Articles on Path Of Liberation
Renunciation: The Keynote of Lord Mahavira's Life and Teachings
By Jyoti Prasad Jain · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 2001
Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain analyses renunciation (tyāga) as the central theme of Lord Mahavira’s life and message. Mahavira renounced royal comforts at the age of thirty and embraced a life of severe austerities; after twelve years of meditation and penance he…
Philosophy of Sallekhanā
By Rajjan Kumar · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1997
Dr. Rajjan Kumar’s article explores the Jain practice known as Sallekhanā, an ascetic vow of voluntary death undertaken when normal religious life can no longer be sustained. He explains that this self‑mortification, also called santhārā, samādhimaraṇa,…
Nivvanam Paramam Jai Ghayasitti Vva Pavae
By Ram Prakash Poddar · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1980
Ram Prakash Poddar analyses a stanza from the Uttarajjhayanasutra, an important Jain canonical work, to illustrate the four essential factors that lead to liberation: human birth, knowledge, faith and steadfastness in right conduct. The author notes that the…
Relevance of Jainism to Modern Times
By A. K. Jain · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1976
A. K. Jain reflects on how the ancient teachings of Jainism remain pertinent in the twentieth century. His talk, delivered during the 2,500th centenary of Mahāvīra’s nirvāṇa, begins by defining a Jain as one who conquers the senses and noting that the…
Jain Influence on Jesus—A Surmise
By K. V. Krishna Ayyar · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1976
K. V. Krishna Ayyar explores whether Jesus of Nazareth might have been influenced by Jainism. He acknowledges that no direct archaeological or textual evidence places Jainism outside India in antiquity and that parallels between Jainism and Buddhism have…
Omniscient Beings
By Harisatya Bhattacharya · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1976
Harisatya Bhattacharyya compares the Jain doctrine of omniscience with views expressed in other Indian philosophical systems. For the Jains, omniscience (kevala‑jñāna) is real and is attained by liberated beings, notably the Tirthankaras. They do not believe…
Are Jainas Hindus?
By K. B. Jindal · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology, 1974
K.B. Jindal’s article challenges the assertion by Jawaharlal Nehru and other commentators that Jainism is simply a branch of Hinduism. Jindal begins by quoting Banerjee J.’s judgement in the 1957 case ‘Commissioner of Wealth Tax vs. Chunilal Rajkumar Singh’…
A Sidelight on Social, Economic and Political Aspects of Kulakara Order
By J. C. Sikdar · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology
J. C. Sikdar’s article offers a socio-economic interpretation of the Kulakara system described in Jaina Agamas. The Kulakara order represents an early communal phase of human society in which extended families lived together under a patriarch called a…
Lord Mahavira
By K. B. Jindal · Jain Journal A Quarterly on Jainology
K. B. Jindal’s article offers a comprehensive biographical study of Lord Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara and last Arhat of Jainism. Born in 599 B.C. at Kundagrama in the kingdom of Videha, Vardhamana Mahavira belonged to a distinguished clan connected…
What is Jainism
By Evelyn S. Kleinschmidt · The Jaina Gazette, 1920
Jainadharmabhushana Brahmachari Sitala Prasadji’s lecture titled “What is Jainism” explains that Jainism literally means “religion of the conquerors,” but the conquest refers to mastery over one’s passions rather than territorial domination. The article…