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Carvakism is said to the oldest (Thrower). The Jainas do not admit actorship of God but they admit capacity of Godhood in every living being and, hence, they are poly-theists. It is due to this that they could not be popular like the Carvakas.
The Jainas are not purely devotionalists like the Muslims or Christians. They admit the triad of right knowledge, faith and conduct. It is because of this multi-dimensionism that they have been surviving since hoary past. The western world is not ready even to accept any atheist system as a religion. (It is not even prepared to accept the antitheist logic).
The Jainas are Karmists and Aureolists. (This is the result of their psychological understanding). These principles are also infested with pessimism. But these are the specific principles of the Jainas which serve as a spiritual glue for the living-non-living combination. Rice has opined that Jaina ontology is totally pessimistic. It starts from hylozoism and goes upto godhood for all. He admits the tetrad of love, compassion, happiness and peace of the Buddhists as positive (but does not even mention the tetrad of friendship, happiness, compassion and neutrality of the Jainas). They even call the positive principles of the Jainas as leftist.
The concept of cyclically devolving and evolving world also makes man a bit under trouble. Their logistics and epistemology is fine but complex. Their theory of seven-fold predications also confuses the western mind. However, it is not consistent with determinism. (Mention of stand pointism is rare).
D. Jainism and Women
There are three times as many nuns as male monks (Fynes). However, their level is taken as inferior to monks. In Svetambara tradition, women may have salvation while there is no salvation for them in Dig. tradition. (However, it is the nuns who have preserved the traditional Jain practices and rituals.
E. Jaina Religion: Social Religion
It is agreed, in general, that Mahavira was an excellent reformer and awakener of contemporary society. However, most authors do not
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