Home > Mind , Body & Soul > Jainism >Emphasising non-violence This year, April 6th marks the 2600th celebrations of Lord Mahavir's birth.

Ahimsa paramo dharma: Non violence is the supreme religion- this motto was adopted from one of India's oldest religions by Mahatma Gandhi in the modern age.

Self Conquest

The theme of self -conquest common to all religions is supremely important to the Jains. The very word Jaina is derived from jina, conqueror. Carrying the idea of self-conquest to its extreme limit, Jainism has become the world's most rigorously ascetic faith. God has no place in this system. The popular gods of Hinduism are accepted but they are placed lower than the Jinas who are regarded as true recipients of worship. Mahavir, though usually accepted as the founder of the faith in the context of history, is said to be the last in the line of 24 Jinas. All of them are said to have attained perfect wisdom (Kaivalya) by vanquishing their desires and breaking bonds with the material world. The jinas are known also as Tirthankaras ('makers of crossings' or bridge builders). The crossing refers to the passage from the material to the spiritual realm, from bondage to freedom.

The Tri Ratna

Jainism not only rejects the notion of a Personal God which is assumed by most religions but also the ideas of a single, impersonal Absolute Reality. It regards each living being as an independent jiva (soul). In its mundane condition, the soul is permeated by material particles through the working of karma. To attain liberation, a double process is necessary; the incursion of new karma particles must be stopped; and those that have already tainted the soul must be expelled. This is possible only through right faith, right knowledge and right conduct; the tri-ratna (Three jewels) of Jainism.

Right conduct is spelled out negatively as the rejection of falsehood, theft, lust, greed and violence. Of these five sins, violence is the most heinous. The highest virtue is the total abjuration of any thought or action which can hurt a living being. They believe in Ahimsa-they strictly practice non violence. Sometimes however, the Jains carry their non violence like their asceticism to extreme limits. For instance, Jain monks are often seen with their nose and mouth covered by a fine cloth mask to ensure that they do not involuntarily 'kill' germs while breathing.