Born in a Jain family, even after an earthly journey of 59 years I have not been able to separate Jainism from Hinduism. From six years of age I was after absolute truth. Realizing that Lord Krishna came above thousand years earlier to Mahavira (24th Tirthankara of Jainism, preceptor) I somehow believed more in teachings of Lord Krishna than preaching of Jainism. At that young age of six, whomever I asked in Jain temple, none gave a satisfying answer to my query.
Exasperated, I switched over my thinking to philosophy of Hinduism. Our books contained stories about Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana… even Lord Krishna. Their life stories fascinated me. I felt from within that both Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana were truthful in their search for God. The doings of Lord Krishna in his childhood fascinated me even more. Wanting to realize cosmic truths of life, I started my indulgence in anything that related to God.
Jainism believes in existence of God and so does Hinduism. But on scriptural level Jainism does not believe there is a God. Yet, I have never found a single Jain who did not believe in existence of God. This fallacy did not go well with me. Something was amiss. The practice of Jainism (indulgence in rituals) was beyond my reach. I never believed in rituals from beginning of life. Going to temples carried no meaning for me. As rituals did not bring me nearer to God, I altogether stopped going to Jain temples.
As of today I can vehemently say that both religions Jainism and Hinduism can be considered Vedic religions. Both exist from times immemorial. Hinduism called a way of life was historically the first religion of world but Jains believed otherwise. Jainism religion is also termed a way of life. In Jaina philosophy the first Tirthankara Adinatha is believed to be Shiva, the destroyer attribute of Brahman (God Almighty) as per Hinduism. Both Jainism and Hinduism were overlapping. This disparity did not bode well with me.
Instead of indulging in nuances of sacred texts of Jainism and Hinduism, I believed more in practice that led me towards God Almighty. Teachings of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita were more appealing, internally satisfying. They dissolved all my queries one by one. I had developed 100% faith in teachings of Lord Krishna. I wanted to duplicate path undertaken by Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Maharishi Ramana… path of self enquiry, path of logical reasoning and path of contemplation!
After realizing God in 1993 at 37 years of age I can effectively say that teachings of Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita had no parallel in mankind. After coming of Prophet Mohammed… many sages and saints reached stage of enlightenment via path of Hinduism but in Jainism after Mahavira none attempted to reach stage of enlightenment. Simply praying to God does not mean anything. Indulging in rituals both in Jainism and Hinduism had no relevance in present times of jnana yoga (absolute wisdom).
To reach God in present life we had to follow path of jnana yoga (absolute wisdom). Only then we could realize the hidden underlying cosmic truths of life contained in sacred scriptures of different religions of world.
By: Vijay Kumar “Atma Jnani”… The Man who Realized God in 1993 – (Ref 150918)
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