Respect for all, large and small

By: RUTH MARVIN WEBSTER - Staff Writer
What we believe: Jains work hard to perfect the soul | Thursday, October 4, 2007 8:24 PM PDT ∞

Every year as the rainy season comes to an end in India, Jains stop to celebrate their most important holiday, the Great Festival of Spiritual Awareness, or Payushan. Begun originally by monks who stayed in one place during the four months of the monsoon season, the festival is celebrated by Jains all over the world, who take eight days in September (or August, depending on the lunar calendar) to meditate, fast and pray for forgiveness.

It is also a time for renewal of faith in a less than perfect world.

"We go to temple every day during the festival," said Poway resident Kokila Doshi, who is a professor of economics at the University of San Diego and mother of three grown daughters. "We give up our routine, and it becomes almost like a spiritual camp. Day by day, your heart softens and by the last day, we are ready to forgive. A foundation is laid."

And even though much of the congregation of the Jain Society of San Diego ---- especially the younger generation ---- has little familiarity with monsoons, or even wet weather for that matter, the 45 families in the society still came in early September to Shri Mandir, a Hindu temple in a shopping mall on Black Mountain Road near Miramar Road, to celebrate their faith and community.

"It is all about control over body and mind," said Saumya Kothari, 28, of Sabre Springs, an aerospace engineer who grew up in a Jain household in India. "During the festival, we do not eat anything green or grown under the ground, because back then there was a likelihood that it would be diseased or have insects during the monsoons."

Today, Jainism is one of the world's oldest but smallest religions. It has about 4.2 million practitioners in mostly Hindu India, and more than 3,000 Jains in the United States and Canada. Jainism does not have a god, and according to Jain beliefs, the universe was never created nor will it ever cease to exist.

The word Jain comes from the Sanskrit word jina, which means conqueror. Primary tenets are the conquest of one's inner enemies or passions, such as anger, greed, ego and deceit; a reverence for all life; austerity; and nonviolence. Jainism also preaches 10 cardinal virtues, including forgiveness, humility and truthfulness.

Doshi said that many people think that Jainism is a sect of Hinduism because they share some beliefs, but it is not. While local Jains may celebrate festivals such as September's in the Hindu temple, only the Jain statues (each identified by the emblems usually depicted on the pedestal) are decorated with flowers and symbols.

"We worship not an individual, but their virtues," said Doshi. "And we worship to help us become more like them. In Jainism, you are responsible for your own karma." It is believed that willpower and self-control lead to the shedding of karma ---- successive states of a being's existence, thought to determine the fate of the next stage.

Jains such as Doshi also try to limit possessions. She said that some people, with the help of a guru, will make personal goals or resolutions to limit things like the number of pairs of shoes or items of clothing, or even how many food items they will eat.

"Before I eat, I think of giving this to someone else," said Doshi. "I cannot eat without offering it to others."

Many people believe that Lord Mahavira, who lived in the 6th century B.C., founded Jainism, a minority religion in India, but others say the foundation was laid down by the holy people or prophets who preceded him.

Lord Mahavira, also called Bhagwaan Mahaveer, spent 30 years walking barefoot around India, meditating to conquer his desires and feelings, and fasting for long periods. He preached universal love, emphasizing that all living beings, including animals, plants and insects, are equal and should be loved and respected. That is one of the main reasons all Jains are vegetarians, and many are also vegans.

Finally, at his death, it is believed that Mahaveer became a siddha, living forever in a state of complete bliss or nirvana, and the last of 24 tirthankaras or prophets.

The temple ceremony in early September had to do with the mother of Lord Mahaveer, Queen Trishala, and her dreams for her son. Inside, an band played Indian music while mothers resplendent in gold and bright silks tended their children. Elderly women sat together to catch up on family news, and announcements of lectures and events were made over the microphone.

Families were called one by one to come before the congregation in a ceremony to symbolize each of the dreams that came to Queen Trishala.

The families took turns placing and removing items that symbolized the dreams (see sidebar) from a balance suspended by garlands from the ceiling. They then placed them on the altar before statues of Jain religious figures.

According to Jain scriptures, mothers of all the tirthankaras had similar dreams, and this part of the festival of Payushan is meant to remind parents to have dreams for their children and for the children to try to fulfill those dreams.

The first dream is symbolized by an elephant with four tusks, each signifying the four components of the Jain religious order: monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen. Other dreams are symbolized by the lion (bravery, power), moon (peace), sun (knowledge), ocean (serenity), etc.

The Doshi family chose the 13th dream, symbolized by a heap of jewels to show that Mahaveer would have innumerable virtues and attain supreme spiritualism.

Doshi, a practicing vegetarian, meditates many times throughout the day in front of her marble statue of Lord Mahavir. She also teaches and writes extensively about her religion. Certain sects within Jainism are extremely strict, she said.

"Some are not allowed to travel in the air and water because there is life there," she explained. "And there must be no cutting of trees. And some cannot even walk on grass."

In fact, very strict Jainas, as they are also called, wear masks over their mouths for fear of inadvertently swallowing an insect.

"I find that many of these things ---- like fasting, meditating and eating before sunset ---- are not only spiritually helfpul but are scientifically great, too," said Kothari of Sabre Springs. "Jainism is more relevant than ever before," he said, referring to environmental pollution and the craving to accumulate possessions.

Throughout the festival's eight days, Doshi said, the most faithful observe temporary restraints such as fasting or eating only once a day. "It is not unusual to see some people fast for eight days," she said. "Other people can give up sweets or eat just one meal a day or eat less."

The eight days should also be full of religious activities, said Doshi, such as prayer and meditation, and reading and contemplation of different holy scriptures.

For Doshi, the most important Jainist principles are ahimsa, nonviolence; aparigraha, detachment; and anekantvad, acceptance of multiple viewpoints.

"We respect other people's opinions, because truth is many-sided and everything is relative," she said. "What is important is that everything that has life, has feelings. We avoid any violence of any kind. We have a reverence for all life."

Contact staff writer Ruth Marvin Webster at (760) 740-3527 or rwebster@nctimes.com.

Queen Trishala's dreams and their symbolic meanings for her child, Lord Mahaveer:

1) Elephant with four tusks: Exceptionally good character. The tusks signify the Jain religious order of monks, nuns, laymen and laywomen.

2) Tame white bullock: The child would be religious.

3) Handsome, playful lion: Bravery and power; control of sensual urges.

4) Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, anointed with water: Wealth and splendor.

5) Garland descending from the sky: Respect.

6) Moon: Alleviating suffering; bringing peace.

7) Sun: Supreme knowledge (brilliance).

8) Flag: The banner of religion.

9) Golden vase of pure water: Compassion for all living beings.

10) Lotus lake: Being beyond worldly attachment.

11) Ocean: Serenity, perception and knowledge.

12) Celestial abode: honored by heavenly beings.

13) Heap of jewels: Innumerable virtues.

14) Smokeless flame: Purification; destruction of karma to achieve salvation.

---- by Duli Chandra Jain