They believe that by the time of dharasena, the twentythird teacher after gandhar gautama, knowledge of only one anga was there. Many classical texts are in sanskrit tatvartha sutra, puranas. This is one of the most important differences between the two groups in jainism, and it means that jain texts have very different roles for. Jainism you should read enough of the materials presented in this section concerning the tradition of jainism in order to understand how this tradition displays the characteristics or elements that make a tradition one that would be termed a religion. A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, jainism. It is based on the teachings of jesus christ who lived on the holy land 2000 years ago. Religions in india indian religions religions in india. Main sects are digambaras stark naked and the swetambaras clothed in white.
If one wants to meet god, then that soul will have to rule out its negative traits and meditate to become a jina. Sects of jainism, jainism in ancient india, ancient india. Scripture is the synonym of the holy text, which consists of religious dogmas, and assertions of an authentic authority apta purusa. Feb 21, 2020 judaism is the worlds oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. List of world religions and founders, religious books, place. Broadly, jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, digambara and svetambara. The dasam granth is a composition primarily of the tenth guru, guru gobind singh. The most enjoyable parts of the book were its discussions of jainist ethics and the nature of the life force. In principle jain holy places are sacred for all the jains.
The buddhas teachings were preserved in the pali canon, which acts as an extensive analytical record written in pali, the buddhas native dialect. About the followers of each sect there is claim and counter claim. Oct 18, 2010 there are two main branches of jainism. Major sects digambar sect, sub sects, shvetambar sect, sub sects, references 12. The epic of gilgamesh from sumer, although only considered by some scholars as a religious text, has origins as early as 2150 bce, and stands as one of the earliest literary works that includes various mythological. The major division within jainism, between the digambaras and svetambaras, is likely to have started early in the common era and is over 1500 years old. Each of these sects is also divided into subgroups.
Jain philosophy is the oldest philosophy of india that distinguishes body matter from the soul consciousness completely. Several months after the buddhas death, a period known as mahaparinibbana, 500 scholars and disciples of the buddha who had attained arahantphala, buddhisms highest level of sainthood, convened to discuss the preservation of the buddhas teachings. The word sect comes from the latin noun secta a feminine form of a variant past participle of the verb sequi, to follow, meaning a way, road, and figuratively a prescribed way, mode, or manner, and hence metonymously, a discipline or school of thought as defined by a set of methods and doctrines. In this book, all the 24 tirthankaras and their lives are written about. Jainism is revealed in every cyclic period of the universe, and this constitutes the prehistoric time of jainism. It looks there is a big exaggeration with the main stream bahais the followers of universal house of justice. The jainism has its own scriptures called agamas or srutas, which are directly derived from the tirthankaras. Excavations at mathura revealed many jain statues from the time of the kushan empire. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of.
Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and principles. Religions in india buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam. Religious studies 101 mohammed jainism flashcards quizlet. Shri arun kumar jain, by the name suggests that he is a jain, knows nothing of jainism when he says that jainism and buddhism are post vedic, starting in the later vedic period as he puts it to 600bc. The sri guru granth sahib also known as adi granth is more than a holy book for the sikhs. The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. History and contemporary information provide evidence of competition and quarrels between the sects.
Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. Regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, jainism a. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Religion, world religions, comparative religion just the facts on the worlds religions. Jainism emerged in 6thcentury bce india, the same time buddhism was developing. One main jain symbol includes a wheel on the palm of a hand and the other one is a swastika. Bible is the holy book which consists of old and new testaments. Buddhism is 600bc and certainly post vedic but jainism is pre.
The oldest jain literature is in shauraseni and ardhamagadhi prakrit agamas, agamatulya, siddhanta texts, etc. History and contemporary information provide evidence of competition and quarrels between the sects over the management of individual sites. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. 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.
The third main principle in jainism is aparigraha which means nonattachment to worldly possessions. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Jainism, one of the three religions developed in india, practices asceticism and a strict nonviolence to all living things called ahimsa as part of their lifelong attempt to purify the soul of. Jainism originated in india thousands of years ago and is thought to have heavily influenced the two other main belief systems of the region at that time. The jains have 5 great vows by which they try to live their lives. It teaches that the universe is eternal and that every living being. Since jainism did not clearly mark itself out from the brahmanical religion it failed to attract the masses. The religion centres on the progress of ones soul towards a divine consciousness through selfreformation, wisdom and selfcontrol and pacifism towards all.
