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Jainism is a system of religion preached by the Jinas or conquerors. A Jina is one who subdues his passions and frees his soul from all karmas and attains Omniscience- the natural innate quality of soul. Becoming omniscient, he sees all things of all times and preaches to the world the true path to salvation for all suffering souls. Thus Jainism is identified with truth. Since truth is eternal, Jainism also is ipso facto eternal. In the ancient Jain literature, Time is represented as a wheel divided into two arcs, the descending and the ascending. In the descending era, Humanity descends from higher level of spirituality and ideals to lower level of materialism and irreligion. The ideals of humanity will be at the lowest ebb and then the cycle of progress will be set in motion. The early picture of Jainism is traced in the remote past of the vedic period when Sri Rishabh Dev, raised a voice against the rituals and sacrifices of primitive Aryans and preached purity of worship and liberation of thought and conduct. Sri Rishabh Dev was the first Thirthankar and Teacher of mankind. The Hindus regard him as an Avatar. The Arhats (Thirthankars) are great, divine and pure souls who have completely annihilated the worldly bondages, who have achieved complete control over passions and emotions, who have attained enlightenment and most perfect insight by their soul-force and bright light of spiritual knowledge. They are the brilliant lamps that kindle the darkness of ignorance. They are the destroyers of sin and redeemers of the fallen, cleaners of the besmeared and wipers of the miseries of the miserable. They are the incarnations of full-fledged Ahimsa. They are the images of selfless love and reservoirs of pity. They are ever flowing fountains of penance, sacrifice, forgiveness, good actions, most valuable instruction, good of humanity, gems of thought, in short, all the wealth of happiness of this world and other. To become an Arhat (Thirthankar) is not an easy job, not a child's play, this is a well earned event which flowers after secret growth of innumerable years. To attain the position of an Arhat hard efforts, continuous, strenuous and patient, spread over thousands of years carried on in lives after lives, are required. Obstructions of sins of the world accumulated due to past Karmas must be completely removed. The spheres of darkness enveloping the soul must be rent asunder. The tangled knot of Karmas requires to be straightened. Bold progress must be continued even after repeated shocks of failures. Without fear, without divergence steps must be taken wholeheartedly towards that highest ideal which brings to hand the permanent, unfailing, immeasurable and invaluable store of spiritual powers. One must go on ascending the steps that lead to that highest form of divine knowledge that is everlasting, limitless and beyond conception. This is no easy task, no sleeping on soft couches. This is the hardest of the hardest tasks. It is not child's play to develope the secret powers of the body, soul and morality and to master the limitless knowledga and power. One must destroy the passions of this mortal body and counteract the inclinations of nature impressed by past lives. Then only the fitness of becoming a Thirthankar is first exhibited. First it is necessary that one must act according to the precepts of prophets with a clean, pure and truthful mind. One must observe hard rules of morality that would make an ideal life. One must bring into practice the fivefold path of action. One must keep fasts and other difficult observances so that no trace of wicked thoughts would remain in the mind. One must practise hard penance, must give in a continuous flow of charity, must worship a teacher and preceptor, with single-minded devotion, must keep full faith in their inspiring words, must experience the flame of real spiritual knowledge within himself, must bring about gradually the pure growth of the natural powers of the soul. These are some means that lead one to be born in a life which ends in the most coveted stage of freedom from worldly Karmas and makes one attian the position of a Thirthankar arhat or a Thirthankar is born with a nobility of soul which increases thousandfold at the time of his getting enlightenment. At that time the whole universe, the earth, the heaven and all other spheres offer at his feet, their faith, devotion respect and love in various ways. In short, a Thirthankar has 34 specialities, 35 goodnesses of the tongue and is free from all the 18 defects. In the Jain religion, the Thirthankars are regarded as high souls who are born to wash away the filth and corruption brought into the fundamental principles of religion by men of devilish nature and inferior understanding and to save and re-establish Religious Faith in the world. The mundane souls are inspired by the ambrosial instructions and ideal conduct of these Great Men; and