Articles

JAINA Convention 2021 – Registration Crosses 6700

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) will be celebrating its 21st Convention on the Fourth of July weekend — from July 1st to 6th, 2021. This year, the virtual event is planned to be a global event and is expected to attract an even larger audience from the USA,

Scientific Attitude in Jain Principles

The person with insight (Kevali) is narrated in the Pravachana Saar 1.37, “All the modes of the substances which have appeared in the past and will appear in the future are known to the Kevali as if they are in the present”. In Isavasya Upanishad such a person is described as Kavih,

Atom In Jain Philosophy – Metaphysical View – Idealism v/s Realism

To grasp properly the Jain views, regarding the theory of atom, it is necessary to understand the non-absolutist attitude of the Jains regarding the nature of Reality. We shall, therefore, very briefly discuss the Non-absolutist Realism of the Jain Philosophy.

Science in Jain Canonical Literature

Various criticisms levelled against the present Euro-American Western Science characterized by particular-ism and reductionism that began with Descartes, Newton,

Gitarthganga – Research Institute

Gitarthganga is a spiritual research institute based in Ahmedabad. The research institute has carried out  monumental work in preparing an encyclopedia of 108 main subjects. These have been further categorized into 10,008 sub-subjects. For example,

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Anashan (Fasting): Complete abstinence from eating any food and/or drinking liquid. Sometimes one can drink only achit (previously boiled) water for a predetermined period of time, such as for a day or more. This spares our digestive energy to focus on spiritual uplift. This is known as Upavās.

JAINA Convention 2021 – New Programs Elevate Anticipation!

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) will be celebrating its 21st Convention on the Fourth of July weekend — from July 1st to 6th, 2021. This year, the virtual event is planned to be

Jain Perspective on Restorative Justice

In Jainism, restorative justice is based on the theory of karma and principle of reincarnation as the basis. The soul, in its pristine state is free of conditioning. The karmik impurities import conditioning and attitudes to the soul. The soul in its impure

‘I’ and ‘my’ (mine) (Who Am I?)

These two words – ‘I’ and ‘my’ (mine) sound so simple but understanding these words and its implications thoroughly would lead to a great spiritual realization, the essence of all scriptures.

Shrut Bhavan – A Research Institute, In pursuit of Imparting Knowledge

Imagine our ancestral religious knowledge getting further reduced over a period of time and hence will be unavailable to future generations… The thought itself is very disheartening.

Mahapragya’s Principle of Equivalence of Soul

Lord Mahavira has taught us that all bios having different perceptive abilities are at par with each other, as all of them possess a unique soul.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology Mahāvīra Janma Kalyānak

Mahāvīra Jayanti is an important Jain festival. The Jain community observes the birth anniversary of Lord Mahāvīra with great devotion. Mahāvīra Jayanti falls on the 13th day of the bright half of the month of Chaitra

JAINA Convention 2021 – Tremendous Momentum Continues!

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) will be celebrating its 21st Convention on the Fourth of July weekend — from July 1st to 6th, 2021. Every two years, this premier event brings together members of the Jain Community from

Influence of Jaina Culture on the communication system in India through postage stamps on Jainism

The hobby of postage stamps collection is called Philately. Jainism is an interesting subject in the Philately. Many stamps have been issued on Jain Gods, Jain pilgrimage centers, Jain personalities, Jain symbols, Jain temples and architecture etc.

Karma Playground

The science of liberation or eternal happiness is a spiritual science. However, the fundamental of this spiritual science is interrelationship between consciousness and karmic particles. Till the liberation does not occur there is continuous inflow, bondage and outflow of karmic

The Great Accomplishment of the Past Century ABHIDHAN RAJENDRA KOSH

Acharya Rajendrasurishvarji (v.s.1883 – v.s.1963), was a brilliant and blessed child of Goddess Sarasvati. He gave us ABHIDHAN RAJENDRA KOSH and left a permanent imprint on the world stage. He was a great personality of the19th century. Warmth, vitality and prowess of his

Existential Dilemma of Jain Society – Options and Consequences

The question we want to debate here is ‘Can a peace-loving, non-violent, miniscule, society survive in a widespread violent global environment, and if it can, for how long? This question has arisen because presently we have an atmosphere of intolerance, violence and some groups of

Announcing JAINA Convention 2021, July 1-6, 2021

The Federation of Jain Associations in North America (JAINA) will be celebrating its 21st Convention on the Fourth of July weekend — from July 1st to 6th, 2021. Every two years, this premier event brings together members of the Jain Community from

Sallekhanā

Sallekhanā is embracing death voluntarily when both householders and ascetics foresee that the end of life is very near either due to old age, incurable disease, severe famine, attack from enemy or wild animal, etc.

