How Jain values lead us to the path of inner peace

In his new book ‘Potpourri of Jainism’, Dr. Sulekh Jain elucidates on the application of these values, to common everyday experiences

GN Bureau | February 24, 2023


#Literature   #Society   #Jainism   #Religion  
The statue of Mahavir Swami, known as Gommateshwar in Shravanbelgola of Karnataka (Photo: Ananth HV/WikiMedia Creative Commons)
The statue of Mahavir Swami, known as Gommateshwar in Shravanbelgola of Karnataka (Photo: Ananth HV/WikiMedia Creative Commons)

What is ahimsa or non-violence? Is it only an absence of violence or is it something more? Is ahimsa even possible in today’s world? How does one interpret the meaning of war from the lens of ahimsa? Or how does one apply this concept to our own life? How can one learn respect and tolerance from the Jain doctrine of ‘anekaantavad’ (non-one-sidedness of views)? How and why should one apply the principle of aparigraha (non-attachment and non-possessiveness) in our life? Can a certain set of Jain values lead us to the path of inner peace?

Can Jainism answer all these questions and some more? The answer is yes, according to Dr. Sulekh Jain, Ph.D., who retired as an engineer with GE Aviation in the US and has been devoting his post-professional life to the promotion of Jain education in academia to share and educate students about Jainism.

In his new book, ‘Potpourri of Jainism’ (edited by Palakh Jain and Payal Seth), Dr. Jain elucidates on the application of these values, to common everyday experiences (like how it inspired Dr. Christopher Miller to not kill a lizard after attending a lecture on ahimsa) and to understanding the historically unprecedented events (like how the COVID-19 pandemic can be explained through the Jain concept of paras-prop-graho-jivaanaam or interconnectedness of all life forms on earth).

The book offers practical applications and learnings of the Jain principles from the life of Dr. Jain (and many others) over a span of 30 years. It is written and published with the hope that it encourages the readers to discover whether whatever is mentioned is relevant or not by applying these principles to their life.

Dr. Jain also authored the book ‘An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide’. As chairman of JAINA Academic Liaison Committee, Dr. Jain and his team have raised millions of dollars to promote and fund academic programmes in several universities in the US, Canada, UK, Belgium, India, Israel,  Brazil and Pakistan. The funding of Jainism academic programmes is instrumental in establishing permanent endowed academic chairs, professorships, lectureships, post-doctoral fellowships, and annual lecture series in many universities.

Comments

 

Other News

Targeting root causes of cancer with green policies

The Budget 2025 was splashed across headlines with its innumerable numbers and policies, but lurking behind the balance sheets is a threat that it has not accounted for yet — the silent, merciless clutches of cancer. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that it remains one of humanity`s mo

Congress needs course correction: Prithviraj Chavan

Prithviraj Chavan, a former Maharashtra chief minister and veteran Congress leader, feels his party has probably failed to provide a viable alternative to the government, and it needs a course correction. “I do acknowledge that the Congress party may have failed to provide the alternat

Major haul of illegal arms and ammunition in Manipur

In a significant breakthrough, Manipur Police, in a joint operation with Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), the Indian Army, and Assam Rifles, recovered a massive cache of illegal arms, ammunition, and explosives during coordinated search operations across five valley districts in the intervening night o

PM visits crash site, meets the injured

Prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the Air India flight crash site in Ahmedabad to assess the situation first-hand. He met officials and emergency response teams working tirelessly in the aftermath of the disaster. He also condoled the loss of numerous lives in the tragic air accident. He con

Air India flight crashes in Ahmedabad

The Air India flight to London crashed in Ahmedabad within munites of the take-off Thursday afternoon. There were 232 passengers and 10 crew members aboard, and reports suggest there was slim chances of anyone surviving. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed and exploded in a fireball barely out

Cabinet approves two multitracking projects of Railways

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved two projects of the railways ministry with a total cost of Rs. 6,405 crore. These projects include:  1. Koderma – Barkakana Doubling (133 Kms): The project sec

Visionary Talk: Amitabh Gupta, Pune Police Commissioner with Kailashnath Adhikari, MD, Governance Now





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter