Jainism: (Jaina) (Sanskrit) An ancient non-Vedic religion of India made prominent by the teachings of Mahavira ("Great Hero"), ca 500 bce. The Jain Agamas teach reverence for all life, vegetarianism and strict renunciation for ascetics.

Jains focus great emphasis on the fact that all souls may attain liberation, each by his own effort. Their great historic saints, called Tirthankaras ("Ford-Crossers"), are objects of worship, of whom Mahavira was the 24th and last. Jains number about six million today, living mostly in India.

See: Mahavira.

(See also: Jainism , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

JAINISM (Sanskrit, jainas: "saint"): A major religion originating in India that has some similarity to Buddhism. Jainism does not recognize the authority of the Veda and its philosophy includes belief in the eternity of matter, the periodicity of the universe, the immortality of human's and animal's minds. It stresses non-violence and Jains are particularly known for avoiding harming any living thing.

(See also: JAINISM , Magickal Traditions, Magickal Paths, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Jainism: Non-orthodox form of Vedic/Aryan teaching, emphasizing non-violence.

(See also: Jainism ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Jainism

A world religion begun as a reform movement of Hinduism. by Mahavira (b. 599 BC ) who denied the existence or worship of a supreme deity and taught enlightenment through strict self-denial and non-violence. Later followers deified Mahavira himself, calling him the 24th Tirthankara (last great savior teacher) who descended from heaven without sin and with all knowledge.

(See also: Jainism , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Jainism

Indian religion stressing noninjury, nonviolence, active love founded by Mahavira, 6th century

(See also: Jainism , Body Mind and Soul)

Jain:

An adherent of Jainism, an Indian religion traceable to Mahaaveera of the 6th century BC. Jains will not kill a living thing, not even an insect, believing fervently that all life is God. Jainism is still a minor religion in India today.

(See also: Jain , Body Mind and Soul)

A Dictionary of Spiritual Terms. From Acupuncture to Zoroaster.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Jainism: non-orthodox form of Vedic/Aryan teaching emphasizing non-violence

(See also: Jainism , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Jain:

Jain. Adherent of Jainism, Indian religion traceable to Mahavira of the 6th century B.C.

(See also: Jain , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

reincarnation: "Re-entering the flesh." Punarjanma; metempsychosis. The process wherein souls take on a physical body through the birth process.

Reincarnation is one of the fundamental principles of Hindu spiritual insight, shared by the mystical schools of nearly all religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism (and even by Christianity until it was cast out by the Nicene Council in 787). It is against the backdrop of this principle of the soul's enjoying many lives that other aspects of Hinduism can be understood. It is a repetitive cycle, known as punarjanma, which originates in the subtle plane (Antarloka), the realm in which souls live between births and return to after death. Here they are assisted in readjusting to the "in-between" world and eventually prepared for yet another birth.

The quality and nature of the birth depends on the merit or demerit of their past actions (karma) and on the needs of their unique pattern of development and experience (dharma). The mother, the father and the soul together create a new body for the soul. At the moment of conception, the soul connects with and is irrevocably bound to the embryo. As soon as the egg is fertilized, the process of human life begins. It is during the mid-term of pregnancy that the full humanness of the fetus is achieved and the soul fully inhabits the new body, a stage which is acknowledged when the child begins to move and kick within the mother's womb. (Tirumantiram, 460: "There in the pregnant womb, the soul lay in primordial quiescence [turiya] state. From that state, Maya [or Prakriti] and Her tribe aroused it and conferred consciousness and maya's evolutes eight- desires and the rest. Thus say scriptures holy and true.")

Finally, at birth the soul emerges into earth consciousness, veiled of all memory of past lives and the inner worlds. The cycle of reincarnation ends when karma has been resolved and the Self God (Parasiva) has been realized. This condition of release is called moksha. Then the soul continues to evolve and mature, but without the need to return to physical existence. How many earthly births must one have to attain the unattainable? Many thousands to be sure, hastened by righteous living, tapas, austerities on all levels, penance and good deeds in abundance.

See: reincarnation, evolution of the soul, karma, moksha, nonhuman birth, samsara, soul.

(See also: Reincarnation , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Jaina:

Jaina (sometimes Jain): pertaining to the jinas ("conquerors"), the liberated adepts of Jainism; a member of Jainism, the spiritual tradition founded by Vardhamana Mahavira, a contemporary of Gautama the Buddha

(See also: Jaina ,Yoga, Yoga Dictionary)

Hinduism (Hindu Dharma): (Sanskrit) India's indigenous religious and cultural system, followed today by nearly one billion adherents, mostly in India, but with large populations in many other countries. Also called Sanatana Dharma, "eternal religion" and Vaidika Dharma, "religion of the Vedas."

Hinduism is the world's most ancient religion and encompasses a broad spectrum of philosophies ranging from pluralistic theism to absolute monism.

It is a family of myriad faiths with four primary denominations:

• Saivism,
• Vaishnavism,
• Shaktism and
• Smartism.

