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Jainism | A Wisdom Archive on Jainism | | Jainism Jainism is an ancient religion, more ancient than what most of us are given to believe. Although a lot of people associate Jainism with Lord Mahavira as its founder but nothing can be further from truth. Lord Mahavira was not the founder of Jainism but the last of the 24 Tirthankaras .
Like Buddhism and Yoga-Sankhya philosophy propagated by Maharishi Patanjali, Jainism is a non-theistic system of philosophical thought and religious belief. It does not subscribe to the view of a supreme Godhead underlying all reality but Jainism accepts the existence of a soul or atman . According to Jainism, there are countless individual atmans who need to get purified, rarified and ultimately identify themselves with the universal soul or the Supreme Paramatman. | |
| We recommend this article: Jainism - 1, and also this: Jainism - 2. |
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| Resources on Jainism | | | | Jainism - A way to cleanse Jainism is an ancient religion, more ancient than what most of us are given to believe. Although a lot of people associate Jainism with Lord Mahavira as its founder but nothing can be further from truth. Lord Mahavira was not the founder of Jainism but the last of the 24 Tirthankaras . It is very difficult to envisage and visualise how old and ancient this religion is because the period between the coming to earth of each of the Tirthankaras was yugas or eons. The first Tirthankara of the Jains was Lord Rishabnatha also referred by some as Vrishabhanatha .
Lord Mahavira who is also addressed as Vardhamana Mahavira was a contemporary of the Buddha, Gautama Siddhartha. But he was elder to the Buddha. It is believed that they preached in and around the same area of Magadha in India around 500 BC. Surprisingly they never met one another unlike Lao Tse and Confucius who were also contemporaries in China around the same time but recorded history confirms that they did have a historic meeting. However, disciples of both the Buddha and Mahavira, it is believed, interacted with each other sharing and exchanging notes.
Like Buddhism and Yoga-Sankhya philosophy propagated by Maharishi Patanjali, Jainism is a non-theistic system of philosophical thought and religious belief. It does not subscribe to the view of a supreme Godhead underlying all reality but Jainism accepts the existence of a soul or atman . According to Jainism, there are countless individual atmans who need to get purified, rarified and ultimately identify themselves with the universal soul or the Supreme Paramatman.
Cleansing of the individual atman is required since the atman is burdened with the defilement of both positive and negative karma of body, speech and mind. The fruition in following the prescribed spiritual path in Jainism leads to a mere mortal donning the mantle of a Jina and residing in the palace of supernatural accomplishments. This metaphysical sphere is known as the Siddhasila region or sphere.
The goal of a Jain devotee or practitioner is obvious. The individual soul or jivataman needs to identify and repose in the paramatman through the attainment of the state of Jinahood. For this the help of Arhats, Siddhas, Acharyas and Upadhyayas are marshalled. Therefore, the principle of the Jainism, without the elaborations of mentioning particular individuals gurus or Tirthankaras, is to beckon the host of faceless holy atmans , who have graduated through the holy stages from upadhyaya to arhatship , is:
Namo Arhantanam,
Namo Siddhanam,
Namo Ayariyanam,
Namo Uvajjhayanam,
Namo loye savva sahunam.
In Jainism one does not pray from fear or for favour. The only legitimate reason for worship in Jainism is to gain the qualities of the virtues of the Jinas and imbibe their goodness, so there is no room for materialism and pursuit of prayer for sense gratification. Material gratification adds on to the tally of our karma . To attain to the state of a Jina is to annihilate karma, hence it is futile and unnecessary to pray for material gains.
This unique approach is strikingly refreshing in Jainism in contrast to the other religions where we see most people praying, begging, cajoling and demanding fervently from their deities to gain material benefits or protection from misfortunes. Such a prayer according to Jains, is selfish praying and worship, and cannot be considered spiritually legitimate or efficacious for the soul's upward journey into the vast nothingness.
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| | | | Jainism - Nirvana The ultimate objective of Mahavir's teaching is the attainment of total freedom from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery, and death, and achieve the blissful state of one's pure self. This is also known as liberation or Nirvana, which is absolute freedom, or Moksha.
A living body is not merely limbs and flesh but it is the home of the soul, which has the potential to achieve perfect perception ( Anant-darshana ), perfect knowledge ( Anant-jnana ), perfect power ( Anant-virya ), and perfect bliss ( Anant-sukha ).
From eternity, the soul of a living being is bonded by the deeds or Karma of his mortal existence. Under the influence of karma, the soul seeks pleasures in materialistic belongings and possessions or Maya. Man by nature is prone to anger, self-centred violent thoughts, hatred, greed, and such other vices. To attain Nirvana, the soul must be made stronger so that it can influence the body to do good deeds.
Mahavir preached that right faith ( Samyak-darshana ), right knowledge ( Samyak-jnana ), and right conduct
(Samyak-charitra ) together will help attain the liberation of one's self.
