The Early Centuries of Jainism

Paul Marett

Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world, so old that we cannot with certainty date its beginnings. Jain tradition tells that Mahavira twenty-forth and last of the Tirthankara or Prophets of the current cycle of the time. Some of the stories about them are truly amazing and non Jains are rarely convinced. They are credited with enormously long spans of life and gigantic size and various other miraculous attributes. Leaving aside the stories (which are valuable if regarded as edifying stories), we have some historical details about some of them. The first Tirthankara was Rsabha and there are some accounts in non-Jain records which seem to fit in with the broad details of Jain tradition. He is recorded as a king of some ability who gave up his throne to become a wandering ascetic, going around naked (a symbol of total renunciation of worldly possessions) and frequently scorned or attacked by the ignorant. After Rsabha, Jain tradition gives us the names and some details if the next twenty Tirthankara. They were all men except perhaps the nineteenth, Malli, who is said to have been a woman (though this is not accepted by all Jains.) The twenty? second, Neminatha or Aristanemi (both names are found) is said to have been a relative and contemporary of the Hindu God hero Krishna.

With the twenty-third Tirthankara, Parsva, modern scholars fins themselves on stronger ground. He is recorded as the son of the king of Varanasi (Benaras), the greatest holy city in India. He renounced the worlds at the age of thirty and after a fairly brief period of meditation and austerity he attained enlightenment. Thereafter he preached his message and gathered followers around him. He died, reputedly at the age of 100, passing to his final abode of bliss as a liberated soul. This was about 250 years before the time of Mahavira: Mahavira's parents were followers of the religion of Parsva. He taught four of the five great moral precepts of Jainism, non-violence, truthfulness, non? stealing and non-acquisitiveness, omitting, for reasons which have been disputed, the vow of sexual restraint which was introduced or reintroduced by Mahavira. So with Parsva the Jain religion emerges clearly into the light of history, through darkness falls again in the period between the attainment of moksa or liberation by Parsva in the Parasanatha Hills (in Bihar) around 780 B.C.

We have looked at Mahavira's life in the first chapter. A great many people were impressed by Mahavira's personality and his teachings so that when his life on earth ended he left behind a large number of people (reputed to be as many as a third of a million) who were trying in various ways, in the vocation of Monk (sadhu) or nun (sadhvi) or as lay men (shravaka) and women (shravika), to follow the principles of Jainism. In his lifetime Mahavira appointed eleven leaders (ganadhara)among his followers. Only two of them, Indrabhuti Gautama and Sudharman. were alive at the time of Mahavira's moksa and it was to Sudharman that the task fell of preserving and passing on the teachings of their master, and leading the community, when Mahavira was no longer with them. The order of nuns was headed by Chandana. She had been placed in this position by Mahavira: nuns have always had a important place in Jainism and it is said that the nuns under Chandana outnumbered the Jain monks of the time by more than two to one.
Mahavira and his early followers lived in north?eastern part of India, mainly in ancient kingdom of Magadh (in modern Bihar). Jain missionaries visited Kashmir and even Nepal but it was not until several centuries after Mahavira that Gujarat and the western part of India became the major center of Jainism as it is today. How ever Jainism spread southwards from Magadha into the kingdom of Kalinga (in modern Orissa) whose ruler became a convert. This king, Kharavela, lived in the second or third B.C. We learn from an inscription that he was a pious Jain and provided for monks but he appears to not to have seen military expeditions as incompatible with his religion. This area became an important center of Jainism in the earlier centuries, though we must not forget that we are speaking several hundred years after Mahavira. Much in Indian history of this period is not yet completely clear to historians and the spread of Jainism has to be priced together from scattered, and sometimes cryptic, references. However, for the first centuries it is clear that the centers of this religion were in eastern India. There seem to have been Jains in Bengal from very early times.

The teachings of Jainism made a considerable impact amongst all classes of society. There is even a story that the great emperor Chandragupta Maurya, around 300 B.C., became a Jain monk at the end of his life. Chandragupta's grandson, Asoka, ruled over an empire which included all the sub-continent except the extreme south. As his capital was in the region of Magadha he was doubtless familiar with the Jains and they are mentioned in his records (though Asoka himself was a Buddhist). However, one of Asoka's grandsons was certainly a Jain and he did a lot to further the progress of his faith.

In a religion as ancient as Jainism it is natural that interesting controversies about details of the faith emerge. Whilst Jains are united on the fundamental questions, within that unity many different sects and schools of thought coexist in a tolerant manner. These may be the followers of one revered teacher or a group placing emphasis on certain particular teachings. The important division is between the Svetambara and the Digambara sections. 'Svetambara' means 'dressed in white' and 'Digambara' means 'dressed in the sky', a reference to the fact that Digambara monks renounce all worldly possessions, including clothes, whilst the monks of the Svetambara section wear two pieces of white cloth. The Svetambara (who form probably around two?thirds of all Jains, and the very large majority of those in the United Kingdom) are found in particular in Gujarat and the neighboring areas of western India. The Digambara are strongest in south India. The origins of the split are not clear. One account says that, probably some three hundred years B.C., there was a terrible famine in Bihar. The crops failed, people were dying of starvation and this went on for twelve years. Some of the Jain monks, led by Bhadrabahu, moved southwards away from the famine area. It is said that the monks who left were more rigorous in certain ways than those who stayed behind and when, after the famine was over, they came back it was found that the two groups had drifted apart in some ways. In particular, according to this account, before this time all Jain monks went naked but those who stayed in the north had now taken to wearing a single piece of cloth to cover themselves. Other accounts place the division much later, possibly as late as the second century A.D. Quite probably it was not a sudden split but a slow process. At any rate, to this day the Svetambara and the Digambara differ on certain minor matters, not only the clothing of monks but also such questions as whether a woman can achieve moksa (the Digambara say not until she is reborn as a man), whether Mahavira was married before he gave up the world, and some other points.

