________________
154
ACARYA VIJAYAVALLABHASŪRI COMMEMORATION VOLUME
division into “Digambaras" and "Svetāmbaras", into multi-pūjā sects and the two sects which reject all image-worship, Stānakavāsīs and Terāpanthis, should not hide their essential allegiance to the principle of nonviolence as the common ground of all Jainas.
Mahatma Gandhi's mother was a Jaina, his guru at Porbandar, in his native city, was an eminent Jaina sage, and his heart was since childhood impressed by the Jaina tradition of Ahimsā which became the guiding star of all his life. The historians of contemporary India should not forget this decisive influence in Gandhiji's career which determined the destiny of the nation.
Mediaeval Hinduism has proclaimed both Jainism and Buddhism "heresies" opposed to the Vedic culture. The Brahmin priesthood saw a danger to their privileges in the fact that both Jainism and Buddhism gave access to the lower castes to higher knowledge, and wanted to monopolize the wisdom of ancient India for themselves as a source of prestige and income. Recent research has dissipated the false pretenses of mediaeval orthodoxy as the sole custodians of Indian Wisdom. The reactionary pandits are fighting a losing battle against the enlightened opinion of critical scholarship which now recognizes that the original spirit of Ancient India is to be found in the teachings of Mahävira and Buddha, who might differ in the way Ahimsä should be applied in daily life, but fully agree in rejecting the monopoly of Orthodox Brahmanism, as misinterpreted by the mediaeval commentators. Philosophical Brahmanism is an integral part of a common heritage of all the great sages of the Upanişadic Age, in which both Jainism and Buddhism share, accepting the ideal of universality and rejecting the excesses of ritualism. Both insist on the necessity for the individual to develop his mind through his own spiritual effort and to ascend to a higher level without any intermediary between himself and the Divine Powers.
The discipline of body and mind prescribed by Ancient Indian Thought constitutes the most original contribution of India to human psychology. Its basis is Yoga and Jainism is pure Yoga in its attempt to liberate the spirit from all earthly forces. There is Jaina Yoga, as there is Buddhist Yoga and Hindu Yoga, with this difference : Mediaeval Orthodoxy corrupted the original spirit of Yoga which became a tool of fakes, thousands of fakes who abuse religion for personal aggrandizement.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
