Aum Gung Ganapathaye
Namah
Namo tassa
bhagavato arahato samma-sambuddhassa
Homage to The
Blessed One, Accomplished and Fully Enlightened
In the
name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Jainism
A Collection of Articles, Notes and References
References
(Revised: Thursday, November 30, 2006)
References
Edited by
An Indian Tantric
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in a name? That which we call a rose
By
any other name would smell as sweet.
- William
Shakespeare
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8
"... Freely you received, freely give”.
-
Matthew 10:8 :: New American Standard Bible (NASB)
1 “But mark this: There will be terrible times in
the last days.
2 People will be lovers of
themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to
their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without
self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers
of pleasure rather than lovers of God—
5 having
a form of godliness but denying its power. Have
nothing to do with them.
6 They are the kind who
worm their way into homes and gain control over
weak-willed women, who are
loaded down with sins and are swayed
by all kinds of evil desires,
7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.
8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these
men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as
far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
9 But
they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their
folly will be clear to everyone.”
-
2 Timothy 3:1-9 :: New International Version (NIV)
6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchisedec.
-
Hebrews 5:6 :: King James Version (KJV)
Therefore, I say:
Know your enemy
and know yourself;
in a hundred
battles, you will never be defeated.
When you
are ignorant of the enemy but know yourself,
your chances of
winning or losing are equal.
If ignorant both of your
enemy and of yourself,
you are sure to be defeated in every battle.
-- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, c. 500bc
There are two ends not to be served by a wanderer.
What are these two? The pursuit of desires and of the
pleasure which springs from desire, which is base, common, leading to rebirth,
ignoble, and unprofitable; and the pursuit of pain and hardship,
which is grievous, ignoble, and unprofitable.
- The Blessed
One, Lord Buddha
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References
Badami
http://199.236.117.161/tourism/badami.html
Jaina System of Education
http://www.kamat.com/database/books/kareducation/jaina_education.htm
http://www.mysoretourism.org/events/mysore.doc
The Jain Legacy In
Karnataka
http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/jainisminkarnataka.htm
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Educational Copy
of Some of the References
FOR EDUCATIONAL
PURPOSES ONLY
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Reference
Badami
http://199.236.117.161/tourism/badami.html
One of the many masterpieces to be found in these
caves is the famous, 18-armed Nataraja (Shiva) who if
observed closely, strikes 81 poses. Cave 4, the last cave, is the only
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Reference
Jaina System of Education
http://www.kamat.com/database/books/kareducation/jaina_education.htm
Most of the education in ancient times was imparted
orally and the students had to listen attentively. Sravana
or samana (listening) came to be identified with
student ascetics who were supposed to be ardent listeners of a guru’s teaching.
Belgola means white and pure lake. The great lake
between two hills is so clean and sparkling that the surroundings are clearly
reflected in the water.
Shravanabelagola and its surroundings teem with monuments
and inscriptions and epitaphs.
...
Jainism
is divided into two sects of Swetambara and Digambara. The Swetambara monks
wear white and Digambara ascetics who practice
extreme renunciation have to discard even the last piece of cloth or the barest
necessity of life,
to
overcome worldly binding.
Similarly sallekhana or death by observing
religious injunction of fast unto death is not only permitted in Jainism2, but also
held in high esteem.
Individuals who have died observing sallekhana are remembered
in special epitaphs known as nishidi or nisadi stones.
...
Jaina faith lays stress on
charity as a path towards self-realization. This charity is fourfold,
consisting of food, shelter, medicine, and donating of books. This aspect of charity has
helped the spread of education and learning in a great measure. Granthadāna or giving of
religious books was common to all faiths but among Jains it took an
institutionalized form and helped masses a good deal to acquire knowledge.
...
Basadi or originally residential
quarter came to denote a building consisting of a shrine, place for group
worship, and became a shelter for wandering monks as also residence for teachers, scholars and
students.
