Jainism: Definition, Beliefs, History, Literature, & Facts

Jainism: Definition, Beliefs, History, Literature, and Facts Jainism is an ancient Indian religion based on the principles of non-violence (ahimsa), truth (Satya), non-stealing (Asteja), celibacy (brahmacharya), and non-attachment (aparigraha).

He appeared in the 6th century BCE, with Mahavira as his twenty-fourth Tirthankara, or spiritual master. Jainism teaches that every living being has a soul (jiva) and that the path to spiritual liberation involves freeing the soul from the cycle of birth and death.

Jain practitioners follow a disciplined and ascetic way of life, often observing strict vegetarianism and practicing deep meditation. They are known for their respect for all forms of life, even the smallest microorganisms. Jainism has had a profound influence on Indian culture, particularly in art, architecture, and philosophy. Today, the Jain community continues to uphold these principles with a strong emphasis on ethics and compassion.

Jainism is a minority religion found primarily in India, but its teachings of nonviolence and respect for life have universal appeal, making it a globally recognized faith.

The Jainism

Introduction

Jainism is of great antiquity. The names of two Jain Tirthankaras, Rishabha and Arishtanemi, are found in the Rigveda.

The Vishnu Purana and Bhagavat Purana describe Rishabha as an incarnation of Narayana. Jainism is therefore as old as the Vedic religion, if not older, although few scholars believe that the male nude torso discovered in the Indus Valley culture has anything to do with Tirthankaras.

There were twenty-four Tirthankaras (prophets or gurus), all Kshatriyas belonging to the royal family, though not strictly related.

The first was Rishabhanath, and the last (the twenty-fourth) was Mahavira Vardhamana. Not much is known about the remaining twenty-two Tirthankaras except Parshvanatha (the twenty-third), who was a historical figure and flourished 250 years before Mahavira. Parshvanatha was a prince who left the throne and led the life of a hermit.

His four main teachings were non-injury (ahimsa), non-lying (Satya), non-stealing (Asateya), and non-possessiveness (aparigraha). Mahavira accepted all these four teachings and added one more to them, which is Brahmacharya.

Teachings of Mahavira

The tenets of Jainism, as promulgated by Mahavira, can be summarized as follows:

1. Mahavira rejected the authority of the Vedas and Vedic rituals. He advocated an austere and simple life with the ultimate goal of attaining Kaivalya (nirvana, or moksha). However, he was not opposed to the theory of the caste system, although he did not approve of restrictions on food and drink.

2. Mahavira did not believe in the existence of God. He said that the universe is a product of nature—the result of cause and effect. Man’s salvation does not depend on God’s mercy but on his actions. Man is the architect of his destiny.

3. Mahavira believed in karma and the transmigration of the soul (atma). One is punished or rewarded in successive births according to one’s karma, in current or previous births. Based on karma, good or bad, the soul creates its present or future. The body dies, but the soul is immortal.

4. Jains place great emphasis on equality. Mahavira accepted the caste system but said that one can be good or bad according to one’s karma and not because of one’s birth.

5. The world consists of two elements: jiva (a conscious being) and atman (unconscious). Jiva acts, feels, and wills. He suffers and dies. Atma is eternal and takes birth and rebirth. The ultimate goal of the Jiva should be to get rid of the cycle of birth and rebirth and attain Nirvana.

6. Five vows are prescribed:

• (a) ahimsa (non-violence): violence should not be caused by words, thoughts or actions;
• (b) Satya: one should speak the truth and only the truth;
• (c) asateya (not stealing): stealing (including underweight or counterfeiting, etc.) in any form is wrong;
• (d) aparigraha (non-possession): wealth and property in any form should not be accumulated; and
• (e) brahmacharya (purity): all kinds of passions, emotions, and desires must be brought under control.

7. In Jainism, devotees (siddhas) were divided into five categories in descending order: (a) Tirthankara, who has attained salvation; (b) Arhat, who is about to attain nirvana; and (c) Acharya, head of an ascetic group. (d) Upadhyaya, teacher or saint; and (e) Sadhu, the class that includes the rest.

Sects of Jainism

Mahavira founded the Jain Church. He had eleven ardent disciples called Ganadharas, ten of whom died during Mahavira’s lifetime.

Only one, Arya Sudharaman, survived and became the first Thera (pontiff) after Mahavira’s death. The Jain religion flourished by leaps and bounds. Udayin, the successor of Ajatashatru of Magadha, was a devout Jain, as were the Nanda rulers. Ujjain was a great center of Jainism, where saints like Kalkacharya and Gardbhilla lived.

In the third century BC, Bhadrabahu, the greatest exponent of Jain philosophy, composed the Kalpasutra, the most authentic treatise on the rise and development of Jainism from its birth to his own time. The Mauryan ruler Chandragupta Maurya was a Jain and embraced this faith in the last years of his life.

