From Religious Books:
An Introduction To Indian Philosophy
The achievements of ancient Indians in the sphere of culture, art, architecture, literature, religion, morals and science are numerous. But their most significant achievement was in the field of philosophy. It was considered the highest goal. All the systems of Indian philosophy tried to unveil the mysteries of life.
The word for philosophy is 'DARSHAN' meaning seeing or observing. Indian sages had the insight to observe things with their 'inner eye.' It was not an intellectual exercise but a vision of truth. In order to detach the spirit from involvement with matter and material objects, Indian philosophy prescribed a strict discipline to be followed so that as a result of concentration and meditation, the spirit could be realized. This 'realization' was regarded superior to everything else. Therefore, the ancient Indian sages abandoned the path of acts, renounced life and became mendicants in search of knowledge. In ancient India, perceptual and scriptural knowledge was tested through further scrutiny by means of logical arguments. It is by active inducement, through questions and answers and through the love of wisdom that philosophy emerges and one is able to nurture the sense of truth, justice, virtue, compassion and eventually eternal joy.
Socrates also preached that virtuous conduct was a means to all happiness. He contended that without the spirit and thirst for quest, life was not even worth living. The pursuit of all knowledge was the goal that was sought after by various means, successfully.
We are living in a scientifically and technically advanced world divided into 'developed' and 'underdeveloped' areas. A keen competition and a 'tug of war' seems to be going on everywhere; that is how the selfish motive of man is fulfilled. Only a few are thriving and flourishing, whilst a majority are forced to lead a life of scarcity, want and impoverishment. The tendency of today's thought is to have more and more comforts and an easygoing life, without caring for what might happen to others. Unfortunately, the myths of knowledge and progress seem to have been linked to scientific development. Scholars seem to feel isolated from real life and its problems. Modern philosophers too seem to be isolated and are unable to to take a synthesized view of the whole problem. The result is that our quest for knowledge and truth is not able to lead us to any substantial finding and a vacuum seems to have been created with the lack of real knowledge.(2) F. L. Lucas, an English critic, has given a graphic representation of our age as follows:
"Many a times, after pondering, I am amazed that some day the human civilization would come to an end, not by an atom bomb, or famines or any such means, but it would come to an end by man's own intellect and deterioration of self-control in the midst of the tension of the highly artificial civilization." According to him, discrimination of thought and high values are the things that are badly needed in our age.
Thus philosophy, which evolved originally out of love for wisdom, intense search for truth, efforts for attainment of supreme good and happiness, seems to have missed out some place during its evolution in making progress towards its established objective. Moreover, philosophy seems to have become more of a topic for discussion in classroom and seminars, thus losing its vigor of making a sweeping approach towards the integration and organization of the relevant facets of our lives.
Need For Moral Discipline
We are so overwhelmed by temptations and allurements that as soon as one of our ambitions is fulfilled, we run after another, and thus go on just running and running. It is a common experience that attachment and aversion obscure the good tendencies, and good teaching has little influence on the human mind. We are so accustomed to our old habits that we do not want to come out of our greed and lead a free disciplined life. Religion or philosophy is not a pill with an instantaneous effect. It needs deep thinking and hard, constant practice. Undoubtedly, knowledge of scripture is important, but too much knowledge without proper application, does not lead to any fruitful objective. In Jain thought, training and discipline in conduct is a central thought. It is stated that even if a man possesses scriptural knowledge, but is devoid of discipline, restraint and penance, his knowledge does not help him attain emancipation. In order to grasp philosophical concepts, it is essential to undergo mental discipline.
Mahaveer And Buddha
Both Mahaveer and Buddha were followers of the ascetic tradition. They were contemporaries. Both of them belonged to the KSHATRIYA (warrior) class. Both of them renounced worldly pleasures and joined the ascetic order. After observing the strict discipline of monks, they achieved enlightenment. The followers of the two religions met and discussed various religious concepts. Members of the same family practiced religions preached by Mahaveer and Buddha. It is difficult to compare the two great personalities with their different approach and outlook, as they both had a common objective. Both of them were prominent religious leaders, and insisted on moral values, right conduct and self-discipline. They admitted right knowledge to be the means of eliminating the endless craving of worldly existence. Both were opposed to the authority of the Vedas as having superhuman origin and rejected the efficacy of Vedic ritual. They did not accept the supremacy of the priestly class and thought it sinful to take the life of innocent animals. Both denied the existence of an intelligent first cause of this world (God) and emphasized that one's own actions would lead to good or bad results. They preached that never in this world would hatred cease by hatred, but instead by love, anger not by anger, but by kindness, and evil not by evil, but by good. Both appealed to logic, reason and experience, and condemned miracles, revelations and dealings with the supernatural. They preferred to preach in the local dialect, which was easily understood by the common people.
Jainism And Buddhism Compared
Jainism and Buddhism were both basically ethical religions, and not much involved in metaphysical and theological speculations. Both tried to preach in their simplicity the path of self purification, elaborating a moral code of behavior, showing what is good and purposeful in life. They condemned violence, injury, even unpleasant truth, greed, egoism, avarice, selfishness and other evils, emphasizing simplicity, truthfulness, sincerity and honesty. In order to solve the mysteries of life they did not pursue the quest of God. They firmly believed that one can reach emancipation by one's own efforts, through moral and intellectual perfection.
