Jainism

Osho, why is it that Mahavira’s “Jin” has remained merely “Jain”?

And even the meanings we take from the scriptures require a great state of witnessing; only then will the flower of meaning bloom within you. Words you can get from scripture—but where will you get meaning? You will have to supply the meaning. A patient came to his doctor and said, “It’s very difficult; what you told me can’t be done.” The doctor said, “I didn’t tell you anything difficult. I only said: eat what your child eats. Where is the problem? For a few days, eat what your child eats; your body will come onto the right track.” He said, “I tried, but I couldn’t succeed.” The doctor said, “What nonsense! You couldn’t even do this much—that you eat what your child eats? If he drinks milk, drink milk. If he eats porridge, eat porridge. And eat in the same small quantity. You couldn’t even do that?” He said,…

Beloved Osho, mahavira was the twenty-fourth tirthankara of the jaina religion. Did the jaina religion start with the very first tirthankara or with mahavira? And what is the meaning of the word `jaina'?

And they became really rich, so rich that even kings had to borrow money from them. Nobody was a beggar, nobody was uneducated. And because they were such a small minority, attacked by all kinds of philosophies, they had to protect themselves; they sharpened their intellect. They created better arguments than anybody else, because for others it was a luxury to argue, but for Jainas it was a question of life and death. They had to win the argument; otherwise they were finished. So they have developed logical systems, great philosophies, which should be made available to the whole world. But the world cares only about numbers, and they are a non-converting religion, so the question of creating great numbers like the Catholics is not possible. They are non-converting because, according to them -- and I accept the idea -- the very effort to convert somebody is ugly. You can…

Osho, according to Jain history, the twenty-second Tirthankara, Neminath, was Krishna’s cousin. After intense austerities he became known among Hindus as the austere sage Ghora Angirasa. And in the lineage of spiritual wisdom, in the esoteric domain, he was Krishna’s link. What is your view on this? Does such a connection exist? Because you yourself have said that Krishna’s “being” depended on inner causes. What were those inner causes—in the context of esoteric knowledge?

Neminath is Krishna’s cousin. And this is from a time when Hindu and Jain had not yet become two separate streams. Hindu and Jain split clearly and became distinct streams after Mahavira. Neminath is Krishna’s cousin and the Jains’ twenty-second Tirthankara. But there is no esoteric connection of any kind between Neminath and Krishna—no connection of any hidden teaching. There is a reason: Neminath belongs to a very different kind of one-dimensional tradition. In the Jain tradition of twenty-four Tirthankaras—perhaps the most extensive experimentation on this earth in the dimension of renunciation—nowhere else on earth has there been such a long lineage and such a great chain of extraordinary individuals. The first Jain Tirthankara is contemporaneous with the Rig Veda, or a little earlier. Because in the Rig Veda there are such respectful words for the first Tirthankara that contemporaries rarely show such courtesy to one another. The words are…

Questioner: according to the history of jainism, the twenty-second jaina tirthankara, neminath, was krishna's cousin. After going through a spell of severe ascetic discipline neminath became renowned as a hindu seer by the name of ghor angiras, and he is said to have served as a link between krishna and esoteric knowledge. What do you say about it? Is such a relationship between neminath and krishna possible? You said that krishna's coming into being depended on very inner reasons. What are those inner reasons in the context of esoteric knowledge?

Scriptures say that Neminath is the twenty-second Jaina tirthankara and he is Krishna's cousin, Scriptures also mention Krishna's meetings with Neminath. Whenever Neminath happens to visit his town Krishna goes to pay his respects to him. It is significant that when Neminath comes, Krishna pays him a visit; Neminath never goes to visit Krishna. A renunciate is not expected to pay his respects to a non-renunciate; it is very difficult. A renunciate becomes harsh, he tears himself away from all relationships and attachments. So while Neminath remains Krishna's cousin from Krishna's side, Krishna is no one to Neminath. He never goes to Krishna to ask, "How are you?" He has renounced the world. In the dimension of vairagya or non-attachment, one has to drop all associations and their ensuing attachments and become absolutely alone. No one is his friend and no one is his enemy. So the question of Krishna…