Jainism is one of the world's oldest religions whose roots go back to times before recorded history. Those who follow Jainism are known as Ajainaor the followers of Jinas, from whom the teachings of this religion have been derived. Jainism's teachers of old whose wisdom and spiritual evolution are most revered are known as tirthankaras or "builders of the ford." The teachings of the these builders ultimately lead humans across the the endless cycle of rebirth to spiritual release. Metaphorically, this endless cycle is compared to a river that only those enlightened by the teachings of the tirthankaras may hope to cross.

In Jain philosophy, time consists of infinite millennia that come and go in cycles of several million years. In our current cycle, twenty-four tirthankaras have appeared and Mahavira the 24th, tirthankara has been the last to appear. Like all preceding tirthankaras Mahavira, whose name means "the most courageous one," was an actual historical figure who lived some time between 599-527 BCE. Mahavira was a contemporary of another great spiritual teacher -- Gautama Sakyamuni--who would come to be known in history as Buddha. According to most accounts, Mahavira was also a high-born member of a warrior caste who renounced the world when he was thirty to pursue a life as an ascetic. His moment of enlightenment came after twelve years of spiritual pursuit. He then gathered twelve disciples around him, and it is through these disciples that his teachings were eventually documented and disseminated.

Some Key Principles of Jainism
Ahimsa, or non-violence: the concept of non-violence in Jainism involves not only the absence of physical violence, but entails compassion for all living creatures. The belief in karma, i.e that actions are counter balanced by reactions, underscores the notion that all actions produce consequences. Some of the other key principles of Jainism include:

The doctrine of Anekantvadis embodied in the now famous tale of how three blind men each describe an elephant through their own particular contact with one part of an elephant. Likewise, the concept of Anekantvadis extended to the idea as to how each person is limited by her/his own perspectives and cannot therefore either pass judgments or act upon a limited point of view.

In teaching about Apirigraham, Jainism stresses that greed, and particularly the desire to posses material goods, eventually entangles and limits human beings. Conversely, the absence of either the desire for possessions, or the possession of material goods, enables humans to be free not only in this world, but from the eventual freedom from the endless cycle of birth and death.

Jain Cosmology
One of the most important activities of the tirthankaras was the search for an understanding of the universe. Accordingly, studying Loka, or the true nature of the universe, evolved into a scholarly branch of Jainism and the development of a cosmographical schemata of the universe.

According to Jainism, there are three principle regions of Loka. The first region is that of the several heavens. The highest level of the heavens is that of the liberated souls known as the Realm of the Jinas. Below this level is the heaven of the gods where different categories of deities exist. These gods posses human characteristics: some however have divested themselves of desires while others of the lower orders live somewhat like human despots and rulers in their palaces surrounded by their courtiers. The realm inhabited by humans known as Jambudvipa, or "the continent of the rose-apple tree." This region is traversed by six mountains which divide the region into seven regions. The most important regions are India in the south, Airavat in the north, and Mahavideha in the middle. It is believed that in these three regions humans may find rewards for religious pursuits and that deliverance may be possible.

The third region in the Jain cosmos are the eight hells with each, in descending order, more horrible then the last. Existence in any of the hells, however, is not permanent: a person may be born again into a new form once she or he has been sufficiently punished. In contrast to the hell of Christianity which is characterized by burning heat, the Jain vision of hell is one that get progressively colder with each descent into lower levels.

In Jain culture, lay persons cannot inflict harm on any form of life and are thus generally vegetarians. They are also expected to abstain from acts of violence and avoid any form of labor or activities where the destruction of life might occur.

Without practicing the intense asceticism of nuns and monks, lay persons are nevertheless enjoined to live by vows known as the anuvratas or lesser vows which closely parallel the so-called greater vows taken by the nuns and monks.

Meditation also forms an integral part of Jain life. Jains practice a form of meditation known as Samayika which focus on establishing a peaceful state of mind.

Worship in the home as well as in temples also forms an important part of Jainism. Jain homes usually have wooden shrines that are modeled after the stone temples. Jain worship may involve the chanting of mantras or gazing upon an image of one of the gods known as the puja. There are also more elaborate rituals in Jain worship involving the decoration or anointing of images.

God and Gods in Jainism
Adherents of Jainism believe that all things in the universe are continuous, and hence eternal. In the philosophy of Jainism, there are neither beginnings nor endings in regard to time. The universe is self-perpetuating and operates in accordance with cosmic laws. Change is a part of universal law, and all elements in the universe undergo transformations and modifications of external forms. In this regard, Jainism subscribes to the point that nothing is either created or destroyed in the universe.

An omniscient god who is creator and destroyer thus has no place within the framework of this epistemology. Hence Jains do not believe in an almighty god. However, Jainism does subscribe to the belief of a perfect universal presence. Furthermore, Jainism teaches that humans too can attain a state of perfect beingness when they have succeeded in transcending the eternal cycle of of karma. The person who is liberated from the bondage of karmic law is then said to have become a liberated soul and achieved a state of bliss known as moksha.

All humans thus posses the potential of attaining god-likeness according to Jainism. Jains therefore do not have one but innumerable gods as more people attain liberation and transcendence from karmic bondage.

While adherents are taught to adhere to the call upon self-restraint and self-reliance, they have, nevertheless, recourse for help from a large number of gods and goddesses who are evoked to help assist in worldly matters. One such deity is Ambika, the mother-goddess of Jainism who is the patron deity of material prosperity, child-birth and protector of women. Images of goddesses like Ambika, frequently adorn the temples to the tirthankaras and are usually connected with the supreme beings to whom the temples are dedicated.

Jain Art
Jainism has a long and rich artistic history. Nuns and monks are not permitted to make art but lay artists have long been able to demonstrate their artistic talents in paintings, illumination of sacred texts, murals and votive objects. Many works are specially commissioned and paid for by lay persons who wish to earn merit through sponsorship of works depicting personalities and events from the Jain traditions.

This information on Jainism is taken with permission from Professor Lin's beautiful web site on Asian Religions and may be found at: http://www.csupomona.edu/~plin/ews430/religion.html. Her site also includes information on Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Shinto and Islam. The om bar graphic is reproduced here, courtesy of Yashwant Malaiya who also has additional information, links, and clip-art on Jainism at: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya