RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD
(A search for common roots)

 Who divided the mankind? ........................
 Was it lust and greed of people?........................
 Why did God allow this to happen?........................ .
 If the religion of God was the same from AdamA to MuhammadS, there must be common roots between different religions ........................
The search for common roots......................

Chapter- 2

THE BRIEF HISTORY OF JAINISM.
The brief history:

  Indus Valley Civilization.....................
  The invasion of Aryans....................
  The origin of the Indus Valley people..............
  The Aryan culture and beliefs. (The Brahmanic      religion)...........
 The assimilation of Indus Valley culture into Brahmanic religion.........................
  The transformation of Brahmanic religion into Hinduism..........
  The revival of Sramana religion (Ascetic culture and religion of Dravidians of Indus Valley Civilization which later had two branches, Jainism and Buddhism.....
  The downfall of Sramana kingdoms in the east Indian region.........................
  The success of Jainism (Mahavira's period) and Jainism's subsequent division.........................
 Questions and explanations.
   Jain thinkers claim that Jainism exists since eternal times. What is the evidence in support of this claim? ..............
   Are there any common roots between Jainism and Quran on these subjects? ...........
  Conclusion.....................

Shapter- 3

THE CONCEPT OF GOD IN JAINISM.
The god in Jainism:

  The initial atheistic concept.....................
  The desire for gods at times of disasters...............
  The induction of gods into Jain concepts.................
Questions and explanations.
  What do the terms ‘Beginning less’ and Endless’ mean?
  According to Jain philosophy, every living thing is made up of two elements, the soul and matter. In light of this fundamental law, what is the status of a living cell, specially the Stem-cell? .................
  What is the form and nature of soul? It can not obviously be matter.......................
  How do the Karmic particles (of matter) get bound to a soul (which is non-matter)? ......................
  The Jain philosophy projects a picture of a power-less God. Why to have a power-less God? Who decides God’s functions? ..................... 
 Under a power-less God, how the complex function of transmigration of soul is managed? ...................
 Are there any common roots between the Jain philosophy and the Quranic concept of God.....................
 Conclusion.........

Chapter- 4

THE CONCEPT OF PROPHETS IN JAINISM.
The Tirthankars.................

  The 24 Tirthankars of the current cycle......................
  The last Tirthankar of current cycle, (Mahavira)....
Questions and explanations.
  Where does the truth come from to the Tirthankars? Does it come from within the soul? ......................
  How does the soul (which has powers like God) become so powerless that it succumbs meekly to the Karmic particles? .....
  The verbal communication of Tirthankar’s teachings for thousands of years had obvious possibilities of distortion, corruption and loss. How were their teachings updated and corrected? ....................
  Are the Tirthankars from eternal times? ................
  After Mahavira, Tirthankars will not come to earth for a very long time. Doesn’t earth need Tirthankars during this long spell which is full of sin, rancor and evil? ............
  Digambaras believe in complete nudity of monks. Does it not violate the decency limits? .................
  How logical is the philosophy of giving up families for ascetic life? .................
  Are there any common roots between the Jain concept of Tirthankars and Quranic concept of Messengers? ........
  Conclusion..........................

Chapter- 5

SALIENT FEATURES OF TEACHINGS OF JAINISM.
Salient features of Jain teachings:

  The eternal universe and six elements..................................
  The three golden principles..............
  The soul and the Karmic bondage.....................
  Soul liberation through Spiritual development............................

  Questions and explanations.

   Jain philosophers say that Anu is the small indivisible unit of matter which has size and form. Does science support this statement? ..............
  Jain philosophy also speaks about infinite number of tiny units peculiar to the eternal elements of ‘space’, ‘Principle of Motion’, ‘Principle of Rest’ and ‘Time’. Is this concept supported by science? ..........................................................
  Where did the six ‘Eternal Elements’ come from? ..........
  How did the souls in the universe got polluted? .............................
  How does the ‘Bad Karmic Matter’ bring pain and sufferings? What is the mechanism? ..............................................
  What is the concept of ‘Rewards’ in Jainism? ............
  How is it that actions and behaviors of all babies look similar and innocent and do not reflect in any way the influence of the Souls corrupted by previous life? ...........................
  What is the mechanism for storage and use of the Omniscient Comprehensive knowledge, inside the soul? .....
  Are the theories propagated by Jain philosophers of such profound truth that modern science is unable to challenge them? ..........................
  Are the spoken words of the liberated souls such eternal truths that they do not need any modification or alteration and hold good for all times to come? ......................
  The theory of ‘Karmic-bondage’ and the ‘Transmigration of soul’ raises many questions....................
  Are the Jain concepts of Ahimsa and Vegetarianism, over-stretched? .........................
  Is the Jain law of giving up families for ascetic life, logical? ........
  How divine can the Jain meditation be, without the concept of God? ..................
  How logical is the belief of Sallekhana? .............
  Is the Jain faith system based on logical inquiry? ...........
  How logical is the tendering of confession? ..................
  Does Jainism look more like a social/ethical contract rather than a full-fledged religion? ....................
  Two important questions about other religions? ............
  Are there any common roots between the teachings of Jainism and the teachings of Quran? .................
  Conclusion.......................

THE SACRED TEXTS OF JAINISM.
The Sacred Texts (verbally communicated):

  Sacred texts (in verbal form)........................
  The writing down of the Sacred Texts............
  Differences between the written texts..............
  Questions and explanations.
  Why didn’t Jain thinkers give priority to the writing down of Sacred Texts? ...........................
  Why did the Jain thinkers of later genarations break the principle of Ahimsa as they started writing down on paper made of wooden pulp? .......................
  How was the 12th volume of the Main Cannon lost when monks had remembered it for thousands of years? ....
  Are there any common roots between Jain Sacred Texts and Quran? .........................
  Conclusion.........................

Chapter- 7

THE CONCEPT OF RESURRECTION. HELL/HEAVEN AND PUNISHMENT/REWARDS
IN JAINISM.
General information.
 

The Hell.....................
  Punishments in Hell....................
  The Middle Region (where humans live)............
  The Heavens (where gods live)...............
  Questions and explanations.
  Is there any logic and supporting calculation for the numbers that Jain thinkers have fixed for the varieties of places of birth? .....................
  Does medical science support birth of humans by Agglutination? ..................
  Is there any evidence to support the rebirth of gods by ‘Descent’ through protean material particles? .................
  Is there any supporting evidence for the life-spans of Hell dwellers, which have been fixed by the Jain thinkers? .....
  How logical is the punishment by demonic-gods? .........
  What is the evidence in support of the Jain descriptions of islands and oceans in the Middle region? The existence of constellations, stars, sun and moon in the Heavens? ......
  What is the difference of opinion about number of Heavens? ....
  Is there any supporting evidence for Jain beliefs that the vehicles of sun-god are driven by 16,000 gods. 4000 lion-gods, 4000 elephant-gods, 4000 bull-gods and 4000 horse-gods? ...............
  What is the system of Rewards in Jainism? ........
  Does Jainism believe in Resurrection ? ...........
  Are there any common roots between Jainism and Quran on Resurrection, Hell/Heaven and punishments/Rewards.........................
  Conclusion......................

Chapter- 8
Conclusion......................

THE EPILOGUE.

  The Epilogue.........................
  Bibliography.........................
  Notes 104 --105 -- 106 -- 107 -- 108 --109 -- 110 -- 111 -- 112
113 -- 114 -- 115
.