Jaina Philoshophy

Description

Jaina Philoshophy The intellectual life in India as reflected in ancient and medieval Indian literature is thoroughly permeated with religious thought. Religion inherits its authority from the sanctity it has bestowed on the divinity, scripture, hero or teachers. The religion that is most effective involves the very depths of man’s personality, and inevitably concerns the greatest realities which he can conceive. The religious conception of reality involves the cognition of some divine nature in each human being. Apart from its theoretical and mystical elements religion, so far as it has grown on the Indian soil, has constantly attempted to evolve and propagate certain ethical standards for the good behaviour of man as a constituent of the society. In Jainism it explicitly spells pluralism, there is individualistic immortality, every Atman becomes superätman and they are infinite possessing characteristics like infinite vision, infi nite knowledge, infinite bliss and infinite power, the Paramatman enjoys ideal isolation of Kaivalya.

This occurs on the disappearance of the obscuring veils which result on the total purging of all the destructive karmas. The purgation is occasioned by the aquisition of the perfection of what is called Ratnatraya (tripple jewels) Samyag-daršana (right faith), Samyag-jñāna (right knowledge) and Samyag-caritra (right conduct). The present study examines the different facets of Jaina philosophy in light of the other Indian thoughts. The book is grouped into five chapters starting with the Religious Quest of man and subsequently giving comprehensive treatment to the topics like the Problem of God, the Nature of Self, Jaina Ethics and the Concept of Salvation. It will prove a very useful book.