Jain Journal 1972 04

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

Page 83

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JAIN JOURNAL
feeling was no doubt exhibited in philosophical writings and verbal disputations, but even in these behind the superficial clash there was an inner movement of synthesis. Even the revival of Brahmanism did not affect the fortunes of Jainism for a considerable time, due firstly to royal patronage under a number of ruling families including their official, feudal and mercantile nobility and secondly due to the influence of the work and achievements of a host of illustrious Jaina saints and authors.
Ahimsa in all its positive implications, self abnegation and asceticism were very popular. No Vedic sacrifices are heard of in this period. The Asvamedha yajñas of the early Kadambas and Pallavas, too seem to have been performed without the accompaniment of animal sacrifice and in later times even such token yajñas were given up. The Jaina ascetics were no more forest recluses nor were they like the Saiva Mahantas who were sanyāsis merely in name and lived the life of rich landlords and property-owners. They were, on the other hand, selfless, possessionless and sincere servants of religion, learning and humanity. They lived in temples or basadis or in bigger establishments, and freely mixed with the people. They acted as spiritual guides, confessors, teachers, sympathetic advisers and even physicians. They inspired philanthropic acts and charities, encouraged arts and cultivated literature, both religious and secular. They inspired love and respect, and all classes of people, both men and women, considered it an essential daily duty to honour the guru, serve his needs, obey his injunctions and follow his advice. Worship of the gods, serving the guru, reading the scriptures, self-control, penances and charities constituted the sixfold essential daily religious routine of every member of the laity. The guru was the living embodiment of dharma and served all the purposes of the daily religion of the devotee. And the guru's greatest and unceasing insistence was on the performance of caturvidha dāna by every devotee to the latter's utmost capacity. This act of utmost yet common piety consisted in supplying food and other necessaries of life to the guru, food and protection to the destitute, protection of life to all living beings, medicine and medical aid to the needy, and means of education and knowledge in the form of scriptures, books, schools, colleges, and scholarships to all. The system thus fulfilled all the higher philanthropic, humanitarian, moral and intellectual needs of the society, and no wonder it was popular with all classes of people. Prof. Benoy Kumar Sarkar has classified these four gifts under the term 'Positivism of the Jainas.'