Philosophy of jainism pdf merge

May 21, 2012 other objectives of jsmc are to increase the awareness of the principles of jainism, achieve the unity of all jains, provide a platform wherefrom to project the voice of jain religion, promote the feeling of amity and brotherhood among jains and to promote interfaith understanding, establish communications between scholars of jain philosophy. The term jaina means the devotee of jinas spiritual victors. Christopher key chapple loyola marymout university. It is atheist and does not accept the existence of god.

Jainism is a heterodox darshana since it does not accept the authority of the vedas. Philosophy of jainism 17 nonperceptual, intuitive knowledge kevalajnana see puligandha, 43. It is a heterodox philosophy in the sense that it does not uphold the authority of the vedas. Although atoms are made of the same basic substance, they can combine based on their eternal properties to produce any of six aggregates, which. It believes the universe is uncreated, selfexistent, beginningless, eternal, and infinite. Similar to hinduism, jainism is a philosophy that considers a person as going through a continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth in succession so that each new life is a little more pure than the last, until. There are large pantheon of godlings, celestials or angels who are superhuman in this religion just like the hindu gods.

Jain philosophy separates the body from the soul completely. Antiquity of jainism professor mahavir saran jain lord mahavira is not the founder of jainism. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. 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. Jain philosophy deals with reality, cosmology, epistemology study of knowledge and vitalism. Jainism is an indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twentyfour spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. We must take jainism and its philosophies to the world outside that of jains. Neither of these religions their religious philosophy around worship.

Buddhism and jainism originated from the prevailing pessimism of the time and both the creeds had some common points. The origins of jainism can be traced back to the indus river valley civilization of 3000 b. Like most indian philosophy, jainism is principally concerned with liberation from samsara and conquering the problem of suffering. For thousands of years, jains have been practicing vegetarianism, yo. Nagin j shah virchand raghavji gandhi was one of the extraordinary indians of his time. Fundamental beliefs the universe jainism has a unique view of the universe.

Philosophy strictly speaking is an inquiry into the nature of reality determined by human reason. Pdf on oct 8, 2010, johannes bronkhorst and others published. I know this will be a little long, but heres a quick summary on all the major things youd need to know about jainism. Jainism and hinduism are two ancient indian religions. In this section of my thesis i will give a general introduction to the terms moksha according.

Temples, gods, rituals, fasts and other religious components of jainism are different from those of hinduism. Jain theism concept of god in jainism harvard university. 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. He represented jainism at the parliament of religions held at chicago in 1893, and delivered lectures before the american and the english, not only on jainism, but also on the other systems of indian philosophy. Sohan raj tater former vice chancellor, singhania university jhunjhunu raj. In order to achieve any objective intense effort is required. The primary reason for the rise of these religions was the religious unrest at that time in the country. Among these dharma traditions is jainism or jaina dharma, which has. Jainism believes in godhood but does not believe god to be the first cause as in the advait philosophy. Jainism is a tradition which dates back thousands of years, which is unbelievably rich and profound, and which has certain unmistakable signs of identity.

These beings are also considered mortal just like humans. Jain philosophy is the oldest indian philosophy that separates body matter from the soul. Jainism the word jain is derived from the sanskrit word jina, meaning conqueror. The article examines a fundamental problem in classical jaina philosophy, namely, the ontological status of dead matter in the hylozoistic and at the same time dualistic jaina worldview. So, knowledge is not something external to be grasped and possessed by the soul, but is. It attempts to explain the rationale of being and existence, the nature of the universe and its constituents, the nature of souls. Dec 01, 2010 jainism is a tradition which dates back thousands of years, which is unbelievably rich and profound, and which has certain unmistakable signs of identity. The individual merges into the family, society, country, planet and universe and. Jainism 101 gives a brief overview of the basics of jain philosophy. 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. Jain philosophy is the oldest indian philosophy that separates body matter from the soul consciousness completely. The philosophical outlook of jainism is commonsense realism and pluralism.

