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JAIN COSMOLOGY

Jains do not acknowledge an intelligent first cause as the creator of the universe. The Jain theory is that the universe has no beginning or end. It is traced to jiva and ajiva, the two everlasting, uncreated, independent and coexisting categories. Consciousness is jiva. That which has no consciousness is ajiva. There are five substances of ajiva:

Dharma : the medium of motion

Adharma : the medium of rest

Akasha : space

Pudgala : matter

Kala : time


Pudgala (matter) has form and consists of individual atoms (paramanu) and conglomerates of atoms (skandha) which can be seen, heard, smelt, tasted and/or touched. According to Jains, energy, or the phenomena of sound, darkness, shade, heat, light and the like, is produced by conglomerates of atoms.

The jiva (soul) has no form but, during its worldly career, it is vested with a body and becomes subject to an inflow of karmic `dust’ (asravas). These are the subtle material particles that are drawn to a soul because of its worldly activities. The asrawas bind the soul to the physical world until they have brought about the karmic result when they fall away `like ripe fruit’ by which time other actions have drawn more asravas to the soul.With the exception of the Arihantas (the Ever-Perfect) and the Siddhas (the Liberated), who have dispelled the passions which provide the `glue’ for the asravas, all souls are in karmic bondage to the universe. They go through a continuous cycle of death and rebirth in a personal evolution that can lead at last to moksha (eternal release). In this cycle there are countless souls at different stages of their personal evolution; earth-bodies, water-bodies, fire-bodies, air-bodies, vegetable-bodies, and mobile bodies ranging from bacteria, insects, worms, birds and larger animals to human beings, infernal beings and celestial beings.

The Jain evolutionary theory is based on a grading of the physical bodies containing souls according to the degree of sensory perception. All souls are equal but are bound by varying amounts of asravas (karmic particles) which is reflected in the type of body they inhabit. The lowest form of physical body has only the sense of touch. Trees and vegetation have the sense of touch and are therefore able to experience pleasure and pain, and have souls. Mahavira taught that only the one who understood the grave demerit and detriment caused by destruction of plants and trees understood the meaning and merit of reverence for nature. Even metals and stones might have life in them and should not be dealt with recklessly.

Above the single-sense jivas are micro-organisms and small animals with two, three or four senses. Higher in the order are the jivas with five senses. The highest grade of animals and human beings also possess rationality and intuition (manas). As a highly evolved form of life, human beings have a great moral responsibility in their mutual dealings and in their relationship with the rest of the universe. It is this conception of life and its eternal coherence, in which human beings have an inescapable ethical responsibility, that made the Jain tradition a cradle for the creed of environmental protection and harmony.

The Loving Heart of Jainism - Ancient Wisdom Guiding Modern Lives - P1/2 (In Hindi)







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THE JAIN CODE OF CONDUCT


1. The five vratas (vows): The five vratas (vows) in the Jain code of conduct are:

Non-violence in thought, word and deed,

To seek and speak the truth,

To behave honestly and never to take anything by force or theft,

To practise restraint and chastity in thought, word and deed,

To practice non-acquisitiveness.


The vow of ahimsa is the first and pivotal vow. The other vows may be viewed as aspects of ahimsa which together form an integrated code of conduct in the individual’s quest for equanimity and the three jewels (ratna-traya) of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct. The vows are undertaken at an austere and exacting level by the monks and nuns and are then called maha-vratas (great vows). They are undertaken at a more moderate and flexible level by householders and called the anu-vratas (`atomic’ or basic vows).



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Underlying the Jain code of conduct is the emphatic assertion of individual responsibility towards one and all. Indeed, the entire universe is the forum of one’s own conscience. The code is profoundly ecological in its secular thrust and its practical consequences.

Mahavira Buddha

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Jainism Ahimsa (nonviolence)


The Jain ecological philosophy is virtually synonymous with the principle of ahimsa, which runs through the Jain tradition like a golden thread.



Ahimsa parmo dharmah

(Nonviolence is the supreme religion)


Mahavira, the 24th and the last Tirthankara (Path-finder) of this era, who lived 2500 years ago in North India consolidated the basic Jain teachings of peace, harmony and renunciation taught two centuries earlier by the Tirthankara Parshvanath, and for thousands of years previously by the 22 other Tirthankaras of this era, beginning with Adinatha Rishabha. Mahavira threw new light on the perennial quest of the soul with the truth and discipline of ahimsa. He said:

There is nothing so small and subtle as the atom nor any element so vast as space. Similarly, there is no quality of soul more subtle than nonviolence and no virtue of spirit greater than reverence for life.

