Chapter-15 - Jainism and its impact on Indian culture (d)

Thoughts of Mahavir Swami regarding social beliefs

Along with the above philosophy, Mahavir Swami said many things regarding the religious and social evils prevalent in that era-

(1.) Do not believe in the knowledge of Vedas

Mahavir emphasized on following morality in life and opposed the principles of Brahmin religion, Vedas, Yagyas and rituals. He says that there is no reason to believe that Vedic knowledge is the only complete and unquestionable one. According to him, the Vedas were not a divine creation but a human work. Mahavira, being a non-violenceist, could not accept violent sacrifices. According to him the yagyas and rituals were mechanical and it was not possible to purify man from them.

(2.) Do not believe in the existence of God

Mahavira was of the view that all that is great in the soul of man and has power and morality is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. On the basis of this it is believed that Jainism does not believe in the existence of God and does not consider God as the creator of the universe. According to Jainism the world is real and it is never destroyed.

The world is a set of six substances. These substances are- (1.) Jiva, (2.) Pudgal, (3.) Dharma, (4.) Adharma, (5.) Akash and (6.) Kaal. All these substances are eternal, eternal and imperishable. Therefore the universe is also beginningless and eternal. Due to the organization and dissolution of the above substances, the form of the substances made from them keeps on changing.

(3.) Belief in the existence of the soul

Mahavir believed in the immortality of the soul. According to him, there can be changes in nature, but the soul is immortal and remains the same forever. They consider the soul as the soul and according to them the soul is not only in man, animal and plant, but is absorbed in every particle of the world.

(4.) Belief in Karma and Reincarnation

Mahavir Swami believed that if desires are conquered, then the bonds of karma can be destroyed and Nirvana can be attained. His teaching was-'Man should destroy the fruits of his previous birth's Karma and should not store any kind of Karma-fruits in this birth, by doing so man will get freedom from the cycle of birth and death. '

This means that Jainism believes in both karma and rebirth. Man's progress and downfall depend on his own actions. The soul cannot be liberated without enjoying the fruits of the actions performed. Thus, karma is the cause of rebirth.

(5.) Belief in social equality

Mahavir Swami opposed the Varna system of the Aryans and opened the door of Jainism to all the Varnas without any discrimination. He believed that the souls of all incarnations are the same and that nirvana can be achieved only through individual effort.

Therefore, no person can be discriminated against in relation to attainment of salvation. After Mahavir Swami, his followers could not put this principle of equality into practice and the rites of caste-discrimination existed in them. This is the reason why Jainism could not adopt the castes called Shudras.

(6.) Belief in women's freedom

Parshvanath, the twenty-second Tirthankara, considered women to be entitled to attain Nirvana. Mahavir Swami also followed his idea and opened the doors of his religion and union to women. Because of this many women took initiation in Jainism. Like men, there were two classes of women - one of the Shramanis and the other of the Shravikas. They also had the right to worship and make efforts to attain salvation.

Organization of Jainism

According to legend, there were 14 thousand Shramans, 36 thousand Shramanis, 1 lakh 69 thousand Shravakas and 3 lakh 18 thousand Shravikas in the disciple community of Mahavir Swami. Mahavira founded the Jain Sangh at Pavapuri, which he himself was the president of. In the life of Mahavir Swami, there were 11 Gandharas, that is, the main preachers. When Mahavira died, only one Gandhara Sudharman was left alive.

For the next 22 years, this Sudharman remained the president of the Jain Sangh. After that Jambu Swami became the leader of the Jain Sangh, who was the head of the Jain Sangh for about 44 years. He spread Jainism extensively in Mathura and Shurasen. After him, the specific details of the Jain Sangh are not available. Sambhuti Vijay was the president of the Jain Sangh at the time of the last Nanda ruler of Magadha.

He was followed by Bhadrabahu, the sixth president of the Jain Sangha, a contemporary of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Bhadrabahu composed the Kalpasutra, the main text of Jainism. It contains the biographies of twenty three Tirthankaras, descriptions of the chiefs and beliefs of the Jain Sangha and the rules made for the Jain monks. The place of Acharya Bhadrabahu is very important in the history of Jainism.

Propagation and propagation of Jainism

With the efforts of Mahavir Swami, the propagation of Jainism started with great enthusiasm. There were many reasons for the rapid adoption of this religion by the people-

(1.) The main reason for this was the participation of Mahavir Swami himself in its promotion. He himself propagated his faith by roaming from place to place for eight months of the year and spent four months of the rainy season at one place.