...
All activities in jinalayas
or basadis were concentrated around five revered
great persons, called Panchaparamesthis. Among these,
the
Arhats or Siddhas were
equivalent to Jinas and teerthankaras. Acharyas
or the learned were peripatetic gurus as well as heads of the basadis .
A
group of sādhus or monks accompanied an Acharya while touring and they were termed gachchas.
Several such gachchas are mentioned in inscriptions.
Next in the educational hierarchy came upadhyāyas. They were subject-teachers. sādhus were also known as sramanas who were always on the move and had close contact
with the masses.
A Jaina nun was known as sādhvi
or kanti or ganti and this
class of sādhus and sādhvis
have contributed a good deal of towards propagation and spread of Jaina learning.
The
local people administered jinalayas. Their total
involvement in the maintenance helped organization of religious ceremonies,
festivals, and arrangement of lectures and discourses of moving acharyas. Jaina mathas
also came up, which were bigger establishments and catered to religious and
spiritual requirements of the community. All the Jaina
Preceptors, acharyas, upadhyas
and sādhus or shramanas
were recluses and did not have a
family or place of their own. They belonged to the whole humanity. To avoid
attachment to worldly things, they kept on moving. Jaina
mathas and basadis that
existed throughout the country made provisions for the stay, food and religious
discourses of ascetics. These mathas provided
shelter and education to students of other faiths as well.
The
sādhus and student ascetics used to live
together in the mathas and jinālayas.
ajjis or aryakas
or gantis also had a place there. With the
arrival of Acharyas, the place buzzed with activity. The village community
accorded warm hospitality and arrangements were made for the address of the acharya attended by the whole congregation. The acharyas in assembly solved religious issues, and provided
direction.
...
Education of youngsters began at the age of five
years.
...
Ratnakarandashravakachara or code of
conduct for householders
was studied by heart by boys and girls alike. This handbook of 150 verses was written by sage Samantabhadra in Sanskrit but was translated in all Indian
languages and studied in Pathasalas or schools
attached to the basadis and mathas.
Stress
was laid on learning through regional language.
...
However,
learning
at a higher level had to be in Sanskrit only. All existing sects deemed knowledge as whole and
study of Vedas, Upanishads, different darsanas
(schools of philosophy), shāstras (science) and puranas were studied by Buddhists, Jains,
Tantriks, Shaktas, Shaivas and Vaishnavas3. Tradition mentions sixty-four
arts a person had to learn and Jains added eight more
to the list4.
Special mention may be made of chemistry, science (vijnana) and
manufacture of small machines. Perhaps the merchant class -- the main patrons
of Jainism -- encouraged the study of these for the promotion of different arts
and crafts.
The
method of learning various subjects was traditional, i.e., memorizing
repeating, and reproducing. Văda or discussion
formed the main platform in Jaina system and training
was given in oratory.
Most of the famous preceptors were great orators and established
supremacy of Jainism over other sects by arguing, disputing, and discussing
logically. Tarkasasatra or science of logic occupied prominent place
in Jaina syllabus. Titles like Vadikolahala
(who
causes confusion among arguers) Prativadi bhayankara
("terror to counter arguers") Vadi-raja (king among
disputers) Vadibha simha (lion to
elephant-like arguers)
were given by the king to the scholars in the assembly of the learned. Later,
such titles were conferred to established disputants of other faiths as well.
...
The Jaina monasteries
invariably had libraries of palm-leaf books and these included treatises on
many secular subjects besides Jaina āgamas or holy texts. There were texts of other
languages and regions as well. When we realize that a manuscript of Bilhana’s Vikramankadevacharita
depicting life and achievements of Chalukya king Vikramaditya of Karnataka was found in a Jaina library of Jaisalmer
(Rajasthan) and
a copy of Pampa's Adipurana
in
Ara (Bihar), we could visualize the length and breadth of the
country these books traveled in ancient times. They are also witness to the care and attention
they received for preservation over centuries. Perhaps many more old and rare manuscripts
are stored in the libraries of well-known Jaina
monasteries. But these are not easily available to scholars who are of non-Jaina faith.
