Jain View on Activism

Q25. As a Jain, should we get involved in issues related to social, humanitarian, political, economic, or environmental reform? How should we approach activism for such issues?

This is an overarching question and so relevant for the current times. There are so many issues we are facing as a society and we clearly see a need for all of us to do our part to lessen any negative impact, relieve suffering and contribute in whatever positive ways we can. At times there is passivity about getting involved when a particular issue doesn’t directly impact one’s own self, and we miss out on opportunities to practice and promote compassion for our interconnected wholeness.  

The purpose of addressing this question is to create awareness and provide a logical thought process that might help us decide on various aspects of activism like – does being a Jain allow us to be an activist on any issue? Which causes should we get involved with? and how can we go about bringing the change?

What is Activism?

First, let’s define the word "activism” since it has many connotations associated with it. Wikipedia defines activism as follows:

Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct, or intervene in social, political, economic, or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good.

So, when we think about it, activism is born from compassion and the desire to end suffering of other living beings. Activism is a form of service. However, Activism gets negative connotation when it is carried out in a brute force way, extremist view, or imposing approach.

For this conversation, we are talking about activism where the perceived changes and approach are aligned with the core Jain values and principles. 

When we reflect on Mahavir Swami’s life, we can see that he was very progressive in his thinking, a reformist, and an activist for spiritual progress of mankind. There are also examples of activists in recent history like Gandhiji, Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela whose approach to make changes in society were aligned with core values like non-violence, compassion, and equality.

First, let’s talk about should we get involved in activism as a Jain?

Should we get involved in activism as a Jain?

That’s like asking – I’m seeing suffering around me and should I have compassion for other living beings? Should I have a desire to relieve other living beings from suffering?

It would be a dire misrepresentation of Jain religion to say that we shouldn't get involved. The core Jain values such as Ahimsa and Compassion urges us to do whatever we can for other living beings.

We can see compassion and ahimsa at the forefront in Mahavir Swami’s life stories beginning with while he was in his mother’s womb. While in mother’s womb he felt that his movements are causing discomfort to his mother and so he stopped moving in the womb to comfort her. However, when he realized that lack of movements caused even more concerns for his mother, he started moving. This story emphasis the importance of understanding pain of other living beings and doing whatever we can at that point to relieve the pain.

As he delved deep into the field of spirituality, he wished to live the life of a monk. His parents were saddened and asked him to renunciate the world only after their death. Mahavir started his journey to monkhood only after their death. For about a year before starting the monkhood journey, he gave away all his possessions, gold, and money to the needy people his kingdom. These life events stories underscore the importance of serving others with whatever we have.

Mahavir Swami did a lot of donation as a Prince, but he did donation even after taking Diksha. Mahavir Swami was meditating in the forest and a poor beggar came to him and told him his painful story. After listening to his story, Mahavir Swami gave him a half piece of the only cloth that he had. This teaches us that we should never miss an opportunity to help others with whatever little we have.

After he realized Keval Gyan he traveled from city to city all over India to promote the Jain way of life. He gave sermons two or three times a day for 30 years out of compassion. So that people can live a spiritual and satisfied life.

When we reflect on all the events from Mahavir Swami’s life, we realize that he was guided by selfless altruism. He teaches us that we are not separate from others. With our sense of interconnectedness, our inner peace and happiness are found in state when we evolve to serve other living beings. We don't have to wait to realize keval gyan to serve others and we can serve from where we are and in whatever capacity we can.

In many situations, inactivity or neutrality is an endorsement of the status quo, which could mean continued harm, injustice, or inequality. In such situations, we need to have a position or organize efforts in a non-violent, peaceful, and constructive way to engage the opposite viewpoint. And this is also entirely in line with the spirit of Anekantvad.

There are many forms of suffering in the world like social inequalities, economic inequalities, racism, human rights, animal rights, environmental issues and the list goes on.

So, the next question is what should we get involved in?

What should we get involved in?

It depends on each individual, their personality, their interests, their calling, their knowledge and what motivates them. There are various forms of suffering around us, and we need to determine where we can be of service.

