Jainism

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Jainism (/ˈdʒeɪnɪzəm, ˈdʒaɪnɪzəm/ JAY-niz-əm, JYE-niz-əm), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion which teaches a path toward spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined non-violence (ahimsa) to all living creatures. The tradition is spiritually guided by twenty-four tirthankaras (ford-makers), supreme teachers who have conquered the cycle of rebirth and attained omniscience (kevala jnana). The core of Jain philosophy is established on three ethical pillars: ahiṃsā (nonviolence), anekāntavāda (non-absolutism or many-sided reality), and aparigraha (non-possession). While its ultimate spiritual goal is moksha (liberation from karma), these ethical principles have historically fostered a community renowned for its high literacy, trusted role in commerce, and distinct intellectual culture.
Jain philosophy distinguishes itself through the doctrine of anekāntavāda, which asserts that truth and reality are complex and always have multiple aspects; thus, no single viewpoint can claim absolute truth. This framework encourages intellectual humility and conflict resolution, contrasting with the "one-sided" (ekānta) views rejected by the tradition. Ethically, the vow of aparigraha (non-attachment) requires monks to renounce all property, while encouraging laypersons to limit their possessions and voluntarily limit their desires (iccha-parimana). Historically, the application of non-violence drove the Jain community away from agriculture and warfare toward trade and banking, where they became a dominant mercantile force in ancient and medieval India, supporting a vast network of temples, libraries, and charitable institutions.
The tradition views itself as eternal, with the tirthankaras guiding every cosmic time cycle. In the current cycle, the first tirthankara was Rishabhanatha, credited in tradition with establishing civilized society. The 23rd tirthankara, Pārśvanātha, is dated by historians to the c. 8th or 7th century BCE, making him likely the earliest historical figure of the tradition. The 24th and final tirthankara, Mahavira c. 6th or 5th century BCE, was a contemporary of the Buddha and a central figure in the Śramaṇa movement of Greater Magadha, which rejected the authority of the Vedas and established the current ascetic order.
Jainism has between four and five million followers, known as Jains or Jainas, residing mostly in India, with significant diaspora communities in North America, Europe, and East Asia. The community is divided into two major sub-traditions, the Digambaras ("sky-clad") and Śvētāmbaras ("white-clad"), which differ on ascetic practices, gender, and canonical texts, though they share the same core philosophy. Despite their small numbers, Jains have exerted a disproportionate influence on Indian culture, contributing significantly to the development of logic, art, architecture, and the legal and ethical frameworks of modern India. Major festivals include Paryushana or das lakshana, Akshaya Tritiya, Mahavir Janma Kalyanak, and Diwali.



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Origins and Historical Context of Jainism: Roots in the Śramaṇa Movements
In our exploration of world civilizations, Jainism stands out as one of the most ancient and ethically rigorous traditions to emerge from ancient India.
Jainism arose within the broader śramaṇa movements of the Gangetic plain (roughly 7th–5th century BCE). These were ascetic, wandering seeker traditions that emphasized personal spiritual effort, renunciation, and liberation from the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra). They developed largely in the kingdoms of the Ganges basin (modern Bihar and surrounding areas) and often challenged the ritual-heavy, priest-dominated Vedic Brahmanical religion. Jainism and Buddhism are the two most prominent surviving śramaṇa traditions from this fertile period of philosophical innovation.
A distinctive feature of Jainism is its belief in a long line of 24 Tirthankaras — literally “ford-makers” or “bridge-builders” who rediscover and teach the path to cross the river of existence toward liberation (moksha). Jains view this tradition as eternal and cyclical, with enlightened teachers appearing in each descending and ascending phase of cosmic time.
While the earlier Tirthankaras belong more to sacred cosmology, the last two have stronger historical attestation:

Parshvanatha (the 23rd Tirthankara) is traditionally dated to the 9th–8th century BCE (or possibly as late as the 7th century BCE). He is the earliest Jain figure for whom scholars find reasonable historical evidence. He is said to have established the “fourfold restraint” (non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-possession), which later formed the basis for Jain ethics.
Mahavira (the 24th and last Tirthankara of the current cosmic cycle), also known as Vardhamana, is the most historically significant figure. Born into a Kshatriya family near Vaishali (in modern Bihar), he renounced worldly life around age 30, underwent about 12 years of intense asceticism, attained kevala jnana (omniscience), and then taught for roughly 30 years. He is traditionally dated c. 599–527 BCE, making him a contemporary of the Buddha (though some scholars suggest slightly later dates for both). Mahavira is widely regarded by historians as the systematizer and reformer of the Jain tradition as we know it today. He died (attained nirvana) at Pavapuri.