Hinduism a brief overview of the development of hinduism. Jain philosophy and culture have been a major cultural and philosophical, social and political force since dawn of civilisation in asia. Broadly, jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, digambara and svetambara. Belief that everything in the universe has a soul and because of this should not be harmed had to take occupations that would not harm any creature tradition of working in trade and commerce extremely wealthy community. Jain is derived from the word jina, referring to a human being who has conquered all inner passions like.

Its origin can be traced back to the prehistoric era with its ancient scriptures dating back more than four thousand years, but no specific point of origin can be cited. It teaches us that one should not hurt the feelings of others even by ones speech. The doctrine of jainism has minor similarities with the nyayavaisheshika and samkhya school. Pdf the impact of philosophy of jainism on various. A jain believes in jain principles and tries to act by them in everyday life. But jainism is different than buddhism in its ascetic beliefs. It is to this vast source that we now turn for an understanding of jaina beliefs of the universe, religion and morality. Other objectives of jsmc are to increase the awareness of the principles of jainism, achieve the unity of all jains, provide a platform wherefrom to project the voice of jain religion, promote the feeling of amity and brotherhood among jains and to promote interfaith understanding, establish communications between scholars of jain philosophy. A living tradition t he founding of the mira and ajay shingal center for dharma studies in 2015 has established a permanent home at the gtu for the academic study of several major religious traditions that originated in ancient india.

In jainism like buddhism there is a belief in reincarnation which eventually leads to liberation. Pdf reflections on the history of jainism researchgate. Jainism is properly the name of one of the religious traditions that have their origin in the indian subcontinent. The jains follow the teachings of the 24 jinas conquerors who are also known as tirthankars. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is same. What is jainism jainism is a religion and a way of life.

Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. Jainism and hinduism have many similar characteristic features, including the concepts of samsara, karma and moksha. Jain philosophy fully advocates limitless power and energy of the human soul and its independency. In 300 words jainism is the philosophy and religion of jainas the followers of religion preached and practised by the thirthankaras, the last of whom was lord mahavir. The tradition presented in the materials below is one of the. Jainism you should read enough of the materials presented in this section concerning the tradition of jainism in order to understand how this tradition displays the characteristics or elements that make a tradition one that would be termed a religion. Jainism is one of the oldest religions of the world, based on the philosophy of. A brief overview of the development of hinduism there are several important historical facts about hinduism that are relevant to the humanist context. According to its own traditions, the teachings of jainism are eternal, and hence have no founder. There are some similarities and differences between the two religions. It has exercised a great influence on the mind of man.

Jainism has become one of the essential spiritual traditions in the south asian religious fabric. The philosophy attempts to explain the concept of being and existence, nature of bondage and how one can free himself from such bondages. Metaphysically, jainism believes in plurality of souls and not in the existence of god. Jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. In the sixth century bc, india witnessed the rise of two new religions jainism and buddhism. Therefore, in addition to its philosophy, jainism also must offer training and teachings in applied jainism to help us lead our daily active lives in the practice of professions such as business, medicine, law, engineering, etc. There is some confusion about the use of the terms philosophy and theology in relation to the indian religious context. The nigantha nataputta, sir, who knows and sees all things, who claims perfect knowledge and faith in the following terms.

Even under the presentday educational system, boys and girls go to schools and colleges to follow a syllabus which has been set for them. Jainism is one of the oldest living religions of the world. Jain philosophy does not go into the depth of the process of creation as. Desh raj sirswal, assistant professor philosophy, p. Jain way of life is based on three principles ahimsa noninjury, anekantvad nonabsolutism and aparigraha nonattachment. Jainism is the smallest of the major world religion, but in india its influence is much more. Jainism founded by mahavira lived between 599 and 527 b. Introduction jainism is based on the teaching of 24 tirthankaras. At that time laotse became popularly venerated as a deity. These are further divided into different subsects and traditions. Indian philosophy indian philosophy jain philosophy. Jainism jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. Pdf on jan 1, 2000, johannes bronkhorst and others published.

