Prominent Jain Eulogies

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A freedom fighter since student life. Home Minister in the cabinet of Vindhya Pradesh (Nov. 1955) and Dy. Minister for Food and Rehabilitation in the first cabinet of Reorganised Madhya Pradesh headed by Pt. Ravi Shanker Shukla, reelected and appointed Dy. Minister (P.W.D. and Electricity) in the cabinet of Dr. Kailash Nath Kataju (1957-62) again got reelected to M.P. Legislature Assembly and remained M.L.A. (1972-77), had been member state Law Commission and M.P. Housing Board.
President, Shri Jain Khajuraho Samati for last 30 years, associated with many trusts and social organisations. He has written many books on Economics, Sociology and Jainology.

The Jain religion represents an important tradition of ancient India. It is one of the most ancient living faiths in the world; it has held aloft the banner of ascetic ideal of renunciation for more than twenty five centuries. The ideas and practices expounded by the victorious ones (jinas) were continuously preached and developed by the munis or Šramanas of the Jaina tradition.
In the nineteenth century, when the jainist studies were in their infancy, scholars had expressed conflicting views about the origin of Jainism. Wilson, Lassen and Weber had believed that Jainism represented one of the many sects of Buddhism. This erroneous view was found on the striking similarities existing between some of the doctrines and practices of the Buddhists and the jains. On the other hand Colebrooke, Prinsep and Stevenson had rightly believed that Jainism is older than Buddhism, though this belief was based on the wrong supposition of the identity of Indra Bhûti Gautam, a disciple of Mahavira, with the Siddhartha Gautama. It was the merit of Eühler, Jacobi and Hoerule that they established the historical contemporaneity of Vardhamana Mahavira and Sakyamuni Buddha after making a comparative study of the jaina and Buddist canonical texts. Herman Jacobi had the particular distinction of pointing out the Mahavira had some predecessors and the jaina church was older than the Buddha.
The theory of the vidic-Brahmanic Origin of ascetic culture or Sramana though was propounded at the time when practically nothing was known about non-Aryan and pre-Vedic cultures of India. After the discovery of the Harappan culture or the Indus valley civilization this theory had to be modified. The ruined cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro revealed that before the Indo-Aryans arrived in India, a highly advanced and mature culture had been flourishing in the north-west of India compared to this culture, the vedic-Aryan culture appeared to be primitive. The historians of Indian culture began to revise their notion of the antiquiety of the vedic culture. The coming of into India is how generally dated in about 1500 B.C. The vedic literature and culture however has been placed between 2500 and 1500 B.C. This the pre-vedic and pre-Aryan Harappan culture is much more ancient than the vedic Aryan culture.

According to Acharya Pujyapada-Devotion (Bhakti) is "Attachment with-Arhat (Embodied pure souls) Acharya (Head of the order of Saints), Upadhyaya (preceptor)and other highly learned saints and the utterances of Jinas (victors) with pure thought-actions." According to another defination, "Devotion is attachment with the virtues or merits of God." Devotion should be absolutely pure/ untainted; it should have no concern with any impurity or impurities, e.g. the fulfillment of any desire or achievement of some objective or target or satisfaction of some want. Acharya Shri Kund Kund in "Bhava pahud" says, "Persons who bow down and pay obeisance to the lotus-feet of shri Jinendra deva with extreme devotion - succeed in out rooting the Creeper of birth and death of mundane-existence, with the instrument of superior devotion".
Be it remembered that the Jina (The victor) is fully non at- tached/ dispassionate and remains totally unconcerned with the tendency of being worshipped or eulogised by his devotees - Whatsoever and Whosoever they be. He does no good to his devotees; nor does he inflict any injury or punishment upon his opponents. He is over and above all that. It is not Jina - who helps his devotees; It is rather the purity of the thoughts and attitudes of the devotees which result from the Recollection or Reflection of and Contemplation upon Jina; that make his devotees, competent to attain supreme status. The Jina/ Arhat/Biddha is not an active Factor. It does not, directly, interfere this way or that way. As a matter of fact, He (Jina) is indirectly instrumental in showing or leading to the path of liberation and inspiring his devotees to that effect. Acharya Samantabhadra, swami has mentioned it in one of his verses. The same thing has been explained by Mahakavi Dhananjay.