Jainism and Christianity

Jainism and Christianity are two major religions.

JAINISM, CHRISTIANITY & SCIENCE by BARRISTER CHAMPAT RAI JAIN

Jainism claims to be a Science. It was founded by MAN; "properly qualified MEN" have been confirming and re-confirming its doctrine. Put- in a nutshell, its teaching is only this: man is not only a bundle of flesh and blood (matter), he is also a soul. In reality, the soul is the man himself, the body is only a prison in which the soul is embodied. All living beings are souls. Souls are immortal. They are composed of a simple substance, which is not matter; but which is found to exist in association with matter. Matter's association is exceedingly harmful for the soul. Thereby it is deprived of its natural attributes in a greater or less degree. Its natural attributes include immortality, omniscience, or unlimited knowledge, and bliss. If the soul were set free from the clutches of matter it would enjoy all its natural perfections, and as' this will only be attained after the destruction of the causes of the coming together of spirit (that is to say, the soul-substance) and matter, the latter will never be able to assail it again. Freed Souls are, thus, set free to enjoy. Their attributes and Perfections for ever. Very many men have already attained to liberation in the past. They are now residing at the topmost part of the universe, free from the worldly afflictions and the cravings and perplexities of the flesh. They are termed Gods; and are the only true Gods. There are and can be no other Gods besides them; all other gods are mythological, without exception, or are merely mortals termed gods for some special reason. The Perfected Souls have the human form, being composed of the pure substance of Spirit, and completely rid of the companionship of matter.

Those "who do not attain to liberation, do not and cannot cease to exist; on the separation from one body, that is on the occurrence of death, they ' pass out ' into another body, and thus remain involved in an endless series of births and deaths, till they are able to avail themselves of the Science of Salvation, if it so be that the influence of matter in their case admit of this being done. Conditions of embodied life are full of misery even in the best of circumstances. There are certain regions, termed hells, where the conditions are very very painful, and where certain powerful malignant beings amuse themselves by teasing and harassing the unfortunate ones who are born there, as men tease bulls and cocks and enjoy their fights. But these conditions are not eternal. The soul that is born in a hell shall one day pass out of it. The reverse of the hells are constituted by heavens, where the conditions-of existence are very very pleasant; but the heavens, too, are no more than regions in the universe. They are no more the pleasure-gardens of a Supreme Ruler Divine than are the hells such a being' b torture-houses for his enemies!

The happiness and m • which the mortals experience in all parts of the wo ' in'or to the final release termed Nirvana, is real happiness is only possible in Nirvana, never outside of it.

Innumerable Souls already exist in Nirvana; and a very very large number of them obtain release in each cycle of time. But there are four and twenty of this number in each cycle that are termed Tirihamkaras. The word signifies the founder of a tvrtha which means a fordable passage across a sea. The Tirthamkaras show the ' fordable path ' across the sea of interminable births and deaths. They may be called Teaching Gods. They alone are to be followed, for They alone possess the practical knowledge and have no motives to mislead any one.

The Jaina teaching was imparted at one time only orally. Certain Jainas later on allegorized the teaching of the Science of Salvation as taught by the Tirthamkaras. They were not Tirthamkaras, and failed to see the ultimate consequences of allegorizing of the spiritual cult. The pastime proved very fascinating; all communities and nations copied the early Jaina allegorists. The oldest compilation of allegories constitutes the sacred literature of the Hindus. The Jewish and the Christian sacred literature is also composed in allegorical style.

At first allegory proved very attractive; but later on it became the curse of humanity. The vulgar masses insisted on misinterpreting the mythical conceptions, taking them for real gods and goddesses. The knowers of the truth then had to hide their teaching from the ' swine ' and thje ' dogs,' from the ' Sudras ' as the Hindus have termed them, for fear of molestation, which was a very real menace. This is why today it is so very very difficult to get at the truth of the various religious doctrines.

The misinformed masses managed to set up a theory of their own concerning their various religions;. but they comprise mostly only perversions of the real doctrines of the Science of Salvation. The days of superstition being over, men now daTe to look into the teaching of their own and others' churches, and, finding them absurd, discard them. The number of those who style themselves ' freethinkers,' ' ration- alists ' and the like is daily increasing, and shall continue to do so, inasmuch as the rational mind wants something which must not violate any of the funda- mentals of reason, at least.

Science, or rather the modern sciences, mostly deny the soul's existence itself; some are agnostics, and merely claim not to kuow whether it exist or not. The psychologists are mostly agnostics; but they generally decline to study the subject, and imagine that they can get along, all right enough, without the assumption of a soul. Some who have studied the nature of knowledge itself have been forced to admit the soul. It is inconceiv- able how psychology can ever rank as a science unless it embarks on a comprehensive study of the phenomena of consciousness. If a man said that he was not concerned with anything except the fittings and wires of electricity and that for his purposes it was not necessary to assume the existence of a force that worked, through them he could certainly remain an agnostic; but then he would have no right to say that he had studied his subject as a science ought be studied.

The above is briefly the outline of the scheme which is intended to be presented in this book. At present it is only like a set of allegations; nothing more. But it is hoped that at least a major portion of what has been set out above will be proved to be credible before the end is reached.