Jeffery D. Long

“Religious identity in India has not invariably had a fixed ‘all or nothing’ exclusivity attached to it and there can be identified consistently throughout South Asian history a commonality of religious culture which has operated across what are ostensibly sectarian divides. So, for a Jain lay-person to worship occasionally or regularly a markedly Hindu deity such as Hanumān or Bhairuṇjī does not betoken abandonment of Jainism and consequent adherence to Hinduism, but rather an easy participation within and desire to confirm linkage to a South Asian religious world richly populated with figures redolent of power, prosperity and transcendence who are accessible to all.”
― Jeffery D Long, Jainism: An Introduction

“I bow before the worthy ones [the Jinas, or Tīrthaṅkaras]. I bow before the perfected ones [all those who have attained mokṣa]. I bow before the leaders of the Jain order. I bow before the teachers of the Jain order. I bow before all Jain monks in the world.”
― Jeffery D. Long, Jainism: An Introduction