$JES 401 Jain Philosophy and Practice 2 Level 4 Book

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 17

Chapter 01 - Jain Concept of God and Universe Jain Concept of God The subcontinent of India, a cradle of civilization, is also the birthplace of three great religious traditions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The Jain religion and its philosophy being one of the oldest, predating recorded history as referenced in Hindu scriptures, has become one of the essential spiritual traditions of the South Asian religious fabric. It is an original system, quite distinct and independent from other systems and philosophical traditions of India. Jainism is a religion of purely human origin. In ancient times, it was known by many names such as the Shraman (ascetic) tradition, the religion of Nirgrantha (one who has removed all bondages in life), or the religion of Jina. It is propagated by Self-realized individuals who have attained perfect knowledge, omniscience, and self-control by personal effort. They have been liberated from the bondage of attachment and aversion (karma), and of worldly existence, and ending the cycles of life and death. These individuals are popularly viewed as Gods in Jainism. They are also recognized by various names as Tirthankar, Kevali, Arihanta, Arhat, Jina, and Siddha. All these words depict various qualities of Jain God.
Jain Concept of Universe Many religions in the world try to answer the questions like, who created the universe, what is the age of the universe, is it ageless, what is the universe made of, how the cosmos is structured, what is the fate of the universe and so on. If we assume that God created the universe then the question arises as to who created the Creator. Hence the logic breaks. Ultimately, one answers that God self-existed and He is eternal. Jains believe that instead of saying God self-existed, the universe is self-existed and eternal. Jain theory states that the entire universe functions according to its own cosmic laws and it is selfregulated. Jainism states that the universe is without a beginning or an end, and is everlasting and eternal. Six fundamental entities (known as Dravya or Substances) constitute the universe. Although all entities are eternal, they continuously undergo countless changes, but in that process, no new elements are created nor the existing elements are destroyed but every element continuously changes its forms. In these transformations, nothing is lost or destroyed. Previous forms give way to new ones without losing their own inherent qualities
Concept of Time Jainism believes that time is a basic element and is cyclic. Each time cycle has two half cycles, Utsarpini (progressive) and Avasarpini (regressive). Each half cycle is further divided into six eras. There have been infinite time cycles in the past time is without a beginning) and there will be infinite time cycles (without any end) in the future. At present, we are in the fifth era of Avasarpini half cycle. In each half cycle, 24 Tirthankars or Jinas are born in our region. Bhagawan Mahävir was the last Tirthankar who lived about 2600 years ago and Bhagawan Rishabha was the first Tirthankar who lived millions of years ago.
Fundamental Tenets of Jainism
Jains believe that from eternity, the soul is bound by karma and is ignorant of its true nature. It is due to karma that the soul migrates from one life cycle to another and the ignorant soul continues to bind with new karma
The soul is bound by karmas because of attachment and aversion. Therefore, the path of liberating the soul from attachment and aversion constitutes the fundamental philosophy of Jainism. Jainism addresses the path of liberation in a rational way. It states that the proper Knowledge of reality of
JAIN PHILOSOPHY AND PRACTICE - 2