Note on perspectives: From the Jain viewpoint, the religion is timeless — Mahavira simply revived and completed teachings that stretch back through the previous Tirthankaras. Historians, on the other hand, see him as the key figure who shaped the organized community and doctrine that has continued for over 2,500 years.


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Sects and Practices of Jains
Jains are divided into two primary sects (though there are others), the Digambara (“sky-clad”) and the Svetambara (“white-clad”) whose views of the faith differ significantly in that the Digambara are more orthodox, reject the authoritative Svetambara canon of scripture, believe that only men can attain liberation and that women must wait until they are incarnated as a male to do so, and their monks go naked, rejecting even the need for clothing in keeping with the tradition that Mahavira and his first 11 disciples owned nothing and wore nothing. The Svetambara clergy wear white, seamless clothing, believe they have retained most of the original scriptures transmitted by Mahavira, and recognize that women can attain liberation as well as men.
This liberation, as noted, is achieved in 14 steps which are based on the scriptures and the Five Vows:

Stage 1: The soul languishes in darkness, ignorant of its true nature, and a slave to passions and illusion.
Stage 2: The soul catches a glimpse of truth but is too mired in illusion to retain it.
Stage 3: The soul recognizes its own bondage and tries to break free but is still bound to attachments and illusion and falls backwards to Stage 1.
Stage 4: The soul, having recognized its bondage, yearns to break free again but is suppressing, rather than eliminating, its attachments and so remains bound.
Stage 5: The soul has a flash of enlightenment and understands it must take the Five Vows and adhere to them in order to free itself from bondage.
Stage 6: The soul is able to restrain its attachments and passions to a degree through the discipline of the Five Vows.
Stage 7: The soul overcomes spiritual lethargy and is strengthened through meditation and observance of the Five Vows. Self-awareness grows as well as a grander vision of the nature of the soul itself and reality.
Stage 8: Hurtful karma is discarded, self-control perfected, and deeper understanding achieved.
Stage 9: More karmic debt is eliminated through conscious living and greater spiritual insight is attained.
Stage 10: At this stage, one has eliminated attachments almost completely but is still attached to the concept of one's body-as-one's-self. This is understood as “greed for a body”, which one must overcome in order to progress.
Stage 11: Here, one works on eliminating the identification of the self with the body and releasing all other attachments. One recognizes the transient nature of those people and objects one is attached to and releases them.
Stage 12: All of the karma-producing passions have been eliminated at this point, including one's attachment to the body.
Stage 13: Recognizing fully the nature of reality and of the soul, one engages in deep meditation to withdraw from all activity which might result in karma-producing passions and backsliding to an earlier stage.
Stage 14: As one approaches death, one is freed from all karmic debt and experiences the liberation of moksha, complete understanding, wisdom, and total freedom from bondage. The soul is freed and will never be incarnated again on the earthly plane to experience suffering and death.
For some people, like the tirthankaras, Stage 14 is reached long before death (when they attain nirvana, release) and they are recognized as Spiritual Conquerors (they have completely mastered themselves) and “ford builders” who then teach others how to do as they have done. The key to this mastery is the combination of faith, knowledge, and action known as the Ratnatraya or Three Jewels:

True Faith
Right Knowledge
Pure Conduct
True Faith, of course, is belief in the validity of the Jain vision; Right Knowledge is the understanding of the actual nature of the soul and reality; Pure Conduct is acting faithfully on the first two. This includes a respect for all living things and the natural world, which informs Jain vegetarianism. Jains, especially Jain monastics, will gently sweep the path before them so they do not inadvertently step on an insect and will wear face masks to prevent themselves from inhaling any so that not even the smallest of living things is harmed by them. A deep respect for nature and the lives of all animate and inanimate beings and aspects of life is integral to the Jain vision.

From World History Encyclopedia

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Jain Symbol


This vision is illustrated in the Jain symbol of the image of the urn-shaped form with one dot at the top, three beneath, the swastika, and the hamsa (upraised palm of the hand) with the mandala in the center and the inscription. This symbol is not ancient but was created in 1974 CE, on the 2,500th anniversary of Mahavira's nirvana, to represent the fullness of the Jain belief system.

The urn-shaped image represents the universe, the dot at the top symbolizes liberation from bondage, the three dots beneath represent the Three Jewels, the swastika – an ancient symbol of transformation before its appropriation by the Nazi Party of Germany in the 20th century CE – symbolizes the four states of existence: heavenly spirits, humans, demonic spirits, and subhuman spirits such as plants and insects, all on the wheel of samsara.

