Jainism is a very old religion, Not just old, but one of the oldest religions in the world. People usually consider this religion to be the contemporary version of Buddhism. But now it is known that Jainism is much older than Buddhism. The history talks about 24 teachers and the later revivers of the belief known as Tirthankars. Rishabha is believed to be the first one while Mahavira is the last one. Some of the important teachings of Jainism are as follows. Jainism bases its religion upon non-violence. It teaches that there is life in everything, small and great creatures and plants. No creature is to be harmed. Non-violence cannot be followed without the practice of truth. A man who tells a lie hurts others. Only a true follower of truth can live by non-violence. So, non-violence and truth go hand in hand. That is why Jainism makes it mandatory on everyone to speak the truth. Jainism scriptures teach that the greatest duty of man is to love all creatures. One who hates his fellow beings and other living beings, can never be a follower of Jainism. Jains are strict vegetarians and live in a way that minimizes their use of the world's resources. Jains believe in reincarnation and seek to attain ultimate liberation - which means escaping the continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth so that the immortal soul lives forever in a state of bliss. Visitors to the temple must remove their shoes before going inside. Members bathe and wear new or freshly washed clothes, dot their foreheads with a mixture of sandalwood, saffron and camphor and walk through a front door labeled with, “Non violence is our way of life.” Incense and candles are burned and a gong is signaled when it was time to move to the next phase of the ceremony. The purpose is to show respect for the 24 tirthankaras and to follow their examples, purify their soul and eventually become liberated from the cycle of birth and death. They believe there are no gods or spiritual beings that will help human beings. I learned from research that everyone should lead a simple life. This teaching is based on high philosophy. Jains don’t believe in a God who judges people. One who lives a life of great comfort and luxury does so at the cost of others. Jainism does not recognize God as the supreme entity. Since Jainism also believes in the concept of karma among Hindus, Jainism say that in order to achieve moksha (which means release from the cycle of rebirth of karma), one must have the right faith, knowledge, and conduct in life. In order those three jewels of faith in Jainism believers must follow the 5 ethical pillars of the religion. These five pillars are:
(1) refusal to inflict injury
(2) truthfulness
(3) Refusal to steal
(4) sexual restraint
(5) refusal to accept unnecessary gifts
In one of the pictures is the symbol of Jainism. The Jain emblem is made up of many sub-symbols. The outline of the image shows the universe as consisting of 3 Lokas (worlds). The upper portion indicates heaven, the middle portion indicates the material world and the lower portion indicates hell.
When I started researching Jainism, I was quite overwhelmed. There is a lot to it. I picked this because I was interested in know more about their beliefs and what their purpose is. I kept seeing all these banners about non-violence and “let live” and it made me very curious.
I feel that Jainism is important because it shows that it’s not just a religion but rather a way of life. Jainism could be the answer to world peace. Wish it was that easy!
Some neat quotes in the temple,
If you want to cultivate a habit, do it without any reservation, till it is firmly established. Until it is so confirmed, until it becomes a part of your character, let there be no exception, no relaxation of effort.
-Mahavira
Live and allow others to live; hurt no one; life is dear to all living beings.
-Mahavira
The best parts about this, is that there is still so much more to see and learn. Pretty neat that I could express my thoughts in this blog
Stay tuned!