Transcript Chapter 2 Victimization and Criminal Behavior

World Religions, Sixth Edition
Warren Matthews
Chapter Five:
Jainism and Sikhism
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Two Minority Religions – Jainism and
Sikhism
 Jainism – a minority religion of India, considered almost a subcaste
of Hinduism
 Its views on karma and samsara are evidence of its origins in the
fertile climate of India’s religions
 Sikhism – another minority religion in India, about 2,000 years after
Jainism was established
 Its basis comes from two views: that Nanak developed a religion
that would incorporate the best spiritual insights of both Hinduism
and Islam, and that it was an entirely new response to Nanak
The Homes of Jains and Sikhs in India
Jainism – Historiographic
Considerations
 The two major groups of Jain monastics:
 Shvetambaras
 Digambaras
 They hold conflicting interpretations of Jain history
 Historians have to contend with these conflicting accounts
Early Jainism
 Jainism dates from about the time the Hindu Vedas were being
written down
 Tirthankaras, “ford finders,” were spiritual leaders
 Men who had achieved enlightenment
 Showed the way for others to model
 Twenty-four Tirthankaras are known to have existed
A Jain Temple at Jaiselmere,
Rajasthan, India
Early Life of Mahavira
 Mahavira is the 24th Tirthankara
 Founder of modern Jainism
 Born as Jnatrputra Vardhamana 599 BCE in Bihar region of India

While pregnant with him, his mother supposedly had
auspicious dreams of destiny as either a king or saint
 Shvetambaras hold that Mahavira was transferred as a fetus from
the womb of a Brahmin woman into the womb of his birth mother,
a Kshatriya woman
Mahavira’s Life
 Was Mahavira a householder?
 Digambaras maintain that he never married
 Shvetambaras contend that as an adult, Mahavira married and
fathered a daughter
 At age thirty, Mahavira experiences a renunciation of the world
 Digambaras state that he wandered naked
 Shvetambaras say that he wore clothes for thirteen months more
before becoming “sky clad”
Mahavira’s Enlightenment
 After twelve years of searching, Mahavira attained enlightenment
 Became a Jina, or conqueror

Jain means “follower of a Jina”
 Eleven Brahmins constituted his inner circle

Translated his “heavenly sounds” for others after his death
Jain Scriptures
 Jain canonical scriptures are called the Agama
 Three categories:



Purva

Precede Mahavira

No longer in existence
Anga

Teachings of Mahavira

Rules of conduct
Angabahya
Jain World
 Karma
 Ajiva sticking to jiva
 Results in reincarnation
 Destructive and nondestructive karmas
 Liberation
 Achieved only by the one’s own will
 The culmination of fourteen stages
 No priests necessary
Jain Ethics
 Ahimsa – the doctrine of nonviolence, the central Jain virtue
 Imperative in avoiding accumulating additional karma
 Reverence for all life instead of the sacrifices of animals
 Some avoid taking life from any living thing (plants and insects)
 Satya – telling the truth
 Asteya – not stealing
 Brahmacharya – practicing chastity, celibacy for monks and nuns
 Aparigraph – nonattachment, commonly practiced by fasting
Jain Nuns Wearing Masks to Avoid
Breathing in Small Creatures
Jain Practices
 Statues of the Tirthankaras help remind Jains of the kinds of people
they want to become
 Celebration of Mahavira’s birthday and day of enlightenment instill
respect for him
 Pilgrimages to religiously significant sites reinforce commitment to
Jain principles
Sikh Homage to Guru Nanak in Lahore,
Pakistan
Early Life of Guru Nanak
 Nanak born in 1469 in the Punjab (northwest India)
 An astrologer foretold that Nanak would attain the dignity of a
prophet
 Life as a householder
 Married and had two sons
 Worked as a herdsman and accountant
 At thirty years old, Nanak had a spiritual crisis
Nanak’s Vision
 Experienced himself as having been brought before God
 Charged with taking God’s name into the world
 God designated him as supreme guru, or spiritual leader
 Upon returning to human society, he startled people with his
announcement that there was no Hindu or Muslim
Nanak’s Life Work
 Traveled extensively, attracting Sikhs (followers) from Hinduism and
Islam
 His dress combined both Hindu and Muslim elements
 He scorned both the Vedas and the Qu’ran
 He preached reliance on God alone
Recitation of the Guru Granth Sahib, a
Daily Ritual
Sikhism
 God’s oneness
 Includes but exceeds the world
 God’s nature
 Nirguna Brahman – without attributes, formless
 Saguna Brahman – with attributes, for the benefit of people
 God is the original guru teacher
 God’s word and law are evidenced throughout the world
 God is knowable to people
Sikhism
 Humans are embodied souls seeking reconnection with God
 Happiness and immortality are possible through connection with God
 Established through five stages:
 Piety, honoring God, helping others
 Knowledge, seeking God
 Humility, focus on God
 Being filled with the power of God
 Union with God
Nine Gurus after Nanak
 Angad – appointed by Nanak as his successor
 Amar Das
 Ram Das
 Arjan
 Har Gobind
 Har Rai
 Har Kishan
 Teg Behadur
 Gobind Singh
Nine Gurus after Nanak
 Angad had been appointed by Nanak as his successor
 Arjan began compiling Adi Granth (scriptures), began construction of
Golden Temple (the primary Sikh temple)
 Gobind Singh declared himself to be the last Sikh guru
 After his death the Sikhs were to honor only Adi Granth
 Abolished caste distinctions
Sikhism
 Khalsa Singhs, or Lions, emphasized struggle and sacrifice in the
face of threats
 Kesh – hair and beard left uncut
 Kangha – comb tucked into hair
 Kach – shorts worn, suitable for easy fighting maneuvers
 Kara – steel bracelet, protecting the wrist of one’s sword arm
 Kirpan – a sword
Sikhism Since Guru Gobind Singh
 Sikhs fared well during and served colonial British interests
 Upon British retreat, the Sikh homeland of Punjab was divided
between the new states of Pakistan and India
 Some Sikhs have rallied for a separate Sikh Punjabi state
Sikh Practices
 Gurdwaras – places of worship, house the Adi Granth
 Visitors enter as if approaching the home of a guru
 Heads are covered and feet bare inside the gurdwara
 Food is shared to emphasize erasure of social distinctions
 Besides routine worship, other occasions in life involve religion
 Reading from the Adi Granth is the centerpiece of gatherings
 Birthdays of Guru Nanak and Guru Gobind are days of rejoicing
 Memorial day is set aside to mark the martyrdom of Guru Arjan
 Cremation is common at death
Golden Temple at Amritsar –
House of Worship for Sikhs