In the second chapter we traced the history of Jainism in its earlier centuries. The story is not complete for,even if we had much more space and time, historians are still only slowly unraveling the confused history of ancient India. In this chapter we shall sketch a few of the developments in Jainism in the history of India.Obviously we can only touch on this subject. One of the reasons why it is difficult to trace the history of Jainism quickly is that India for much of the past 2000 years was not a single state but a large number of small, and some large, states with shifting frontiers each with its own history.
The major event, of course, was the gradual extension of Jainism from its homelands in eastern India into the south, and then into western India, Gujarat and Rajasthan. Unfortunately we know little about how this actually happened. Doubtless Jain Monks, traveling as always on foot, crossed India and made converts in the lands they passed through. Probably Jain businessmen, then as now, took their faith to distant parts. Other travelers also might have helped. Certainly Jainism had reached Gujarat more than 2000 years ago.
From the early fourth century A.D. until around 600 A.D. northern India, down as far as modern Bombay, was under the control of the emperors of the Gupta dynasty. Doubtless the unified control facilitated contacts across India. In the Gupta period Gujarat seems to have become the most important center of Jainism in India if we are to judge from the fact that the great council, when the holy scriptures were finally put into writing around 460 A.D., was held at Valabhi in Gujarat. Some sixty or seventy years later Jain scriptures were read at a ceremony of mourning for the death of the king’s son even though the king himself was not a Jain. Apart from Gujarat, Jainism was well established in many parts of India by the Gupta period: it was certainly already present in Rajasthan by then.
An unusual account of India was given by a visitor from China who traveled there in the earlier seventh century A: D . He has many references to Jains and it does appear that, at least in the places which he visited, the Digambara were at that time the stronger section. However the Svetambara were beginning to increase in Gujarat and Rajasthan, particularly because they gained the support of the kings of Gujarat. Many
great Jain scholars contributed to Jain learning as well as to many other subjects. One of the greatest was the famous Acharya Hemacandra from Gujarat (1089-1172 A.D.). The king of Gujarat, Kumarapala, was his staunch follower. Hemacandra wrote very widely on a range of scientific and literary subjects, commentaries on ancient texts, poetry, works on logic, yoga and grammar, and a lot more. He wrote a major work on the duties of both lay people and monks.
Large number of sects developed amongst the Svetambara from the seventh century A.D. onwards, traditionally they numbered eighty-four, though not many of them survive today. They certainly attest to the vitality of Jainism in these centuries, a golden age for the faith.
In south India, from the fifth century onwards for some seven hundred years, Jains also received the patronage of royalty and many kings favored them in one way or another. Great poets and writers flourished. Under royal patronage Jinasena wrote a great unfinished epic which was completed by his pupil Gunabhadra in the year 897 A.D. This long work includes much moral teaching on the duties of a Jain and is much respected by the Digambara scholars. In the south one of the great centers of Jainism was Sravana Belgola, noted for its colossal Jain image, still an important center of pilgrimage today, and in earlier times a center for Jain influence across the southern regions. Jainism flourished during this period with large numbers of
adherents in all classes of society.
However Jainism began to lose ground eventually. The development of popular personal religious movements in Hinduism with a warm devotion to a god led many away from the religion of Mahavira. The Hindu followers of both Vishnu and Siva increased in numbers and the contest between the newly revived Hindu cults and the Jains became strong, then bitter and finally in some cases led to violence against the
Jains. Although we must not overstress this (for Hinduism and Jainism have coexisted happily nearly always), Jainism in south India did suffer a decline from which it never recovered, at least to its earlier strength. Dedicated and faithful Jains continued to practice their religion with enthusiasm, as they do today, but their
numbers were fewer.
In the north, too, Jainism lost ground. From the thirteenth century A.D. the Muslim conquests in north India affected Jains badly. At times Jain temples (and Hindu ones as well) suffered damage or destruction by the conquerors. At the same time there seems to have been a decline in religious fervor and practice. Numbers declined and Jainism became confined mainly to the merchant and business class. However, again we must not overstress the decline.; Jainism did decline in numbers, and at times in standards, Jains continued to produce great scholars and many devoted saints. Jains, as a pacific group in society, valued for financial and business acumen, enjoyed a fair measure of tolerance and, indeed, were not infrequently employed in important government positions. Temple building and the arts continued to flourish. In the sixteenth century the Mogul emperor Akbar, the greatest Mogul ruler, although a Muslim, had close contacts with a Jain monk Hirvijaya Suri. Akbar called Hirvijaya to his court in 1582 and the monk and the emperor had long conversations on questions of religion and philosophy. Inspired by these the emperor was moved to impose
restrictions on the killing of animals in his domains and himself gave up his favorite sport of hunting.
