LORD MAHAVIRA By: Prof. Vaman H. Pandit

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Sairam Today is Mahavir Jayanti

LORD MAHAVIRA

By: Prof. Vaman H. Pandit

Jainism is a significant name in the Religions of India. Students of

religions in India have paid there due attention to its claim. It

re-presents a theological mean between Brahamanism and Buddhism. It has

made a distinct appeal over the centuries in moulding the pattern of

Indian way of life. According to the last census report nearly 1800000

profess Jain faith out of the total population of 439, 235,021.

PRE-ARYAN RELIGIONS

But still greater temptations were set like a trap for the old Aryan

religion after the arrival of the Aryans in India. It is certain, that

in India several races were settled before the arrival of the Aryans,

whose vestiges we recognise in some of the Indian hillmen, e. g. Bhils,

Santals, Todas etc. At present we know these tribes as Adivasis.

We do not know anything about the religion of these pre-Aryan races or

Adivasis of India; but modern researches do confirm that they had some

form of creed; still we can make out several features of those religions

by studying the popular Indian religions of today and the sacred

literature of the pre-historic times, with the help, however, of

comparative ethnography and with the help of the monuments and

antiquities which still exist in India - remnants of the old period.

The result of these studies is that the historians assume at-least two

types of pre-Aryan religions in India. We are at a loss to know whether

they have been both animistic or one animistic and the other

fetishistic, but we know fairly well, how they manifested themselves.

The- one type which has been perhaps a fetishistic one by nature

mani-fested itself by exuberant devotion, accompanied by mystical

excite-ment, becoming sometimes a real ecstasy. The other one, surely of

an animistic character was accompanied by strong inclination to

asceti-cism. Under the influence of these two elements the original

Aryan religion developed in several sects or rather different religious

schools, in which all these elements, viz., intellectuality, formalism,

devotion, bhakti and asceticism, appear as indispensable constituent

parts. Be-sides this, it is not impossible that some influence of

Christianity and Islam worked on the developing of later sects.

To comprehend fully the impact of Jainism, it was necessary to give in

details an introductory background. And now let us turn to Jainism and

have a scholarly look at it. Jainism is generally dealt with as an

offspring of the religious currents started in India in the eighth

century B. C. as an opposition against the Brahmanic formalism, which in

those times led often to forms not always worthy to be called religion.

Various opinions have been cited by the scholars but the oldest opinion

is that Mahavira is the founder of Jain religion, being himself an older

contemporary of Buddha. The current opinion, which is a fact is, that

the Jain religion had been started already by Parsvanatha, Mahavira

being only its reformer. But this Jain tradition teaches us something

quite different. According to it the Jain religion is eternal and there

were several reformers of this religion, who are identical with the

twenty-four Tirthankaras. Who are Tirthankaras? According to Jainism,

the explanation given is that, a Tirthankara, is one who has made, has

founded, the four 'tirthas' What is a tirtha? Tirtha, derived from the

root tr, *to save', is they affirm, a technical term indicating 'the

means of salvation', the means par excellence; and the chaturvidha

snagha, or that 'fourfold Communion' within which all who take refuge

find ultimate salvation, consists of four tirthas, or 'orders', namely,

those of (1) sadhu or monk, (2) sadhvi or nun, (3) sravaka or

lay-brother, and (4) sravika or lay-sister. These four tirthas are thus,

as it were, four boats that will infallibly carry the passengers they

bear unto the desired haven of deliverance (moksa). Hence the

Tirthankara is one who is the founder of the FOUR ORDERS that

collectively constitute the COMMUNION or Sangha.

STRIKING TRADITION

This Jain tradition ts striking one, and has surely a concrete fact

behind itself because no Indian tradition is without a background of

reality. What is the background of this tradition? It is a little

difficult to understand it. Some of the scholars of Jainism, think that

Jainism took some views from older animistic religions. And this opinion

is not unimportant as far as it refers to the Jain belief, that not only

animals, but also plants and even the minerals, have an animated

substratum of life, ' " Jiva " .

It follows, therefore, that Jainism is a very very old religion, for a

scholar can hardly suppose eternity of any religion, the roots of which

reach back to very remote past of the pre-Aryan races in India, which

took from the Aryan religion every-thing, that was the best or at least

better than its own ideas, and which had developed itself parallel to

the Brahmanic forms of the Aryan religion.

Jainism as a religion of the masses can be dealt with only in its final

form, viz., after the reform of Mahavira, or better in the present form

as it is taught by both the most important schools of Jainas, viz., the

Svetambaras and the Digambaras. The most important feature of Jainism

is, that it has overcome the Brahmanic scepticism which was threatening

the very roots of religion as well as the pure forma-lism to which the

Brahmanical rites sank at the time just before the reform of Mahavira.

And by means of Mahavira's reforms Jainism, although it did not spread

as much as Buddhism, was of much greater importance for India than the

latter.

