Philosophical Foundation of Religious Tolerance in Jainism

Author(s): Vilas Sangve
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 10

Dr. Sagarmal Jain
Alongwith these literary evidences there are some epigraphic evidences of religious tolerance of the Jainas. Some Jaina ācāryas such as Rāmkirti and Jaymangalasūri wrote the hymns in the praise of Tokalji and goddess Cämundā, Jaina kings such as Kumārpāla, Vişnuvardhan and others constructed the temples of Siva and Visnu alongwith the temples of Jina. 3
Finally, I would like to mention that Jainism has a sound philosopoical foundation for religious tolerance and throughout the ages, it practically had remained tolerant and regardful to other faiths and ideologies. Jainas never indulged in aggressive wars in the name of religion nor did they invoke divine sanction for the cruelities against the people of alien faiths. Though generally Jainas do classify religions in the heretic (mithyā-dsșți) and non-heretic (samyak-dşşți). Yet, mithyā-dřşti, according to them, is one who possesses one-sided view and considers others as totally false. While samyak-dsști is the one who is unprejudiced and sees the truth in his opponents views also. It is interesting to note here that Jainism calls itself a union of heretic views (micchādamsana-samüth) Siddhasena (5th cent. A. D.) mentions "Be glorious the teachings of Jina which are the union of all the heretic views i.e. the organic synthesis of one-sided and partial views, essence of spiritual nectar and easily graspable to the aspirants of emancipation,"18
Anandaghana, a mystic Jaina saint of the 17th cent. A.D. remarks that just as ocean includes all the rivers so does Jainism all other faiths. Further he beautifully expounds that all the six heretic schools are the organs of Jina and one who worships Jina also worships them. 8. Historically we also find that various deities of other sects are adopted in Jainism and worshipped by the Jainas. Acārya Somadeva in his work Yaşastilak-campū remarks that where there is no distortion from right faith and accepted vows, one can follow the traditions prevailing in the country.se
Jainas believe in the unity of world religions, but unity, according to them, does not imply omnivorous unity in which all lose their entity and identity. They believe in that unity in which all the alien faiths will conjoin each other to form a organic whole without loosing their own independent existence. In other words it believes in a harmonious