As has been said before, India was during Mahavira’s age passing through a
period of unusual religious enthusiasm. The county as a whole, and in
particular the eastern provinces, were bristling with conflicting views
and rival schemes. Numerous individual philosophers and religious sects
were preaching their doctrines, and the relations between them were not
always of the happiest kind. The animosities of the time may be well
illustrated by the remark made by Mahavira’s newly ordained lay disciple,
Ananda, in Uvasagadasao sutra; “Truly, Revered Sir, it does not befit me
from this day forward to praise and worship any man of a heretical
community, or any of the objected of reverence to them; or without being
first addressed by them, to address them or confuse with them; or to give
or supply them with food or drink except it be the command of the King or
the community or any powerful man or deva or one’s own elders or by the
exigencies of living.” Even the Acaranga sutra explicitly says that “to
friendly or hostile one should not give alms, drink, dainties and
spices...... nor do them service......” The insistence on the necessity of
right faith is indicative of the same thing. Faith has been held to be
easier to obtain by those who, though not versed in the sacred doctrines,
are not acquainted with other systems and hold no wrong doctrines. Among
the eight principles on which the excellence of faith rests, the most
important have been mentioned as the absence of preference for heretics
and the non-shaking of right belief at the prosperity of heretical sects.
Classification of
creeds:
The account of philosophical schools mentioned in the Jaina canonical
literature refers to three hundred and sixty three different creeds
divided into four great schools-Kriyavada, comprising 180 different
doctrines; Akriyavada 84, Ajnanavada 67, and Vinayavada
32.
Kriyavadais the school which admits the existence of the
soul by itself (svta) for all eternity (nitya). Among the
Kriyavadins there may be those who believe that the soul exists in its
own nature and is eternal but acts through time (kalvadi) and those
who believe that the soul exists in itself eternally through Isvara
or those who believe that the soul exists by itself eternally through
Atma (atmvadi) or those who believe that the soul exists in
itself eternally through Niyati (the fixed order of things
niyativadee) or those who believe that the soul exists by itself
eternally through Svabhava or nature (savbhavvadee). There
may be further divisions of the Kriyavadins according to whether
they consider that the soul exists but is not eternal or that the soul
exits but not of itself, that is to say, that it can be known only by
contrast with other things. The Kriyavadins, among whom Jainism may
also be included, hold the belief that unless a sinful thought is
translated into action or a sinful act performed with a sinful motive, the
full karmic consequences will not follow and the soul will be affected but
slightly, and further that misery is produced by one’s own acts and not by
the act of somebody else, viz., fate, creator etc.
Akriyavada denies the existence of the soul and considers that
everything has a momentary existence and that a state comes to an end the
moment it comes into existence. Without continuity of existence no
Kriya is possible, so that when existence is believed to be momentary
in its character, the philosophy is essentially Akriyavada. The
Akriyavadins are mentioned in the texts as not admitting that the
action of the soul is transmitted to future moments and as holding that
nothing exists and all forecasts of the future are false. The Buddhists
are obviously included in this school, for their doctrine is that
everything has but a momentary existence and that there is no continuous
identity of existence between a thing as it is now and as it will be in
the next moment. By not admitting the existence of Jiva, they were
considered by the Jainas denying Karman as well.
The Ajnanavada school denies the necessity of importance of.
According to them knowledge is not the highest accomplishment, for where
there is knowledge, there is contradiction, dispute and discussion. On the
other hand, ajnana or negation of knowledge may be the condition of
the absence of pride and ill- will and so removal of bondage. Knowledge
produces volition, and the result of volition is karma and
therefore bondage, while ajnana generates absence of volition.
Vinayavada upholds the supremacy of reverence as the
cardinal virtue that leads to perfection.
In Buddhist literature also there is an elaborate description of
contemporary schools. The classification given in the Brahmajala
Sutta in the Digha Nikaya divides contemporary
philosophical thought into sixty-two schools, like the Eternalizes,
holding that the soul and the world are both eternal, the semi
Eternalizes, believing that the Brahma is eternal but not
individual souls, the Extensionists, who built up their doctrines round
the finiteness or infiniteness of the world, and the Eal-Wrigglers, who
gave no categorical replies to any questions but specialized in ambiguous
and equivocating replies. It may be pointed out that the disputes between
the various schools did not always arise on properly religious subjects.
At times disputes arose over cosmographic details, as illustrated in
Bhagavati Sutra in the story of Prince Shiva where the duration
of the God’ lives in different heavens became a matter of hot debate.
Buddhists:
We know that the most important rival creed with which the Jaina preachers
were faced was that of the Buddhist and that it was at the hands of the
Buddhists that the Nirgrantha suffered most in latter times. But in
the Jaina canonical literature there are very scanty references to
Buddhism, although Buddhist literature on the other hand abounds with
criticisms of the Jaina doctrine. For this there may be several reasons.
The Buddha was a junior contemporary of Mahavira and had therefore greater
need for counter-acting and criticizing the creed of the latter than
Mahavira had for combating the doctrine of a junior. Not only was Mahavira
senior, the system which he was preaching was also, as we have stated
before an ancient system. The rivalry between the two sects grew stronger
after Mahavira’s death.
