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another is inore or less continuous. The position would, then simply be this, that among religions, Jainism would be the oldest, but among the creeds that fostered nature-worship, that of the Rig Veda would be taken to be the most ancient.
But this view has been falsified by a scientific study of Comparative Religion. What this study has clearly revealed to me is that underlying this very seeming nature-worship, lies hidden a scientific teaching and a doctrine which is identical in all respects with the Teachings of the Jinas. The Sun, for instance, is emblematic of the Fulness of Knowledge, and not a gigantic moving star: Indra is the Soul embodied in Matter; Agnl is Tapascaraṇa which leads to release from the bondage of Karma and transmigration.
Those scholars who took the gods of the Rig Veda to stand for nature-powers, did not have the attention drawin to the possibility of a secret religious or spiritual interpretation, and, therefore, merely put down the creed of the Vedas as a form of a idolatry and superstition. I shall not attempt in this article to demonstrate the truth of my interpretation, but am content to refer the reader to my books in which the subject has been dealt with at great length, and the legends and myths of different countries and creeds have been interpreted in a scientific way. Here it is sufficient to state that my interpretations are in full accord with the true spirit of Hinduism and the elucidation of the Hindu Scriptures themselves.
I take it, then, that instead of being a mere ancient form of nature cult, the religion of the Rig Veda is revealed to be a scientific, and systematic one, the most remarkable feature of which, is its complete agreement with Jainisin, lu different lan.
*1. The Key to Knowledge 2 The Confluence of Opposites 3. Jainism, Christainity, and Science, 4. The Listing of the Veil or the Gems of Islam Parte I&II. 5. Risabha Deva -the Founder of Jainism,
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