Jainism

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Jainism is derived from the Sanskrit word jina, which means “conqueror;” thus, a Jain is literally a “follower of the conqueror,” which refers to the founder of the religion, Mahavira. Mahavira, which means “Great Hero,” was actually the title given to him by his followers; apparently his real name was Vardhamana.

Jainism is a religion with many symbols, but for millennia it had no universal symbol. In 1975, a global convention of Jains met to observe the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira’s death and collectively decided on a single symbol to stand for all of Jainism. There are five elements of this symbol and they provide a summary of the religion:

1. The outside form is the shape of a person’s torso, the shape in which Jains imagine the universe to exist.
2. The arc at the top represents the head of the human shape, with the dot symbolizing the residence of those who have attained liberation.
3. The three dots underneath stand for the three Jain principles: right faith (samyak-darshana), right knowledge (samyak-jnana), and right conduct (samyak-charitra).
4. Just like Hinduism and Buddhism, the swastika reminds people of their entanglement in the cycle of reincarnations and also speaks of the four kinds of beings in need of salvation: gods, humans, animals, and demons. It has also been said by Jains that each arm represents part of nature, consisting of evil (narak), animals (triyanch), humans (manushya), and goodness (dev).
5. The hand indicates blessing as well as warning. Inside it is a wheel with twenty-four spokes, one for each of the ancient teachers of the religion (the Tirthankaras), and inside the wheel is an inscription of the word ahimsa, which means “non-violence,” the most basic principle of Jainism.

Also, there is frequently a Sanskrit motto inscribed below the drawing, calling on living souls to be servants to each other. Another popular symbol for Jainism is a broom and bowl, depicting the life of the Jain monk, who uses his bowl to beg for food and uses a broom to sweep the path ahead of him when he walks so that he won’t accidentally destroy any living beings, such as insects.

Jainism was founded by a man named Vardhamana (Mahavira) who lived in the sixth century B.C., roughly contemporary with the Buddha. He was the son of a king who renounced his wealth and life of leisure in order to find enlightenment. It is said that he spent 12 years living a life of extreme self-mortification, punishing his body in order to liberate his soul. Finally, after pushing his body to the brink of death many times, he experienced a flash of enlightenment. He received complete peace of mind and a state of omniscience that allowed him to be aware of all truth in the universe and all his previous lives. Unlike Buddha, however, this experience did not cause Mahavira to cease his ascetic lifestyle. He continued to live in the same way and recruited followers to emulate his experience.

Jainism broke with Hinduism because it did not acknowledge the caste system or the Hindu scriptures as divine. Jainism produced its share of sacred writings, but it is difficult to point to any one book as the scripture of Jainism. The two main subgroups each have their own writings. The most popular collection is called the Agam Sutras, but they do not receive universal acceptance by Jains.

Just like Hinduism and Buddhism, the main focus of Jainism is on a person’s liberation from the cycle of reincarnations. Again, just like Hinduism and Buddhism, Jainism teaches the law of karma. The point of the religion is to purify one’s soul of all ajiva (dead matter that clings to the soul and weighs it down) in order to enter the permanent state of bliss. Removal of the karma matter from one’s soul is something each individual must do for him/herself. Jainism vigorously denies the existence of a creator or sustainer of the universe. The gods of Hinduism are considered as being real; however, they are in need of salvation as well. The gods are powerless when it comes to anyone’s salvation — even their own. The gods must wait until they are reborn in human form before they can attain enlightenment. Ultimately, only those who are able to devote their entire lives to the realization of liberation will attain release. It takes the full energy of a monk or nun to do justice to the five vows necessary to attain this goal.

1. Never harm any living being This is ahimsa, the most basic principle of Jainism, and a fully devoted monk will do all he can do to avoid harming even the smallest insect or plant. Eating is an unavoidable compromise, though in the end a monk will even give up food in order to remove all karma. For laypeople, this vow translates into maintaining a vegetarian diet.
2. Always tell the truth (satya). All truth is relative to a person’s point of view and so can easily be misunderstood. Thus, one must qualify all of one’s speech so that no one can accidentally hear an unintended falsehood.
3. Never steal anything (asteya).
4. Absolute chastity (brahmacharya). Avoid all sexual contact. Don’t even look at a woman. Again, laypeople will observe a less stringent version, namely marital fidelity.
5. Do not get attached to anything in the material world (aparigraha). Detach from all worldly desires. Part of the idea here is to limit one’s sensory input as much as possible. The less one senses, the less one is attached and the more likely one’s soul will be freed. By renouncing everything — family, wealth, homes, etc.,  — the sadhu prepares for transition.

There are two major subgroups of Jainism and a number of smaller ones. One group goes by the name of Svetambara, which means “clad in white,” referring to the white clothes worn by their monks. The other main sect is the Digambara, meaning “clad in atmosphere,” indicating that their monks wear air only (they are naked). Since the Digambara hold that one cannot attain enlightenment while wearing clothes, and since they say that it would be wrong for a woman to ever go naked, they do not believe that any person can ever be saved while incarnated in a female body. The Svetambara agree that a woman should never be without clothes, but since they do believe that salvation is possible while wearing white cloth, they allow for the liberation of women as well as men.

For the devoted Jain monk, worship is not a viable concept; rather, he/she finds enlightenment by strictly observing precepts. Reliance on any supernatural agency will only get in the way of one’s own efforts. Ideally, the ascetic will bring life to a culmination by fasting in a terminal act of meditation, thus assuring the removal of all remaining karma. This inevitably brings us to their diet. How can one eat anything if that person is never supposed to harm any living being? Food, by its nature, is derived from living beings. Laypeople stick strictly to a vegetarian diet, but since plants are also living beings, this is still a compromise, and Jains know that they are incurring karma in the process. Monks attempt to reduce this liability by never eating anything unless it was already designated to be thrown away. But even this measure is not considered to be effective by itself, which is why the monk’s life is supposed to end with the act of self-starvation.

My Final Thoughts:

Jainism acknowledges belief in the gods of Hinduism yet dismisses their powers and discredits their abilities. So why even believe in those gods at all? Mahavira (the founder of Jainism) is too similar to Buddha in his origin story; in addition, they are both in the sixth century B.C. It is highly likely that either Mahavira or Buddha is a copy of the other. Jains are also unable to decide if there is truly divine scriptures or not. All truth, then, would be relative. Jainism is merely the Jnana yoga and raja yoga of Hinduism combined with Buddhism’s endeavor for enlightenment. The end goal of liberation from karma is the same end goal of Hinduism and Buddhism. So what makes Jainism exceptionally different and why should it be accepted? The only difference is in the belief that starvation leads to liberation. Though the lifestyle of the Jain is non-violence to all living beings, it is essentially selfish because the goal is to focus only on the self.

Conclusion:

Karma and reincarnation had already been rejected when Hinduism and Buddhism had been investigated. Hinduism and Buddhism have already been rejected; Jainism is built on the foundation of Hinduism and Buddhism; consequently, it simply follows that Jainism should also be rejected. Just like Buddhism, the core of Jainism is atheistic; consequently, Jainism is nihilistic and nihilism can be experienced in life without religion. The ultimate end goal is to avoid living while anticipating dying with the hope of not being reborn to live again. Jainism has nothing to offer except sadness, starvation and suffering; therefore, Jainism must be rejected as Truth and eliminated as a choice.

[ Continue the Quest: Confucianism ]