The Mahavira and Jainism. History reflects that India sent the world more than Hinduism, but also Jainism and Buddhism, and more. Naturally, once a thought becomes captured within the ism of an “ism” or “ist” it must be relegated to thought thereafter at least in part. Consciousness may be the absence of thinking…but yet, humans have this sentience and ever we strive to build our towers of thought….but to Honor or to dethrone the “above,” the author queries? Here are found very early and quite fascinating realms of thought structure which in many ways resemble purity as in consciousness. If time is relative, then it may not be the earliness that lends such profundity to Jainism, for example, but moreover, its originality …its seeming independence. Or, perhaps it is powerless …as in zero or no thing. Eye am no thing … and You, ‘niverse? (Meadowbrook, 2013) Jainism accepts Moksha, Samsara, and Karma, and that the things of the material world all have souls (Hardy, 2011). Jainists regarded Sacrifice of the self as quite possibly the path to escape from dark or “bad” karma. The nonviolence of Jainism was Mohandas Ghandi’s affect to the world peoples (Hardy, 2011). Vardhamana founded Jainism around 650 BC. He walked the earth as an aesthetic, self-deposed of material possessions. His wandering and heroic ways lead him to self-achieve enlightenment … and to assume the mantle of being the last Tirthankara …finder of the ford. This form left behind aspects of the former Brahmanism … which did not recognize other souls than sentient beings. In Jainism…all things were and thus are kindred souls…but that some such as rocks would not suffer as humans did/do (Hardy, 2011, Engbeck, in press). Mahivira … eventually starved himself to death as he would not take the life of even a plant in the end… and the author asks if he was found thereafter in the province known as Nirvana, a place beyond reincarnation and with only peace, love, and joy as an environ? The vows of Jains contained refrain from stealing, violence, immorality, grasping, and falsity (Hardy, 2011). Jains would view starvation as the ultimate path, perhaps found after countless days of wandering in poverty. The strictness of the discipline is toward self only, and seeks conjoin rationalism versus divine decree with ethics. Jainism uses the blind men and the elephant parable to describe a universal knowledge and wisdom that is one but appears different depending on access point (Hardy, 2011). Mahariva left an impressive path to follow but was replaced by Buddhism…a much more easily popular path …and that despite or perhaps because of the deepest question perhaps within Jainism: Must there be suffering in order for the Jain to compel self sacrificial heroism against (Hardy, 2011)?
Posted on: Tue, 03 Dec 2013 15:10:53 +0000
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