Jainism by Vividus

Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

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every morning or evening, standing before the picture or an Idol of a Tirthankara and bowing before him after lighting a ghee-lamp and burning incense,
VII THE JAINA SYSTEM OF APPROACH AND
EXPRESSION
Only the Jaina religion postulates that God has not created all the Universe in which the eternal uncreated or self created Realities are two viz Jiva (life) and Ajiva (non-life i.e. matter), and not one He of which all else is but a manifestation, either in evolution or involution, one He who has created out of himself everything else for final and ultimate union with and into Him. In one of the most authoritative and oldest available Jaina scriptures, the Tattvarthadhigama Sutra, the characteristics of the Reality, are stated to be origination, decay and permanence j.e. appearance and disappearance in the midst of permanence. In western thought, Hegelian doctrine of the dialectical nature of reality appears to be its nearest parallel- the thesis and antithesis reconciled and held together by synthesis. All real objects embody in themselves affirmative and negative aspects synthesized and held together by their complex nature similar to the principle of metabolism in biology comprehending and reconciling the two opposite processes of catabolism and anabolism. They maintain their identity and permanence only through the continued process of change, consisting of origin and decay-identity and permanence in the midst of variety aad change. There is also some general likeness between Sarnkhya and Yoga systems (branches from Vedic system) on the one hand and Jainism on the other. A dualism of matter and souls is acknowledged-the souls are principally all alike substances characterised by intelligence, the actual difference being their connection with matter. According to Jainism, matter is of indefinite nature, a something that may become anything, so also according to Sankhya and Yoga systems. The difference has developed because both have tried to explain in different ways: Jainas being
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