Spiritual Foundation of Jainism

Author(s): Sagarmal Jain
Publisher: Z_Sagar_Jain_Vidya_Bharti_Part_4_001687.pdf

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difference between spiritualism and materialism.
In materialism, fulfillment of bodily needs and animal urges is an end in itself whereas in spiritualism it is only a means leading to the higher spiritual values. In Jainism both enjoyment and renunciation of worldly objects by an aspirant are needed for the cultivation of self restraint (sarnyama) and mental equanimity (samatva). The entire religious practices of Jainisin aims at the development of an unruffled, unattached, dispassionate and peaceful life that is free from mental tensions and conflicts. The main issue is not the fulfillment or rejection of bodily needs but the establishment of peace in the life of individual as well as of society. Hence the fulfillinent of bodily needs is welcomed to the extent to which it furthers this particular cause, but when it does not, ought to be rejected. This view is beautifully presented in the Acärānga and Uttarădhyayana (32/100-107). They say, when the senses come into contact with their objects, then the concomitant sensations of pleasure or pain also arise. It is not possible in actual life to effectively alienate senses from the experiences of their objects and thus to exclude sensations of pleasures and pains. Hence what we must renounce is not the sense experiences but attraction or repulsion to them invoked in the mind. Attractions and repulsions (mental tensions) are the effects of the involvement of the self in pleasant or unpleasant sense-objects; they cannot arise in an unattached and indifferent person. Thus the essential teaching of Jainism is the eschewnent of attachment, not the negation of life. The Main Objective of Jain Spirituality
The main objective of Jainism is to emancipate man from sufferings. It tries to track down sufferings to their very root. The famous Jaina text Uttarādhyayana-sūtra says:
Kämānugiddhippabhvam khu dukkhari sawassa logass sadevagassa. Jam käiyar mānasiyan ca kinci
tassa antagan gacchai viyarăgo. (32.19) That the root of all physical as well as mental sufferings of everybody including the gods is the desire for enjoyment. Only a dispassionate attitude can put an end to them. It is true that materialism