Jainism

Jainism, also known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient Indian religious tradition grounded in nonviolence, ascetic discipline, and a commitment to understanding truth through a many-sided, non-one-dimensional perspective. It traces its spiritual lineage through twenty-four Tīrthaṅkaras, or enlightened teachers, beginning with Ṛṣabhadeva and culminating in Mahāvīra, the twenty-fourth Tīrthaṅkara, who lived in the first millennium BCE. Jainism regards itself as an eternal dharma, renewed in every cosmic cycle through the guidance of the Tīrthaṅkaras.
A central tenet of Jain philosophy is bhedavijñāna, the recognition of the fundamental distinction between the soul (jīva) and non-soul entities (ajīva). This clear realisation affirms the innate purity of the soul and its potential for liberation. Internalising this difference marks the beginning of the aspirant’s journey toward moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Principles, Conduct, and Religious Community

Jain monks and nuns commit to five great vows: nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, celibacy, and non-possession. These ethics deeply shape Jain culture, producing practices such as a predominantly lactose-vegetarian lifestyle and meticulous care to avoid harm to living beings. The tradition’s motto, “the function of souls is to help one another”, reflects its emphasis on compassion and mutual uplift. The Namokar Mantra, recited by all Jains, is the tradition’s most revered prayer.
Jainism is among the oldest living religions and today comprises two major ancient subtraditions: Digambara and Śvetāmbara, which differ on matters of ascetic practice, monastic attire, scriptural authority, and views on gender. The Śvetāmbara tradition includes further subgroups such as the Mūrtipūjaka (Deravāsī) and Sthānakavāsī communities. Lay followers support mendicants through donations and religious service. Globally, Jains number between four and five million, residing mainly in India, with significant communities in North America, Europe, and East Asia.
Major festivals include Paryuṣaṇa, Daśalakṣaṇa, Mahāvīra Janma Kalyāṇak, Akṣaya Tritīyā, Ashtāhnika Parva, and Dīpāvalī, which in the Jain tradition commemorates Mahāvīra’s attainment of liberation.

Beliefs and Philosophical Foundations

Jainism is transtheistic, positing a universe that evolves according to natural principles without a creator deity. It affirms a dualistic ontology in which reality consists of living and nonliving substances and emphasises the soul’s potential to transcend matter. Phenomena are explained through principles akin to psychophysical parallelism and interactionism, reflecting the relationship between consciousness and materiality.

Dravya: Ontological Substances

Jain metaphysics identifies six eternal substances (dravya):

• Jīva (sentient substance; soul)
• Pudgala (matter)
• Dharma-dravya (principle enabling motion)
• Adharma-dravya (principle enabling rest)
• Ākāśa (space)
• Kāla (time)

The last five constitute ajīva (non-sentient substances). A substance is considered eternal and indivisible, whereas physical bodies and objects are contingent combinations that can be destroyed.

Tattva: Soteriological Principles

To guide spiritual progress, Jainism outlines foundational realities known as tattvas. Digambara sources list seven:

1. Jīva – the living
2. Ajīva – the nonliving
3. Āsrava – inflow of karmic matter
4. Bandha – bondage of karma
5. Saṃvara – stoppage of new karmic influx
6. Nirjarā – shedding of past karma
7. Moksha – liberation

Śvetāmbara texts add puṇya (merit) and pāpa (demerit). True insight requires faith in these principles, forming part of the broader path to liberation.

Pramāṇa: Epistemology

Jain philosophy accepts multiple means of valid knowledge (pramāṇa):

• Pratyakṣa (perception)
• Anumāna (inference)
• Śabda (testimony)

Some texts add upamāna (analogy). Knowledge itself exists in five forms: sensory cognition (mati), scriptural cognition (śruta), clairvoyance (avadhi), telepathy (manah-paryāya), and omniscience (kevala-jñāna). The first two are indirect; the latter three are direct.

Soul, Karma, and the Cycle of Rebirth

Jainism affirms the soul as an eternal, individual entity possessing consciousness, bliss, and energy. Souls become bound through vibrational activities that attract subtle karmic matter. Karmic particles obscure the soul’s inherent qualities and accompany it through successive rebirths.
Karma in Jainism is viewed as a material substance, unlike the non-material ethical force described in other Indian traditions. It attaches to the soul through actions, thoughts, and emotions, influencing future conditions and experiences. Souls fully occupy the bodies they inhabit, and their progress is shaped by accumulated karmic states.
The doctrine of saṃsāra holds that souls migrate through 8.4 million birth situations, embodied in earth, water, fire, air, and plant forms, as well as in animal and human lives. Harming any being incurs negative karmic impact, making nonviolence pivotal. Some souls, termed abhavya, are considered incapable of attaining liberation due to extreme moral degradation.
A liberated soul, or Siddha, rises to the apex of the universe where it remains eternally in a state of omniscience and bliss.

Cosmology

Jain cosmology presents an eternal universe composed of multiple lokas, or realms. Its three main divisions are:

• Urdhva-loka – the upper world
• Madhya-loka – the middle world
• Adho-loka – the lower world

The universe is without beginning, but its conditions cyclically improve and decline according to the kālachakra, or wheel of time. Time is divided into ascending (utsarpiṇī) and descending (avasarpiṇī) half-cycles, each containing six eras. Jainism holds that humanity is currently in the fifth era of the descending cycle, marked by moral and physical decline.

The Nature of Divinity

Jainism is non-creationist and does not posit an eternal, governing deity. However, it acknowledges the existence of heavenly and hellish beings who, like all souls, undergo rebirth according to their karma. Perfected beings with bodies are known as Arihants, while disembodied liberated souls are Siddhas. Only human birth provides the conditions necessary for liberation.

Path to Liberation

Spiritual purification is achieved through the Three Jewels (Ratnatraya):

• Samyak Darśana – Right View, or acceptance of the truth of the soul
• Samyak Jñāna – Right Knowledge, meaning correct understanding of reality
• Samyak Cāritra – Right Conduct, the disciplined ethical life