In these early centuries, of course, reading and writing were not as common as they are today, and religious teachings (and indeed all other literature, history, stories and songs) were preserved in the memory of people. Mahavira's closest followers must have committed to memory the things which he said in his preachments and after he left them the responsibility of passing on the teachings fell on the new leader of the community, Sudharman, whom we have mentioned above. For nearly two centuries the collected teachings were handed down by word of mouth. It seems wonderful to us today that a man could retain in his memory the fourteen Purva texts, each of them quite a lengthy work, which made up the basic part of the sacred literature of the Jains. But the Jain monks of those early centuries lived a much simpler life than we do today, without the distractions of our complicated modern civilization. Moreover they doubtless did train their memories for the repetition of long texts. Even so it appears that memories were not infallible and only ten of the fourteen Purva texts were still known 200 years after Mahavira. They have now all been lost, though much of their teaching (which was said to go back in part to the time of Parsva) was preserved in other texts, like the twelve Anga texts, eleven of which survive to this day.

The last man who knew all the scriptures by heart was Bhadrabahu and he died 170 years after Mahavira. About that time, around 360 B.C., the Jains were concerned that the memory of the holy scriptures might get lost. It was a difficult time in parts of India with a long famine and the death or dispersal of many monks. Hence a great conference of monks was held at Pataliputra (now called Patna, in Bihar) when the contents of the sacred texts (those which had not been lost) were put in order. Not all Jains believe today that the original scriptures have survived. The Digambara in general feel that the original texts eventually disappeared from knowledge over a fairly long period of time. Some modern scholars believe that some re?editing of the texts must have taken place so that they are not exactly in the original form. Many centuries after the conference at Pataliputra another conference was held at Valabhi, around 460 A.D. when all the sacred scriptures were finally written down, the twelve Anga texts representing the oldest section, with a further thirty?four works which are recognize as rather later in time. There is no doubt that, in spite of some differences of opinion about it, the Jains still have today a collection of ancient religious literature which contains the noble teaching of Mahavira as it was followed two thousand and more years ago. For a very long time these scriptures were studied only by monks and learned men. The language in which they were compiled, called Ardhamagadhi, was once the language of ordinary people in Magadha so that the teachings of Mahavira (who preached in this language) could be understood by them. But Ardhamagadhi died out as a spoken language and only scholars could understood it (though most Jains today know at least some of the ancient prayers in the beautiful and solemn ancient tongue). In recent years, however, many of the Jain writings have been translated into modern Indian languages, as well as into English and other European languages, so that with little trouble we can obtain and read them today.We have been talking about matters which cover many, many centuries of time. Generation after generation passed, of people much like ourselves, even though they lived two thousand and more years ago. They had the same hopes and fears, the same joys and sorrows. And like Jains everywhere today they had the teachings of Mahavira to guide and support them.

Remembering Mahavira, Apostle of Ahimsa

IN most western style histories of religions, as well as in popular perception, Mahavira is generally regarded as being the founder of Jainism in much the same way as Jesus is regarded as the founder of Christianity. The Jain tradition, however, puts Mahavira in perspective as one of a chain of teachers, one among a galaxy of deified men, in fact the last of the twenty four Tirthankaras, ``Ford makers across the stream of existence''. Tradition saw these ford-makers appear in succession to activate the three Jewels, the Jain teachings of Right Faith, Right Knowledge and Right Practice. And they founded a community of ascetics and lay followers to serve as a spiritual ford (Tirtha) for human beings over the ocean of rebirth.

From Rishabadeva to Parsvanatha to Mahavira, these Tirthankaras were considered to be the Jina, ``the conqueror'', from which the Sanskrit word Jaina is itself derived, an epithet given to this line of human teachers who taught the true doctrine of non-violence. Mahavira, ``the Great Hero'', was in some ways the culminating fulfilment of this chain, in his search and acquisition of perfect knowledge, embodied in the great renunciation and austerities of his life.

After his birth consecration, which tradition suggests was carried out by Indra on Mount Meru, he was given the name Vardhamana which meant ``increasing'', because his family's prosperity increased after his birth. Tradition further records that Mahavira married Yashoda and had a daughter called Priyadarshana, but he renounced his family life on his thirtieth birthday. It is also said that he left his home at the beginning of winter, which is suggestive of his inclination towards severe asceticism. Thirteen months later he abandoned his clothing and began to wander as a naked (Digambara) monk, considered to be the first major shift in the evolution of the Jain Canon of Parsvanatha which had allowed clothing (Svetambara).

There is a beautiful passage in the ``Acharanga'', the ancient Svetambara text, which describes how Mahavira's thought matured in his twelve years of austerities. He attributed life (Jiva) not only to animals and plants, but to material objects like earth and water, assumed the real cause of worldly misery to be Karma, engendered by indulgence in sensual pleasure, and the essential misery of life to be due to the needless cycle of birth and death. His own behaviour furnished an example to be followed by the monks in their religious life. Jain tradition tells us that Mahavira was born with the three types of knowledge, acquired the fourth at the beginning of his monkhood, and achieved omniscience under a Sala tree at the end of twelve years of austerity, on the bank of the river Rajupalika not far from the village Jrimbhikagrama in modern-day Bihar. Henceforth he entered on his career as a religious teacher.

