Agams are the jain texts which are based on the discourse. Psycinfo and medline databases were searched for published articles on religion and suicide between 1980 and 2008. This frightening tale of mass suicide was carried out by members of the peoples temple, a cult born in the 1950s with the supposed objective of practicing apostolic socialism. Jainism traces its roots to a succession of 24 jinas those who overcome, or conqueror in ancient east india. Google answer we does not consider 1 book there were so many granths were there some granths. Ahimsa nonviolence is the fundamental doctrine of jainism. The journal of religion this book presents a detailed fieldworkbased study of the ancient indian religion of jainism. To members of the ancient and tiny faith of jainism in india, thats a tradition called s anthara or sallekhana literally thinning out. All siddhas are perfected souls, living for ever in a. Our goal is to upload his discourses on various aspects of jainism. Religiosity among lesbians alone was linked to a 52 percent increased chance of recent suicidal ideation. Jun 28, 2017 religious participation is linked to lower suicide rates in many parts of the world, including the united states and russia, but does not protect against the risk of suicide in sections of europe. For those who are not completely familiar with jainism, it is one of the three heterodox sramanas religions of jainism, buddhism, and ajivakaor ajivika.
Jainism is one of the worlds most ancient religions, and jain monks lead a life of extreme. Jain scriptures or texts dont say that moksha salvation can be achieved only by. It was a time and place of religious renewal, in which several groups reacted against the formalized rituals and hierarchical organization of traditional hinduism, desiring something new and fresh. Jainisms strict rules of nonviolence, nonpossessiveness, chastity, nontheft, and truth caused it to lose popularity, but. The outline of the image represents the universe as described in jain agamas. This book presents a detailed fieldworkbased study of the ancient indian religion of jainism. Karya obligations which are followed and kriya worships which are performed. Contact us 715 bellemeade place, alpharetta, ga 0004, usa. Jainism in india after lord mahavira this religion flourished in magadha and elsewhere because of the strong rulers at pataliputra.
Jan 02, 2020 according to jain writings, mahavira descended from heaven, committed no sin himself, and through meditation, freed himself from all earthly desires. Suicide and religion the british journal of psychiatry. The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. The three main teachings of jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada nonabsolutism, aparigraha nonpossessiveness. Interesting book about an interesting religion philosophy. Fasting unto death for religion is not suicide or euthanasia, say. Religious belief often leads to suicide based on either feelings of unworthiness or sacrifice for the greater good. Kaumaareeswari sirupanchamoolam book in tamil by kaari asaan, c.
Indias supreme court is considering whether to ban the practice as a form of suicide, which is punishable under law. It is written by a practising jain, drawing on his rich experience of jainism in all its aspects. Jainism dont have any specific holy book like the bhagavad geeta,the quran or the bible. Til the point when the practitioners prefers violent death to common waning of the body precolumbian. Sep 03, 2007 jainism is an ancient religion from india that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. Jainism is a transtheistic religion, and jains trace their. The jain faith revolves around the notion of the soul jiva.
Along with hinduism and buddhism, jainism is one of the three most ancient indian religious traditions still in existence and an. In jainism, suicide is regarded as the worst form of himsa violence and is not permitted. Since then, this emblem is used in almost all of jain magazines, on wedding cards, on jain festival cards and in magazines with links to events related to jain society. Jainism it means jain dharma in sanskrit it is an indian religion that prescribes the path of non violence towards all living beings called as ahinsa parmo dharma. Jun 25, 2015 investigators used the key words religion or religious or religiosity or spiritual or spirituality plus suicide or suicidality or suicide attempt to search for articles. This is, of course, assuming that the suicide rate actually is higher among atheists. Jainism is a dharmic religion and is not a branch of hinduism. Jainworld is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of jain tradition of wisdom, compassion, equality, brotherhood, universal wellbeing and spirituality. An introduction, is a thoroughly researched overview of the jain tradition, a religion and set of philosophical constructs that have influenced indian thought for over 2500 years. Persons who attend religious services, on average, are generally believed to exhibit much lower rates of suicide. Recommendations for psychiatrists on spirituality and religionposition statement ps0320. The tattvarthasutra is a famous book which summarizes jain teachings. Those who feel unclean or as though they have sinned often times take their own lives, either due to the shame or their perceived inability to prevent future wrongdoing. Basic concepts of jainism and its applications can be learned from chandrakantbhais easy and unique teaching skills and indepth knowledge of the subject.