Sallekhanā – The Zenith of Human Life

Âcârya Pujyapâda in Sarvârthasiddhi makes clear that sallekhanā is making the physical body and the internal passions emaciated by abandoning their sources gradually at the approach of death.

Santhara v/s Suicide

The eternal truth about life and death is that one who is born also dies. There are many types of death, out of these Santhara is an old custom from Jain tradition. Santhara is not suicide. Santhara is voluntary embracing peaceful death whereas suicide is voluntary painful death under desperate circumstances.

Research on Santhara Amid Legal Disputation

Over the past decade, Jain studies in India and globally has taken an avid growing interest in the practice of sallekhana or santhara, also sometimes variously referred to as samadhimaran or panditmaran, the fast until death

Acceptance of Death with Understanding

Every Indian philosophy considers that the human body is ever-changing. But, when the time for this change comes at that point because of the long human associations and the infinite ‘I’ – ego and stubbornness, we do not like this

Compassion in Action – The making of an animal sanctuary in America

In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creatures as we regard our own self. ~ Lord Mahavira.

Compassion a Pathway to Peace – Ideas for a New and More Resilient Reality

The central theme of Jainism is non-violence (Ahimsa). Non-violence has two aspects: not to cause harm, injury, or violence and that of friendliness or amity (maîtri),

Relevance of Compassion of Jain Philosophy in Modern Corporate World

The history of the last two or three centuries in particular, does represent an era in which commercial activity has exploded, while universal compassion seems to have reduced in favour of a ‘me first’ approach. Superficially, this might seem to indicate that the two go inevitably

Compassion – A Vaccine Against ‘Passions (Kashāy)’

By the time this article is published, humanity will begin to witness mass inoculation against the deadliest pandemic of the century through roll out of Covid19 vaccine. This hurriedly developed vaccine is expected to protect our “body” from the deadly corona virus.

Compassion – First Step Towards Liberation

The oxford dictionary meaning of karuna (compassion) is “a strong feeling of sympathy for people who are suffering and a desire to help them”. The last clause takes this emotion a notch superior to sympathy in that not only t

Lets-Understand Jain Terminology

One day, during an assembly of demigods, Indra, the king of heavenly gods, praised the bravery and mercifulness of King Megharath on Earth. He mentioned that King Megharath would not hesitate to give up his own life to protect those who came to him for shelter. Two

Jaina Perceptive to Bio – Medical Ethical Issues with Special Reference to Organ Donation and Transplantation

We live in the era of science and technology. The growth of scientific knowledge and technology has given new dimensions to our lives and influenced each of its areas. Science has rendered great services to humanity by providing pleasant life services and has saved the human race from many miseries and uncertainties of the primitive past.

Love for Humanity- Essential Virtue for Organ Donation

Organ Donation is an indispensable gesture towards mankind. All it costs - a little love towards humanity. Someone has beautifully said about organ donation that, “Don't think of organ donations as giving up a part of you to keep a total stranger alive.It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of him to keep a part of you alive.”

Bytes – Gift of Organ is a Gift of Life

Live, Let Live and Continue to Live

Recently there was an article about two and half year-old little angel, Jash Oza and his empathetic parents in TOI. After the doctors declared Jash brain dead, his parents set aside their sorrow and took a brave decision to donate his organs. The beautiful thought of keeping Jash alive

Anekāntavāda and Dialogic Identity Construction

While strong religious identity is often associated with violence, Jainism, one of the world’s oldest practiced religions, is often regarded as one of the most peaceful religions and has nevertheless persisted through history.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Sam means right and avāy means knowledge, right knowledge Samavāya is the name of the group of five causes that are associated with every situation or event.

Karma Phala (Consequences of Actions)

Most Indians, including Jains, have the misunderstanding that phalas (consequences) of karmas are governed by the karma doctrine.

Jiva – Atma

Acharya Kunda –Kunda in his scripture “Samay sar “quotes Sudaparicidanubhuya savvassa vi kamabhogabandhakaha Eyattassuvalanbho navari na sulaho vihattassa. |4| Tam eyatta vihattam dayeham savihavena | Jadi dayejja pamanam cukkijja chalam na ghettavam |5|

Economics of Tirthankar Mahaveer

All the cultures, religions, scientific innovations or political governance have to focus on economic empowerment of the individual and nation. Our comfort and happiness mainly depend on money we have in our pocket. Money in our pocket is important but equally important is

Concept and State of Fear (bhaya) depicted in Āgama and its relevance in the Present Pandemic Scenario

“F-E-A-R has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise’. The word itself derives from the old English word ‘fear’, meaning “a sudden calamity or danger.” Fear is one of the most basic human

Significant Jaina Murals in the Eastern and Western Malwa Region

Malwa (Malava) has a rich heritage of Indian painting, including Jaina subjects. The famous Bagh caves in Malwa were painted in the style of the Ajanta tradition in the 5th-6th centuries.

