________________
BOOK REVIEW
The Jaina Path of Purification by Padmanabha S. Jaini, published by Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 1979, pp IX+374. Price Rs. 70.00.
Padmanabha S. Jaini's book is addressed to the general readers who may be interested about the Jaina Path. As the present work is stated to be the first Indian Edition with copyright held by the Regent of the University of California, it may be presumed that the American edition has already been released in the USA. To help the professionals, the "Specialists”, he has “included a large amount of canonical and commentarial material, in the original language, among the foot notes" because the author fears that such material may be difficult to find in libraries outside of India. Let us hope, the general reader can make use of it.
The title of the book is somewhat misleading since it has a Buddhistic flavour of the "middle path". Clearly, the goal therein is the elevation of life through an eight-fold programme, and not its negation which is Jainism. Even comparable items in Jainism, viz., vratas, samitis and guptis contribute to liberation of the soul, not purification of life. Since the western readers are familiar with Buddhism over a longer period and since to them Jainism is recent excursion, the title is likely to create a wrong impression of Jainism being a variant of Buddhism or just its junior contemporary.
Another point of reviewer's serious dislike is the opening paragraph in which the author describes a recent event of virtual self-immolation by a Jaina monk which is likely to scare, or at least create a severe distaste, for this particualr religion. The Jaina ideal of courting death bravely at one's own volition rather than allowing it to overtake or swallow its victim may be a lofty goal and may go well with the English maxim, 'Cowards die a thousand times before their death', but it remains to be asked, how many Jaina monk as well as laity die or court death in this manner ? It would have been better not to include an item like this in a text meant dominantly for the Western readers or at the most make it a foot-note in the section dealing with this topic at pp.181 and 227 et seq.
To be impartial to the two main streams of Jainism, the Svetambara and the Digambara the author has made free use of textual material from both the sources blending them in his chapters in a manner which will
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
