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Doctrines and Philosophy of Jainism

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The Jain philosophy shows a close affinity to Hindu Samkhya philosophy. They ignore the idea of God, and accept that the world is full of sorrows and believe in the theory of karma (action or deed) and transmigration of souls.

Jain philosophy is dualism and believes that human personality is formed of two elements; jiva (soul) and ajiva (matter). While ajiva is destructible, jiva is indestructible and salvation is possible through progress of jiva.

Jain philosophy states that if one desires to attain Nirvana it is necessary for him to destroy karma. One can do so gradually by avoiding evil karmas. To equip himself the person should observe the five principles

• 1. Satya (truth)
• Ahimsa (non-violence)
• Aprigraha (no possession of property)
• Asteya (not to receive anything which is not freely given).
• Brahamacharya (celibacy).

Mahavira did not believe in a supreme creator or God. The highest state of a soul was regards as god by him. According to Jainism, man is the architect of his own destiny and he could attain salvation by pursuing a life of purity, virtue and renunciation.

It belives that the world has not been created, maintained or destroyed by a personal deity, but functions only according to universal law of decay and development. The universe is eternal but is subject to an infinite number of cycles of development and decline.

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Tags: doctrines, god, jain, jainism, mahavira, non violence, origin, parsava, philosophy, rishabha, samkhya, truth