From: Arindam Banerjee <banerjee@afflatus.trl.oz.au>
Newsgroups: alt.atheism.moderated
Subject: Jainism
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 92 15:23:00 EST
Distribution: world

Dear Mr Steube,
Reading alt.atheism I came across your desire to learn about Jainism in the 
context of atheism. Though not a Jain, being an Indian/Hindu/Brahmin, I have
lived long enough in India and had many Jain friends, so I can give some idea
about Jainism which will not conflict too much with what Jains themselves may
have to say for themselves! You may post this on the network if you think fit.
                 

Origin: Jains would say that Vardhamana Mahavira, the reputed founder of their
religion, was actually the last in the long line of Tirthankars, or 
Pathfinders. Mahavira is actually the contemporary of Gautama Buddha, in the 
period around 500 B.C., so Jains claim antiquity for their religion antedating
this period.

Secular view: The polytheistic Vedic religion had seeds of monotheism which
ultimately resulted in the full-blown monism of the later sacred books, the 
Vedantas. The Vedantas by proclaiming the Universal Soul made outdated and 
irrelevant the Vedic sacrificial rituals, but in turn the Vedantas were 
challenged by the Nastikas (the forerunner of you atheists) who said that it
was equally meaningless to talk of the Universal Soul as it too did not have any
relevance. Please note that Nastikas did not mean atheism as you know it today; 
it simply means denying the Universal Soul. There were three distinct schools of
Nastikas: Charvaka - hedonistic materialism, which though always despised 
historically in India is the leading philosophy in the world today, and even in
India; Buddhism, which though denying the Universal Soul, Yoga, the Hindu
Pantheon, Hindu mythology, still retained the laws of karma and reincarnation
as first mentioned in the Upanishads, which was somewhat contradictory when you
think that they were strongly against the Universal Soul; and Jainism, which
to most Indians stands not so much for a rebellion against the Universal Soul
as for the first strong - very strong - appeal for life, for non-violence,
against a background of excessive animal sacrifices and meat-eating. The Jain 
believes in karma and reincarnation, and is altogether more Hindu in his 
general approach than the Buddhist - in fact, intermarriages between Jains and
Hindus are hardly uncommon. So much so, that when described as a sect of 
Hinduism Jains do not make much of a fuss; this attitude strongly contrasting
with many modern Sikhs.

Non-Violence: Non-violence in India is a direct result of Jain influence. As
Mahavira noted: every living thing does not wish to die, so it is wrong to kill.
A Jain I know once said "If you do not trouble anything, it is very likely that
nothing will trouble you". When something did trouble them, Jains resorted to
processes of self-mortification such as fasting,in order to change the attitude
of the oppressors. This attitude was successfully utilised by Gandhiji for our
freedom struggle and later I believe by Martin Luther King.

Jain Temples: I am not sure that modern atheists will like the idea of idols in
temples, but Jains do have temples, and they have idols of the various 
Tirthankars in their temples, just as Buddhists have idols of Buddha. In this 
context it is pertinent to note that for centuries after Buddha, Buddhists
represented the Buddha only by his lotos-feet; 
for who could depict the image of the Perfect One? The most beautiful temples I
have seen in India are the Jain Dilwara temples in Mount Abu. I can never forget
the sheer elation of some French tourists there - they seemed to go crazy by the
beauty of sculpture/architecture all around them in marble. These temples are
about 1100 years old, and only partly ravaged by the invader Mahmud of Gazni 
(he broke some noses off, so the guide told me). There are corridors with 
openings leading to the idols of the various Tirthankars (about 56, I think).
Everything is in marble, superbly executed. The guide said that the sculptors 
would be paid in gold for the weight of the marble extracted through fine work; 
and in silver for the cruder work. These temples being in the hilly inaccessible
areas of the Aravalli mountains, are perhaps the only really wonderful temples
left undestroyed in Northern India.
I do not know anything about their rituals. In such matters I do not think they
differ too much from Buddhism. Jains stress on austerity and renunciation. They
are strict vegetarians, and their influence on Hinduism has been considerable.

Hope you find all this interesting - the Britannica will of course tell you 
more. I am writing from only my knowledge and experience.

Arindam Banerjee