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The Contemporary Religions
and Religious Leaders
Religion had a hoary tradition in India As its refulgence grew, the people availed of its uplifting brilliance The noble tradition touched new heights and spread to new regions
The shramana and Vedic traditions of India have an ancient beginning The shramana system was evolved by the PreAryan castes, and Ksatriyas. The Vedic system was evolved by the Brahmins The two systems proliferated into various sub-sects As the Jain authors reveal, there were no less than three-hundred and sixty-three religious systems and subsidiary systems extant Buddhist writers mention only sixty-two religious systems and sub-systems In Jain cononical literature all the systems have been classified into four categories 1. Kriyavada, 2 Akriyavada, 3 Agnanavada, 4 Vinayavada
Lord Mahavira had already studied these systems during his householdership 1 His comparative study led him to choose Kriyavada for himself
It was an era of moral resurgence in the different parts of the world powerful religous leaders were upholding noble ethical and spiritual thoughts The metaphysical subtleties were being unravelled by eminent thinkers like Confucious 1 'Suyagado' 1/6/27
