Mahavira and his Teaching

Author(s): C C Shah, Rishabhdas Ranka, Dalsukh Malvania
Publisher: Bhagwan Mahavir 2500th Nirvan Mahotsava Samiti

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CONCEPT OF SUBSTANCE IN JAINISM
Bashistha Narayan Sinha
Jainism is one of the Sramanic traditions of Indian Culture. It is a heterodox school of thought, which believes in 'Jina' not in God. Etymologically the term "Jina' stands for a 'conqueror'. It means a 'Jina' is he who has controlled his desires and passions. In other words, the man who has made himself free from all worldly affections and attachments or who has obtained liberation, is known as Fina'. The followers of 'Jina' are addressed as “Jainas'. They have accepted twenty-four 'Tirthankaras', or prophets among whom Rsabhadeva and Mahāvīra are regarded respectively as the first and the last. The time of Rsabhadeva is not known definitely but Mahāvíra as the contemporary of Buddha, born in the sixth century B.C. and focused a new light upon the ideologies of his predecessors, which provided undoubtedly a fine orientation to Jainism.
Jaina metaphysics affirms that a thing has innumerable characters' which are put into two classes--positive and negative. The positive characters are those by which the objectivity of an ojbect is known or the personality of a person is determined. A man is known by his shape, size, colour, constitution, weight, age, family, heredity, race, nationality etc. These are his positive characters. He has also some negative characters which prove him what he is not. But an ordinary man cannot know a thing or a person fully. Only 'Kevalī' can know all the aspects of a thing because he possesses omniscience. That is why the Jainas are of opinion that the man who knows all the aspects of one thing, knows all the aspects of all things, and the person 1. Anantadharmälmkam vastu Anantadharmātmakameva tattvaml/
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