Portrait of Jain Religion

Author(s): Narendra Jain
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 12

CHAPTER - 1 WHAT IS RELIGION
Religion is a stream of well-knit and harmoniously blended thought, perception and conduct which relates itself to the search for truth about the very basis, nature and purpose of human existence. Religion or Dharma, as it is called in Sanskrit, is very aptly defined as “Dharayati iti Dharmah”. This means that the faith that holds human beings from straying off the path of truth and succumbing to false delusions is religion. Dharma connotes the stimulation of the process of attaining selfrealization, soul purification and soul awakening. Religion brings home the awareness and conviction that life is not all matter. It also comprises the spirit. Spiritual orientation is essential for the attainment of lasting happiness and bliss. The word 'Religion' is derived from the latin word 're-ligare', which means to reconnect or bind. Materialistic culture aggravates the inner anxieties and physical insecurities of life. It erodes a sense of purpose and trivializes human destiny. It creates illusions of happiness, that may comfort the body but are not soulsatisfying. Religion makes human belongs experience transcendence for which the soul hungers. Greater and faster the material progress, there is even greater realization of the need for spiritual insight and the desire for wisdom. Religious beliefs have existed since the first human communities on Earth. They have been generally shared by a community and express the community's culture and values through myth, doctrine, theology, ethics and ritual. Humanity's search for the ultimate reality, called by whatever name, has been at the root of religion. Religion has served as a vehicle for the deep-rooted spirit of enquiry into the mysteries of universe creation and human destiny entwined with them.