Jainism

  Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes pacifism and a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of Supreme Being is called Jina (Conqueror or Victor). Jainism is also referred to as Shraman (self-reliant) Dharma or the religion of Nirgantha (who does not have attachments and aversions) by ancient texts. Jainism is commonly referred to as Jain Dharma in Hindi and Samanam in Tamil.


                                 Jain Cosmology
Jains do not acknowledge an intelligent first cause as the creator of the universe. The Jain theory is that the universe has no beginning or end. It is traced to jiva and ajiva, the two everlasting, uncreated, independent and coexisting categories. Consciousness is jiva. That which has no consciousness is ajiva. There are five substances of ajiva:
Dharma           :the medium of motion.
Adharma         : the medium of rest
Akasha            : space
Pudgala           : matter
Kala                : time

Core Beliefs:

• Every living being has a soul.
• Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas).
• Therefore regard every living being as you do yourself, harming no one and being kind to all living beings.
• Every soul is born as a heavenly being, human, sub-human or hellish being according to its own karma.
• Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter.
• When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.
• Right Faith, Right Knowledge, and Right Conduct (triple gems of Jainism) provide the way to this realisation. There is no supreme divine creator, owner, preserver, or destroyer. The universe is self-regulated, and every soul has the potential to achieve divine consciousness (siddha) through its own efforts.
• Jainism stresses the importance of controlling the senses including the mind, as they can drag one far away from true nature of the soul.
• Enjoy the company of the holy and better-qualified, be merciful to afflicted souls, and tolerate the perversely inclined.
• Four things are difficult for a soul to attain:

1. Human birth,
2. Knowledge of the laws governing the souls,
3. Absolute conviction in the philosophy of non-violence, and
4. Practicing this knowledge with conviction in everyday life activities.

• It is, therefore, important not to waste human life in evil ways. Rather, strive to rise on the ladder of spiritual evolution.
• The goal of Jainism is liberation of the soul from the negative effects of unenlightened thoughts, speech, and action. This goal is achieved through clearance of karmic obstructions by following the triple gems of Jainism.
• Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time of the day. Praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows in respect to liberated souls still in human form (Arihantas), fully liberated souls forever free from re-birth(Siddhas), spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks and nuns(sarva sadhus [monks], sadhvis [nuns]). By saluting them saying "namo namaha", Jains receive inspiration from them to follow their path to achieve true bliss and total freedom from the karmas binding their souls. In this main prayer, Jains do not ask for any favours or material benefits. This mantra serves as a simple gesture of deep respect toward beings that are more spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of the ultimate goal of reaching nirvana or moksha.
• Jains worship the icons of Jinas, Arihants, and Tirthankars, who have conquered their inner passions and attained divine consciousness, and study the scriptures of these liberated beings.
• Jainism acknowledges the existence of powerful heavenly souls (Yaksha and Yakshini) that look after the well-beings of Tirthankarars. Usually, they are found in pair around the icons of Jinas as male (yaksha) and female (yakshini) guardian deities. Even though they have supernatural powers, these deities are also souls wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like most other souls. Over time, people started worshiping these deities as well.

             The Five Pillars (Principles) of Jainism:

Jains believe that to attain enlightenment and ultimately liberation, one must practice the following ethical principles (major vows) in thought, speech and action. The degree to which these principles are practiced is different for householders and monks. They are:

Non-violence (Ahinsa) – to cause no harm to living beings. This is the fundamental vow from which all other vows stem. It involves minimizing intentional and unintentional harm to any other living creature. "Non-violence" is sometimes interpreted as not killing, but the concept goes far beyond that. It includes not harming or insulting other living beings, either directly, or indirectly through others. It also includes respecting the views of others (non-absolutism and acceptance of multiple views).
Truthfulness (Satya) – to always speak the truth in a harmless manner. A person who speaks the truth becomes trustworthy like a mother, venerable like a preceptor and dear to everyone like a kinsman. Given that non-violence has priority, all other principles yield to it, whenever there is a conflict. For example, if speaking truth will lead to violence, it is perfectly ethical to be silent.
Non-stealing (Asteya) – to not take anything that is not willingly given. Asteya, "non-stealing", is the strict adherence to one's own possessions, without desire to take another's. One should remain satisfied by whatever is earned through honest labour. Any attempt to squeeze material wealth from others and/or exploit the weak is considered theft. Some of the guidelines for this principle are:
Always give people fair value for labor or product.
Never take things that are not offered.
Never take things that are placed, dropped or forgotten by others.
Never purchase cheaper things if the price is the result of improper method (e.g., pyramid scheme, illegal business, stolen goods, etc.)
Celibacy (Brahmacharya) – to control the senses including mind from indulgence. The basic intent of this vow is to conquer passion and to prevent the waste of energy. In this vow, the house holder must not have a sensual relationship with anybody other than one's own spouse. Jain monks and nuns should practice complete abstinence from sex.
Non-possession or Non-materialism (Aparigraha) – to detach from people, places, and material things. Ownership of an object itself is not possessiveness; however, attachment to an object is possessiveness. For householders, non-possession owns without attachment, because the notion of possession is illusory. The reality of life is that change is constant; thus, objects owned by someone today will be property of someone else in future. The householder is encouraged to discharge his or her duties to related people and objects as a trustee, without excessive attachment or aversion. For monks and nuns, non-possession is complete renunciation of property and relations including home and family.

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