A ques for Hindus- Jainism is derived from Hinduism because of the incarnation of Lord Narayana as Rishabhdeva

Question

yet it is opposed to vedic principles. How?

please dont refer to sites or copy from em.

An English translation of Srimadbhagvatam said that Jainism is oposed to vedic principles.thats why I asked.

Answer 1

Jainism is not derived from Hinduism. You just get it all wrong... Neither is Jainism an offshoot of Hinduism. Understanding the crux of life from the beginning... let us travel back in time say 3600 years earlier from now. Lord Krishna (the Avatar of the era... god manifest in human form) had not yet been born... Mahavira was also not in the scene as he was born thousand years later to Lord Krishna. Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed also came much later.

In absence of the Avatar and the man gods... the humanity still survived! How? It was Dharma, "Your right to do what is just and right and not what was destined"... was the mantra! The community... the mankind... in fact all living beings were inherently guided by Dharma that exists since birth. Slowly when mankind became receptive to Wisdom... the Saints and sages of the era invoked the Wisdom of Vedas (the spoken words... which were a direct invocation from God Almighty).

The tree of Dharma continued growing. Lord Krishna came into the scene and presented to mankind the gist of Bhagavad Gita. About thousand years later... the tree of Dharma developed a branch... the branch of Jainism when Mahavira was born. Everything that was taught by Mahavira is contained in Bhagavad Gita but not otherwise. The moment Mahavira gained enlightenment... his teachings developed a following.

The teachings of Mahavira almost contain 80% material that exists in Bhagavad Gita. As many human beings... as many paths can there be! Mahavira slightly diverted on some of the principles of life contained in Bhagavad Gita and the tree of Dharma developed an offshoot. About 423 years later another branch developed. Gautama Buddha was born. The moment he gained enlightenment... his teachings were termed Buddhism.

Even before the advent of Mahavira... the 24th Tirthankara of Jainism... there were 23 more tirthankaras. Rishabhdeva was the first Tirthankara who gained enlightenment (kaivalya jnana) and subsequently salvation (moksha) in his lifetime. But the Wisdom of Rishabhdeva was limited to his own self. None in the community was able to follow his dictates. It was only in the times of Mahavira... the real principles of Jainism came to be understood by the masses... the prime reason why the 24th Tirthankara is accorded highest place in Jainism.

Jainism always opposed the Vedic rituals for the simple reason that they are not applicable as of now. In the times of Lord Krishna the war was fought with bows and arrows... does it mean today we go fight our enemy with bows and arrows! Whatever is contained in the sacred scriptures it is to be interpreted in the light of today! The truth always remaining the same... but the application differs! Sacrifices... an essentiality during Vedic times are meaningless now. More on Jainism - http://www.godrealized.org/what_is_way_of_life.html

Answer 2

Nice to be here reading beautiful answers. Would like to add some more points to this. As far as I am known everything we see practiced since time immemorial has some meaning in it. The restriction in using garlic and onion contribute to the same. We should keep it in our mind that these foods are restricted for especially priest class. Onion is an aphrodisiac and a person who consume onion regularly (especially raw) will have strong drive for sex. During my journeys I have seen some places where people say even boys cant go out in the evening. When I observed the surrounding I could find that there is excessive use of raw onions in those region. (You may test yourself: use onions regularly for few days, you will feel yourself the change in your sex drive) You can imagine someone approaching a priest having such extreme emotions of Tamasa. Also this would effect our society too. Garlic is a great medicine that will remove fat and cholesterol from the body, imagine how much a satwic- vegetarian can afford to lose from the body. The foul smell can be a secondary reason. However, these things are prescribed in Ayurveda for ailments and are widely given for people belonging to all classes.

Answer 3

Indian civilization is one of the oldest in the world... Hinduism too is as old as the Indian civilization... Any single individual did not establish Hinduism… it has emerged out of successive discoveries by various philosophers for tens of centuries each… that is the reason that Hinduism has thousands of religious books…
Bhagwan Mahavir and Bhagwan Buddha were contemporaries… they had discovered Jainism and Buddhism respectively during the same period… since they themselves were Hindus before the discovery of their respective faiths… they discovered their religions by picking up only the beliefs that they felt good and avoided the beliefs that they wanted to reform…
that is the reason why all the Hindu beliefs are not found in Jainism and Buddhism…
(Readers may forgive if any statement in my answer appear to be wrong or hurts the feelings of anybody…)

Answer 4

Vedic principles are founded on wisdom and truth. So long as it is that then it doesn't oppose them.

Answer 5

Aradhana,
jains & Budhhists R our brothers. The distinction btween these branches is only of academic significance, & for all practical purposes it is negligible.( U have such a pleasant name, try to justify it.)

Answer 6

Almost all isms have borrowed from the Hinduism , some aspect t or other .of it .

Answer 7

my dear reincarnation is all non sense i do not believe in that.