Plain Jain

Since it has been a while since I have written about Indian holidays, I thought that I would write about one of the more recent ones which was celebrated on Saturday. There have been a couple of intervening celebrations, but I was either not motivated to write about them, or in one case I really couldn't figure out what was being celebrated (despite asking my colleagues and looking it up on the web).



In Jainism, Mahavir Jayanti is the most important religious holiday. It celebrates of the birth of Mahavira, the last Tirthankara. A Tir WHAT you are saying... A Tirthankara is a person who achieves enlightenment by asceticism (abstinence from worldly pleasures). At the end of a Tirthankara's life, he or she achieves liberation of the cycle of infinite births and deaths (moksh). Mahavir Swami (aka Mahavira) lived from 599-527 BC and his existence is a historically accepted fact. He was born a prince, but at the age of thirty, he renounced his kingdom and spent the next twelve and a half years meditating in deep silence. He conquered his worldly desires, feelings and relationships, and practiced humanity to all living things. He spent the next thirty years travelling throughout India teaching others how to acheive enlightenment. The next Tirthankara is not expected for another 81,500 years, highlighting just how difficult it is to achieve enlightenment.



In reading a little about Jainism, I have found it to have a really nice philosophy. Jains believe all souls are equal because they all possess the potential of being liberated and attaining Moksha, meaning that individuals who practice this religion have a great deal of respect for all living things. Compassion for all life, human and non-human, is central to Jainism. Human life is valued as a unique, rare opportunity to reach enlightenment. To kill any person, no matter what crime he may have committed, is considered unimaginably abhorrent. Additionally, because of the high value placed on all living things, Jainism is the only religion which requires strict vegetarianism. Jainism's stance on nonviolence goes much beyond vegetarianism. Jains refuse food obtained with unnecessary cruelty. Many are vegan due to the violence of modern dairy farms. The Jain diet excludes most root vegetables, as they believe this destroys entire plants unnecessarily. For instance, if you eat apples, you do not destroy whole trees, but for root vegetables, whole plants are uprooted and are therefore avoided. Jains are expected to be non-violent in thought, word and deed, both toward humans and toward every other possible living creature, including even themselves. It is for this reason that a truly orthodox Jain will never cut even one hair anywhere on his own body, and would never dream of giving anyone else a haircut. Jain monks walk barefoot and sweep the ground in front of them to avoid killing any insect, and strict Jains may wear a mask over their nose and mouth to avoid accidentally inhaling or swallowing small insects. Another interesting and little known fact is that the swastika is one of Jainism's holiest symbol. There is unfortunately little intersection between the beliefs of Jainism and the other philosphy which is sadly more widely associated with this symbol.



Okay, the world religion lesson is done for the day!