Ahimsa is a principle that Jains teach and practice not only towards human beings but towards all nature. It is an unequivocal teaching that is at once ancient and contemporary. The scriptures tell us:


The scriptures tell us: “All the Arhats (Venerable Ones) of the past, present and future discourse, counsel, proclaim, propound and prescribe thus in unison: Do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture or kill any creature or living being.”


In this strife torn world of hatred and hostilities, aggression and aggrandisement, and of unscrupulous and unbridled exploitation and consumerism, the Jain perspective finds the evil of violence writ large. The teaching of ahimsa refers not only to wars and visible physical acts of violence but also to the violence in the hearts and minds of human beings, their lack of concern and compassion for their fellow humans and for the natural world. Ancient Jain texts explain that violence is not defined by actual harm, for this may be unintentional. It is the intention to harm, the absence of compassion, that makes action violent. Without violent thought there could be no violent actions.

You are which you intend to hit, injure, insult, torment, persecute, torture, enslave or kill.



http://www.jainism.org/

The Power of a Living Master



Đạt Giải thoát qua Quyền Năng của Minh Sư tại thế





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CHAPTER 5



Non-violence and The Yogic Postures


The factors promoting and inhibiting both violence and non-violence have already been discussed. Violence and non-violence or rather their expression is also related to the various bodily postures. The yogic postures or asans belong to an ancient branch of knowledge. They do much more than ensuring healthy muscles and body. Their influence Is far-reaching. They tone up the muscles, regulate the flow of blood, improve the general functioning of the body and even affect the nervous and endocrine systems. Thus they can be helpful in controlling emotions.

Modem civilization has created a new situation in so far as today our nerves are being subjected to enormous pressure while the muscles remain relatively unexercised, which is just the reverse of what was the case in the past - more exertion of the muscles and no pressure on the nerves. The whole tenor of present-day living is geared to maximum physical comfort, thorough avoidance of manual work, and an ever-increasing nervous tension and stress not only in business and industry but practically in all walks of life. Thanks to the increasing emphasis on the use of computers and robots, the twenty-first century provides a much more dreadful prospect. The authors of this bleak future seem to be totally oblivious of the fact that their version of comfort will incapacitate the muscles and make the nerves taut and tense. Man will be reduced to the status of a mere pulley or piston in a huge machine.

The only way to reverse the above situation is balancing physical ad mental labour. Yogasans or yogic postures have the unique quality of bringing about a perfect balance between the body and the mind. It has been stated earlier that the excess of certain acids and chemicals makes men violent and prone to crimes. It has been scientifically proved that yogasans help regulate and balance their manufacture and discharge in the body and thus effectively prevent crime and violence. From the point of view of mental and emotional health we have singularly failed in properly diagnosing the malady and therefore in finding out a suitable remedy. Even when it comes to yogasans there are people who do them just in order to improve the working of the digestive, respiratory, circulatory or some other similar system. Nothing wrong with this. However, it is much more important to take care of the mind and even more that of the emotions. Both the body and the mind are regulated by the emotions. Therefore an emotionally rich person can never be truly healthy. For it has been seen that even the best among the physically well-built people can lose their nerve and become totally distracted on being informed of an accident of a near and dear one. Emotional instability renders physical strength infractious. The question once again turn to finding the ways of achieving emotional strength.

A very instructive case come to mind. The only son of an industrialist was leaving home for higher studies. Right in front of the father's eyes a speeding car hit and crushed him underneath. The case went for a hearing before a magistrate. It would not have been at all difficult to establish that rash driving caused the boy's death. The father, however, thought that whereas his son could not be brought back to life, the family of the driver would be drowned in sorrow and ruined if he was awarded capital punishment. He therefore told the court that his son had died due to his own mistake and that the driver was not at all responsible for the accident. Could such compassion move the father without his being emotionally balanced ? Such a balance is possible only through a balanced discharge of the endocrine glands. Yogasans help us control the endocrinal flow.

It is now known that It is the adrenal gland that creates excessive excitement, mental agitation, impatience and such other negative trends which burst out in the form of anger, violence and crime. By controlling the adrenals we can be free from them. There is a yogic posture called shashankasan which enables us to exercise control over the adrenals. Here it is worth mentioning that the real causes of violence do not lie outside us. As is well known, even wars originate in the minds of men. Thus it is in the mind that the solution to violence has to be found. There is a part of the brain that constitute the emotions system. It is called hypothalamus, which is a part of the limbic brain. Between it and the adrenal, pituitary and pineal glands lies the secret of all types of violence. If we break the circuit at any point violence can recede into the background. This is what happened in the case of Emperor Ashok. The very Ashok who was instrumental in killing hundreds of thousands of men in the Kalinga war became an apostle of peace and non-violence. Just a turn in the nervous-cum-emotional system and extreme violence changed into absolute non-violence. I should not be misunderstood at this point. There can be innumerable causes of changes from violence to non-violence, not just the practice of yogasans. However, these asans do play an important role in this matter and are a potent means of the desired transformation.