they get an easy access to the faith of Liberation by acting according to their teachings. The Europeans explain the word 'Thirthankar' as 'Saviour' or 'Redeemer', that is, one who has undertaken to rescue those people who are being drowned into the ocean of the world or to liberate those who have fallen into a succession of births and deaths. The Jains explain it as the High soul, that brings into existence the fourfold 'Thirtha' i.e. the order consisting of Monks, Nuns, Laymen and Laywomen. But, when we come to its derivation, we find that the word Thirthankar' means (Thirtham + Kar = Holy + maker) one who makes others holy. By their self-control, good conduct, high thinking, strong will-power, sweet and beneficient teaching, kindness to all creatures man and beast alike, supreme feeling of love and affection to all living beings, and other great qualities of head and heart, the Thirthankars redeem the fallen creatures of this world from their miserable plight. They release them from their mental bondage and make those souls experience the bliss of self-realisation. They criticise bad customs and ill usages, and lay the foundation of social and religious acts on the firm basis of love and morality. They undergo various kinds of penances not only to attain happiness for themselves but for all human beings of past, present, and future times. They make no distinction between the rich and the poor or between a white man and a black man; and they uproot this feeling from the heart of those who are accustomed to making such vain distinctions. They teach thus, " All living beings have got the same life as you have got; do not, therefore, trouble others, behave with others as you would like them to behave with you." Such are the Thirthankars and such their nectarous teachings which constantly pour in torrents to elevate the life of man. There are other synonyms of the word 'Thirthankar' e. g. 'Jina' which means one who has completely subdued the bad feelings of anger, hatred etc., and 'Arhat' which generally means one who is venerated by men and Gods alike. Only that soul can, with the force of his auspicious Karmas, rise to the position of Thirthankar who has already cultivated a habit to give alms, practise penances, render a good service to the monks and their order, respect the worthy preceptors, philosophers and religlon,and perform the 51x necessary duties in man's daily life. All the Thirthankars are the givers of light to this world. In the beginning they belonged to the category of ordinary souls. They have passed through a long succession of births and deaths before attaining this position. The history of their previous lives can be found in Jain scriptures. Jainism, otherwise called the Arhat or Nigrant or Arakantavad religion, is one of the earliest of home religions of India. It is the tradition of Jainism that now and then great men called Thirthankars appear in the world to propagate the Jain doctrines in the world and that twenty four Thirthankars have appeared so far. The names of the twenty four Thirthankars are as follows : 1. Vrishabhadev (Adi Bhagvan) The Thirthankars, who are also known as Arhats, are highly venerated and are worshipped as gods. It is the Jain tradition that Vrishabhadev (Adi Bhagvan) spread the Jain doctrine to start with and that the Thirthankars who followed also preached the doctrines. The details regarding the first twenty two are only legendary. Historical and other evidences are available in regard to the last two Thirthankars, who lived in the 8th Century and 6th Century before Christ respectively. The twentythird Thirthankar, Sri Parsvanath was born in 877 B. C. and attained Nirvan in 777 B.C. after having lived for 100 years. About 250 years later the twenty fourth Thirthankar Sri Bhagvan Mahaveer was born in 599 B.C. It is from Bhagvan Mahaveer that we are able to trace these illustrious line of preachers and Gurus who played an important part in moulding the religious and political life of many ancient Hindu States. On the eve of Lord Mahaveer's birth the religious condition of Bharatkshetra had become very critical. Irreligious practices were carried on in the name of religion. Animal sacrifice had reached its extremity. Hundreds and thousands of dumb and innocent cattle were slaughtered everyday and offered to the gods, with the hope of attaining paradise. The sinful practices of human sacrifice could also be seen in its naked form at several places; it was performed quite blindly for winning selfish ends. People had thoroughly given up their spiritual ideals of renunciation. Those who were previously patronizers of self-control, truth and simplicity were now given to the pro p a gat ion of worldly pleasures, evil thoughts and their religious instructions had taken the garb of selfishness. There was no talk of spiritual culture and attainment of spiritual knowledge. The whole society indulged itself in the perpetration of evil deeds which increased, day