YJA Convention 1996 07 San Francisco CA Second

Author(s): Young Jains of America (YJA)
Publisher: Young Jains of America YJA USA

Page 76

AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORY AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF JAINISM
By: Komal Shah
We Jains view the universe as eternal and ever-changing through two half-cycles, one of rise and one of decline. The 24 Tirthankaras that we revere today have taught the path to Moksha (liberation) and provided guidance through the corruption and hardships that people have been experiencing in the present cycle of decline, better known as an Avasarpini. Jainism is often popularly regarded as a subsect or offshoot of Hinduism; but this is contrary to Jain tradition, and in the last century, research has shown otherwise.
Jainism actually arose from the Shramanic stream of thought, preserved by the Dravidians who are thought of as the original peoples of India. They were once all over India, but invasions by the Aryans around 1 500 BC from the northwest pushed them to the northeast and south. By about 1000 BC, Shramanism was mainly rooted in present day Bihar and U.P. The Aryans were centered in and around Punjab and Sindh and from there they brought the Vedic religion to India.
This Aryan, Vedic-based belief system is better known as the Brahmanic faith, and paved the way for present day Hinduism. The Dravidians, on the other hand, maintained their Shramanic ideologies which in turn developed into Jainism and Buddhism, the former being much older than the latter. The key differences between the two contrasting schools of thought lie in the idea of ritualism. The Brahmanic faith. believed that ritualism (mainly animal sacrifice), or that appeasement of deities, was the basis for salvation and also that the self (Atman) is infinite whereas, Shramanic thought was rooted in the concept that good conduct, which is self-motivated, was the key to achieving salvation and that the soul (Jiva) is finite. In short, Brahmanism seeks the grace of an outside deity, which Shramanism seeks liberation from the cycle of birth and death through the self-conditioning and purification of the individual's being, or asceticism (meditation and penance).
Archaeological findings in Mohanjodaro, Harappa, Terapura, etc. support these pre-Aryan claims of Jains today. Icons and images of Tirthankaras, mainly of Lord Rishabha, were found in these areas. Rishabha's findings are very important because he is revered as our first Tirthankara and is considered to have created the organization of human society. He is mentioned in many Hindu scriptures, including the Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana, as well as the Rig Veda (the oldest surviving text of any living religion). Other Tirthankaras are also mentioned like Sumati, Ajit, and Arishtanemi. Thus, Jainism is arguably the oldest religion practiced in the world today.
Jainism is said to have influenced the Vedic culture in many ways, and one of the main instances is through the Upanishads. The Isopanishad discusses the influences and mentions the differences between the two philosophies. Today's Jainism is more the result of the teachings of the 23rd and 24th Tirthankaras, Lord Parshva and Lord
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