My purpose here is not to give a detailed account of the various asans and their attendant benefits. I have merely cited an example to prove their efficacy. I might as well have mentioned the sarvangasan and its ability to control and balance the working of the thyroid gland. The important point is that yogasans bring about a balance in the working of the nervous and endocrinal systems and amino acids. Along with fasting they are also a means of expelling all toxic and foreign matter from the body. Yogasans are for this reason an intrinsic part of Preksha Meditation.


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28. Jesus said, "I took my stand in the midst of the world, and in flesh I appeared to them. I found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty. My soul ached for the children of humanity, because they are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty. But meanwhile they are drunk. When they shake off their wine, then they will change their ways."

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“He who, seeking his own happiness, punishes or kills beings who also long for happiness, will not find happiness after death.”

Buddhist Dhammapada

CHAPTER 6


Developing a Non-violent Personality


http://www.jainworld.com/philosophy/non-violence.asp


Some years ago we got an opportunity to hold a three week course in Preksha Meditation on the premises of the Rajasthan Police Academy. During that period we saw how the cadets were subjected to daily rigorous drills and training for hours together. The same is true of military cantonments. Concerted attempts are thus made to train people in the use of arms, to practice violence in order to counter violence. Armed forces in each country are taught how to use the latest and more and more destructive weaponry. Constant efforts are made to update weapon systems and to produce or acquire state of the art armament technology. Not only this, some states organize training even in terrorism. Untold energies are being thus poured to serve violence.

Is it not a paradox that we talk peace and non-violence and prepare for war and violence ? This discrepancy between our professions and practice is as tragic as it is comic. In fact if it were not for widespread and persisting pain and unhappiness, people would perhaps not think of non-violence at all. Hiroshima and Nagasaki compelled them to think of the horrendous consequences of violence. The unprecedented destruction and human tragedy caused by the dropping of atom bombs unnerved even those who had faith in violence. Mythology and legend have spoken of things like deluge or doomsday or pralaya but here was its actual though partial enactment. So people started talking of world peace and disarmament. New movements were launched to achieve these laudable aims, yet simultaneously nations continued to manufacture even more infernal weapons and soon the dreaded prospect of space and star wars emerged on the horizon. We generally think that two contradictories cannot coexist. But here is a spectacle of nations making furious preparations for war and at the same time talking non-violence!

Under these circumstances people who have genuine faith in non-violence have to ask themselves whether they should continue merely to talk of and preach non-violence or they should take some serious steps in that direction. It is obvious that nothing much is being done in this respect. A multiplicity of platforms for preaching non-violence is also not going to achieve anything. We are reminded of a farmer who went to a monk and told sorrowfully how he had been digging a pit a day in his field for the past ten days without getting a drop of water. The monk replied that he would have got plenty of water only if he had concentrated on one pit and had deepened it enough instead of going on digging pit after pit. The lesson is obvious. Creating too many platforms or changing from one platform to another will be of no avail. What is needed is the strengthening and deepening of one's faith in non-violence. It must be understood that violence can solve no problem. Those who think it can and yet profess faith in non-violence are merely wearing a mask. Why do people not believe in the efficacy of non-violence ? Why do they not have complete faith in its ultimate success ? Why are there so few genuine believers in non-violence ? Clearly the answer lies in there being no training in non-violence. Without adequate and proper mental training faith is not possible. We therefore need training, more so to counter violence which one learns and is exposed to since childhood.

How vitiated is the general atmosphere today ? The general public has come to believe that unless it resorts to violence its voice will not be heard nor its protests heeded by the powers that be. On the other hand very often government finds it impossible to control mobs without the use of force. In either case violence is thought necessary to achieve the intended results. Besides, the general law and order situation in big cities has deteriorated to a point where people are left with no feeling of security whatsoever. Fear and insecurity breed greater violence. The only way to arrest this increasing trend of crime and violence is giving proper training in non-violence. Even if there is one duly trained non-violent person for every one hundred trained soldiers, a new miracle can be performed and a new order created.

[ To be continued]

Non-Violence - Jain Way of Life Jainism




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The impulse to cruelty is, in many people, almost as violent as the impulse to sexual love - almost as violent and much more mischievous.

-- Aldous Huxley