As we can see from Mahavir Swami and other tirthankaras stories, there was a lot of suffering during that time such as violence towards animals, women were treated unfairly, many other forms of inequalities. And Mahavir Swami chose spiritual activism through the spreading of religion.

Activism doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be something major or drastic. It can also be small and meaningful activities in our daily life. For example, there are situations when violence or suffering might not be very apparent in the food items we eat, products we use, what we buy, where we buy from, environmental footprint or things we accumulate. And in such situations doing the required research to consciously avoid or limit actions that causes harm is a form of activism. Please see “Is Ignorance Acceptable / Justifiable in Jainism?” article that talks in more detail about how all the choices we make have an impact and remaining ignorant is not an option.

 

 

As we think about activism, there are key perspectives about activism and politics that we need to take into consideration. Activism and politics are different, and they serve different purposes. Let’s talk about the differences between the two as we need them both to affect any real changes. 

How is activism separate from politics?

This is an extremely important, nuanced question - and must be clearly understood or else it will be conflated. Activism necessarily includes a mission-driven approach towards upliftment of the downtrodden or the disadvantaged, speaking up for the marginalized, but doesn’t necessarily involve politics or public policy. Of course, to enact policy, one has to consider political considerations, and it can often get difficult to untangle the two when it gets misunderstood for activism. 

Perhaps an example will help illustrate. In the summer of 2020, there were widespread protests and marches -- “activism” -- surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of George Floyd. These conversations were essentially about offering basic rights and equality to the African American community - and encompassed a myriad of issues, like educational access, healthcare disparities, income inequality, representation in corporate and civic governance, and criminal justice reform. Public policy (and politics) are the tools to achieve reforms. It will be the Mayors of cities for example that will have control over how much budget to allocate towards public safety.

But essentially, the “act” of activism is rooted in a movement of equality and representation, or speaking up in solidarity with the Black community, not in political considerations. 

As we learn about various causes, we need to do our due diligence to ensure that whatever we decide to get involved with is aligned with core Jain values and principles. So, now the next question is what our approach to activism should be when we see injustice or suffering around us, whether it is directed towards us or others.

 

How should we approach activism?

Activism can be performed in many ways like campaigns, rallies, protests, hunger strikes, boycotts, petitions, street marches, sit-ins to name a few. 

 

Whatever action we choose to take in support of a cause we must always stay within the boundaries of the law.

 

In addition, from spiritual perspective all our actions should be aligned with the core Jain principles: Ahimsa, Anekantvad, Compassion, Aparigraha, Satya, Asteya.

Activism can also lead to chaos or conflict, which could be a side effect of the undertaking. We need to look at conflict resolution as well as facing and handling the hardship by adopting Jain values and few guidelines like:

·        We should aim to influence, not impose.

·        We must be the change.

·        We must not let kashayas (anger, ego, greed, deceit) in any form arise within us.

·        None of our actions should be carried from an egocentric perspective, for fame, power, or any personal gains. 

·        Our actions should cause no harm. None of our actions should hurt us, others, or property.

·        We must maintain our madhyastha bhav (equanimity) as we are carrying out our actions and in all outcomes.

 

 

We must have spiritual practices and inner work discipline within us before we engage our time and energy in service to others, such that all our outward actions lead to inner transformation.

 

Few recent examples of activism by Jains:

·        Jainism: Know It, Understand It & Internalize It - This blog is a form of activism that was launched in May 2019. The purpose of this blog to deepen individuals’ understanding about Jain values/principles, create a positive and enriching experience about the religion and enhance spiritual growth. The committee has released 26 articles addressing contemporary questions faced in today’s world.

·        Jains for Justice – Jains for Justice aims to build grassroots ally ship and advance justice through a contemporary South Asian lens grounded in Jain values. The organization was founded in June 2020 by young Jains in the weeks following the heinous murder of George Floyd. Currently, Jains for Justice is organized into four workgroups: animal & environmental justice; race, caste & religion; civic engagement; and gender & sexuality.

