About the Author Parveen Jain, PhD, is a prolific entrepreneur who has founded and led multiple technology companies in the Silicon Valley. He has ten technology patents, has contributed to over fifty technical publications, and has been recognized with multiple awards for his philanthropic and professional work. For over thirty years, Dr. Jain has been a leader in the vibrant Jain and Hindu communities of the San Francisco Bay Area. He is an ordained œrÀvaka (householder) disciple of °cÀrya Sushil Kumar (GurujÁ), the source of his religious and spiritual education and the motivation for Dr. Jain’s erudition in the Jain tradition. Dr. Jain is deeply involved in the growth of Siddhachalam, the first Jain Tirtha (a pilgrimage, and the abode of enlightened spirituality) outside of India, and considers that, along with leading the effort to build a Jain temple in the San Francisco Bay Area, to be his foremost accomplishment. Inspired by Guruji, he is passionate about applying Jain principles and scriptures to everyday practice for the growing global Jain community and beyond, for current and future generations. About the Book It is well-known that the Jain tradition has been extremely influential in the development of Indian thought and culture. The Jain tradition teaches that there is an interdependence of perception, knowledge, and conduct unified by an axiomatic principle of non-violence in thought, speech, and action. In this way, non-violence defines the core of the Jain tradition, which has had a profound effect on other dhārmic traditions originating in India. Jain Dharma is so significant that in some ways it may be incomplete to attempt to understand other Indian traditions (such as Buddhism or Hinduism) without knowing the basics of the Jain tradition, since these other traditions developed in an ongoing dialogue with the insights and wisdom of Jain respondents and visionaries. This book enables the reader to enjoy a comprehensive journey into the intricate world of Jain thought and culture in a way that is philosophical in its compelling rationality, deeply spiritual in its revelations, yet accessible in its language. The organization of this book allows the reader to engage in an overview of the central teachings of the Jain tradition, but also to ascertain the profundity of its depths. It can be read with equal efficacy in succession from beginning to end, or pursued by individual topics of interest to the reader. Either strategy will have the same effect: a systematic understanding of what the timeless teachings of Jain thinkers have to say about the universal issues of the human condition – and how we might understand our harmonious relationship with other living entities as a powerful and effective spiritual journey.

Jainism evokes images of monks wearing face-masks to protect insects and mico-organisms from being inhaled. Or of Jains sweeping the ground in front of them to ensure that living creatures are not inadvertently crushed: a practice of non-violence so radical as to defy easy comprehension. Yet for all its apparent exoticism, Jainism is still little understood in the West. What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE, whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism, and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe?In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion, Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader. Plunging back more than two and a half millennia, to the plains of northern India and the life of a prince who - much like the Buddha - gave up a life of luxury to pursue enlightenment, Long traces the history of the Jain community from founding sage Mahavira to the present day. He explores asceticism, worship, the life of the Jain layperson, relations between Jainism and other Indic traditions, the Jain philosophy of relativity, and the implications of Jain ideals for the contemporary world. The book presents Jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and non-specialists alike.

Bringing to light an important and underrepresented dharmic tradition, An Introduction to Jain Philosophy provides Western readers with the most accessible and enlightening overview of this spiritual philosophy yet. Drawing on an extraordinary collection of writings and discourses by the Jain monk ¿c¿rya Sushil Kumar and on his own self-studies as a lifelong practitioner, author Parveen Jain distills for both academic and non-academic audiences the fundamental tenets of Jain philosophy. With relevance to today's political conflicts and our own search for meaning and purpose in our lives, An Introduction to Jain Philosophy holds the timeless teachings of what Jain thinkers have to say about the universal issues of the human condition - and how we might understand and enhance our relationship with other living beings as a powerful and effective spiritual journey.

Kurt Titze invites the reader, after acquainting him or her with the main tenets of the world`s classical religion of non-violence, to join him on a fascinating pilgrimage. The past glories of India have been and still are a favourite subject in books and films. In this book with its 350 illustrations spread over 280 pages, Kurt titze enfolds a sequence of glories which have been kept alive to the present-day. The aim of this book is to entice the reader to ask his way to spots and sites that are not mentioned in tourist guide books. To the Digambara Meru temple in Old Delhi, for example, or to the Veerayatan Ashram on the outskirts of Rajgir run by Jaina nuns, or to the rock-cut twenty-four Tirthankaras near Gingee in Tamilnadu. That an increasing number of people who pick up this book may do so instead of climbing the ramparts of yet another fort or of gazing at yet another collection of horrifying weapons.

Jainism evokes images of monks wearing face-masks to protect insects and mico-organisms from being inhaled. Or of Jains sweeping the ground in front of them to ensure that living creatures are not inadvertently crushed: a practice of non-violence so radical as to defy easy comprehension. Yet for all its apparent exoticism, Jainism is still little understood in the West. What is this mysterious philosophy which originated in the 6th century BCE, whose absolute requirement is vegetarianism, and which now commands a following of four million adherents both in its native India and diaspora communities across the globe?In his welcome new treatment of the Jain religion, Long makes an ancient tradition fully intelligible to the modern reader. Plunging back more than two and a half millennia, to the plains of northern India and the life of a prince who - much like the Buddha - gave up a life of luxury to pursue enlightenment, Long traces the history of the Jain community from founding sage Mahavira to the present day. He explores asceticism, worship, the life of the Jain layperson, relations between Jainism and other Indic traditions, the Jain philosophy of relativity, and the implications of Jain ideals for the contemporary world. The book presents Jainism in a way that is authentic and engaging to specialists and non-specialists alike.

Environmental policy agendas, activism and academic research into ecological questions are all predominantly derived from the philosophical perspectives of the West. At national and global levels, environmental policy-makers tend to work according to Western-based methodologies. At the same time, emergent or developing economies are profoundly affected by the issues they address, including air pollution, rapid urban expansion, habitat loss and climate change. If environmental awareness, and the policies that stem from it, are to have a lasting global impact, it is important that non-Western voices are heard in their own right, and not merely as adjuncts of Western-led agendas. Jain thought is a useful case study of a system of values in which environmental protection and the idea of a ‘web of life’ are central, but which has evolved in India independently of Western environmentalism. This book describes and explains Jain environmental philosophy, placing it in its cultural and historical context while comparing and contrasting with more familiar or ‘mainstream’ forms of ecological thought. It will also show how this thought translates into practice, with an emphasis on the role of environmental concerns within the business and commercial practices of Jain communities. Finally, the book examines the extent to which Jain ideas about environmental protection and interconnectedness have universal relevance. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of environmental ethics, sustainable business and economics, environmental policy, and Jainism.

The religious tradition of the Jainas, unique in many respects, presents a fascinating array of doctrinal and social structures that stem from the anti-vedic movements of ancient times. Drawing extensively on primary sources, Professor Jaini provides a comprehensive introduction to the Jaina experience. Beginning with the Life of Mahavira the author elucidates the essentials of Jaina cosmology and philosophy as well as of the path of purification through which the soul may escape from its Karmic defilements and attain eternal salvation. This path constitutes the integral element within the broader frame-work of Jaina literature, lay ritual and the socio-historical factors, which enabled Jainism to survive and prosper to the present day. In particular, the author has examined the cardinal doctrine of ahimsa (non-harming), both in its impact upon Jaina religious consciousness and as a standard in applying its sacred principles to the conduct of every day life.