Jainism

Introduction

Jainism prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings and

emphasizes spiritual independence and equality between all forms of life.
Jains believe that non-violence and self-control are the means by which they
can obtain liberation. The word Jainism is derived from a Sanskrit verb Jin
which means to conquer. It refers to a battle with the passions and bodily
pleasures that the jaina ascetics undertake. Those who win this battle are
termed as Jina (conqueror). The term Jaina is therefore used to refer to
laymen and ascetics of this tradition alike.

Jainism is one of the oldest religions in the world. Jains traditionally trace their
history through a succession of twenty-four propagators of their faith known
as tirthankara with Adinatha as the first tirthankara and Mahavira as the last of
the current era. For long periods of time Jainism was the state religion of
Indian kingdoms and widely adopted in the Indian subcontinent. The religion
has been in decline since the 8th century CE due to the growth of, and
oppression by the followers of Hinduism and Islam.

Jainism is a religious minority in India, with 4.2 million adherents, and there are
small but notable immigrant communities in Belgium, Canada, Hong Kong,
Japan, Singapore and the United States. Jains have the highest degree of
literacy of any religious community in India (94.1 percent) and their manuscript
libraries are the oldest in the country.

1. A brief historical survey (the socio-political-religious situation)

6th century B.C., the age in which Mahavira was born, was a period of great
intellectual stir practically all over the world. Greece, Persia and China as well
as India experienced ferment in the realm of thought. (Please refer Buddhism
notes and Hinduism notes)
 
From the simple and on the whole republican social organization of the Vedic
times the country and been passing through a process of gradual stratification
until by the time of the birth of Mahavira caste distinctions and priestly

1
oligarchy (country governed by small groups) had become a source of
enormous social irritation and a means of popular exploitation. With the
growing rigidity of the caste system, the position of women had also
deteriorated. With the increase in royal power, Indo Aryan chiefs had become
polygamous. Women were denied the right of inheriting property and a father
had the right to divide his property among his sons according to his will. On
the death of her husband, a widow passed on to his family like his property.

The religion was developing as a curious combination of theoretical

monotheism and practical worship of a multiplicity of gods and divine satellites
with an admixture of elaborate rituals and superstition. It was a period of
great confusion and doubt. The period was marked by growing orthodoxy on
one side and extensive revolt against it on the other.

In economic life agriculture was still the main occupation of the people and the
village (gram) the unit of administration and the centre of all activities, but the
period was marked by a transition to cottage industrialism and a remarkable
growth of trade and commerce.

Politically, a new type of republican and tribal kingdom was arising, which was
rapidly assuming a monarchical form of government and imperialistic designs
in the sense of territorial conquests. The whole life of the community was in
short undergoing fundamental transformation.

2. Life and work of Vardhamana Mahavira

Lord Mahavir was the twenty-fourth and the last Tirthankara (One who
establishes the four fold order [Monk, Nun, Layman, and Laywoman] of
religion) of the Jain religion. According to Jain philosophy, all Tirthankaras
were born as human beings but they have attained a state of perfection or
enlightenment through meditation and self-realization. Tirthankaras are also
known as Arihants or Jinas. Popularly, Mahavira who was the last Jaina
Tirthankara is confounded to be the founder of this faith. But as per Jaina

2
records, 23 Tirthankaras preceded him. He was only the last and incidentally
the most famous Tirthankara.

Mahavira lived in the 6th century BCE (born around 599 BC) and was a
contemporary of Gautama Buddha. Mahavira was born in a kshatriya family in
Bihar. His father whose name incidentally was Siddhartha, belonged to the
Kashyapa clan and was ruler of Kundagrama located near the powerful
kingdom of Vaishali, Mahavira's mother Trishala was the sister of the reigning
king of Vaishali.

The name given to Mahavira at birth was Vardhamana or 'increaser'. But later
on he acquired fame as Mahavira or the 'Great Hero'. He married Yashoda and
by her had a daughter Anojja (also known as Priyadarshana). When he was
thirty years old his parents died and in fulfilment of a promise, he decided to
renounce material pleasures and meditate in solitude, he subjected himself to
severe penances, he had stripped himself naked observed fast and neglected
his body. He spent the next twelve years in deep silence and meditation to
conquer his desires and feelings. He went without food for long periods. He
carefully avoided harming or annoying other living beings including animals,
birds, and plants.

Mahavira reached the state of omniscience (Kevala) after 12 years. This

realization is known as keval-jnana. After revelation he spread his gospel
among the people. At his death his following was considerable. Mahavira
lived for about 30 years after attaining omniscience at the age of forty-two.
Shortly after attaining omniscience, Mahavira started wandering in villages,
mines, cities, etc..., to give help to souls capable of emancipation. He attracted
people from all walks of life, rich and poor, kings and commoners, men and
women, princes and priests, touchables and untouchables. He must have died
around 527 BC in Pavapuri, leaving behind a growing community of 14000
monks, 36000 nuns, 159000 laymen and 318000 laywomen.

He organized his followers, into a four- fold order, namely:

 monk (Sadhu)
 nun (Sadhvi)
 layman (Shravak)
3
  and laywoman (Shravika)

Later on they were known as Jains.