The later Jaina metaphysics of ``Syadvada'' was a philosophical elaboration of the tremendous speculative thought of Mahavira. His ability to discuss matters beyond the limits of normal human experience contrast markedly with the Buddha who refused to engage in metaphysical speculation not conducive to salvation. Vividly described in the Vyakhyaprajnapti, the `Exposition of Explanations', another Jaina scriptural text, this represents for the Jains, a guarantee of the truth of their religions message, for it is only the omniscient person who can know and see what lies beneath reality and as a result teach the correct spiritual path.

At the heart of Mahavira's ethical teachings are the five great vows of abstaining from killing, abstaining from lying, rejection of theft, brahmacharya and renunciation of possessions. Taken up in order to bring about a state of internal purification, the vows actually all develop from the first, the renunciation of violence, ahimsa, the principle which inspired and was embodied in the character of Mahatma Gandhi centuries later. There was a common narrative theme in Jain literature relating to the monk who refuses to tell a hunter the whereabouts of an animal being pursued and as a consequence endures torture in silence rather than reveal the truth.

Mahavira's entire life was saturated with the conviction that he had a cosmic mission to perform. His 2600th Birth Jayanti is a befitting occasion to remember this great spiritual legacy and to resurrect the cardinal principles of right faith, right knowledge, right practice and Ahimsa in these times of turbulence and strife.

Lord Mahavira: An Evaluation

By Dr. S. B. Deo

It is well over two and a half thousand years that the personality of Lord Mahavira illumined the religious horizon of India. And yet with the passage of several centuries, the influence of his teachings, instead of waning, as happened in the case of several others, is on the increase. His name still remains a revered memory and an envigorating spiritual force to thousands of people. What then, is the secret of this everlasting popularity?

The answer lies in the review of the work done by the Lord during his lifetime. With his towering personality, his struggles against various hardships and hence his wisdom arisen out of his own experiences coupled with the zeal of a reformer and the patience of a missionary, he could rise to the occasion.

The two hundred and fifty years which are supposed to have elapsed between Parshvanatha and Mahavira possibly saw, as evidenced by the Sutrakritanga, the rise of numerous sects and subsects loosely grouped into several monastic communities. The ritualistic practices in Brahmanism were again coming up to the forefront. The ideas about the superiority by birth and the privileged position of the priestly class were gaining ground. The commanding personality of Parshvanatha was no more on the scene. Against such a chaotic background Mahavira had to work.

He immediately grasped the situation and had the courage to declare-
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The external appearances are no test. What is really required is the mental purity and the behavior which would lead to such mental purity and the consequent equanimity. Therefore,
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Otherwise fake ascetics would take the field. Hence the real brahmin should be-
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It is the penance and celibacy that make a real brahmin. It is the ideal behavior which implies non-attachment towards worldly matters that idealizes a person.
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Once this emphasis on actual behavior, rather than mere sermons on it, was laid bare before the then somewhat demoralized society, Mahavira led this attack on the caste system. He had the courage to declare that-
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It is the Karman and not the birth that determines the social status of a person. These ideas were revolutionary ideas indeed! And the receptive intelligent ideological elements in Brahmanism welcomed these ideas. It is significant to note that the ganadharas of Lord Mahavira were brahmins!
And yet more significant reformist aspect of Mahavira’s life is that he did not simply point the faults of others, and rest content. With the sweeping grasp of a real reformist, he expanded the chaujjama dhamma of Parshvanatha into the panchajama dhamma. The addition of the vow of celibacy to the fourfold dharma of Parshvanatha has been explained in the Uttaradhyayana as follows:
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Whatever this explanation might mean, Dr. Jacobi rightly points out that there might have been decay in the morals of the monastic order during the period intervening Parshva and Mahavira. Therefore he thought it fit to put the Jaina church first in order and whatever was helpful for that he advocated boldly, for celibacy was essential to mental purity. Therefore he said-
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For out of sex, attachment comes and attachment indeed is the worst possession which a nirgrantha shall never think of.
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What is, however, still more important is that Mahavira showed the timely courage to emphasize this most important aspect of monastic life.
So far we have seen how Lord Mahavira denounced the caste system and at the same time set right the Jaina monastic order. He kept the doors of his church open to all deserving persons and thus became pioneer in the field of spiritual democracy.

This spiritual democracy was applicable to all irrespective of caste or class. Therefore, besides persons belonging to the kshatriyas, Brahmans or vaishyas, even high dignitaries like kings, queens and princes, became the disciples of Mahavira. Kings like Seniya, Pajjoya, Udayana, queens like Pabhavai, Migavai and others became his devotees. Thus it goes to the credit of Mahavira that he channelled the political personalities of his times into the more ennobling field of spiritualism.

In conveying the principles of his system to the people, Lord Mahavira had a unique system. He always preferred to preach to the massed in their own language. To his disciples he never prevented them from asking difficulties. The whole of the Bhagavati Sutra is a remarkable embodiment of the remarkable relation between an inquisitive disciple and a guru who was ever willing to satisfy intelligently his pupils. Clear-cut in his thoughts, Lord Mahavira was also clear-cut in his expressions as well. Thus he was an ideal guru. With this essential quality of a spiritual leader, he could, as given in the Kalpasutra, organize around him an astounding number of followers.

