Introduction to Jainism

Author(s): Rudi Jansma, Sneh Rani Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 17

Who are the Jains ?
Parasparopagraho jīvanam The function of living beings is to help each other
Jains are people who adhere to a religion of non-violence, known as Jainism. The word Jain is derived from Jina, which means "conqueror.” Conqueror, not in the worldly sense of kings and armies, but in the inner sense of conquering oneself, i.e. the animal, emotional, and mental nature of man in so far as these are directed towards the evanescent, the personal, and merit or gain for oneself alone. The temporary things of the world do not belong to the eternal, and therefore the happiness and joy of the world can never be eternal. Moreover, because our thoughts and emotions are often not pure - i.e. not in harmony with what the depths of our soul tries to convey to us repeatedly we create new causes which lead to consequences which our consciousness experiences as unpleasant - because that is the method which ensouled nature applies in order to teach us and correct us. The Jains yearn for simplicity and happiness for each and every living being, and as a result of this they themselves receive an ever larger portion of happiness.
Today they comprise no more than a small section of the Indian population - some 7.5 million people perhaps - and that is almost nothing in a country in which more than a billion souls are currently incarnate. Only a very small