Jainism: The Only True God Is within Us

By Indu Jain

The word Jain originated from Jina , meaning victory, conqueror or liberator. The Jain philosophy centers round 'live and let live '. It embodies the precepts of forgiveness, reconciliation and abiding love, and has never encouraged aggression, in thought, word or deed. The five principal tenets of Jainism are ahimsa, satya, achaurya, aparigraha and brahmacharya (non-violence, truth (reality), abstaining from taking anything that does not belong to you, being chaste and content).

The primary Jain pantheon is a group of twenty-four Jinas , beginning with Adinatha (Rishabhanatha) and ending with the historical Mahavira. In order to differentiate them, each has been assigned a distinct emblem and a different tree. Eras of time are conventionally represented in Jainism as being a continual series of downward and upward turns of a wheel.

During each turn of the wheel these 24 teachers appear in succession and they impart the Jain path of liberation to the world. These special souls, of whom there are only 24 in any sector of the universe in any one cycle of time, are known as Jinas or victors because they have won the greatest victory of all, over suffering, ignorance, and death. Those who follow the teachings of the Jinas are known as Jains.

Both Digambars and Swetambars , the two main traditions of Jains , have the wonderful knowledge of leading a life in a worthy fashion through the spirit of renunciation and service. Jainism believes that an immortal and eternal soul ( Jiva-- Atman or the 'I') resides within all living beings, for the self is not only infinite but it lives forever. The cosmic energy responsible for creating the space, our eternal being, the atman , is also unseen and is unfathomable. Hence, by moving beyond matter, we can reach a state of indestructibility.

An individual comes to know from the knowledge of soul ( Atman ) as to how far his self is good and pure. But the soul being vulnerable to the effects of deeds ( karma ), it is subjected to repeated rebirths. The people, therefore, are advised to practise the virtues of humility, purity, (truthfulness, self-discipline, tolerance, abstention and asceticism.

Science can control the physical world. However, the inner world, the sanctum sanctorum of our individual spirit, atman, is an intensely private and holy space. It is unique. Each one of us have infinite wisdom and capacity stored in us. We all know the tremendous knowledge that could be achieved by human beings, when they realise this capacity.

All the individual souls together form the spiritual substance of the universe. In essence, they are knowing and wise, but their wisdom is clouded by their own desires, which in turn is caused by their bodies, which have been infected with physical pollution and ignorance. Only through complete control of all its desires can a soul attain peace, stillness, lucidity and insight into its condition. Only when that is achieved, can the enlightened ascetic end his life.