He left Pataliputra and, accompanied by Bhadrabahu, reached Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, where he performed a fast unto death on Chandra Hill and, like a true Jain Upasaka, attained Kaivalya exactly 170 years after Mahavira’s nirvana. According to the Jain Canons

Bhadrabahu spread Jainism in South India. The fourteen Purvas (textbooks of ancient Jain scriptures) that Mahavira himself taught his Ganadharas were perfected by Sambhutavi Jaya and Bhadrabaha.

Sambhutavijaya died in 322 BC, the year Chandragupta Maurya ascended the throne and Bhadrabahu left Magadha for Mysore.

About 300 BCE, Sthulibhadra (disciple of Sambhuta Vijayi) called the first Jain council, in which the Jain canons were compiled. Later in the first century AD, ten commentaries on these Angas were prepared and named Niryuktis.

When Bhadrabahu returned to Magadha, he refused to acknowledge the leadership of Sthulibhadra. The Jain church was then divided into two sects of Jainism: Digambara Jainism and Svetambara Jainism; the former followers of Bhadrabahu remained naked while the latter adopted white clothes.

Jain Precepts and Philosophy

The Jain doctrines, which arose from currents of thought at the time, have certain similarities with Samkhya and Buddhism due to their antiquity. The metaphysical beginning in Jainism and Samkhya is almost the same.

In Jainism, reality is considered uncreated and eternal, marked by the concepts of origination, dissolution, and enduring existence.

Every object of reality has an infinite character, both with respect to what it is and what it is not and has its own modes and qualities. While modes and accidental signs of substance appear and disappear, the basic substance and its character are permanent. For example, the soul, with its character of consciousness, is something permanent, while it has its accidental characters of pleasure or pain and mode superimposed on the body.

Substances are real, characterized by their existence and the number six. They are broadly divided into animate (jiva) and inanimate (ajiva). Jiva, meaning soul or spirit, is divided into those that are in bondage and may have only one sense organ or more, such as earth, water, fire, wind, and plants, and those that are free, which differ according to the number of sense organs they possess. Inanimate substances are made up of matter, motion or rest, space, and time. But time here has no extension in space. Consciousness is the very essence of the soul, potentially endowed with infinite vision, infinite knowledge, infinite power, and infinite bliss. But this is bound by karma, which suppresses the worldly soul. Every action, verbal, mental, or otherwise, brings to the soul an influx of karma of various types, which determines the cycle of births as gods, humans, devils, etc. Only through pure thoughts and actions can the influx of karma be stopped and the soul liberated. Everything depends on karma, and Jainism admits no creator.

There are five instruments of knowledge

• (a) Matijana, perception through the activity of the sense organs, including the mind;
• (b) Srutajnana, knowledge of revealed scriptures;
• (c) Avadhi jnana, clairvoyant perception;
• (d) Manahparyayaj-nana, telepathic knowledge;
• (e) Kevala jnana, temporal knowledge or omniscience.

Understanding and acquisition of knowledge are achieved through Pramana (instrument of knowledge) and Naya (point of view). The five Pramanas are those listed above; there are seven nayas, some relating to substances, some to modifications, some arising from the nature of the object, and some from verbal utterances.

The ultimate goal of Jain ethics is the realization of nirvana, or moksha, i.e., complete liberation of the soul from karma. Samyak vishwas (right belief), Samyak jnan (right knowledge), and Samyak karma (right conduct) together pave the way to Nirvana.

Right faith is faith in the Tirthankaras and Principles and shows the right attitude to accept the truth; right knowledge is a perfect understanding of religious principles; and right conduct means abstaining from what is harmful and doing what is good.

The code of ethics is less strict for householders but very strict for monks. There are five vows:

• (a) abstinence from untruth (Asatya),
• (b) abstinence from violence (ahimsa) and injury to living beings,
• (c) abstinence from theft,
• (d) abstinence from sex (sangum),
• (e) abstinence from greed (Lobha) for worldly possessions.

A layman advances in his spiritual elevation by observing the other seven vows:

• (a) limits the distance to which he would go in any direction;
• (b) refrains from wanton sinful activities;
• (c) limits the use of consumable and non-consumable objects;
• (d) limits the area of ​​his material activities,
• (e) with minimal possessions, he retires to a quiet place at a fixed time and meditates.
• (f) fasts four days a month and leads a strict religious life,
• (g) shares food with pious and holy persons who come to his house at the right time and also provides them with the necessary help in their religious practices.

The course of right conduct prescribed for the layman is divided into eleven states in the fifth stage of spiritual evolution: after studying all the superstitions, he takes the right attitude and begins to observe the above vows; meditates three times a day to achieve mental balance; observes weekly fasts, stops drinking green vegetables, etc., and eats after sunset; he observes strict celibacy, owns no property, is not interested in worldly affairs, and ceases to take food specially cooked for him.

He progresses step by step according to his abilities, and when he reaches the eleventh stage, he is ready to enter a hard ascetic life.

What clearly distinguishes the Jain layman from the monk is primarily the emphasis on self-discipline and the art of living. A Jain is expected to lead a highly disciplined life; a monk is an austere one. A Jain monk does not own his own house.

A Digambar monk goes without clothes, with a gourd for urination and peacock feathers to clean himself after the toilet. The Svetambar monk carries a staff, a skein of wool, and wooden pots. To keep himself on the path of liberation, a monk must bear all his hardships with joy. There are twenty-two problems that he must steadfastly face to maintain his spiritual discipline or conduct.

There is no such thing as God in Jainism. The liberated soul, the soul of the prophet, is god. Although voluntary death through penance is highly valued, suicide is condemned as an act of cowardice. This shows that Jainism prescribed very strict practices and a highly disciplined but simple life.

Royal Patrons of Jainism

Ashoka‘s grandson, Samprati, embraced Jainism. In the second century B.C., King Kharavela of Orissa professed Jainism and became its famous patron. He erected several Jain images, and his chief queen dedicated a rock-hewn cave to Jain monks. In the first century AD, Mathura became a center of Jain art and culture.

The Second Jain Council was held at Vallabhi (Gujarat) in 512 CE under the presidency of Devardhi Kshamasramana. By this time, the twelfth Anga had disappeared, so the remaining Angas were written in the Ardha-Magadhi language.

From the fifth century AD, many royal dynasties in South India, such as the Ganga, Kadambas, Chalukyas, and Rashtrakutas, supported Jainism. It was during this period that the immortal poets Jinasena and Gunabhadra composed their Mahapurana. King Amoghavarsha of the Rashtrakuta dynasty became a Jain monk and wrote Ratnamalika, a very popular book.

There are figures of Jain Tirthankaras belonging to the early Chalukya period in the rock-cut caves at Badami and Aihole. The Chalukya ruler Somadeva (tenth century CE) and the Ganga ruler Nitimarga (twelfth century) made liberal grants to Jain temples and installed many Jain figures. In Kanchi (Tamil Nadu), Samantabhadra (110 AD) preached this religion, and in Gujarat, Siddharaj Jaisingha (1094–1143), the most popular king, professed Jainism. The heyday was soon over. Jainism was further divided into Therapanthis and Samaiyas and gradually declined. However, the Jain religion, with all its schisms, still exists in India.

Decline of Jainism

With time, many evils entered the Jain faith. It was no longer a pure and pious religion. Most of his enthusiastic workers withered away. Second, he did not receive royal patronage. Thirdly, the Jain Church was divided again and again. Fourth, the caste system was revived, with all its ills. Fifthly, foreign invaders, first the Shakas and Huns and later the Muslims, caused a serious setback. Finally, the revival of Hinduism sounded the death knell of Jainism. Today, about 32 thousand gins are distributed across India.

Contribution of Jainism to Indian Culture

Hindu religious texts were all in Sanskrit, and Buddhist texts were mostly in Pali. The Jains, however, opted for Prakrit, although in various places the texts were also written in the local languages. Mahavira himself preached in Ardha-Magadhi. Second, Jain philosophy certainly enriched Indian thought. The five vows of ahimsa, satya, asateya, aparigraha, and brahmacharya are still valid today.

In the first centuries of the Christian era, the Jains (like their Buddhist counterparts) built stupas decorated with railings and gateways with carved figures and pillars. The Tirthankara image of Lohanipur (Patna), dating from the Mauryan period, is one of the earliest Jain figures. The Hathigumpha cave in Kharavela (with the famous inscription) and the Khandagiri and Udayagiri caves in Orissa contain early Jain relics. During the Kushana period, Mathura was a great center of Jain art. Several votive tablets (Ayagpatta) were made with the Tirthankara in the middle. The practice continued throughout, during, and after the Gupta period; many Jain images were produced. The gigantic statues of Bahubali (called Gomateshvara) at Shravanabelagola and Karkala, both in Karnataka, are veritable marvels.

Jain temples were built at all places of pilgrimage. The temples at Ranakpur, near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, and the Dilwara temples on Mount Abu (Rajasthan) are products of exquisite craftsmanship. The Jain Tower at Chittor Fort is another example of architectural engineering. Countless palm-leaf manuscripts were inscribed, and some of them were painted with gold dust. These gave rise to a new school of painting known as the “West Indian School”.

Conclusion

Jainism thus played a very significant role in the development of language, philosophy, architecture, sculpture, and painting in India. It never became a dominant religion, nor was it adopted by large numbers of people, and it never crossed the borders of India, but his presence in Indian art and culture has always been felt and admired. The same is still true today.

Videos about Jainism

FAQ about Jainism