Lets-Understand Jain Terminology

Karma is the key to a Soul’s destiny and is based on the Natural Law of cause and effect. There are consequences for all our thoughts, words and actions. Our Kashāya – anger, ego, deceit and greed - bind karma to our soul. The famous saying, “everything that goes around comes around”, perfectly describes the Theory of karma.

Pursuit of Happiness

The purpose of life is to remain happy and peaceful and make others happy and peaceful. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

As Jains, Do We Know Who We Are?

Jainism, one of the oldest religions if not of the world but certainly of India, originating from India with Hinduism and Buddhism is an integral part of India. The Jain tradition, which enthroned the

Jain Population in India – Some Historical Trends

This article highlights the five major historical trends of the Jain population in India in modern times in terms of (i) the size, (ii) its share/proportion in the total population of India, (iii) decadal growth rate, (iv) urbanization, and (v) sex ratio.

Religion is Reliving

Almost everything in the world existing in time undergoes changes. Some changes are very slow and minute whilst others are fast and radical.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Jain scriptures are known as Jain Āgam literature. Jains do not have one text as a scripture, but they recognized many texts as their scripture. Different sects recognized different number of scriptures.

Vegetarianism – Live Longer to Love Longer

My visit to Belgium, a country lying at a far-off corner of the European continent, has proved to be very memorable. My challenging meeting with Stella Maria, Chief Keeper at the hotel, and her two friends Paul and Rene

The Jains Gift of Ahimsa – Path to Change

The Anglo-Indian writer and Nobel Laureate, Rudyard Kipling wrote of young men dying in WW 1: “And if they ask you why we died; tell them that our fathers lied”. That legacy of lies continues today.

The Concept of Vegetarian Food and some historical events

Food is the most important part of human existence. A human being without clothes or shelter can still survive if he gets nutritious food. Our human history tells us that man has been completely in awe of food and has been regularly motivated throughout ages to seek it.

Bytes – Rethink Rebuild Rebound

Depth of Non-Violence and Peace – Embrace and Embark

We live in a spendthrift universe of continuous giving. Everywhere the sun is radiating its warmth and light .The air and wind carry the very breath of life upon us. Clouds and oceans follow the same law to shower upon us their precious waters.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Vegetarianism has been a principle of health and environmental ethics throughout India for thousands of years. It remains, to this day, a cardinal ethic of Jain thought and practices. Each form of life,

Should Jains care about the Climate / Environmental issues?

From a purely anthropomorphic (human-centric) point of view, taking action on climate change is necessary for our own survival and well-being. To date, climate change has affected poorer parts of the world, and animal and plant life more than people in the developing world.

Jainism in Bengal – Resourceful Research

Our history is ancient as well as glorious. Our past is also exuberant and vast. It is said that past never dies but merges with present and present is the product of the past. Evaluation of the present inspires us to know more about our own strong culture and it leads to the new dimension of the perception of life.

Jainism – Through Young Mind

In life, if you have a solid walk with strong faith towards your principles and religious values, then you will not ever behold fear.This is something I remind my kids in their growing age to face the modern secular world.

Jainism before Shraman Bhagwan Mahavira?

23rd Jain Tirthankar Shree Parswanath's fourth pattadhar (disciple) was Shree Keshishraman and their pattadhar (disciple) Shree Swayamprabhsuri was the leader of Vidhyadhar Kul and master of knowledge and many arts.

Concept of Six Essentials – Sadh Avashyaka

The religious thoughts are shaped by its philosophy. The philosophy cannot last unless it has the support of conduct. Conduct is the reflection of the immaculate soul within. The human body is a blessing but only when it leads to blissfulness. It is given to man to rise high or fall below. The seminal thing is ever to remain human and humane.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Anekantvad, defines the theory of non-absolutism, non-radicalism or non- one sidedness and in in simple terms

Samvatsari Pratikraman

ppt by Anop Vora
This article will help the people – who perform Samvatsari (or any) Pratikraman but don’t understand what is being said. Not only that but this will help you

Jain Darshan – An All Embracing Way of Life

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn the Jain philosophy from a young age. If Jainism has to be summed up in one word, it would be Ahimsa.

Jainism, Science and Intermittent Fasting

I have recently incorporated an intermittent fasting protocol within my daily routine as I have come to really appreciate the wonders this can do for your health

World has two options: Non-violence or Extinction

Corona pandemic has created an uncertainty and fear that never before in the history in the human mind as today. The scientific and technological inventions have attempted to control the nature and brought it to the services of human beings. But yet the man, society and nation are not satisfied with the gains they achieved.

Let’s Understand Jain Terminology

Archaeological evidence suggests that yoga was practiced in ancient India since 3000 BC. Many great personalities (Jain or not) like Patanjali