The ultimate objective of his teaching is - how one can attain the total freedom
from the cycle of birth, life, pain, misery and death, and achieve the
permanent blissful state of one's self. This is also known as liberation, nirvana,
absolute freedom or Moksha.

He explained that from eternity, every living being (soul) is in bondage of

karmic atoms that are accumulated by its own good or bad deeds. Under the
influence of karma, the soul is habituated to seek pleasures in materialistic
belongings and possessions. Which are the deep rooted causes of self-centred
violent thoughts, deeds, anger, hatred, greed, and such other vices. These
result in accumulating more karma.

He 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) not to cause harm to any living beings

 Truthfulness (Satya) to speak the harmless truth only
 Non-stealing (Asteya) not to take anything not properly given
 Chastity (Brahmacharya) not to indulge in sensual pleasure
 Non-possession/Non-attachment (Aparigraha) complete detachment
from people, places and material things.

Jains hold these vows at the centre of their lives. The monks and nuns follow
these vows strictly and totally, while the common people try to follow the
vows as far as their life styles will permit.

3. Jainism after Mahavira

Mahavira appointed 11 disciples (known as Gandharas) during his life time.

Nine of the 11 Gandharas he appointed attained liberation during his lifetime.
One passed away on the same night he died, leaving one chief disciple only in
4
the end, named Sudharma to carry forward the torch of knowledge lit by him.
Sudharma and his successor Jambusvami spread his teachings beyond
Magadha into various parts of the subcontinent, supported by various kings of
northern India including the Nandas and the Mauryas.

Jambusvami is said to be the last of the great disciples of the tradition who
attained omniscience. After him the leadership passed on to Srutakevalis,
teachers who had the perfect knowledge of the scriptures, but were not truly
liberated (kevalins) and had no direct experience of liberation. In other words,
they had the right scriptural knowledge, but no omniscience. They were
succeeded by seven or eleven teachers who had even lesser knowledge. They
possessed partial knowledge of the scriptures, since by their times many
teachings of Mahavira and his predecessors were either lost or diluted.

Jainism during the Mauryan era

One of the chief reasons for the spread of Jainism was the patronage it
received from kings and influential merchants. Tradition states that the first
Mauryan ruler, Chandragupta Maurya, converted to Jainism in the later part of
his life and died as a Jain monk in southern India near Sravanabelagola by
starving himself to death. This period also witnessed the rearing of dissention
within the Jaina community and disputes regarding the teachings of the
Tirthankaras and the code of conduct the monks were expected to follow. A
council of monks was convened at Pataliputra to sort out the differences and
preserve the teachings.

Spread of Jainism and migration of monks

Asoka, the grandson of Chandragupta converted to Buddhism. However, he

invented his own code of conduct, called the law of piety and advocated
religious tolerance. He was the last of the great Mauryan rulers and his
successors were unable to hold the empire together. At the end of second
century B.C.E., without patrons, and probably fearing persecution from the
Sungas who came to power after the Mauryas and who were followers of the
Vedic religion, a large number of Jain monks and lay followers migrated from

5
Magadha to the other parts of the country. A similar migration said to have
happened in case of Buddhism also. As a result only a few followers of Jainism
remained in the Magadha.

The migration happened along two main trade routes of ancient India which
connected the north to southern and western regions. One group went by the
first route from Pataliputra in Bihar to Orissa in the east and Andhrapradesh,
Karnataka and Tamilnadu in the South. An inscription of the Kharavela period
(157 B.C.E.) found near Udayagiri in the Hathigumpha (Odisha) cave confirms
this migration. The inscription states that King Kharavela erected a statue of
the first Jina (Agrajina), probably Adinatha, and also got cave dwellings carved
for the monks. While we do not know whether Kharavela himself was a patron
or follower of Jainism, we know from other sources that Jainism flourished in
their region for several centuries.

The other group of monks went westwards by the second route along the
Ganges river to Mathura near Agra. Subsequently some of them decided to go
further and settle in the Gujarat province. The rock cut caves of this period
found near Junagarh confirm the settlement of an active Jain community in this
region.

Jainism continued to thrive in various parts of India for a long time due to the
religious tolerance practiced by many kings of the subcontinent. They
supported it even while they practiced Hinduism or Buddhism.

King Harshavardhana (600-647 C.E.) followed this principle to the extreme. He

was a follower of Buddhism, but he showed exemplary tolerance towards all
religions and respected the monks of all faiths who visited him. Once in five
years he would empty the royal treasure by giving away all the riches to the
poor and the needy. Another king of this period noted in the Jaina scriptures
was Ama, who converted to Jainism and lent it his support.

6
Jainism in Gujarat

Nowhere such transformation was more striking than in Gujarat, where

Jainism became popular due to the patronage of many kings. Prominent
among them were Vanaraja (8th century C.E.), Mularaja, the founder of
Chalukya dynasty, and king Bhima (11th century C.E). It was during the reign of
Bhima, the famous Jain temple at Mount Abu was built by a layman named
Vimala. The notable Jaina scholar, Hemachandra (11th century C.E) also hailed
from this region. He lived during the reign of king Jayasimha Siddharaja, who
courted his friendship and came under his influence. Although Jayasimha was
a worshipper of Shiva, at the behest of Hemachandra, he supported Jainism
and built a temple in honour of Mahavira. He also invited Jaina scholars to his
court to participate in debates and discussions.

