History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas: A Vanished Indian Religion c25.s3.25

c25.s3.25

Similarities may also be found between Ājīvikism and other Vaiṣṇavite schools, especially those of Southern India, where the Ājīvika sect survived longest. Thus the Ālvār Vaiṣṇavite hymn-writers believed "that the grace of God was spontaneous and did not depend on any effort on the part of the devotee."⁹ We recall the words of Makkhali: "There is no question of bringing unripe *karma* to fruition . . . by virtuous conduct, by vows, by penance, or by chastity."¹⁰ Contact with the Ājīvikas may have developed this theistic *akriyāvāda*, or doctrine of salvation by grace.