The swastika has also been interpreted to represent the true character of the soul: boundless energy, boundless happiness, boundless knowledge, and boundless perception and insight. The hamsa-image symbolizes the courage and commitment of non-violence and the mandala suggests samsara while the inscription in the palm of the hand is translated as “Souls provide service to one another” or “Life is joined by mutual support and interdependence” as the Jains believe that all of life is sacred and every aspect of the natural world is deserving of the utmost respect, love, and nurture.

From World History Encyclopedia

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Colonial era

A poster of Virchand Gandhi, who represented Jainism at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago in 1893
A 10.5-metre (34-foot) tall idol of Shrimad Rajchandra at Dharampur, Valsad
A Gujarati Jain scholar, Virchand Gandhi, represented Jainism at the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893, held in America during the Chicago World's Fair. He worked to defend the rights of Jains and wrote and lectured extensively on Jainism.
Shrimad Rajchandra, a mystic, poet and philosopher from Gujarat is believed to have attained jatismaran gnana (ability to recollect past lives) at the age of seven. Virchand Gandhi mentioned this feat at the Parliament of the World's Religions. He is best known because of his association with Mahatma Gandhi. Shrimad Rajchandra composed Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra, considered his magnum opus, containing the essence of Jainism in a single sitting of 1.5–2 hours. He expounds on the six fundamental truths of the soul:

1. Self (soul) exists

2. It is permanent and eternal

3. It is the doer of its own actions

4. It is the enjoyer or the sufferer of its actions

5. Liberation exists

6. There is a path to achieve liberation.

Colonial era reports and Christian missions variously viewed Jainism as a sect of Hinduism, a sect of Buddhism, or a distinct religion. Christian missionaries were frustrated at Jain people without pagan creator gods refusing to convert to Christianity, while colonial era Jain scholars such as Champat Rai Jain defended Jainism against criticism and misrepresentation by Christian activists. Missionaries of Christianity and Islam considered Jain traditions idolatrous and superstitious. These criticisms, states John E. Cort, were flawed and ignored similar practices within sects of Christianity.
The British colonial government in India and Indian princely states promoted religious tolerance. However, laws were passed that made roaming naked by anyone an arrestable crime. This drew popular support from the majority Hindu population, but particularly impacted Digambara monks. The Akhil Bharatiya Jain Samaj opposed this law, claiming that it interfered with Jain religious rights. Acharya Shantisagar entered Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1927, but was forced to cover his body. He then led an India-wide tour as the naked monk with his followers, to various Digambara sacred sites, and was welcomed by kings of the Maharashtra provinces. Shantisagar fasted to oppose the restrictions imposed on Digambara monks by the British Raj and prompted their discontinuance. The laws were abolished by India after independence.

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Modern era
The texts attributed to Kundakunda inspired two contemporary lay-movements within Jainism with his notion of two truths and his emphasis on direct insight into niścayanaya or 'ultimate perspective', also called "supreme" (paramārtha) and "pure" (śuddha).

Shrimad Rajchandra (1867-1901) was a Jain poet and mystic who was inspired by works of Kundakunda and Digambara mystical tradition. Nominally belonging to the Digambara tradition, his followers sometimes consider his teaching as a new path of Jainism, neither Śvetāmbara nor Digambara, and revere him as a saint. His path is sometimes referred as Raj Bhakta Marg, Kavipanth, or Shrimadiya, which has mostly lay followers as was Rajchandra himself. His teachings influenced Kanji Swami, Dada Bhagwan, Rakesh Jhaveri (Shrimad Rajchandra Mission), Saubhagbhai, Lalluji Maharaj (Laghuraj Swami), Atmanandji and several other religious figures.

Kanji Panth is a lay movement founded by Kanji Swami (1890-1980).Nominally it belongs to the Śvetāmbara but is inspired by Kundakunda and Shrimad Rajchandra (1867-1901), though "lacking a place in any Digambara ascetic lineage descending from Kundakunda." Kanji Swami has many followers in the Jain diaspora. They generally regard themselves simply as Digambara Jains, more popularly known as Mumukshu, following the mystical tradition of Kundakunda and Pandit Todarmal.

Bauer notes that "[in] recent years there has been a convergence of the Kanji Swami Panth and the Shrimad Rajcandra movement, part of trend toward a more eucumenical and less sectarian Jainism among educated, mobile Jains living overseas."