Kumarapala (12th century C.E.) succeeded Jayasimha and converted to Jainism,

again due to the influence of Hemachandra. He enforced a strict code of
conduct in his kingdom, prohibiting meat eating, killing of animals, animal
sacrifices, drinking and gambling. He also built several Jaina temples. The
Vaghelas, who came to power in Gujarat after the Chalukyas were also patrons
of Jainism. They built several temples and honoured the Jaina monks.

Jainism in the south

As in Gujarat, Jainism received patronage from various kings who ruled in the
south, in the region comprising present day Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Karnataka and Tamilnadu. As a result, many Jaina settlements flourished
there. King Hala, the founder of Satavahana dynasty, was said to be one of the
earliest patrons of Jainism in the south. The Jaina tradition recognizes him as
one of the four most literary kings of the ancient India.

Jainism also received patronage from several Chalukya and Hoyasala kings.
They built shrines and temples in honour of the Tirthankaras besides
encouraging people to practice their teachings. Due to these efforts and
developments, Karnataka became the main seat of the Digambaras. It is said
that so great was the influence of Jainism upon the people in the region that

7
up to the 12th century C.E. the whole of "Kannada literature was exclusively
Jaina literature." The influence continued even afterwards.

Jainism flourished further south in Tamil Nadu also and exerted its influence
upon Tamil literature, even before it became a popular tradition in the
Karnataka. It is believed that as early as 4th century B.C.E. some Jaina monks
travelled to Sri Lanka and settled near Anuradhapura. Ruins of Jain temples
belonging to 3rd or 2nd century B.C.E unearthed near Madurai and Ramnad
suggest that Jainism took roots in southern India during the same period it
spread to Orissa and Gujarat. Madurai seems to have been a prominent Jaina
centre during the reign of Pallavas (4th to 10th century C.E.) who showed
tolerance towards Jainism. Hieun Tsang, the Chinese traveller, who visited
Kanchi in the 6th century C.E. saw a large number of Jaina monks living there.

Religious persecution of Jains

In the long history of Jainas, there were also instances of their persecution by
intolerant kings. Buhler mentions persecution of Jaina monks by a few south
Indian kings. In the north, Mihrikula, a Huna (Huns) king, said to have taxed
those who provided food to the Jaina monks. It caused great inconvenience to
the monks since they ate meals only once in a day and avoided human contact.

The persecution was even more severe in some instances. For example, the
Pallava king Mahendravarma, who was a contemporary of Appar – a Shiva
devotee, said to have destroyed Jaina structures in North Arcot region and
built Siva temples. A Pandya ruler named Sundara (11th century C.E.)
persecuted and tortured to death nearly 8000 Jaina monks who refused to be
converted to Saivism.

The Jainas also suffered greatly in the hands of Lingayats who showed great
hostility towards them by damaging their properties, destroying their temples
and replacing their idols of the Tirthankaras with those of Hindu gods. Jainas
also suffered from the hostility of the Vaishnavas. The Hoyasala king Bittideva
(11th-12th century C.E), was a follower of Vishnu and a patron of Ramanuja.

8
He persecuted the Jainas in his kingdom by giving orders to throw the monks in
an oil mill and crush them.

Because of such incidents of cruelty and persecution, and the revival of

Hinduism set in motion by prominent teachers of various Hindu schools and
sects such as Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhava, Vallabha, Nimbarka and Caitanya,
Jainism lost a considerable following in both north and south and gradually
declined. The decline also coincided with increasing references to Hindu
customs, practices and deities in Jaina literature.

Jainism in the medieval period

In the north, Jainism suffered greatly in the hands of the Muslim invaders and
during the Islamic rule. During the invasions and conquests, they treated
Hindus, Buddhists and Jain alike. Ala-ud-din Khilji killed many Jainas, burnt
their scriptures, desecrated their deities and either destroyed their temples or
converted them into mosques during his conquest of Gujarat (1297-98). It was
repeated in other parts of India by other Muslim rulers. While some Muslim
rulers, such as Akbar, showed tolerance and leniency towards other faith,
overall Jainism suffered greatly during the five hundreds of Muslim rule.

4. The division: Diagambara and Svetambara

1. The Digambaras believe that no original canonical text exists now. The
Svetambara still preserve a good number of original scriptures.

2. According to the Digambaras, the omniscient no longer takes any earthly

food. The Svetambara are not prepared to accept this conception.

 3. The Digambaras strictly maintain that there can be no salvation without
nakedness. Since women cannot go without clothes, they are said to be
incapable of salvation. The Svetambara hold that nakedness is not essential
to attain liberation. Whence, women are also capable of salvation.

4. The Digambaras hold that Lord Mahavira was not married. The

9
Svetambara reject this view. According to them, Lord Mahavira was married
and had a daughter.

5. The images of Tirthankars are not decorated at all by the Digambaras,

whereas the Svetambara profusely decorate them.