to day, more and more. Deceitfulness, dishonesty and showiness were prevalent everywhere. Ignorance brought with it a flood of sorrows, troubles and diseases into the land. Mankind was at this time, in a great distress. A painful cry of sighing and moaning could be heard everywhere. There was not a single human being left that did not feel the effect of this worldwide unhappiness, and at the same time there was not a single soul to whom he could express his physical and mental affliction with the hope of lightening it. For, these very people who were once cent per cent in favour of non-violence and kindness to animals had become strong supporters of violence and slaughter in that age. The spiritual life of the society had come to an end. Asceticism disappeared. Spiritualism was forgotten, and its place was taken by worship of the Goddess of wealth and material happiness. The strength of all the religious creeds proved futile in relieving human society of the most grievous calamity that it was passing through. What was urgently needed at this time was real sympathy, unselfish love, and genuine kindness to all living beings. When the fire of dishonesty, oppression and faithlessness was burning most fiercely all round and was scorching humanity with its far reaching blazes, and when selfishness was playing its most hideous part, it was highly desired that a high soul should arrive upon earth to remove the perversity from this world, to establish peace in every home, to enforce truth into the veins of men and, above all to lead the mistaken people to the right path of self realisation. Everything in this Finite world is liable to decay. What is born is sure to die. Death lives..in birth and destruction in the creation of every visible object. And as such, the miserable condition of men described above could not last long; it was sure to change one day. Better days came and a celestial being descended upon this earth. It was none other than Lord Mahaveer. Mahaveer Vardhaman, son of the chief of the Natha clan of the Kshtriyas, is of high aristocratic descent, his father Siddharth being the head of a Kshtriya clan and the governing king of an oligarchic republic, which consisted of Visali, Kandagamma and Variyagamma. His mother's name was Trishala. His parents were worshippers of Shri Parsvanath. After conception and before Mahaveer was born, Queen Trishala had 14 pleasant dreams which indicated that the child to be born would make his father's name shine and that it would shed celestial lustre in all directions. The king also interpreted the dreams to denote peace and prosperity to the kingdom and that the child would be a glorious, righteous one and an incarnation of non-violence. After the queen had the dreams, the King's treasury began to increase, the boundary of his kingdom also enlarged and his glory increased. Seeing the general prosperity of the kingdom, both the King Siddharth and the Queen Trishala resolved that if they got a son they would give the name of Vardhaman (Prosperous)-one who would be endowed with good qualities. After his birth, Mahaveer pleased his parents in all what he did. He was exceedingly beautiful, charming and lustrous. There was all-round rejoicing in the kingdom and he was named 'Vardhaman'. Experienced and learned persons were appointed to take charge of Vardhaman's nursing and education. Vardhaman soon grew to a boy. While playing the game of Kalamadali with other boys he caught hold of a God in the form of a venomous snake that, wound itself around a tree that he had to climb and left it at a distant solitary place. While they played the game of 'Horse and Rider', the same God mixed up with the boys and when Vardhaman got over his back this God enlarged his body. With a blow on the back of this boy (god), Vardhaman made him resume the size of the boy again, and the god-who tested Vardhaman thereafter prostrated before Vardhaman. From that day Vardhaman came to be known as Mahaveer i.e., A great Hero. When he became old enough to go to school, he learnt every thing as soon as it was taught. He showed his brilliance, intelligence and quick grasp which surprised his teacher. There was not a shade of jealousy or pride in the boy. As prince Vardhaman grew up into a youth, Prince Vardhaman, who had a feeling of detatchment and was reluctant to marry, was persuaded to marry Yashoda, daughter of King Samar Veer. This he did to please his mother, sacrificing his interests and happiness. The marrige of Vardhaman had pleased all with the exception of one and that one was the Prince himself. His mind remained as calm and cool and as indifferent as it was before his marriage. Although apparently he was leading a married life and enjoying all the pleasures of his royal palace, still his mind was permanently occupied with the one feeling of self control. He was not attached even to his wife and parents. The only thing he was mad after was to do good to others and then to attain