Jain Journal 2001 10

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

Page 37

BHAKTI IN
JAINISM
SWAMI BRAHMESHANANDA*
To most people Jainism is synonymous with extreme selfdenial, asceticism, and ahimsā. But there is much more. The author provides an absorbing study of its deeper aspects, the manner in which its great Teachers have beautifully woven devotion, service and non-attachment, and some of its similarities with Hinduism.
What is the place of bhakti or devotion in Jainism, which is predominantly a path of knowledge ? Can there be bhakti in an atheistic religion which denies the existence of God? And if there is something like bhakti in Jainism, how does it compare with bhakti in other religions? These are some pertinent questions for a sādhaka, a spiritual aspirant, and for a student of comparative religions. In this essay, we shall try to seek answers to these questions.
Faith and Devotion
There is no mention of bhakti in the earliest Jain scriptures. In the Rsibhäsita and Uttaradhyayana, sraddhā, or faith, is nientioned, but there it refers to faith in the precepts rather than in a person. One of the three pillars (tri-ratna) of Jainism is samyak darśana, or right faith. The word darśana connotes seeing or direct perception of truth, but since it is not possible to realize the truth directly in the beginning of one's religious life, faith in the teachings of those who have realized is advocated. This principle of faith later evolved into faith in the prophets, the preceptor and the precept (deva, guru, dharma).
Although bhakti and sraddhā, or devotion and faith, are often considered synonyms, there is a difference. There can be fai devotion, but devotion cannot exist without faith. Faith is the basis of devotion, while devotion is the more dynamic development of faith. Faith is a passive mental attitude whereas devotion is its active external expression. The etymological meaning of the word bhakti, derived from
The Swami is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, living in the Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, Benares. Dr. Sagarmal Jain, Jain Dharma me Bhakti ki Avadharana (Hindi), ir Sraman, April-June, 1993, p. 22.
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