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જેન યુગ
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જુલાઈ ૧૯૫૯
belief that there is no eternal supreme God, Creator and Lord of all things, Jainism is atheistic. The Jainas flatly deny such a Supreme God, but believe in the eternity of existence, universality of life, immutability of the Law of Karma, and supreme intelligence as the means of self-liberation.
The other characteristic feature of Jainism is the doctrine of syādvada or anekantavāda. This unique feature of Jaina philosophy has been considered as the outstanding contribution of the Jainas to Indian logic. "The doctrine of Nayas or standpoints is a peculiar feature of the Jaina logic". It is common with all religions to insist upon and pro- vide for perfect knowledge. Every religion tries to teach man to go beyond the phenomenon. Jainism does the same, and with this difference, that it does not recognise the real from a restricted point of view. No better example of the clarity, subtlety and profundity of the Jaina intellect could be given:
Regarding the literary contribution of the Jainas, it would take a fairly big volume to give a history of all that they have contributed to the treasures of Indian literature. They have developed at all times a rich literary activity. They have contributed their full share to the religious, ethical, poetical and scientific literature of ancient India. All the species are respected in it, not only those which have an immediate bearing on the canonical writings—that is to say, the dogmatic, the moral, the polemic and the apologetic-but also history and legend, epic and romance and lastly sciences, such as astronomy, and above all sciences like astrology and divination.
In the realm of art, the elaborately carved friezes in the cave temples and
dwellings on the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Hills, the richly decorated Ayagapatas and Toranas of the Mathură find, the beautiful free-standing pillars on the mountain masses of Girnăr and Satruñjaya, the admirable architecture of the Jaina temples of Mount Abu and elsewhere, and the pictorial remains evolved under the austere influence of Jainism are sufficient to evoke the interest of any student of Indian history. They combine in them the Triune Entity of Indian art-a sublime union of the purely decorative, the realistic and the purely spiritual. In the words of Dr. Guerinot, "The Hindu art owes to them a great number of its most remarkable monuments. In the domain of architecture, they have reached a degree of perfection which leaves them without a rival."
In conclusion, if Ahimså may be generalised as the fundamental ethical virtue of Jainism, Syadváda may be described as the central and unique feature of Jaina metaphysics, and the explicit denial of the possibility of a perfect being from all eternity with the message of "Man! thou art thine own friend", as the centre round which circles the Jaina ritual. All this combined with the ideal of Ahimsă teaches :
He prayeth well, who loveth well Both man and bird and beast He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small.
--Coleridge and that is why a Jaina always says:
खामे भि सव्वजीवे, सम्वे जीवा स्वमंतु मे । मित्ती मे सम्वभूएसु, वेरं मझं न केणइ ।।
"T forgive all souls ; let all souls forgive me. I am on friendly terms with all; I have no enmity with anybody."
2. Radhakrishnan
Indian Philosophy. p. 298.
3. Guerinot, La Religion Djaina. p. 297.