self-realisation. He wanted to sever all his connections with this world and lead the life of an ascetic as soon as possible. The main object of his life was to give shelter to the miserable creatures of this world. Prince Vardhaman passed a portion of his married life in this way. A daughter was born to Vardhaman some time after his marriage. King Siddharth and Queen Trishala had grown old and decided to purify their souls by taking upto renunciation. Therefore they prepared themselves for leaving home and the vow of Samthar (Renunciation). Taking their seat on the bed of dry grass in a solitary place they took a vow to pass their life without eating and drinking anything. They observed their duties of an ideal Shravak and an ideal Shravika very sincerely for some time after which they departed to the next world in great happiness. The parents of Vardhaman died when he was twenty eight years old. His kinsmen and specially his elder brother Nandivardhan felt the pangs of separation very much, but prince Vardhaman consoled them all explaining to them that the logical conclusion of birth is death. Nandivardhan now requested Prince Vardhaman to sit on the throne. Vardhaman did not accept the proposal of his brother as it was against national convention and as his life was consecrated to some other purpose viz. to gain complete possession over spiritual kingdom. Nandivardhan ascended the throne. Not long after this Vardhaman saw his brother and requested him to allow him to accept consecration and thus allow him to purify his soul. Nandivardhan was afflicted by the separation of his parents and told him that his words probed the wounds of his heart, and that Vardhaman was wise enough to follow the right course and take into consideration the good and welfare of the people before taking a final decision. Tender hearted Vardhaman returned to his palace, postponed the execution of his object for about two years more, but left the use of luxuries altogether. To proclaim to the world the importance of charity he began to give alms to the poor and needy at many places. Thereafter Vardhaman securing the permission of his brother got initiated in the park named Jnata, casting his ornaments and robes. Lord Mahaveer took the vow of kindness to all creatures. He was hailed as the saviour of the weak and the miserable. He then departed for Kumargaon. On his way, the bees mad with the aroma of the high unguents applied to his body perched on his body, fed upon the unguents, and began to suck his blood and eat into his flesh. He bore with all that smilingly. The jungle fairies tried to tempt him but he did not direct his thought towards them. Some cowherds, who left their oxen to his care did not find the oxen, who had strolled away to graze fot some time, beat Mahaveer with the ropes suspecting him. But he did not mind this cruelty. The next morning he reached Kollanga Sannivesh-where he broke his fast. During his roaming he reached the hermitage of sage Duijant in Moraka Sannivesh and spent the rainy season practising penances and meditations. At Moraka Sannivesh he was taunted by the other sages for having allowed the cattle to graze around the hut. He decided to leave the place taking the following vows. From Moraka, Mahaveer went to Asthik gram. At Asthik gram he stood in deep meditation unharmed by the cruelties inflicted on him by a Yaksha and made him repent for what he had done and then changed him as his worshipper. Then he proceeded to Vachal and then to Swetambar. On his way to Swetambar he came across a poisonous snake Drishti Visha SarpaChandra Kowsik-who got a blessed life by leaving his evil doings and doing meditation until his death. Later Mahaveer preached penance in Uttar Vachal. While proceeding further he had to cross Ganges in a boat. Mid stream a Nagakumar by name Sudhurist blew up a storm intending to kill Mahaveer. But he was overpowered by two other Nagakumar gods who cleared away all the gloom. Then he went to Sthanak, and stayed in a Dharmasal belonging to a weaver thus exhibiting that he made no distinction between man and man. He preached monthly prayers there. Mahaveer at first joined the order of Parsvanath. He remained in this only for one year and then separated as the observances of this order did not satisfy Mahaveer's notions of stringency, one of the cordinal points of which was complete nudity. Discarding his clothes he wandered as an ascetic seeking self purification and understanding. After roaming about many more places, doing penance for varying periods and imposing many severe restrictions upon himself he attained victory over the worldly miseries. He practised fourteen kinds of penances during his consecration period. The time taken by the penances together with, Paranas' (days of taking food after penances) was 12 years 6 months and 14 days. Such were the austere penances that Lord Mahaveer practised and such was his power of control over mind, speech and body. He was