It is therefore due to these rare qualities of an ideal reformer, an able organizer, a patronizing guru, a convincing debator, a zealous missionary and an upholder of the equality of all human beings, that the name of Lord Mahavira still remains and shall ever remain a cherished inspiration to humanity at large.

Mahavira and His Philosophy of Life

By Dr. A N Upadhye

The quest for the Higher on an intellectual or metaphysical plane has been all along, in India, the privilege or province of some outstanding individual or individuals, while the mass of the population, generally steeped in ignorance and poverty, was devoted to crude deification and ancestor-worship. The power of a religious leader lay in his ability to win over to his creed the people around him. In India there have been two types of religious leaders: the Priest, and the Ascetic.

The priest was a champion of retualism. He “vigorously claimed that the welfare and indeed the very existence of the world, including even the gods, depended upon the maintenance of their systems of sacrifice, which grew to immense size and complexity.” The cults popularized by him were polytheistic; the deities were very often forces of nature; and man was put at their utter mercy, the priest along being capable of saving him by seeking the favour of the deities through sacrificial rites. This is the line of thought of the Vedic religion and its custodians. It came into India from outside, from the North-West. And, thanks to the mesmeric power exerted by elaborate ritual, it gradually spread towards the East the and the South, catching handfuls of followers here and there.

As distinguished from this, in the East, along the fertile banks of the Ganges and the Jumna, there flourished in India a succession of ascetic teachers, who, hailing from rich families, had enough leisure for high thinking and religious meditation. For them, the spirit in man, and also in all animate beings, was the focus of religious meditation as well as an object of investigation in relation to all that is inanimate in the universe. This brought them fact to face with the problem of life here and elsewhere, since both spirit and matter were real for them-real, and therefore essentially eternal, though passing through the flux of change. Life here and hereafter was the result of the beginningless connection between spirit and matter, which was the source of all the misery in this world; and the aim of religion was to separate matter from spirit, so that the latter might achieve a state of liberation in which it would exist in a plenitude of purity, bliss and knowledge. Man is his own master; his thoughts, words and acts have made him, and continue to make him, what he is; it is in his hands to make or mar his present or future; the great teachers of the past are his ideals to inspire him along the path of religion; and he has to struggle, with hope, on the well-trodden path of spiritual progress, following a code of moral and ascetic discipline, till he reaches the goal of spiritual Emancipation or perfection.

Thus it will be seen that here, in the Eastern stream of religious thought, there is no place either for a Deity who shapes the universe and meddles in its matters, of for a priest invested with mysterious powers to propitiate Him. This line of thought is well represented by Jaina Tirthankaras like Neminatha, Parsva and Mahavira, by Ajivika Teachers like Goshala, by Samkhya philosophers like Kapila and promulgators of Buddhism like Buddha.

With the political freedom of our land, there is great enthusiasm all over the country, particularly patent and eloquent among the educated classes who have started revaluing the ancient Indian heritage in a new perspective. It is in the fitness of things that great personalities like Mahavira and Buddha are remembered with reverence in this context. I have often wondered how these great teachers, whose preachings have such an abiding human appeal, could have been somewhat neglected for some time in the very land which they enriched and elevated in its moral stature. It is, however, a happy augury that their greatness is being appreciated to-day all the more. As usual, it is an irony with us, that Western scholarship has to make us aware of the greatness of our men and matters. Very valuable work in the fields of Jaina and Buddhist literatures as done by Western savants; and to-day, we are in a position to appreciate the greatness of Mahavira and Buddha, better than we could do in earlier days.

As a sign of the new spirit, the 2500th Parinirvana Day of Buddha is being celebrated this year; besides, the Jayanti days of Mahavira and Buddha are celebrated all over the country every year now. Today happens to be the Mahavira Jayanti day. And it is but natural that I should address you in detail on the personality of and principles preached by Mahavira.

Mahavira was a contemporary of Buddha, and he stands as the 24th Tirthankara whose preachings fully breathe the spirit of what I have called Eastern stream of thought in India. All that Mahavira and his predecessors have preached goes under the name of Jainism to-day, but that should not come in the way of our appreciating and putting into practice the great principles preached by Mahavira which stand to-day embedded and elaborately interpreted in Jaina literature in different languages.

