Jainism

We have visited some Jain Temples and I was curious to find ours more abut it. There is a lot of information in the internet and this is just one encyclopedic entry which I found from the website of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. There are many more sites but this is, perhaps, a useful short summary:

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23rd Tirthankara Parsvanatha, Madhya Pradesh, Central India, 7th century. Sandstone sculpture. Museum no. IS.18-1956

Jainism, one of the three major religions of early India, has been continuously practised since around the middle of the first millennium BC. Its name derives from the word Jina, meaning 'liberator' or 'victor', referring to spiritual rather than material conquest. Jains believe (as do Buddhists and Hindus) in a cycle of birth and rebirth, influenced by the effects of the individual's actions and attitudes (a concept known as 'karma'). The ultimate goal of the believer is to break the cycle and achieve liberation. To help them achieve this goal, Jains revere a group of 24 liberated souls called Jinas or Tirthankaras ('those who ford the river' between the material and spiritual worlds), who act as teachers and role models to the faithful.

The Jain system also includes various gods, goddesses and protective deities who serve the Jinas and are often the focus of independent cults. Unlike the Jinas, these secondary deities are capable of divine intervention, granting boons for the devotee.

There are currently some six million followers worldwide. Jainism has long been respected as the world's most peace-loving religion because of its strict doctrine of non-violence (ahimsa). Mahatma Gandhi, born a Hindu, was an admirer of Jainism's teachings and adopted the doctrine of non-violence in his movement for Indian independence.

The Jains' commitment to non-violence and non-possession limits the types of lay occupations they can pursue. They have traditionally been traders and merchants in textile, jewellery and financial businesses, and today are also prominent in medicine and technical industries. The Jain community's prosperity has long enabled them to be generous patrons. In India today we can see the monuments, stone sculptures, images in bronze and wood and the temple libraries which house the sacred literature. They all bear witness to the fruitful tradition of Jain patronage and artistic achievement.

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