Jainism Myths Demystified for Layman

 

What comes to your mind when you come across a Jain Dharma? How about a Jain sadhu? Last week, a revered Digambar Jain Muni (Tarun Sagar Ji Maharaj) was invited to address the Haryana legislative assembly. It stirred social media conflicts. Some highly influential people provided their opinion.

A few of them made inappropriate comments, I was scared to see them asking questions like, “Why was he allowed to enter parliament without clothes and in which vehicle did he come to parliament?” They are extremely ignorant but trying to display expertise. There’s nothing more dangerous than a celebrity showing religious expertise despite being ignorant, especially on social media in India. In India, Religion is paramount to many people. Everyone knows this. They may be ignorant about religion but they can’t be ignorant about the impact of making uneducated comments on religion.

Jainism is a minority and hence a lesser-known religion. It is like a Mystery for many people. This article is a simple attempt to educate & information about Jainism. To make reading easy, I have avoided the usage of religious jargon.

Jainism (Jain Religion) by the numbers (India numbers) –

1. 0.37% of the Indian population, 0.06% of the world population.
2. 94.1% literacy rate, 65.38% national literacy rate.
3. Female literacy is 90.6%, the national average is 54.16%
4. Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat, MP, Karnataka, UP, and Delhi have the most population of Jains in descending order. After this, it’s Tamil Nadu that has less than 70,000 Jains
5. The low sex ratio of 889 despite high literacy.

Jain Religion History (Jainism) –

 

1. 24 Jain Gods (Tirthankara)
2. 1st – Adinath
3. 23rd – Parshvanath ( c. 872 – c. 772 BCE)
4. 24th – Mahavira – ( c. 599 – c. 527 BCE)
5. Lord Mahavira is the most familiar name – Born in Bihar and attained Moksha (liberation from the cycle of birth and death) at the age of 72.

Type of Jains –

 

1. Two main sects. Digambara and Shwetambara
2. Digambara comes from “sky-clad”
3. Shwetambara comes from “white-clad”
4. A lot of principles and ideologies are similar between different sects of Jainism.

Main Teachings (Principle of Jainism) –

 

1. Ahimsa (non-violence) – a most fundamental aspect of Jainism – not only to humans but to any living being
2. Satya (Truthfulness)
3. Asteya (Non-stealing)
4. Brahmacharya (Chastity) – Total abstinence from sensual pleasure, also called celibacy
5. Aparigraha (non-attachment) – Non-possessiveness and non-attachment to inner as well as external pleasures

Jain Practices –

 

1. Fasting
2. Vegetarianism
3. Prayers
4. Meditation
5. Festival of Paryushana – 8 days of the increased spiritual intensity of people
6. Festival of Mahavir Jayanti – Birth of Lord Mahavira
7. Festival of Diwali – Nirvana Laddoo offered in the temple on Lord Mahavira’s Nirvana
8. There are many Jain pilgrimages across India. Jain temples are mostly very simple.

Jain Philosophy –

 

1. Dravya (substance) – The body is different than substance. The body can be destroyed but the substance can’t be destroyed.
2. Jiva and Ajiva (Soul and nonsoul) – Matter, time, space, dharma, and adharma are ajiva. Jiva is differentiated with ajiva primarily by intelligence.
3. Soul and Karma
4. Live and Let live

Important mantra – Namokar mantra is the most important mantra of Jains. It is very simple and can be recited anytime. Below are the mantra and its meaning –

 

1. NamoArihantanam: I bow down to Arihanta,
2. NamoSiddhanam: I bow down to Siddha,
3. NamoAyariyanam: I bow down to Acharya,
4. NamoUvajjhayanam: I bow down to Upadhyaya,
5. NamoLoe Savva-sahunam: I bow down to Sadhu and Sadhvi.
6. AisoPanchNamokaro: This namokar mantra is so great,
7. Savva-pavappanasano: it destroys all the sins,
8. ManglanamcheSavvesim: It brings blessings to self,
9. PadhamamHaveiMangalam: It brings blessings to others also.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Jain? – Here is a common interpretation of Jains among people.