Those of you who have visited Bihar can testify to the fertility of that part of India; but more than that, in the history of Indian thought and culture Bihar has played an important role. The great champions of Atma philosophy like Buddha, Janaka and Mahavira hail from this part. It is Mithila in Bihar that has made substantial contributions to Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vaisesika systems. Some 2500 years ago, Vaishali (modern Basarh, some 30 miles to the north of Patna) was a prosperous capital. A suburb of it was called Kundapura or Kshatriyakunda; and here in the palace of King Sidhartha of his queen Trishala or Priyakarini Mahavira was born to emphasize his various outstanding traits, he was also known as Jnata-putra, Vaisaliya, Vardhamana, Sanmati, etc. His mother belonged to the family of Chetaka, the mighty Licchavi ruler of Videha at whose call Licchavis and Mallas co-operated both for defense and offence. Tradition is not unanimous about his marriage: according to the one, he was a celibate throughout; while according to another, he married Yashoda and had a daughter called Priyadarshana. As a prince, having excellent connections with ruling dynasties of his times, it was expected of him to rule with authority and enjoy the pleasures of a prosperous carrier after his father. But that was no to be. Just at the age of 30, Mahavira decided like a hero to relinquish the comforts of a princely life and undertook the life of an ascetic with a view to attaining spiritual happiness, and thus place before the world the correct values of life and an example of his having solved its problems in a successful manner. Attachment and possessive instincts have been the greatest obstacles in the attainment of spiritual peace and purification; and he gave them up in an ideal manner. Physical comforts are not an end in themselves; and mahavira became Nirgrantha, and went about practicing severe penances, even without any clothes on his body. We have graphic description of his hardships given in detail in the Acharanga, etc.: people abused him, boys pelted him with stones, and thus he was subjected to many calamities in the Eastern part of Bengal. After twelve years of rigorous penances, Mahavira had a triumph over physical weaknesses and limitations; and he attained pure and perfect knowledge which transcended the limits of space and time: he became a Kevalin, a Sarvajna. Shrenika Bimbisara was his contemporary and was ruling at Rajagrha: Mahavira delivered his first sermon on the hill Vipulakala in the vicinity of Rajagrha. For full thirty years he visited different parts of the country; and it was his Vihara, or religious tour, as well as that of Buddha, that gave Magadhan territory the name of Bihar. Mahavira’s parents belonged to the school of Parshva; during his Vihara, Mahavira explained toe his society various problems of life and their solutions. He laid maximum stress on the sanctity and dignity of the spirit, and his preachings were meant for one and all who conformed to the religious discipline outlined by him. The organization of his followers, including princes as well as poor peasants, conformed to the fourfold pattern consisting of Monks, Nuns, Householders and House-ladies: this nomenclature continues in Jainism even to this day. The influence of the great principles preached by Mahavira is seen in India even outside Jainism. He was a Tirthankara, who prepared a ford for the suffering humanity to achieve peace here and bliss elsewhere. In view of the all-embracing character of Mahavir’s principles, Samantabhadra, as early as 2nd century A.D., called the Tirtha of Mahavira by the name Sarvodaya, which term is so commonly used now-a days after Gandhiji. At the age of 72, Mahavira attained Nirvana at Pava in 527 B. C.; and this day is celebrated with lights all over India as the Divali Day.

A large amount of literature, both ancient and modern, is available on the life and activities of Mahavira; and many myths, miracles and legends have grown about his personality, as usual with all religius dignitaries. Scientific and historical scrutiny unaffected by sectarian prejudice and religious bias is made difficult by the very nature of the sources from which the information has to be gleaned. What I have attempted above is a bare outline of Mahavira’s biography. If it is difficult, of beyond the means of historical study, to know all about Mahavira, in my humble opinion, it is more important to understand and put into practice the principles preached by Mahavira that to discuss this detail or that about his personal life.

In this connection, you will excuse me, if I make a little digression introducing to you some aspects of Vaisali (spelt as Vaishali), the birthplace of Mahavira. The town was at its height of prosperity, and by its association with Mahavira It became far-famed in the religious world of India. Teachers from Vaishali preached great principles for the uplift of humanity and lived an austere life of fasts and penances; and Mahavira stood out as the most prominent of hi contemporaries. According to the Mahavastu, Buddha sought his first teachers in Alara and Uddaka at Vaishali and “even started his life as a Jain under their teachings.” After discovering his Middle Path, the became more and more honored at Vaishali, receiving even royal reception; the city built for him a Kutagara-shala, a pinnacled rest house, in its suburban park known as the Mahavana. It is at Vaishali that the Second Buddhist Council was held; and it came to be looked upon as a holy spot where differences in the Sangha could be ironed out. His celebrated disciple Amrapali was a resident of Vaishali at which place she bequeathed her park to Buddha and the community. Vaishali has its political significance too. It had a Republican Government, and King Chetaka, the Licchavi Republican President, ‘organized a Federation of Republics comprising Mallakis, and 18 Gana-rajas of Kashikoshala, besides the 9 Licchavi Republics.’ The working of the Vajjian Confederation, so vividly described in the Dighanikaya, is an unique example of its kind and essentially contributed to the efficiency and solidarity of the Republic. Further Vaishali was a commercial capital where seals were issued by three classes of guilds, namely, Bankers, Traders and Artisans. When Fa-Hien visited India (A.D. 399-414), it was an important religious, political and commercial centre; but its fall began in the next three centuries, and but its fall began in the next three centuries, and what Hiuen-Tsang (A.D. 635) saw there was more or less in ruins. And to-day it is a neglected village.

The Indian Republic of to-day has inherited a great deal from the spirit of Vaishali, and the Vajjian concord is the pedestal of our democracy, apart from the fact that Ahimsa with its corollaries, viz., Panchasilas, is the bed-rock on which our policies are built. By adopting Hindi as the State Language, our Central Government is only carrying on the policy of Magadhan Governments which gave more importance to the language of the massed than to the of the classes. The inscriptions of Ashoka are all in Prakrit. Our Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who said the other day that he can find time to meet the humblest in the country even in preference to his big officials easily reminds me of Ashoka, the Priyadarshin, who had a similar dictum. Thus it is but natural that Vaishali can no more be neglected. Thanks to the vigilant eye of the Central Government, patronage of the Bihar Government, princely gifts enlightened industrialists like Shri Shantiprasadji and the active efforts of the Vaishali Sangha with its able workers like Shri J. C. Mathur, Vaishali is rising up again. The Bihar Government have started a Post-graduate Institute there for Prakrit and Jaina studies, and Dr. Hiralal Jain is the first worthy Director of this growing Institute. We have no doubt that the place will be a great centre of learning.