5. Rise of Sthanakavasi in the 15th century

Sthanakavasi is a sect of Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji about

1653 CE that believes that soul is nirakar "without form", and hence do not
pray to any statue. The sect is essentially a reformation of the one founded on
teachings of Lonka, a fifteenth-century Jainist reformer. Though few consider
that principles of Sthanakvasi sect like covering mouth with a white cloth and
disregarding idol worship was prevailing right from the beginning i.e. since
Lord Mahavira's era and in fact from before that. They accept thrity-two of the
Svetambara canon ‘Agams’.

Saints (ascetic Sthanakvasins, called yatis) wear white clothes and cover their
mouths with a square white cloth or muhapatti intended to minimize the risk
of inhaling small insects or other airborne life forms, which Sthanakvasins see
as a violation of ahimsa "non-violence". They eat food collected from
followers' houses and do not save edibles beyond the next meal and water is
not kept even for a single night. All eating and drinking has to be done
between sunrise and sunset.

Saints do not stay at one place for too long except for the four monsoon
months. Saints are also called dhundhiya "searchers" for their early practice of
searching out and staying in abandoned or neglected structures to avoid
disturbance from the public. Saints own no possessions except for a few
books, a couple sets of clothes and carrying utensils made of a special natural
material.

6. Jain scripture

Jain scriptures contain the teachings of Mahavira and the other tirthankaras.
Originally the scriptures were transmitted orally and were not written down

10
until many centuries after their composition.   Svetambaras accept thirty-two
to forty-five sacred texts known as (aagamas), final redaction of which took
place at the Council of Valabhi (453 – 466 BCE). Digambaras accept two
canonical texts Satkhandaagama and Kasaayapahuda composed in 2nd century
CE.

Jains have vast sacred literature that includes commentaries on sacred texts
and other religious work such as the Tattvartha Sutra, Kalpa Sutra, Uttaradhyan
Sutra and recent work of Atmasiddhi Sastra.  The Jains have vast literature that
contains subjects such as the philosophy, code of conduct, devotional
practices, narratives, cosmology, physics, chemistry, life sciences, zoology,
botany, medicine, mathematics and others. It describes five types of
knowledge, divided into two categories: indirect, that is sensory knowledge
and scriptural knowledge, and direct, that is ‘clairvoyance’ (perceiving things of
the future even beyond normal sensory contact), ‘telepathic mind reading’ and
‘omniscience’.

7. The Main Teachings

1. Tattva

Jaina main teaching is known as Tattva (principle) and it is an attempt to

explain the nature of the human predicament and to provide solutions to it. It
provides the path of liberation. Without proper knowledge one cannot
progress in his spirituality. There are nine Tattvas, however, most of the
scholars accept only seven Tattvas.

1. Jiva: The essence of living entities is called jiva, a substance

which is different from the body that houses it. Consciousness, knowledge and
perception are its fundamental attributes.

2. Ajiva: Non-living entities that consist of matter, space and time fall into
the category of ajiva.

3. Asrava: The interaction between jiva and ajiva causes the influx of a karma
(a particular form of ajiva) into the soul, to which it then adheres.

4. Bandha: The karma masks the jiva and restricts it from having its true
potential of perfect knowledge and perception.

11
5. Samvara: Through right conduct, it is possible to stop the influx of additional
karma.

6. Nirjara: By performing asceticism, it is possible to shred or burn up the

existing karma.

7. Moksa: The jiva which has removed its karma is said to be liberated and
to have its pure, intrinsic quality of perfect knowledge in its true form.

8. Papa: It is the sin.

9. Punya: It is the virtue.

What causes the influx of good and evil karma? (jiva, ajiva and Asrava)

Mithyatva – Ignorance
Avirati – Lack of self-restraint
Kasaya – Passions like anger, conceit, deceit and lust
Pramada – unawareness or unmindfulness
Yoga – activities of mind, speech and body

In addition to the above causes, the five great sins; violence, untruth, stealing,
sensual indulgence and attachment to worldly objects are also the cause of the
influx of karmas.

What is Bandha (Bondage of karma)? (no 4)

Bandha is the attachment of karmic matter (karma pudgala) to the soul. The
soul has had this karmic matter bondage from eternity. This karmic body is
known as the karmana body or causal body. Karmic matter is a particular type
of matter which is attracted to the soul because of its ignorance, lack of self-
restraint, passions, unmindfulness, activities of body, mind, and speech. The
soul, which is covered by karmic matter, continues acquiring new karma from
the universe and exhausting old karma into the universe through the above
mentioned actions at every moment. Because of this continual process of
acquiring and exhausting karma particles, the soul has to pass through the
cycles of births and deaths, and experiencing pleasure and pain. So under
normal circumstances the soul cannot attain freedom from karma, and hence
liberation.

12
Karmic matter attaching to the soul assumes four forms:

1. Prakriti bandha - Type of karma

2. Sthiti bandha - Duration of karma
3. Anubhava bandha - Intensity of attachment of karma
4. Pradesa bandha - Quantity of karma

The Karmas are categorized into two groups: Ghati and Aghati karmas. When
a person destroys all of his ghati karmas, at that time he attains keval-jnana.
However, he continues to live as a human being because none of his aghati
karmas are destroyed. He can only attain liberation after all of his aghati
karmas are destroyed. Hence he attains liberation after his death.

