Religious book of jain religion suicide

The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. In india, suicide is considered a crime and soni argued that the practice of santhara is tantamount to suicide. The name mahavira literally means hero or great man. To get the essence of jainism in one single book you can refer to the one and only tattvartha sutra. Also, as mentioned in the book, jainism is scientific religion covering physics, math and other subjects.

You have to understand that for us death is full of excitement. A member of the ancient religion of jainism who is very sick or very old may opt to stop eating. Sallekhana and end of life scientific american blog. Even though the two sects have different composition dates and slightly different versions, this text contains the main doctrines of the jain faith. By birth, im jain and trying to be jain by actand i appreciate many historical perspective on jainism. After two hundred years of vain efforts and of spending millions of dollars with the prestige of the conqueror and backed by british bayonets, christianity is not supported by. International journal of hindu studies a valuable addition to the literature on jainism. Devotees of jain religion ask indian judges for right to. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran, but it has many books complied by many followers. 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. Kaumaareeswari sirupanchamoolam book in tamil by kaari asaan, c. In the jain religion, suicide is seen as an act of violence against. Formerly, it was thought that jainism was a branch either of buddhism or of hinduism. Online shopping for jainism religion from a great selection at books store.

In one story, which i found in a book for children, a man took pleasure and pride all. 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. In the digambar sect the bases of rituals are the about considerable detailed differences. The jain religious ritual of fasting to death from the indian legal and ethical perspectives. This book is a must for scholars of south asian religions and will provide scholars of hindu traditions fine grounding both in a central dialectic of jain thought and in contemporary jain praxis. Jain texts make a clear distinction between the sallekhana and suicide.

Welcome to religious forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. A religious death, sallekhana or itvara the latter consisting in starving oneself. The strength of the book its thoroughness and density also may be a deterrent to the new reader. Death is an element at the center of all religious imagination. Mahavira, the figure recognized by the jain tradition as the last of a chain of. The immediate consequence is the one of evoking reverence and faith in religion. India police pressed to act in girls death after fast the new york. Jainism, one of the most longstanding religions in india, allows terminally ill patients to slowly enter a process of fasting, ultimately rejecting all food and drink. Jainism emerged in 6thcentury bce india, the same time buddhism was developing. Analysts from freud to agamben have pondered religions fascination with death, and religious art is saturated with images of suffering unto death. Medieval writers conceived pratima as a ladder leading to higher stages of spiritual development. This is an important distinction for jain theology. 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.

Jain responses to environmental concerns religious tolerance. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. You will need to register to get access to the following site features reply to discussions and create your own threads. This book presents a detailed fieldworkbased study of the ancient indian religion of jainism. These texts are collectively known as agams, the sacred books of the jain religion. The controversy whether this religious form of starvation is related to suicide is debated since the time of the early jain teachers.

Dating from early in the history of jainism are 11 stages of a laymans spiritual progress, or pratima statue. Jain perspective differs from judeochristian beliefs since life is seen as cyclical. These are divided into two classes anga agamas or the original twelve books and angabahya agamas or the texts outside of the original twelve books. Even religious scriptures were considered possessions and therefore knowledge of the religion was never documented. Although the final goal of jainism transcends earthly concerns, 1 jainism is, in essence, a religion of ecology, of a sustainable lifestyle, and of reverence for life. He has also tried to depict differences between jainism and baudhdhism, where applicable. 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. Hence, the jain religion does not have one sacred book like the bible or koran.

Indian religions, sometimes also termed dharmic religions or indic religions, are the religions that originated in the indian subcontinent. Their religions entire emphasis is on life consonant with ecology. Jainism is based on three general principles called the three ratnas jewels. The controversy whether this religious form of starvation is related to suicide is. My brothers and sisters of america, there is not the least shadow of hope that india can ever be christianised.