While the Muslims dominated north and central India, in the south the great Hindu empire of Vijayanagar ruled from the early fourteenth century to the late sixteenth century A.D. Here the Jains were protected by the rulers and many took an important part in public life, in government and the army, as well as in finance, trade
and learning. In view of the Jain insistence on non-violence, it may become as a surprise to some to learn that Jain laymen have sometimes been prepared to hold military positions. The question whether the rules of ahimsa, non-violence, permit the necessary defense of one’s country is usually answered by the argument
that a measure of necessary harm is unavoidable for the lay person, though of course strictly precluded for the monk or nun. In all honesty, however, we may well question whether the military exploits of some Jain rulers in Indian history have not strayed beyond the bounds of unavoidable violence.
The building of temples and the installation of images has long been a tradition of Jainism but one development has been the emergence of a branch of the Svetambara Jains which does not accept the worship of images. The Sthanakvasi sect originated in the late seventeenth century, though its roots are traced back as far as 1394 in another group which rejected images. Although the majority of Jains adhere to
the ancient rituals and images, the Sthanakvasi, who meet in plain meditation halls, have attracted many adherents and have produced many learned and pious members.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Jainism Explained: Mahavira's Teachings
Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions. Much of its early history is not known, or has come down to us in a form in which historical fact is difficult to distinguish from miraculous stories. However we do know that this ancient religion was passed on to us through the high spiritual genius of one of the greatest religious teachers of all time, Mahavira. We must be clear, from the start, that Mahavira was not the founder of Jainism. What he did was to bring together in a systematic form the beliefs and philosophy of his predecessors, preach them widely throughout his home country, and lay the foundations of an organized Jain ‘church’ with monks and nuns and lay people following his teachings. The social order which he created has endured to the present day.
Mahavira was not some imaginary being. He was a real man, and we know, with reasonable certainty, that his life on earth ended just over 2500 years ago, in 527 B.C. We know details of his life. He was born in 599 B.C. into a family of the ksatriya, or knightly, caste. His father, Siddhartha, was a prince or lord, and his mother, Trisala, also came from a noble family. His birthplace is believed to have been near the modern city of Patna, in Bihar in north-eastern India. Although generally referred to as Mahavira (which means ‘great hero’), his original name was Vardhamana. Until his late twenties he doubtless led a life not very different from that of any other young man in his level of society.
Both his parents were followers of the religious teachings of Parsva, the ‘fourfold teaching’, chaturyama dharma, abstention from violence, theft, untruth and acquisitiveness. We should nowadays call them Jains.
Parsva, who had lived some 250 years before Mahavira, is recognize as the twenty- third Tirthankara or prophet of Jainism. It was shortly after his parents’ death that Vardhamana, or Mahavira, decided at the age of thirty to renounce a worldly life. He gave up all his possessions, even his clothes, and lived for the next twelve years a life of great hardship, training himself to endure the pains and discomforts of the body until he became indifferent to them. The wandering ascetic, seeking knowledge alone in the wilder places, or in company with fellow seekers for truth, was (and still is) an accepted figure on the edge of Indian society. The sixth century B.C. was an era of intellectual ferment, an exciting period for a young man of inquiring spirit, when various groups were searching beyond the bounds of the rather rigid religious orthodoxy of the time.
The best-known individual, at least in historical perspective, was the Buddha, a near contemporary of Mahavira. Some of the earlier Western scholars who encountered Jainism did not distinguish it from Buddhism (for there are some similarities, as well as very marked differences) and even confused the persons of Mahavira and the Buddha. Mahavira persevered with this austere life style, marked by long spells of fasting and other penances, and by deep meditation. At last, during one period of meditation by the side of a river, he came to a comprehension of the whole nature and meaning of the universe. This total knowledge, omniscience, keval jnana; is very important to Jainism. Most of us have had the experience, at some time, of puzzling over something we do not quite understand, when, suddenly, almost as though a cloud clears, we get a flash of understanding and we see the solution to our problem. Can we imagine this flash of understanding spreading out, clearing the clouds over not just our small problem but all the problems of the universe, giving us an understanding of the whole nature and workings and meaning of the universe? This is what happened to Mahavira. And it can happen, and has happened, to other people as well. This total knowledge does not come easily: for Mahavira, as we have seen, it was the result of years of austerity and meditation. This was the fourth of the five great events of Mahavira’s life which are celebrated by Jains today: his conception, birth, renunciation, and now enlightenment. The fifth great event, nirvana or moksa came thirty years later.