In the past year, Jains for Justice has led nationwide drives for voter registration working in tandem with the Joe Biden for President campaign, organized awareness campaigns for plant-based foods and ethical consumption, released an open letter to the Jain community on the Black Lives Matter movement, and opened safe spaces for discussions on gender & sexuality within online spaces such as Clubhouse. You can learn more and subscribe to the monthly Jains for Justice newsletter here.

·        Ahimsak Eco Vegan Committee – As an expression of ahimsa, this committee supports, educates, and promotes vegan lifestyle - not eating, wearing, or using animal products, reduction, and elimination of activities such as material and energy overconsumption contributing to harm of all life, global climate change, and destruction of the planet.

·        VeganJains – This activity focus on the compassion and health aspects of Veganism from a Jain perspective.

 

 

In Summary…

Activism is born from compassion, desire to end suffering of other living beings and the desire to serve others. We need to do our due diligence to ensure any change and our approach to bring about that changes are aligned with the Jain values and principles. What we choose to get involved depends on our personality, interest, knowledge and what motivates us.

For all the actions we choose to take in support of a cause, we must ensure that we remain within the boundaries of the law, our activities should be aligned with core Jain principles such that it doesn't cause any harm to self or other, respect everyone, not let any kashayas arise within and we maintain our stillness. This kind of activism enhance our spiritual growth and results in inner transformation.

 

Jainism viewpoint on Abortion

Q24. What is Jainism viewpoint on Abortion?

Human life is considered sacred amongst all other life forms in this world. Any form of violence against a potential human life is seen with very critical and sensitive views. Thus, abortion has been for most part a tabooed topic in our society, with opinions and/or beliefs of people on this topic standing on extreme ends of the spectrum.

 

Many sects of world religions (e.g., Islam, Christianity) have strong position on abortion. The directives from these religions state that abortion is considered a great sin and an abandon act against humanity in general. Except, in a situation where pregnant mother’s life is in danger due to any medical condition, most religions seem to have tolerance when it comes to practical implementation in specific situations.

 

Individuals are affected profoundly with the situations and circumstances (of any kind) that lead them to think about abortion, not just emotionally but often spiritually as well. Thus, many individuals turn to their faith/religion seeking guidance on these excruciating life situations, seeking advice on right vs. wrong, to find explanations that solace their discomfort, hurt and feelings of guilt.

Jain Approach

In this blog we will explore what is Jainism viewpoint on Abortion. What guidance Jinas and Tirthankar Mahavira’s teachings can provide to Jain laypeople of today’s time.

 

Fundamentally, Jain doctrine is not a prescriptive religion with laid out commandments and laws directed for the followers with requisite that all followers must adhere to them.

 

Jain Philosophy shares the essential teachings of JINAs (Divine Liberated Souls) with its followers, in the form of  ‘The guiding principles and values’ (blog post), providing the followers guidance and inspiration to live a compassionate and spiritual life.

 

Jain way of life is explained through the practicing of these FIVE vows Ahimsa (Non-violence), Aparigraha (Non-possessiveness), Satya (Truthfulness), Achaurya (Non-stealing) and Brahamcharya (celibacy) in two different ways:

1.     Mahavrats (big vows) – guiding principles for Sadhujis and Sadhvijis (Monks and Nuns)

2.     Anuvrats (mini vows) – guiding principles for Shravaks and Shravikas (Jain laypeople)

 

Jain monks and nuns pledge to lead their life as per Mahavrats and follow core principle of Ahimsa.

The core principle of ahimsa is explained as,

 ‘All breathing, existing, living sentient creatures should not be slain, not treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.’

Tirthankar Mahavir

                                                                                                                  Acharanga Sutra

 

According to Jain doctrine, a living being in any form, possessing any number of senses, is considered precious and worthy of love, compassion, and respect. The salient feature of Mahavir Swami’s sermons has been its emphasis on practicing non-violence or minimize the violence to the maximum potential extent to avoid any suffering to any living being.

However, following absolute ahimsa (non-violence) or absolute Brahamcharya (Celibacy) and total non-possession is not possible in the day-today societal life of Jain laypeople (Shravaks/Shravikas).

 

Thus, Tirthankar Mahavir Swami sermonized the principle of ‘Path of Minimum Violence’ to Jain followers (laypeople). Application of this principle is both universal and timeless as it can be implemented in every situation we live through in today’s time as well.