(2.) Mahavir Swami wrote the public language 'Pali' He propagated his principles so that people could easily understand his teachings and ideas. The literature of Jainism was composed in other folk-languages, due to which this religion easily became popular.

(3.) An important reason for the early spread of Jainism was the feeling of social equality. Mahavira had opened the door of his religion equally to all castes. For this reason people feeling neglected in the rigid varna system of Vedic religion adopted Mahavira's ideas.

(4.) Jain-Sanghas founded by Mahavir Swami also made an important contribution in the propagation of Jainism.

(5.) The philosophical texts of Jainism made this religion respectable in the eyes of the public. Jain sages Indrabhuti, Vayubhuti, Bhadrabahu, Jinsen, Gunabhadra, Hemachandra etc. contributed immensely in its propagation by composing various texts.

(6.) The success of Mahavira was seen as the success of the Kshatriyas against the Brahmins. Inspired by this feeling, many kings, princes and Kshatriyas adopted this religion.

(7.) Mahavir Swami belonged to the dynasty and had family relations with many dynasties in India. For this reason, this religion got the state shelter, which played a big role in the propagation of this religion. By the beginning of AD, Jainism spread almost all over India, but Jainism could not spread like Buddhism and Vaishnavism.

Its development was also blocked from time to time, but it was successful in achieving stability in India. It also underwent a partial revival during the Rajput period. Even today, about 45 lakh followers of Jainism reside in many provinces of India including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat. Their contribution to the population of India is about 0.4 percent.

Statehood to Jainism

Mahavir Swami patronized Jainism by the contemporary Magadha rulers – Bimbisara, Ajatashatru and Udaybhadra or Udayana. The rulers of the states like Avanti, Vatsa, Anga, Champa, Saubir etc. also accepted it and helped in its spread. Due to the family relationship of Mahavira with Vajji, Licchavi and Magadha dynasty, Jainism spread rapidly in that entire region.

At the time of Alexander's invasion, Jain monks were present till the banks of the river Indus. According to Jain Jain texts, Emperor Chandragupta Maurya had accepted Jainism in his last time. Samprati, the great-grandson of Maurya-Emperor Chandragupta, helped in spreading Jainism in South India. In the second century BC, Kalingaraja Kharavela embraced Jainism and built a huge Jain statue.

It is known from the mentions of King Gardabhilla, his son Vikram and Jain Muni Kalkacharya that in the first century BC, the capital of Malwa, Ujjain was a famous center of this religion. During the time of the Kushan kings, there was a great spread of Jainism in Mathura. From the fifth to the twelfth century AD, the Ganga, Kadamba, Chaulukya and Rashtrakuta kings of South India gave shelter and encouragement to Jainism.

Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha (AD 814-74) showed special interest in the promotion of Jainism. The Chaulukya king Siddharaj and his son Kumarapala were great patrons of Jainism. A famous Jain monk named Hemchandra was in the assembly of Kumarpal.

During the Rajput period, many Rajput kings like Chauhan, Pratihar, Parmar etc. also had respect for Jainism and used to provide land and gifts etc. to Jain temples and Upashrayas. When the invasions of Muslims started on the land of India, the Rajput kings almost stopped patronizing Jainism. This caused the loss of Jainism.

Division in Jainism

During the lifetime of Mahavir Swami, differences arose in Jainism. 'Kriyamankrit' from his own son-in-law Jamali Kshatriya himself to Mahavir Swami. There was a difference of opinion on the principle of and he got separated from the Jain Sangh. Daughter of Mahavir Swami 'Priyadarshana' She also separated from the Jain Sangh along with about 1000 nuns, but later she returned to the Sangh with all her followers. This incident adversely affected the propagation of Jainism. After Mahavir Swami, there were changes in the conduct of Jain pilgrims as well.

After 160 years of Mahavira's Nirvana, there was a 12-year long famine in Magadha, as a result of which many Jain monks had to leave Magadha and go to Mysore under the leadership of Acharya Bhadrabahu. Many Jain monks remained in Magadha under the leadership of Sthulabhadra, a disciple of Acharya Sambhuti Vijay. This Jain community of Magadha called a conference at Pataliputra for the compilation of ancient Jain texts.

In this conference, a compilation of the Dwadash Angas, which is considered to be an important compilation of the principles of Jainism, was done. At the time of this compilation, many changes were made in the principles laid down by Mahavira. Ancient Jain sadhus used to live naked but now some sadhus started wearing clothes.

This conference is called 'First Jain Council' and 'Patliputra-Vachana' is called. When Bhadrabahu came to Pataliputra with his disciples after the famine was over, he refused to accept these changes.