absorbed in meditation for the most part of his life and now success came to him at last. On the tenth day of right half of the month of Vaisakh, he was absorbed in meditation as a part of his Bela (Two day's) penance with a Goduhasan posture (i.e. seated like person milking the cow) under a shade tree, in the field of a layman named Shamaka, on the north bank of the river Riju Balik, outside village Jrimbhak. The sun was very hot; the wind was blowing very fiercely; the plants, creepers and animals were being scorched to death. At such a time, Lord Mahaveer was practising penances under the roof of the sky, with an intention to get an entry into the eternal kingdom of Keval-Jnan or Omniscience. At night he fell into an apparent slumber for about an hour and saw ten dreams. According to the principles of dreamology all the dreams were to bear fruit immediately. When a man gains complete victory over nature by means of his good virtues, fortune and righteousness, Nature is bound to give him every information about the course of future events of his life in the same way as she informed Lord Mahaveer by means of dreams. Nature works at his will, and all her "temptations prove futile. Thus the trial and the austerities of the Lord were over. The four kinds of Ghana Ghati Karmas were also destroyed completely. When he had passed through all the ordeals patiently, he was entitled for Keval Jnan; and now it developed in him with all its lustre and splendour. His last 30 years were spent in teaching his religious system and organising his order of societies. He preached Anekandavad (Syadvad)-viewing other views also with respect, equality of all. Mahaveer suffered untold miseries, yet he did no harm to any living creature. Without hatred or love he looked upon all the living creatures of the world alike. His life was full of compassion, truth, ahimsa and austerity. His main teachings are as here under : "Every soul is potentially divine having the innate qualities of infinite knowledge, infinite perception, infinite power and infinite bliss. The soul can expand or contract according to the shape of the body in which it dwells. The soul exists in the body of the living being just as butter in milk and flavour in flower. Every soul is the architect of one's own life. He is the cause of his own misery or his happiness. He is his own friend or foe. Karma follows invariably the doer just as the shadow accompanys the man. The soul after attaining complete salvation will never take birth or change its present state of pure, divine and fabulous bliss. Anger destroys love; pride puts an end to modesty; deceit takes away friends, while greed destroys everything. One who wants real happiness should fight against the enemies that are in his own self as there is no use of fighting external things; one who conquers his own self is mightier than one who has conquered thousands of warriors in a battle-field. The layman commits the worst sins for the sake of his dearer ones, but when the time comes for reaping the bitter harvest, he alone has to suffer painful punishment. None of his dear relatives share it with him. The layman has to follow the five vows viz., non "violence, truth, non-stealing, observance of celibacy among ladies except his wife, limitation of possessions and belongings. He should limit his time and income and pay the excess to the welfare of the living beings. He should keep away from the common seven crimes viz., drinking beverages, cheating, eating meat, stealing, possessing relation with prostitutes, hunting animals and mis-advances with other's wife. One who is devoid of all possessions and vice is really the gem among men. A righteous man is always free from all forms of attachments though living in the family surrounded by relatives. One should be patient, cool, without attachment, firm, deep and profound. Desire is veritably limitless and a greedy man will have no satisfaction whatever quantity of gold and silver is offered. Always move with good people. Speak mildly. Try to reform the bad and troublesome people. Be merciful even to your enemy so that he will repent and reform himself. The characteristic tenets of religion are non-violence, self-restraint and penance. All creatures of this world like to live and love life dearly. Never insult or harm any creature. He who injures any life injures his own self. As a little thorn that pricks you causes immense pain think how much greater must be the suffering of creatures when they are slaughtered with sharp weapons. Non-violence is the essence of all the knowledge of the known wisdom. Non-violence and kindness to living beings is kindness to oneself. Thereby one's self is saved from various kinds of sins and resultant sufferings and one's own welfare is secured; living beings suffer in the ocean of life because they commit insults and injuries to others. For living beings carried away by the rapid current of old age and death, it is the religion that