Members of the jain community during a silent march in jaipur on monday. Jainism is one of the worlds most ancient religions, and jain monks lead. The girl was a devoted follower of jainism, a religion that celebrates. It is also an intrinsic practice to a persons ethical choice to live with dignity until death and not an exercise in trying to achieve an unnatural death. Jainism jainism ritual practices and religious institutions. As this volume shows, religious fascination with death extends to the notion ofelective death, its circumstances, the virtue of those who perform it, and how best to commemorate it. Youth who take their lives are to be pitied only because they threw away on a whim the divine blessing of this lifethe teachings of eckankar view human life on a broader scale. To members of the ancient and tiny faith of jainism in india, thats a tradition called s anthara or sallekhana literally thinning out. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide. Also, during the course of time many learned acharyas elder monks complied commentaries on the various subjects of the jain religion.

Over 200 jains embrace death every year archive, express india, 30 septembre 2006 consulte le 2 juillet 2010. While many religions have traditionally prohibited suicide when motivated by despair, certain forms of suicide, for the community or for a greater good, are permitted, and at. Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Jainism is one of the oldest religions of india, dating back to the 6th century bce.

In jain thought, an impure death by suicide involves an increase in the passions. While often employing concepts shared with hinduism and buddhism. In olden times, monks strictly followed the five great vows of jainism. Jainism and other religions jainism and other religions as jainism, in all respects, is a religion of india, it has very close relations with other main religions of india like hinduism and buddhism.

Nanak, after leaving home to teach, wore clothing that blended muslim and hindu. Devotees of jain religion ask indian judges for right to fast to death followers of ancient nonviolent religion ask indian supreme court to legalise tradition of santhara after lower court bans. In jainism, suicide is regarded as the worst form of himsa violence and is not permitted. Jainism was a strong influence on gandhi a sangat is a religious group regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, jainism teaches that truth is relative to each persons viewpoint. Which are different from the devotions of the sthanakvasis, who worship without images. Although indian religions are connected through the history of india, they constitute a wide range of religious communities, and are not confined. Google answer we does not consider 1 book there were so many granths were there some granths. But in essence the jain rituals are the frameworks for personal devotions of individuals. There exists a jain practice of fasting to death which is termed as sallekhana. Before leaving prebuddhist india, it may be well to say something of the jains. Books on jainism and jain philosophy hindu website.

No single book can give complete understanding of jain philosophy as it is very vast and diverse explaining minute details. Religious affiliation and suicide attempt american. Sallekhana is embracing the death volunterilly when both. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. Many of their doctrines, especially their disregard not only of priests but of gods, which seems to us so strange in any system which can be called a religion, are closely analogous to buddhism and from one point of view jainism is part of the buddhist movement. However, there is one scripture that both sects believe to be holy. Which is the best book to get the full knowledge of jain. Jainism in india after lord mahavira this religion flourished in magadha and elsewhere because of the strong rulers at pataliputra. These religions are also all classified as eastern religions. Santhara appele aussi sallekhana est une pratique du jainisme, controversee actuellement en. Depressed inpatients n371 who reported belonging to one specific religion or described themselves as having no religious affiliation were compared in terms. Wiley edite par vision books, pages 181 et 182 isbn 8170946816. It is the religious practice of voluntarily fasting to death by gradually reducing.

The tattvarthasutra is a famous book which summarizes jain. She has spent nine years researching jainism and a book based off her. Why jainism is the worlds most peaceful religion youtube. 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.

Analysts from freud to agamben have pondered religion s fascination with death, and religious art is saturated with images of suffering unto death. Since the founding of the religion, jainism has given prominence to sallekhana, death by ritual fasting facing north, as exemplified in the deaths of bhadrabahu and chandragupta maurya. 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. Join texts mention five transgressions of the vow of sallekhana12. 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. Drawing on field research in northern gujarat and on the study of both ancient sanskrit and prakrit and m. Ahimsa nonviolence is the fundamental doctrine of jainism. The relationship between religion and suicide attempts has received even less attention. The last two stages lead logically to renunciation of the world and assumption of the ascetic life. The jain scriptures are the source books of jain ethics, yoga, religion, philosophy and mythology.

Jain community clearly mentioned that the practice of santhara is an integral part of jainism and has been mentioned in religious texts. Indias supreme court is considering whether to ban the practice as a form of suicide, which is punishable under law. Its dualistic theology differentiates between soul and matter. The aim of jain life is to achieve liberation of the.