Due to this Jainism was divided into two branches – Digambar and Shvetambara. The Jain monks of Magadha had started wearing white clothes, hence they were called Shvetambars while the sadhus who were naked were called Digambaras. The Digambara sect gained more popularity than the Shwetambars. Therefore the differences between these two sects increased further.

Although there is not much difference between the principles and philosophical thought of these two sects, there are some differences in the external form-

In the course of time, both the branches of Jainism were also divided into other sub-branches like Terapanti, Mandir Margi, Sthanakvasi etc.

Due to lack of widespread popularity of Jainism

Jainism could not become more widespread than Buddhism. There were many reasons for this-

(1.) The main reason for the limited spread of Jainism was the predominance of the philosophical side in this religion and the rigidity of its rules of conduct. The principles of non-violence, nudity, hairdressing, santhara and kaya-klesha could never be the subject of attraction for the general public.

(2.) Mahavir Swami had opposed the caste-system but his followers could not adopt this principle from the heart and priority was given to the people of the upper castes to enter the Sangh. This made Jainism unpopular among the lower castes.

(3.) महावीर ने ईश्वर एवं देवी-देवताओं की पूजा का निषेध किया था किंतु जैन धर्मावलम्बियों ने ईश्वर की जगह तीर्थंकरों को पूजना आरम्भ कर दिया तथा अपनी सुविधानुसार नए देवी-देवताओं के अस्तित्त्व की कल्पना कर ली। सामान्य हिन्दू ईश्वर को छोड़़कर तीर्थंकरों तथा वैदिक देवी-देवताओं के स्थान पर जैन देवी-देवताओं को पूजने को तैयार नहीं हुआ।

(4.) ब्राह्मण धर्म की तुलना में जैन-धर्म अधिक लोकप्रियता प्राप्त नहीं कर सका। समय के साथ-साथ जैन-धर्म में ब्राह्मण धर्म की अनेक बातें घुस गईं। ब्राह्मण धर्म की जाति-व्यवस्था, धार्मिक तथा सामाजिक संस्कार, भक्तिवाद और उसके देवी देवता भी जैन-धर्म में प्रवेश पा गए। इसलिए जैन-धर्म का बाह्य स्वरूप हिन्दू-धर्म जैसा ही हो गया और उसमें नवीनता का अभाव हो गया।

(5.) भारतीय जनसमुदाय सैंकड़ों सालों से कर्म-फल के सिद्धांत में विश्वास करता आया था किंतु जैन दर्शन में संचित कर्मों की पुद्गल के रूप में कल्पना की गई जो एक प्रकार का अजीव अर्थात् ‘मैटर’ था। परम्परागत भारतीय समाज पुद्गल के सिद्धांत पर विश्वास नहीं कर सका।

(6.) जैन संघों का संगठन जनतन्त्रात्मक नहीं था। जैन संघों की शक्ति प्रारम्भ से ही धर्माचार्यों अथवा गणधरों के हाथों में केन्द्रित रही। इस कारण अन्य लोगों ने स्वयं को उपेक्षित अनुभव किया।

(7.) जैन संघों में प्रगतिशील वैधानिक व्यवस्था का अभाव था। इसलिए संघों की व्यवस्था पर कुछ लोग हावी हो गए और उन्होंने मनमाने ढंग से कार्य किया जिससे शेष लोग दूर छिटक गए।

(8.) जैन संघों में उद्देश्य के लिए समर्पित ऐसे विद्वानों की कमी रही जो अन्य धर्मों के दार्शनिक विचारों का खण्डन करके अपने धर्म की प्रतिष्ठा स्थापित कर पाते। इस कारण जैन-धर्म अन्य धर्मों की दौड़़ में बहुत पीछे रह गया।

(9.) भारत के कुछ शासकों ने जैन-धर्म को आश्रय अवश्य दिया परन्तु जैन-धर्म को अशोक, कनिष्क तथा हर्ष जैसे आश्रयदाता नहीं मिल पाए जो उसे देशव्यापी बना देते।

(10.) अन्य धर्मों की प्रतिद्वन्द्विता के कारण जैन-धर्म के प्रसार को धक्का लगा। यद्यपि बौद्ध धर्म उसका मुख्य प्रतिद्वन्द्वी था तथापि हिन्दू-धर्म की शैव एवं वैष्णव शाखाओं के उत्थान ने भी जैन-धर्म की प्रगति को अवरुद्ध किया।

(11.) दिगम्बर, श्वेताम्बर, तेरापंथी, मंदिरमार्गी, स्थानकवासी आदि शाखाओं के परस्पर मतभेदों ने भी जैन-धर्म के विकास को अवरुद्ध किया।