During these thirty years Mahavira, strengthened by his knowledge, spread his message among the people. He spoke in the language of the region, Ardhamagadhi, not in the classical Sanskrit of the scholars, and the oldest Jain scriptures are preserved in that language. Some people, men and women, were inspired to give up all possessions and become monks and nuns. Others were unable to go that far but followed Mahavira’s teachings without giving up their homes and families and work.
Mahavira taught a scientific explanation of the nature and meaning of life and a guide as to how we should behave to draw this real nature and meaning into our own life. We must start with three things. First, we must have RIGHT FAITH , we must believe in truth. Second, we must have the RIGHT KNOWLEDGE, we must study to understand what life is all about. Third, we must follow RIGHT CONDUCT, the conduct which our faith and knowledge show us to be correct. These are the ‘three jewels’, ratnatraya. of Jainism.
RIGHT FAITH is perhaps the hardest of all. Nobody can tell us what we can believe, but we can look at the message of Mahavira and believe that he really did know what he was talking about and that his message makes sense.
Mahavira’s message contains the basis of RIGHT KNOWLEDGE. Life is a puzzle. Where did we come from before birth? Where do we go after death? Nobody’s life is completely and totally happy, but why do some people have lives of great misery and others have much joy? Mahavira teaches us that this is not the result of the whims of some distant god. No, each one of us is what we have made ourselves by our actions in this life and in previous lives. Every individual (and not only humans, but animals and plants) is basically a pure spirit or soul (jiva is the Jain word for it) which is capable of complete knowledge and complete freedom. But by our actions and thoughts we have, as it were, covered this pure spirit with the gross material of karma which obscures our knowledge and limits our freedom and ties us down to one life after another. Although we may have a lot of happiness in life we also, all of us, have a great deal of unhappiness. We want to know the way in which we can get rid of the restrictions of karma and gain the state of complete knowledge and glorious freedom which is known as moksa or nirvana. Although this may be a very long, very slow process for most of us, over countless lives, Mahavira teaches us how to make a start in freeing ourselves from the restrictions and miseries of karma.
So we come to RIGHT CONDUCT. Strength of passions is the worst thing, passions of violence and desire and possession. The most important principle which runs through the whole of Mahavira’s attitude of life is ahimsa. This is usually translated as ‘non-violence’, but it goes beyond that and really means the greatest possible kindness to all living things. This is the first and fundamental rule which we should try to follow, to get rid of violence in all our actions and even in our thoughts. Yes, in our thoughts as well, for violent thoughts can be potentially as harmful as violent deeds.
Mahavira’s teachings, if faithfully followed, have two results. Firstly, they produce a better society for every creature to live in, and secondly, they enable the individual to improve his or her own inner feelings and character. So, following on from ahimsa, we are taught to be truthful and honest, to create both individuals and a society in which lies and theft, and general insecurity, are absent. Lies and theft are the result of our passions and possessiveness. True peace and harmony in society and in the individual are possible only if we can restrain our passions and desires. So Mahavira tells us to reduce our longing for the things of the
world, for material possessions and for sexual activities. We can never have real peace of spirit so long as we are constantly seeking more and more possessions and pleasures.
These then are the five rules of conduct which Mahavira taught, non-violence, truthfulness, no stealing, non- acquisition and control of sexual desires. It is a hard program and not everybody can follow it all at once. So Mahavira set up a society in which some people, monks and nuns, try to follow his program as far as is humanly possible. Others, ordinary lay people, men and women, do not give up their homes and jobs and families, but they try as far as possible in the circumstances of daily life to follow the five rules of conduct.
While the monk or nun can take precautions to avoid harm even to the tiniest living creature, the rule of non-violence must mean something less for ordinary people caught up in the ordinary business of our lives. A monk or nun can give up all possessions and seek no more: for most of us non-acquisition must mean trying to reduce our craving for possessions and the pleasures of the world. Monks and nuns can go very much further than married men and women in subduing their attachment to sex.
Mahavira taught his message for thirty years until his life on earth ended and he passed on to that state of complete freedom and bliss and peace which we call moksa. For most of us moksa is a very long way away. But he taught us how we can approach it ourselves by rules which lead to inner peace and harmony inside ourselves and outward peace and harmony in human society. He taught more than that, a democratic organization in the society which he set up, with all men and women playing their part and with no barriers of class or caste. He also taught tolerance and an appreciation that things can be seen from more points of view than one. Above all he taught that we ourselves produce our own fate by our own actions and emotions: we should not look outside for some god to praise or blame or ask for favors. When we honor Mahavira we do not ask him for present help, but we meditate on his example and teachings and seek to draw the real meaning of these into our own life and spirit.
