A Portrait Amar T. Salgia Founding Member of Young Jains of America

The religions of the world differ widely in their beliefs, faiths, and theories regarding good and evil, happiness and misery, and survival of death. A popular alternative to the doctrine of a kind and almighty creator who governs the universe is the theory of soulless, materialistic atheism which maintains that life and consciousness are the outcome of the activity of matter, to be dissipated upon death.

For those finding neither of these assertions satisfactory, there has been, since time immemorial, a system which neither denies the existence of the soul, nor starts with the presupposition of a creator. This system makes each individual the master of its own destiny, affirming the immortality of every soul and insisting upon the very highest rectitude of life, unto final perfection, as a necessary means to permanent happiness now and hereafter. In this modern era, it is commonly known as Jainism.

It is claimed of the ancient Jain spiritual teachers that they had purged themselves of the passions of anger, greed, ego, and deceit, were free from all worldly attachments, and were therefore omniscient. The Jain scriptures are claimed to be the historical records of the lives and teachings of those omniscient spiritual leaders, and it is from these scriptures that the Jain doctrines are taken. These spiritual leaders lived in the flesh on earth, as human beings. They realized the true nature of worldly existence and taught the human race the path to Final Liberation.

Jainism begins with a serious concern for the human soul in its relationship with the laws governing existence in the universe, with other living beings, and to its own future state in eternity. First and foremost, it is a religion of the heart: the golden rule is Ahimsa, nonviolence by all faculties -- mental, verbal, and physical. The whole of its structure is built upon compassion for all forms of life. Like an inner Japanese garden, with its profusion of inner worlds, restrained exuberance, and perfect orchestration, Jainism, too, emerges as a secret refuge for life, an artistic oasis; and its delicate balance spanning hope and despair does not brashly declare itself nor go in for theatrics.

Jainism offers a quiet, overwhelmingly serious way of life, a cultural insistence on compassion, a society of aesthetics that has dramatically changed the world and will continue to effect change. Jainism is a momentous example to all of us that there can exist a successful, ecologically responsible way of life which is abundantly nonviolent in thought, action, and deed. As a species, we might misread our history, go forward confusedly to perpetrate other follies, but we will do so knowing that there is a viable alternative.

Moreover, Jainism is unlike other systems of thought in that its theories of cognition, perception, and the nature of the cosmos are, to the utmost, accurate in the context of modern scientific thought and reasoning. They will bear the severest scrutiny of the intellect, and they give freedom to the individual. Jainism does not offer a deity for humanity to worship, but another means of obtaining its grace; beyond the rules of right conduct, which are based upon its understanding of reality and nature, it offers no commandments to obey or dogmas to accept unconditionally. It teaches that we -- humans, animals, plants, angelics, or denizens of hell -- are individually responsible to ourselves for our own condition, and for our conduct towards others. It ennobles the natural purity inherent in all souls, and allows one the freedom to perceive Truth as it truly is.

The "Jains" are, etymologically, the followers of the Jinas. "Jina" literally means "Conqueror." He who has conquered love and hate, pleasure and pain, attachment and aversion, and has thereby freed the soul from the karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and ability, is a Jina. A Jina is omniscient and has realized the soul's innate qualities of Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Energy, and Bliss. Such a soul is also called an Arihant (Destroyer of Inner Enemies). The Jains refer to the Jina as God.

Time rolls along in an eternal cycle of rise and decline. An Utsarpini is a "rising" era in which human affairs and natural conditions improve and aggrandize over time. At the peak of the Utsarpini begins an Avasarpini, a "declining" era of the same length, in which the ultra-utopia which evolved gradually corrupts, weakens, and becomes more difficult to endure. During every declining era are born twenty-four persons quite different from their contemporary societies. Upon realizing the nature of suffering, the cycle of misery, and the path to liberation from it, those twenty-four individuals renounce all ties to the world, mental and material. Those twenty-four, human like us, blaze a path to perfection. They are apostles of Ahimsa, born for the upliftment of all living things in the three worlds. The Jains refer to these individuals who become Jinas and teach mankind how to follow the noble path of Enlightened Perception, Knowledge, and Conduct the Twenty-four Crossing-Makers, or Tirthankaras. It is the ultimate goal of the Jain to follow in the footsteps of the Crossing-Makers by attaining freedom from the misery inherent in the material world while crossing the ocean of worldly existence.

