Dharma : What is Religion ?
Jain Verse:
· May the entire universe attain bliss,
· May all beings be oriented to the interest
of others,
· Let all faults be eliminated and
· May people be happy everywhere.
Every living being desires happiness, and endeavors to
avoid pain and suffering. The question
is how these objectives can be achieved. Generally, a person will feel happy if
he gets whatever he desires and can avoid everything that he does not like.
However, situations do occur, which are not in his interest or do not conform
to his liking. Even in favorable
situations, it is not always within his power to prolong the situation. Every
situation changes and a person feels miserable when the new situation is not to
his liking. Moreover, desires and likes or dislikes of all beings are not
identical. What one person loves may be of utter distaste to another. It is therefore impossible that everything
can happen to everyone’s taste. Viewed
in this light, it would seem that there couldn’t possibly be a way for making
everyone happy.
Fortunately, however, there is a way. Two verses, one each from Jain and Hindu
traditions quoted above, address that way.
It should be noted that they have identical meanings. Both of them
convey the same message of well-being for all, for the whole universe, and for
the elimination of evil. Shraman (Jain, Buddhist) and Vedic (Hindu) traditions
have flourished together; both have borrowed from and influenced ideologies of
the other. It is therefore not
surprising that Jain scholars have time and again insisted on the study of not
only Jainism, but also the six schools of thought prevalent in India and collectively
known as Shad-darshan. Broadly classified, they are known as Vedic and Shraman
traditions, both having originated from the same Indo-Aryan culture. Both of
them have addressed the subject of universal happiness and have discovered that
the way to universal happiness is to wish and act for happiness and well-being
for all. If everyone acts accordingly, the world can turn into paradise and
there would not be any misery; at least man-made misery would come to an end.
Indian philosophies go beyond seeking happiness in this
life. Almost all of them believe in the existence of an eternal soul and in a
continually changing pattern of everything else. Therefore, they seek happiness
that lasts beyond the present life. Their ultimate goal is to present the path
of liberation leading to the termination of the cycle of life and death. However, as long as we are not liberated,
their approach is to seek continuing universal happiness. The above two verses
therefore urge everyone to look earnestly for the well-being of all others, to
stay meritorious in this life to be sure of reaping fruits of their merits in
subsequent lives.
When one talks of religion, the question may arise, ‘Why do
we bother about religion? Could we not be happy in this life without worrying
about religion?’ One may be healthy, have a loving spouse and children that
they love, have plenty of money, and possess all the amenities that one needs.
What more is religion going to offer?
These are legitimate questions. The concept underlying
these questions revolves around our body.
Its health, its relations, its well-being, and comforts and luxuries it
can indulge in are supposed to bring forth happiness. Accordingly, when such
situations are to our liking, we consider ourselves happy. Unfortunately the body with which, we
identify ourselves and also everything around it is transitory. All the situations are ephemeral. The
happiness that we might be experiencing from such situations can disappear at
any time. We do not know what is going to happen at the next moment. In fact,
our so-called happiness is unstable and short-lived.
Even if situations conducive to our interest were likely to
continue indefinitely, peace and happiness may not always materialize. As the
poet Percy Shelley put it in one of his poems, we are prone to ‘look before and
after and pine for what is naught.’ Hardly anyone feels satisfied with what he
has. We have the tendency to desire what we don’t have. Our desires are endless
and as long as those desires remain unsatisfied, no one can ever feel happy and
experience real peace that can lead to blissful pleasure. We may strive hard
for achieving that pleasure but hardly any one attains it any time during his
life.
The growth of scientific knowledge and technology has given
new dimensions to our lives and has influenced every aspect of our living.
Science has done a great service to mankind by providing amenities for pleasant
living and has saved men from many miseries and uncertainties of the primitive
past. It has also destroyed many superstitions and religious dogmas. At the
same time, the scientific outlook has uprooted the moral, religious, and
cultural values of our society. In the light of the advance of scientific
perspective some individuals have renounced our traditional religious beliefs
and values. We know much about the atom but not much about the values needed
for a meaningful and peaceful life. We are living in a state of disarray. Our
lives are full of worries, emotional disorders, and conflict of values.
