Study of Jainism

Author(s): T G Kalghatgi
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

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PREFACE
Jainism is a Pre-Aryan religion. It belongs to the Sramaņa current of thought. As a religion Jainism leads us, like kindly light, from darkness towards the light of enlightenment and perfection of the self through self-effort and not through the surrender to or the grace of any higher deity. The Jainist interpretation of the dictum Tat Tyaṁ Asi would say : you are the God-the divinity and no higher being is needed. As a philosophy it is realistic. It is empiricist in approach. Synoptic in outlook and analytic and dialectual in methodology.
So far Jainism was studied from the slanted angle of the Vedic scholars and the Brahminical way of thought. I do believe that it is now necessary to look afresh at the Jaina religion and philosophy from the perspective of history and proto-history and from the synoptic point of view. And I have made this humble attempt of presenting Jaina religion and Philosophy in the synopti presentation in this work; “STUDY OF JAINISM'. There are two parts in this work. In Part I, I have given a brief survey of the beginnings and the development of Jaina religion with reference to the lives and teachings of the Tirthankaras (prophets). In presenting the lives of the Tirthankaras, I have, as far as possible, avoided to present the mythological content in their livesIn Part II, I have presented, to the extent possible, a synoptic picture of the Philosophical problems of Jainism. I have looked at the problems from the detached philosophical point of view. But philosophy is not mere academic pursuit but a view of life “to see life steadily and to see it whole". And mine is a Jaina view of life.