serves as an island, firm ground, refuge and the best shelter. Before old age commences to give trouble, or diseases begin to attack, or senses fail, one should practise religion. Proper religious training can be had when one is devoid of egoism, anger, carelessness, illness and laziness. I Enlightenment is easy for those who, have i devotion to true faith, entertain no results I for these actions and abstain completely from injury to living beings. A wise aspirant should turn his soul inwards or achieve introspection by means of spiritual mentality and thereby save himself from uncontrolled wantonness. A wise man ought to obtain the proper knowledge, in all its aspects and should not I torment any living being. He must show i mercy to all living beings whether they may be invisible or visible, small or great, one sensed or five-sensed. Injurious words torment us always. Human birth is glorious and common to all. It is illegal to divide people according to their professions into different sects leading to differences in their status. The sects destroy the idea of oneness and co-operation and so do not even think or dream of it. Following the universal brotherhood is necessary. One is responsible for one's own pleasures and worries, fame and fall. No external force will change them. So reform thy thoughts, words and deeds. Body is like a ship, the soul is the sailor. Mundane existence is the great ocean which has to be crossed. What is said to be a family is only like a group of persons living in a rest house. As persons in a rest house have come from different places so also the members in a family have come from different births. In the same way as the persons leaving a rest house go in different directions similarly the members of a family go to different births after deaths. The universe is immortal. The living beings undergo the cycle of births and deaths. Even the body is perishable. Knowing this, follow the prescribed laws to attain full liberation. Even in the midst of men sunken in the deep sleep of ignorance and infatuation, a wiseman should remain wide awake and knowing that time is ruthless and the body is perishable, must always be on the alert. The four things difficult to attain are, human birth, knowledge of the law, belief in it and the strength to put the law into practice. Human birth has complete knowledge. Rationalise things by means of that knowledge and act accordingly. Life can't be prolonged. Therefore maka use of it as best you can for your own betterment and for the welfare of others. Self purification must be only for purpose of penance. Penance is the best means of destroying the instincts which are vestigial mental imprints of times without beginning, and of evolving and opening up the innate potentialities of the soul. Therefore the aspirant must perform penance to his utmost capacity. His message is for the mankind as a whole. During the last days of his life, he was able to gain a large number of adherents in the course of his perigrinations. It was thus that he was acknowledged to be a Jina or 'Kevalin'. It was from this that the name 'Jain' and 'Jainism' are derived. Mahaveer's 'nirvan' took place in the 72nd year of his life, i.e. 527 B.C. Mahaveer's title as the reformer of the Jain religion consists of the fact that he was able to bring the entire order of Parsvanath to his way of thinking especially in the matter of wearing clothes-complete nudity. The end of the sixth and the beginning of the fifth centuries before Christ, a period of great religious activity in North India, was marked by the springing up of various monastic orders, the most important of them being Jainism. It is only from Mahaveer that the recent history of Jainism commences. Jainism only believes in 'Jivatma' or 'Soul' and not in 'Paramatma' or a Supreme spirit. It is the belief that the soul which released itself from bondage and attained Moksh is God. None of the books written by Jain authors refer to any deity or god meant for worship and the mode of worship, but insist on paying reverence to certain orders of saints, ascetics or monks which may be taken to mean generally the holy or the great, like the Guru or the preceptor. The Jains take them for Thirthankars or Acharyas though they are not mentioned by their names or orders. Hence the Jains worship the Arhats, who have attained perfection by rigourous practice of non-violence, self-control and severe austerities. After annihilating all Karma they got rid of the cycle of births and deaths and attained siddhi-a state of complete spiritual bliss. According to Jainism the Arhat has the following qualities. The main aim in Jain philosophy is the deliverance of the soul from the consequences of action or karma. It considers deliverance of the soul from karma as an escape from life and a state in which it is devoid of qualities, emotions, connections and chance of rebirth. It holds that the soul is fettered to the world and the cycle of