Originating on the Indian subcontinent, Jainism -- or, more properly, the Jain Dharm -- is one of the oldest religions of its homeland and indeed of the world. Having prehistoric origins before 3,000 B.C.E., and before the propagation of Indo-Aryan culture, the Twenty-four Crossing-Makers guided its evolution and elaboration by first achieving, and then teaching. The first Tirthankara of the present declining era was Lord Rishabhanath, and the last was Lord Mahavira (599-527 B.C.E.).

Jain religion is unique in that, during its existence of over five thousand years, it has never compromised on the concept of nonviolence either in principle or practice. It upholds nonviolence as the supreme religion (Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah) and has insisted upon its observance in thought, word, and deed at the individual as well as social levels. Both in its philosophical essence as well as in its rituals, Jain religion invokes an intense and constant awareness of communion and understanding of not only all living beings but indeed all that exists. The holy text Tattvartha Sutra sums it up in the phrase "Parasparopagraho Jivanam" (all life is mutually supportive). Jain religion presents a truly enlightened perspective of equality of souls, irrespective of differing physical forms, ranging from human beings to animals and microscopic living organisms. Humans, alone among living beings, are endowed with all the six senses of seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching, and thinking; thus humans are enjoined upon to act responsibly towards all life by being compassionate, egoless, fearless, forgiving, rational, and therefore full of equanimity.

Jain religion has a clearly articulated scientific basis that elucidates the properties and qualities of animate and inanimate substances which make up the cosmos; their interrelationship is described in terms of evolution and growth of monads (like atoms), molecules, nonmaterial continuums, and souls. Jainism sets forth the existence of two fundamental categories of existing entities: Jiva and Ajiva, soul and non-soul. The non-soul "substances" are time, space, pudgal (the continuum of matter and energy), and the media of motion and rest. Genius lies in this cosmology. Elements of the Jain worldview, as taught for thousands of years before the Renaissance, include the atomic makeup of matter, the charged nature of elementary particles, the interconvertability of energy and matter, the conditions under which particles combine and dissociate, and dimensions of the universe comparable to those theorized by Einstein. Jiva and Ajiva are characterized as having distinct, immutable properties, but which undergo modification due to certain conditions. For the soul, those conditions are brought about as conscious and subconscious thought activity. Through the interworkings of passions and attachments, soul remains associated with non-soul, and persists in its cycle of material rise and decline, suffering and distress, delusion and wandering. Religious impulse is equated with the search for Truth, which begins with thought activity along the lines of "By soul alone I am governed" (appanan anusasayi) and "Let karma not bind you." Dissociation from non-soul is brought about solely through the requisites of Enlightened Perception, Knowledge, and Conduct. Thus, the soul is no longer under the influence of that which it is not, and for the rest of eternity enjoys its natural attributes of Infinite Knowledge, Perception, Energy, and Bliss; thus the underlying theory translates directly into practice.

In short, the code of conduct is made up of the following five vows, and all of their logical conclusions: Ahimsa, Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (nonstealing), Aparigraha (nonpossessiveness), and Brahmacharya (chastity). Jain religion focuses much attention on Aparigraha, nonpossessiveness towards material things through self-control, self-imposed penance, abstinence from overindulgence, voluntary curtailment of one's needs, and the consequent subsiding of the aggressive urge. The code of conduct prescribed for the Jain monastic order, made up of monks and nuns, is more rigorous than that prescribed for the laity.

Vegetarianism is a way of life for a Jain, taking its origin in the concept of compassion for living beings, Jiva Daya. The practice of vegetarianism is regarded as a potent instrument for the practice of nonviolence and peaceful, co-operative co-existence. Jains are strict vegetarians, consuming only one-sensed beings, primarily from the plant kingdom. While the Jain diet does, of course, involve harm to plants and microorganisms, it is regarded as a means of survival that involves the bare minimum amount of violence towards living beings. (Many forms of plant material, including roots and certain fruits, are also excluded from the Jain diet due to the greater number of living beings they contain owing to the environment in which they develop.)

Anekantavada, the doctrine of the multifaceted nature of Truth, is another basic principle of Jainism that offers systematic, logical, and nondogmatic algorithms for understanding the multifarious aspects of the truth behind statements, human perceptions, knowledge, and the nature of the Self. As a very simple example, just as a father may also have the role of a husband, a brother, a boss, or a cousin to different persons, life cannot be understood if taken from one perspective that prejudices the individual against all others. Indeed, it is a doctrine rooted in Ahimsa.

