and creeds. Given below is a brief account of this cult of Dadaji, which rendered into English is the Cult of the Grand-pa's.
Jainism which represents one extreme of the Indian spiritual tradion, is based on supreme austerities of life ordained for the recluses and the lay followers. No body knows at what point in time did this religion originated so that it should itself appear as much time-less as its emphasis on the time-less existence of the universe is. The flow of this religion continues to this day and its tenets (tattvas) are as much identified now as at any time in the past. But the institutional aspect of religion, as of any other side of human society, often slips from its pristine purity so that reforms are needed to set it right. This is well-recognised in every religion and this has taken place on so many ocassions in every religion. It is no wonder then that as an institution of society, the Jaina religion would pass through periods of setbacks followed by periods of revival. The extreme austerity of life ordained in it made the slips all the more unenviable and the restorations a more frequent process.
. Such a slip took place in the life of Jainism in the western India in the eighth century of the Christian era when the monastic order called Caityavāsis came to a commanding position and deviated from the path of austerities and penances chalked out by the Tirthankaras. They could neither keep apart riches and wealth nor could they restrain their greed of tongue and audio-visual organs so much so that they not only amassed great fortunes and accepted dainty dishes but had the pleasure of dancing