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. Introduction to asian philosophy jainism key t er ms t iw rn kr te rtha nka ra ti rt ha nk a ra i jn jina ji na ai h sa ahi. Theologians often classify jainism as a philosophy, a way of living life, rather than a religion. View an annotated pdf version of this bibliography. Jainism, traditionally known as jain dharma, is one of the oldest religions in the world. Its origin can be traced back to the prehistoric era with its ancient scriptures dating back more than four thousand years, but. It is a religion and philosophy originating in ancient india. The philosophy deals with the study of knowledge and vitalism with the concept of noninjury at the core of the philosophy. Contrary to what some might think, it is not in any sense a poor relation of buddhism, nor is a strange, atheistic and ascetic sect within hinduism. In the jain tradition, jivas are opposed to ajivas, or nonliving substances. Bibliography jainism religion yale forum on religion. Dec 10, 2017 jainism is one of those spiritual philosophies that is entirely about selfimprovement. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext.

Jainism is one of those spiritual philosophies that is entirely about selfimprovement. Jainism, founded about the 6th century bce by vardhamana mahavira, the 24th in a succession of religious leaders known either as tirthankaras saviours or as jinas conquerors, rejects the idea of god as the creator of the world but teaches the perfectibility of humanity, to be accomplished through the strictly moral and ascetic life. Ajiva, sanskrit ajiva, in the jainist philosophy of india, nonliving substance, as opposed to jiva, soul or living matter. Dec 17, 2014 jainism 101 gives a brief overview of the basics of jain philosophy. Stemming from ancient shramanic tradition of india, this simple but profound path is as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago. Jivas are understood as being eternal and infinite. Jain beliefs 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. It attempts to explain the rationale of being and existence, the nature of the universe and its constituents, the nature of souls bondage with body and the means to achieve. Jainism and buddhism during the vedic period, people who reacted against the rigid social hierarchy and against the religious monopoly of the brahmins would withdraw into the forests where they pursued salvation through yoga spiritual and mental discipline, special diets, or meditation. Jainism and buddhism had largest number of followers among the mercantile class. Any philosophy or religion must be studied from all standpoints, and in order thoroughly, know what it says with regard to the origin of the universe, what its idea is with regard to god, with regard to the soul and its destiny, and what it regards as the laws of the souls life. Taoism, along with buddhism and confucianism, became one of the three great religions of china. Jainism rejects the concept of a supreme being or the brahman as the creator of the world. Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 ce when it was adopted as a state religion.

Jainism is one of the oldest religions known today and its origins lie in the country of india. Jainism contains the traces of the earliest developments of philosophical thinking in the history. 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 origin of jainism is shrounded in considerable obscurity. Buddhism and jainism god not a creator humans are capable to achieve the highest spiritual state human experience or self realization is the ultimate authority scriptures have no authority guide primary path path of knowledge jnan yoga realization of unique and supreme self through knowledge self control, nonviolence, penance, and. However, they differ over the precise nature and meaning of these concepts. Jainism lays heavy emphasis on nonviolence ahimsa and the believers of this religion. Amongst the multitude of philosophies jain philosophy provides answer to this. The jain philosophy was not developed to oppose the elaborate hierarchical vedic practices as well as it is not an offshoot of hinduism as some claim. The difference between philosophy and theology is a western concept. Similar to hinduism, jainism is a philosophy that considers a person as going through a continuous cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth in succession so that each new life is a little more pure than the last, until the person reaches a state of perfection so that the cycle of birth and death is. Gandhi delivered before american audience of the common people, while he was on his journey to attend the world congress of religions held for the first time in the united states of america in 1893 a. The founder of jainism was rishbdeva and last mahavira.