Guidelines for practicing minimum violence

 

Societal life of Jain laypeople cannot follow absolute non-violence. For our existence we need food, clothing, and shelter, which result in some form of violence against one sense living beings.

 

The principle states that for our survival, we should understand the guidelines of practicing minimum violence and follow them.

 

Jain doctrine says, a living being possessing more senses equate to higher development of its faculty of knowledge. 

Therefor any form of violence against even one five sense living being is considered worse than hurting many four sense living beings or three senses living beings and so on. 

(Note - Please refer to this blog post to read in detail about the equation of Ahimsa and living beings with one to five senses.)

 

Let us explore and analyze what is ‘Path of Minimum Violence’ regarding the topic at hand here:

 

Right Conduct

Living life with Anuvrats - the most important reason for choosing to live life with Anuvrat or mini vows is that we become aware of knowing the difference between not doing something vs. consciously taking a pledge to self that I will try my best to never do it!

Ahimsa Anuvrat (mini vow of Non-violence)

 સ્થૂલ પ્રાણાતિપાત વિરમણ વ્રત: નિષ્કારણ, નિરપરાધી, ત્રસજીવોની સંકલ્પપૂર્વકની હિંસાનો ત્યાગ

 

Sthul pranaatipat viramaan vrat: - (Anuvrat or mini vow of Non-violence for Jain laypeople)

Nishkaran (without valid reason) Niraparadhi (not guilty) 

Trasjeevani (2-5 sensed beings) Sankalp-Poorvani (premeditated / planned) Himsa (violence) Tyaag (avoid / give up)

 

At the core, it means, first laypeople should avoid / give-up premeditated / planned violence without any valid reason, towards movable (two to five sense) living beings.

 

It is a vow to never intentionally harm any living being by one’s thoughts, words, or actions, with the exception of unavoidable violence towards one-sense beings to support our worldly existence. Of course, here too, himsa or injury should be limited to the minimum possible extent.

 

By taking this Anuvrat (mini vow), one would declare to not carry out the act of Abortion (Himsa against five sense being), on oneself or perform on others, for the reasons of convenience or to avoid unfavorable, uncomfortable, challenging (not life threatening) situations.

 

Violation of Ahimsa Anuvrat: If a pregnant woman or a couple together decides to abort the pregnancy because it is not the right time in their life, it may impact their lifestyle, career, or cause unwanted inconvenience that they are not yet ready to commit etc., such reasons are not considered Self-defense or Self-Protection related reasons and so choosing to abort will be in direct violation of the Ahimsa Anuvrat.

 

Exception: Any act of violence for self-protection or self-defense is not considered a violation of the Ahimsa Anuvrat. In case of aborting a pregnancy in a situation where a pregnant woman is facing grave medical conditions which puts her life in danger is considered an exception and one must apply their own wisdom in such situations and make a right choice.

For such situations, understanding the guidelines of practicing minimum violence helps in deciding. As we saw earlier, the degree of violence inflicted on any living being is proportional to the number of senses a living being possesses and development of its faculty of knowledge. In this case, the mother’s faculty of knowledge is more developed than of the fetus.

For further reference, Muni Shree Nyayvijaji (the undisputed scholar of Jain Logic) explains how to practice minimum violence in his book Jain Darshan. Here are the links to his article on “The Principle of Minimum Violence for Human's Survival” in Hindi, English and Gujarati.

Brahmacharya Anuvrat (mini vow of Celibacy)

Humans are by nature clement in their sexual desires. In this mini vow of Brahmacharya (Celibacy) ‘Svadhara santosh vrat’, one decides that sensual activities should only take place within a marriage. Married couples choose to remain faithful with their married partner.

 

In the context of this topic, the basic intent of this vow is to control sensorial pleasures, control excessive sexual passions and practice. Jain laypeople can choose to practice this vow in differing degrees; ranging from chastity outside marriage to moderate sexual activity needed to produce children.

 

By taking this vow, individuals as well as married couples can avoid many scenarios of unwanted, unplanned pregnancy and thus can avoid the situations leading to consideration of abortion.

