Jainism

Ghastly images of jutting ribs and emaciated bodies generally elicit a reaction of horror in the viewer. Yet, in Eastern cultures, an atrophied man may not feel starved or discontent; rather, he may have chosen to starve himself in an attempt to reach a state of bliss and release, a state of Nirvana. This is the central idea behind the Jain religion in India: through self-control, one can be delivered from this endless life circle of delusion and triviality. Since its emergence, Jainism has retained a small, yet devout, group of followers who follow the path of asceticism to reach moksha, release from life on this planet. Jainism certainly bears similarities to Hinduism and Buddhism, yet the focus on severity and morality defines Jain thought as unusual and unique. While the emergence of more liberal sects has broadened Jainism’s appeal, many people still strictly limit themselves in action, speech, and thought. The Jain philosophy contrasts greatly with the modern-day concentration on violence and materialism; yet, even Western Jains achieve their goal of escaping the fetters that bind humans to an existence in this temporal world of decay.

In its early stages, Jainism was accepted and adopted by Indian society. It emerged in Northern India in the 6th century B.C.E. as a reaction against Hinduism’s Vedic literature, which emphasized the worshipping of gods and the value of the caste system in India. The birth of Jainism is attributed to twenty-four Tirthankaras (crossing-builders), men who had conquered imperfection and reached Nirvana, an enlightened condition of detachment. The last of the Tirthankaras, Mahavira, is generally regarded as the religion’s founder. The son of wealthy members of the Kshatriya (warrior) caste in India, Mahavira lived in a state of dissatisfaction until he pursued a life of rigid asceticism. Neglecting his body, exposing himself to harsh weather conditions, he denied himself the pleasures of food, love, and hygiene. Just as devotedly, Mahavira practiced ahimsa by avoiding injury to all living beings. Finally, after twelve years of self-denial, the emaciated man “in deep meditation in the midst of abstract meditation…reached nirvana, the complete and full, the unobstructed, unimpeded, infinite and supreme, best knowledge and intuition called kevala”.1 Having found the path to spiritual fulfillment and release from worldly cycles, Mahavira proceeded to collect followers and show them the way to moksha. The founder believed the eternal world is a dualistic realm filled with living souls (jiva) that are bound to suffering by temporal matter (ajiva). As jiva and ajiva blend, karmic matter, the cause of human bondage, chains the soul to this earth. Promoting meditation, thoughtfulness, and abstinence as methods to shed karma, Mahavira established a solid base of devout disciples who followed tenets of self-discipline and non-violence and established a religion that appealed to a monastic lifestyle.

Thus, the Jain monastic community flourished after Mahavira’s death. Erecting gleaming white marble temples, they constructed realms of purity in which they could pursue lives of non-attachment. Munis (Jain monks) must take five vows: ahimsa, honesty, celibacy, refraining from stealing, and non-attachment. After firmly controlling his external senses and entering the community, monks rarely stay in the temple, instead traveling in small groups of five to twenty in order to preach and live as mendicants amongst the laymen. “Jainism is the only religion in the world where monastic practice came before the organization of a lay community of devotees”2; yet, both populations rely heavily upon one another. The holy men depend on the common men for food, sustenance, and shelter. The layperson looks to the monks as models of how daily actions should be performed.

Yet contemporary monks do not provide the same example as that originally shown by Mahavira. Shortly after his death, Mahavira’s followers began to argue over how rigidly his ideas should be followed. In the third century B.C.E., a famine in northern India pushed many Jains into the southern regions. While the northern Jains, the “sky-clad” Digambara, held steadfastly to Mahavira’s original teachings set down in the Agamas (precepts), the southern Jains, the “white-clad” Svetambara, adopted more liberal views. The qualified “sky-clad” monks remain nude, taking a stringent interpretation of the vow of non-possession. They also utilize a duster made of peacock feathers to sweep the ground before them to brush small life-forms aside. Finally, they accept one meal a day вЂ" never at nighttime вЂ" using their cupped palms as an alms bowl. The Svetambara, on the other hand, allow the possession of a robe, alms bowl, and cloth to cover one’s mouth to prevent the inhalation of insects. Taking the same vows as the Digambara, Svetambara philosophies diverge from those of the Digambara primarily regarding the ordination of women. Whereas the “sky-clad” feel women must be reborn as men before advancing in the karmic cycle, the “white-clad” accept women’s placement on the ascetic course, illustrated by the fact that seventy-five percent of the Svetambara are females.3 Although they maintain that they are the more “correct” Jains, the Digambara do not dispute with the Svetambara; in modern times, the two sects have joined in activities and pilgrimages. As far back as medieval times, “Digambaras and Svetambaras [embarked] on joint pilgrimages. Furthermore…one of the holiest places of the Digambaras is a tirtha [holy site] at Mount Girnar in Gujarat in the midst of Svetambara influence”.4

The layman feels unready to devote himself so completely to the ascetic lifestyle of either the Digambara or Svetambara. Yet by mirroring the five “great vows” with twelve lesser vows (Shravakaras) that “while warding off (samvara) new karman…[do] not radically alter an individual’s karmic status”,5 the layman can approach nirvana. As opposed to self-inflicting bodily harm, Jain laymen follow a spiritual journey by purifying their actions, speech, and thoughts.6 Their trek demands adherence to the three Jain gems (triratna): right faith, right knowledge, right conduct.

Right faith is respectful attention to truth…right knowledge is one’s own detailed,

discriminative knowledge of the atman [jiva] or non-atman [ajiva]. Right conduct

consists of…great

...