________________
JAIN YOGA
Dr. Felix Valyi
Jainism has been neg. lected by the West. Only a handful of European scholars have devoted time to the study of the sources of Jainism and even now very few Americans know the ess. ential fact about Jainism. Jacobi, W. Schubrig and H. V. Glasenapp, Guerinot F. W. Thomas have clarified the tradition and the teacbings of Mabavira. Buddha wbo probably was himself a Jain, took the tremendous decision to start his own middle path.
The greatest Indologist of Germany, HEINRICH ZIMMER in his posthumous work "The Philosophies of India" publisbed by the Panthon Books, in New York in 1951, has proved tbat Jain Yoga originated in Pre-Aryan India Jainism is the fountain head of Indian thoughts in its Purest Yogic Tradition and Jain Yoga is pre-historic, seems certain
The spiritual exercises of St. Ignace of Loyola are a sort of Christian Yoga, limited in its scope, is now recognized that the Imitation of Christ," by Thoms Kempis is also a kind of Medioeval Yoga for the training of the Christian Mind. Sufism is equally based on yogic principle, but all these non-Indian manifestations of yoga thoughts and practice never reached the height wbicb Jainism bas achieved long before Patanjali, the codifier of yoga. There is ample evidence that Jainism represents the purest and strictest form of yoga as self discipline. Lord Mahavira appears to be mainly as a man of iron will, Jain yoga is pure yoga & Mahavira is the greatest example of such training the embodiment of the ideal man, perfect man.
-VOA Vol. II P, 98-103. Shree Sudharmaswami Gyanbhandar-Umara, Surat www.umaragyanbhandar.com
188