With the passage of time, the social and political conditions deviated and the religion of Buddha lost the charm of its simplicity, and instead got involved in metaphysical and theological concepts. No doubt, Jainism too could not remain uninfluenced from sectarian and superstitious beliefs. However, it did not deviate from its basic concepts of established ethical codes.
The principal differences between the two religions can be noted as follows:
1. According to Buddhism, nothing really is permanent in this universe, and that everything changes from moment to moment.
According to Jainism, change and permanence are both real. Jains believe that the doctrine of non-eternalism or momentariness is one-sided.
2. The Buddhists deny the existence of a permanent soul. They propose that it is an aggregate of mental states, known as the stream of consciousness.
According to the Jains, the soul is eternal by nature, and manifests itself taking on the form of the respective body.
3. According to the Buddhists, NIRVANA or emancipation is absolute extinction or annihilation of individual existence or of all desires and passions.
According to the Jains, NIRVANA is an eternal state of absolute blessedness of soul, characterized by infinite vision, knowledge and energy.
4. Buddha refused to answer questions related to metaphysics such as whether the world is eternal or not, whether the soul and body are identical or different, and whether the soul exists after death or not.
Mahaveer expressed definite views about world, soul and transmigration.
5. In Buddhism, ascetic practices are not essential for reaching the ultimate goal. Buddha envisages the Middle Path, exhorting his disciples to avoid the two extremes, the pursuit of desires and pleasures, and that of pain and hardship.
Jainism lays more stress on asceticism than does Buddhism as can be noticed in the ascetic life of Mahaveer.
6. Buddhist doctrines were permeated by occult (TANTRIC) practices.
Jainism has remained, for most part, free from such practices.
Miracles In Mahaveer's Life Story
In the absence of the preservation of ancient records about the life of Mahaveer, the only alternative left to early Jain writers was to fill in the gap by adding stories of a supernatural and miraculous nature in his life. Such miracles have been introduced for his very birth, which is believed to have been attended by heavenly divinities. Immediately after the birth, the child was taken to Mount Meru, where he was given a ceremonial bath. Then various auspicious rites were performed, and he was given a name. The five auspicious moments introduced in Mahaveer's life are conception, birth, renunciation, enlightenment and salvation. Mahaveer was believed to have been born with a special body with strong adamantine qualities, never having any perspiration or dirt. Even the blood in his body was believed to be transparent and milky in color. It is said that from his very birth Mahaveer possessed superhuman knowledge, hence without going to school, he mastered all kinds of arts and crafts.
No specific cause has been assigned to Mahaveer's renunciation. But divine gods are introduced to urge him to renounce the world. After accepting a mendicant's life, Mahaveer had to encounter numerous troubles and calamities. But, how could a TEERTHANKAR be subject to calamities? Hence he was declared to be beyond any suffering or at the most, the suffering was created by divine gods just to test his forbearance.
After attainment of Mahaveer's enlightenment, numerous miraculous events were inserted in his life. An assembly hall was created by divine gods so that his miraculous voice could be heard by the gods, human beings and animals, present in the hall, each one interpreting Mahaveer's voice in his own language. The body of the enlightened one, free from all impurities, shined like a crystal on all sides, with the royal insignia of a white umbrella above the head, and a bright circular halo. It is noteworthy that such miraculous incidents are not only associated with the life of Mahaveer but almost all other great personalities. The life of Buddha was presented as the predestined mission of an enlightened one. Even Buddha's birth and infancy were taken as a 'miracle' and his renunciation, an event of central importance in the history of the universe, was anxiously watched by gods and men. Like Mahaveer, Buddha's emergence was also accompanied by miraculous happenings to demonstrate that not a human baby was born, but that a heavenly being had descended,
Whatever it is, the lack of biographical motive in the legends about Mahaveer is evident from what has been said above. But there are numerous details of his life scattered here and there in sacred books of the Jains that are worth studying and which elevated Mahaveer to the status of one of the greatest teachers of mankind. Various dialogues ascribed to him, his statements with regard to the nature of the soul, the nature of the universe, the emancipation of soul, and numerous anecdotes, similes and parables illustrating his views, and above all, his suffering, sacrifice, love and kindness for humanity make him a great messenger of nonviolence.
Mahaveer was not a superman with supernatural qualities, but he was an ordinary person like any one of us, who, by dint of his determination, self-restraint, non-attachment, self-discipline, suffering, dedication, forgiveness, forbearance, and the all-compromising spirit rose to the supreme position amongst men and acquired the status of 'God.'
Footnotes:
1. Published by The Academic Press, Gurgaon, India, 1991, pages viii-xxi.
We are grateful to Dr. Jagdishchandra Jain's son, Shri Anil J. Jain, for his kind permission to adapt this article. - D. C. J. Back up
2. The ancient philosophers took a comprehensive view of life for the welfare of all humanity, while modern scholars and scientists have only a partial view which relates to their own interests and motives. According to the learned scholar, this is the cause of the serious problems of today. This is also the distinction between the ancient Indian religion and culture, and today's materialistic culture. - D. C. J. Back up