Fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time the principles governing the successions of life cycles birth, life, and death is karma. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it has many books complied by many followers. Jainism is an ancient religious and philosophical tradition that is thought to have originated in the ganges river basin. In india, they share this feature with the buddhists. The texts containing the teachings of mahavira are called the agamas, and are the canonical literature the scriptures of svetambara jainism mahaviras disciples compiled his. There are six highly recommended books that together form an excellent literary introduction to jainism and the jain way of thinking. Jains are very caring over the environment, they wear masks over their faces to prevent inhaling of any small insects and they carry. The tenets of jainism and facts about mahavira are important for ias exam as it makes significant part of indian ancient history and indian culture.
It would be entirely wrong to see ahimsa in jainism in any sentimental light. Jainism s core belief is ahimsa, or noninjury to all living things. Jaina tradition teaches that a succession of 24 tirthankaras saints originated the religion. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. Jainism, ajivika, and buddhism arose in the 6th cent.
Basic differences both groups accept the basic jain philosophy and the five basic vows. The terms sacred text and religious text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of the belief in some theistic religions such as the abrahamic religions that the text is divinely or supernaturally revealed or divinely inspired, or in nontheistic religions such as some indian. The jain path of purification was, in addition to the previous work, one of the very first books of its kind to be authored by a jain for the education of those unfamiliar with the jain worldview and way of life. Jainism is a transtheistic religion, and jains trace their spiritual ideas and history through a succession of twentyfour leaders known as tirthankaras, with the first being rishabhanatha, who according to jain tradition lived millions of years ago, the twentythird tirthankara parshvanatha in 900 bce, and the twentyfourth tirthankara the. Jainism offers a quiet, overwhelmingly serious way of life, a cultural insistence on compassion, a society of ethics that has dramatically changed the world and will continue to effect change. Jainism lays heavy emphasis on nonviolence ahimsa and the believers of this religion, whether a monk or a householder, follow a very strict, well disciplined life. Sanskrit verse from shivpuran lord rishabhdev jineshwar first tirthankar the omniscient and the all pervasive incarnated himself on the magnificent kailas ashtapad mountain. In fact, the householders are supposed to evolve to the monkhood in the later stages of life as was the case with the hinduism in the vedic era. The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. Jainism differs from many religions in that there is no one scripture or holy book that is central to our faith. You will find online activities, pictures that you can use at home or in the classroom, places to visit, videos and much more. Holy book and place of worship of sikhism,jainism, buddhism. For jains, words of lords or jinendra dev are split in four categories of agams 1. Dom peter bowe visited one of the 37 jain temples in bangalore.
It is perhaps the most comprehensive and concise book of its kind, and few books on jainism are as. So he could be called a reformer of the jain religion or rejunevator of the faith which was already and had a long tradition. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. The svetambaras believe that the collection of 32 or 45, the number is disputed agamas holy scriptures are the first and foremost of all holy texts. Worshipers look at its thousands of statues through mirrors in order no to insult the gods and goddesses with a direct gaze. They are declaration of faith, praying five times a day, giving money to charity, fasting and pilgrimage to mecca at least once. All sects agree that teaching was first transmitted orally, however, the two main sects of jainism, svetambara and digambara disagree on which scriptures are authoritative, or most important. Bc as protests against the overdeveloped ritualism of hinduism, particularly its sacrificial cults, and the authority of the veda. The primary reason for the rise of these religions was the religious unrest at that time in the country. Jainism is an ecologically responsible way of life which is nonviolent in thought, action, and deed. The present book is one of the best and stimulating books ever written by scholars on jainism. Nonviolence to humans as well as to animals is one of the fundamental contributions of jainism to world philosophy. Moreover, the restrictions on certain women to enter ranks of nuns were not attributable to jainism alone, but the erstwhile patriarchal indian society as a whole. The split did not incur doctrinal or moral differences but only.
Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Jainisms core belief is ahimsa, or noninjury to all living things. The institute of jainology has begun publishing a learn jainism series to support the material on the learn jainism website. The jain doctrine of noninjury is based on rational consciousness, not emotional compassion. The digambara sect is more austere, and is closer in its ways to the jains at the time of mahavira. Find here a list of selected books on the various aspects of jainism, jain history, jaina philosophy, practices, values and beliefs, thirthankaras, life and teachings of mahavira and jaina tradition. Jainism dont have any specific holy book like the bhagavad geeta,the quran or the bible. List of world religions and founders, religious books. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Lord mahavir, popularly regarded as the founder of jainism, was the last of the tirthankars who flourished from 599 to 527 b. Within sikhism, the holy book is called the sri guru granth sahib. The reason is very simple, this book consists of a biography of lord mahavira in detail, and the lives of the other prophets tirthankaras.
The books are for children between the ages of around five to eleven. In principle jain holy places are sacred for all the jains. There remain some 4 million jains in india, spread mainly between five states, and there is also a small but influential community of emigrants in both europe and the united states. The jain literature which was complied by ganadharas and srutkevlis is known as agam literature. The central ideas of christianity an angry god and vicarious atonement are contrary to every fact in nature, as also to the better aspirations of the human heart. This website is for the users who want to learn the basic concepts of jain religion. Since gautama buddha, founder of buddhism, belonged to the same region of magadha as mahavira the 24th tirthankar of jainism, and because both were contemporaries, it was assumed erroneously that jainism was contemporary of buddhism or was an off. Sep 14, 2009 visit to a jain temple a visit to a jain temple. Instead they have a body of holy writings or scriptures.
