Jainism's radical nonviolence steered its followers away from farming and into banking
Jainism asks its followers to harm no living thing, not only in deed but in word and thought. Taken seriously over centuries, that principle reshaped a whole community: avoiding agriculture and war, many Jains turned to trade and finance, becoming a mercantile force across ancient and medieval India.
Jain Dharma teaches a route to spiritual purity through disciplined nonviolence, or ahimsa, towards every creature. Its guides are 24 tirthankaras, ford-makers who crossed beyond the cycle of rebirth and gained omniscience. The word Jain itself comes from a Sanskrit root meaning to conquer: a jina is someone who has defeated the passions, and a Jain is a follower of such conquerors. The older label, nirgrantha or bondless, was reserved for wandering ascetics.
Three ideas hold up the philosophy. Beside ahimsa sits anekantavada, the view that reality has many sides and no single perspective captures all of it, a stance that prizes intellectual humility. The third is aparigraha, non-possession: monks give up all property, while lay people are urged to cap their possessions and desires. The five vows add truthfulness and not stealing, with lighter versions for householders and stricter ones for mendicants.
Tradition sees the faith as eternal, renewed in every cosmic cycle. In the present cycle the first tirthankara, Rishabhanatha, is credited with founding civilised society. Historians place the 23rd, Parshvanatha, around the 8th or 7th century BCE, probably the earliest figure with a historical footprint. The 24th and last, Mahavira, lived alongside the Buddha and belonged to the Shramana movement of Greater Magadha, which rejected Vedic authority.
Today Jainism counts between four and five million adherents, the great majority living in India and smaller communities abroad in places such as Europe, East Asia and North America. It divides into two main branches: the Digambaras, or sky-clad, and the Shvetambaras, or white-clad, who differ over ascetic practice, gender and scripture. For monks and nuns the goal is moksha, liberation from karma; most lay followers aim to build good karma for a better rebirth. The community is known for high literacy and has contributed to Indian logic, art, architecture and law.
Source: Jainism