Today man needs mental peace and complete integration with
his own personality and with his social environment. Can religion, in general,
and Jainism, in particular, meet this need of our times? Yes, it can. Religion
has eternal concepts and values that can meet the needs of the time.
Now, what do we mean by the term religion? Many western
scholars define religion as faith. Some say that religion is belief in
spiritual beings. Others define religion as faith in the conservation of
values. The inner core of religion is faith, but it is the faith in our own
existence and our own real nature, belief in some eternal and spiritual values
that are essential for the existence and uplift of mankind. A generally accepted definition of religion
is ‘Dhärayati Iti Dharma’ It means that what holds (from falling) is religion.
Our remaining in a deluded state constitutes a fall and religion tends to
protect us. It teaches us that the physical body, with which we identify
ourselves, is alive on account of the soul that abides within it. The soul is
our true self. We are the consciousness pervading the body and our association
with a body terminates at the end of life. The true nature of consciousness is
to know whatever happens without any sense of craving or aversion. It is
therefore futile to be pleased or displeased with different situations. Thus by revealing our true nature, religion
helps in extricating us from the deluded state in which we have been entangled
since time without beginning. Religion teaches us to know ourselves.
“He, who knows one (soul), also knows all; He who knows
all, knows the one.”
This quotation taken from Jain scripture Ächäränga Sutra
states that he who knows the soul, knows everything else. This is so because
the knowledge of true Self as pure, enlightened, not aging, immortal and ever
blissful soul can lead to the state of having no desire.
Therefore, Jain scriptures define religion as ‘Vatthu
Sahävo Dhammo’. It means that religion is the real nature of things. Religion
is the nature or property of all substances (Dravyas) including soul and
matter. We seldom try to explore who we are and what is our true nature.
Nothing against our nature is going to give us lasting happiness or real
satisfaction. Without knowing ourselves
and without realizing our own nature, we have been trying to gain happiness. No
wonder that it eludes us, because we have been trying to gain it from
extraneous circumstances. In a way, we have been dwelling all the time in a
state of delusion about ourselves. We
can just as well say we have been pursuing a mirage.
That being so, what is the real nature of the human being?
The real nature of human beings is equanimity. Ächäränga sutra defines religion
as mental equanimity. In Bhagavati sutra, Gautam Swami asks Bhagawän Mahävir,
"What is the nature of soul?" Bhagawän replies, "The nature of
soul is equanimity." Gautam asks, "What is the ultimate aim of
soul?" Mahävir replies, "The ultimate aim of the soul is also
equanimity." Ächärya Kund-kund, in Samaysär, has equated the essential
nature (Svabhäv) of soul with equanimity.
This, of course, does not mean that we should not try to
change an undesirable situation; nor does it endorse inaction. As long as the
soul is embodied, it will stay active. There are different types of activities
that a monk or a laymen should undertake.
Religion, however, prescribes that everyone should undertake activities
vigorously but without any degree of attachment. This would mean facing any
situation dispassionately without reacting in terms of craving or aversion. The
common objective is to enable one to view every situation, comfortable or
uncomfortable, with equanimity and without getting agitated. That would amount
to knowing oneself and abiding in one’s own blissful nature.
Religion is nothing but an endeavor for the realization of
one's own essential nature. Dwelling in one's own essential nature means to
remain secure in the state of a spectator or observer. It is the state of
subjectivity or of a pure knower. In this state, the consciousness is
completely free from excitement and emotions, and the mind becomes tranquil. It
is the precondition for enjoying spiritual happiness, and for relieving mental
tension, which is an impure state of mind. This is the practice of equanimity
of mind. Nobody wants to live in a state of stress. All seek relaxation instead
of tension, contentment instead of anxiety. Our real nature is mental peace or
equanimity. Religion is nothing but a way of achieving this mental peace.
Religion is truth.
When you first discover and then begin to live by inner truth, it
becomes your measurement for everything.
If an action fits with this truth, then you do it. If it does not, you reject it. It is not justifying; it is acting in
accordance with your inner measuring rod.
Truth becomes your permanent inner companion.
