________________
THE A, B. C. OF JAINISM.
(Continued from page 107.)
Initial Acquaintance. Jainism has no particular founder. It is, as it were, a pure and perfect light thrown over the world by one who has subdued all his senses and passions, and who is called Jina. Thus Jainism is nothing else but the faith propounded by Jina.
The Sastras that form the fundamental basis of Jainism are based on the teachings imparted to a'line of Gurus by Ganadharas who are the chief disciples of Jina-the omnipotent seer of the universal and infinite light. In course of time it became necessary to put these teachings in writing and this is how the present Jaina Sastras have evolved.
These Sastras or scriptures on Jainism are at present, divided into eleven parts called "Angas," and based on these we get many other valuable works on Jainism by several other celebrated Gurus.
Mahavira the last Jina, can not be called the founder of Jainism as believed by some wrongly informed scholars and historians. However we must acknowledge in unequivocal terms the matchless revival brought about by this omniscient and universal Lord. The predecessor of Mahavira was a fina named Parshvanatha, who is considered to be a historical personality by the modern historians. Before Him also there had been numberless such Jinas.
Chief Principles. According to Jainism there are two forms of matter in the world_animate and inanimate. To explain these two forms on a broad basis .Jaina-Sastrakaras' have divided them into nine convenient categories. They are as follows :_Jiva, Ajiva, Punya,
* Note:--Other synonyms for Jina are Arhan, Tirthankara, Jineshwara etc.
Very often in reading Jaina philosophy one comes across such words as Jainadharma, Jaina darshana and Jaina.
Jainadharma means the Dharma propounded by Jina.
The knowledge put forward by Jina is Jainadarshana and the followers of Jina are called Jainas. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat
www.umaragyanbhandar.com
