Essential Philosophy Of Hinduism Buddhism And Jainism

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided text from Virchand R. Gandhi's "Essential Philosophy of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism":

The text, delivered as a speech, aims to explain the fundamental philosophies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Gandhi begins with a vivid analogy to illustrate the worldly human condition.

The Analogy of the Man in the Well (Page 1-3): Gandhi recounts a childhood experience of seeing a painting depicting a man clinging to a banyan tree branch in a well. The man is threatened by an elephant at the top, a boa at the bottom, four snakes around the bottom (representing Anger, Vanity, Deceit, Greediness), and two rats (representing time) gnawing at the tree's trunk. Honey drops from a hive offer temporary sweet pleasure. A minister of religion offers help.

Gandhi's father explains the symbolism:

• Man in the well: The ordinary worldly man.
• Elephant: Death.
• Well: Earthly life.
• Boa: The lowest state of existence.
• Four snakes: Anger, Vanity, Deceit, Greediness.
• Banyan tree trunk: The short duration of earthly life.
• Two rats (white and black): Time, marking the passage of days and nights.
• Honey-comb and drops: Sensuous pleasures derived from the senses.
• Minister of religion: True philosophy and truth.

The analogy highlights how worldly individuals, aware of death, indulge in fleeting pleasures, ignoring the spiritual help offered, and thus remain unaware of the precariousness of their existence and the imminent destruction of their life's support.

Hindu Philosophy (Page 4-17): Gandhi notes that Professor Max Müller's views on the human condition align with this symbolism, emphasizing life as a struggle for power and enjoyment. However, Müller suggests that in ancient India, where life's necessities were readily available and nature was bountiful, people could afford to view life not as a struggle but as a "resting place" on a journey towards the unknown, fostering a deep curiosity about existence. This led to a focus on the "invisible" and the "life to come."

He then outlines the early systems of Hindu philosophy that arose from Vedic literature:

• Nyāya: Focused on cultivating instruments of knowledge (Perception, Inference, Analogy, Testimony) to achieve beatitude through right inquiry. It posited an extra-cosmic deity and divine creation.
• Vaiśeṣika: Analyzed material existence further, acknowledging a deity but focusing on atoms as the universe's beginning, moved by divine will. This philosophy, with Nyāya, formed the "Dialectic philosophy." Gandhi critiques abstract generalization as potentially leading to atheism or anthropomorphic deism, quoting Principal Caird.
• Cārvākas (Materialists): Represented the negative aspect, believing life and thought resulted from material organization, but had few followers. Gandhi contrasts this with the scientific understanding that matter itself is full of energy and the mystery of consciousness.
• Sankhya: Advanced in analyzing matter and proposed a theory of evolution based on Prakṛti (undifferentiated cosmic matter) as the basis of cosmic evolution. They also postulated an eternal union between Puruṣa (eternal mind) and Prakṛti, but attributed no functions to Puruṣa, suggesting Prakṛti evolved for Puruṣa. Gandhi critiques this for indirectly precluding Moksha (salvation) and leading to potential ethical issues, as Prakṛti's "purity" is still material.
• Yoga (Patanjali): Built upon Sankhya, offering training for bliss and postulating a God for contemplation. While leading to physical results, it kept the student within Prakṛti.
• Vedānta: Attempted to address the difficulties but, according to Gandhi, diverged into an unknowable realm.

Gandhi then delves into the Hindu concept of the Self (Atman), calling it the foundation of religion. He presents the dialogue from the Chandogya Upanishad between Prajapati, Indra (representing Devas), and Virocana (representing Asuras) in their search for the true Self.

