________________
178
before Buddha. It follows, therefore, that Jainism cannot possibly be described as an off-shoot of Buddhism.
THE PRACTICAL PATH.
The important question which now arises on these established facts is, whether Jainism is an offshoot of Hinduism?
Certain modern writers now imagine it to be a daughter of the Brahmanical religion, risen as a protest against the birth (caste) exclusiveness of the parent creed. This opinion is based on the notion that the Rig Veda, being the record of the thoughts of a period when humanity was in a sort of intellectual childhood, must be considered to be prior in time to the more intellectually developed forms of religion. Starting from this assumption, it is argued that Jainism is a protest against the old religion, and must be presumed to be a rebellious daughter of the parent creed to which it bears a close resemblance.
Unfortunately, there is no independent testimony available on this important point, since neither monuments nor any other kind of historical data† are forthcoming to throw any light on the situation. The question has to be decided, solely and simply, by the intrinsic testimony furnished by the scriptures of the two creeds independently of all external help. We shall, therefore, study the teachings of the two religions, side by side, to be able to test the claim of each to greater antiquity.
* See The Heart of Jainism, p. 5.
The Jaina Records do, indeed, prove the great antiquity of Jainism, but as the modern Historian is apt to distrust all documents that are not strictly historical, we may leave them out of consideration at present.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