This is the essence of Mahavira’s teachings. Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions: the modern Jain may well see it as scientific, practical and fitted for the modern world.
Mahavira was not some imaginary being. He was a real man, and we know, with reasonable certainty, that his life on earth ended just over 2500 years ago, in 527 B.C. We know details of his life. He was born in 599 B.C. into a family of the ksatriya, or knightly, caste. His father, Siddhartha, was a prince or lord, and his mother, Trisala, also came from a noble family. His birthplace is believed to have been near the modern city of Patna, in Bihar in north-eastern India. Although generally referred to as Mahavira (which means ‘great hero’), his original name was Vardhamana. Until his late twenties he doubtless led a life not very different from that of any other young man in his level of society.
Both his parents were followers of the religious teachings of Parsva, the ‘fourfold teaching’, chaturyama dharma, abstention from violence, theft, untruth and acquisitiveness. We should nowadays call them Jains.
Parsva, who had lived some 250 years before Mahavira, is recognize as the twenty- third Tirthankara or prophet of Jainism. It was shortly after his parents’ death that Vardhamana, or Mahavira, decided at the age of thirty to renounce a worldly life. He gave up all his possessions, even his clothes, and lived for the next twelve years a life of great hardship, training himself to endure the pains and discomforts of the body until he became indifferent to them. The wandering ascetic, seeking knowledge alone in the wilder places, or in company with fellow seekers for truth, was (and still is) an accepted figure on the edge of Indian society. The sixth century B.C. was an era of intellectual ferment, an exciting period for a young man of inquiring spirit, when various groups were searching beyond the bounds of the rather rigid religious orthodoxy of the time.
The best-known individual, at least in historical perspective, was the Buddha, a near contemporary of Mahavira. Some of the earlier Western scholars who encountered Jainism did not distinguish it from Buddhism (for there are some similarities, as well as very marked differences) and even confused the persons of Mahavira and the Buddha. Mahavira persevered with this austere life style, marked by long spells of fasting and other penances, and by deep meditation. At last, during one period of meditation by the side of a river, he came to a comprehension of the whole nature and meaning of the universe. This total knowledge, omniscience, keval jnana; is very important to Jainism. Most of us have had the experience, at some time, of puzzling over something we do not quite understand, when, suddenly, almost as though a cloud clears, we get a flash of understanding and we see the solution to our problem. Can we imagine this flash of understanding spreading out, clearing the clouds over not just our small problem but all the problems of the universe, giving us an understanding of the whole nature and workings and meaning of the universe? This is what happened to Mahavira. And it can happen, and has happened, to other people as well. This total knowledge does not come easily: for Mahavira, as we have seen, it was the result of years of austerity and meditation. This was the fourth of the five great events of Mahavira’s life which are celebrated by Jains today: his conception, birth, renunciation, and now enlightenment. The fifth great event, nirvana or moksa came thirty years later.
During these thirty years Mahavira, strengthened by his knowledge, spread his message among the people. He spoke in the language of the region, Ardhamagadhi, not in the classical Sanskrit of the scholars, and the oldest Jain scriptures are preserved in that language. Some people, men and women, were inspired to give up all possessions and become monks and nuns. Others were unable to go that far but followed Mahavira’s teachings without giving up their homes and families and work.
Mahavira taught a scientific explanation of the nature and meaning of life and a guide as to how we should behave to draw this real nature and meaning into our own life. We must start with three things. First, we must have RIGHT FAITH , we must believe in truth. Second, we must have the RIGHT KNOWLEDGE, we must study to understand what life is all about. Third, we must follow RIGHT CONDUCT, the conduct which our faith and knowledge show us to be correct. These are the ‘three jewels’, ratnatraya. of Jainism.
RIGHT FAITH is perhaps the hardest of all. Nobody can tell us what we can believe, but we can look at the message of Mahavira and believe that he really did know what he was talking about and that his message makes sense.