 

Family Planning & Contraception

While following the mini vow of celibacy (Brahamcharya Anuvrat) is the first and foremost path to avoid excessive passion, married householders may naturally engage in just passionate activities for sensual pleasures with no reproductive goal.

 

In such situations, there are ways married couples can choose to be educated and be proactive to practice a path of minimum violence for the given situation.

Today, there are various safe options available for effective family planning that helps married couples avoid undesired outcomes of their sensual relations. Gathering right information about family planning options e.g., safe use of contraception avoids unwanted pregnancy leading to potential act of abortion.

 

As per the ‘path of minimum violence’ principle, safe and effective family planning through use of contraceptives is considered the right choice.

 

Primarily for two reasons:

One, to support women’s rights for equanimity and their freedom of choice for their body and

Second, to provide safe and effective family planning that avoids abortion situations, which is a much greater form of violence. 

 

 

In Conclusion - Apply Your Own Wisdom

‘Whatever I say, you must test this with your own reasoning and verify it through your own experience. Do not accept what I say blindly by faith alone until it passes the litmus test of intellection. Otherwise, it will never be yours.

If you accept what I teach on the basis of the sacred texts, or from my convincing reasoning, or even because of my radiant personality, but not by testing with your own reasoning, then in the end this will create only darkness (ignorance) in you and not light.’

Tirthankar Mahavir

Ref Book - Harmony-Of-All-Religions by

Maharshi Santsevi Maharaj (Page 100)

 

Tirthankar Mahavir Swami was not the founder of a new faith. While Mahavir Swami followed the well-established creed of Jain religion, he recognized the philosophical tenets of Jainism should correspond to his times. Thus, he became a reformer and propagator of an existing religious doctrine.

 

Above in the article, we discussed some of many ways an individual and/or married householder can practice ‘Minimum-Violence’ to avoid situations proactively and effectively to unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Except for saving a pregnant woman's life if pregnancy itself poses grave danger to her.

 

However, reality is also that an individual or families may face various possible scenarios of unplanned, unwanted pregnancy, or even though rare, forced upon situations with pregnancy. Just to sight few examples such as, teenage pregnancy, a case of physical sexual assault (minor girl or a woman), single mother facing poverty with no support, a recent widow, or rare cases where family planning methods failed etc.

 

In such challenging situations / scenarios you may not find a clear yes or no, black, or white answer from the religious philosophy that sets well with your logic, your reasoning and your wisdom. When faced with any such circumstances, one should remember the sermon (Deshna) of Tirthankar Mahavir Swami. With the right understanding of the guiding principles of Jainism, apply your own wisdom and strive to follow the path of minimum violence that is applicable in given situations.

Bridging the gap between Jainism Principles and the way it is Practiced.

Q23. How can we ensure that there is no gap between the purpose of Jainism and the way we practice it in our day-to-day life? And how can we bridge this gap if it occurs?

This is a very insightful and a useful question. The question itself challenges us to reflect on “being” vs. “doing” and be mindful of who we are becoming in process of all the “doing”.  This kind of consciousness helps us in being aware of our internal bhaav (thoughts and intentions) and enables to us to incorporate spirituality in all aspects of life.

Any activity which takes us closer to realizing our own true self is a religious activity and realizing our own true self is our religion.

When we understand the purpose of the religion, the core principles of the religion and then practice religion through our activities, rituals, and traditions, then there is no gap. And we also end up attaining the spiritual benefits from the religion. However, the gap occurs when religion is practiced without proper understanding or reflection.

We will first look at the purpose of Jainism, core principles and then talk about the gap.

Jainism Purpose

At a fundamental level, the core purpose of Jainism is to:

§  Eliminate mithyatva which means ignorance about reality and faith in wrong knowledge. I am a pure soul, and not a non-living substance which is this body.  My qualities are Infinite Knowledge (Anant Jnan), Infinite Perception (Anant Darshan), Infinite Bliss (Anant Sukha), and Infinite Energy (Anant Virya).

