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THE A, B, C OF JAINISM
105 new civilization can be built up to save it from utter wreck and ruin.
Western scholars only very recently took up the study of Jainism, and hence too much of misunderstanding and misbelief has been abroad. Some have thought that Jainism is an offshoot of Buddhism or Brahmanism, and some have gone to the length of saying that Gautama the disciple of Mahavira and Gautama Buddha were one and the same, From the following quotation of Dr, Hopkins from a letter to Shri Vijayindrasuriji the reader will realise what sort of misunderstanding was then abroad :
"I found at once that the practical religion of the Jainas was one worthy of all commendation, and I have since regretted that I stigmatized the Jaina religion as insisting on denying God, worshipping man, and nourishing vermin as its chief tenets without giving regard to the wonderful effect this religion has on the character and morality of the people. But as is often the case, a close acquaintance with a religion brings out its good side and creates a much more favourable impression of it as a whole than can be obtained by a merely objective literary acquaintance.'
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About the antiquity of Jainism Dr. Hermann Jacobi says in his Essay read in the Congress of the History of all religions:
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'In conclusion let me assert my conviction that Jainism is an original system of religion quite distinct and independent of all athers and that, therefore, it is of great importance for the study of philosophical thought and religious life in ancient India."
Major General Forlong after his stay at Mt. Abu for 17 years declared after a long study, "Jainism thus appears as the earliest faith in India,"
but it has a
Moreover Jainism is not only an old religion treasure of its own which it can be well proud of. In the sphere of literature Jainism has hardly left out a single field; in the sphere of Logic it has developed the mode of reasoning called Syadvada; in the sphere of Metaphysics it gives us the ultimate analysis of the universe; and in the sphere of practical religion it lays down the rules of conduct with a minuteness and comprehensiveness which are unsurpassable. Moreover the work don
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Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
