Harmony of All Religions

Author(s): Parmahans Maharaj, Veena Rani Howard
Publisher: USA Santmat Society of North America

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Jain dharma recognizes nonviolence as the highest dharma (duty). It believes in an egalitarian society that is built on the foundation of tolerance and good moral character. It proclaims that if you remove the dirty layers and coverings from the soul and abstain from harmful actions you will attain the knowledge of Kevali ("oneliness”) and you will become the Supreme Soul. Jain sages have described various forms of meditation, but have mostly elaborated on the shukla dhyāna, the meditation of light. In the Vedic literature this is known as the Yoga of light, and as meditation on the third eye. But in Jain literature the final step of meditation the Yoga of Sound is spoken of sparingly. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the great tirthankaras, ascetics and sages of Jain dharma were accomplished in these essential practices.
In Indian religions, there is a recurrent metaphor for a sacred place where one can cross over easily and safely to the far shore of liberation (moksha): a limen or threshold. These thresholds between heaven and earth are charged with a power and purity which afford a spiritual crossing, and they are often associated with great events relating to the heroes of myth. Tirtha can also refer to a holy person or path which affords access to the sacred. Tirthankara (In Sanskrit., 'builders of the ford'). In Jainism, Tirthankara is the title given to the twenty-four omniscient spiritual teachers who have displayed the way of salvation. [From the Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, p 597] - Kshatriya is the warrior or royal caste within the caste system of India.
Mahavira's tribal affiliation is reflected in one of his later epithets, Nigantha Nataputta, which literally means "the naked ascetic of the Jnatrika clan." 4 "Beautiful looking”
Maya is the cosmic illusionary veil which attempts to keep us from experiencing the Divine.
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