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JAINISM
Jainism traces its roots to a succession of 24 Jinas
("those who overcome", or conqueror) in ancient East India.
The first Jina is traditionally believed to have been a
giant who lived 8.4 million years ago. The most recent and
last Jina was Vardhamana (a.k.a. Mahavir,
"The Great Hero") He was born in 550 BCE) and was the
founder of the Jain community. He attained enlightenment
after 13 years of deprivation. In 420 BCE, he committed the
act of salekhana which is fasting to death. Each Jina
has "conquered love and hate, pleasure and pain, attachment
and aversion, and has thereby freed `his' soul from the
karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and
ability..."
Jainism is a syncretistic religion, which contains many
elements similar to Hinduism and Buddhism. The world's
almost 4 million Jains are almost entirely located in India.
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At the heart of right conduct for
Jains lie the five great vows:
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Nonviolence (Ahimsa) - not to cause harm to any living beings
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Truthfulness (Satya) - to speak the harmless truth only
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Non-stealing (Asteya) - not to take anything not properly given
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Chastity (Brahmacharya) - not to indulge in sensual pleasure
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Non-possession/ Non-attachment (Aparigraha) - complete detachment
from people, places, and material things
Mahavir rejected the concept of God as a creator, a
protector, and a destroyer of the universe. He also denounced the
worshiping of gods and goddesses as a means of material gains and
personal benefits.
Jain literature is classified into two major
categories:
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Agam Literature (Agam Sutras): Agam
literature consists of many texts, which are the sacred books of
the Jain religion. They are written in the Ardha-magadhi Prakrit
language.
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Non-agam Literature: Non-agam literature
consists of commentary and explanation of Agam literature, and
independent works, compiled by ascetics and scholars. They are
written in many languages such as Prakrit, Sanskrit, Apabhramsa,
Old Marathi, Rajasthani, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannad, Tamil, German,
and English.
To the Jains the Sun and earth are sacred, so much
that the dead can not be buried on earth. Much like the Parsis in
Bombay, they place the dead on the top of three "towers of silence"
set in gardens on a hill, where vultures consume the flesh, because
death is caused by the devil and the corpse is evil.
A living body is not merely an
integration of limbs and flesh
but it is the abode of the soul which potentially has perfect
perception,
perfect knowledge, perfect power, and perfect bliss.
Mahavir (599 BC - 527 BC)
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