Jaïnism
jaïnism, or jinism, of jina "victorious", is one , a spiritual way which insists on the concepts ofahimsa (non-violence) and of karma and which stressesasceticism. It starts, with the image of , like a movement of reform inside, then becomes an independent religion during VIE front century. J.- C.. With only 6 million believing, the jainism is smallest of the 10 principal religions of the world, but in , the jaïns are surreprésentés in the economic sectors and political. The jaïns are a significant force in the culture of, contributing to philosophy, art, architecture, sciences and also to the policy through Gandhi and thus with the independence of India.
Philosophy jaïne
The jaïnism shares many concepts with and it , but must be however differentiated from it. By respect of the principle of non-violence, the jaïnism goes beyond simple vegetarianism because it diet jaïn also excludes the majority from the roots; because one could cause evil with an animal by them unearthing - and some other food considered as unnecessarily harmful; garlic and the onion supposed to be exciting. The jaïns practise do not eat, do not drink or do not travel after to lay down sun and do not rise before sunrise, always to avoid wounding an alive being for lack of light.
According to the jaïnism, ituniverse was not created, and will never cease existing. He is nonunchanged eternal but, because he crosses a series without end of alternations or oscillations. Each one of these periods is divided into four ages of the world or yuga. The world is currently in the fourth age, that of the decline (to be brought closer Kali-Yuga hindouists).
When it reaches its level low, the jaïnism itself will disappear completely. Then, during the next oscillation, the religion of the jaïns will be rediscovery and reintroduced by new called spiritual chiefs Tîrthankaras ("saints professors"), then will be again lost at the end of the next period, and so on.
In each one of these very long periods - which make think of day of Brahma hindouists - there are always twenty-four Tîrthankaras. In the current age of the world, the Tîrthankara twenty-third was Parshva, one ascetic and professor, who would have lived towards 850 - 800 front. J.- C.. The jaïns regard it as a reformer who claimed a return to the belief and the practices of their original religious tradition. The twenty-fourth and last Tirthankara of this age are known by its title, Mahâvîra, the large hero (599 - 527 front. J.- C.). He was also an ascetic, a wandering professor who tried to recall Jains to the rigorous practice of their ancient faith.
The jaïns believe that reality is made up of two eternal principles, jiva and ajiva. jiva consists of an infinite number of identical spiritual units;ajiva (i.e., "non-jiva") or pudgala is the matter in all its forms and the conditions under which this matter exists: time, space and movement.
jiva and it pudgala are eternal; they did not come to the existence and will never cease existing. The whole world is consisted of jivas imprisoned inajiva ; there is jivas in the rocks, the plants, the insects, the animals, the beings human, the spirits, etc.
Any unspecified contact of jiva with pudgala generate the suffering. Thus the jaïns believe that the existence in this world inevitably means the suffering. Neither the social reform, nor the reform of the individuals themselves can never put an end to the suffering. In each human being, one jiva is imprisoned, and it jiva suffer because of its contact withajiva. The only manner of escaping from the pain is for jiva to release itself completely from the human condition, the human existence.
karma and transmigration maintain it jiva imprisoned inajiva. The release of the human state is difficult. The jaïns believe that it jiva continuous to suffer during all its lives or reincarnations, which are an indefinite number. They believe that each action carried out by a person, that it is good or bad, opens the channels of the directions (seen, hearing, touch, taste and sense of smell), by which an invisible substance, karma, infiltrate inside and adhere to jiva, determining the conditions of the next reincarnation.
The consequence of the bad actions is a heavy karma, which draws it jiva downwards, involving it towards a new life on a low level on the scale of the existence. The consequence of the good deeds, in addition, is a light karma, which allows jiva to go up in its nearest life on a higher level in the scale of the existence, where there is less of sufferings to support. However, the only good deeds can never carry out to the release.
The release - or moksha - is obtained by the withdrawal of the world. The karma is the mechanism of cause for purpose in virtue of which all the actions have consequences from which one cannot withdraw oneself. The karma has as a result to maintain it jiva connected in an uninterrupted succession of existences during which it jiva will suffer until a certain degree. Thus the release of the cycle of the rebirths implies an escape from the karma, the destruction of all the karma and the avoidance of the constitution of new a karma.