Digambara skyclad is one of the two main sects of jainism. Pali is considered the classical language of buddhism, and the documents preserved in pali make up the tipitaka as well as other buddhist. Often referred to as jain dharma is another religion that has its original root from ancient india. The 3 main christian denominations of christianity are. Mar 17, 2015 jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Digambaras believe that only the first five lines are formally part of the namokar mantra the main jain prayer, whereas svetambaras believe all nine form the mantra.
Probably the oldest of all sects with its roots in prehistoric traditions of the subcontinent. Shah jain study center of north carolina raleigh 401 farmstead drive, cary nc 275115631 9194690956 and fax email. Jain beliefs fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time. These two sects now recognise different canons of sacred texts. First tirthankara is rishabha mentioned in the yajurveda and mahavira is 24th tirthankara. The two main sects of jainism, the digambara spaceclad, or naked and the svetambara whiteclad, wearers of white cloth, have produced a vast body of secular and religious literature in the prakrit and sanskrit languages. Jain holidays and festivals largely revolve around important events such as births and deaths in the lives of the thirthnkaras, or saints.
For monks and nuns, jainism requires a vow of complete nonpossession of any property, relations and emotions. About jainism jainism is an independent and most ancient religion of india. This sect of jainism rejects the authority of the jain agama compiled by sthulabhadra. The present gamut of meanings of sect has been influenced by. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of each sect is same. 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. Jainism was founded by vardhamana mahavira who was born in kundagrama bihar.
Followers of judaism believe in one god who revealed himself through ancient prophets. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Within these principal sects are several smaller traditions or subsects. Jainism religion bhagwan mahavir jain symbol belief. In practice, some places are definitely of more importance to svetambaras than to digambaras and vice versa, and these are managed by institutions affiliated to one sect or the other. The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war.
Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Oct 17, 2010 works cited fast facts on jainism religionfacts. The ascetic is a wandering mendicant in the digambara tradition, or a resident mendicant in the svetambara tradition. And there is a recorded history of jainism since about 30003500 bc. Each of the three jain sects may celebrate slightly different festivals so not all jains will celebrate every holiday. The two sects also differ on the origin of mata trishala, mahaviras mother. Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. They constitute around 1% of the total indian population with mostly residing in rajasthan and gujarat. Despite this jainism gradually spread into south and west india where the brahmanical religion was weak. 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. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. Men are the only ones allowed to become digambara monks. Religions in india buddhism, christianity, hinduism. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide.
The definition of digambara is one who is naked or one who has the sky as his clothes. Demographic propagation origin, early rise, factors responsible for rise, jainism in other parts of world, demographics, references. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. These are further divided into different subsects and traditions. The tradition presented in the materials below is one of the. For most of protestantism, this includes the 66 book canon the jewish tanakh of 24 books divided differently into 39 books and the universal 27 book new testament. Start studying religious studies 101 mohammed jainism. The bahai faith in small span of time has been divided into more than sects. The most often cited book of the jains is the tattvartha sutra book of reality thought to date from the second millennium bce, but only recorded in written form in the 5th century ce by umasvati, and it is at that point that jainism splintered into the two main sects. The existing agam sutras are accepted as the authentic preaching of lord mahavir by the swetambar sects, but the digambar sect does not accept. Sociopolitical influence sociopolitical identity, jainism and politics, fundamentalism, contemporary politics, references 14.
The svetambaras believe that the collection of 32 or 45, the number is disputed agamas holy scriptures are the first and foremost of all holy texts. Christianity is the worlds biggest religion, with about 2. Sep 11, 2009 this is one of the most important differences between the two groups in jainism, and it means that jain texts have very different roles for the two groups of jains. I was surprised to discover that jainism dates from the time of the buddha, and has such a large following today. These two traditions or sects take their names from the appearance of their monks. Jainism dont have any specific holy book like the bhagavad geeta,the quran or the bible. Popular jainism books meet your next favorite book. Christians worship in churches and their spiritual leaders are called priests. Followers of saivism worship lord siva as their chief deity and regard him as isvara, or brahman. One of the main areas of dispute that was instrumental in the split is that of holy writings. The scholars formed the first council, a group whose purpose was to preserve the buddha. Jainism is an indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twentyfour spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. These are further divided into different sub sects and traditions.