Through the ravages of time and tide, and due to political vicissitudes Vaishali fell into ruins; and we had nearly forgotten its identity. But you will be pleased to hear that Vaishali has not forgotten its worthy sons. Among the Jaina and Buddhist relics, the most important remnant is a plot of fertile land, owned by a local significant family of Simha or Natha Kshatriyas, which is never cultivated, as far as the family memory goes, because for generations it is believed in the family that on that spot Mahavira was born and hence it is too sacred to be cultivated. It is born and hence it is too sacred to be cultivated. It is a remarkable event in the religious history of India that memory of mahavira is so concretely kept at his birthplace by his kinsmen though 2500 years have quietly elapsed.

The period in which Mahavira lived was undoubtedly an age of acute intellectual upheaval in the cultural history of India; and among his contemporaries there were such religious teachers as Kesha Kambalin, Makkhali Gosala, Pakudha Kaccayana, Purana Kassapana, Sanjaya Belatthiputta and Tathagata Buddha. Mahavira inherited a good deal from earlier Tirthankaras. He left behind not only a systematic religion and philosophy but also a well-knit social order of ascetics and lay followers who earnestly followed and practiced what he and his immediate disciples preached.

Buddha and Mahavira lived in the same age and moved about in the same area with the same dynasties and rulers in view. They stressed the dignity of man as man, and preached to the masses in their own language high moral ideals which advanced the individual on the spiritual plane and further contributed to social solidarity. To posterity, they are the best representatives of the Eastern or Magadhan religion, or what is generally called the Shramanic culture; the basic literature embodying their utterances, has luckily survived to us. A comparative study of the early Jain and Buddhist works presents a remarkable similarity and breathes verily the same religious and moral spirit which as not only stood the test of time for the last two thousand years and the solution of many a human problem. Truth and non-violence as preached and practiced by the background of the moral code preached by Mahavira and Buddha. The references to the Nirgrantha tenets in the Pali canon are of great value for assessing the relation of Jainism and Buddhism.

Apparently there was so much in common between Buddha and Mahavira, that early European scholars mistook them for one individual. But to-day, with progress of studies, they stand before us as two distinct personalities who have left an abiding influence on the history of Indian thought. Buddha, it has to be noted, experimented with many teachers prior to his enlightenment, and discovered the Middle Path, after rejecting much of religious thought current round about him. That was not the case with Mahavira. The religion preached by Vrishabha, Neminatha and his immediate predecessor Parshva (who flourished just a couple of centuries before Mahavira) was already inherited by him and he presented it for contemporary society. Buddha is less compromising with the creeds of his contemporaries, compromising with the creeds of his contemporaries, because he started with the conviction that he had personally discovered something new for humanity. But Mahavira was more accommodating nd compromising and quite willing to understand the point of view of others, primarily because he was preaching an earlier religion, may be for a slightly different order of monks and laymen. “It is evident,” as Jacobi has remarked, “that both Mahavira and Buddha have made use of the interest and support of their families to propagate their Order. Their prevalence over other rivals was certainly due in some degree to their connection with the chef families of the country.” Buddha had a longer lease of life: he lived for full eighty years; while Mahavira lived only 72 years. The middle path of Buddha struck a note of novelty and inspired so much enthusiasm among his new followers that its influence spread far and wide. Mahavira, however, had to preach both to old and new followers, and obviously he must have been guided by a spirit of compromise: the question of new recruits was not with him as urgent as it was with Buddha. There is evidence, further confirmed by close similarity between Jaina and Buddhist monastic rules, that Buddha did try the Nirgrantha way of living for a while, obviously the one preached long before by Parshvanatha. As observed by Jacobi “niganthas (Nirgranthas), now better known under the name of Jainas or Arhatas, already existed as an important sect at the time when the Buddhist church was being founded.” The Pali canon refers to Mahavira as Niggantha Nataputta. Both Mahavira and Buddha thus started their careers with the same capital of Shramanic ideology, but differed later on in details, and so also their followers with changing times and places. The subsequent history of Jainism and Buddhism, the former confining itself primarily to India but still surviving as a living institution and the latter spreading with remarkable zeal practically all over the Eastern hemisphere but losing its bearings in the very land of its birth, has its seeds to be sought in their earlier beginnings outlined above. It is absolutely necessary that the doctrines of Buddha and Mahavira be studied in more detail than is done ordinarily by the educated man.

The history of the Jaina Church has many a bright spot here and there. After Mahavira the Church was led by a series of eminent monks and received patronage from kings like Shrenika, Bimbisara, Chandragupta Maurya, etc. Many religious monks, ruling dynasties, wealth traders and pious families have contributed to the stability and continuity of Jaina Church with the result that India can feel proud of the Jaina contributions both to its civilization and culture in matters of art, architecture, literature and moral code.

