1. INTRODUCTION TO JAIN
RELIGION
By KAJAL KUMARI MOHAN

2. Introduction
Jainism or Jain dharma is one of the ancient religion in India the word . In certain
sacred scriptures and manuscripts the Jainism founder was called Mahavira
(599-527BC). He was refereed as Jina . Jain is derived from the Sanskrit word Jina
meaning ‘spiritual victor’. Jain is the one who accept all the teachings of the
Tirthankaras. Jainism was evolved in India during 600BCE

3. ◦ Teachings of Jainism specifically include certain instances of Hinduism and
Buddhism. The origin of Jainism is considered with the rise of Buddhism
◦ The majority of Jains currently reside in India. Jains form 0.37% of India's
population, mostly in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya
Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Tamil Nadu.
◦ Jains believe that animals and plants, as well as human beings, contain living souls.
Each of these souls is considered of equal value and should be treated with respect
and compassion.
◦ Jains are strict vegetarians and live in a way that minimises their use of
the world's resource.

4. ◦ They believe in reincarnation and seek to attain ultimate liberation - which
means escaping the continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth so that the
immortal soul lives for ever in a state of bliss. Liberation is achieved by eliminating
all karma from the soul.
◦ Jainism is a religion of self-help. There are no gods or spiritual beings that will
help human beings.
◦ The three guiding principles of Jainism, the 'three jewels’:
are right belief,
right knowledge and
right conduct.
◦ The supreme principle of Jain living is non violence (ahimsa).
◦ There is 5 mahavratas (the 5 great vows). The other mahavratas are
non violence (ahimsa),
non-attachment to possessions,
not lying,
not stealing,
and sexual restraint (with celibacy as the ideal).

5. ◦ The texts containing the teachings of Mahavira are called the Agamas.
◦ Jains are divided into two major sects;
the Digambara (meaning "sky clad") sect and
the Svetambara (meaning "white clad") sect.
◦ Jainism has no priests. Its professional religious people are monks and nuns, who lead
strict and ascetic lives.

6. Jain Symbol:
◦ Jain Symbol is a congregation of various symbols, each having a
deeper meaning.
This symbol was adopted by all sects of Jainism while
commemorating the 2500th anniversary of the nirvana of Lord
Mahavira.
◦ The outline of the symbol is defined as the universe (Lok). The lower
part of the symbol represents the seven hells (Naraki). The middle
part of the universe contains the Earth and the planets
(Manushyalok). The upper part contains the heavenly abodes
(Devlok) of all the celestial beings and abode of the Siddhas
(Siddhashila).
◦ Jains believe that this universe was neither created by anyone, nor
can it be destroyed by anyone. It may change its form, but otherwise,
it has always been and will always be here.

7. ◦ The raised hand means stop. The word in the centre of the wheel is
"Ahimsa". Ahimsa means non-violence. Between these two, they remind
us to stop for a minute and think twice before doing anything. This gives
us a chance to scrutinize our activities to be sure that they will not hurt
anyone by our words, thoughts, or actions. We are also not supposed to
ask or encourage others to take part in any harmful activity.
◦ The wheel in the hand shows that if we are not careful and ignore these
warnings and carry on violent activities, then just as the wheel goes round
and round, we will go round and round through the cycles of birth and
death.
◦ The four arms of the swastika remind us that during the cycles of birth and
death we may be born into any one of the four destinies: heavenly beings,
human beings, animal beings, (including birds, bugs, and plants) and
hellish beings. Our aim should be the liberation and not the rebirth. To
show how we can do this, the swastika reminds us that we should become
the pillars of the four fold Jain Sangh, then only can we achieve liberation.

8. ◦ The four pillars of the Jain Sangh are sädhus, sädhvis, shrävaks, and
shrävikäs. This means that first, we should strive to be a true shrävaks
shrävikäs, and when we can overcome our social attachments, we
should renounce the worldly life and follow the path of a sädhu or
sädhvi to be liberated.
◦ The three dots above the swastika represent the three jewels of Jainism:
Samyak Darshan (Right Faith),
Samyak Jnan (Right Knowledge), and.
Samyak Charitra (Right Conduct).
◦ We should have all three: right knowledge, right faith, and right conduct
together, then only can we achieve the liberation.
◦ At the very top part of the Jain Universe symbol is a small curved arc.
This arc represents the abode of the Siddhas. It is known as the
Siddhashila. It is the final resting place of the liberated souls. The dot
represents a siddha. In order to achieve this stage, a soul must destroy
all attached karmas. Every living being should strive for this state of the
Salvation or Liberation.

9. Tirthankara:
Tirthankara are the most important person in Jainism just like the purohits of Hindus. These
peoples remove themselves from all the attachment to the world. A tirthankara called Mahavira is
believed to be the founder of Jainism. Tirthankara are the saviors who have succeeded in crossing
over life’s stream of rebirth

10. Right faith:
Right truth is accepting the seven truth or tattvas of Jainism
◦ Jiva : all living things have an perfect immortal soul
◦ Ajiva: non living organism have no soul
◦ Asrava: doing actions drags karma to your soul
◦ Bandha: karma sticks to your soul
◦ Samvara: you can stop the influence of karma
◦ Nirjara: you can separate karma from your soul
◦ Moksha: free your soul from the cycle of rebirth amd death

11. Main principles of Jainism :
There are specific principles of Jainism which mention many of the teachings and actions
connecting to liberation and salvation. All the principles relate to specify the facts and clear the
confusion of what is Jainism. Some of the basic principles of Jainism, which mention the path to
Nirvana and eternal salvation:
◦ Ahimsa (Non-violence)
◦ Satya (Truthfulness)
◦ Acharya (Non-stealing)
◦ Aparigraha (non-possessiveness)
◦ Celibacy