I would like to begin with the most significant mantra in Jainism, the Namokar mantra.
“ Namo Arihantanam
Namo Siddhanam
Namo Ayariyanam
Namo Uvajjhayanam
Namo Loe Savva-sahunam”
To briefly explain to you the meaning of this auspicious mantra, it asks us to bow down or to respect every living entity in this universe, their ideas and their learnings. It means that we are bowing down to all the monks, teachers,guardians, liberated souls, nuns and the priests who have sacrificed the worldly pleasures and are working towards spreading and creating happiness and harmony in the world. I, as an honorable Jain, would like to share my ideas and beliefs about the model of interfaith dialogues and its importance in the modern day world, and the role of Jainism in the same.
We live in the conscious presence of difference. In the street, at work, and on the television screen we constantly encounter cultures whose ideas and ideals are unlike ours. That can be experienced as a profound threat to identity. Religion and Faith are two of the great answers to questions of identity. But that, too is why we face danger. Identity divides. The very process of creating an ‘Us’ involves creating a ‘Them’ – the people not like us. In the very process of creating community within their borders, religions can create conflict across those borders.
This is where the need of interfaith dialogues arises. Interfaith dialogue is not just words or talk. It includes human interaction and relationships. It can take place between individuals and communities and on many levels. It is about people of different faiths coming to a mutual understanding and respect that allows them to live and cooperate with each other in spite of their differences.
Reverence for life is a value common to most of the world’s religions. For several millenia, Jainism, an ancient religion of India, has consistently perpetuated a uniquely radical commitment to the sanctity of all living beings, no matter how tiny or insignificant. The essence of Jain spirituality and morality is capsulated in the Sanskrit word, ahimsa, which is usually translated to mean nonviolence or the greatest possible kindness to all living beings. Indeed, this cardinal principle of nonviolence is the shining star that guides the faithful Jain’s path to benevolence, liberality, selflessness and cooperation.
In the Jain scheme of things, each living thing – be it tree, elephant, human, or insect – is a soul. All creatures, including humans, are sacred and must be treated as equals, as benevolent friends. Jainism more than being a religion, is a way of living with a set of values, attitudes, modes of behavior and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts. Jains have a responsibility to share and model this way of life by helping the world tackle with the root causes of violence and to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations. The 3 fundamentals of Jainism — Enlightened worldview, Enlightened knowledge and Enlightened action — can be key in facilitating the interfaith dialogues. Jains can truly participate with the understanding and action that the underlying feature of interfaith dialogue is reverence for life, the shared devotion to high ideals. Reverence will enable participants from different faith traditions to jointly affirm transcendent ideals such as honor, justice, compassion, forgiveness, and freedom.
The Jain legacy of nonviolence translates into some very admirable social values: • the refusal to condone or participate in war (Jains have never been involved in a war), equality between the sexes • vegetarianism • kindness to animals; animal slaughter and sacrifice are forbidden; charity – accumulation of possessions is to be minimized; education, health and social service institutions are to be sponsored. While the Jain commitment to nonviolence begins with the individual, this ethic of non-violence also addresses the realities of community life. Jain nonviolence involves a willingness on the part of the individual to not only separate him/herself from all acts of injury or killing, but also from the entire societal mechanism of aggression, consumption and materialism.
This commitment generates a value system that directly challenges ecological destruction, discrimination, injustice and waste and calls for the nonviolent co-existence of all living things. Interfaith dialogue has shown to provide a way to serve peaceful goals within the context of religious faith. Interfaith dialogue can unlock the power of religious traditions and provide the inspiration, guidance, and validation necessary for populations to move toward non-violent means of conflict resolution. Such dialogues have already become an increasingly important tool for those who seek to end violent conflict worldwide. Through interfaith dialogue, each faith group can make its unique contribution to the common cause of creative co-existence. But this is far easier said than done, and the Jain doctrine of Anekantavada (the theory of multiple perspectives, ‘non-one sidedness’) can truly play an important role in facilitating such dialogues with ease.
Jain ki Duniya 