The preachings of Mahavira are embedded in the canonical texts, and they are interpreted by series of commentaries known as Niryuktis, Curnis, Bhashyas and Tikas. Individual topic are discussed in manuals and further illustrated by extensive narrative literatures. The doctrines are logically defended by a number of authors in comparison with and contrast to other Indian systems. Jaina contributions to Indian literature embrace various subjects; and they are spread in different languages like Prakrits (including Apabhramsha), Sanskrit, Tamil, kannada, Old Hindi, Old Gujarati, etc. Jaina authors have considered language only as means to an end; they never invested any one language with religious sanctity. Thanks to their broad outlook, they could make salient contributions to Sanskrit and Prakrit; and how they have enriched Tamil and Kannada, at least the learned audience here needs no further elaboration from me. Buhler wrote many years back about Jaina literature in this manner: “In grammar, in astronomy as well as in all branches of belles-letters the achievements of Jainas have been so great that even their opponents have taken notice of them and that some of their works are of importance for European Science even to-day. In the South where they have worked among the Dravidian peoples, they have also promoted the development of these languages. The Kanarese, Tamil and Telugu literary languages rest on the foundations erected by the Jaina monks. Thought his activity has led them far away from their own particular aims, yet it has secured for them an important place in the history of Indian literature and civilization.” This prophetic observation of that great German scholar is not only fully borne out, but latter finds and researches have also shown that if Buhler had lived to-day, he would have been more eloquent on the Jaina contributions to Indian Literature. With such meticulous care and perseverance the Jainas have preserved MS. collections in places like Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Pattan and Moodbidri that these are a part of our national wealth. They built these collections with such an academic and catholic outlook, that there was hardly any place for religious bias. It must be said to the credit of the builders of the great collections at Jaisalmer and Pattan that it is here that we could trace certain original Buddhist works which otherwise were known to us only from Tibetian translations.

A dispassionate and critical study of Jaina literature enables one to get a fair idea of the Jaina outlook or view of life. By the Jaina view of life we mean the view of life sanctioned by Jainism as apparent from an objective and judicious interpretation of the fundamentals of Jaina metaphysics and ethics, and not the outlook on the life which the followers of Jainism generally have to-day.

Metaphysically speaking, all souls, according to their stage of spiritual evolution or progress (in terms of Gunasthanas) have a legitimate place on the path of religion; everyone’s position is determined by his Karmic limitations, and his progress depends on his potentialities. The Jaina God is neither a creator of the universe nor a dispenser of favors and frowns. He is a spiritual ideal, but also a being who has reached absolute perfection. If He is praised and worshipped, it is with a view to remembering His virtues, so that we may cultivate them in ourselves and attain the same status. Every soul must reap the fruits, pleasant or painful, of all it has done; for it is, in the last analysis, the architect of its own fortune. The question of exchanging one’s sins or merits with any other soul is irrelevant. Now, clearly such an attitude does not leave one at the mercy of an outside agency, divine or semi-divine and enables one to work with confidence and hope. The individual, however criminal under the stress of internal and external forces, need not despair because he is latently divine, and a day will come when he will realize himself.

Jainism lays down certain ethical standards which are duly graded, for the uplift of the individual as a social being. As long as he lives as a member of society, betterment, he owes to himself for his spiritual betterment, he owes a good deal to the society in which he is living; but if he relinquishes the world and leads the life of an ascetic, hi ties with society and his responsibilities towards it are considerably reduced. In Jainism, the duties of a householder are in miniature those of a monk; and a householder, while duly carrying out his household duties, rises steadily to the status of a monk.

Ahimsa is the most important principle that permeates the Jaina outlook on life. In simple language it means the greatest possible kindness towards the animate world. Jainism has prepared a graded series of living beings; and a religious person has to strive his best to minimise harm to them. Every living beings has a sanctity and a dignity of its own; and one has to respect it as one expects one’s own dignity to be respected. A man of kindly temperament sheds around him an atmosphere of kindness. Jainism has firmly held that life is sacred irrespective of species, caste, color, creed or nationality. A resident of Hiroshima or Nagasaki is as sacred as one in New York or London: what his color is, what he eats, and how he dresses-these are external adjuncts. Thus the practice of Ahimsa is both an individual and a collective virtue; and this kindly attitude, which requires that our hearts be free from baser impulses like anger, pride, hypocrisy, greed, envy and contempt, has a positive force and universal appeal.

The second virtue which Jaina ethics lays stress on is good neighborliness; one should speak the truth and respect the right of property. It is thus that one becomes trustworthy in society, and at the same time creates an atmosphere of security for others. One’s thoughts, words and acts must be consistent with each other; and they must, further, create an atmosphere of confidence and a reciprocal sense of security must start with the immediate neighbour and then be gradually diffused in society at large, not only in theory but also in practice. These virtues can go to constitute coherent social and political groups of worthy citizens who yearn for peaceful co-existence with the well-being of the entire humanity in view.

The third virtue is a steady and progressive restraint on acquisitiveness which manifests itself either in the form of yearning for sensual or sex pleasure, or for acquisition of property. This virtue is to be practiced in different degrees at different stages of one’s spiritual or religious progress. An ideally religious man is entirely free from acquisitiveness in thought, word and deed; his last vestige of property is his body alone, and his wants are the minimum required to sustain it; and this too he voluntarily relinquishes in the end when he finds that it gives him no more aid in the practice of religion. Pursuit of pleasure as an endless game; individual inclinations and passions must be duly trained and curbed; thus indeed does one get mental poise and spiritual balance. A voluntary limitation of property is community virtue which results in social justice and fair distribution of utility commodities. The strong and the rich should not weed out the weak and the poor but put such voluntary restriction on their instincts and possessions that the underprivileged too have a fair chance in life. Any attempt to enforce these qualities by an external and legal authority, either on the individual or society, will lead to hypocrisy or secret criminal tendencies. It is for sensible individuals to practice these virtues, and thus set an example from which an enlightened society will gradually be developed.

