Jainism Some Essays

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

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Jainism
the stages through which that form of Hindu religion which has evolved in the Gnā, has passed. While discussing about Jaina religion I shall refer to its literature, its Ācāryās, its code of conduct and its sects etc. etc. comparing it with the Hindu religion.
Five forms of Hindu religion from the historical point of view.
The Vedas as they are accepted by the Hindu religion have been recognized as the oldest not merely in Indian literature but in the literature of the world also while the matter is different in the case of available Jaina canon, Thus, it is obvious that the foundations of the historical material regarding Hindu religion are deeply laid while it is not so regarding Jaina religion. Inspite of this difference relating to the material, the scholars believe that the religion propounded in the Vedas which has been the original source of foundation of the edifice of Hindu religion and the original source of Jaina religion- both are different. The Vedas and the religion propounded by the Vedas were imported into India while Jainism was not. Moreover, it has not come into existence because of the Vedas. It has been roundly accepted that it is an independent religion. The history of the origination and construction of Hindu religion is very interesting. It is true that it is born of the Vedas and the Vedic ideology has shaped it. However, it bas later on grown into such a form that its connection with its ancestral lineage is almost nil. New accretions have become so much added to it from time to time that the hand of the Vedas is not visible even though the Vedas are able to sustain the loaded form. Disciplinary practices of today's Hindu religion have changed so radically from the old ones that they are now detected in name only. The old moral Vedic code consisted of sacrifice but between the sacrifices enjoined by the Vedas and the sacrifices as performed today, there is as much difference as there is between heaven and earth. The sacrifices as laid down by the Vedas are performed even today according to the procedure prescribed but they are merely for the sake of exihibition and not as a part and parcel of the moral life. I have used the words "for the sake of exhibition" to show that in cities like Poona, the sacrifices are sometimes organized at present on the old lines in order to give to the students the idea according to which they were in wont in the days of the Vedas. They are undertaken not with a view to reviving them but with a motive to satisfy the historical instinct and curiosity. The enthusiasm of Karapātri Mahārāja, also once an advocate of the cause of renewing the old pattern of sacrifices outlined in the Vedas, qualled when he saw the sacrifices in Poona. This proves how far today's Hindu religion has advanced from the Vedas and from what they have to say. There are following five forms of Hindu religion as we know it today and as we think about its history.