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COMPARATIVE ANTIQUITY OF JAINISM
in allegorical garb in the Rig Veda, but which was handed down in plain language, as Jainism, to those who did not allegorize. Sharp differences would naturally arise between the followers of the two faiths after the lapse of a sufficient time when the purport and meaning of the allegories was obscured and lost, so that there is nothing surprising if the Hindus and the Jainas have not been the best of friends in the world for centuries.
The above conclusion is amply supported by the testimony of the jaina Books; but even Hinduism acknowledges the great antiquity of Jainism, naming its Founder Rishabha Deva, who lived, according to the testimony of certain of the Hindu Puranas, millions of years ago. That religion flourished so far back in the past might be questioned by those who have not studied it as a science; but there is nothing surprising in its antiquity if humanity itself was presentand modern science tells us that man has peopled the Earth for hundreds of millions of years-then.
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It should be stated that the Jainas cannot be Hindu dissenters by any possibility. Whenever there is a division in a community the bulk of the creed remains the same and common to the parts or branches thus formed. The differences arise in respect of a few matters only. But if we regard Hinduism as non-allegorical and then compare it with Jainism, the differences are very great. Their agreement is in respect of a few particulars only, excepting those matters which concern the ordinary mode of living (civilisation). Even the ceremonies which appear to be similar are, in reality, different in respect of their purport, if carefully studied. The Jainas regard the world as eternal; the Hindus hold it to have been created by a creator. Worship in Jainism is offered only to men who have attained the perfection of Godhood, but to no one else; in Hinduism its object is supposed to be a god who is the creator and ruler of the world. Hinduism believes in a large number of additional gods; in
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