Jainism is one of the religions which originated in India. Some say that Jainism may be even older than Hinduism itself. First of all the word ‘Jain’ is derived from the word ‘Jina’ which means ‘the one who has conquered’. The 24 Tirthankaras are considered as Jinas. Tirthankaras are those who find enlightenment and also show the right path to others. The people who follow the Jinas are called Jains. Currently, Mahavira is the last Tirthankara. It is believed that there will be many more Tirthankaras in the future. Since Jainism existed long before Mahavira, he cannot be considered as the founder of Jainism. Mahavira was born as Prince Vardhamana at the age of thirty. After the death of his parents, he left home to become an ascetic. He performed penance for twelve years after which he got enlightened. Jainism rejects the idea of a Supreme God. It believes in re-incarnation, and the aim of every being is liberation from the cycle of birth and death. All living beings are said to have souls. According to Jainism, the Universe was never created. It was always there and will always be there. Right belief, right knowledge and right conduct are considered as the ‘Three Jewels’ of Jainism. Following the main tenets of Jainism will lead to right conduct. The principle of ‘Ahimsa’ or non-violence is the foremost principle of Jainism. Jains are vegetarians who do not even consume root vegetables as digging the earth may harm life forms. There are Jains who cover their mouths with muslin cloth to prevent insects from entering the mouth. Aparigraha, Satya, Asteya and Brahmacharya are the other main principles. Not being possessive of any object is Aparigraha. It is not wrong to own the object; it is the possessiveness and attachment which is wrong. Satya of course stands for truthfulness. Asteya means ‘not stealing’. Stealing or desiring the possession of others is forbidden. Brahmacharya is celibacy. A person should not be involved with anybody other than one’s spouse. Ancient Jain texts can be found in books called Agamas. There are 2 main sects … [Read more...]
“Tat Tvam Asi” – Thou Art That
Vedantic thought can be classified into three schools - Advaita, Vishishtadvaita and Dvaita. “Tat tvam asi” or “Thou art that” is a sentence found in the Vedanta (literally means the end of the Vedas). The Advaitists take this as proof of the rightness of their philosophy that God and the self are one, there being no difference between the two. The followers of the Vishishtadvaita school interpret this statement to mean that the self is a part of the Supreme. The Dvaitists take the entire statement, split it appropriately as “sa atma-atat tvam asi” which would mean “Thou art not that” and contend that it is their philosophy which distinguishes between God and the self, which is right. Though these three schools of thought are prevalent in the Vedanta, they were resurrected a few centuries ago. Adi Sankara was a strong proponent of Advaita, Ramanuja advocated the philosophy of Vishishtdvaita while Madhwacharya founded the Dvaita tradition. There is a beautiful anecdote in the scriptures denoting the Dvaita, Vishishtadvaita and Advaita philosophies translated as dualism, qualified monism and non-dualism respectively. There have always been differences between these but Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa referred to this incident to point out that these philosophies may sound contradictory but are not actually so. ‘One day, Lord Rama asked Hanuman, in which form he saw Rama. Hanuman’s reply was “When I see myself as a physical being, you are the master, I am the servant. When I consider myself as an individual being, you are the whole, I am one of your parts. And when I perceive myself as the Atman, I am one with you.” So it is evident that there need be no clash between these seemingly different ideas. The same person may unwittingly follow these three different viewpoints at different times as indicated by Hanuman. It may also be a spiritual progression for a person who believes in a separate being called God, then feels that he is a part of Him and finally realises that he is one with God. “Philosophy I know not, Spirituality is not … [Read more...]
