In
India the three great religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
are well known worldwide. Jainism is one of the oldest living religions
of India, predating 800 BCE recorded history as referenced in Hindu
scriptures. It is an original system, quite distinct and independent
from other systems of all other Indian philosophies. The Jains
philosophy was not developed to oppose the elaborate hierarchical Vedic
practice as well as it is not an offshoot of Hinduism.
Religion, it should be
known, is "way of life" which is not invented, it is rediscovered and
this was what precisely the Tirthankaras did. They explained the law of
nature that governed the universe man his conduct.
The word 'Jain' is derived
from Sanskrit word Jin, meaning a victor, and implies a conqueror of one
self, or one who has attained a victory over attachments and aversions.
A true Jain is, thus, a follower of him, who is above bias, a true
friend of all, and the foe of non.
Jainism is a science and
not a code of arbitrary rules and capricious commandments. It was
founded by Omniscient teachers, a distinction to which no other religion
can lay claim. Jainism is the only man made religion, that reduces every
thing to the fixed laws of nature and agree with the modern science.
Origin Antiquity of
Jainism:
Jainism, as believed by
Jain's, was not originated by any particular individual in the same
sense as Christ and Mohammed originated their religions Christianity and
Islam. Had it been
right to say then this religion would have also been known as Mahavira
dharma or Rsabha Dharma but it is widely known as Jain Dharma. In
the present cycle of of time, the religion was first preached by
Tirthankara Rsabha, who is also known as Adinath. After Lord Rsabha, or
Adinatha there were twenty three great reformers of Jainism called
Tirthankaras (Total Tirthankaras-24 Numbers). On the basis of Hindu Puranas
(scriptures), Budh grantha (scriptures),
epigraphically evidences, chiefly the Mathuras inscriptions and also
Mohanjadaro and Harappa findings reveals that the first Jain Tirthankara
Rsabha was worshiped in Sind some five thousand years ago.
The
Principle - Ahimsa
(Non-violence) is the underlying philosophy of
Jainism.
The Goal - Jainism is
the complete purification of the soul to ascend to the Moksha,
a world beyond heaven and earth, where all the liberated souls dwell
eternally in a state of energy, consciousness, and bliss.
Jains
believe in reincarnation. Their souls, which are believed to be a unique
substance in the universe, take different living forms in the cycle of
birth, death, and rebirth. This cycle has been going on forever, the
universe has no beginning or end, and it has always been and always will
be. The ultimate goal is to get rid of one's karma on their soul so that
they may end this cycle. Once this goal is reached their soul has
attained all knowledge and it rests in the heavens forever (Nirvana).
Jainism believes
that universe and all its substances or entities are eternal. It has no
beginning or end with respect to time. Jains do not believe that there
is a supernatural power that does favor to us if we please him. There is
no need of some one to create or manage the affairs of the universe.
Universe runs at its own accord by its own cosmic laws. Hence
Jainism does not believe in God as a creator, survivor, and destroyer of
the universe. However Jainism
does believe in God. When a living being destroys all his karmas,
he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss. He becomes
omniscient and omnipotent. The underlying philosophy of Jainism is that
renunciation of worldly desires and self-conquest leads to perfect
wisdom. Thus the living being can become God as per Jain religion. Hence
Jains do not believe in one God. Gods in Jain religion are innumerable
and the number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain
liberation. Every living being has a potential to become God of the
Jains religion.
The Jain philosophy believes that the universe and all its
entities such as soul and matter are eternal (there is no beginning or
end), no one has created them and no one can destroy them. The soul is
indestructible.
Thus
the fundamentals of Jains are: -
The soul is indestructible.
v
All living beings have a
soul.
v
All souls are equal; non-is superior
or inferior to another.
v
Every object of the universe, including the soul, changes
by itself, without any external interference.
v
Any soul can attain salvation
through self-realization.
v
God is not the creator or protector of the universe.
He
only knows and sees the whole universe.
v
Every truth is
a
relative truth and not the
absolute truth.
Jains rely a great deal on self-efforts and
self-initiative, for both - their worldly requirements and their
salvation. Jainism appeals to common sense. Jains accept only those
things that can be explained logically and reasoned. Jains believe that
each living being is a master of his/her own destiny.
Jains
believe that from eternity, the soul is bounded by karma and is ignorant
of its true nature. It is
due to karma soul migrates from one life cycle to another and continues
to attract new karma, and the ignorant soul continues to bind with new
karma. This way it provides
a logical explanation of our sufferings on Earth.
A
person who destroys all eight types of karmas is called Siddha. A person
who destroys only four ghati karmas is called Arihanta (Tirthankara,
Jina etc). Both Arihantas and Siddhas are classified as Gods in Jainism.
Lord
Adinath ji
There
are twenty four Tirthankara
and first one among them was Shri
Rishabhadeva
as mentioned in the Yajur Veda. The 24th and the last Tirthankara was
Mahavira . Mahavira was born about 580 B.C. in Northern India.
Now there are about four million (as per 1991 census) followers in
India. Now this figure may be much higher say about seven millions. Lord
Mahavira preached atheism or the absence of god. Jainism also
believes that one can achieve salvation (freedom from wheel of life i.e.
rebirth). Jains use the word Karma to mean a substance that binds the
soul to physical world. By causing sins you keep accumulating Karma
whereas meditation and fasting burns the Karma. One can get freedom from
rebirth (Salvation) only after burning the Karma accumulated in past
lives.