But the real value of Jainism lies in its inner perfection which appears

in the proportionate representation of the religious elements so that

none overruns the other. This is the feature, in which all the Indian

religions in general, but Jainism in particular, differ from the other

religions.

WHAT IS RELIGION?

Every religion consists mainly of three elements, viz. the senti-mental

element, the intellectual element, and the practical element. In most of

the religions the practical element, which appears in the shape of rites

and ceremonies, overgrows the whole religion in such a way, that the

other elements become only subordinate addition, the sentimental element

being still a favourite. The cultivation of intellec-tual element is the

special feature of the Aryan religion. But only in Jainism all these

elements are well-balanced, whilst in the old Braha-manism and in

Buddhism the cultivation of the intellectual element is often

exaggerated.

Jainism, in the first place of importance, gives a dogmatical view of

god. It is a very natural one for a thinking being. The god according to

the Jains is Paramatman, but not Ishvara, i. e. the god is not a creator

and ruler, but he is a perfect being, who cannot be set back to the

imperfect condition of this world, and as such is wor-shipful. In so far

as the Jain religion has shown the greatest subli-mity to do everything

in upholding the highest aim of intellectual element and still remaining

a religion with its typical features, of which the idea of god is the

indispensable one. Therefore the Jain religion can be called with full

authority the limit not only of the Aryan religion but of all religions

altogether.

And in this character of a limit lies the great importance of the Jain

religion. For, it is the required upper limit, according to which we are

able to judge of the other human phenomena, whether they are still

religious or not. But this is not the only importance of Jainism but

equally important are the Jain metaphysics and Jain ethics, not to speak

of its logic.

An example can be cited about characteristic manifestation of this

superiority of Jainism and that is the theory of infinite numbers as it

is dealt with in the Loka-Prakasa, and which corresponds with the most

modern mathematical theories And the theory of identity of time and

space is one of the problems, which are currently most discussed by the

scientists owing to Einstein's theory, and which are already solved or

prepared for solution in Jain metaphysics.

Yet another example can be cited from the Jain ethics and that is of

co-existence we mean, of happy co-existence of all beings in the whole

world. Its solution in Jainism is a very simple one, but the only

perfect one, viz. in the commandment of ahimsa or non-injury, which is

not only a theory but moreover in practice stricter and more resolute,

than the similar commandments in the Christian religion. No nation in

the world has given practical shape to these two commandments than

India. Mahatma Gandhi picked up the comman-dment of Ahimsa.

And yet one more problem which is dealt successfully by Jain ethics with

simplicity and perfection is the problem of sexual chas-tity. In modern

parlance it is associated with our FAMILY PLANN-ING. This is not only an

ethical but moreover a biological and social problem of very wide

bearing. The efforts of a great political econo-mist Malthus, who

promulgated his ideas in his important work, viz. " An Essay on the

Principle of Population " to solve the problem after he had discovered

the dangers of overcrowding the world by increasing population, whilst

he proved by statistics that the human race is increasing in geometrical

progression, the resources, however, only in an arithmetical

progression. Although outworn, this theory is the problem really existed

in Europe, and that its solution has been already attempted not only by

religious reformers, but moreover by the scientists too. '

The Jain solution of the problem is quite plain, removing the very root

of the evil. It is that, what we call brahmacharya. It would be out of

place to go in details on this subject here, but I would like to suggest

for those who are interested in this subject to read or to study the

respective part of Adhyatma-Tattvaloka by Muni Nyaya vijaya.

The Jain religion is the limit of religion in general and at the same

time the limit of Aryan religion in particular. It follows from the fact

that the Jain religion is well balanced in respect of the parti-cular

religious elements, that is built up anthropocentrically and the

intellectual element is not pushed aside in it, but rather developed as

far as possible without injuring the essential of a religion.

Undoubtedly it is one of the most important developed religions because

of its advanced view of religious matters as well as the methods, for

example, how to consider matters, viz. Syadvada. It is the

considera-tion of any subject from different points of view in order to

get the right knowledge of the matter, and not to prove any wrong

suppo-sition.

The services of Jainism to India are very great. In the sixth century

before Christ, which in so many countries witnessed an earn-est

aspiration after higher truths and nobler lives, the country of Bihar

was strangely agitated by the teachings of many religious re-formers who

founded their own sects. Yet of all these ancient orders, one only has

survived in India down to the present day, and that one is the Jainism

founded whether by Mahavira himself or by his repu-ted master

Parsvanatha. Its first home was near Kashi (Banaras) or Varanasi, and

thus lay to the east of that 'holy land' which was the seat of Vedic

cult. But as the years passed it has migrated westwards and northwards,

with the remarkable consequence that today there are no Jains in the

land of its origin, elsewhere it is still fairly well represented. The

mercantile communities of Gujarat and Marwar owe all their prosperity

and enterprise to Jainism.

(Source Sai Leela August 1974)