Dr. Surendra Singhvi
Jain Radiance On The Western Horizon
[06] The Century Before Mr. V.R. Gandhi at Chicago, 1790-1874
But the real beginnings come with the Orientalists and "Anglo-Indian" scholars and missionaries of the 1790’s to 1824's working in Calcutta, Bombay as well as up-country in India and back in Britain. Their work soon very quickly became known in France, Germany and in the U.S.A., especially in the Boston area, which, apart even from its Harvard Indological scholars, had close mercantile and missionary connections with India. For example, it is likely that Colebro's very early state, it’s specifically about the jams published in London in 1807 was, we may suppose, available in New England very soon after publication. Early material has often not yet got on to in-line computer-operated catalogues, dates are sometimes hard to discover without retrieving the copy itself. However, as nuggets of this kind of research which has yet to be carried out with care and detail, we may mention two books from the 1840’s, which were in our belief obtainable rapidly in the Boston area for missionary purposes soon after their first publication.
The first example of Indian work reaching U.S. early is a book printed and published bar the American Mission Press in Bombay in the 1840s. It is known that this Press sent copies of its work year by year back to the sending body to indicate what was being achieved and that the books they sent were made available for consultation and general use. Its title page speaks for itself.
Historical researches on the origins and principles of the Bauddha and Jaina religions, embracing the leading tenets of their system as found prevailing in various countries. Illustrated by a descriptive account of the sculpture in the caves of the western India with translations of the inscriptions from those of Kanari, Karh, Ajanta, Ellora, Nasa`k etc which indicate their convexion (sic) with the coins and topes of the Punjab and Afghanistan. By James Bird esq M.R-A.S, F.R.G.S. Bombay. Printed at the American Mission Press. T. Liraham, Printer, 1847.
The book is beautifully printed, a joy to see and handle. The colour-tutted lithographs are works of art. There is deep respect as well as orientalist curiosity in such phrases as one describing a colossal image of a Tirthankara which begins "Affords cannot well convey an idea of this magnificent sculpture", or one describing the Jain ascetic people: "Tom Riltin's object is to obtain a state of perfect apathy or quiescence through the practice of abstraction and mortification." One wishes there were more on Jainism, but it is obvious that for this writer, like most indologists and scholars both ancient and modern, Big Brother Hinduism and Big Sister Buddhism are in the front while Jainism is a little out of focus. As Stevenson who translated the Nasik inscription in this volume, remarks in his book mentioned below: "the waning light of Buddhism (in India) permitted its (Jainism's) fainter radiance to reappear on the Western horizon."[12]
Another example is Reverend J. Stevenson's translation of two Jain works published in 1847 which was per haps available a year or less later in Boston. The texts translated are the Kalpa Sutra and Nava Tatra.[13] It was studied by generations of missionaries in Britain and U.S.A. preparing to go to Gujarat, Bombay or other areas of India where they would meet Jains. The texts are most carefully chosen and take the reader near to the heart of Jainism less than five of the days of the vitally important Retreat of the Rainy Season are devoted to the Kalpa. It tells quite fully the story of the great twenty-fourth Tirthankara and more briefly of four others of them. The sutra also includes a summary of rules for monks. The translator was deeply conversant with the work of Bhodrabahu and at least four commentators. His respect for these Indian teachers and the subject and the earliness of his date excuse his conclusions and his misunderstandings of a number of words, ideas and phrases. The second part of the book deals with what the translator calls one of the most popular philosophical tracts of the Jains. In the third part the writer grapples with linguistic problems to do with the ancient languages of Jainism. Probably this was out of date as it was written but it indicates the scientific interest and activities of a number of the missionaries. The Stevenson family continued this tradition of service for some generation. The Jain community in London honoured the Stevenson who propagated appropriate technology ideas in Gujarat, which deeply influenced Mahatma Gandhi and went to a lot of trouble to invite Mrs Helen Newbegin, a daughter of the Stevenson family and a missionary in her day, now king retired, to attend in person.[15] The Dr. Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson mentioned below married into the family.
The story of "the discovery" of Jainism by western scholars is like the discovery by Columbus when he had lost his way of something already there to which westerners afterwards gave a name. It is an epic of achievement and anyone with a chivalrous outlook must admire the heroic deeds accomplished. At the same time we must acknowledge the local indigenous scholars who gave those western scholars their information. Ire the earliest days scholars and observers like Colebrook and Buchanan acknowledged their help. In the middle period Dr. Margaret Sinclair Stevenson speaks with affection of the women and "pandits" and instructors who taught her so much with generous patience. At the end of the period Schubring rejoices in the company of his Jain colleagues and at joining in community events.
Another point to bear in mind is dial learning about Jainism between 1793 and tire-present is-like trying to knit a moving and changing target. "Jainism" is a living corpus, an organic, growing, changing adapting being with an eked program of self-understanding. The local scholars all became affected by European and American intellectual and social history. As an example one can cite the Reformation and Luther's turning front an ancient flowing tradition to the authority of a carefully defined, now printed book. Another example is the effects on European and thence Indian religious thinking as a result of the European power struggles and wars of religion, not only in Germany 1618-1648 or Britain from around 1640-1688 and onwards but between Religion and Philosophy and Religion and Science. In addition there was the relentless destruction in British India of the old social, economic, industrial, and ecological structures. As Jains studied with foreign scholars, they came not only to be informants but they produced their own traditions of origin and development as well as books and editions and critical texts. Lively academic discussions in North Indian, Maharashtrian, the Kamatican languages, Gujarati and the languages of Tamilnadu arose.