Pilgrimage pilgrimage in jainism temples on the shatrunjaya hills, gujurat an important jain site. The application of the notion of scripture is complex in jainism. Svetambaras believe the split occurred when the chief monk acharyabhadrabahu predicted a 12 year famine. The syadvada anekantavada is a gem, to say the least. 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. Thus one finds in the jain texts, deliberative exhortations on any subject in all its. Jainism is properly the name of one of the religious traditions that have their. Worshipers look at its thousands of statues through mirrors in order no to insult the gods and goddesses with a direct gaze. In digamber jainism the original form there are more than thousands of jain literature books translated and described by numerous saints and people. The present book is one of the best and stimulating books ever written by scholars on jainism. List of books and articles about jainism online research. Unlike monotheistic traditions, the jains do not have a unique holy book that characterises their faith. 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.
Learn jainism and sikhism with free interactive flashcards. Syadvada, in jaina metaphysics, the doctrine that all judgments are conditional. Choose from 500 different sets of jainism and sikhism flashcards on quizlet. 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. The founders of jainism fit into a general category of religious movements that emphasized as a means of spiritual development. In class we will discuss and examine these books and make them appear less strange. The jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it has many. In fact, syadvada is the theory of the relativity of knowledge. Jainism is an ancient religion practiced in india flugel 199. Jainism jainism ritual practices and religious institutions.
Jainism is one of the most ancient religions that originated in eastern india and it was founded around the 6th century. This encyclopaedia is vast collection of essays of more than thousand renowned jaina scholars, philosophers, historians, sociologists of the world dealing with various aspects of jainism. It is considered to be much more than a book, it is deemed to be the living guru of the sikhs. Jainism asserts that knowledge attained is the knowledge of real objects. An introduction, is a thoroughly researched overview of the jain tradition, a religion and set of philosophical constructs that have influenced indian thought for over 2500 years. Shatkhandagam and dhavala ratna karanda sravakachara of a. Jainism was born in india about the same period as buddhism. Parshvanatha and mahavira, two historical tirthankars of jainism, had huge numbers of female devotees and ascetics. Even religious scriptures were considered possessions and therefore. Mahavir jayanti is a religious festival in jainism which celebrates the birthday of lord mahavira. There are certain ideas in indianjaina logic called syadvada which seem to have close relevance to the concepts of probability, and which can, therefore supply a convenient background to my own observations on the foundations of statistics. 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. Sanskrit verse from shivpuran lord rishabhdev jineshwar first tirthankar the omniscient and the all pervasive incarnated himself on the magnificent kailas ashtapad mountain. 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.
Bc as protests against the overdeveloped ritualism of hinduism, particularly its sacrificial cults, and the authority of the veda. Nayavada is a compound of two sanskrit wordsnaya standpoint, viewpoint, interpretation and vada doctrine, thesis. A prathmanuyoga which involves mythological characters and stories of jainism the shastras holy books. For thousands of years, jains have been practicing vegetarianism, yo. All jains agree that, originally, there were fifty books of scripture, all of them miraculously produced by mahavira. The monks of the digambara sect do not even possess clothing. Syadvada is indispensable and helps establish the truth, according to samantabhadra. Hindus are in a similar position, even though they have the vedas, which can be considered the ultimate source of teaching.
Canonical literature of the shvetambaras, sacred books of the digambaras, and the tirthankaras from a history of the jainas, ashim kumar roy new delhi. The word jain is taken from the word jina, which means getting victory over thy self and the peripheral world. The golden book of jainism humanitys oldest religion of. In fact the old jain literature such as the acharanga sutra and the kalpa sutra. 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. Within sikhism, the holy book is called the sri guru granth sahib. The religion of jainism can be traced to the emergence of 24 teachers who believed that the humans need. And we have a huge list of saints who are important. Also the religious books and scriptures were considered possessions and attachments for ascetics. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. 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 world of jainism this is the best book on jainism.
