This book presents a substantive yet accessible introduction to the modern thought of Jainism. It examines the life and thought of some of the most influential 19th and 20th-century Jain ascetic leaders that remain little known in the Western world. The book's first part provides a detailed philosophical overview of Jain thought based on the translation of a seminal Hindi text Jain Darshan. The second part introduces eight Jain saints from the major Jain sects, including their biographies, philosophical perspectives, and related contemporary movements flourishing in various places across India and beyond. The author also shares his ethnographic experiences in several chapters. Furthermore the book provides a detailed glossary of terms in Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, Gujarati, and Rajasthani and their English meanings. An indispensable book that offers innovative insights into several crucial Jain movements and how they helped shape modern Indian society and beyond. The book includes historical, philological, and anthropological accounts of modern Jainism.
Author(s): Pankaj Jain
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 197
City: Singapore
Foreword
Preface
Introduction
Asceticism in Contemporary Jainism
Contents
About the Author
Part I Jain Philosophy
1 Cosmology
Kinds of Transformation
No Exception to Transformation
Material and Instrumental Causes in Hinduism
The Doctrine of Time
The Doctrine of Nature
The Doctrine of Destiny
Cause and Effect
Karma
The Doctrine of Theism
The Doctrine of Materialism
Two Opposite Forces
The World
The Causality of Karma
Contemporary Materialism
The Futility of Materialism for the Societal Arrangement
The World
2 Form of the Substance
Qualities and Properties
Generality and Specificity
Actual Existence and Continuum of Transformations
The Hollowness of Continuum
“Blown Out” Nirvana is Inapprehensible
General and Specific Substance and Mode
3 Analysis of Six Substances
Six Substances
Living Being
The Doctrine of All-Pervading Soul
The Doctrine of Atomic Soul
The Doctrine of Matter and Consciousness
Desires Are the Properties of the Soul
Agent and Enjoyer
Qualities Such as Attachment not in the Three Bodily Humors
Thoughts and the Environment
We Reap What We Sow
The Process of Obtaining the New Body
The World Cycle Is Self-governed
The Types of Souls: Worldly and Liberated
The Matter Substance
Kinds of Aggregates
Four Divisions of Matter
The Process of Bonding
The Modes of the Pudgalas
The Sound Is Not Just Power
The Play of Matter Particle
Shadow As the Mode of Matter Particle
Only One Matter Particle Is Fundamental
The Earth Is Not an Independent Substance
Heat and Light Are Also Not Energies
Motion
The Dharma Substance and the Adharma Substance
The Space Substance
The Direction Is Not an Independent Substance
The Sound Is Not a Quality of the Space
Space Is Not a Distortion of Nature
The Space in the Buddhist Thought
The Time Substance
The Time Theory of the Vaiśeṣika
Time in the Buddhist Thought
The Substance Theory of the Vaiśeṣika
The Qualities Are Not Independent Substances
The Nature of the Whole
Qualities Are Substances
Qualities Are Not Illusionary
Analysis of the Origin of Effect: The True Effect Doctrine of the Sāṃkhya
The False Effect Doctrine of the Naiyāyika
The False Effect Doctrine of the Buddhists
The Noble True Effect Doctrine of the Jains
The Response to the Objection by Dharmakīrti
4 The Elements
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism
The Perspective of the Buddha
The Soul Among the Seven Elements in Jainism
The Two Forms of the Elements
The Beginninglessness of Elements
The Reason for the Soul to Be Bound Eternally
The Souls Have the Forms in Practice
The State of the Soul
The Correct View is the Soul View
The Futility of the Doctrine of Non-self
The Soul is not the Form of the Five Aggregates
The Three Kinds of Soul
The Foundation for Character
The Non-living Element
The Bondage Element
Four Kinds of Bondage
The Influx Element
Wrong View
Non-abstinence
Carelessness
Passions
Yoga
Two Influxes
Liberation Element
Liberation is not like Extinguishing a Lamp
Attributes Such as Knowledge Do not Disappear in Nirvana
The Significance of the Description of Nirvana in Milind’s Question
Liberation, not Nirvana
The Inhibition Element
Carefulness (Samiti)
Righteousness (Dharma)
Contemplation
Endurance of Afflictions
Character
The Destruction Element
Instruments for Liberation
Part II The Digambaras
5 Āchārya Śāntisāgar
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Becoming and Being a Jain Monk
Becoming and Being an Āchārya
Pilgrimage and Roaming for Digambara Monks
Reform Work for Food and Water Consumption in Northern India
Death by Sallekhanā (Ritual Fasting)
Legacy
Quotes by Him
Quotes by Mahatma Gandhi About Him
6 Kānjī Svāmī
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Renunciation
Dreams and Prophecies
Acceptance of Samaysār as a Turning Point
Renouncing the Sthānakavāsī Monkhood
Daily Routine of Kānjī Svāmī
Discourse Series Given by Kānjī Svāmī
His Message
Concluding Analysis
7 Āchārya Vidyānand
Birth and Childhood
Becoming and Being a Jain Monk
Planning and Celebrating the 2500th Anniversary of Mahāvīra’s Nirvana
Samaṇa Suttam
His Views on Jain Emblem and Flag
His Austere Practices
His Views on Meditation
Conclusion
8 Mātā Jñānamatī
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Five-Year March Across India
Part III The Svetambaras
9 Āchārya Hastīmal
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
His Monastic Life
His Daily Routine
Contributions and Accomplishments
His Works
10 Muni Puṇyavijaya
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Teachers of Puṇyavijaya
Two Interviews with Puṇyavijaya
Contributions and Accomplishments
His Works (Excerpts with Translation from Paṇnyāsa 1968)
Stationery Used (Desai 2007)
Conclusion
11 Āchārya Rājendra Sūrī
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Initiation into Spiritual Life
Leading the Congregation as Āchārya Vijaya Rājendra Sūrī
His Last Days
Scholarly Work
Social Work
Conclusion
12 Āchārya Sāgarānanda Sūrī
Introduction
Birth and Adolescence
Life as a Monk
Epilogue: Ancient Modernity of Jainism Today
Appendix Jains as Portrayed in Contemporary Films
-4pt- Glossary
Bibliography
