Abstract

Jainism is not only one of the oldest living religions of the world, but also it has contributed greatly in the cultural, architectural and literary history of India. Many religious ideas and thoughts, which are famous today, are originally spread by the Jain teachers.

In Jainism there are no founders but only the reformers, who re-establish the already found truth according to the time and the people in it. The present-day Jain literature begins with the last of the twenty-four tirthankaras, Mahavira (c. 599-527 B.D). The uniqueness of Jain religious philosophy is that it discourages blind faith and establishes one’s belief on a rational ground.

Jainism is renowned throughout the world for its doctrine of ethics. Ethics play a very important role in moving ahead onto the path of self-purification. However, as assumed by most of the people (including the Jains), it is not the only one, but it gets strengthened by the support of knowing about the karma philosophy, the theory of knowledge, yoga i.e. to learn to control the activities of mind, speech and action; and by having a broader perspective that accommodates each point of view known as Anekantavada in Jainism.

As per Jain philosophy the cosmos has an innate moral order which is selfregulating through the workings of karma. Under the canopy of karma we can improvise ourselves to lead a more peaceful and happier life. In Jainism the types of knowledge are: empirical, articulate, clairvoyant, mind-reading and omniscient. Out of these the first two types are acquired knowledge whereas the last three are innate qualities of the soul.

Yoga means the outcome of the activities of mind, speech and action. The journey of which starts from the ethics and takes one to detailing of karma and eventually connects with the highest purpose of life. The doctrine of Nayavada expresses the limitations of language to represent human experience and human inability to understand the complete truth. Anekantavada helps one in approaching the truth through multiple points of view. Syadavada depicts the restrictions of language in understanding the truth.

Science in Jainism is an intricate matter. In Jain philosophy the substance is described very uniquely. Space is divided into two parts: Lokakash i.e. Cosmic space that accommodates all other substances within namely: jiva, ajiva, dharma and adharma; and Alokakash i.e. Supracosmic space i.e. beyond the cosmic space, in which no substance resides.

The definition of the smallest unit of time in Jainendra Siddhanta Kosha, which is similar and defines it as, ‘time taken by a paramanu to travel, with its minimum speed, to its adjoining paramanu, is samaya.’ As per Jain philosophy the world is uncreated and indestructible. It endures under the compulsion of its own nature. Jain metaphysics asserts that all substances (realities) are characterized by the trio of creation, permanence (i.e. continuous existence), and cessation. In other words, ‘a substance is that which has utpada, vyaya and dhrauvya, respectively, in it.’

The soul is one of the six realities that constitute the universe. The mind is a set of cognitive faculties including consciousness, perception, thinking, judgment, and memory. It is usually defined as the faculty of an entity's reasoning and thoughts. It holds the power of imagination, recognition, and appreciation, and is responsible for processing feelings and emotions, resulting in attitudes and actions. Meditation can be depicted as -‘perceiving the soul through the soul and becoming the supreme soul.’ The pinnacle of self-realisation can be achieved through knowing deeply about the nine categories of truth or navatattva, namely: jiva, ajiva, papa, punya, bandha, asrava, samvara, nirjara and moksha. Jainism stands unique in the concept of God. Where there is no creator God, what exists is Godhood and each living being, whether human or any other, is capable to achieve that state through removing the innumerable layers of ignorance. The enlightened world-view, enlightened knowledge and enlightened conduct are the path to liberation. It consists of right perception, right knowledge and right conduct.