Everyone knows gandhi but many dont know driving force behind gandhis ahimsa. Mahavira was not the founder of jainism in the sense that the buddha was the founder of buddhism. Their texts have never presented a theory for holy war. Here is a selection of the most pertinent and the best of these, which succeed in presenting a comprehensive picture of its concepts, practices of the holy order and laity, and life in general. Proceedings of the dot 2010 panel in marburg, germany. Anekant syadvada 1965 g 344 shah, chandulal jain marga aradhak samiti a. A glance at its contents will reveal the fact that glasenapp has covered almost all the salient features of jainism. This succinct, completely engaging overview of jainism, the historical contexts of jain intellectual thought, and the relationship of. Religion 3634 jainism concordia university, winter 2016. This book provides an orderly and clear exposition of jainism as a philosophy and way of life, jain history, and the jains as a people. Syadvada or saptabhangi naya is the most important part of jaina logic. Samantabhadra chhah dhala of daulatram atmasiddhi of shri.
The doctrine of prayascitta in hindu law and the jaina doctrine of karma. The jain literature which was complied by ganadharas and srutkevlis is known as agam literature. This point is proved by what is said in the following quotes from oldest hindu holy books that jainism existed before vedas were composed. Books by authors name books by authors name list of english books by author author name. Now, we can explain the seven fold judgments of syadvada. Mahavir jayanti teachings of lord mahavira my india. Jaina view of life a perspective in jaina philosophy and religion jaina view of life prof. Instead they have a body of holy writings or scriptures. Philosophy should serve as the light house in this struggle of life. 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. So he could be called a reformer of the jain religion or rejunevator of the faith which was already and had a long tradition. Jainworld is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of jain tradition of wisdom, compassion, equality, brotherhood, universal wellbeing and spirituality. The pot exists as an earthen substance possessing red colour in summar at guwahati. 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.
Ultimately hierarchy in jainism is driven by spiritual development, the result of personal striving. Holy book and place of worship of sikhism,jainism, buddhism. Jainism religion bhagwan mahavir jain symbol belief. The jinas are considered more respectable than the gods. The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war. It can be compared with einsteins theory of relativity, which is based on the principle that all motion is relative, regarding spacetime as a fourth dimension. Antiquity of jainism professor mahavir saran jain lord mahavira is not the founder of jainism. On the other hand, islam has just one central holy book and just one important prophet with whom all of them all emotionally connected. Mahavira was not the founder of jainism in the sense that the. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it. The texts had to be memorised since jain monks and nuns were not allowed to possess religious books as part of their vow of nonacquisition. What are the major rituals, holy days, garments, ceremonies and symbols. The aim of existence is to attain through the triratna of 1.
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. The van voorst book contains selections from the foundational texts and. Jainism, ajivika, and buddhism arose in the 6th cent. Rajchandra kalpasutra, acharangacomplete translation searchable texts. In india, they share this feature with the buddhists. Therefore agam sutras were rarely documented and not widely.
We can look at it in two specific ways, firstly from an organisational perspective, and then from the perspective of a souls progress to its final goal of moksha. In jainism, knowledge depends on experience and experience is always partial, in the sense that reality in totality is never revealed. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. For discussion of philosophies associated with the major religious traditions of. The doctrine of nayavada provides the framework for the doctrine of syadvada, since it clearly points out that reality can be looked at from many different standpoints, and that no standpoint can be claimed as the only valid one. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. It is important to understand the latter two to understand the conditions under which jains have survived and maintained and practiced their religion. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. From the point of its own substance, place, time, and nature, a thing exists. Indianjaina dialectic of syadvad in relation to probability.
What is jainism jainism is a religion and a way of life. Jaina tradition teaches that a succession of 24 tirthankaras saints originated the religion. The book presents jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and nonspecialists alike. I know this will be a little long, but heres a quick summary on all the major things youd need to know about jainism. Jain philosophy internet encyclopedia of philosophy. This religion advocates for the love towards other beings and the practice of nonviolence. Pilgrimage plays an important part in jain life for digambaras and some svetambaras. It is a city so holy that not even priests can sleep there. Organization of jainism the 2 sects of jainism digambar and svetambar divided 200 years after mahavira achieved enlightenment. Lord mahavir, popularly regarded as the founder of jainism, was the last of the tirthankars who flourished from 599 to 527 b.
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