He writes articles that link the worlds of mythology to multiple topics, all pertaining. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. The texts had to be memorised since jain monks and nuns were not allowed to possess religious books as part of their vow of nonacquisition. Jain beliefs fundamental beliefs of jainism the soul is bounded by karma from the beginning of time. The most enjoyable parts of the book were its discussions of jainist ethics and the nature of the life force. In this devlok mini devdutt pattnaik talks about bhagwaan as guru and bhagwaan as god as per hinduism and jainism. Devdutt is one of the most proficient columnists, in india today. In addition, the book describes how this nonviolent nature shapes the history of the world, and other religions. 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. Mencius also spelled mengzi or mengtzu, a book of his conversations with kings of the time, is one of the four books which form the core of orthodox confucian thinking. On pilgrimages, jains often visit temples and locations connected to tirthankaras. Jainism, ajivika, and buddhism arose in the 6th cent. The jinas are considered more respectable than the gods.
This book is written by a westerner who is a practicing hindu, to give non. We have certain scriptures which are considered as very sacred. Jainism is one of the most ancient religions that originated in eastern india and it was founded around the 6th century. Jain cosmology considers the universe as an uncreated entity that has existed since infinity with neither beginning nor end. Jains trace their history through twentyfour tirthankara and revere rishabhanatha as the first tirthankara in the present timecycle. Its purpose is to give an over view with as few technical terms as possible and without too much detail. 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. Jainism rejects the idea of a creator deity responsible for the. The following list of books incorporates a number of salient points of view, and they would be especially good for those not raised as jains.
Hindus as well as hindus who are living in the west, an introduction to the faith. This book provides an orderly and clear exposition of jainism as a philosophy and way of life, jain history, and the jains as a people. Those places where the tirthankaras and other holy persons have attained nirvana are called siddhakshetra. A glance at its contents will reveal the fact that glasenapp has covered almost all the salient features of jainism. The upper part contains the heavenly abodes devlok of all the celestial beings and abode of the siddhas siddhashila. The texts containing the teachings of mahavira are called the agamas, and are the canonical literature the scriptures of. Jain philosophical concepts jain cosmology religious cosmologies.
This quality, however, is subdued by the souls association with karmic matter. Hinduism for beginners an concise introduction to the eternal path to liberation by pandit ram sivan srirama ramanuja achari simha publications. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome of teaching for all jains, especially the jina mahavira. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing with legs apart. Acharya shree kundkund jivan yatra gujarati, typed, size3mb labdhisaar. It explores their history and relates how the vedic period in the history of hinduism drew to a close around the sixth century bce and how its gradual etiolation gave rise to a number of religious. It is a city so holy that not even priests can sleep there. Bc as protests against the overdeveloped ritualism of hinduism, particularly its sacrificial cults, and the authority of the veda.
Followers of jainism are called jains and must observe five major vows. Ultimate goal of life is eternal release from karma. So he could be called a reformer of the jain religion or rejunevator of the faith which was already and had a long tradition. Everyone knows gandhi but many dont know driving force behind gandhis ahimsa. This volume focuses on buddhism and jainism, two religions which, together with hinduism, constitute the three pillars of indic religious tradition in its classical formulation. The texts containing the teachings of mahavira are called the agamas, and are the canonical literature the scriptures of svetambara jainism mahaviras disciples compiled his. The jain literature which was complied by ganadharas and srutkevlis is known as agam literature. In fact, the householders are supposed to evolve to the monkhood in the later stages of life as was the case with the hinduism in the vedic era. Jainism believes in anekantvada which means plural or diverse thoughts. The holy book of jainism is a collection of texts known as agam literature or the agam sutras. According to jain scriptures, there is the general humanshaped occupied universe with a volume of 343 in the major central part of the infinitetimesinfinitely extensive nonoccupied universe or nonuniverse space as observed by the venerable omniscients. Devdutt writes prolifically on mythology he has written books not just on indian mythology, but how it relates to the various spheres in the life of the common man. Watch devlok with devdutt pattanaik season 3 e15 jainism. Jinajineshwar another word for tirthankars, based on jai.
