Jainism

Author(s): M R Gelra
Publisher: Createspace

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The elephant in this story represents Mahakala (the God of death) who chases the traveller to kill; the four snakes represent anger, ego, deceit and greed which are the four kasayas (evil emotions) that falsely promise permanent happiness; the white and black rats represent day and night respectively who cut the short age of the traveller; the deep dark well is hell in which one gets trapped and eternally wanders in the world and finally, the bees symbolize family members which hurt man by their stings. The angels symbolizing religions offer to help, but despite being surrounded by sufferings, the traveller chooses to satisfy his sensual instincts by honey.
Man is like the traveller who is deeply involved in sensual enjoyment (kam-bhog) of this world like the honey but religion (angels) can bring man out from this death trap. A wise man will choose religion and escape from the eternal cycle of life and death whereas a fool like the traveller in this story will continue to stay trapped in it.
A similar story in Mahabharat (an Indian popular epic) illustrates the folly of people who consider worldly pleasure as supreme happiness.
Jain Religion
The cardinal principles of Jainism propounded by the complete tradition and teachings of twenty four Tirthankars are based on non-violence and non-possession. The path of righteneous set-down by the Tirthankars is known as Jainism. During the period of twenty fourth Tirthankar Mahavira, Jainism was referred to as Shraman Dharam and Buddhist called it the religion of Nirgranth. It is believed that after two hundred years of Lord Mahavira, the word Jain came into existence in the time of Acharya Mahagiri.
1. Who are Jains?
Jain means 'a follower of Jina'. All Tirthankars are Jinas. They have won over the nasty emotions and attained infinite knowledge. The word Jina comes from the word Jin, a word that suggests victory, victory over the self which means conquest over all bondage of birth and death. The present Jain community follows the principles shown by twenty fourth Tirthankar Mahavira.
It is based on tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Jainism is a religion that sought to do away with the inherent inequalities and injustices of the caste system. It recognized the role of women also. Both the sexes were given equal opportunities in all matters of religion.
Jains have believed that in each half of a time cycle, twenty four Tirthankars will emerge, and will preach nonviolence. In this present half-time cycle, the first Jina was Rishabha and the last three were Nemi, Parsva and Maharvira, all are historical figures.
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