Nevertheless references to the Buddhists as heretical order are there in
the Jaina canons. In Acarangasutra there is mention of a school of
heretical order are there in the Jaina canons. In Acarangasutra there is
mention of a school of heretics who justify the use of water on the ground
of having permission to drink it or take it for toilet purposes; this
undoubtedly refers to the Buddhists for the Buddha had declared that there
was no sin in either drinking water or in using it for bath and wash. He
permitted bath and washing to is ascetic disciples. Their doctrine of the
five Skandhas of momentary existence has been ascribed to “some
fools,” There is an undeniable reference in this to the Rupa, Vedana,
Vijnana Samjna and Samskara skandhas of the Buddhists.
Akriyavadins who deny karman and do not admit that the action of
the soul is transmitted to future moments, are possibly the Buddhists
also. In Sutrakrtanga Sutra, in the discussions of Adda a
man appears and argues that if one pierces a lump of oilcake with spit
mistaking it for a man or a gourd, mistaking it for a baby and roasts it,
one will be guilty of murder; while of a savage puts a man on a spit and
roasts him mistaking him for a lump of oilcake or a baby mistaking it for
a gourd, he will not be guilty of murder. This is an account, although
exaggerated, of the Buddhist view that motive determines whether an act is
sinful or not.
Ajivika
The best known heresy to the Nirgranthas was, however, the
doctrines of the Ajivika. They have been referred to with the
greatest frequency and their doctrines have been denounced with very great
vehemence and care. From descriptions in the Jaina sutras the Ajivika
doctrine would appear to be an extreme form of Niyativada, that
there is no such thing as exertion or labor or power or manly strength but
that all things are caused by destiny which is unalterably fixed.
“Saddalaputta, the follower of the Ajivika, one day brought out his
air dried potter’s ware from within his workshop, and placed them in the
heat of the sun.
Mahavira, who happened to go there, asked “Saddalaputta, how is
this potter’s ware made?”
Saddalaputtra: “Reverend Sir, this ware is at first clay, then it is
kneaded with water, and then it is mixed well together with ashes and
dung; then it is mixed well together with ashes and dung; then it is
placed on the wheel, and finally many bowls and jars of various sizes are
made.”
Mahavira: “Saddalaputta, is your ware made by dint of exertion and manly
strength, or on the other hand, is it made without exertion and manly
strength?”
Saddalaputta: ”Reverend Sir, it is made without exertion and manly
strength, and all things are unalterably fixed,”
Mahavira: “Saddalaputta, if any one of thy men were to steel thy unbaked
or baked ware or scatter it about or make holes in it or let it drop into
pieces or place it outside unguarded or if he were to indulge in
outrageous familiarities with thy wife Aggimitta, what punishment would
thou inflict on that man?”
Mahavira then pointed out that if all things were unalterably fixed and
depended not on exertion, then he ought not to take any action again this
servant’s conduct for the servant was not responsible for it. This
convinced Saddalaputta of the falseness of Ajivika doctrines and he was
converted to the creed of Mahavira.”
Dr. Barua has collected and reviewed exhaustively all the materials
available in Jaina and Buddhist texts on the history of Ajivika and
the life and teachings of Gosala, the founder of the Ajivika order.
The order did not die with its leader, although it undoubtedly lost its
vigor and following to a large extent, The Bhagavati Sutra gives a
detailed description of the meeting between Gosala and Mahavira and of the
manner of Gosala’s death.
“The headquarters of the Order was in Savatthi in the shop of the
potter woman Halahala. In the twenty-fourth year of Gosala’s ascetic life
he was visited by six ascetics with whom he discussed their doctrines and
propounded his own theory from the eight Mahanimittas belonging to
the Purvas consisting of the principles of obtainment and
non-obtaining, pleasure and pain, life and death. He met a disciple of
Mahavira and notified to him his intention of destroying Mahavira by means
of his fiery forces. The threat was conveyed to Mahavira who forbade
Nirgrantha ascetic to hold any communication with Gosala. Gosala
called on Mahavira and angrily ridiculed him for having called Gosala a
disciple of Mahavira. “Mankhaliputta who was a disciple of Mahavira” said
Gosala “was dead and reborn in the heavens as a god. But I whose name was
Udayi was born in the body of Ajjuna and entered in the seventh
re-animation the body of Gosala, which I still hold.” He then went on to
narrate in detail the processes of re-animation he had undergone in the
bodies of different persons in different places and how in his seventh and
last re-animation he obtained omniscience in the body of Gosala in the
potter shop of Halahala. Mahavira in reply told him that he was like a
thief who being chased by villagers attempted to conceal his identity
under various disguises and in various places of hiding. Gosala was
enraged at this and hotly abused Mahavira. A disciple of the latter
intervened but was burnt up by Gosala’s fiery forces. Another disciple
also met with the same fate. Mahavira himself now rebuked Gosala who
attempted to burn him but was unsuccessful. A scene followed of trial of
strength between the two teachers. They parted and Mahavira instructed his
disciples to go and annoy Gosala with questions.
Philosophy
