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A Westerner's View on Jainism
Paul Marett
Eighty-eight years ago, in 1912, a small book was published in London entitled Jainism in Western Garb, as a Solution to Life's Great Problems. It is an epitome of Jainism in around 100 pages, small enough to slip into the pocket, and has been reprinted many times. At that time Jainism was even less known in the West than it is today. Some British, and particularly German, scholars had produced learned articles and a few books, mainly translations of Jain agamas or analyses of abstruse philosophy. These were written from the standpoint of the disinterested academic, recording the details of beliefs which the scholar sometimes admired but did not share. Herbert Warren, however, was deeply impressed by what he learned, he was Honorary Secretary of the Jain Literature Society in London, and embraced the Jain faith himself. His mentor was Shri Virchand Gandhi, who was sent by a learned acarya to represent Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, and subsequently gave lectures in England. Virchand Gandhi was one of the first Jain laymen to open up the nature of his religion to a wider Western audience. He died, still a young man, on 7th September 1901: I hope that Jains will find some way to remember the centenary next year.
When I first came into contact with Jains in August 1975 it was not easy to get information in Britain. The small Jain community in Leicester, England, where I live, had established Jain Samaj Leicester (now Jain Samaj Europe) a couple of years before, and they began to invite me to functions held in a variety of locations across the city. At first I was always given a seat on the platform, but after a while I was welcomed almost as one of the community. I learned a lot from conversation with many Jains, but particularly with Dr. Natubhai Shah who became Chairman and later President of Jain Samaj. In return I was able to help in some small ways with advice, drafting letters to officialdom and, as the scope of Jain Samaj widened, with writing and giving lectures. In time I was delighted to be made an Honorary Life Member of Jain Samaj Europe: if I am sitting on the floor in the temple and someone courteously offers me a chair I am able to decline politely, saying "I am not a visitor, I am a member"!
I began to study Jainism seriously. With some difficulty I built up a collection of books in English and over 25 years I have accumulated about 200 books relating to Jainism. With the exception of a very small number of libraries with a specialized Indological collection, big public libraries, or even university libraries, will probably have no more than half a dozen books on the Jains. Buddhism has attracted large numbers of Western followers and there is a huge output of popular and scholarly works by Western writers. The Jains, by contrast, are unknown to most Westerners. Jains, of course, are a community as well as the followers of an ancient religion, and do not seek converts. They welcome sympathetic interest and seek to spread the principles of ahimsa and anekantavada. I have frequently been told by Jain friends that anyone who follows Jain principles is a true Jain.
Jain Education International
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