The Jaina monastic life
was well organized and an officer known as pravajyadāyaka
selected
student-ascetics after careful examination. Family backgrounds, educational and
religious leanings were considered. After getting admission, a supervisor,
known as the niryāpaka kept a watch on the
behavior of each and every student. Wrongdoers were admonished in time and waywardness
punished. Rigorous training and study awaited the incumbents. They had to
make their own arrangements for day-to-day needs and beg for food. Spicy food
was to be avoided. Training was given to restrain basic instincts like anger,
joy, and sorrow and show equanimity to all creatures under all circumstances.
Besides food and shelter, books were
distributed free
at jinalayas and it is likely that medical instruction
was also imparted at the free hospitals attached. Hospitals big and small were attached to Jaina mathas where sick cattle
and birds were also treated besides human beings. Jainism stood for compassion towards all
living beings (sarvajeevidayāpara), and
youngsters developed this trait early in life.
The role of the merchant community in
the promotion and spread of Jainism is significant. They toured
the entire subcontinent and beyond, in caravans (sārthavāha)
built hospices along trade routes. They provided transport and protection
to sādhus and sādhvis
and received religious instruction gratefully. They patronized several shrines and mathas and gave hefty donations of land and cash for the
upkeep and maintenance of basadis, orchards, tanks,
inns and wells. All passersby folk benefited by these
charitable deeds, irrespective of caste or creed.
The trading class knew several
languages and scripts and mastered accounting. Their grants helped the Jaina system of education and there was no dearth of funds at
anytime. The basadis and mathas of Karnataka
attracted ascetics from all over. Mudabidri, Karkala, Venuru, Barkuru (all in South Kanara
district) Haduvalli, Gerasoppa
Banavasi (North Kanara
district) Ballegavi, Humcha
(Shimoga district) Koppal, Bankapur (Dharwad district), Kogali, (Bellary district), and Terdal (Belgaum district) were
well-known centers of Jaina learning. Sholapur and Kolhapur, now in Maharashtra, attracted scholars from far and wide.
...
Special
mention has to be made regarding the instruction available for women in Jaina system. It is well known that Buddha welcomed women
to sangha or monastic organization after initial
reluctance and hesitation. The Jaina order had no such
dithering. From the times prior to Mahaveera, Jaina nunneries existed. Dharmadāna or imparting religious
education was a mission with this class. Wandering nuns created cultural
awareness through discourses, which were attended by all classes and without gender
discrimination.
We
come across grants to ajjis in inscriptions. This
term is similar to ārye or āryake, a learned nun. An ajji
or kanti was entitled to initiate disciples into
renunciation. Ajjis with several male disciples (gudda) figure in inscriptions and literature5. These were well versed in
Jaina cannon and religious practices, since they had to initiate
various disciples of different caliber and attainment, they had to remember and
practice elaborate injunctions and rites.
...
Mahattara was a leader of nuns. We
know one Mahattara par excellence by the name of Yakini. Haribhadrasuri is a great
name in Indian literature. He wrote books on Jaina
ethics,
yoga,
logic, rituals and commentaries on shāstras,
besides stories.
He calls himself Yakini-Mahattara-sunu or son of great
nun Yakini! This suggests that she must have been a genius and
a great influence on his scholastic life.
...
There were nuns who specialized in astrology and
logic.
...
We have to go back to Shravanabelagola
to have pictorial evidence of sādhvis
who moved from place to place... Another
scene depicts a nun addressing an assembly. From the dress of the instructor we
can guess that she is a visiting sādhvi from north or
west
...
Kannada classics speak of housewives attending such
sessions and their men folk encouraging it.