When a person attains keval-jnana, he is known as an Arihant. If an Arihant

establishes the four fold order of Monks, Nuns, Sravaka, (male layperson), and
Sravika (female layperson) then the Arihant is called a Tirthankara.

Other Arihantas are known as ordinary Kevali. After Nirvana (death) both
Tirthankaras and ordinary Kevalis are called Siddhas. All Siddhas are unique
individuals, but they all possess perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss.
Hence from the qualities and attributes point of view all Siddhas are same.

What is Samvara? (no 5) It is the method, which arrests fresh karma from
coming into the soul. This process is a reverse of asrava. It can be
accomplished by constant practice of: restraint of mind, body, and speech,
religious meditation, conquest of desire, forgiveness, tenderness, purity, truth,
austerity, renunciation, unattachment and chastity.

What is Nirjara? (no 6) It is the exhaustion (getting rid) of karmic matter

already acquired. The karmas exhaust themselves by producing their results
when it is time for them to do so. Unless they are exhausted before they are
mature and start producing results, it becomes difficult to be free. By that
time, new karmic matter begins to pour in. Therefore, it becomes necessary for
one who desires final liberation to exhaust all karmas before maturity. This is
called nirjara. Nirjara is to be done by rigorous austerities.

13
External Nirjara:

1. Anasan - complete abstinence of eating and drinking

2. Alpahara - reduction in the quantity of food one normally eats
3. Ichhanirodha - control of desire for food and material things
4. Rasatyaga - complete abstinence of eating or drinking juicy and tasty
foods such as honey, alcohol, butter, milk, tea, sweets, juice etc. (no
attachments to the taste of the foods)
5. Kayaklesa - control of passions by discipline
6. Samlinata - sitting in a lonely place in due posture with senses
withdrawn

Internal Nirjara:

1. Prayaschita - repentance for the breach of vows

2. Vinaya - appropriate behaviour towards a teacher
3. Vaiyavrata - selfless service to the suffering and deserving
4. Svadhyaya - studying/listening of religious scriptures
5. Bhutsarga - non-attachment to the body
6. Subha-dhyana - religious meditation

What is Moksha? (no 7) It is the liberation of the living being (soul) after
complete exhaustion or elimination of all karmas. A liberated soul regains
totally its original attributes of perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss. It
climbs to the top of Lokakas and remains there forever in its blissful and
unconditional existence. It never returns again into the cycles of birth, life, and
death. This state of the soul is the liberated or perfect state, and this is called
"Nirvana."

What is Papa? (no 8) The influx of karmic matter due to evil activities of the
mind, body and speech with the potential of producing unpleasant sensations
is called papa or sin. Activities such as violence, untruth, theft, unchastity

14
(excessive sexual behaviour), attachment to objects, anger, conceit, deceit,
lust, etc... results in producing papa karmic matter.

What is Punya? (no 9) The influx of karmic matter due to good activities of
the mind, body and speech with the potential of producing pleasant sensations
is called punya or virtue. Activities such as offering food, drink, shelter,
purifying thought, physical and mental happiness, etc... results in producing
punya karmic matter.

2. Anekantavada

One of the most important and fundamental doctrines of Jainism is

anekantavada. It refers to the principles of pluralism and multiplicity of
viewpoints and to the notion that truth and reality are perceived differently
from diverse points of view, no single one of which is complete.

Jains contrast all attempts to proclaim absolute truth with this theory, which
can be illustrated through the parable of the blind men and an elephant. This
principle is more formally stated by observing that objects are infinite in their
qualities and modes of existence, so they cannot be completely grasped in all
aspects and manifestations by finite human perception. Only Kevalis —
omniscient beings— can comprehend objects in all aspects and manifestations;
others are only capable of partial knowledge. Accordingly, no single, specific,
human view can claim to represent absolute truth.

Anekantavada encourages its adherents to consider the views and beliefs of

their rivals and opposing parties. Proponents of anekantavada apply this
principle to religions and philosophies, reminding themselves that any of these
—even Jainism—that clings too dogmatically to its own tenets is committing an
error based on its limited point of view. The principle of anekantavada also
influenced M. K. Gandhi to adopt principles of religious tolerance, ahimsa and
satyagraha.

3. Syadavada

Syadavada is the theory of conditioned predication. It is a separate system of

logic capable of standing on its own. The root meaning of the word is

15
‘perhaps’, ‘may be’, and in the Jain context it means ‘in some ways’ or ‘from
some perspective’. As reality is complex, no single proposition can express its
nature fully. The term ‘syat’ should therefore be prefixed to each proposition,
giving it a conditional point of view and thus removing dogmatism from the
statement. It basically means that there should be no dogmatism.

8. The Ethical Code:

Ahimsa: The principle of non-violence or ahimsa is the most distinctive and

well known aspect of jaina religious practice. The jaina understanding and
implementation of ahimsa is more radical, scrupulous, and comprehensive
than in other religions. Non-violence is seen as the most essential religious
duty for everyone.

Food: A scrupulous and thorough application of non-violence to

everyday activities, and especially to food. It is completely vegetarian,
excludes onions and garlic, and may additionally exclude potatoes and other
root vegetables. For Jains, lacto-vegetarianism represents the minimal
obligation: food which contains even small particles of the bodies of dead
animals or eggs is absolutely unacceptable. Jain scholars and activists support
veganism, as the production of dairy products is perceived to involve violence
against cows.

