This was about 683 years after the death of mahavira. It is based on the teachings of jesus christ who lived on the holy land 2000 years ago. 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. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. Religions in india buddhism, christianity, hinduism, islam. Popular jainism books meet your next favorite book. One of the main areas of dispute that was instrumental in the split is that of holy writings. Often referred to as jain dharma is another religion that has its original root from ancient india. 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. If one wants to meet god, then that soul will have to rule out its negative traits and meditate to become a jina. Anglicanism also include the 15 books of the apocrypha between the old testament and the new testament, for a total of 81 books. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. The following is a list of major religious sects and teacher traditions in hinduism.
List of world religions and founders, religious books, place. Each of these sects is also divided into subgroups. Jainism was founded by vardhamana mahavira who was born in kundagrama bihar. The ascetic is a wandering mendicant in the digambara tradition, or a resident mendicant in the svetambara tradition. 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. Despite this jainism gradually spread into south and west india where the brahmanical religion was weak. Men are the only ones allowed to become digambara monks. It looks there is a big exaggeration with the main stream bahais the. 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 sri guru granth sahib also known as adi granth is more than a holy book for the sikhs. In order to spread the sects of jainism, mahavira organized an order of his followers which admitted both men and women. These are further divided into different subsects and traditions. The buddhas teachings were preserved in the pali canon, which acts as an extensive analytical record written in pali, the buddhas native dialect. Digambara skyclad is one of the two main sects of jainism.
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. The dasam granth is a composition primarily of the tenth guru, guru gobind singh. Since jainism did not clearly mark itself out from the brahmanical religion it failed to attract the masses. The svetambara canon consists principally of 45 works divided as follows.
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 jainism has its own scriptures called agamas or srutas, which are directly derived from the tirthankaras. Bible is the holy book which consists of old and new testaments. 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. 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.
They believe that by the time of dharasena, the twentythird teacher after gandhar gautama, knowledge of only one anga was there. For monks and nuns, jainism requires a vow of complete nonpossession of any property, relations and emotions. In principle jain holy places are sacred for all the jains. Within these principal sects are several smaller traditions or subsects. Sects of jainism, jainism in ancient india, ancient india. Oct 18, 2010 there are two main branches of jainism. Jainism emerged in 6thcentury bce india, the same time buddhism was developing. 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. Buddhism is 600bc and certainly post vedic but jainism is pre. 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. The scholars formed the first council, a group whose purpose was to preserve the buddha. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b.
Jainism is revealed in every cyclic period of the universe, and this constitutes the prehistoric time of jainism. History and contemporary information provide evidence of competition and quarrels between the sects. Jaina canon, the sacred texts of jainism, a religion of india, whose authenticity is disputed between sects. Followers of jainism are called jains, and there are about 4 million worldwide. Many classical texts are in sanskrit tatvartha sutra, puranas. Jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Mar 17, 2015 jainism is an indian religion that emphasizes complete nonviolence and asceticism. Religions in india indian religions religions in india.
Jain philosophy is the oldest philosophy of india that distinguishes body matter from the soul consciousness completely. Followers of judaism believe in one god who revealed himself through ancient prophets. 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. This sect of jainism rejects the authority of the jain agama compiled by sthulabhadra. It looks there is a big exaggeration with the main stream bahais the followers of universal house of justice.
Christianity is the worlds biggest religion, with about 2. Probably the oldest of all sects with its roots in prehistoric traditions of the subcontinent. Main sects are digambaras stark naked and the swetambaras clothed in white. Jain beliefs fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time. Major sects digambar sect, sub sects, shvetambar sect, sub sects, references 12. Start studying religious studies 101 mohammed jainism.
Demographic propagation origin, early rise, factors responsible for rise, jainism in other parts of world, demographics, references. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The two sects also differ on the origin of mata trishala, mahaviras mother. And there is a recorded history of jainism since about 30003500 bc. Feb 21, 2020 judaism is the worlds oldest monotheistic religion, dating back nearly 4,000 years. 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. The jains have 5 great vows by which they try to live their lives. Excavations at mathura revealed many jain statues from the time of the kushan empire. They constitute around 1% of the total indian population with mostly residing in rajasthan and gujarat.
The existing agam sutras are accepted as the authentic preaching of lord mahavir by the swetambar sects, but the digambar sect does not accept. Religions in india buddhism, christianity, hinduism. 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. The most enjoyable parts of the book were its discussions of jainist ethics and the nature of the life force.
The tradition presented in the materials below is one of the. The third main principle in jainism is aparigraha which means nonattachment to worldly possessions. About the followers of each sect there is claim and counter claim. Followers of saivism worship lord siva as their chief deity and regard him as isvara, or brahman. Broadly, jainism is divided into two major schools of thought, digambara and svetambara. Sociopolitical influence sociopolitical identity, jainism and politics, fundamentalism, contemporary politics, references 14. First tirthankara is rishabha mentioned in the yajurveda and mahavira is 24th tirthankara. Religion, world religions, comparative religion just the facts on the worlds religions. I was surprised to discover that jainism dates from the time of the buddha, and has such a large following today. Oct 17, 2010 works cited fast facts on jainism religionfacts. Religious studies 101 mohammed jainism flashcards quizlet. The religion centres on the progress of ones soul towards a divine consciousness through selfreformation, wisdom and selfcontrol and pacifism towards all. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents.
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. The definition of digambara is one who is naked or one who has the sky as his clothes. In this book, all the 24 tirthankaras and their lives are written about. 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 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. While there are differences in practices, the core philosophy and main principles of. Regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, jainism a. These two sects now recognise different canons of sacred texts. Christians worship in churches and their spiritual leaders are called priests. About jainism jainism is an independent and most ancient religion of india. Scripture is the synonym of the holy text, which consists of religious dogmas, and assertions of an authentic authority apta purusa.
Each of the three jain sects may celebrate slightly different festivals so not all jains will celebrate every holiday. The oldest jain literature is in shauraseni and ardhamagadhi prakrit agamas, agamatulya, siddhanta texts, etc. Regarding the ability of human beings to find the truth, jainism. The present gamut of meanings of sect has been influenced by. It teaches that the universe is eternal and that every living being. Jain holidays and festivals largely revolve around important events such as births and deaths in the lives of the thirthnkaras, or saints. Jainism is an indian religion which is traditionally believed to be propagated by twentyfour spiritual teachers known as tirthankara. Jainism religion bhagwan mahavir jain symbol belief. Jainism simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Shah jain study center of north carolina raleigh 401 farmstead drive, cary nc 275115631 9194690956 and fax email. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. The bahai faith in small span of time has been divided into more than sects. Pali is considered the classical language of buddhism, and the documents preserved in pali make up the tipitaka as well as other buddhist.
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. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. One main jain symbol includes a wheel on the palm of a hand and the other one is a swastika. 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. 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. 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. These are further divided into different sub sects and traditions. One of the oldest known religious texts is the kesh temple hymn of ancient sumer, a set of inscribed clay tablets which scholars typically date around 2600 bce. These two traditions or sects take their names from the appearance of their monks. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. The faith is named for the jinas, spiritual conquerors who have achieved liberation and perfection. The 3 main christian denominations of christianity are. History and contemporary information provide evidence of competition and quarrels between the sects over the management of individual sites.
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