Jainism Eternal and Universal Path for Enlightenment

Author(s): Narendra Bhandari
Publisher: Research Institute of Scientific Secrets from Indian Oriental Scriptures Ahmedabad

Page 125

Jainism : The Eternal and Universal path for Enlightenment
125
Afterword
As we come to the end of this book, several questions will arise in the enquiring mind of the reader. Is Jainism just a philosophy or is it really a path for attaining enlightenment. There is no doubt that it is an ideal philosophy, a formula for good conduct, good for an individual, society and indeed the whole humanity to follow and will bring harmony and peace to its adherents, who practice the five mahavrats of non-violence, truth, non-accumulation of possessions, non stealing and proper sexual conduct. But is that all or it is beyond that, a living truth. Philosophy is not the primary motive of this book. The main question is that can one be enlightened by the Jain practices of the mahavrats, various penances (tapas) and self discipline as enunciated in the famous words of Mahavir (Dhammo mangal mukkhitam, ahimsa, sanjamo, tavo). The enlightenment is related to the basic belief in existence of soul and Moksha. There are many competitive theories and religions which do not believe in them. Many would claim that there is nothing like soul. There is only matter and when they combine in a certain fashion, it becomes living, as the modern science hypothesizes. Upon death, these material elements disintegrate and dissolve and there is nothing like soul which reincarnates. Then there is the big question of Karta. Is soul really a karta or as. This is based on the relationship between deeds and destiny. Is there a succession of cause and effect between the events, even if in another incarnation, or as we see in the everyday experience they are unrelated. This question is intimately related to rebirth. There are several versions of fatalism (whatever has to happen will happen, irrespective of one's efforts) such as niyativad, prarabdhavad and parinamavad and the soul's role as karta is also contradicted by the postulate of Krambaddhaparyay, a postulate of Jainism, which states that everything is pre-decided, predetermined and predictable. Predictability, by itself, eliminates the role of kartaness of the soul. Karmanus, which are material particles, and bind deeds (and Bhav) to the soul have not yet been discovered and neither have been the lesyas which assist in this binding. Are there only six tattvas which constitute the Universe (Chapter 7) or the six cardinal truths (Chapter 2) or do the seven tattvas which are related to the interaction of karmanus with the soul (Chapter 2) really exist? There may be many more questions but, without listing all of them, we want to emphasise that it is natural for a seeker of enlightenment to have these questions before embarking on the difficult .long and yet inspiring path enunciated by Jainism. It is true that a whole theory of atmavad, anekantavad, karmavad, kriyavad, and lokavad has been beautifully developed by Jain Acharyas with exactitude, mathematical precision and logic, which appears to be self consistent and psychologically appealing. In their enthusiasm, they have been recorded in a self