Jainism Some Essays

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

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Jainism
attach any importance to the meaning, though the words were the same resulted into many differences of opinions as regards their import and explanations. These differences served as a basis for many subsequent systems of philosophical thought which came into existence and which contradicted each other. An intelligent man did not hesitate to call his own vision as Vedic. But it is not so with the Jain canon. There in it, it is not the words of the revered Mahāvira that mattered so much as the meaning derived from them. Due to this, the subsequent pontiffs composed the Canon in the light of Mahavira's instructions. The words changed though the meaning remained intact and the substance was preserved. Verbal arrangement may be of any type, the difference in thinking found no place. Moreover, because the Vedic period is as old as three thousand and a half years and because the meaning and interpretation were overlooked, there is no wonder that controversics may arise. At the time of the composition of the Jain canon, words had acquired a settled meaning. This removed the possibility of difference of opinion in interpreting them. Because of this, we see that there is no difference in the metaphysical outlook or vision but whatever difference is there, it is regarding the moral or behavioural disciplines. The second inevitable result that flowed from this was that the canonical works composed by the Ganadharas could not be preserved like the Vedas.
Moreover, the language of the Vedas is Sanskrit and its words and forms are preserved intact. But the language of the Jain Canon is Prākrit, the language of the people. On account of this, the Prākrit that was used in Mabāvira's times is not the same what is found in the Canon today. It is but natural that the Prākrit language of the times when the final redaction of the Canon took place would have influenced theoriginal Prākrit of the Canon. The object of Mahāvira and Buddha in adopting the Prakrit, the language of the masses in place of Sanskrit, the language of the priestly order for their religious instructions, sermons and discourses was to save these from becoming the property of the few only and to ensure that they become the real instrument of mass education. This had an obvious result that the Vedas became the capital of some Brahmins only following the Vedic religion and on the strength of this, they monopolized the leadership in the field of religions. But so far as Jainism is concerned, no body could do this as Mahavira preached in the language of the masses. There was one distinct advantage in this that it had a wide prevalence but a distinct disadvantage also on the other hand that nobody tried to preserve it it being no property of any one. Due to this, the language of the Canon has suffered a lot in its form and structure, though the meaning has not in its relevance and significance. The Vedas are not the works conveying instructions but they are the collections containing panegyries offered by the various sages to