Jaina devotees undertook copying out sacred texts and donating them to basadis and individuals. Attimabbe's
grant of a thousand copies of Shantipurana was a
landmark. Those who could not arrange donation on such a large scale
engaged copyists on a moderate scale. Others undertook it upon themselves. Basadis
in
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Reference
http://www.mysoretourism.org/events/mysore.doc
St. Philomena, a 3rd century saint from
The Jain community has built a temple completely
with marble in Mahveernagar.
There is a Digambar Jain
monastery at Aghalaya near Krishna Raja Pet (which is
in hour's drive from
Tibetan settlements at Bylakuppe
(on Madikeri highway) and Gurupura
(Nagarhole road in Hunsur)
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Reference
The Jain Legacy In
Karnataka
http://www.indiaprofile.com/religion-culture/jainisminkarnataka.htm
However, the most magnificent among all Jaina works of art is the colossal rock cut statue of their
saint Gommata at Sravanbelagola.
It was built in circa 982 AD and is described as one of the mightiest
achievements of ancient Karnataka in the realm of sculptural art. Also referred
to as Lord Bahubali, the image is nude an stands
upright in the posture of meditation known as kayotsarga, reaching a height of nearly
57 ft atop the Vindyagiri of Doddabetta
hills accessible through a flight of 500 steps. The image of Gommata has curly hair in ringlets and long, large ears. His eyes are
open as if viewing the world with detachment. His facial features are perfectly chiseled
with a
faint touch of a smile at the corner of his lips and embody calm vitality. His shoulders are broad,
his arms stretch straight down and the figure has no support from the thigh
upwards. There is an anthill in the background which signifies his incessant
penance. From this anthill emerge a snake and a creeper which twine around both his
legs and his arms culminating as a cluster of flowers and berries at the upper
portion of the arms. The entire figure stands on an open lotus signifying the totality
attained in installing this unique statue. Amazingly, inspite
of being constantly exposed to weather elements, the image has remained as new
as ever.
On either side of Gommata
stand two tall and majestic chauri bearers
in the service of the Lord. One of them is a yakshi
and the other one is a yakshi. These richly ornamented and
beautifully carved figures complement the main figure. Carved on the rear side
of the anthill is also a trough for collecting water and other ritual
ingredients used for the sacred bath of the image. Around the statue is an
enclosure of a pillared hall where one can find 43 images of tirthankaras in different cloisters. There is also
a figure of a woman called Gullikayajji sculpted with
a good built and wearing exquisite ornamentation, typical of the sculptures of
the
...
The achievements of Chaundaraya
are indeed stupendous. Filled with visions of Jaina
unity, he was instrumental in carving out the statue of Gommata,
one of the engineering marvels of the world at Sravanbelagola.
A great scholar, he was the author of Charitrasara in
Sanskrit and Chaundaraya Purana
or Trishahti Lakshana Mahapurana in Kannada prose thus setting the trend for
celebrated works of literature by Jaina scholars. The
period of the Gangas also witnessed literary activity
in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Kannada. Notable among these
are a translation of Gunadhya’s Vaddakatha
from Prakrit to Sanskrit as well as a commentary on Kiratarjunaaya by Durvinitha, a
learned
The literary zeal of the Jains
continued well into the age of the Rashtrakutas,
covering not only religion but also embracing many secular branches of learning
including mathematics and astronomy. Giant literary figures like
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“Thou belongest to That Which Is Undying, and not
merely to time alone,” murmured the Sphinx, breaking its
muteness at last. “Thou art eternal, and not
merely of the vanishing flesh. The soul in man cannot be killed, cannot
die. It waits, shroud-wrapped, in thy heart, as I
waited, sand-wrapped, in thy world. Know thyself, O mortal! For
there is One within
thee, as in all men, that comes and stands at the bar and bears
witness that there IS a God!”
(Reference: Brunton, Paul. (1962) A Search in Secret
Amen