Jains make considerable efforts in everyday life not to injure plants any more
than necessary. Although they admit that plants must be destroyed for the
sake of food, they accept such violence only inasmuch as it is indispensable for
human survival, and there are special instructions for minimizing violence
against plants.

Jains also go out of their way not to hurt even small insects and other
minuscule animals. They rarely go out at night, when it is more likely that they
might trample insects. In their view, injury caused by carelessness is like injury
caused by deliberate action.

Eating honey is strictly outlawed, as it would amount to violence against the

bees. Jains avoid farming because it inevitably entails unintentional killing or
injuring of small animals, such as worms and insects, but agriculture is not

16
forbidden in general and Jain farmers exist. Additionally, because they consider
harsh words to be a form of violence, they often keep a cloth for a ritual
mouth-covering, serving as a reminder not to allow violence in their speech.

Self Control: Jainism encourages spiritual development through

cultivation of personal wisdom and through reliance on self-control through
vows. Jains accept different levels of compliance for ascetics and lay followers.
Ascetics of this religion undertake five major vows:

1. Ahimsa: Ahimsa means non-violence. The first major vow taken by

ascetics is to cause no harm to living beings. It involves minimizing
intentional and unintentional harm to other living creatures.
2. Satya: Satya literally means "truth". This vow is to always speak
the truth. Given that non-violence has priority, other principles yield to it
whenever they conflict: in a situation where speaking truth could lead to
violence, silence is to be observed.
3. Asteya: The third vow, asteya, is to not take anything that is not
willingly offered. Attempting to extort material wealth from others or to
exploit the weak is considered theft.
4. Brahmacharya: The vow of brahmacharya requires the exercise of
control over the senses by refraining from indulgence in sexual activity.
5. Aparigraha: Aparigraha means non-possessiveness. This vow is to
observe detachment from people, places and material things. Ascetics
completely renounce property and social relations.

Laymen are encouraged to observe the five cardinal principles of non-violence,

truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-possessiveness within their
current practical limitations, while monks and nuns are obligated to practise
them very strictly.

9. The Tri-ratnas

The path to liberation consists of three jewels (tri-ratnas). They are:

 Right perception (samyak darsana)

 Right knowledge (samyak jnana)

17
  Right conduct (samyak charitrya)

Right Perception (Samyak Darsana): Right perception consists in seeing

the true nature of every substances of the universe. Jainism advocates that
one should first try to know, comprehend and understand the nature of reality,
one's own self, religious goal, and the path. One should analyze it, examine it,
test it, and verify it and then, if satisfied, be convinced of its truth and efficacy.

Right Knowledge (Samyak Jnana): Right perception or faith makes us

realize the reality of life and the seriousness of our purpose in life. Right
knowledge is the true, correct, proper, and relevant knowledge of the reality,
the tattvas.

Right Conduct (Samyak Charitrya): Proper, correct, appropriate, and truly

natural conduct of the living being (soul) is known as right conduct. The main
purpose for a human being is to free himself from attachment (raga) and
aversion (dvesha). That is to be free from all impure activities of thought,
word, and deed. This will attain the state of perfect equanimity (calmness).

10. Discipline for monks

Life of a Jain monk is hard. A Jain monk or nun lives away from his or her
family and travels from one place to another on foot. To a Jain monk, the
whole world is his family. Jain monks usually live in groups of five or six. They
have very few worldly possessions. They do not keep any money. The senior
monk of the group lectures every morning and many householders go to listen
to his lecture. The monks eat the food offered to them by the householders.
The monks study almost the whole day. They meditate two or three times
each day. The monks do not go from one town to another during the rainy
season. They also do not go out for food when it is raining. These practices
are followed to minimize accidental killing of small insects. The monks observe
several fasts in a year. Jain monks do not eat before sunrise or after sunset.
This is because the number of living organisms in the atmosphere is reduced by
sunlight. Many Jain householders also do not eat before sunrise or after
sunset.

11. Worship and Temple Rituals

18
Prayer of Jain religion: Every day Jains bow their heads and say their
universal prayer, the Navkar-mantra. All good work and events start with this
prayer of salutation and worship.

Namo Arihantanam: I bow down to Arihanta,

Namo Siddhanam: I bow down to Siddha,
Namo Ayariyanam: I bow down to Acharya,
Namo Uvajjhayanam: I bow down to Upadhyaya,
Namo Loe Savva-sahunam: I bow down to Sadhu and Sadhvi.
Eso Panch Namokaro: These five bowings downs,
Savva-pavappanasano: Destroy all the sins,
Manglananch Savvesim: Amongst all that is auspicious,
Padhamam Havei Mangalam: This Navkar Mantra is the foremost

Worship

Jains perform worship before the Jina idols, bowing to the idols, and lighting a
lamp in front of the idols. This is an ideal way to start the day for many Jains.
More elaborate forms of worship (puja), as described, is a regular daily ritual
usually done in the temple. The worshipper enters the temple with the words
'Namo Jinanam' 'I bow to the Jina', and repeats three times, 'Nisihii' (to
relinquish thoughts about worldly affairs). The members of some sects of
Jainism don’t believe in worship of the Jina image. They believe in meditation
and silent prayers.