These four hold such divergent beliefs that each is a complete and independent religion. Yet, they share a vast heritage of culture and belief:

• karma,
• dharma,
• reincarnation,
• all-pervasive Divinity,
• temple worship,
• sacraments,
• manifold Deities,
• the guru-shishya tradition and
• a reliance on the Vedas as scriptural authority.

From the rich soil of Hinduism long ago sprang various other traditions. Among these were Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism, which rejected the Vedas and thus emerged as completely distinct religions, disassociated from Hinduism, while still sharing many philosophical insights and cultural values with their parent faith.

Though the genesis of the term is controversial, the consensus is that the term Hindu or Indu was used by the Persians to refer to the Indian peoples of the Indus Valley as early as 500 bce. Additionally, Indian scholars point to the appearance of the related term Sindhu in the ancient Rig Veda Samhita. Janaki Abhisheki writes (Religion as Knowledge: The Hindu Concept, p. 1): "Whereas today the word

Hindu connotes a particular faith and culture, in ancient times it was used to describe those belonging to a particular region. About 500 bce we find the Persians referring to 'Hapta Hindu.' This referred to the region of Northwest India and the Punjab (before partition).

The Rig Veda (the most ancient literature of the Hindus) uses the word Sapta Sindhu singly or in plural at least 200 times. Sindhu is the River Indus. Panini, the great Sanskrit grammarian, also uses the word Sindhu to denote the country or region.

While the Persians substituted h for s, the Greeks removed the h also and pronounced the word as 'Indoi.' Indian is derived from the Greek Indoi."

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan similarly observed,

"The Hindu civilization is so called since its original founders or earliest followers occupied the territory drained by the Sindhu (the Indus) River system corresponding to the Northwest Frontier Province and the Punjab. This is recorded in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures, which give their name to this period of Indian history. The people on the Indian side of the Sindhu were called Hindus by the Persians and the later Western invaders. That is the genesis of the word Hindu" (The Hindu View of Life, p. 12).

See: Hindu.

(See also: Hinduism , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Appar: (Tamil) "Father." Endearing name for Tirunavukarasu (ca 700), one of four Tamil saints, Samayacharyas, who reconverted errant Saivites who had embraced Jainism. Calling himself the servant of God's servants, he composed magnificent hymns in praise of Siva that are reverently sung to this day. See: Nalvar, Nayanar, Saiva Siddhanta.

(See also: Appar , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Jains, Jainas (from jina victorious)

Followers of the jinas; one of the major Indian religions. Scholars place their origin in the 5th century BC, believing them to be the last direct representatives of the philosophical schools which then flourished.

Jainism, however, became overshadowed with the rise of Buddhism, which it closely resembles; but came to the front when the Buddhist fervor waned in India. The first recorded Jain teacher is Vaddhamana (known as Mahavira, "the great hero"), a contemporary of Gautama Buddha; the Jains themselves state that there was a succession of teachers antedating him, and enumerate 24 Jinas or Tirthankaras.

Jains deny the authority of the Vedas and do not believe in any personal supreme god. They have a complex religious philosophy which includes belief in the eternity of matter, the periodicity of the universe, and the immortality of human's and animal's minds. They are particularly known for avoiding harming any living thing.

(See also: Jains, Jainas , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Mahavira

Founder of Jainism.

(See also: Mahavira , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

Mahavira:

Mahavira: A name for prince Vardhamana, the founder of Jainism, which means: great hero. He is also called Jina and Siddha Buddha.

(See also: Mahavira , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

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Hinduism:

The predominant religion of India; broadly encompasses various offshoots like Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism et al, developed over the centuries by alteration of the earlier Vedic doctrines of the Aryan race.

(See also: Hinduism , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Anu (Sanskrit) As a noun, an atom of matter; as an adjective, atomic, fine, minute. A title of Brahma, conceived as both infinitesimal and universal, thus pointing to the pantheistic character of divinity. Hence, every anu is "a centre of potential vitality, with latent intelligence in it" (SD 1:567; cf FSO 273-5, 431). In the Bhagavad-Gita (8:9) Arjuna is enjoined to meditate on the "seer," i.e., the enlightened, omniscient One, who is "more atomic than the atom" (anor aniyamsam) and yet "the supporter of all" (cf VP 1:2, 5:1; ChU 3:14, 3-4, Katha 2:20, MU 3:1, 7).

In Jainism the soul is represented as being like an anu, atomic in size, and seated within the heart, while the jiva (life-monad) is the quickening element that pervades the whole.

Besides meaning a particle of substance, anu also means an atom of time, being equivalent to the 54,675,000th part of a muhurta (48 minutes).

(See also: Anu , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

nastika: (Sanskrit) "One who denies; unbeliever." Opposite of astika, "one who asserts."

The terms astika (orthodox) and nastika (unorthodox) are a traditional classification of Indian schools of thought. Nastika refers to all traditions that reject and deny the scriptural authority of the Vedas. This includes Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, the Charvaka materialists and others. Astika refers to those schools that accept the revealed authority of the Vedas as supreme scripture. This includes the four major sects: Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.

See: atheism, Charvaka, materialism.

(See also: Nastika , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)