§  Eliminate or reduce kashaya which are my anger, ego, deceit, and greed

§  Strengthen spirituality to develop inner peace, calm, and stillness

§  Maintain equanimity, joy, and bliss within

§  Live a purposeful and meaningful life with constant awareness

The Karma philosophy is one of the core tenets of Jainism and it underscores the importance of our thoughts (bhaav). The vibration caused by our thoughts attaches the karma particles to our soul regardless of whether any action is carried out or not. This is why our internal being is of utmost importance when we are conducting any action. And the ultimate goal for us is to achieve the "no-mind" state, where there are no thoughts, we are living in the present moment and is the true nature of our soul. Whether we truly experience this state, or just understand is intellectually, we alone can answer that question. Hence, in Jainism practices like meditation, reflection and introspection are required and critical for spiritual growth and inner transformation.

In Jainism, there are no "thou shalt" like commandments. On the contrary, Jainism is an introspective religion guided by principles and value that create a moral compass for us. And not a religion of dogmatic blind faith and fixed rules.

Along with reflecting on the purpose of religion, we will contemplate on the core Jain principles that help us constantly reflect on our spiritual growth and inner transformation:

§  Ahimsa: Non-violence and compassion towards self, all living beings and environment through our thoughts, words, and actions. At the core, we should follow path of minimum violence for healthy survival (please review the Five senses and their role in Jainism article for more details).

§  Anekantvad: Acceptance of all positive views, no judgement and respect towards all living beings. Anekantvad reminds us that there is no absolute truth and helps us understand diversity in views, physical attributes, thinking, abilities etc.

§  Aparigraha: Non-possessive mindset towards worldly possessions; we should not consume or accumulate more than our needs.

§  Satya: Speak and support truth, while ensuring it doesn’t cause harm to others.

§  Asteya: Not steal or take anything that does not belong to us or is properly given to us.

Now let’s look into how the religion is commonly practiced and what causes the gap.

Religious Practices and the Gap

Religion, as a community, is generally practiced through rituals and traditions. Rituals and traditions play a significant role to build a culture, strengthen the religious values, and to create a sense of community. Rituals also important to instill values and build up religious interest in children, youth, and future generations.

When the rituals and activities are performed with proper understanding, awareness, and reflection then there is alignment with the true purpose of the religion, its values, and there is no gap.

However, when the rituals are performed without proper understanding and/or are not aligned with the principles then we start experiencing the gap, for example:

§  If rituals or activities are performed mechanically, without proper understanding or out of obligation, fear or show, instead of reflecting and experiencing the spiritual benefits, then there is gap.

§  If practicing religion or performing rituals is boosting our ego, instead of making us humble within, then there is a gap.

§  If while carrying out religious activities, there is anger and animosity amongst people, instead of maitri bhaav (friendship), then there is a gap.

§  If the rituals are performed as a token act of metaphorical cleansing but continuing to treat others unjustly in family, social, and business relationships, then there is a gap.

§  If we continue to remain ignorant and practice past traditions that involve cruelty towards moveable living beings, instead of avoiding violence to the environment and other living beings, then there is a gap. Some examples of this gap are:

o   Use dairy products like milk, ghee in our religious rituals. (see the article on dairy products for more details)

o   Wear silk clothes while doing puja, use woolen katasanu, charavolo, use peacock feather for broom, varakh etc. (see the on himsak product used in the rituals for more details)

o   Use products like styrofoam, plastic at the religious centers. (see the article on climate crisis for more details)

o   Dispose religious materials in the rivers, oceans, dry well or bury them in the ground which pollutes the ground and oceans and it is not legal.

So, the gap occurs when there is misalignment between our religious practices and the purpose and principles of the religion. And it appears that the primary reasons for the gap are ignorance, blind faith, following past traditions that are now obsolete, or performing rituals out of fear, ego, or greed.

As laypeople, we need social connections and activities. But somehow, we got to so focused on “doing” that we lost the sight of spiritual significance, why we are doing it, and who we are becoming in the process.

Many of our activities are carried out for generations and we stopped questioning them either out of fear, under the pretense of faith in religion, suppression or to not disturb the status quo. In addition, our societies recognize the activities that can be easily seen by others, like external penances and book knowledge. And that also makes it little more challenging to bridge the gap.

