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THE INFLUENCE OF JAINISM ON GUJARATI SPEAKING PEOPLE
NAGIN J. SHAH
To my mind, Religion of Rishabha (Jainism), Religion of Krishna and Religion of the Buddha are the three branches of the Pre-Aryan or Non-Aryan main thought-current. In spirit they are one. To me this seems to be the reason why Rishabha and the Buddha are regarded as the avataras or incarnations of Vishnu. All the three have immensely influenced the life and culture of Gujarat. After the 11th century A. D. Buddhism disappeared from India and hence from Gujarat. But Religion of Rishabha and Religion of Krishna are still living in Gujarāt. After the 12th Century A. D. other religions, especially Islam, Christianity, Jarathoshti have taken roots in this soil and contributed considerably to the life and culture of Gujarat. But as we are concerned here with the influence of Jainism i. e. the Religion of Rishabha, we shall confine ourselves to that only.
Jainism has played an important role in the history of Gujarāt from the earliest days to the present day. It was patronized by Solanki rulers like Kumārapāla. It gave statesmen of the first water. Even today we remember the Jaina ministers like Vimala Shah, Udayana and Vastupāla. These Jaina statesmen have even fought battles to protect their motherland from foreign attacks. Kings, statesmen and rich merchants followed the noble principles of Jaina religion among which non-violence is supreme. This had a lasting effect on the mind of the general public. Principles of Jainism reached the heart of the people.
Jainism lays down rigorous practice of non-violence. I do not mean to say that every Jaina practises non-violence in this way. But Jainism has provided us the standard of non-violence. It is an ideal which we should keep before us. The significant influence of this lofty ideal of non-violence is evident in the life of Mahātmā Gandhi who calls a Jaina saint Shrimad Rājachandra his spiritual Guru in inculcating in him the spirit of non-violence. Gandhiji was so much influenced by this ideal of non-violence presented to him by Shrimad Räjachandra that when he started preaching it, some intellectuals criticised him very severely because this non-violence, they thought, was something of Jaina brand which, no doubt, is true to a great extent.
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