What is Jainism

Author(s): Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: Champat Rai Jain

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ESSAYS AND ADDRESSES
in some of my books. The Tirthamkara is the ideal for man, who can attain to His eminence, and become in all respects like Him, by following in His Footsteps. He is not worshipped in the ordinary sense of the word. He is merely the ideal of Perfection for ourselves, not the grantor of it or of any other kinds of boons to us. No prayer is ever made to the Tirthamkara in Jainism for this reason. As a matter of fact the Jaina attitude is purely scientific in this respect. The scientist studies the nature of things and obtains what he wants that way; similarly, the Jainas recommend the study of things (in Sanskrit, vastu svarupa) for the attainment of perfection. From this point of view all the Tirthamkaras were Professors of the Spiritual Science which enables men to become Gods. Reverence and homage are paid to Them because Their example is the greatest source of divine inspiration for ourselves, and because the rule is that if you want to become perfect yourself you must take some one who has attained to perfection himself as your model, and follow in his footsteps steadfastly.
To come to the SCIENCE OF SPIRIT or LIFE as Religion in its true significance really is, the first thing to know is that the world is composed of different substances which are eternal. The great scientific law of the conservation of substance on which the modern materialistic sciences are grounded suffices to show that substance is eternal, being both uncreate and indestructible. Modern scientists only know of matter, but Jainism points out that Spirit is also a substance, like matter, and equally eternal, uncreate and indestructible. As such every soul is immortal. It will interest you to know, and some of you must be already aware of the fact, that modern experimental Psychology is slowly coming round to acknowledge this position of Jainism. I will refer in this connection to the work of an English Psychologist, Professor William McGougall, who has definitely accepted the fact of the immortality of the soul, on scientific grounds, which are stated in his book. His researches led him to the conclusion that the soul was a simple substance, unit or individual, and because it was not a compound it was deathless and immortal. For it is only compounds that are liable to destruction or disintegration on the falling apart of the parts of which they are composed. What