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JAINISM
Mahavira established what are today considered to be the central tenets of Jainism. He was a contemporary of the Buddha, and the last Tirthankara or a
human who achieves Enlightenment or Perfect Knowledge. A Tirthankar is the founder of a "Tirth," a Jain community which acts as a "ford" across the "river of
human misery."
Jainism recognises the fundamental natural phenomenon of symbiosis or mutual dependence, which forms the basis of
the modern day science of ecology. For a Jain, life is viewed as a gift of togetherness, accommodation, and assistance.
Jainism teaches equality, democracy, and forgiveness as means to acquire spiritual perfection. Some of the tenets of the religion are:
» Dharma. This has several connotations.
- Duty towards others, elders, dependents, sub-ordinates, society country.
- Religion that saves one from sinking in the temporal ocean of births and deaths (Samsar). Religion comprises Dana(charity), Sheel(Chastity), Tapa(Penance) and Bhava(Intention). The highest Charity is to provide freedom from the fear of death, injury, torture, hurt or oppression. Chastity means complete control of impure desires of five senses and mind including celibacy. Penance is of twelve kinds to purify the soul from all Karmic energies. By “Intention” it means that all of the above should be done with soul intent of achieving the spiritual zenith.
- Spiritual, as in, Jnana (Right and True Knowledge), Darshana
(Faith), and Charitra (Conduct).
- Shramana Dharma (monkhood). This has ten fold qualities:
(i) Khsama or forgiveness
(ii) Mardava or humility, politeness, or courtesy
(iii) Arjava or frankness, straight forwardness
(iv) Mukti or desireless, free from greed and expectations
(v) Tapa or penance
(vi) Samyama or to stop all inflow of karmas
(vii) Satya or truth
(viii) Saucha or purity of conduct
(ix) Akimchanya or abstinence material desires, even love and undue affection of one’s own body
(x) Bhramcharya or complete celibacy, chastity in thought, word and deed.
» There are 9 fundamental principles:
- Jiva: Life with sentience
- Ajiva: Non sentience
- Punya: Merit
- Paap: Sin
- Ashrava: Inflow (The soul attracts subtle forms of matter to itself as result of the action of the sense which impels it towards external objects, good or bad).
- Samvara: Restrain. This blocks the inflow of subtle-matter (energies) through Ahimsa (non-injury), right conduct, etc.
- Nirjara: To liberate and remove the impurities of subtle matter
- Bandha: Bondage or assimilation of the subtle matter (energy) in the soul, whether good or bad.
- Moksha: Absolute freedom. This is the final pure state in everlasting bliss
» Belief in the fact that the individual alone is responsible for all that happens in his life, not an external force.
» Belief in Karma. Owing to vices, the soul attracts negative energies that bind the soul to its actions. Through repentance, penance, self-control, renunciation, religious deeds and ahimsa or non-injury, the soul gets liberated from a chain of action and reaction or karma. |
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