Jainism has not only shown a spiritual way of life to its followers, but has inspired a distinct stream of culture which has enriched philosophy, literature, art, architecture, democratic living, and spiritual advancement in the land of India. Classical Jain literature is found in the Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Kannada, and Tamil languages, and in varied forms of poetry, prose, drama, and story. Its influence has also been traced to other lands like Greece and Israel. In addition to compounding philosophical and spiritual treatises, the Jain ascetic-scholars were champions of secular learning in areas including astronomy, music theory, political science, linguistics, and mathematics. The artistry and architecture of Jain temples allover the Indian subcontinent depict the magnificence of detachment, serenity, and the natural purity of the soul.

The followers of Jainism number around 10 million. Jain societies are neither caste-ridden nor male-dominated.

Jainism is an eternal philosophy, whose benefits can be taken up by anyone willing to improve his or her life and rational conduct in situations of both stress and tranquility. Today, more than ever, when suspicion and distrust are vitiating the atmosphere of international peace, when the world is filled with fear and hate, we require a living philosophy which will help us discard those destructive qualities and recover ourselves. Such a living, wholesome philosophy, beating a message of love and goodwill, Ahimsa and peace, personally as well as universally, is the Jain philosophy of life. This system of religion, thought, and living stands for the highest and noblest human values, and offers a path guaranteeing eternal peace and happiness.
-Portions of this article have been adapted from Dr. N. P. Jain's article "A Portrait of Jainism."

BIBLIOGRAPHY Jain, Jyoti Prasad, Religion and Culture of the Jains. Bharatiya lnanpith, New Delhi: 1983. Jaini, Padmanabh, The Jain Path of Purification. University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.: 1979.
Tobias, Michael, Life Force: The World of Jainism. Asian Humanities Press, Berkeley, Calif.: 1991.
Warren, Herbert, Jainism. Shree Vallabhsuri Smarak Nidhi, Bombay: 1913.

Among the few representatives from India to the 1893 Parliament of the World's Religions was Virchand Raghavji Gandhi. By the age of 21 he became the first honorary secretary of the Jain Association of India; he mastered fourteen languages and was a brilliant scholar of Jainism. His speeches at the World Parliament of Religions echoed the true spirit and culture of India as he lectured on Jainism and defended Hinduism. V. R. Gandhi was accorded a warm reception and shown highest appreciation from clubs, literary and church societies, philosophical branches, and spiritual associations in the U.S.A. He corrected the false and perverse impression of India as being the land of Maharajahs, tigers, and cobras.

V. R. Gandhi stayed in the U.S.A for about two years and visited several cities. In 1896 he organized a shipload of grain and about Rs.40,OOO cash for famine relief in India. He also visited England and European cities.

One of the comments about him came from the Hon. E.B. Sherman of the U.S. Circuit Court:

"It has rarely, if ever, been my good fortune to meet a man whose reading and culture have been so wide and varied, and who, withal, has so sweet, sincere, and teachable a spirit as Mr. Gandhi."

Jain Prayers and Songs Prayer
Highly auspicious are the adorable ones
And so are the emancipated;
The saints too are the auspicious ones
And so is the speech divine .

Best in the world are the adorable ones
And so are the emancipated;
The saints too are the best in the world,
And so is the speech divine.

Refuge do I take in the adorable ones .
And also in the emancipated;
Saints are also the place of my refuge.
And so is the speech divine.

Thus do I pay homage and veneration
Unto the great Arihants every day
In devotion deep with the purity in mind,
In speech and in deed indeed.

The Immortal Song
- May the sacred stream of amity flow forever in my heart.
    May the universe prosper - such is my cherished desire.

- May my heart sing with ecstasy at the sight of the virtuous.
    And may my life be an offering at their feet.

- May my heart bleed at the sight of the wretched, the cruel,
    the irreligious, and my tears of compassion flow from my eyes.

- May I always be there to show the path to the pathless
    wanderers of life. Yet if they should not hearken to me,
    may I bide in patience.

- May the spirit of goodwill enter all our hearts.
    May we all sing in chorus the immortal song of human concord.

From the Acharanga Sutra ( 1 :4: 1 )

The Arhats and Bhagavats of the past, present and future all say thus, speak thus, declare thus, explain thus: All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused nor tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure, unchangeable, eternal law, which the clever ones, who understand the world, have declared: among the zealous and the not zealous, among the faithful and the not faithful, among the not cruel and the cruel, among those who have worldly weakness and those who have not, among those who like social bonds and those who do not: "that is the truth, that is so, that is proclaimed in this (creed)."

