Vardhaman Book on Jainism

Author(s): Jayshree Menon
Publisher: Bennete Coleman & Co Ltd

Page 10

by their bodies, which have been infected with physical pollution and ignorance. This condition causes the souls to travel from one moral body to the next, like a person caught in a strong current and unable to free himself. The karmic activity of a soul causes vibrations that attract particles of matter towards it. Only through complete control of all its desires can the soul attain peace, stillness, lucidity and insight into its condition. Only when that is achieved, can the enlightened ascetic end his life by ceasing to take food. When he dies, his liberated soul will rise to the summit of the world where it will live forever.
Jains deny the existence of a creator. The world has always existed and is subject to the eternal laws of karma, the causality of recompense and punishment. The Jains do not worship the Gods but they venerate the Tirthankaras, the early saints and precursors of Mahavir, who first broke out of the sansara, the chain of existences. Many legends circulate about the Tirthankaras and their colossal statues are venerated by all. Only the sect of the Sthanakavasis rejects all temple cults and concentrates only on studying the scriptures.
Jainism is characterised by vegetarianism and complete ahimsa, i.e. that its members take care not to harm any fellow creatures, to the extent that some Jains even walk with brooms to sweep away the insects from their path lest they tread on them. There are less than four million Jains in India and in a few Western countries. The final goal of a Jain is to sever the chain of rebirth and achieve a state of liberation known variously as kaivalya, moksha or nirvana.
PANTNOS COURTESY: B. ARUNKUMAR AND.CO
Jain Education intentional