The Akram Vignan Movement established by Dada Bhagwan draws inspiration from teachings of Rajchandra and other Jain scriptures, though it is considered as a Jain-Vaishnava Hindu syncretistic movement.

Greatly influenced by Shrimad Rajchandra, the leader of the campaign for Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi stated regarding Jainism:

No religion in the World has explained the principle of Ahiṃsā so deeply and systematically as is discussed with its applicability in every human life in Jainism. As and when the benevolent principle of Ahiṃsā or non-violence will be ascribed for practice by the people of the world to achieve their end of life in this world and beyond, Jainism is sure to have the uppermost status and Mahāvīra is sure to be respected as the greatest authority on Ahiṃsā.
Chandanaji became the first Jain woman to receive the title of Acharya in 1987.


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Contribution to Indian Culture
Jainism has contributed significantly to Indian art and architecture. Jain arts depict life legends of tirthankara or other important people, particularly with them in a seated or standing meditative posture. Yakshas and yakshinis, attendant spirits who guard the tirthankara, are usually shown with them. The earliest known Jain image is in the Patna museum. It is dated approximately to the third century BCE. Bronze images of Pārśva can be seen in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai, and in the Patna museum; these are dated to the second century BCE.

Ayagapata is a type of votive tablet used in Jainism for donation and worship in the early centuries. These tablets are decorated with objects and designs central to Jain worship such as the stupa, dharmacakra and triratna. They present simultaneous trends or image and symbol worship. Numerous such stone tablets were discovered during excavations at ancient Jain sites like Kankali Tila near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, India. The practice of donating these tablets is documented from first century BCE to the third century CE. Samavasarana, a preaching hall of tirthankaras with various beings concentrically placed, is an important theme of Jain art.

Kirti Stambh in Chittor Fort, 12th century CE
The Jain tower in Chittor, Rajasthan, is a good example of Jain architecture. Decorated manuscripts are preserved in Jain libraries, containing diagrams from Jain cosmology. Most of the paintings and illustrations depict historical events, known as Panch Kalyanaka, from the life of the tirthankara. Rishabha, the first tirthankara, is usually depicted in either the lotus position or kayotsarga, the standing position. He is distinguished from other tirthankara by the long locks of hair falling to his shoulders. Bull images also appear in his sculptures. In paintings, incidents from his life, like his marriage and Indra marking his forehead, are depicted. Other paintings show him presenting a pottery bowl to his followers; he is also seen painting a house, weaving, and being visited by his mother Marudevi. Each of the twenty-four tirthankara is associated with distinctive emblems, which are listed in such texts as Tiloyapannati, Kahavaali and Pravacanasaarodhara.

[img]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism#/media/Filealitana.jpg[/img]

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Comparison with other religions
All four Dharmic religions—Jainism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism—share concepts and doctrines such as karma and rebirth. They do not believe in eternal heaven or hell or judgment day, and leave it up to individual discretion to choose whether or not to believe in gods, to disagree with core teachings, and to choose whether to participate in prayers, rituals and festivals. They all consider values such as ahimsa (non-violence) to be important, link suffering to craving, individual's actions, intents, and karma, and believe spirituality is a means to enlightened peace, bliss and eternal liberation (moksha).

Jainism differs from both Buddhism and Hinduism in its ontological premises: While all three believe in impermanence, Buddhism incorporates the premise of anatta ("no eternal self or soul") while Hinduism maintains the concept of an eternal unchanging atman ("soul"); by contrast, Jainism incorporates an eternal but changing jiva ("soul"). In Jain thought, there are infinite eternal jivas, predominantly in cycles of rebirth, and a few siddhas (liberated ones). Unlike Jainism, Hindu philosophies encompass nondualism where all souls are identical as Brahman and posited as interconnected one Jainism rejected the non-dual concept, stating that if there were only one universal consciousness which was already liberated, the purpose of dharma would be nullified. Additionally, the need and desire for an infinitely blissful consciousness to create the universe would imply a limitation within that consciousness. Jainism also criticized Vedanta's inability to explain how an intangible consciousness could create a material universe, filled with countless living beings who experience suffering. Jain scholar Dr. Hukumchand Bharill explains that, according to both Jainism and Vedanta, only consciousness can perceive itself, while the mind and body are incapable of recognizing and experiencing the soul. In Jainism, the soul, in its state of ignorance, mistakenly identifies with the body and consequently experiences suffering. When the soul realizes its true nature, it attains enlightenment, gaining infinite knowledge and bliss. If there were only a singular, universal consciousness, Bharill questions, who attains realization as the consciousness is already liberated, and the mind is incapable of experiencing soul's boundless knowledge-bliss nature.

