Jainism Some Essays

Author(s): A S Gopani
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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Jaina Religion
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worship, whether of the supreme symbol or of its own, remains the same so far as the external form is concerned. The difference which is there is due to the fact that one aspires to reach the supreme symbol while the other his own pristine position. According to one, the supreme is not different from the subject, or the worshipper, while according to the other, the subject is not other from himself. According to one, the ideal supreme object which is worshipped is the same in the beginning and remains the same in the end. But according to the other, the object though not different from ones' own self in the beginning and in the end, is, indeed, different from others. On account of this difference, there is no possibility for total synthesis between both the ideologies. Whatever was possible in this connection has already been arrived at by both.
Sramanic religion is the original pattern on which the present form of Jainism is designed. After this short account, let us now turn to the history of today's Jainism which is but a branch of the original tree of Śramanic religion.
2. HISTORY OF JAINISM Because Jainism was a sect or a system belonging to the Sramanic ideology and because there was resemblance between the other sects or systems belonging to the Sramaņic ideology, the western scholars were under a mistaken impression that Jainism is not different from Buddhism. But scholars like Jacobi have since long invalidated that erroneous supposition. This delusion had never taken possession of the Indian scholars. On account of this, discussion about this is out of place here.
Jainism has a history of its own and a metaphysics too. History explains in its own way and the aim of metaphysics is the enunciation and
ation of an eternal truth. Therefore in the history and metaphysical system of Jainism there is bound to be a scope for differences of opinion regarding the antiquity of Jainism.
Beginningless and Eternal
Let us first, investigate the nature of clarifications which Jain metaphysics has offered in relation to antiquity. The Vedas have propounded the theory of the existence of only one supreme reality in the beginning of the creation. Its natural corollary, therefore, is that the whole universe has
I from that. But the Vedic metaphysics too, has no answer to give in the matter of definite time when the creation originated. Let us know this situation by the word 'beginningless', though this stand of ours is mutually