Jains Today in World

Author(s): Pirre Paul AMIEL
Publisher: Parshwanath Vidyapith

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The tenth and last chapter will try to bring to light the prominent features, at different levels of the Jains in India where a large majority of them continues to live, despite their weak number, in a so vast subcontinent. We will see also the growing influence of those who have migrated today in various countries in the world, at a moment where violence, which they reject strongly, is dangerously extending on a daily basis.
In the annexes, some religious expressions and short extracts of the sacred books of the Jains are reported. An alphabetic index of their temples, mentioned in chapter five, will allow the reader to locate them more easily. This index is followed by a short bibliography of recent books on the Jainism and by the addresses of some very informative Web sites (the majority in English) on that religion and its followers. Finally, a small glossary is given of some Sanskrit words mentioned in the text, with their meaning and accentuation.
I hope that this book, with the two former ones, will permit their readers to access to interesting information about the followers of a great religion and philosophy little known by them. All Indians are not Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Christians or Sikhs, about whom many books have been published. Among Indians, Jains also exist, even though very little has been said about them, especially in some countries, till now. There is no reason they should remain known only by a small number of scholars. With this book, intended for a large audience, I try to give information on the Jains to everyone in the world. If I succeed, my difficult and long lasting work will not have been made in vain.
My sincere thanks to all those who have greatly helped me to carry out and publish these three books on Mahāvira, on Jainism and on the Jains, specially scholars, research workers, authors, editors, photographers and particularly late Colette Caillat, Member of the "Institut de France "and Madame Nalini Balbir, Professor at "La Sorbonne Nouvelle "in Paris, two eminent specialists of Indian civilization, Dr. Vilas Adinath Sangave and Pramoda Chitrabhanu,