An Introduction to Jain religion

The word Jain is derived from the Sanskrit jina, meaning "conqueror"an epithet given to the twenty four Tirthankaras or Fordmakers, who through austerity, conquered their minds, passions and bodies to attain deliverance from the endless cycle of rebirth. Jainism is still the most ascetically demanding of all India's religions. Its purpose is not the glorification of an absolute god, but the attainment of self perfection by the gradual abandonment of the material world. At the heart of Jain religion is the belief in extreme form of ahinsa(non-violence), which demands that no living being should be hurt since, in the words of a Jain motto,"all living creatures must help each other ".

Foreign students who came to learn Jainism

People from all around the world come to know about Jainism. A group of students from different countries came to do research on Jain religion at Agra. Agra also has so many Jain temples and the population of Jain followers are good in numbers over here

The Lord Mahavira

Mahavira, the last of the twenty four Fordmakers, was the greatest of all Jain ascetics. From the moment of
renunciation, he went naked and is held to have had no concern for sleep, cleanliness, food or water. By imitating his life and through the eradication of all ties with the martial world, Jain monks and nuns hope to follow him to liberation. Jain scriptures list ten reasons for renunciation - ranging from anger to the memory of previous births - which lead men and women to enter initiation (diksha) into asceticism.

Jain Initiation- Keshlochan

The best- known part of initiation is the ceremony in which the entrant pulls out his or her own hair in order to symbolise austerity and the abjuring of sexuality. Although Jain scriptures describe ceremonies in which naked monks pull their own hair out in great handfuls.
 Many initials today shave their heads before the ritual, leaving small tufts that are easier to extract. After ritually joining a Jain order, the five "great vows" (mahavratas) and promises to put them to good to use.

The Ford makers 

The Jains recognize twenty-four Tirthankaras or Ford makers, as their historical teachers. These figures are believed to have attained perfect wisdom (Kevala). by breaking all bonds with the material world. Each Tirthankaras belonged to Kshatriyas - Kings and warriors from whose rank the Buddha also came. With the exceptions of Parshva and Mahavira - the twenty third and twenty fourth teachers - they are legendary figures, inhabiting past "world ages" many millennium ago. 

The earliest ford makers were fabled giants who had immeasurably long lives. The first, Rishabha, is said to have lived for million years; Mahavira, by contrast, had only a normal human life span.

The last ford maker, Mahavira, is credited with the founding of modern Jainism. 

The Lord Mahavira and Lord Buddha

He was a contemporary and rival of Buddha, with whom his story has much in common. Both were of noble birth and renounced society at a similar time of life to wander with bands of ascetics. Like the teachings of Buddha, Mahavira's doctrine was based upon the possibility of release from desire, suffering and death, but whereas the Buddha taught the Middle way between asceticism . Mahavira is famed for his severe asceticism and complete rejection of the material world.  

The most striking aspect of Jain karma is that it is perceived as material entity, like a subtle dust that clogs the soul, binding it to the body. Many life times are required to to rid the soul of Karmic dust and so liberate it. For Jains, soul (jiva) is a living substance embodied in all life forms: human beings, animals, and even plants. Originally pure and all knowing, jiva becomes tainted as it is shackled to a succession of bodies, accumulating Karma's. Non soul (ajiva) designates inanimate substance, whether material or not. 

The individuals ultimate goal, achievable only through many re-births, is self realisation and the liberation of the soul. 

Jain follower with mask and whisk

A Jain ascetic always wear mask to prevent himself by killing minute organisms while breathing. He also has a whisk in his hand to clear his path of small insects which he might squash. 

The first rule of Jain initiation is non-violence.