There are many elements which go to constitute the intellectual make-up of an individual; his inheritance, environment, upbringing, studies and experiences. It is this intellectual make-up that shapes his convictions and opinions: if he lacks in intellectual honesty and integrity of expression, these latter may get perverted. All these, moreover, get a different coloring according to the motives and ambitions of individuals, singly or collectively. This is why one finds that unanimity of opinion or agreement in views is very scarce. For most of us, even presuming that all of us are sincere, it is easier, nay almost natural, to differ rather than agree on any given topic. To meet this situation, Jainism has presented to the world two significant instruments of understanding and expression: one is the Nayavada and the other, Syadvada. The Nayavada enables one to analyse the various points of view and appraises their relative validity: it is a remarkable method for the analytical comprehension of a complex question. Naya is a particular approach. It reveals a partial or a particular approach. It reveals a partial or a particular view of the totality, and it should not be mistaken for the whole. A synthesis of these different viewpoints is an imperative necessity; therein every view point must retain its relative position; and this need is fulfilled by Syadvada. One can say ‘yes,’ of say ‘no’ or even express one’s inability to state anything: these three basic statements, when combined, can give rise to seven predications which are qualified by the term ‘syat’ or ‘may be,’ indicating the limits of understanding and expression. Syadvada, in course of the process of assertion or denial curbs down and harmonizes the absolute viewpoints of individual Nayas. “Syadvada,” says Professor A. B. Dhruva, “is not a doctrine of speculative interest, one intended to solve a mere ontological problem, but has a bearing upon man’s physiological and spiritual life.” It has supplied the philosopher with catholicity of thought, convincing him that Truth is not anybody’s monopoly with tariff walls of denominational religion, while furnishing the religious aspirant with the virtue of intellectual toleration which is a part of that Ahimsa which is one of the fundamental tenets of Jainism.

Human beings have limited knowledge and inadequate expression. That is why different doctrines are inadequate; at the most they are one-sided views of the Truth which cannot be duly enclosed in words and concepts. Jainism has always held that it is wrong, if not dangerous to presume that one’s own creed alone represents the truth. Toleration is, therefore, the characteristic of Jaina ideology. Even the Jaina monarchs and generals have a slean and commendable record to their credit I this regard. The political history of India knows no cases of persecution by Jaina kings, even when Jaina monks and laymen have suffered at the hands of other religionists of fanatical temper. Dr. Saletore has rightly observed: “The principle of Ahimsa was partly responsible for the greatest contribution of the Jainas to Hindu culture-that relating to toleration. Whatever may be said concerning the rigidity with which they maintained their religious tenets and the tenacity and skill with which they met and defeated their opponents in religious disputations, yet it cannot be denied that the Jainas fostered the principle of toleration more sincerely and at the same time more successfully than any other community in India.”

Time was when man was at the mercy of nature; to-day, however, he has dived deep into the mysteries of nature and become her master instead of her slave. There is such rapid progress in the various branches of science; and the scientist’s achievements in nuclear physics and atomic weapons are so astounding tat, if he is intends, he can destroy the entire human race and change the face of the earth. Thus, to-day, the human race is standing on the verge of catastrophe; its mind is getting befogged and bewildered; and it is rushing towards the very precipice which it wants to avoid. Obviously, we are required to revalue our values.

The progress of science is the corollary of an attempt to achieve greater happiness for man. But, unfortunately, man as man is not properly understood; of language. By the term “man” many have only “the white man” in view; and such an attitude is subversive of all ethical standards. If some parts of the world are apparently more civilized, very often it is at the cost of the other parts. Co-operative and collective amelioration of the entire mankind has to take the place of colonial exploitation. The sanctity and dignity of mankind have to be recognized in preference to our separate affluence and supremacy. Scientific skill must be accompanied by a saint’s wisdom. Thus man has to understand man as man. In this technically unified world, there is very little difference between oneself and others; I wish well to myself, that is practicable, only if I wish well to others. The doctrine of Ahimsa, if rightly understood and sincerely practiced, supplies the necessary basis for this humanitarian outlook of a world-citizen.

The organized atrocities of man need not make us despair. The doctrine of Karma tells us that we are the architects of our own fortune. It is for us to look into ourselves, analyse our motives, estimate our objectives, both individually and collectively, without slavishly prostrating ourselves before any power for fear or favour; and thus work on with confidence and hope that man must progress for his existence and betterment. Every individually has the potentiality of the divine, and it is for him to realize this by following the path of religion. Physical science and technical skill have given us power, and it is for us now to choose whether we want to make forward progress for the betterment of man and his environment or just reduce ourselves to a heap of radio-active ashes.

Good neighborliness and restraint on the acquisitive instinct are a contagious virtue: what is true of an individual is also true of a group, social or political. The man who does not know himself and refuses to know another an as man can never live at peace with himself or, obviously, at peace with others. A clear understanding of onself and of others can alone remove mutual suspicion and counterbalance the constant threat of war, thus leading us to a true condition of peaceful co-existence.

To-day, liberty of thought and speech is increasingly getting crippled in a subtle manner. Tendentious propaganda not only conceals but also perverts the apparent facts, and the world is put on a wrong track. This means that the thinking man has to keep himself vigilant, understand the limitations of his knowledge and thus learn to respect the viewpoint of others, as laid down by Nayavada and Syadvada. Let us ot lose faith in man as man, and let us learn to respect each other as man. We must see that man lives under healthy and progressive conditions as a world-citizen. The basic principles of Jainism (such as Ahimsa, Vratas, Nayavada and Syadvada), if correctly understood and earnestly put into practice, can make one a worthy citizen of the world.