The path to liberation of rational knowledge, rational
perception, and rational conduct is the application of equanimity in the three
aspects of our conscious life, that is, knowing, feeling and willing. Even-mindedness,
broader and unbiased outlook and regard for other ideologies and thoughts
constitute equanimity of knowledge or rational knowledge. Detachment from the
objects of worldly pleasures, balanced state of mind, and the feeling of
equality constitute equanimity of feeling or rational perception. Control over
one's desires, regard for other's life and property, equity and fairness in
social life constitute equanimity of willing or rational conduct. The three
organs of rational conduct are body, speech, and mind. According to Jain
teachers, equanimity of body, speech, and mind should be the directive
principle of religious life. Equanimity of mind entails non-attachment or
non-possessiveness, Equanimity of body is nonviolence (Ahimsa) and Equanimity of
speech is non-absolutism. Nonviolence, non-attachment, and non-absolutism are
the three pillars of Jainism. By adopting these concepts, we can attain
happiness and peace in our lives and create an atmosphere of tolerance and
trust in society.
Jainism is a religion propounded by a `Jina'. Principles enunciated by a `Jina' constitute
Jainism and the follower of Jainism is known as a `Jain'. Further, a `Jina' is neither a supernatural
being nor an incarnation of an all powerful God. The word `Jina' means the conqueror or the
victorious, i. e., one who has conquered the worldly passions by one's own
strenuous efforts. Human beings are
entitled to become `Jinas' and as such `Jinas' are persons of this world who
have attained supreme knowledge, subjugated their passions like desire, hatred,
anger, greed, and pride and are free from any sort of attachment. Thus, Jainism is a religion of purely human origin.
It is propogated by self-realized individuals who have attained perfect
knowledge, omniscience, and self-control by personal effort and have been
liberated from the bonds of worldly existence, and the cycles of all future
life and death. Jinas are popularly viewed as Gods in Jainism. There are an
infinite number of Jinas existed in the past. All human beings have the
potential to become a Jina.
In ancient times, Jainism was also known by Shraman Dharma,
an ascetic tradition or the religion of Nirgrantha, one who is not attached to
internal or external objects.
The basic tenet of Jainism is "Ahimsa Parmo
Dharmah". From an ethical point of
view Dharma means duty - compassion is the supreme duty of an individual. From a religious point of view, Dharma means
the true nature of a substance - compassion is the true nature of a human
being. Also, the Jain dictum
"Parasparopagraho Jivänäm" means, "Living beings (Souls) render
service to one another".
A Jain verse says, “I bow down to the path of salvation,
which is supreme, which is omniscient; I bow down to that power because I wish
to become like that power.” The object is not to receive anything from the
entity or from that spiritual nature, but to become one like that.Its not that
spiritual entity will make usbecome like itself by a magic power, but by
following out of ideal which is before our eyes, we shall be able to change our
own personality.It will be regenerated, as it were, and will be changed into a
being, which will have the same character and divinity which is our idea of
God. So we worship God, not as a being
who is going to give us something, not because it is going to do something to
please us, not because it is profitable in any way; there is not any idea of
selfishness; it is like practicing virtue for the sake of virtue and without
any other motive.
God to us would mean to have attained the perfect and
liberated state. We pay homage to the
perfect for the sake to perfection, and not for any reward. One of the prayers of the Jaina is “I worship
with power all consciousness which becomes the leader for us on the path of
salvation; which has broken to pieces the mountain of physical forces of Karma;
which has acquired omniscience. ” I
worship it because I wish to become that power.
The Jinas are not Gods in the sense of being the creators
of the universe, but rather as those who have accomplished the ultimate goal of
liberation through the true understanding of self and other realities. The concept of God as a creator, protector,
and destroyer of the universe does not exist in Jainism. The concept of God's descent into a human
form to destroy evil is also not applicable in Jainism.
The Jinas that have established the religious order and
revived the Jain philosophy at various times in the history of mankind are
known as Tirthankars. The ascetic sage, Rishabhadev was the first Tirthankar
and Mahävir was the last Tirthankar of the spiritual lineage of the twenty-four
Tirthankars in the current era.
In summary, Jainism does not believe in a creator God,
however this does not mean that Jainism is an atheistic religion. Jains believe in an infinite number of Jinas
(Gods) who are self-realized omniscient individuals who have attained
liberation from birth, death, and suffering.
Note : This content has been taken from "Jain Education Bowl".
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