Tirthankara Mahavira
The
basic teachings of Lord Mahavira are as follows:-
-
Ahimsa:
- To protect all life (non-violence)
-
Satya:
- (Truth
)-To speak truth/ avoiding
falsehood.
-
Acauraya
(Achaurya) :
-
Non-stealing
. Also not to take any thing without permission.
-
Brahmacharya:
-
Celibacy/Chastity
.To not commit adultery/remaining
sexually
monogamous to one's spouse only.
-
Aparigraha:
-
Non-attachment/Non-possession. To detach from people, places and material
things. Avoiding the collection of excessive material possessions,
abstaining from over-indulgence, restricting one's needs, etc.
The
word Ahimsa is widely known. It inspired and
influenced Mahatma Gandhi the most. Jainism
alone has given a unique position to the doctrine of Ahimsa and has
based its ethical code entirely on the complete observance of Ahimsa in
all its aspects i.e. mental, verbal
and physical in order
to minimize harm to all possible life forms.
The Monks and nuns follow these five teachings of lord Mahavira in their
life. The householders also practice these teachings in their life apart
from following the traditional code of conduct like using filtered water
and eating their diner before sunset. This lead Jains to vegetarianism.
Mostly Jains are strict vegetarians. They consume item mainly
from plant kingdom. It is considered as the bare minimum requirement for
the survival of human beings.
The
Sects: -
Broadly there are two categories among Jains. The first one is Digambara
(Jains (Sky clad -naked). They keep themselves free from all worldly
materials and social inhibitions. The second one is Shwetambara (white
Clad). They use simple white cloths. The
difference in the two sects is more in rituals than in doctrines.
In modern days the
Jainism is not limited to the boundaries of Indian soil. It is spreading
all over the world. There are more than fourteen temples in USA and
Canada itself apart from three being in UK. Recently one more temple at
Manchester, UK has been inaugurated.
In USA the most famous among them is the
Siddhachalam
Jain Tirth. Which is located at:
65 MUD POND ROAD, BLAIRSTOWN, NEW JERSEY and is spread over a vast area
of land.
Late Acharya Sushil Muni's divine inspiration has brought Siddhachalam
into reality. Three different Models of Jain Tirth in India - (1)
Shri Sammed Shikharji of Bihar (2) Shri Panwapuriji of Bihar and
(3) Shri Girnarji of Gujarat states have been established here. The
best thing can be seen here that both the sects have united here by
having a common place of worship, placing the idols of their gods side
by side.
Both sects hold Jains functions from time to time. The Jains Temple at
California is also a similar example. A very beautiful temple has been
constructed there. While
placing the idols of twenty-four Tirthankaras they arranged the idols on
one to one basis. This arrangement has been followed in many other
temples in United States. This has brought together both the sects of
Jains.
There
are temples in other countries also like Japan Cambodia, Kenya (Africa).
A glimpse of the temple at Kenya is here.
Temple
at Kenya.
Address:
Digambar Jain temple,
Nairobi, Kenya, P.B- 41217
The war and violence
is routine matter these days and is on increase throughout the world.
The Jainism is need of the time that contains solutions.
The Jainism is
bound to spread all over the world. The Internet is a new and effective
source for everyone to know the things and make available the
information’s with less efforts and expenses. There are thousands of
Jains websites and links
over Internet
that provide with all aspects of religious studies.
Some of them provide lots of valuable information about Jains philosophy
and literature even in many different languages. There are thousands of
Jains group’s as well and some of them provide newsletters and
exchange views among their members. They spread the message of Jainism
all over the world and people are becoming more familiar to Jainism
these days.
Statue of Bahubali ji
Shravan-Bel-Gola, banglore , Karnatka.
The monolithic statue of
lord Gomateswara, Jain Siddha Bahubaliji son of lord Adinathji standing
atop the Indragiri hills is 17 meters high and is said to be one of the
tallest and most grace full monolithic statue in the world. Nearly 1800
years old the (digambar) naked statue is symbolic of the renunciation of
worldly possessions.
Now in order to sum up
refer some of the views by Hon' able persons which indicates the
origin Antiquity and about the philosophy of Jainism:
-
"There
is nothing wonderful in my saying that Jainism was in existence long
before the Vedas were composed."
‑‑ Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, Vice‑President, India
"Truly
speaking, Jainism is an independent and original religion, for it is
neither Hinduism nor Vedic religion, but of course it is an aspect of
Indian life, culture, and philosophy."
‑‑ Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister, India
"I
say with conviction that the doctrine for which the name of Lord Mahavir
is glorified nowadays is the doctrine of Ahimsa. If anyone has practiced
to the fullest extent and has propagated most the doctrine of Ahimsa, it
was Lord Mahavira ;
---Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation
"Mahavira proclaimed in India that
religion is a reality and not a mere social convention. It is really
true that salvation can not be had by merely observing external
ceremonies. Religion cannot make any difference between man and
man."
-- Dr. Rabindranath Tagore
"We learn from scriptures and commentaries that Jainism is existing from beginning less time. This
fact is indisputable and free from difference of opinion. There is much
historical evidence on this point.
- Lokamanya Bala
Gangadhar Tilak
"Jainism has contributed to the
world the sublime doctrine of Ahimsa. No other religion has emphasized
the importance of Ahimsa and carried its practice to the extent that
Jainism has done. Jainism deserves to become the universal religion
because of its Ahimsa doctrine."
- Justice Ranglekar, Bombay High Court
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