Many of these files are very large and may take a while to download. Our ancient texts abound with stories of kings and kingship, some c. This book actually is the narrative of the same tv programme. The book goes into depth of the history of this non violent nature, and where jainism originates from. The religious officials of jainism are nuns and monks who lead disciplined lives. Devdutt pattanaik is an indian mythologist, speaker, illustrator and author, known for his prolific writing on sacred lore, legends, folklore, fables and parables, and for challenging wilful misinterpretations of ancient indian scriptures, stories, symbols and rituals.
In the seventh episode of devlok with devdutt pattanaik, the mythologist unravels the facts behind some of these untold stories of the dwaradheesh krishna and the holy land of dwarka. Jain books, jain literature, jain shastras in english. History of jainism is the history of a religion founded in ancient india. Lord mahavir, popularly regarded as the founder of jainism, was the last of the tirthankars who flourished from 599 to 527 b. The holy teachers are called the jina, and they are the epitome of teaching for all. Sep 25, 2017 in the seventh episode of devlok with devdutt pattanaik, the mythologist unravels the facts behind some of these untold stories of the dwaradheesh krishna and the holy land of dwarka. The oldest jain literature is in shauraseni and ardhamagadhi prakrit agamas, agamatulya, siddhanta texts, etc. Agams are the jain texts which are based on the discourse. Selfdiscipline and asceticism are thus major focuses of jainism.
The crucial details used from the book are on the nonviolent nature of the jains. It is important to understand the latter two to understand the conditions under which jains have survived. Jainism resource center literature center quick index. Jainism lays heavy emphasis on nonviolence ahimsa and the believers of this religion, whether a monk or a householder, follow a very strict, well disciplined life. Parasparopagraho jivanam the function of souls is to help one another is the motto of jainism. There are six highly recommended books that together form an excellent literary introduction to jainism and the jain way of thinking. Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the universe loka and its constituents such as living beings, matter, space, time etc. This festival has 8 days of fasting, remorsefulness, and pujas. This is a complete ebook of on the indian sect of the jainas, by johann georg buhler. Samyaggnaan chandrika part 3 pandit todarmaljis tika on labdisaar hindi, scanned, size163mb laghu jain siddhant praveshika principles of jainism. Many classical texts are in sanskrit tatvartha sutra, puranas.
Unlike monotheistic traditions, the jains do not have a unique holy book that characterises their faith. Holy days, festivals and rituals fasting is the very imporatant part of the jains tradition. There is buddhist, jain, abrahmic and world mythology that awaits coverage. Worshipers look at its thousands of statues through mirrors in order no to insult the gods and goddesses with a direct gaze. Some artifacts found in the indus valley civilization have been suggested as a link to ancient jain culture, but this is highly. Jainism dont have any specific holy book like the bhagavad geeta,the quran or the bible. Jainworld is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of jain tradition of wisdom, compassion, equality, brotherhood, universal wellbeing and spirituality. The reason is very simple, this book consists of a biography of lord mahavira in detail, and the lives of the other prophets tirthankaras. All souls who have achieved the natural state of infinite bliss, infinite knowledge kevala jnana, infinite power and infinite perception are regarded as god in jainism. Devdutt elucidates the religion of jainism, including its principles, key teachers, places of worship and relation to buddhism. Jainism religion bhagwan mahavir jain symbol belief.
