Book Title: Jainism by Vividus
Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

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Page 128
________________ a city except the rainy season of 4 months every year from the 11th day of the bright-half of Ashadha (July-August) to the 11th day of the bright-half of Kartika (October-November). Of these 42 rainy seasons of 4 months each, he spent 1 in Asthikagram, 3 in Champa, 12 in Vaishali (his mother was the daughter of this Vaishali), 14 in Rajgrahi, (the capital of the Magadha Kingdom) and its suburb Nalanda (famous for Nalanda University in later centuries), 6 in Mithila, 2 in Bhadrika, 1 in Alabhika, 1 in Panitbhumi, i in Shravasti, the capital of the Koshala Kingdom (under whose vassalage was Kapilavastu where the Lord Buddha was born and whose Chief at the time was Buddha's father and 1 in Pava where he finally died. I am giving all these details to make out one and only one point viz that inspite of all these, Mahavira and Jainism have been totally ignored, practically omitted from the world scene so far. Nothing of significance appears to have been high-lighted or even sufficiently recorded not only in the thousands of books, old and recent available on Buddhism but also in the Niagara of books available on Hindu Vedanta and other religions. There is a book published in 1974 by a Professor of Physics of the distinguished University of California which is hailed as revolutionary in the realm of attempts to understand Eastern Mysticism vis-a-vis Modern Science particularly discoveries in Particle Physics after the theories of Einstein in which full chapters are devoted to Eastern mystical thought as set out by Buddhism, Hinduism, Chinese thought, Tao and Zen. Strangely, Jainism is mentioned only in 2 lines: 'In Hinduism, the notion of atoms is prominent in Jaina system (which is regarded as unorthodox since it does not accept the authority of the Vedas), In Theosophy-literarure, though Mrs. Annie Besant its President once, has conceded Jainism an honour to be bracketed with other six world religions, I wonder if its monumental classic, "The Secret Doctrine" by Madam Blavatsgy has mentioned even a word about it. The 30 Volumes containing almost 15,000 7"X10" size pages of Sri Aurobindo contain only about 14 pages in total on the subject of Jainism. Certain basic principles in Buddhism, admittediy founded later than Jainism are so similar to those in Jainism that one wonders why Jainism is being so ignored by most of the scholars and 12

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