World Of Jainism

Author(s): Vishwanath Pandey
Publisher: Vishwanath Pandey

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THE ORIENT
Sudra". It is this Brahmana monk, Jayaghosa, who is the ideal for the Jainas and not any Brahmana. Mahavira himself is described as a wise Brahmana. It is therefore, obvious to imagine whether Jainism was a revolt or reformation. While decrying the path of sacrifice (violence), Mahavira advocated for the path of renunciation so common to Brahmanic tradition. As regards the question of the Jaina ethics, both Jainism as well as Buddhism followed the old tradition-the tradition which sought spiritual perfection by purity of conduct and knowledge. Their ethical systems are almost the same.
Now we come to that problem of metaphysics as propounded by Mahavira in relation to other contemporary systems, especially Brahmanical system which was the most prominent school of thought prevailing at that time. Sutrakritanga (I, 1, 1) makes a mention of the materialists, Vedantins, Buddhists, and the followers of Caraka and Samkhya schools of thought. The Sutra presents the materialists as those who believed that man was composed of five gross elements which disintegrated completely at the time of death. The materialists, the Sutra states, had no faith in rebirth and morality. Some thinkers (perhaps the Vedantins) believed in an intelligent principle which they held to be the source of all multiformities of nature. Some thinkers (the followers of the Samkhya school of thought) held the view of plurality of souls, but absolved them (souls) from any moral responsibility. Some thinkers accepted soul as sixth substance which they thought to be eternal like other five substances. The Buddhists are presented as holding the theory of five aggregates (skandhas). These and several other views are mentioned here for the purpose of criticising them or rather denouncing them as heresies leading the followers of these views to hell. Without going into the question whether this Sutra and other Sutras dealing with this problem have properly presented the views of the opponents, it is obvious that the philosophical ideas held by early Jainism can also be found, partly or wholly, in other philosophical systems prevailing at that time. Besides the four heresies, viz., that of Kriyavadins (those who believed in the existence of soul in the Vedantic sense), that of Akriyavadins (those who believed in non-existence of soul, i.e. Buddhists), that of Vainayikas (who tried for salvation through bhakti), and that of the Ajnavadins (agnostics) mentioned in the Uttaradhyayana Sutra, Sutrakritanga refers to many metaphysical and ethical views some of which may not come under the four heads mentioned above. But, it is made clear even from the Jaina Sutras that beliefs in the existence of soul, plurality of souls, karmic determinism, which form the corner-stone of the Jaina philosophy were held by the non-Jaina thinkers also. In the Sutra" quoted above
10. Sutrakritanga, I, 11, 1.
9. Uttaradhyayana, XXV, 31-32. 11. Sutrakritanga, I. 1, 1-4.