Book Title: Jains Through Time
Author(s): Shilapi Sadhvi
Publisher: Veerayatan

Previous | Next

Page 40
________________ The Jains through Time learned the local language, culture and customs with a view to making their message more accessible and easy to adopt Professor Frazer has written that it was entirely thanks to the Jains that a cultural revolution occurred in South India and that new ideals, new literature and new modes of behaviour came into being"? religion. Jain sadhus and sadhvis are restricted in their means of travel, so this has been used as an excuse to prevent them taking the inspirational message of Tirthankar Mahavir to other countries. sometimes following a set code of conduct in such a rigid way can become a hindrance to the dissemination of the great message. I am compelled to think that if Jain followers in the past had allowed themselves to be hemmed in by such narrow ideas and beliefs, Jain history would have ended before it properly began. The Jains did not remain tied to one place, one class or one community. 'Friendship to all' is emblazoned on the 'forehead' of Jainism. And it is the vitality of this message that enabled the Jains to cross any boundary. They ventured far and wide, reaching Yunan Province, Russia, Norway, Iran, Arabia, Afghanistan, Java and Sumatra. Theirs was a missionary spirit tempered in the flame of austerity and they were extremely successful at spreading the tenets of Jainism. These people who dedicated their lives to teaching Tirthankar Mahavir's precepts to an expanding following, not only observed the tenets of his inspirational message, but also steeped themselves in his way of life - a life given over to an empathy for all beings. They walked the same path of good thoughts and good deeds as had Mahavir. With the objective of savva-jaga-jiva-rakkhana dayatthayae - 'compassion towards and protection of all living things in the world' -Tirthankar Mahavir walked from village to village and city to city for 30 years. I have a History bears witness to the fact that the blaze of 'missionary fervour' Jainism once possessed is now much abated. Far from taking the word to distant countries, Jain families themselves seem to show little enthusiasm for learning about their own The Joumal of Royal Asiatic Society, vol.22.p.249 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary org

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282