Why is it important to bridge the gap?

We need to bridge the gap so that we achieve the intended spiritual benefits from the religious practices and rituals, and subsequently achieve the inner transformation we wish to see within ourselves. Rituals are external stimulants, and its purpose is to create the right environment for us, the laypeople, to make spiritual progress.

It is also important to bridge the gap for the youth and future generations. The current age provides youth with much diversified cultural exposure, which makes them very aware and vocal about the lack of integrity between the values and actions. And this kind of disparity, when not addressed, drives them away from religion.

How do we bridge the gap?

The one line in Jain Agam Das-vaikalik sutra provides the essence of how our Tirthankara envisioned the religion should be practiced.

“Padhamum Jnanm Tao Daya.“

First knowledge (Jnan) / understanding and then conduct or action.

Rituals or traditions should not be mistaken as a religion, but rather the spiritual benefit that we gain directly and indirectly by performing a ritual is the religion.

 

The core teaching by Bhagwan Mahavira urges us use our own logic, reasoning and learn from our own experiences.

To bridge the gap between the purpose of the religion and the way it is practiced, we need to approach it from society and individual level.

Society level

Some thoughts/ideas on how we can collectively bridge this kind of a gap at our Jain societies level:

§  Promote and establish practices such that all the rituals are performed with proper knowledge, understanding, awareness, and reflection. For example, performing Pratikraman with meaning.

§  Don’t make the rituals fear driven and ensure that the bhaav/intention remains in the forefront for all rituals.

§  Make information available and accessible in a manner that is easily understood by everyone - create more literature, YouTube videos, audios, articles, books.

§  Request monks/nuns, spiritual leaders, speaker to publicize the importance of bridging this gap.

§  Add more humanitarian, environmental, social cause activities at the centers.  Use Bio-degradable paper products. Do not use plastic or foam products.  Every center should have reuse/recycling centers.

§  Establish recycling centers for properly recycling religious material instead of following old practices that contributes towards climate crisis and are not legal.

§  Create a goal and work towards aligning of all the rituals and activities at the centers with the Jain principles and purpose. For example, take actions to mitigate climate crisis, avoid use of products (like milk, wool, silk, peacock feathers, saffron, varakh etc.) that involve cruelty towards moveable living beings.

These are things we need to know and understand and then pass them on to our future generations to set the right foundation at an early age. This enables in developing internal virtues like prayashchit, vinay, vayyavach, swadhyay and samadhi.

Individual level

Some thoughts/ideas on how we can bridge this kind of a gap at an individual level.

§  For any ritual or activity, we need to consistently measure and reflect on our inner transformation goals:

§  Am I gaining humility?

§  Is my ego reduced?

§  Am I genuinely asking for forgiveness from anyone I might have hurt and committing to not doing it again?

§  Am I truly forgiving others who did wrong to me?

§  Am I performing activities for recognition, name, fame, power, or any other rewards?

§  Is my anger and other vices are reduced?

§  Can I live by myself happily and can I remain happy in my own company?

§  Vayavach – Look for opportunities to serve others

§  Understanding the purpose of external and internal penances

§  Meditate and reflect upon our own virtues

§  Cultivate the strength to find happiness within, instead of looking outside for happiness

§  Eliminate or reduce our Mithyatva - I’m the soul and not the body. Live each moment in that awareness

§  Eliminate or reduce our Kashaya (anger, ego, greed, deceit)

§  Become an advocate to bring about the change required to bridge the gap at our centers

 

In summary

Jainism is an introspective religion, and it is up to each one of us to ensure that we bridge the gap with proper knowledge, awareness, and conduct. The goal is to practice religion in such a way that it becomes a spiritual journey for us, and it enhances every aspect of our life.

“Religion is belief in someone else's experience.
Spirituality is having your own experience.” - Deepak Chopra

So, it is not about what we do, or what role or tile we have, but it is about who we are internally and who we are becoming the process of all the doing. Once that awareness is in place, “what we do and how we do” follows naturally and is driven by that context and our values. Regular reflections are also help us see our blind spots and growth areas.