A holy mountain that jains often visit is in shatrunjaya in gujarat. In jainism, godliness is said to be the inherent quality of every soul. It is important to understand the latter two to understand the conditions under which jains have survived and maintained and practiced their religion. Devdutt pattanaik talks about jainism and how the jain dharm believes in the concept of soul which includes two. In this episode of devlok, devdutt pattanaik talks about jainism. Young jains of america yja is an entity of federation of the jain associations in north america jaina, a nonprofit religious organization. The book presents jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and nonspecialists alike. The holy book ofsikhs, shri guru granth sahib, is a collection of bhakti songs, from various poets of the time, from kabir to ravidas to namdeo. Despite of having watched and rewatched all the episodes, i jumped at the opportunity of reading this one, as soon as it came out, simply because. The bhagvad gita, as we all know, is the holy book of the hindus. The word jain is taken from the word jina, which means getting victory over thy self and the peripheral world. Devdutt pattanaik devlok with devdutt pattanaik s3 jainism.
Mencius interpretation of confucianism has generally been considered the orthodox version by subsequent chinese philosophers, especially the neoconfucians of the song dynasty. These texts are the holy scriptures of the jain religion. Jaina tradition teaches that a succession of 24 tirthankaras saints originated the religion. The tirthas of jainism are spread all over india and have been divided into two classes.
Shah jain study center of north carolina raleigh 401 farmstead drive, cary nc 275115631 9194690956 and fax email. Some artifacts found in the indus valley civilization have been suggested as a link to ancient jain culture, but this is highly speculative and a subjective interpretation. The world of jainism this is the best book on jainism. I was surprised to discover that jainism dates from the time of the buddha, and has such a large following today. List of books and articles about jainism online research. Asian humanities pressthe wonderful book that originally turned me on to jainism jainism in western garb as. Introduction to jainism, theory of karma, the six dravyas and more. Subscribe to epic channel in this episode of devlok, devdutt pattanaik talks about jainism. Jain texts describe the shape of the universe as similar to a man standing.
Jainism the religion preached by mahavir and other tirthankars, with high emphasis on conquering the inner enemies. This is a complete e book of on the indian sect of the jainas, by johann georg buhler. The agam sutras show great reverence for all forms of life and strict codes of vegetarianism, asceticism, nonviolence, and opposition to war. On this day monks and nuns will be invited to give teachings to jains from jain writings. Martin gray is a cultural anthropologist, writer and photographer specializing in the study and documentation of pilgrimage places around the world. In india, they share this feature with the buddhists. Jain path of purification by padmanabh jaini university of california press, 1979 motilal banarsidass publishers, 1990 recommended 5 times guidelines of jainism by muni bhadrabahu vijay 1986 life force.
Hindus are in a similar position, even though they have the vedas, which can be considered the ultimate source of teaching. Religion and culture of the jains by jyoti prasad jain 1983, bharatiya jnanpith will provide an orderly and. Jainism is an eastern religion with origins in the indus river valley dating back to 3000 b. Books on jainism and jain philosophy hindu website.
The world pilgrimage guide web site is the most comprehensive source of information on this subject. Jains see these texts, which are the transcriptions of lord mahavirs sermons, as sacred documents. Popular jainism books meet your next favorite book. Aug 29, 2008 what is kalpa sutra and why do jains read it. Instead they have a collection of holy writings and scriptures.
During a 38 year period he has visited more than 1500 sacred sites in 165 countries. Mar 20, 2017 the book shows how buddhism and jainism share the basic concepts of karma, rebirth, and liberation with hinduism while giving them their own hue, and how they differ from the hindu tradition in their understanding of the role of the vedas, the caste system, and ritualism in religious life. Our intention behind our actions of body, mind, and speech bind us with karma. The present book is one of the best and stimulating books ever written by scholars on jainism. The height of the universe one rajju length consists of innumerable yojanas. Now coming to devlok with devdutt pattanaik, some of the indian readers might be familiar with the television version of the same name. Instead they have a body of holy writings or scriptures. This shows a time of thinking and ruefulness for a jain believer. Jain cosmology is the description of the shape and functioning of the universe loka and its. Michael tobias has described nonviolanceahimsa in great details.
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