Mahavira’s message contains the basis of RIGHT KNOWLEDGE. Life is a puzzle. Where did we come from before birth? Where do we go after death? Nobody’s life is completely and totally happy, but why do some people have lives of great misery and others have much joy? Mahavira teaches us that this is not the result of the whims of some distant god. No, each one of us is what we have made ourselves by our actions in this life and in previous lives. Every individual (and not only humans, but animals and plants) is basically a pure spirit or soul (jiva is the Jain word for it) which is capable of complete knowledge and complete freedom. But by our actions and thoughts we have, as it were, covered this pure spirit with the gross material of karma which obscures our knowledge and limits our freedom and ties us down to one life after another. Although we may have a lot of happiness in life we also, all of us, have a great deal of unhappiness. We want to know the way in which we can get rid of the restrictions of karma and gain the state of complete knowledge and glorious freedom which is known as moksa or nirvana. Although this may be a very long, very slow process for most of us, over countless lives, Mahavira teaches us how to make a start in freeing ourselves from the restrictions and miseries of karma.
So we come to RIGHT CONDUCT. Strength of passions is the worst thing, passions of violence and desire and possession. The most important principle which runs through the whole of Mahavira’s attitude of life is ahimsa. This is usually translated as ‘non-violence’, but it goes beyond that and really means the greatest possible kindness to all living things. This is the first and fundamental rule which we should try to follow, to get rid of violence in all our actions and even in our thoughts. Yes, in our thoughts as well, for violent thoughts can be potentially as harmful as violent deeds.
Mahavira’s teachings, if faithfully followed, have two results. Firstly, they produce a better society for every creature to live in, and secondly, they enable the individual to improve his or her own inner feelings and character. So, following on from ahimsa, we are taught to be truthful and honest, to create both individuals and a society in which lies and theft, and general insecurity, are absent. Lies and theft are the result of our passions and possessiveness. True peace and harmony in society and in the individual are possible only if we can restrain our passions and desires. So Mahavira tells us to reduce our longing for the things of the
world, for material possessions and for sexual activities. We can never have real peace of spirit so long as we are constantly seeking more and more possessions and pleasures.
These then are the five rules of conduct which Mahavira taught, non-violence, truthfulness, no stealing, non- acquisition and control of sexual desires. It is a hard program and not everybody can follow it all at once. So Mahavira set up a society in which some people, monks and nuns, try to follow his program as far as is humanly possible. Others, ordinary lay people, men and women, do not give up their homes and jobs and families, but they try as far as possible in the circumstances of daily life to follow the five rules of conduct.
While the monk or nun can take precautions to avoid harm even to the tiniest living creature, the rule of non-violence must mean something less for ordinary people caught up in the ordinary business of our lives. A monk or nun can give up all possessions and seek no more: for most of us non-acquisition must mean trying to reduce our craving for possessions and the pleasures of the world. Monks and nuns can go very much further than married men and women in subduing their attachment to sex.
Mahavira taught his message for thirty years until his life on earth ended and he passed on to that state of complete freedom and bliss and peace which we call moksa. For most of us moksa is a very long way away. But he taught us how we can approach it ourselves by rules which lead to inner peace and harmony inside ourselves and outward peace and harmony in human society. He taught more than that, a democratic organization in the society which he set up, with all men and women playing their part and with no barriers of class or caste. He also taught tolerance and an appreciation that things can be seen from more points of view than one. Above all he taught that we ourselves produce our own fate by our own actions and emotions: we should not look outside for some god to praise or blame or ask for favors. When we honor Mahavira we do not ask him for present help, but we meditate on his example and teachings and seek to draw the real meaning of these into our own life and spirit.
This is the essence of Mahavira’s teachings. Jainism is one of the world’s oldest religions: the modern Jain may well see it as scientific, practical and fitted for the modern world.
Jainism Explained Index Next Chapter
Jainism Explained
Jainism Explained
BY Paul Marett
General Editor: Dr. Natubhai Shah
Jain Samaj Europe Publication, Leicester
England
BY Paul Marett
General Editor: Dr. Natubhai Shah
Jain Samaj Europe Publication, Leicester
England
Index
Mahavir's Teachings
The Early Centuries of Jainism
Jainism in Indian History
Jainism Enters the Modern Age
Doctrines of Jainism
Doctrines of Jainism
The Jain Path in Life
The Jain Path in Life
Daily Practices and Recitation
Rituals and Festivals
Pilgrimage and Sacred Places
Jainism and Other Religions
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Mahavir's Teachings
The Early Centuries of Jainism
Jainism in Indian History
Jainism Enters the Modern Age
Doctrines of Jainism
Doctrines of Jainism
The Jain Path in Life
The Jain Path in Life
Daily Practices and Recitation
Rituals and Festivals
Pilgrimage and Sacred Places
Jainism and Other Religions
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
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