Jainism

Jainism. An ancient Indian śrāmaṇic religious and philosophical tradition still vigorous today. The religion derives its name from the jinas (spiritual victors), a title given to twenty-four great teachers or ‘ford-makers’ (tīrthaṅkaras) whom Jains claim have appeared in the present half-cycle (avasarpiṇī) of time. In fact, Jain teaching is uncreated and eternal, being reactivated by the ‘ford-makers’ (as the Three Jewels) in unending cycles. In the present cycle, historical evidence clearly reaches back to the last two of these teachers, Mahāvīra (24th), who was a contemporary of the Buddha, and Pārśva (23rd), but it is evident that these teachers were reviving, restoring, and re-forming a thread of ancient śramaṇic teaching whose origins lie in Indian prehistory and may have links with the Indus Valley Civilization (see ṚṢABHA). The aim of Jain spiritual endeavour is to liberate the soul (jīva) by freeing it from accumulated karma. Every soul is potentially divine and can aspire to mokṣa by following a course of purification and discipline demonstrated by the tīrthaṅkaras. At the heart of Jainism lies a radical asceticism based on five great vows which monks and nuns follow and which the laity attempt to the best of their ability. The major schism of Jainism between the Digambara (‘the atmosphere clad’, i.e. naked) and Śvetāmbara (‘white clad’), began to emerge as early as 300 BCE ostensibly over whether monks should go naked or wear a simple cloth; but the two schools came to embody differing views towards the scriptures (see AŃGA), women, and monastic practice.

In early years, the Jain movement diffused from its place of origin in the Ganges basin. The diffusion of Jainism accelerated the tendency to form separate groups (see GACCHA). Jain philosophy rejects the authority of the Vedas, caste, and the idea of a God who creates. It is characterized by a realistic classification of being and a theory of knowledge which has connections with Sāṃkhya and Buddhist thought. Jain philosophers have made many distinctive contributions to Indian philosophy particularly in the kindred doctrines of nayavāda and syādvāda which together form the doctrine of the manysidedness of reality (anekāntavāda). This enables a tolerance which may account in part for the remarkable survival of Jainism in India. Whilst accounting for less than 0.5 per cent of India's vast population, Jain influence on the religious, social, political, and economic life of the country has been and is quite out of proportion to their numbers. Until the last cent., Jainism was strictly an Indian phenomenon, but many Gujarati Jains, who had settled in E. Africa, migrated to Europe in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a result of pan-Africanization policies; so that today there are estimated to be 25,000 Jains in Europe, largely in the UK. Some estimates suggest a similar number may be found in N. America.