JAINISM, A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
Spiritual Interpretation: Saadhak Shivaanand Saraswati

Jainism believes that an immortal and eternal soul (jiva) resides within all living beings. But the soul being vulnerable to the effects of deeds (karma) cause it to suffer by being subjected to repeated rebirths. Such suffering is believed to cease only when the chain of rebirth is broken to attain liberation - moksha.

Jainism has been founded by Vardhaman Mahavir who was called Jina, who lived c. 540-468 BC. The word Jain originates from Jina, meaning victory, conqueror or liberator.

The Jains have a chronology of their own which begins in the year 522 BC, which, according to their reckoning, was the date of Mahavir's death, aged 72. He was a prince in Bihar who at the age of 30 was dissatisfied with life and after 12  ears of severe asceticism, he attained enlightenment. He was preceded in history by a series of 23 Tirthankars or trailblazers; the last one of these, Parshvanath may have lived in the late eighth century BC. 

The early Jains spread from Bihar, especially to Gujarat and South India. There was a clear distinction between the two main sects - the Shvetambaras (white-clad) whose saints permitted themselves a white loin cloth as their sole possession, and the Digambaras (sky-clad) whose saints walked about stark naked being without any possessions, since they had vanquished all desires.

The Jain holy scripture is laid down in 12 books, called Angas, written in Prakrit. The Digambaras now fewer in number, maintain that the Angas were never composed by Mahavir, and instead follow books written by later religious Jain leaders. This is the so-called Secondary Canon, which in turn is followed by extensive theological literature. Though this, Jains are asked to practice the virtues of poverty, humility, purity, truthfulness, self-discipline, suffering, tolerance, innocence, abstention and asceticism. By conquering all his desires a person may breakout of the sansara or chain or rebirths and so end all suffering.

The cosmology of Jainism teaches that the world is eternal and space immense,  Hough limited, and empty. In the centre of the disc-shaped earth, are the strata of kingdoms ruled by demons where the doomed suffer long but not eternal punishment. Above the earth, rise layers of skies and, higher still, lovely heavens where different classes of Gods enjoy power and pleasure.

The Gods are great and may grant boons to mortals, but they too are not immortal, being subject to karma and the chains of reincarnation. Higher even than the abode of the Gods, beyond a disc which acts like a lid closing off the mortal realms, there lies the realm of those who have gained enlightenment and are therefore exempt from rebirth. The regions beneath and above the earth remain unchanged, but on earth ascending and descending epochs of history cause its people to grow taller and better or smaller and meaner. At present we live in an era where people are becoming progressively more wicked and immoral. This  deterioration will last for another several thousand years before there is an  improvement in the moral standards on earth.

All the individual souls together form the spiritual substance of the universe. In  essence, they are knowing and wise, but their wisdom is clouded by their own  desire, which in turn is caused by their bodies, which have been infected with  physical pollution and ignorance. This condition causes the souls to travel from one moral body to the next, like a person caught in a strong current and unable to free himself. The karmic activity of a soul causes vibrations that attract particles of matter towards it. Only through complete control of all its desires can the soul attain peace, stillness, lucidity and insight into its condition. Only when that is achieved can the enlightened ascetic end his life by ceasing to take food. When he dies, his liberated soul will rise to the summit of the world where it will live forever.

Jains deny the existence of a creator. The world has always existed and is subject to the eternal laws of karma, the causality of recompense and punishment. The Jains do not worship the Gods but they venerate the Tirthankars, the early saints  and precursors of Mahavir, who first broke out of the sansara, the chain of existences. Many legends circulate about the Tirthankars and their colossal statues are venerated by all. Only the sect of the Sthanakavasis rejects all temple cults and concentrates only on studying the scriptures.

Jainism is characterised by vegetarianism and complete ahimsa, i.e. that its members take care not to harm any fellow creatures, to the extent that some Jains even walk with brooms to sweep away the insects from their path lest they tread on them. There are less than four million Jains in India and in a few Western countries. The final goal of a Jain is to sever the chain of rebirth and achieve a state of liberation known variously as kaivalya, moksha or nirvana.