________________
एसो पंच णमोकारो सव्व पावप्पणासणो मंगलाणं च सव्वेसिं पढमं हवइ मंगलं * These five salutations destroy all negative vibrations.
Among all forms of bliss, this is the Supreme Bliss.
Bhagavan Mahavir preached every soul to be self reliant in pursuing the path of salvation. He observed:
अप्पा कत्ता विकत्ता य, दुहाण य सुहाण य । अप्पा मित्तम् मित्तं च, दुष्पट्ठिय सुपट्ठिओ ॥
Maker, unmaker of pleasure and pain. For, the self is the self, itself none else. Self again is friend and foe
that indudes good and evil.
Basically Jain thought does not provide for idol worship. However, idols of the 24 Tirthankaras in the Temples and on Mountain Tops came up since they gave the common man a medium to pin his faith on. The Sthanakvasi sect however, does not believe in idol worship and focuses on teachings of the religion as laid down by the Tirthankaras and preached by the ordained Saints and Gurus.
In the day-to-day practice and ritual of religion in Jainism, there is much greater element of asceticism, austerity, self-denial and selfsacrifice in contrast to Buddhism, Hinduism or Christianity. The feeling is emphasized at every point of time that the material life and possessions and the inter-woven web of relationships and attachments are not permanent factors. The soul comes alone into the world and departs alone. The individual must fend for himself, think and plan for life beyond the present one. At the same time while emphasizing individual's path
Ahimsa: The Ultimate Winner * Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
(215)
www.jainelibrary.org