births and deaths by Karma and so it has to gain deliverance through austerities and serenity. Fundamental truths are divided into nine categories by the Jain scriptures. (1) The Jiva or Soul. All sentient beings have a soul. Even matter is animistic. Jiva may mean also life, vitality or conscience. It is also called 'Atma'. The Jains believe that Jiva is limited, though possessed of unlimited knowledge. Stress is laid in Jiva as seen in life. The soul which has attained deliverance has no form, but enjoys unparallelled happiness. (2) The second category of truth is Ajiva or inanimate things, the opposite of Jiva. The Jiva must first be freed from its state of Ajiva before it can work for deliverance. There are two classes of Ajiva, viz., the , Arupi '(formless) and the' Rupi' (having form). (3) The third truth or Tatva is punya which is divided into nine kinds. They denote nine kinds of charitable acts, giving food, water, clothes, dwelling, bed, wishing well, bodily help, oral (or vocal) help, and worship (or reverence). One may earn merit by doing any of these good acts. There are numerous ways of enjoying the punya which one has acquired being above want and happy, being born' in a good family, being born as a man instead of as a lesser being like beast etc., being elevated to the status of a minor god. Conversely every misfortune, ailment or hardship is traced back to some fault or sin committed in the previous birth or births. (4) The next truth is papa, the opposite of punya. It corresponds to sin and there are 18 kinds of sins like killing or jeevahimsa, lying or untruthfulness, (asathya) dishonesty, theft, mis-appropriation, cheating, smuggling, taking of bribes, treason, lawlessness, sharp business practices, being unchaste, execessive love of one's own possessions or over attachments, anger, conceit, intrigue, avarice or greed, miserliness and hatred, slander, bellicosity, fault finding, lack of self-control, hypocrisy, believing heresays or false faiths are also heinous sins. (5) The fifth truth is 'Asrava " the channels through which karma enters Jiva. They are the five senses, the emotions like anger, conceit, pride, deceit, avarice and intrigue, entanglement with material objects, carelessness in bodily movements, use of weapons, hatred, covetousness, etc. (6) 'Sanavara' or the converse of 'Asrava', which tells us how to cleanse our souls by dissipating the karma acquired in previous births. The ways of doing this are numerous but before doing this one must arrest the inflow of fresh karma by observing certain taboos. One should be careful not to kill any living things however small even unintentionally when one walks, works or eats or sleeps. One must speak kindly and not hurt anyone by one's speech. One should confine himself only to the prescribed articles of food and not break the injunctions regarding them. Most of these taboos are meant for the monks while the lay sravaks are allowed some margin or laxity in their observance. (7) The bondage of the soul to the karma called Bandh is of four kinds, depending on its nature, duration, intensity and mass. (8) 'Nirjiva' or destruction of karma which is accomplished gradually and slowly like the water in a porous pot seeping out of it. Karma can be burnt out by austerities, physical and spiritual. They are, fasting, complete or partial, eschewing certain kinds of food throughout life, sitting on a rock in the hot sun or in extreme cold and meditating, pulling out the hair by the roots (instead of shaving the head) controlling the senses and emotions, expiation for sins committed and so on. (9) 'Moksha' or complete deliverance consequent on the dissolution of Karma. At this stage, there is no possibility of rebirth. All the 24 Thirthankars have attained Moksha and have become Siddhas. The Karma doctrine forms the basis of all rules relating to 'Moksha Marg'. Attainment of Moksha is possible only by the annihilation of the past karmas and following the code of conduct prescribed in Jainism, in order to become free from rebirth. On this principle depend the rules regarding celibacy, food and other experiences of pleasure, like listening to music, witnessing dance performances and drama. Jainism lays emphasis both on conduct and enlightenment. To these are added the three precious principles. Right faith consists in the unshaken belief in Jain Darsan and its teachings. Right knowledge is the knowledge of the principles of Jain Religion and philosophy. Right conduct is the most important part of the discipline as it is through right activity that one can get rid of Karma and reach the goal of life. According to Jainism every soul is the cause of its own happiness or misery. Every man is the architect of his own life. Any individual can aspire to attain perfection, irrespective of his creed or caste. Jainism admits of a twofold training. (1) That of a lay life (Sravak) and (2) that of a monk (Muni). Jainism permits of the combination of the