Then, at the moment of death, without karma it to draw, it downwards jiva will float, free from all pudgala, released of the human condition, free from all future reincarnations. It will rise until above the universe in a place or a state called Siddhashila, where jiva, identical to all others jivas pure, will test its own true nature in calms eternal, in insulation and nonthe implication. It will be then completely free. The manner of consuming the old man karma is thus to withdraw themselves from any participation in the world as far as possible, and to close the channel of the directions and the spirit to prevent the karmic matter entering and from adhering to jiva.
The company of the jaïns is as dual as their universe. On the one hand, there are the monks, who practise itasceticism and try to make to this life their last. Of another share, there are the laic ones which continues less rigorous practices, endeavouring to make good deeds and hoping for a better incarnation in the following life. Because of consubstantial strict ethics to the jaïnism, the latter must choose a profession and a way of life compatible with their faith, the trades of being those mainly selected.
In their effort to achieve their higher goal, permanent withdrawal of jiva of any participation in the material existence, the jaïns believe that no spirit or divine being can help them in some way that it is. Consequently, the jaïnism is a religion . The jaïns consider that the gods and the spirits can only influence the events of this world. They cannot help it jiva to obtain the release. This one can be carried out only by the proper efforts of each individual. In fact, the gods can themselves obtain their own release only in the condition of being réincarnés like human people and to have undergone the difficult life of a monk jaïn.
The moral code of the jaïnism is considered with much serious. It is expressed in the five v?ux following, which is followed by the laic ones and the monks.
- Refusal of violence (ahimsa)
- Refusal of the lie (satya)
- Refusal of the flight (asteya)
- Refusal of the possession (aparigrah)
- Refusal of sexuality (brahmcharya)
For the laic ones, chastity means a sexuality restricted with the couple formed by the marriage. For the monks, it means the absolute celibacy. Non-violence implies usually it vegetarianism, but some jaïns are known to have been let die of hunger in order to prevent harming some alive creature that it is. Some of them carry even masks over their mouth and their nose in order to avoid the risk killing, by breathing them, of the tiny insects. Gandhi was deeply influenced by the way of living jaïn, peaceful and respectful of the life, and it made of it an integral part of its own philosophy.
The jaïns adopted the ritual one vedic for the family marriage and the other rites because their religion knows neither priests, nor liturgy. They also adopted several Hindu deities as means to explain certain events occurring in the world; however, they do not regard these gods as ultimate elements, in any the important directions of this word. Like the human beings, the gods are imprisoned in the cycle of transmigration.
The jaïns built many superb temples where images of their Tîrthankaras are venerated, in a way more or less similar to that of the Hindus. Ritual the jaïns is refined, they include offerings of flowers, fruits and other symbolic systems objects, while Tîrthankaras are venerated by songs using of the passages of the Holy Scriptures jaïns.
The schism
The two sects principal of the jaïnism find their origin in events which occurred approximately 200 years after the death of Mahâvîra. At that time, Bhadrabahu, the spiritual chief of the monks jaïns, had envisaged one period of famine and, in order to avoid it, it had led all those which had agreed to follow it, as well of the monks and as the laic ones, in the south of India. A few years after the famine had disappeared, Bhadrabahu turned over to north to note that, during its absence, the monastic life had become corrupted. The monks wore long white dresses instead of going "equipped with sky", or "space", in other words naked. Practice of was, and always currently remains, a refusal to reach the desire of protection and comfort of the body, a practice only followed by the monks jaïns and not by the laic ones.
Bhadrabahu was opposed with force to the weakness which had led the monks to wear clothes. The monks who continued to wear the white dresses took the name of Svetambaras ("vêtus of white") while those which continued anything to carry named Digambaras ("vêtus of sky" or "vêtus of space"). The two groups are remained separate to date.
Svetambaras believe in the equality of the sexes, while them Digambaras claim that the women cannot reach moksha. They must reappear as a man in order to be in position to claim there. Digambaras thus exclude the women from their monastic orders, whereas them Svetambaras convents for the women have who choose a high spiritual life.
Monks Digambaras are probably them gymnosophes about which they speak after the forwarding of in India.
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