Jain Stories 01

Author(s): Mahendramuni, K C Lalwani
Publisher: A B Jain Shwetambar Terapanth Samaj

Page 19

strikes at the very root of determinism or fatalism, which was the philosophy propounded by some powerful adversaries of Mahavira. To build up one's own future, one needs undergo right exertion or endeavour under proper guidance. Misdirected energy or hardship yields no result It is a pity that a sense of cynicism prevails in the present-day Jaina monastic order according to which liberation is no longer possible in the present age partly because the span of human life has become short and partly because man's capacity to bear hardship bas gone down. Such a view is not only wrong, but it strikes at the very root of kriyavada Man was never more powerful than in the present age, and given earnest endeavour, he is sure to be liberated even now. In so far as this point is upheld in many a story, their scope becomes as much extensive as that of Jaina philosophy and religion
Quite a large number of stories are connected with events in the life of Mahavira and they are, therefore useful in constructing the life story of this great teacher Many others give account of the life of innumerable monks and church leaders We come across the names of a large number of rulers, kings, ministers, sresthis who have had a place in history Not only stories but the whole gamut of Sramana literature has useful material for the reconstruction of ancient Indian history, which, as it stands at present, is lopsided and unbalanced because of its exclusive reliance on the Indo-Aryan sources, to the total exclusion of Sramana sources. Some lesser known Jaina scholars have made a juvenile attempt at this reconstruction, but it has yet to gain a wider acceptance We get also some glimpses of the history of the Jaina church through some of these stories For instance, we have the story of Kesi-- Gautama in the Uttaradhyayana, being respectively the stalwarts of the church oParsvā and that of Mahavira. After a frank discussion between the two, Kesi and his