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Religion means moral socialisation and upliftment of individual leading to utmost happiness for all. The true religion is really humanism: based on principle of 'live and let live'. Though, religion is thus, universal, however, a good number of religious systems have developed independantly during different periods of history and differnet regions of the world to guide man towards the object of creating a happy individual and society. Each of them assumed itself to be the best for humanity, but they could not be known to the world because of language, communication and other barriers. In fact, Ellood' seems to be right when he says that each system is only a partially altered version of cosmic or primitive religions under different names. They represent simply the different ways of looking at the same thing-total happiness of the humanity. When we talk of Jainism, it means a system of humanism with certain codes and ideals as in many other faiths. Scholars suggest that this is a system for independant, intelligent and rational people of all the times. It is neither a revealed religion, nor divinely originated. It does neither have a creator God nor a popelike authority. It is the religion of ascendants rather than descendants whose life is merely to be heard rather than followed. This system is distinguished by principles of physical and psychical non-violence, karma theory, pluralistic realism, respectable status for women, workbased system of status, and psychological spiritualism. It qualifies to be a world religion as it has its own scriptures, a large number of venerable victors and a practical desire for the good of all living, rather than human alone. Its basic principles are the roots for moral and spiritual values.
Most scholars wonder how this most noble and ancient system remained quite unknown to the enquiring west until quite recently. Thanks to the continuous offorts of about three dozen western scholars that have attracted the world towards this brilliant, stimulating and scientifically unique system. They hold high opinion about it on moral, cultural, historical, epistemological, ontological and rationalistic counts.
Times have changed. The history of Jain church, now, starts with Lord Rishabhdeva-a pre-Vedic figure and per chance Indus valley preceptor. Most scholars are now unanimous over its indigenous, primitive, pre-Aryan,pre-historic rather than proto-historic Indian origin, probably in the third or fourth millenium BC under the currently surviving Shramanic tradition on the basis of nude worship, yogic postures cyclic time and animistic concepts. Thus, Jainism is one of the oldest religions of the world with its non-theocratic, non-violent, and polyviewing or holistic principles. Later, Parshva (877-777 BC) and Mahavira (599-527 BC) systematised it into a complete church. This aims at a spiritually exalted state of the individual for the service of the society to be up-levelled. It moves one from one-self to all-self and from own home towards universal
home. It evolves God out of man. Its philosophy is full of pragmatic Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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