While both Hinduism and Jainism believe "soul exists" to be a self-evident truth, most Hindu systems consider it to be eternally present, infinite and constant (vibhu), but some Hindu scholars propose soul to be atomic. Hindu thought generally discusses Atman and Brahman through a monistic or dualistic framework. In contrast, Jain thought denies the Hindu metaphysical concept of Brahman, and Jain philosophy considers the soul to be ever changing and bound to the body or matter for each lifetime, thereby having a finite size that infuses the entire body of a living being.

Jainism is similar to Buddhism in not recognizing the primacy of the Vedas and the Hindu Brahman. Jainism and Hinduism, however, both believe "soul exists" as a self-evident truth. Jains and Hindus have frequently intermarried, particularly in northern, central and western regions of India. Some early colonial scholars stated that Jainism like Buddhism was, in part, a rejection of the Hindu caste system, but later scholars consider this a Western error. A caste system not based on birth has been a historic part of Jain society, and Jainism focused on transforming the individual, not society.

Monasticism is similar in all three traditions, with similar rules, hierarchical structure, not traveling during the four-month monsoon season, and celibacy, originating before the Buddha or the Mahāvīra. Jain and Hindu monastic communities have traditionally been more mobile and had an itinerant lifestyle, while Buddhist monks have favored belonging to a sangha (monastery) and staying in its premises. Buddhist monastic rules forbid a monk to go outside without wearing the sangha's distinctive ruddy robe, or to use wooden bowls. In contrast, Jain monastic rules have either required nakedness (Digambara) or white clothes (Śvētāmbara), and they have disagreed on the legitimacy of the wooden or empty gourd as the begging bowl by Jain monks.

Jains have similar views with Hindus that violence in self-defence can be justified, and that a soldier who kills enemies in combat is performing a legitimate duty. Jain communities accepted the use of military power for their defence; there were Jain monarchs, military commanders, and soldiers. The Jain and Hindu communities have often been very close and mutually accepting. Some Hindu temples have included a Jain Tirthankara within its premises in a place of honour, while temple complexes such as the Badami cave temples and Khajuraho feature both Hindu and Jain monuments.

Fynes (1996) argues that various Jain influences, particularly ideas on the existence of plant souls, were transmitted from Western Kshatrapa territories to Mesopotamia and then integrated into Manichaean beliefs.

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Conclusion
Jain tradition holds that Chandragupta Maurya became a disciple of the sage Bhadrabahu (l. c. 367 - c. 298 BCE), who was the last monk to retain full oral knowledge of the scriptures before they were written down. Chandragupta patronized Jainism in Bhadrabahu's honor and helped to establish the religion just as his grandson, Ashoka the Great (r. 268-232 BE), would do for Buddhism. Later Hindu monarchs supported Jainism, even commissioning temples, and Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha (l. c. 563-483 BCE), a younger contemporary of Mahavira, practiced Jain asceticism before attaining enlightenment and forming his own belief system.


Between the 12th-16th centuries CE, the Jains were persecuted by the invading Muslims who destroyed their temples or turned them into mosques and murdered Jain monks. Even the long-held value of Jain non-violence was suspended in cases where one had to defend one's self, one's family, or a sacred site from Muslim attacks. In the 19th century CE, British missionaries interpreted Jainism as a sect of Hinduism (which gave rise to the claim, still repeated today, that Jainism developed out of Hinduism) and attempted to convert the Jains with the rest of the population without much success.


Jainism survived both of these attempts at eradication and continued to thrive in India, eventually spreading to other nations around the world. Although most Jains still reside in India, there are about 5 million adherents worldwide from Australia to Europe, Japan, and the United States. Most of the famous Jain temples are still found in India such as Ranakpu Temple or Dilwara Temple in Rajasthan or the grand Gomateshwara Temple in Karnataka – which features the largest monolithic statue in the world – or the Hanumantal Temple in Jabalpur, where the celebration of the birthday of Mahavira is launched every year. Jains honor the tirthankaras or acharya (one of the five supreme devas and, incarnated, the founder of a monastic order) at regular worship services and encourage each other in the faith.

Many of the temples in India are famous pilgrimage sites for Jains owing to their various associations, but temples elsewhere in the world also serve an important function. The Jain Center of America, in Queens, New York, houses the Mahavir and the Adinath Temples and is a focal point of worship for the local Jain community. Through these sites, and others, Jainism continues its vision of non-violence, self-discipline, and respect for all living things in the present day just as in the ancient past.


From World History Encyclopedia