The origins of Jainism are shrouded in mystery. Many facts regarding its conception are in dispute by modern scholars.
Jain believe that their religion is not a human invention, but simply an eternal part of the universe. They believe Jainism a timeless concept, having no origin and no end. On occasion Jainism is forgotten by humanity, to be revived by a succession of exactly twenty-four tirthankara, divine teachers of the Jain faith. Out of the twenty-four tirthankara sent to revive Jainism, historians only have enough evidence to conclusively prove that the last two existed. Mahavira, the last tirthankara, is most likely the most well-known figure in Jainism. While Mahavira is not the founder of Jainism, he was a prominent spreader of Jain ideas. For thirty years Mahavira travelled throughout India teaching the Jain philosophy of the five ethical principles: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, chastity, and non-attachment. Mahavira himself practiced Jainism and attained moksha, freedom from the cycle of rebirth, at the age of seventy-two. It is also important to note that Mahavira was traveling throughout India during the same time period as Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. |
There is considerable evidence that Jainism is significantly older than Buddhism. Buddhists maintain that during the time period when Gautama and Mahavira were alive, Jainism was a long established religion in the region. Some even say that Jainism is older than Hinduism. For example, the second president of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, believed that Jainism existed long before the Vedas, the most ancient Hindu scriptures, were composed. Many scholars believe that Jainism is an ancient religion of India, not a sect or subset of any other religion.
|