7/29/2019 Assignment on Value Education

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ASSIGNMENT ON VALUE EDUCATION

Topic: JAINISM

Submitted to: ANITHA DELWIN Submitted by: ALFIN M ANTONY

Reg No: A8128906

III HMCS

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JAINISM

Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes pacifism and a path of non-violence towards all

living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the

soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner

enemies and achieved the state of supreme being is called Jina . Jainism is also referred to as

Shraman Dharma or the religion of Nirgantha by ancient texts. Jainism is commonly referred

to as Jain Dharma in Hindi and Samanam in Tamil.

Jain doctrine teaches that Jainism has always existed and will always exist, but for academic

purposes, historians date the foundation of organized Jainism to sometime between the 9th

and the 6th centuries BCE. Some have speculated that the religion may have its roots in much

earlier times, reflecting native spirituality prior to the Indo-Aryan migration into India. In the

modern world, it is a small but influential religious minority with as many as 4.2 million

followers in India, and successful growing immigrant communities in North America,

Western Europe, the Far East, Australia and elsewhere.

Jains have successfully sustained this longstanding religion to the present day and have

significantly influenced and contributed to ethical, political and economic spheres in India.

Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy for a

religious community in India; Jain libraries are the oldest in the country.Tamil Jains and

Kannada Jains who are native to their regions, residing in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

respectively early since the 1st century BCE, are distinguishable from North Indian Jains in

some of their routines and practices, but the core philosophies and belief systems are the

same for all Jain communities.

CORE BELIEFS OF JAINISM

Every living being has a soul. Every soul is potentially divine, with innate qualities of infinite knowledge,

perception, power, and bliss.

Regard every living being as you do yourself, harming no one and being kind to allliving beings.

Every soul is born as a heavenly being, human, sub-human or hellish being accordingto its own karma.

Every soul is the architect of its own life, here or hereafter. When a soul is freed from karmas, it becomes free and attains divine consciousness,

experiencing infinite knowledge, perception, power, and bliss.

Right Faith, Right Knowledge, and Right Conduct provide the way to this realization.There is no supreme divine creator, owner, preserver, or destroyer. The universe is

self-regulated, and every soul has the potential to achieve divine consciousness

through its own efforts.

Non-violence is the foundation of right view, the condition of right knowledge and thekernel of right conduct. It leads to a state of being unattached to worldly things and

being nonjudgmental and non-violent; this includes compassion and forgiveness in

thoughts, words and actions toward all living beings and respecting views of others.

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Jainism stresses the importance of controlling the senses including the mind, as theycan drag one far away from true nature of the soul.

Limit possessions and lead a life that is useful to yourself and others. Owning anobject by itself is not possessiveness; however, attachment to an object is. Non-

possessiveness is the balancing of needs and desires while staying detached from our

possessions.

Enjoy the company of the holy and better-qualified, be merciful to afflicted souls, andtolerate the perversely inclined.

Four things are difficult for a soul to attain: 1. human birth, 2. knowledge of the lawsgoverning the souls, 3. absolute conviction in the philosophy of non-violence, and 4.

practicing it in everyday life activities.

It is, therefore, important not to waste human life in evil ways. Rather, strive to rise onthe ladder of spiritual evolution.

The goal of Jainism is liberation of the soul from the negative effects of unenlightenedthoughts, speech, and action. This goal is achieved through clearance of karmic

obstructions by following the triple gems of Jainism.

Navakar Mantra is the fundamental prayer in Jainism and can be recited at any time ofthe day. Praying by reciting this mantra, the devotee bows in respect to liberated souls

still in human form, fully liberated souls, spiritual leaders, teacher and all the monks.

By saluting them saying "namo namaha", Jains receive inspiration from them to

follow their path to achieve true bliss and total freedom from the karmas binding their

souls. In this main prayer, Jains do not ask for any favours or material benefits. This

mantra serves as a simple gesture of deep respect toward beings that are more

spiritually advanced. The mantra also reminds followers of the ultimate goal of

reaching nirvana or moksha.

Jains worship the icons of Jinas, Arihants, and Tirthankars, who have conquered theinner passions and attained divine consciousness, and study the scriptures of these

liberated beings.

Jainism acknowledges the existence of powerful heavenly souls that look after thewell-beings of Tirthankarars. Usually, they are found in pair around the icons of Jinas

as male and female guardian deities. Even though they have supernatural powers,

these deities are also souls wandering through the cycles of births and deaths just like

most other souls. Over time, people started worshiping these deities as well.

AHIMSA IN JAINISM

Ahisa in Jainism is a fundamental principle forming the cornerstone of its ethics and

doctrine. The term "ahimsa" means non-violence, non-injury or absence of desire to

harm any life forms. Vegetarianism and other non-violent practices and rituals of Jains flow

from the principle of Ahisa. According to Adian Rankin, the concept of Ahisa is so much

intertwined with Jainism that it conjures up images of ascetics who cover their mouths and

sweep the ground before them with small brushes to avoid injuring the most minuscule forms

of life and Jain-owned animal sanctuaries where even the sickest, most deformed birds and

beasts are protected and cherished. These overt manifestations of an ancient faith challenge

the comfortable - and near-universal - assumption of human precedence over other creatures.

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CONCLUSION

By this assignment I got informations about Jainism and its core beliefs. Also I got some

idea about ahimsa in Jainism. Himsa is this tendency to harm others that ultimately harms

ones own soul. Furthermore, the Jains have extended the concept of Ahisa not only to

humans but to all animals, plants, micro-organisms and all beings having life or life potential.