Religion & Society:

Abstract

Jains, children, youths and adults, have a common complaint that it is not easy to maintain and represent our religious and cultural identity as Jains in the Western world. This is mostly due to the misconception in many people's minds that the Jain religion is very strict and difficult to follow and it impedes our blending in the mainstream America. Evidently, the current religious and cultural traditions practiced, shared, taught and understood here are mainly extensions of what are being practiced in India today. Nevertheless, we are maintaining them so that we can be in a position to create a positive effect on the future generations in America. By watering the seeds of religious and cultural identity, we are letting our practices and traditions grow and our identity flourish.

Introduction

Religion and culture have deep-rooted merit and relevance to the physical, mental and material development of mankind, and to the moral, spiritual and philosophical aspects of life. Religion and culture have always responded to human development. Religion (DHARM) is defined as the ability to sustain the natural order of things. Religion is a reference to universal principles, laws and duties that bring peace, harmony and progress - the innumerable possibilities towards an individual's spiritual aspirations - a way to live life harmoniously and to achieve ultimate human potential - a mechanism to illuminate the innate nature of things or an inherent duty - a guiding path for those who have gone astray due to an adverse situation or unfortunate circumstances - a life-supporting and life-sustaining process. Religion shows the path of virtue; it reminds us of our basic duties and instills values in our lives. Culture means civilization comprised of beliefs, customs, behavior, conduct and traditions. It encompasses the vital characteristics and elements of governance, administration, traits of people and their behavior and habits. Culture means belonging to a community and preserving the heritage. Culture embodies the values, beliefs, and norms of a group of people. Religion and culture lay voluntary restraints on our conduct and behavior. A set of ethics and code of conduct arise out of religious and cultural values.

Teachings of Jainism

Jainism believes in one caste, which is the caste of humanity, a religion of love and compassion - respect and the right to live for all living beings. It teaches conduct - the conduct of truism. Jains practice the five vows: nonviolence in action, speech and thoughts; speaking the truth; non-stealing; celibacy (purity of body and mind) and non-possessiveness. These five vows are cultivated through actions. Anger, pride (ego), deceit, greed, attachment and aversion are our biggest enemies, creating stress and tension. Thus passions constitute self-directed violence. Control anger as anger leads to violence, keep calm and control emotions, shower love and respect towards all living beings. Stay away from objects of sensual pleasure. Avoid greed, limit your desires for materials and be contented with items that are unquestionably necessary for subsistence. Jainism emphasizes self-control. The cardinal teaching of Jainism is nonviolence, 'forgive and forget', 'live and let live'.

Jainism does not entail blind adherence to customs and traditions. It provides timely practical solutions appropriate to our circumstances. Our religion does say that everything evolves according to substance (DRAVYA), place or circumstances (KSHETRA), time (KAAL) and essence (BHAAV). Culture and religion are dynamic entities. Thus one can make some necessary adjustments in view of the environment to maintain one's identity as a Jain. However, one should not compromise the basic tenets in making such adjustments.

Life of a Jain

The true signs of a Jain are not limited to going to the temple everyday, having a yellow dot of sandalwood paste on the forehead, attending Jain festivals or being born in a Jain family. Jain religion and culture furnish practical solutions to maintain balance in life, to stay healthy and to live a contented/happy life. Jainism is about how to maintain balance in our lives while preserving our eating habits, and ameliorating our conduct, our behavior and our dealings with others. Conservation of natural resources is stressed in the Jain scriptures. There are practices and customs in Jainism that lead to efficient use of natural resources such as water, fire and soil. These amount to the edict of 'reduce, reuse, recycle'. Jainism teaches us to utilize our time and energy to achieve equanimity, genuine happiness and spiritual uplift. The Jain religion, culture and civilization have made significant contributions to Indian philosophy, science, art and architecture.

Religious and Cultural Identity

A man is known by the culture he keeps. Italians, Jews, Germans and others came to America and have been able to maintain their customs, culture and identity from one generation to another generation and they are proud of their identity. Thus the saying 'while in Rome, do as Romans do' does not mean that we should discard our basic principles and conduct ourselves in ways contrary to our ideals. Common stereotypical thinking of difficulties in maintaining our identity as Jains while living in a materialistic and high-paced society, where one cannot blend easily in society without drinking, eating meat or smoking, is misplaced.

There are three aspects of identity:

(1) Individual identity - conduct and behavior conforming to our basic principles.

(2) Community identity - group activities such as prayers, worship, study of scriptures and celebration of festivals organized by temples and Jain centers.

(3) Social Identity - recognition by the society at large as a group that practices the virtues of nonviolence, truth, non-stealing, purity of body and mind, and non-possessiveness; maintains a vegetarian diet and abstains from drinking, smoking and drugs; and believes in contentment rather than rampant desires for money and materials. Observing nonviolence in our thoughts, speech and actions will identify us as true Jains.

A person who is unable to maintain his/her religious and cultural identity lacks individuality. He/she does not have conviction in his/her beliefs and upbringing. A person with firm beliefs maintains his/her identity through decisive actions. He/she has moral courage that is not compromised by the external environment Reluctance or failure to maintain one's religious and cultural identity is a sign of weakness. Jainism teaches us that we are the masters of our own destiny. So we should be strong in our convictions and will. A true Jain shows his identity with right conduct that conforms with the basic principles of Jainism.

Summary

If we are really serious in what we believe in, we would preserve it by all means. We must learn to take responsibility for our actions and quit blaming others who have no knowledge of our religious persuasions and cannot be expected to honor our beliefs. Nonviolence and vegetarianism are the most important teachings of our religion. It is our responsibility to uphold our culture of nonviolence and try our best to acquaint future generations with our culture. Children learn religious and cultural values from parents, teachers, colleagues and scholars. Influence of external forces such as TV, media, movies, music, and peer pressure have to be overcome with more involvement in Jain schools (PATHSHALAs), Jain institutions and cultural activities. Inaction or adopting the path of least resistance and seeking convenience may wipe out our religious and cultural identity. So we should actively endeavor to establish our identity. Without any religious and cultural identity, our roots will be lost. Challenges of getting adjusted in the modern environment have to be accepted without compromising our basic principles.

In modern times, there are many means at our disposal to impart religious and cultural knowledge to the young generation. Youngsters have to learn to keep a balance while feeling the push and pull of two cultures. Further, we should remember that activities such as going to the temple, attending Jain festivals and worship are meant to apply the basic principles of Jainism in our lives. In the ultimate analysis, our conduct and character only will help us maintain our religious and cultural identity. Conviction and courage are needed to maintain our Jain identity.

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