In October 2016, a thirteen year old girl in India died after completing a 68-day religious
fast.
The girl and her family were devout followers of Jainism, which celebrates a lifestyle of
radical self control and restriction.
This time it went too far, but it made us want to know, what exactly is Jainism?
Well, Jainism is an ancient religion largely concentrated in India.
Its followers do not worship one omnipotent creator god, like Christianity or Islam.
Rather, Jains believe that the universe is made up of jiva, which is souls or consciousness,
and ajiva, which is time, space, physical matter and everything else that doesn’t
have a soul.
Both jiva and ajiva are thought to have existed forever and can never be destroyed.
Jains believe that souls live in a cycle of reincarnation, and that karma, which are impurities
that result from conscious actions, attach to the soul throughout life.
The ultimate goal of jainism is to eliminate all karma.
Those without any karma are thought to be liberated from the cycle of life and death,
and instead become a perfect, god-like being, or ‘moksha’.
Achieving this divine existence is the purpose of life for Jains.
Unlike other religions that emphasize a ‘final judgement day”, there is no supreme being
to cleanse your karma or forgive your sins.
As a result, followers must reach liberation on their own, though a life of strict self-discipline
and righteousness.
Specifically, Jains must make five vows to achieve moksha - They must not steal or lie,
must not be swayed by their sexual desires, must not be emotionally attached to their
possessions or anything in the physical world, and they must not intentionally harm another
soul.
The word “Jain” actually derives from the sanskrit word for “conqueror”.
Thus the goal of the jain is to conquer all things that would prevent salvation.
The vow of nonviolence is one of the most defining features of Jainism because of the
great lengths followers take to adhere to it.
Jain monks are known to sweep away insects from the street so that they’re not stepped
on.
And, although all Jains are vegetarians and many are vegans, some will go as far as not
eating root vegetables, such as potatoes or onions, because of the tiny organisms that
are injured during harvest.
One of the most striking symbols of Jainism is the swastika.
Before it was used by the Nazis, the swastika was sanskrit for ‘well being’, adopted
by Jains to symbolize the cycle of reincarnation.
They could be reborn as a human, a hellish being, a subhuman, which is like a plant,
or a heavenly being.
These four existences are symbolized by the four points on the swastika.
Jainism developed alongside Buddhism and Hinduism around 6th century BC, and as a result, the
religions have a number of similarities.
For instance both Hindus and Jains believe in karma and reincarnation, however Jains
reject the idea of a creator god and a hierarchical ‘caste’ system.
It is thought that there are millions of followers of Jainism, although an exact figure is hard
to determine.
A vast majority live in India, however the religion can also be found in immigrant communities
in Kenya, the US, Canada and the UK.
Jainism is revered around the world for its radical austerity and commitment to nonviolence.
Around the same time Jainism was developing in India, Zoroastrianism was taking hold in
what is today Iran.
Today, it’s regarded as one of the oldest monotheistic religions.
But what exactly is Zoroastrianism?
Find out in this video.
Thanks for watching Seeker Daily!
Don’t forget to like and subscribe for new videos every day.