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Now, from a Westerner's point of view, has Jainism anything to give to the world today? Most definitely it has. Jain thinkers, over more than twenty centuries, have given an explanation of the meaning of life and the universe which fits together logically and reasonably, which gives meaning to what may sometimes seem the random operation of blind fate. It places the destiny of every human being, more, of every living being, firmly under its own control. No omnipotent god created or controls the universe: every being can say in the works of an English poet "I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul". The law of karma has been developed by Jain thinkers into a sophisticated hypothesis which can explain so much that can puzzle us about life and the future. To be quite honest, many of the books by Jain authors, and by Westerns too, are turgid and gray. They are overloaded with archaic terms and outdated scientific ideas: only rarely does one find an author who can relate Jain philosophy and cosmology to modern science and the modern world. Truth is eternal, but it needs to be expressed in the idiom of the age. Truth is there in these works but the search for it is not always easy.
There is a long term goal for every individual soul and a program of action to work towards it. It is a hard program and to the Western reader it reads so often as a bleak and joyless austerity. When I have met monks and nuns in India, I have been struck not by the misery of their lives but by serenity, even humor. In recognizing that not everyone is called to be a monk or nun, there is a program for the laity as well: Jainism can be lived in the midst of the world and in ordinary life. And, far from the drab and colorless picture painted by too many of the books, the vibrant color of the rituals, the devotion and fervor of worshippers, the splendor of the temples, excite the eye and ear and bring to life a view of a faith rooted in antiquity but alive and relevant today.
I am often asked what I consider the most valuable or appealing facets of Jain beliefs. Naturally, I mention ahimsa first. To some Westerners the care for even the tiniest living being can seem obsessive. Someone once made the unsympathetic jibe that Jains "deny God, worship man and nourish vermin". I, and many others, cannot share that view: I admire the Jain principle of ahimsa and follow it, though imperfectly, where I can.
Yet I often feel that the Jain principle which has most to offer to the modern world is anekantavada, quite literally an-ek-anta-vada, the non-one-sided way. A philosophical tool of some importance, showing that things can be quite different when viewed from different points of view, it has also practical application. It teaches us that someone else's point of view is as valid as our own, and what is that but tolerance, the virtue most needed to bring harmony and peace in this troubled and intolerant world.
That, then, is one Westerner's view of Jainism. If I have misrepresented anything, or expressed my views imperfectly, micchami dukkadam (I seek forgiveness).
Paul Marett is an expert on copyright law. He has taken active interest in Jainism for several years and has written a book "Jainism Explained". He is a honorary life member of Jain Samaj Europe and Director of the Jain Academy.
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