Jainism Some Essays

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

Page 36

Jaina Code of Conduct
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thought. The Jaina seers have drawn the attention of the Vaidikas to yet another defact in the metaphysical thought of theirs and it is this that the bondage and release in the case of the soul, rebirth, modificatory changes, and necessary discipline to effect a freedom from bondage will not be rationally explained if the soul is hypothesized, as by the Advaitins, as one which is immutable, unchangeable and perpetually the same. From social point of view, according to the theoreticians of the Advaitic doctrine, social reforms, changes in ethical code and moral conduct and reformulation of the political ideologies will not be possible. Their idea of the society will remain uniform and conservative through-out. Opposed to this, the theory of change or modification in the fields of individual, social, and political life and also in the field of economics will have a place only if the soul is believed to te undergoing changes phenomenally while remaining the same essentially.
Constitution of the Jaina Ethical Code According to Anekanta
Whan the Jainas accepted the metaphysical doctrine of Anakāntavāda, it accepted at the same time the scope for change in every field of a man's life. The result that followed was this that it became renowned automatically as a progressive religion when it was at its Zenith. Jainism was practically and theoretically against the beliefs such as those of the Vaidikas, namely, the narrow caste-distinctions, class-divisions, the concept of the high and the low, untouchability, woman's inequality etc. etc. and this was in consonance with its metaphysics. Unluckily, this potentiality of Jainism went on decreasing with the passage of time due to the Vedic impact. It cannot be said that the Jaina society at present has a separate existence quite distinct from the Vedic one from the prograssive or the revolutionary points of view. It is a fact that Jaina Society, like the Vedic one, does not entertain practices according to its principles today just as it also is a fact that its prograssive and revolutionary attitude formarly was moulded by its metaphysical doctrine of Anekānta. In other words, the problem of the whole of Inda in the context of its current condition is to shape discipline, character and conduct after its theoretical pattern. It is entirely possible that the society as a whole will rise to a peak of perfection if both the Vaidikas and the Jainas adopt practices according to their respective principles.
Commandment is religion : Theory & Practice
A Commondment MIT EFA is a statement on which an emphasis is placed in the matter of Jaina ethical code. It means that the Jaina religion is constituted of the commandment uttered from time to time by Mahāvira. From this it appears, though apparently that the Vedic injunctions and the
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