The founder of Jainism was the spiritual master Mahavira. He was born in 599 BC. At the age of thirty he gave up his life as a wealthy prince and became a religions ascetic. In this regard his life very much mirrors that of Buddhism.
He traveled through India seeking liberation from the cycle of reincarnation. He very much practiced the transcendence of duality, which was taught by Krishna, of remaining even minded, through pleasure and pain, sickness and health, cold and heat. He believed that through extreme self denial and through the practice of ahimsa (non violence) to all living things that he could achieve moksha (liberation).
Legend has it that he reached nirvana after thirteen years of this practice and then, much like Buddha, dedicated the rest of his life to becoming a leader among men and teacher of monks. He apparently had extraordinary success and his disciples became known as Jains.
Jainism is based on the achievement of the three jewels. (right faith, right knowledge and right understanding). Jainism rose as protest to the caste system of Hinduism, along with its ritualism, and impersonality.
Mahavira was referred to as the "conqueror" because of the control he demonstrated over the world, his body and his desires. Jainism very much believes in reincarnation and the Law of Karma. Mahavira differed from Buddha in that Mahavira never gave up his identification with the ascetic path, where as Buddha tread that path, but then moved towards the middle way.
The Yati (Ascetic) Had To Take Five Great Vows:
- To injure no creature
- To speak the truth
- To abstain from stealing
- To renounce all worldly goods
- To practice sexual self-control
The most important of these was the first one. This applied to not even injuring animals, insects, or even plants. A Jainist could not even be a farmer, because of the danger of killing insects. The five great vows were too stiff for most people so the Jains provided a less strict spiritual practice for those people which was called, the twelve vows.
These Twelve Vows Are:
- To Not take human or animal life
- To not be unfaithful to one’s spouse
- To not lie, steal or cheat
- To give alms
- To practice self denial
- To guard against evil
- To meditate regularly
- To avoid needless travel
- To not be greedy
Jains, because of their extreme belief in pacifism work, even to this day, in the areas of finance and commerce. Strangely enough they, as a whole, have become very wealthy in India. They are lawyers, brokers, money lenders and bankers. Because of this they have some very beautiful and lavish temples they have built which are some of the most beautiful in the world.
Jainism began as a conscious effort to reform Hinduism, however, became a new religion instead. Mahavira was very much against the caste system and taught that all his ascetics were equals. He was also very much against animal sacrifice of those ancient times, and believed that kindness was a better replacement.
Jainism has a similarity to Buddhism in that it doesn’t believe a God or Gods, of the Hindu religions. He believe that each person should find his salvation within himself. He is quoted as saying, "Man! Thou art thine own friend. Why wishest thou for a friend beyond thyself?"
It seems to be a type of existentialism, yet with a belief in reincarnation, liberation, and potential immortality for the soul. Mahavira also conceived that the world was his home, not India or any country. Jainism divides souls on earth into three categories:
- Those that are not yet evolved.
- Those in the process of evolution.
- Those that have evolved to the point of liberation.
Jainism is a religion of love and compassion above all else.
The word Jain comes from the names of their saints who are called "Jinas" or conquerors of mortal bondage. Jainism teaches that there have been twenty four of these Jinas in the present world cycle. They consider their religion to be eternal, and revealed and revived in every century. One of the Jinas, by the name of Rishabha, is said to have lived millions of years ago.
Legend has it, the Mahavira, in his time, attracted over 50,000 monks and over 500,000 lay followers. The Jains religion today has about a million and a half followers, and is considered one of the world’s great religions. The Jains reject the Vedas of Hinduism and use their own scripture. The Jains believe in the eternity of the soul, and there are thought to be multitudes of souls or life/monads which are all independent and eternal. By practicing the ideals of Jainism, the person or soul is seen as getting lighter in color and rising in the scale of universal being. The goal of the Jains is to achieve liberation and hence then, "float like a bubble to the ceiling of the universe."
Since the universe is eternal, they don’t see any need to speculate on who created it, so again, strangely enough, they could be called atheistic, in the sense of not believing in God. Some of the monks are so extreme in devotion to ahimsa (non-violence) that they sweep their paths as they walk and wear cloths over their mouth so as not to kill insects.
They are also all vegetarians. They believe killing any animal or insect would build up evil karma for themselves. Mahatma Ghandi’s parents were believed to be greatly influenced by the Jains, and Ghandi’s great commitment to non-violence may have had its roots with the Jain religion. He was also, however, greatly influenced by Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita, and very much believed in the Hindu Gods.
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