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JANUARY, 1993
demanding. They do not stand out as a special minority. They have no special dress requirements as have adherents of other religions. They do not make much noise either. There is not a single case of a Jain taking his case to the Human Rights Commission for religious discrimination. Jains would rather accommodate their personal needs (rights) to fit their adopted environment.
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This significance was brought home to me when I asked a senior research fellow at the University of Warwick's Centre for Ethnic Relations why there has not been a single sociological study of Jains in Britain. He answered, perhaps jokingly, that there is no interest in studying Jains because "they do not offend anybody".
3. Jainism is not a missionary religion as, for example its sister religion, Buddhism, has been from the very beginning. In fact, the Jaina code of conduct forbids Jain monks and nuns to travel beyond kālā pāni (black waters) or sat samundars (seven seas). The only permitted mode of travel, until recently, has been the mendicant's two feet.
4. Even Jain laymen hesitate to travel abroad, or long distances inland, for dietary reasons. Jain parents have not always encouraged their children, in the past, to go abroad. Some Jain munis and ācāryas have also shown the same hesitation in giving their blessings to those about to travel abroad.
However, there has been at least one notable exception when
H. H. Muni Śri Atmārāmji specifically authorized Śri V. R. (Virchand Gandhi to travel to Chicago in 1883 to attend the Parliament of World Religions. Mr. Gandhi was perhaps the first Jain to set foot on North American soil.
5. Jainism is not a religion of power and victory over others; instead it is a religion of power and victory over oneself. Hence the term Jina meaning "one who has conquered oneself", from which the term Jain is derived.
This philosophic viewpoint is in conformity with the rejection of missionary work among non-Jains. Jains do not want to change others to their viewpoint. Jains accept the validity of the multifarious identity of truth or reality embodied in the principle of anekāntavāda or
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