Fight against Desires O man! Control thyself. Only then can you get salvation. If you are to fight, fight against your own desires. Nothing will be achieved by fighting against external enemies; If you miss this occasion, it will be lost forever. One's own unconquered soul is one's greatest enemy.

Nomokar Maha Mantra (The Universal Prayer )
Obeisance to the Arihantas, perfect souls-Godmen
          I bow down to those who have reached omniscience in the flesh
          and teach the road to everlasting life in the liberated state .
Obeisance to the Siddhas-liberated bodiless souls
          I bow down to those who have attained perfect knowledge
          and liberated their souls of all karma.
Obeisance to the masters-heads of congregations
          I bow down to those who have experienced self-realization
          of their souls through self- control and self-sacrifice.
Obeisance to the teachers--ascetic teachers
          I bow down to those who understand the true nature of soul
          and teach the importance of the spiritual over the material.
Obeisance to all the ascetic aspirants in the universe
          I bow down to those who strictly follow the five great vows
          of conduct and inspire us to live a virtuous life .
This fivefold obeisance mantra
          To these five types of great souls I offer my praise.
Destroys all demerit
          Such praise will help diminish my sins.
And is the first and foremost of all
          Giving this praise is most auspicious-
Auspicious recitations
          So auspicious as to bring happiness and bliss.

Ahimsa Parmo Dharma: Nonviolence Is the Supreme Religion

      Know other creatures' love for life, for they are like you.

      Kill them not; save their life from fear and enmity.

      All creatures desire to live, not to die. Hence to kill is to sin.

      A godly man does not kill.

      Therefore, kill not yourself, consciously or unconsciously,
      living organisms which move or move not, nor cause slaughter of them.

      He who looketh on the creatures of the earth, big and small, as his own self,
      comprehendeth this immense world.

      Among the careless, he who restraineth self is enlightened.

LORD MAHAVlRA

• May my thoughts and feeling be such that I may always act in a simple and straightforward manner. May I ever, so far as 1 can, do good in this life to others.
• May I never hurt and harm any living being; may I never speak a lie. May I never be greedy of wealth or the wife [spouse] of another. May I ever drink the nectar of contentment!
• May I always have a friendly feeling towards all living beings of the world and may the stream of compassion always flow from my heart towards distressed and affIicted living beings.
• May I never entertain an idea of egotism; nor may I be angry with anybody! May I never become jealous on seeing the worldly prosperity of other people.
• May I never become fretful towards bad, cruel, and wicked persons. May I keep tolerance towards them. May I be so disposed!
• May I ever have the good company of learned ascetics and may I ever keep them in mind. May my heart be always engrossed and inclined to adopt the rules of conduct which they observe.
• May my heart be overflowing with love at the sight of the virtuous, and may I be happy to serve them so far as possible.
• May I never be ungrateful (towards anybody); nor may I revolt (against anybody). May I ever be appreciating the good qualities of other persons and may I never look at their faults.
• May my mind neither be puffed up with joy, nor may it become nervous in pain and grief. May it never be frightened even if I am in a terrible forest or strange places of cremation or graveyards.
• May my mind remain always steady and firm, unswerving and unshaken; may it become stronger every day. May I bear and endure with patience the deprivation of dear ones and occurrences of undesired evils.
• May all living beings of the world be happy! May nobody ever feel distressed! May the people of the world renounce enmity, sin, pride and sing the songs of joy every day.
• May Dharma (truth) be the topic of house-talk in every home! May evil be scarce! May (people) increase their knowledge and conduct and thereby enjoy the blessed fruit of human birth.
• May disease and pestilence never spread, may the people live in peace, may the highest religion of Ahimsa (non-injury) pervade the whole world and may it bring about universal good!
• May universal love pervade the world and may ignorance of attachment remain far away. May nobody speak unkind, bitter, and harsh words!
• May all become heroes of the age heartily and remain engaged in elevating the Cause of Righteousness. May all gain the sight of Truth called Vastuswarupa (Reality of substance) and may they bear, with pleasure, trouble and misfortunes!

AMEN The prayers and songs are from Jainism-Past and Present: Prayers, Articles, and Short Stories, published by Dr. TansukhJ. Salgia (1984, Parma, Ohio).