Other empirical analyses, like those by stack 1983b,7 19918, have used religious book production as a percentage of all book publication to proxy religious integrationregulation. The bench also held that santhara was not an essential religious practice of jain religion. The last term was included since studies that assess completed suicides. I wanted to learn not just the facts about the jain religion, but i wanted to get a feeling of what being a jain is like. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide. Jainism is a religion of extreme legalism, for one attains his own salvation only through the path of asceticism rigid selfdenial. Jain prateek chihna the official symbol of jainism is the jain prateek chihna. Women, whether real or legendary, are an important component of jain culture.
There exists a jain practice of fasting to death which is termed as sallekhana. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing the intake of food and liquids. Jainism is an ancient indian religion belonging to the srama. It was translated with an introduction by nathmal tatia, includes a foreword by l. Religious participation is linked to lower suicide rates in many parts of the world, including the united states and russia, but does not protect against the. Jains rituals can be separated broadly in two parts. Instead they have a collection of holy writings and scriptures. Mar 17, 2015 what is the historical context of the jain religion. Drawing on field research in northern gujarat and on the study of both ancient sanskrit and prakrit and modern vernacular jain religious literature, john cort provides a rounded portrait of the religion as it is practiced today. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. The jain emblem is composed of many fundamental concepts and symbols.
The jain community includes two categories of women. Jainism is a religion which stresses extreme nonviolence towards all life, especially cows. Sep 02, 2015 a member of the ancient religion of jainism who is very sick or very old may opt to stop eating. Those who attend church frequently are four times less likely to commit suicide than those who never attend. These texts are collectively known as agams, the sacred books of the jain religion. At the time of alexander the greats invasion on the borders of the magadha empire, it was the jain rulers who were in firm control at pataliputra. He has also tried to depict differences between jainism and baudhdhism, where applicable. The holy book of jains the kalpa sutra is the holy book of the of jainism religion. Arihats are perfect human beings and preach the jain religion to the people during their remaining life. Investigators used the key words religion or religious or religiosity or spiritual or spirituality plus suicide or suicidality or suicide attempt to search for articles. These questions have been in the news for the past two days as the rajasthan high court declared the jain religious practice of santhara to be. Popular jainism books meet your next favorite book. Both arihants and siddhas are considered gods of jain religion.
In general, the pagan world, both roman and greek, had a relaxed attitude towards the. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome of teaching for all. Buddhism in its various forms affirms that, while suicide as selfsacrifice may be appropriate for the person who is an arhat, one who has attained enlightenment, it is still very much the exception to the rule. Religious affiliation and suicide attempt american journal. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. Shvetambara monks are allowed to retain a few possessions such as a robe, an alms bowl, a whisk broom, and a mukhavastrika a piece of cloth held over the mouth to protect against the ingestion of small insects, which are presented by a senior monk at the time of initiation. To accurately assess risk of suicide, it is imperative to understand the role of religion in suicidality. Chilling study sums up link between religion and suicide. Lord mahavirs preaching was methodically compiled by his followers into many texts.
Historically, in most religious traditions, suicide has been considered a sin. Mar 26, 2008 because to the atheist, suicide ends their pain. Jain texts make a clear distinction between the sallekhana and suicide. Also, as mentioned in the book, jainism is scientific religion covering physics, math and. Aug 09, 2017 the times of india reports that the number of adherents of the jain religion has fallen to 4. The acharangasutra deals chiefly with the ethical conduct and discipline of monks. Why jainism is the worlds most peaceful religion youtube. In the 1970s a caribbean missionary post was established in guyana.
The jain dharma existed even before the emergence of the vedas and the puranas which are said to be ancient. This religions holy text is referred to as agam literature or sutras and is a collection of many different written works. Ones degree of religiosity can potentially serve as a protective factor against suicidal behavior. But indias supreme court is weighing a ban on the practice because suicide is illegal by indian law. In fact, lesbian and gay youth who said that religion was important to them were 38 percent more likely to have had recent suicidal thoughts, compared to lesbian and gay youth who reported religion was less important. According to the golden bough both homicide and suicide are commonplace and frequent. Jainism is one of the oldest religions of india, dating back to the 6th century bce. The jain scriptures are the source books of jain ethics, yoga, religion, philosophy and mythology. Jainism was founded by mahavira, who taught selfdenial and nonviolence toward all forms of life. In an entry in the encyclopedia of religion, marilyn j. The aim of jain life is to achieve liberation of the. By birth, im jainand trying to be jain by actand i appreciate many historical perspective on jainism.
Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Although it has some similarities with both traditions, jainism is different from them with its own unique and distinguishing features. The controversy whether this religious form of starvation is related to suicide is. In 300 words jainism is the philosophy and religion of jainas the followers of religion preached and practised by the thirthankaras, the last of whom was lord mahavir. The jain tradition599527 bc to 5th century adacaranga sutra. The strength of the book its thoroughness and density also may be a deterrent to the new reader. Depressed inpatients n371 who reported belonging to one specific religion or described themselves as having no religious affiliation were compared in terms of their demographic and clinical characteristics.
They are humans who achieve enlightenment via asceticism. Previous studies have used population data to demonstrate an inverse association between suicide rates and religious commitment. Jains believe that jainism is an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every cycle of the jain cosmology. It prescribes ahimsa nonviolence towards all living beings to the greatest possible extent. This website is for the users who want to learn the basic concepts of jain religion. In jain thought, an impure death by suicide involves an increase in the passions. Suicide among religious homosexuals is a common example. Drawing on field research in northern gujarat and on the study of both ancient sanskrit and prakrit and m. Gindhodi devi jain lay dying, surrounded by religious texts. This book is the first comprehensive study of jainism to be published in the west. The relationship between religion and suicide attempts has received even less attention.
Jain scholars were supportive of akbar and jain texts praise his religious tolerance. Suicide rates and religious commitment in young adult males. Jainism is an ancient religion from india that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. According to an article published in the januaryfebruary 2017 issue of the indian journal of endocrinology and metabolism, there are two main types of fasts observed in the jain religion. In both north and south america, it is common the practice of selfsacrifice and senicide. Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. The jains, a small religious group believing in an immortal soul, are indigenous to india, and affirm many of the ideas of their hindu counterparts, but are critical of other hindu doctrines. The last term was included since studies that assess completed suicides may also include suicide attempts. Jainism emerged in 6thcentury bce india, the same time buddhism was developing. Jainism, indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence ahimsa, literally noninjury to all living creatures. The ultimate objective of the jain religion is for the soul to attain selfrealisation, which is liberation the soul is a concept found in many religions but jain beliefs about the soul or self are very distinctive.
A survey of the atritudes of world religions to the righttodie 1985. Such studies, however, disregard the option of exploring the intensity of the attachment and level of religious integration so emphasized by durkheim 18971970. The first jina is traditionally believed to have been a giant who lived 8. Thus they are not well taught, not well instructed in the religion such as it has been.
Along with hinduism and buddhism, jainism is one of the three most ancient indian religious traditions still in existence and an integral part of south asian religious belief and practice. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it has many books complied by many followers. In one story, which i found in a book for children, a man took pleasure and pride all his life in his. Sep 10, 2009 jainism is a religion of religious equality, devoted to recognising the rights of all living creatures, so not surprisingly it accepts that women are able to play their part on the road to liberation. A member of the ancient religion of jainism who is very sick or very old may opt to stop eating. Members of the jain community during a silent march in jaipur on monday. However, it is a serious problem, is commonly associated with depression, and often occurs when depression treatments fail. The saints of jaina religion presented the solutions for various problems of the world. Jainism jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. Express photo by rohit jain paras it took less than a minute for the supreme court on monday to stay the rajasthan high court order that had compared santhara, the jain ritual of fasting unto death, with suicide and made it an offence punishable under the ipc.
Since the last two columns dealt with depression and its treatment, this column focuses on this most feared consequence of depression although often not. Mar 17, 2015 jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Jainism is a very ancient world religion with a history of over 3000 years, which originated in the indian subcontinent, like hinduism and buddhism. Jul 31, 2012 suicide is not a popular topic that most people are anxious to read about. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Role of of the jain religion 2601 words 11 pages shoshana pollack april 19 2015 rlst. In light of this, many survivors have felt religiously stranded. Subsequent discussions rely to some degree on larues book, suggesting both the force of religious opposition in the 1980s and the need for more thorough and contemporary research. Suicide is not a popular topic that most people are anxious to read about. In jain cosmology the soul is a pure substance with consciousness caitanya. Jain theism concept of god in jainism harvard university. The kalpasutra describes in detail the lifestory of mahavira. Theantiquity of jainism jaina religion is the oldest religion of india, it began as a spiritual discipline for samanas.
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