Jainism (pronounced /ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm/) is an ancient religion of India Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam that prescribes 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 In Indian religions, Moksha or Mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति), literally "release" (both from a root muc "to let loose, let go"), is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and rebirth (reincarnation). Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina In Jainism, a Tirthankar is a human being who achieves enlightenment (perfect knowledge) through asceticism and who then becomes a role-model teacher for those seeking spiritual guidance. A Tirthankar is a special sort of arihant, who establishes the fourfold religious order consisting of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen after achieving (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 Dharma (Sanskrit: dhárma, Pāḷi dhamma) is a multivalent term of great importance in Indian philosophy and religions. In the context of Hinduism, it means one's righteous duty, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, class, occupation, and gender. In modern Indian languages it can be equivalent simply to religion, depending on in Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: हिन्दी or हिंदी, IAST: Hindī, IPA: [ˈɦɪndiː] ) is the name given to various Indo-Aryan languages, dialects, and language registers spoken in northern and central India, Pakistan, Fiji, Mauritius, and Suriname. Standard Hindi is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, one of the official language and Samanam in Tamil Tamil (தமிழ் tamiḻ; [t̪ɐmɨɻ] ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Puducherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore. It is one of the twenty-two scheduled.
Jainism, which its followers consider to have always existed,[1][2][3] is believed by historians to have arisen between the ninth and the sixth centuries BCE Common Era, abbreviated as CE, is one of the designations for the world's most commonly used year-numbering system. The numbering of years using Common Era notation is identical to the numbering used with Anno Domini notation, 2010 being the current year in both notations and neither using a year zero. Common Era is also known as Christian Era and.[4][5][6][7][8] Some have speculated that the religion may have its roots in much earlier times, reflecting native spirituality from before the Indo-Aryan migration into India Models of the Indo-Aryan migration discuss scenarios of prehistoric migrations of the early Indo-Aryans to their historically attested areas of settlement in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent and from there further across all of North India. Claims of Indo-Aryan migration are primarily drawn from linguistic evidence but also from a.[9][10][11] In the modern world, it is a small but influential religious minority with as many as 4.2 million followers in India Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism originated here, while Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam,[12] and successful growing immigrant communities in North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast, Western Europe Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity — the region lying in the Western part of Europe. Another definition was created during the, the Far East The Far East is a term used in English mostly equivalent to East Asia (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia, sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons, Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by Britain in 177 and elsewhere.[13]
Jains successfully sustained this ancient religion to this era and have significantly influenced and contributed to ethical Ethics is a law philosophy that addresses questions about morality — that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, justice, virtue, etc, political and economic spheres in India. Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy in India;[14][15] Jain libraries are the oldest in the country.[16] Tamil Jains Tamil Jains or Samanar are Tamil people from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu who practice Jainism/Samanam. They are a micro community of around 85,000 in number . Tamil Jains belong to the Jain Digambara sect, who speak Tamil in their homes. Jainism is called Samanam (சமணம்) in Tamil and the practitioners of the religion are called and Kannada Jains who are native to their regions, residing in Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (Tamil: தமிழ் நாடு, pronounced [t̪ɐmɨɻ n̪aːɽɯ]) is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai (formerly known as Madras). Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the States of Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is bound by and Karnataka Karnataka (Kannada: ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ, pronounced [kəɾˈnɑːʈəkɑː] ) is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as the State of Mysore, it was renamed Karnataka in 1973 respectively early since 1st century BCE,[17] are distinguishable in some of their routines and practices from North Indian Jains, but the core philosophies and belief systems are the same for both cultures.
Core beliefs
Lord Mahavir Mahavira (Sanskrit महावीर, Kannada ಮಹಾವೀರ and Tamil அருகன் lit. "Great Hero", traditionally 599 – 527 BCE) is the name most commonly used to refer to the Indian sage Vardhamana (Sanskrit: वर्धमान "increasing") who established what are today considered to be the central tenets- Every living being has a soul A soul is the supposed incorporeal essence of a person or living thing. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach humans are souls; some attribute souls to all living things and even inanimate objects ; this belief is commonly called animism. The soul is often believed to exit the body and live on after a person’s death, and some religions.[17]
- Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss (masked by its karmas In Jainism, karma is the basic principle within an overarching psycho-cosmology, in which human moral actions form the basis of the transmigration of the soul —constrained within the temporal world (saṃsāra)—until one achieves liberation (mokṣa) from this cycle, by following a path of purification).
- 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 karmas.
- Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter.[18]
- When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness, experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.[19]
- Right Faith (right vision), Right Knowledge and Right Conduct (triple gems of Jainism Jainism emphasises that ratnatraya — the right vision or view (Samyak Darshana), right knowledge (Samyak Gyana) and right conduct (Samyak Charitra) — constitutes the path to liberation. These are known as the triple gems (or jewels) of Jainism and hence also known as Ratnatraya. These three are essential for soul to move up spiritually) provide the way to this realization.[20] 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.
- Navakar Mantra Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time of the day. While praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows with respect to Arihantas, Siddhas, spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks. This worship the virtues of all the supreme spiritual people instead of just worshipping one 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 (Siddhas), spiritual leaders (Acharyas), teachers (Upadyayas) and all the monks (sarva sadhus). 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 towards beings who are more spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of the ultimate goal of reaching nirvana Nirvāna (Sanskrit: निर्वाण; Pali: निब्बान ; Prakrit: णिव्वाण) is a central concept in Indian religions. In sramanic thought, it is the state of being free from suffering (or dukkha). In Hindu philosophy, it is the union with the Supreme being through Moksha. The word literally means "blowing out" or moksha In Indian religions, Moksha or Mukti (Sanskrit: मुक्ति), literally "release" (both from a root muc "to let loose, let go"), is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and rebirth (reincarnation).[21]
- Non-violence (to be in soul consciousness rather than body consciousness) is the foundation of right view, the condition of right knowledge and the kernel of right conduct. It leads to a state of being unattached to worldly things and being nonjudgmental and non-violent; this includes compassion and forgiveness in thoughts, words and actions toward all living beings and respecting views of others (non-absolutism).
- Jainism stresses on the importance of controlling the senses including the mind, as they can drag one far away from true nature of the soul.
- Limit possessions and lead a life that is useful to yourself and others. Owning an object by itself is not possessiveness; however attachment to an object is.[22] Non-possessiveness is the balancing of needs and desires while staying detached from our possessions.
- Enjoy the company of the holy and better qualified, be merciful to afflicted souls and tolerate the perversely inclined.[23]
- 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 it in every day 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 Jainism emphasises that ratnatraya — the right vision or view (Samyak Darshana), right knowledge (Samyak Gyana) and right conduct (Samyak Charitra) — constitutes the path to liberation. These are known as the triple gems (or jewels) of Jainism and hence also known as Ratnatraya. These three are essential for soul to move up spiritually.
- Jains worship the icons of Jinas, Arihants and Tirthankars, who have conquered the 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 Thirthankarars. 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.[24]
|
Wed, 07 Jul 2010 15:48:56 GMT+00:00
DL-Online We have Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism , Confucianism, Taoism, Shinto, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, Baha'i and others. ...