• First teaching: The person seen in the eye is the Self. Virocana misinterpreted this as the reflected self, leading to the demon doctrine of worshipping the physical body and its adornment.
• Second teaching: The self that moves happily in dreams is the Self. Indra rejected this because the dream self experiences suffering.
• Third teaching: The self in dreamless sleep is the Self. Indra rejected this as it implied utter annihilation.
• Final teaching: The body is mortal and the abode of the immortal, bodiless Self. When the Self identifies with the body, it experiences pleasure and pain. When it realizes its independence from the body, through the "highest light" of knowledge, it becomes serene and rejoices, experiencing all worlds and desires. This serene being appears in its own form upon approaching the highest light. The Self is the perceiver, and the senses are mere instruments. Gandhi mentions the interpretation of Shankara, who emphasizes that the Self is distinct from the body. Ignorance (nescience or illusion) causes the individual self to believe it is separate from Brahma. Removing ignorance reveals that the individual self was always Brahma, like a post mistaken for a thief in the dark.

Buddhism (Page 16-18): Gandhi contrasts Buddha's approach, noting that he avoided metaphysical disputes about the nature or existence of the soul. He quotes Buddha's criticism of Brahmanical claims of knowing Brahman, likening their discussions to a "string of blind men." Buddhism does not address the origin of things, considering such inquiries unprofitable. It accepts the material world and conscious beings as ultimate facts, governed by the law of cause and effect, and in constant, imperceptible change. The entire cosmos is in a state of renovation or destruction. Buddha's teaching is that the individual is an assemblage of aggregates (Skandhas): Rūpa (form/material attributes), Vedanā (sensations), Saṁjñā (notions/abstract ideas), Saṁskāra (tendencies/potentialities), and Vijñāna (consciousness/mental powers). Nothing exists apart from these, neither a fixed principle, soul, nor permanent substance. These aggregates unite, form an individual, undergo change, and dissolve at death. Only the influence of karma survives, leading to the formation of new aggregates and a new individual in another world. The Buddhist aspiration for Nirvana is to avert the suffering of this heir of karma.

Jainism (Page 18-20): Jainism asserts that both the noumenon (spirit) and phenomenon (matter) are real and inseparable. Reality lies in both considered as parts of the whole. Jainism postulates the existence of both Jiva (sentient) and Ajiva (insentient) as separate entities, each with qualities and modifications. Unlike Vedānta, Jainism holds that substance and its modifications are inseparable. A substance cannot exist without a modification, and vice versa. The universe is seen from two perspectives:

• Dravyārthika Naya: The substance view, where the universe as a totality is eternal.
• Paryāyārthika Naya: The modification view, where there is constant creation and destruction of parts and modifications. The cosmos is classified into Jiva and Ajiva. Sentient beings, sullied by contact with the insentient, travel from body to body. When this contact is removed, the conscious being shines in bliss, achieving emancipation.

Reincarnation and Karma (Page 20-27): Gandhi highlights reincarnation as a doctrine shared by Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and historically significant across various cultures and philosophies (Egypt, Greece, Italy, Persia, Druids, Arabs, Celts, Gauls, Britons, Kant, Schelling, Schopenhauer, etc.). He argues that this doctrine has been suppressed by the Church in Europe. Reincarnation is defined as souls entering life after previous existences and passing through many before reaching their final destination. Gandhi defends this doctrine logically, asserting the existence of an internal "soul power" or ego that is not merely a product of molecular brain activity. He posits that the law of conservation of energy applies to the spiritual world, meaning no soul can be created or destroyed. He argues that if souls enter this life for the first and only time and then pass into an endless spiritual existence, it's illogical. He uses Emerson's metaphor of ascending stairs to illustrate the continuity of existence. Reincarnation, he contends, provides a logical solution to "original sin" and the inequalities of life (rich vs. poor, different birth locations), exonerating a creator from malice. Gandhi finds support for reincarnation in biblical passages, citing Proverbs, Jeremiah, and Jesus's comments on John the Baptist being Elias, suggesting a pre-existence and reincarnation. He questions why we don't remember past incarnations, likening it to forgetting infancy, and explains that the soul doesn't carry its previous brain.

In conclusion, Gandhi emphasizes that the common foundation of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism is the doctrine of reincarnation and karma, from which they have constructed similar ethical codes.