 

1. Jains are rich.
2. Jains are honest
3. Jains do not fight
4. Jains are pure vegetarian
5. Jains are shrewd businessman
6. Jains migrated from Rajasthan or Gujarat
7. Jains can’t bear the smell of chicken and egg.
8. Jain males should wear white cloth on their mouth or be naked
9. Jains do not eat in the night and do not eat onion, garlic, and potatoes

If everyone is talking about the same thing, there must be some truth in it. This part will not be covered in this article.

Varying degrees of follower-ship – The world is changing fast. Following any religious practices, 100% is not practical for everyone. So, a lot of Jains have also adopted a practical and convenient approach in their religious follower-ship as many other religions. Their religious follower-ship varies as per their own value system, situation, convenience, surroundings, and age, etc.

Jain Monks and Nuns – It is not easy to be a true Jain Monk or Nun. There is the various degrees of follower-ship within Jain monasticism. Here are some of the key aspects of Digambar Jain Monks (male).

 

1. There are only a few hundred Digambar Jain Monks
2. That is just ~ .000007% of the World population and ~ .0001% of the Jain population
3. They follow very strict practices. Some are mentioned below
4. Ahimsa, They do not injure any living being by action or thought
5. Truthfulness
6. Aparigraha, Renunciation of worldly things.
7. They do not own anything
8. Irya, They walk carefully
9. They go everywhere walking, they do not ever use a vehicle
10. Adantdhavan, They do not use tooth powder to clean teeth
11. Bhushayan, They sleep on hard ground, whatever the season
12. They do not use any cushion or cloth to sit
13. Asnana, They do not take bath.
14. Stithi-bhojan, They eat standing up
15. Ekabhukti, They take food only once in a day
16. They are vegetarian and they do not eat anything that grows under ground
17. They eat only between sunrise and sunset
18. They do not own even a bowl, they make a cup of their hands to eat everything
19. Kesa-lonch, They pluck hair on the head and face by hand
20. Naked, They renounce clothing
21. Pratishṭapan, They dispose of body waste at a place free of living beings
22. Samayika, Meditate for equanimity towards every living being
23. Stuti, They worship of the God
24. Vandan, They pay obeisance to siddhas, arihantas and acharyas
25. Asteya, They take nothing unless it is given
26. Brahmacharya, Celibacy in action, word, and thought
27. Bhasha, They do not criticize
28. Eshna, They accept food from a sravaka (householder) if it is free of 46 faults
29. Adan-nishep, Carefulness in handling whatever the ascetic possesses
30. Panchindrinirodh, control of the five senses.
31. Shedding attachment and aversion to objects based sparsana (touch), rasana (taste), ghrana (smell), chaksu (sight), and srotra (hearing)
32. Pratikramana, They practice repentance
33. Pratikhayan, Renunciation
34. Kayotsarga, They give up attachment to the body

Other than Digambar Jain male monks, the other Jain Monks and Nuns follow most of these practices (apart from renouncing their clothing). It is extremely difficult for anyone to follow these practices 100%, even for monks and nuns. However, as their level of asceticism grows slowly, they reach the highest level of being a monk (Sadhu or muni) or nun (Sadhvi or Aryika).

Additional points about Jain monks –

 

1. Without attachment to anything, they can focus on only knowledge and attaining Nirvana.
2. Even if you are Jain, just removing clothes does not make you a Jain monk
3. Jain monk and nuns live in or nearby a temple but they are not priests of the temple
4. They do not perform rituals or ceremonies like a priest
5. They stay in small groups and spend most of their time in meditation and self-study
6. They preach religion to the people
7. At the most, they possess these two items (or their equivalent)

• Peechee (a bunch of peacock feathers) – required for cleaning the floor, etc
• Kamandal – a pot for water-primarily used for hygienic purpose

The Jains you see around are also normal people. Do not expect every Jain you see to follow what is written above. A lot of it only applies to Jain monks though others also try to follow based on their commitment and abilities.

If a Jain Sadhu is without clothes, it is because of his years of the following asceticism. If you see one next time, please do not make fun. It does not impact them much because they are practiced to be above any kind of feelings. However, the people who look at them with reverence get hurt. It is very interesting and comprehensive. There is a valid scientific reason behind most of the practices mentioned above. A few hours of study can teach you a lot about Jainism.