________________
Is Jainism 3,000 Years Old ?
"What am I ? - Where have I come from?
What am I here for ?"
Since the beginning of time, humanity has sought answers to these troubling questions and has attempted to unravel the mysteries of creation and the cosmos through religious and metaphysical speculations. In India, several different solutions have been put forth in the form of theological and ethical systems. Among them is Jainism-one of the most ancient religions of India. This system. of religious, philosophical and ethical teachings has its name form the Sanskrit word "Jina", which signifies conqueror. The designation "Jina" is applied to those mortals who have over-powered the world of passions and emerged as spiritual victors. The followers of the faith are know as "Jains"-the followers of "Jina".
Dr. Sulekh C. Jain
Jainism is one of the oldest religions in India. According to Jaina tradition, the religion is eternal, having been revealed repeatedly by twenty-four Tirthankaras. The first Tirthankara was Rsabha and the twenty-fourth and
Tirthankara was Vardhamana Mahavira.
Jainism contains the traces of the earliest developments of philosophical thinking in the history of mankind. It has been generally recognized that Jain. philosophy was sufficiently advanced before the tenth century B.C. Earlier glimpses of Jainism have, however, been lost in the antiquity and the available sources. of information do not provide hope of recovering them.
Jain Education International
Let us take up the question regarding what history has to say about Jainism. In the opinion of some, the word "Aristanemi" occurring in the Brahmanic works refers to the twenty-second Jain Tirthankara having that name. According to Jain traditions, he was related to Srikrishna. Aristanemi's name is also mentioned as Jinesvara in Mahabharata. This leads us to one conclusion that Aristanemi did exist. If we take him as a contemporary of Krishna, it can be safely inferred that he flourished at the time of the Mahabharata in about 1400 to 1500 B.C.
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