Worship, or puja, can take many forms. The ritual bathing of the image (Snatra
Puja) is symbolic to the bathing of the newborn Tirthankara by the gods
(celestial beings). A simple symbolic act is to touch one's forehead with the
liquid used to bath the idol. Bathing the idol also takes place during the Panch
Kalyanak Puja, a ritual to commemorate the five great events of the
Tirthankara's life, namely conception, birth, renunciation, omniscience and
moksa.

Antaraya Karma Puja comprises a series of prayers to remove those karmas

which obstruct the spiritual uplifting power of the soul. A lengthy temple ritual

19
which can take three days to complete is the Arihanta Puja, paying respect to
the arihants.

In Jainism, worship is not offered to an eternal and eternally pure God, but to
those great ones who have realized their high ideal and attained Godhood for
themselves. There is no offering of food and the like, nor is a prayer made to
the deity for boons.

GOING TO THE TEMPLE

Wear simple clothes for temples (no silk or leather).

Take a bath before going to temple – at least be in a clean condition.
Say ‘Namo Jinanam ‘I salute Jina’ – if you see the idols of Jinas.
Take off shoes before entering the temple.
Do the following ten things – Dashtrik

1. Nissihi (renunciation) – discard all the thoughts relating to worldly

affairs
2. Pradakshina (circumambulation - going around the Jina idol 3
times)
3. Pranam (salutation) – Salute the idols of Arihants three times
4. Puja (worship) – physical worship and Psychic worship
5. Avasthachintan (contemplation upon the various states of the
Lord)
6. Dishatyag (do not look here and there, but look only at the Jina
idol)
7. Pramarjan (cleaning the ground before sitting down – three times
with our upper cloth, so that no small insect may be hurt by sitting
there)
8. Alamban (support) – Three supports in our mind – the image of
the Lord, the sutras we utter and their meaning

20
 9. Mudras (postures for meditation) – concentration is very
important.
10.Pranidhan (be absorbed) – concentrate our senses – our body, our
voice and our mind and do not let them wander.

Members of some Jain sects do no worship in temple.

12. Holy days and Festivals

Mahavira Jayanti – March/April: The birthday of Mahavir and Jains will gather
in temples to hear readings of the teachings of Mahavira.

Paryushana – August/September: The meaning is to stay in one place. It is

a time of reflection and repentance for the Jain devotee. It consists of eight
days of intensive fasting and monks are invited to give teachings from the Jain
scriptures.

Divali – October/November: The Svetambara celebrate this remembering

the last teaching and attaining ultimate liberation by Mahavira.

Kartak Purnima: In October/November and considered auspicious time for

pilgrimage to the sacred sites.

Mauna Agyaras: November/December – a day long observance of fasting and

silence.

13. Pilgrimage and Sacred Places

There are many places in India which are of special importance to Jains
because of associations with holy persons of the past. Pilgrimage to such
places has long been popular. It is felt that there is great merit in visiting them:
in earlier times (and often even today) the hardship of the journey was a form
of austerity teaching endurance and control of the body.

The pilgrims who make their way to the sacred places may be monks or nuns
who travel, sometimes over long distances, on foot (the likelihood of crushing
small creatures beneath the wheels, or otherwise harming them, means that

21
monks and nuns must not travel by car or other conveyance), or solitary lay
individuals, or families or large organized groups. For some the journey may
mean real hardship and often well-to-do people undertake the praiseworthy
task of helping others to go on pilgrimage. Sometimes a wealthy Jain will
organize a major pilgrim 'caravan'.

Of the great number of places of Jain pilgrimage, one which is of unequalled

sanctity is Mount Parsvanatha, or SAMETSIKHARA, in Bihar, for it is believed
that here no fewer than twenty of the twenty-four Tirthankara left their last
earthly bodies and achieved moksa. The mountain rises handsomely from
forested lower slopes to its rugged peak and the summit is covered with
temples. As they exist today the temples are all relatively modern, the finest
one, on the south-east, with its five fluted domes, contains an image in black
marble of Parsva, the twenty-third Tirthankara, dated 1765 on its base. Large
numbers of pilgrims come to this place, the most pious, after visiting every
shrine; conclude their pilgrimage by walking the thirty-mile circuit of the base
of the hill.

PAVAPURI, also in Bihar is a place of great scenic beauty, particularly when the
lotus flowers are in bloom on the large lake. The lake, so the story goes, was
formed over many centuries by countless pilgrims taking up a pinch of dust to
mark their foreheads. For this is holy ground, a temple stands at the place
where Mahavira is reputed to have achieved moksa, and another at the site
where his body was cremated.

Rajasthan and Gujarat are particularly rich in Jain temples and places of
pilgrimage. Seven hundred years ago it is recorded that there were over three
hundred temples in western India, two hundred of them in Gujarat.

In Rajasthan, JESALMIR has long attracted scholars to its famous library of Jain
manuscripts and many thousands of religious books. Not only scholars, but
also many other Jains make the pilgrimage to the splendid intricately carved
temples of yellow stone.