two modes of disciplines in one or more directions and thus making it possible for the spiritually weak to attain the level of a monk by slow and easy steps. Thus the Jain church was closely in touch with the laity. The life of a Jain ascetic is most austere and rigourous than that of any other religious mendicant. The principles to be observed by a Jain monk, desiring to free himself from rebirth are twenty eight in number and are as follows: 1. THE FIVE VOWS: 2. THE FIVE SAMITHIS: (b) Bhasha Samithi: Control of the tongue and speech, avoiding criticism, flattery, angry talk, using harsh words and talking sweetly, preaching the principles of Dharma and Jainism, constitute Bhasha Samithi. (c) Ashana Samithi: Obtaining by begging, food without 46 types of defects, (detailed in the Jain religious books) taking limited food. (d) Adananikshabana Samithi: While lifting or placing below, the book relating to a Jain monk, the peacock feather, the begging bowl or the netted bag, taking precaution to see that small insects like the ants are not killed. (e) Utsarga Samithi: Nature's calls should be answered in places distant from the habitations, where others do not move about, unseen by others places where insects exist should be avoided. 3. Restranit of the five Senses viz., touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. 4. AVASIVAGAMS: SIX 5. THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES: The ascetic breathed only through a veil, went sweeping with the peacock feathers, and drank only filtered water for fear of unconscionably crushing any invisible animalcule or swallow invisible beings. It is the belief of Jains that (1) the female birth is an inferior birth (2) only those that have committed sins are born as females and (3) they cannot achieve Moksha. The Svetambar Jains allow some concessions to the females. They believe that they cannot leave the household, control the mind, subject the body to strains and bear hardships and therefore cannot achieve Moksha. But the Swetambar Jains concede that if they also renounce the world and try with a determined mind they can attain Moksha. But the Digambar Jains are of the conviction that they cannot attain Moksha in the female birth and they should be born again as males, renounce the world and observe the set code and only then can they attain Moksha. Those ladies who turned into nuns renouncing the world are called 'Aryangan' or 'Kandhi' or 'Koundhi'. The principles to be observed by them are described in the 'Nilakesi' as follows : 1.
If the monks find Aryangan in a house they visit for Biksha, the monks should turn back without receiving biksha. Both the Swetambars and Digambars worship idols. The former wear white clothes and adorn their deities and idols with white clothes. The latter only adopt nudity both in respect to self and the idols worshipped by them. The third and fourth categories of Jains called Stanakavasi and Terapanth do not worship idols. In their temples, they keep their religious books and worship them as Thirthankars and Lord Aruga. In the case of laymen the brahmacharya and Aparigrah are replaced by the vows respectively of chastity and contentment or strict limitation of one's wants. Abstention from meat eating is a logical corollary of the doctrine of Ahimsa and so Jains are forbidden from eating meat and drinking honey as it involved the killing of bees. The Jains refrain from eating after sunset. They pay respect to and bow before elders and Acharyas. These are the important principles of conduct of a Jain sravak. It was made incumbent on the Jains to provide the bare necessaries of the ascetic orders. Jainism, just as other religions, realises the importance of the householder's life as a necessary foundation for the successful carry out of the Yathi Dharm. The Jains are said to have preached against only that kind of ritualism, which involvea animal sacrifice. The Jains even at present observe all the ceremoniens relating to and prescribed for the householders such as the birth ceremony, investing of the sacred thread, marriage and other ceremonies. Mahaveer had eleven disciples who had instructed 4,200 munis. After Mahaveer attained Nirvan his disciple Gautham Indrabhuthi was the head or the Srutakevali of the Jains. He was succeeded by Sudharma, Sambuswami, Vishnu Nandi alias Vishnudev, Nandimitra, Aparajith and Bhadrabahu one after another. For five centuries after Mahaveer's Nirvan, Jainism made good progress in the various parts of upper India. During the first centuary after the death of Buddha, Jains were very prominent in the various places in the North. With the rise of Buddhism during the early Ashoka's period and the progress of Brahminism in the early centuries of the Christian Era even Jainism found it difficult to maintain itself in the North and showed signs of dacay after the seventh century A. D. -------------------------------------------
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