Religion and Philosophy of the Jainas

Author(s): Virchand R Gandhi
Publisher: Jain International Ahmedabad

Page 36

CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
Antiquity of Indian Civilization and the Vedas
Where shall we find the history of ancient civilization of the Hindus when they lived in village communities and social brotherhood in ancient times, centuries before the beginning of the Christian era ? Have they any records of that civilization ? And why do the Hindus claim their ancient civilization unique in its character and superior to that of any other nation ? We shall have to refer to the records of the Hindus, if any exist, which can claim a high antiquity
The Egyptians have records on their everlasting monuments of a civilization which goes beyond 3000 years before Christ. Assyrian scholars have claimed an equally remote antiquity for the Shumiro-Accadian civilization of Chaldia which is said to have flourished over a thousand years before Neniveh and Babylon were founded. The Chinese too have a history which dates from about 2400 years B.C. The Hindus also have their own records. But there is a difference between the records of the Hindus and the records of other nations. The hieroglyphic records of ancient Egyptians yield little information beyond the names of kings and pyramid-builders and accounts of dynasties and wars. The cuneiform inscriptions of Assyria and Babylon tell us much the same story. And even ancient Chinese records shed little light on the gradual progress of human culture and civilization. Ancient Hindu works are of a different character. They are defective no doubt as accounts of dynasties, of wars, of so-called historical incidents. On the other hand, they give us a full, connected and clear account of the advancement of civilization, of the progress of the human mind, such as we shall seek for in vain among the records of any other equally ancient nation. These are the ancient Vedas of the Hindus, Pitakas of the Buddhists