Guru is a sanskrit word for teacher, and within sikhism it is the title given to the 10 spiritual leaders of sikhism dating from 1469 ad to 1708 ad as well as the sri guru granth. This point is proved by what is said in the following quotes from oldest hindu holy books that jainism existed before vedas were composed. Jainism has no belief in a creator god, though there are a number of lesser deities for various aspects of life. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide. While the majority of pilgrimage places in india are sacred to the followers of hinduism, there are numerous holy sites of other religions such as jainism, buddhism and islam. It is a city so holy that not even priests can sleep there. Shvetambara monks are allowed to retain a few possessions such as a robe, an alms bowl, a whisk broom, and a mukhavastrika a piece of cloth held over the mouth to protect against the ingestion of small insects, which are presented by a senior monk at the time of initiation. History, society, philosophy and practice agustin paniker on. Jainism jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. The history of jainism after lord mahavira is recorded in the jaina literature preserved in various indian languages. List of books and articles about jainism online research. It is perhaps the most comprehensive and concise book of its kind, and few books on jainism are as appropriate for academic instruction as jainis. Agams are the jain texts which are based on the discourse. Jainism religion bhagwan mahavir jain symbol belief.
History and contemporary information provide evidence of competition and quarrels between the sects over the management of individual sites. The following list of books incorporates a number of salient points of view, and they would be especially good for those not raised as jains. Jainism is one of the great religious traditions of india with millions of adherents, tens of thousands of them spread across the world. Followers of jainism are called jains, a word derived from the sanskrit word jina victor referring to the path of victory in crossing over lifes stream of rebirths by destroying karma through an ethical and spiritual life. Rather, there are many religious texts the most wellknown of which are the agams that include transcriptions of the oral history provided to us by tirthankars and jain teachers, as well as scholarly commentary on the interpretation of the religion. Unlike most common monotheistic religions, jainism does not have one holy book that characterizes their faith. Apr 24, 2007 within sikhism, the holy book is called the sri guru granth sahib. Basic concepts of jainism and its applications can be learned from chandrakantbhais easy and unique teaching skills and indepth knowledge of the subject.
For example, all three traditions share a notion of karma as the actions of individuals that determine their future births, yet each has attached unique connotations to the concept. Muslims base their laws on their holy book quran and the sunnah. Jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. Jainism vardhamana mahavira ancient indian history notes for upsc vardhana mahavira was the 24th tirthankara a great teacher and is said to have propounded jainism. Jainism is a religion and philosophy native to india founded in about the 6th century bc by the sage mahavira. Hindus are in a similar position, even though they have the vedas, which can be considered the ultimate source of teaching. You will find online activities, pictures that you can use at home or in the classroom, places to visit, videos and much more to help with the teaching of jainism we have created a special section and an exciting resource box to make classes on jainism fun. Jainism emerged in 6thcentury bce india, the same time buddhism was developing.
Jainism is one of the most ancient religions that originated in eastern india and it was founded around the 6th century. Mar 17, 2015 jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Antiquity of jainism professor mahavir saran jain lord mahavira is not the founder of jainism. Religions of the world jainism is an ancient indian religion that preaches complete nonviolence, peace, and kindness towards all creatures of nature. Instead they have a collection of holy writings and scriptures. The terms sacred text and religious text are not necessarily interchangeable in that some religious texts are believed to be sacred because of the belief in some theistic religions such as the abrahamic religions that the text is divinely or supernaturally revealed or divinely. It is written by a practising jain, drawing on his rich experience of jainism in all its aspects. The past glories of india have been and still are a favourite subject in books and films. A glance at its contents will reveal the fact that glasenapp has covered almost all the salient features of jainism. This book is the first comprehensive study of jainism to be published in the west. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Lord mahavirs preaching was methodically compiled by his followers into many texts. Unlike monotheistic traditions, the jains do not have a unique holy book that characterises their faith. The motive of ahimsa is totally selfcentered and for the benefit of the individual.
In the sixth century bc, india witnessed the rise of two new religions jainism and buddhism. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. In both there are lot of holy books in which many are comman. Jainism, hinduism, and buddhism share many key concepts derived from the sanskrit language and dialects that have enabled them to hone their religious debates. While these two divisions of jainism are in broad agreement about the main teachings and practices of the. Jainism is a religion and philosophy native to india founded in. The most momentous event, which occurred about 80 a. The jinas are considered more respectable than the gods. Parshvanatha and mahavira, two historical tirthankars of jainism, had huge numbers of female devotees and ascetics. May 18, 2006 this point is proved by what is said in the following quotes from oldest hindu holy books that jainism existed before vedas were composed. The american people spend thousands of dollars to propagate the doctrines of the fall of man, the creation of the world out of nothing in six days by a personal god, vicarious atonement, absolution from sin by the shedding of innocent blood.
The word jain is taken from the word jina, which means getting victory over thy self and the peripheral world. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. The holy book of jainism is known as the kalpa sutra or sutras. It was founded as a reaction against the vedic religion, which required animal sacrifices.
The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war. The learn jainism website can help you learn more about the ancient indian faith of jainism. In practice, some places are definitely of more importance to svetambaras than to digambaras and vice versa, and these are managed by institutions affiliated to one sect or the other. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome of teaching for all jains, especially the jina mahavira.