THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR BELIEFS, DOCTRINES AND RELIGIONS
8. JAINISM
Estimated year of creation: 549-477 BC C., although it varies according to the sources.
Main prophets of Jainism: Jainism has twenty-four leaders or tirthankaras , the first being Rishabhanatha , who according to the Jain tradition lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha in 900 BC. C. and the twenty-fourth tirthankara the Mahāvīra around the year 500 a. C.
Headquarters / Capital in the world: It is present in Bengal (eastern India), Rajasthan, Majarastra and Gujarat (central western India) and Karnataka (southern India), as well as in some communities abroad.
Number of faithful around the world: About 5 million.
God or Prophet of Jainism: Jains have twenty-four prophets, called the 'Trithankaras' (which translates as 'the one who shows the way'). The first would be Adinath (9th century BC) and the last and best known is Mahavira (6th century BC), a contemporary of Buddha. The tirthankara or Jina is, by definition, one who overcame his lower nature, attained enlightenment, and preached the Jain path. The life of the Jinas or Tirthankaras is recorded in the Jain Kalpa Sutra, although not in detail. The only one that is fully described is the twenty-fourth and last, named Vardhamana and later called Mahavira (great hero).
Main symbol of Jainism: Jain symbol.
Main books of Jainism:
The Jain canonical scriptures are called Agamas. It is believed that they were transmitted verbally , like the ancient Buddhist and Hindu texts, and that they originated from the sermons of the tirthankaras, whereupon the Ganadharas (main disciples) transmitted them as Śhrut Jnāna (heard knowledge). The biblical language spoken is believed to be Ardhamagadhi by the Jain of Śvētāmbara, and a form of sound resonance by the Jains of Digambara.
The Śvētāmbaras believe that they have preserved 45 of the original 50 Jain scriptures (having lost one Anga text and four Purva texts), while the Digambaras believe that all were lost, and that Āchārya Bhutabali was the last ascetic who had partial knowledge of the original Canyon. According to them, Digambara Āchāryas recreated the oldest known Digambara Jain texts, including the four anuyoga. The Digambara texts partially agree with the older Śvētāmbara texts, but there are also great differences between the texts of the two main Jain traditions. The Digambaras created a secondary canon between 600 and 900 CE, compiling it into four groups or Vedas: history, cosmography, philosophy, and ethics.
Basic principles of Jainism:
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Every living being has a soul.
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Each soul is potentially divine and that is why one must consider all living beings as part of it, do no harm and be kind and respectful to all beings.
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Each soul is divine or demonic according to its own acts (karma)
When a soul frees itself from karmas, it achieves divine consciousness and experiences the knowledge, perception, power, and joy of Infinity. -
Correct vision, correct knowledge and correct conduct are 'the three Jewels' that lead a soul to Divine consciousness.
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There is no creator, protector or destroyer… (Jains don't believe in God).
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Non-violence is the basis of 'the three jewels'.
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Limiting possessions and living a pure life is good for yourself and for others. The bad thing is having attachment to what one possesses because it is the germ of imbalance.
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Enjoy the company of holy people, understood as people better than oneself, show kindness to suffering souls and tolerate bad souls.
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The four most difficult things for the soul to achieve are: birth in human form, knowledge of the laws under which souls function, absolute conviction in the philosophy of non-violence and practicing it in daily life.
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The goal of Jainism is the liberation of the soul from the negative effects of thoughts, speech, and wrongdoing. This goal is achieved by removing karmic hindrances. That is, following "the three jewels."
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Jains pray to the images of the Jinas, Arihants, and Tirthankaras who are liberated souls. They also read your scriptures.
Short description of Jainism.
The founder of Jainism was Mahavira and, like Buddhism, this doctrine was born, or rather, it is revised, in the 6th century BC It is revised, because what Mahavira does is to recover the most ancient beliefs of India, from the pre-era time. -Vedic (more than 4,000 years). Like Buddhism, it teaches how to live a life that leads to enlightenment or siddha based on:
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The meditation.
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The practice of nonviolence.
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Vegetarianism.
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And respect for karma.
All of this leads to moksa or liberation. Also as in Buddhism, the main enemies of the practitioner are attachments.
The number of followers is small, about 7 million, and the two main traditions are digambaras and svetambaras.
Of the major religions in India , Jains make up around 0.5% of the Indian population, which is about 5 million people.
It stands out for being a non-theistic religion, which means that they do not accept the Hindu Vedas as truth, although it is usually translated as that they do not believe in a god.
His conception of the world and the universe is that of something eternal, unreachable to our understanding. All reality is "divine", any natural phenomenon, any animal, insect or plant are worthy of devotion. For a Jain it is a sin to cause harm to a living being or to nature. They are strict vegetarians and staunch defenders of non-violence; They also seek a constant detachment from the material, as a way to unload their soul in future reincarnations.
There are two main Jain movements, the Svetambaras always wear light white clothes and the Digambaras, who are usually nude or semi-nude.
Its philosophy and practice are based primarily on self-effort for the soul's progress toward divine consciousness. Any soul that conquers its own internal enemies and achieves the perfect state is called 'Jina' or 'the conqueror'.
Reference:
http://www.diosuniversal.com/Otras-Religiones/Jainismo-la-religion-que-no-tiene-creador
https://www.lasociedadgeografica.com/blog/mitologia-y-religion/introduccion-al-jainismo/
http://upbjainismo.blogspot.com/2013/04/datos-de-jainismo.html
https://es.qwe.wiki/wiki/Jainism#Scriptures_and_texts
https://www.lasociedadgeografica.com/blog/mitologia-y-religion/introduccion-al-jainismo/