At the heart of right conduct for Jains lie the five great vows:
- Nonviolence ( Ahimsa )
- Truthfulness ( Satya )
- Non-stealing ( Asteya )
- Chastity ( Brahmacharya )
- Non-possession/Non-attachment ( Aparigraha or complete detachment from people, places, and material things)
The monks and nuns follow these vows strictly and totally, while the common people try to adhere to them as far as possible. |
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| ARTICLES RELATED TO Jainism | |
| | |  Jainism: Encyclopedia II - Jainism - Jainism and other religions
India has a rich history of diverse philosophies. The term Hindu includes followers of Vedic, Vaishnava, Shaiva and other traditions. These traditions share a common cultural background with Jainism. Buddhism, like Jainism, represents the ancient Shramana tradition of India. Connections among these are discussed at:
Jainism and Hinduism
Jainism and Buddhism
Jainism and Sikhism
Even though Jainism is of Indian origin, it shared some principles with the Hellenic tradition, specially with Stoic and P ...
See also:Jainism, Jainism - Overview of Jain Dharma, Jainism - Universal History and Jain Cosmology, Jainism - Beliefs and practices, Jainism - Jain Symbols, Jainism - Jain Literature, Jainism - Jain Worship and Rituals, Jainism - Digambar and Shvetambar Traditions, Jainism - Geographical spread and influence, Jainism - Jain Contributions to Indian Culture, Jainism - Jainism and Indian Archaeology, Jainism - Holy sites, Jainism - Jain Temples in the West, Jainism - Holy days, Jainism - Jainism and other religions Read more here: » Jainism: Encyclopedia II - Jainism - Jainism and other religions |
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| | | | Jainism: Encyclopedia II - Jainism - Jainism and Indian Archaeology Decipherment of Brahmi James Princep in 1788, permitted reading of ancient inscriptions in India, which established the antiquity of Jainism. Discovery of Jain manuscripts, a process that continues today, has added significantly to retracing the history of Jainism.
Jain archaeological findings are from Maurya, Sunga, Kushana, Rashtrakuta, Chalukya, and Rajput and later period.
Several western and Indian scholars have contributed to the reconstruction of Jain history. They include western historians like Bühler, Jacobi, and Indian scholars like Iravat ...
See also:Jainism, Jainism - Overview of Jain Dharma, Jainism - Universal History and Jain Cosmology, Jainism - Beliefs and practices, Jainism - Jain Symbols, Jainism - Jain Literature, Jainism - Jain Worship and Rituals, Jainism - Digambar and Shvetambar Traditions, Jainism - Geographical spread and influence, Jainism - Jain Contributions to Indian Culture, Jainism - Jainism and Indian Archaeology, Jainism - Holy sites, Jainism - Jain Temples in the West, Jainism - Holy days, Jainism - Jainism and other religions Read more here: » Jainism: Encyclopedia II - Jainism - Jainism and Indian Archaeology |
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| | |  Jainism: Sincere Prayer for Peace and Harmony In India, the day begins with worship. People pray, bow and meditate. Members of the Jain community all over India bathe, put on new clothes and walk barefoot to their local temple. They embark on their daily pilgrimage with no possessions and with high aspirations. Some of them carry a cloth mask which they wear when inside the temple. From the moment they walk into the temple, all worldly concerns are set aside to facilitate meditation. Their focus is on the Tirthankaras , the teachers who conquered their own vices to teach the world about compassion and salvation through example. The recitation of the Namokar Mahamantra encourages them to salute the achievements of all divine souls who attained salvation. (See also: Jainism Worship, God and Religion, Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul)
Read more here: » Jainism Worship: Sincere Prayer for Peace and Harmony |
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| | |  Jainism: The Art of Self-Management Limited availability of resources and their limited potential is everybody's concern. But the Self within a human being has unlimited potential. That's why the concept of self-management is of utmost importance. Self-management improves efficiency; it bestows peace, cheer and equanimity and equips us to handle the many complexities of life well. Jainism advocates overcoming pesky vices like krodha or anger, mada or vanity, kama or sex and lobha or greed. Jainism recommends the practice of five principal virtues: Ahimsa or non-violence, satya or truth, achaurya or non-covetousness, Brahma-charya or celibacy and aparigraha or non-possession. (See also: Life and Death, Life and Beyond, Death and Dying, Body Mind and Soul)
Read more here: » Life and Death: The Art of Self-Management |
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| | |  Jainism: The Jaina
Theory of RelativityThe Jaina Theory of Relativity The same man is regarded simultaneously as son, father, son-in-law, father-in-law, nephew, uncle, brother, cousin, husband and so on; yet there is no contradiction owing to an understood relationship which is termed in Jainism as syadvada . The triple stream of right vision, knowledge and conduct flows in one channel, the path to liberation, moksha-marga ; it branches into hundreds of fresh streams of different aims and objects, which as a whole are called 'not-one-end', anekanta , the applied form of which is syadvada . Read more here: » Jainism: The Jaina
Theory of Relativity |
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| | |  Jainism: The Only True God Is within UsThe 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). Read more here: » Jainism: The Only True God Is within Us |
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| | |  Jainism: Forgiveness Is A VirtueJains feel that the values like love, joy and peace can be achieved only through caring for others, understanding the pain of others and reaching out to other human beings. Anger, confusion, egoism and intolerance cause harm to one's self and to the 'other'. But the negative energies suffocate, choke, distress and disturb. Love should not be in the form of words alone. It should reach out to people who need peace, mercy, joy, comfort, sympathy, food, clothing and medicines. This is love in its active, not passive manifestation, but true love is forgiveness for self sake. Read more here: » Jainism: Forgiveness Is A Virtue |
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