Jain Digest 2002 12 Vol 21 No 4

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 36

(Continued from inside of front cover) The five fundamental teachings of Jainism are deeply rooted in its living ethos in the unbroken continuity across the centuries. They offer the world today a time-tested anchor or normal imperatives and a viable route plan for humanity's common pilgrimage for holistic environmental protection, peace and harmony in the universe.
JAIN COSMOLOGY
Jains do not acknowledge an intelligent first cause as the creator of the universe. The Jain theory is that the universe has no beginning or end. It is traced to Jiva and ajiva, the two everlasting, uncreated, independent and co-existing categories consciousness in Jiva. That which has no consciousness is ajiva.
There are five substances of ajiva:
1. Dharma - the medium of motion
3. akasha - space
5. kala-time
Pudgala (matter) has form and consist of individual atoms (paramanu) and conglomerates of atoms (skandha), which can be seen, heard, smelt, tested and/or touched. According to Jains, energy, or the phenomena of sound, darkness, shade, heat, light and the like, is produced by conglomerates of atoms.
The Jiva (soul) has no form but, during its worldly career, it is vested with a body and becomes subject to an inflow of karmic 'dust' (asravas). These are the subtle material particles that are drawn to a soul because of its worldly activities. The asravas bind the soul to the physical world until they have brought about the karmic result when they fall away "like ripe fruit" by which time other actions have drawn more asravas to the soul.
2. adharma - the medium of rest 4. pudgala - matter
With the exception of the arihantas (the ever-perfect) and the Siddhas (the liberated), who have dispelled the passions, which provide the 'glue' for the asravas, all souls are in karmic bondage to the universe. They go through a continuous cycle of death and rebirth in a personal evolution that can lead at last to Moksha (eternal release). In this cycle there are countless souls at different stages of their personal evolution: earth-bodies, water-bodies, fire-bodies, air-bodies, vegetable-bodies, and mobile bodies ranging from bacteria, insects, worms, birds and larger animals to human beings, internal beings and celestial beings.
The Jain evolutionary theory is base on a grading of the physical bodies containing souls according to the degree of sensory perception. All souls are equal but are bound by varying amounts of asravas (karmic particles), which is reflected in the type of body they inhibit. The lowest form of physical body has only the sense of touch and are therefore able to experience pleasure and pain, and have souls. Mahavira taught that only the one who understood the grave detriment caused by destruction of plants and trees understood the meaning and merit of reverence for nature. Even metals and stones might have life in them and should not be dealt with recklessly.
Above the single-sense Jivas are micro-organisms and small animals with two, three or four senses. Higher in order are the Jivas with five senses. The highest grade of animals and the human beings also possess rationality and intuition (manas). As a highly evolved form of life, human beings have a great moral responsibility in their mutual dealings and in their relationship with the rest of the universe.
It is this conception of life and its eternal coherence, in which human beings have an inescapable ethical responsibility that made the Jain tradition a cradle for the creed of environmental protection and harmony.
NAMO ARIHANTANAM
I bow to the arihantas - the ever-perfect spitural victors MANO SIDDHANAM
I bow to the siddhas - the liberated souls
NAMO ARYAIYANAM
I bow to the acharyas - the leaders of the Jain order NAMO UVAJJHAYANAM
I bow to the upadhyayas - the learned preceptors
NAMASKAR MANTRA
NAMO LOE SAVVA-SAHUNAM
These five obeisances SAVVA-PAVAPPANASANO
Erase all sins
I bow to the saints and sages everywhere in the world ESO PANCH NAMUKKARO
MANGALANACH SAVVESIM
Amongst all that is auspicious
PADHAMAMHAVAI MANGALAM
This is the foremost.
On the front cover: Symbol of JAINA officially adopted during the 2500th anniversary of Lord Mahavir's Nirvana (1975). The hand signifies friendly re-assurance and ethical responsibility of every individual. The word Ahimsa (Non-Violence) appears in the center of the palm.
August 2002 Rev. 1
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