Son |
: |
Ma,
what is the religion ? |
|
Mother |
: |
Religion is a way of life.
It teaches us to be a noble person. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, our
religion is Jaina religion, So what is the meaning of Jaina ? |
Mother |
: |
The word "Jaina" is derived
from the word "Jina" which means victor. One who conquers one's desires is
known as "Jina". The followers of "Jina" are known as "Jainas" and the
religion preached by "Jina" is the Jaina religion. Arihantas as well as
Siddhas are Jinas. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, Bhagavana Mahavira
was the founder of Jainism. Is this true ? |
Mother |
: |
Jainism is eternal like the
universe. Jainism has no beginning and no end. Thus, the question of any
founder of Jainism does not arise. Every Tirthankara only preaches the
eternal religion. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, what are Jaina scriptures and who
composed them ? |
Mother |
: |
We, Jainas believe that
Tirthankaras are omniscient. They preach the absolute truth about Reality.
Ganadharas then compose it. Later, the scriptural knowledge was passed on by
word of mouth from one generation of Acaryas to the next. Acaryas compose
scriptures based on the existing principles of religion. |
Son |
: |
What is the main
language in which our scriptures are written ? |
Mother |
: |
Our scriptures are in
PRAKRTA, SANSKRTA and APABHRANSA. |
Daughter |
: |
What are our main
spiritual books ? |
Mother |
: |
Our main spiritual books
are SATKHANDAGAMA, SAMAYASARA, TATTVARTHA-SUTRA, MULACARA,
RATANAKARANDA-SRAVAKACARA, MAHAPURANA, ect. |
Daughter |
: |
Which are our holy places ? |
Mother |
: |
There are several holy
places forworship. The most important amongst them are : Sammed-Shikharji,
Girinaraji, Compapuraji, Pavapuraji, Sri Mahaviraji, Sravanabelagola etc. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, what is the ideal
behaviour of a Jaina ? |
Mother |
: |
We, Jainas wish to have
friendly feelings with all beings, delightful respect for the virtuous ones,
utmost compassion for the afflicted beings and equanimity towards those
whose views are contrary to the religion. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, Please tell ys what
are the teachings of Jaina religion ? |
Mother |
: |
The teachings of Jaina
religion are Ahimsa, satya, Acaurya, Brahmacarya and Aprigraha. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, What is the concept
of ahimsa and how to practise it ? |
Mother |
: |
Practice of non-violence is
Ahimsa. Ahimsa is the expression of compassion in every action. We should
avoid mental and physical violence towards ourselves, towards our parents
and other family members and also towards other human beings and animals. We
should avoid bad feelings and thoughts. This is a violence of self. We
should not smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs. These things are also bad for
our health.This is also violence of self. We should trust that our parents
always want the best for us. So, we should try to understand their viewpoint
and value their advice. We should love our family members. We should not
kill animals, birds, fish and insects for our food or for any other purpose.
we jainas are vegetarians. |
Daughter |
: |
What is the concept of Satya ? |
Mother |
: |
Satya is neither to tell a
lie nor cause others to tell. The Speech should be for the welfare of others
(Hita), to the point (Mita) and without causing violence and suffering to
others (Priya). |
Daugther |
: |
What is the concept of Acauraya ? |
Mother |
: |
Acauraya is non-theft or
non-stealing. This would mean that we should not accept anything which is
not given to us or does not belong to us. |
Daughter |
: |
What is the concept of Brahmacarya ? |
Mother |
: |
Brahmacarya means chastity.
This concept does not allow sexual relations with one's spouse only. |
Daughter |
: |
What is Aparigraha ? |
Mother |
: |
Parigraha means passionate
attachment (MURCHA). So, Aparigraha is the practice of non-attachment to
worldly things and pleasures. The house-holder is incapable of renouncing
all parigraha. Therefore he should limit the parigraha of wealth, buildings
etc. This is Parigraha-Pariman-Vrata. To achieve Aparigraha, we should limit
our wants and control our desires. We should acquire only what we barely
need. We should avoid waste. |
Daughter |
: |
Ma, what is so unique about the teachings
of Jaina religion ? |
Mother |
: |
First, the Jainism believe
in the complete independence of each individual. It teaches that self-help
is the only means to achieve such independence. Jainism is the religion
which gives us independence even from God. We are responsible for our own
lives. Every thing in our lives occur as a result of our own thoughts and
actions. Second our all knowledge is relative. So, we should be open minded
and fair. We should understand others' view-point. This will enable us to
get a proper and complete perspective of the events and situations. This is
the unique principle of Anekanta. Third, according to Jainism, truth,
non-stealing, chastity and non-attachment are manifestation of non-violence.
Thus, non-violence is the supreme religion in Jainism. Jainism teaches us to
minimise mental as well as physical violence |