Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. The dominant theme in puranic hindu cosmology, state chapman and driver, is of cycles and repetition. World chart week2 religion week 2 hinduis m and jainism cosmogony origin of the universe hinduism no founder no starting point jainism founder. The crucial details used from the book are on the nonviolent nature of the jains. Jainism is an ancient religion from india that teaches way to liberation by living the lives of harmlessness and renunciation. List of world religions and founders, religious books. The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. Jainism believes that universe and all its substances are eternal everlasting. Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion, according to many scholars, with roots and customs dating back more than 4,000 years. Ancient india history is characterized by great religious aspects, vedic and aryans ages, the first settlers and the mauryan empire mark. Jainism dont have any specific holy book like the bhagavad geeta,the quran or the bible.
All these elements have had influence on the indian religions. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. Jainism facts, worksheets, history, beliefs, customs. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about jainism across 24 indepth pages. Jainism is one of the most ancient religions that originated in eastern india and it was founded around the 6th century. Jainism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Jainism has prehistoric origins dating before 3000 bc, and before the beginning of indoaryan culture. Jainism believes that universe and all its substances or entities are eternal. Previous forms give way to new ones without loosing their own inherent qualities. It is important to understand the latter two to understand the conditions under which jains have survived. Antiquity of jainism professor mahavir saran jain lord mahavira is not the founder of jainism. Jain cosmology has several distinguishing features that mark it out from other indian notions of the universe, time and the human place within it.
The mysterious origin of the universe, which is present and visible in. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. The word jain is taken from the word jina, which means getting victory over thy self and the peripheral world. Jainism is an ancient religion from india that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. The religion derives its name from the jinas conquerors, a title given to twentyfour great teachers tirthankaras or fordmakers, through whom their faith was revealed. The jain word that comes closest to the western idea of the universe is loka. Instead they have a collection of holy writings and scriptures.
Originating on the indian subcontinent, jainism or, more properly, the jain dharma is one of the oldest religions of its homeland and indeed of the world. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome. According to jain scriptures, there is the general humanshaped occupied universe with a volume of 343 in the major central part of the infinitetimesinfinitely extensive nonoccupied universe or non universe space as observed by the. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Jainism, indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence ahimsa, literally noninjury to all living creatures. Karananuyoga ganitanuyoga description of the universe dravyanuyoga philosophy shatkhandagam. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity that has existed since infinity with neither beginning nor end. Jainism is a transtheistic religion, and jains trace their. Origins of jainism buddhism and hinduism course researchers.
A good introductory book, even if it is quite dated by now. This book provides an orderly and clear exposition of jainism as a philosophy and way of life, jain history, and the jains as a people. Jain philosophy is the oldest philosophy of india that distinguishes body matter from the soul consciousness completely. Jains believe that the universe we perceive really exists and is not an illusion. Download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf ebooks. The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war. Followers of jainism are called jains, a word derived from the sanskrit word jina victor referring to the path of victory in crossing over lifes stream of rebirths by destroying karma through an ethical and spiritual life. The american people spend thousands of dollars to propagate the doctrines of the fall of man, the creation of the world out of nothing in six days by a personal god, vicarious atonement, absolution from sin by the shedding of innocent blood. Jain religion the true nature of a substance is a religion any activities of body, mind and speech. Therefore, jainism does not believe that god is the creator, destroyer, and the controller of the universe. World chart week2 religion week 2 hinduis m and jainism. Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the universe loka and its constituents such as living beings, matter, space, time etc.
The descriptions of creation in the quran are not intended as dry historical accounts but rather to engage the reader in contemplating the lessons to be learned from it. The focus on this paper will be on three major indian religions. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide. He was followed by 23 tirthankars of whom mahavir was the last. Next, repetition and symmetry are crucial elements to the patterns of the universe. Find here a list of selected books on the various aspects of jainism, jain history, jaina philosophy, practices, values and beliefs, thirthankaras, life and teachings of. Sanatana dharma, known as hinduism or hindu dharma, buddhism or. Jains believe that the universe is without beginning or end. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. This universe, according to jainism, is broad at the top. This digambar scripture is also known as mahakammapayadipahuda or mahakarmaprabhrut. Mahavira, the last of the tirthankaras, is considered the founder of jainism. Hindu website, hinduism, buddhism, jainism, sikhism.
Similarly, the space and universe has neither start nor end, rather it is cyclical. The oldest jain literature is in shauraseni and ardhamagadhi prakrit agamas, agamatulya, siddhanta texts, etc. Universe and its substances particularly soul and karma and their relationship. The jainism has its own scriptures called agamas or srutas, which are directly derived from the tirthankaras. The first cosmology cosmogony book i have ever read, back in high school, and that was when i became fascinated with the origin and evolution of the universe. The essence of jainism is concern for the welfare of every being in the universe and for the health of universe itself. This religions holy text is referred to as agam literature or sutras and is a collection of many different written works. Jainism was founded by 24 tirthankaras listed above. Jainism is one of the oldest religions of india, dating back to as far as ninth century bce. The religion derives its name from the jinas conquerors, a title given to twentyfour great teachers tirthankaras or fordmakers, through. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The book goes into depth of the history of this non violent nature, and where jainism originates from. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b.
Jainism religion religions in india religion history. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome of teaching for all jains, especially the jina mahavira. Agams are the jain texts which are based on the discourse. Jainism is a religion originally from india that teaches that all the events in the universe are selfcaused, random, fixed and are independent of previous events or external causes or god. Fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time the principles governing the successions of life cycles birth, life, and death is karma. The jain literature which was complied by ganadharas and srutkevlis is known as agam literature. Also, the jainism believes that the cosmic law applies and that nothing can be destroyed nor created. These are readytouse jainism worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the jainism which is a religion in india which emerged in 6th century bce the same time as buddhism. To cope with the changing times, the living things change and modify their forms from one nature to another. The act of creation, therefore, is frequently described as a way of drawing the reader into thinking about the order of all things and the allknowing creator who is behind it all. Second, there are two kinds of space within the jain universe world space and nonworld space. It is believed that jainism was founded by rishabha, the father of king bharata.
The current universe is just the start of a present cycle preceded by an infinite number of universes and to be followed by another infinite number of universes. Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Jains do not believe that the universe was created by any sort of god. Jainism lays heavy emphasis on nonviolence ahimsa and the believers of this religion, whether a monk or a householder, follow a very strict, well disciplined life. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Universe runs own its own accord by its own cosmic laws.
We provide unique and original resources on the beliefs, philosophy and essential practices of the following religions. Since gautama buddha, founder of buddhism, belonged to the same region of magadha as mahavira the 24th tirthankar of jainism, and because both were contemporaries, it was assumed erroneously that jainism was contemporary of buddhism or was an off. All the substances change or modify their forms continuously. Scripture is the synonym of the holy text, which consists of religious dogmas, and assertions of an authentic authority apta purusa. Shah jain study center of north carolina raleigh 401 farmstead drive, cary nc 275115631. Jainism is an eastern religion which believes salvation as the ultimate aim of human life. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart and arm resting on his waist. Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. Hence, there are a total of 24 tirthankars in jainism who make the religion. All sects agree that teaching was first transmitted orally, however, the two main sects of jainism, svetambara and digambara disagree on which scriptures are authoritative, or most important. It is believed that jainism was founded by mahavir but the history of jainism is much older than that of mahavir.