RANAKPUR is also in Rajasthan. The magnificent temple, or temple complex,

dates from the fifteenth century. It covers 40,000 square feet on a lofty base,
surrounded, as is common with Jain temples, by a high wall.
22
Undoubtedly the masterpieces of Jain architecture, and almost unrivaled in
India for beauty and delicacy of carving, are the magnificent DELWARA temples
on MOUNTABU in Rajasthan. The carving of the white marble is so delicate
that it is almost transparent: the masons scraped away the marble rather than
chiselled (shaped) it and are said to have been paid according to the weight of
marble dust removed.

Two places of pilgrimage in Gujarat, GIRNAR and SATRUNJAYA, are so rich in

temples and shrines that they have been described as temple cities.

SATRUNJAYA is an ancient Jain place of pilgrimage as it was here that the first
Tirthankara, Rsabha, as well as his chief follower, is said to have reached
moksa.

The places which we have mentioned are all in the northern half of India but
south India has its great pilgrimage centres as well. The most famous is
SRAVANA BELGOLA, sixty- two miles from Mysore. Here on a hill 470 feet
above the plain, and reached by nearly five hundred steps, stands the colossal
statue of Bahubali, fifty-seven feet high, twenty- six feet across the shoulders,
cut from solid rock around the year 980 A.D., with a surrounding cloister added
in 1116. It is the biggest free-standing massive statue in the world. Bahubali,
or Gommata, was the son of Rsabha, the first Tirthankara. It is said that he
stood so deep in meditation that the climbing plants grew over him. The
statue represents him nude, evidence of total renunciation of worldly goods,
with his limbs entwined by creepers.

14. Samskaras

Jainism has been very much influenced by Hinduism. Many customs and
ceremonies of the Jains are simply taken from Hinduism. The most important
of such practices are the sixteen samskaras or ceremonies connected with the
important events in the life of an individual. Hindu Brahmins are even called
upon to perform these ceremonies. These practices are clearly brahminical in
appearance but they are adapted to the Jaina way of life and their meaning is
certainly not Hindu. The samkaras are accompanied by worship of the Jinas,
recitation of sacred hymns and scriptures, the performance of prescribed
rituals and charity. The most important samskaras are birth, marriage and
23
death ceremonies. Jains do not believe in Sraddha as nothing can be done for
the departed souls by the living ones.

15. Fasting

Most Jains fast at special times, particularly during festivals. A Jain, however,
may fast whenever it seems appropriate.

Santhara: When a person is aware of approaching death, and feels that all
his or her duties have been fulfilled, he or she may decide to gradually cease
eating and drinking. This form of dying is also called santhara. It can take as
long as twelve years of gradual reduction in food intake.

Aathai: A person practising this form of fasting will not eat anything for
eight days. During this period, they live only by drinking previously boiled
water (8 hours ago at the maximum). They drink water after going to temple or
after prayer that is done after 11 o’clock and before sunset.

Tela: A person practising this form of fasting will not eat anything for three
days. During this period, they live by drinking previously boiled water.

Masskhaman: A person practising this form of fasting will not eat anything
for thirty days. During this period, they live by drinking previously boiled water.

Olee: In this practice, for 9 days food is taken without any additive that
provides specific taste such as ghee (clarified butter), spices, salt, etc....

Varshitap: This is a difficult form of fasting and demands a high level of skill
and discipline; it is based on the story of Lord Rishabh not eating or drinking for
400 days. It is possible for people to try a variation of Varshitap by eating
every alternate day, in general. They can eat only twice in every alternate day,
but in between during some special calendar events, they may have to fast
longer periods.

Ayambil: a person eats only one kind of food per day, which may not contain
salt nor oil.

Ekashana: a person eats only once a day and generally they have lunch.

24
Beyashnaa: a person eats only twice a day and generally they have breakfast
and dinner.

16. SALLEKHANA

Sallekhana is embracing the death voluntarily when both householders and

ascetics foresee that the end of the life is very near either due to the old age,
incurable disease, severe famine, attack from the enemy or wild animal, etc...
At such time one overcomes all the passions and abandons all the worldly
attachments by observing austerities such as gradually abstaining from the
food and the water and simultaneously meditating on the true nature of the
Self until the soul parts the body. An approximate assessment of the
remaining span of the life is necessary in order to adjust to the nature of the
fasting. He should endure all the hardships, but if he falls ill or for any other
reason cannot maintain the peace of mind, then he should give up Sallekhana
and resume taking foods and other activities.

A householder, who accepts this vow with pure mind, gives up the friendship,
enmity and possessiveness. He should forgive his relatives, companions and
servants or acquaintances and should ask for the pardon of all the past
unpleasant deeds against them. He should discuss honestly with his preceptor
all the sins committed by him or sins, which he asked others to commit, or sins
he encouraged others to commit. During the period of this vow he should
eliminate from his mind all the grief, fear, regret, affection, hatred, prejudice,
passions, etc., to the fullest extent.

He should avoid the five transgressions. They are: 1) wishing the death would
come a little later, 2) wishing for a speedier death, 3) entertaining fear that
how he would face a death, 4) remembering friends and relatives at the time
of death, and 5) wishing for a certain reward as a result of this vow.

25