Who founded Jainism?

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   paarsurreyposted 14 years ago

   Hi friends
   
   I want to know; who founded Jainism? What was the source of knowledge of  its founder? Did he receive Word of Revelation from the Creator- God Allah YHWH?
   
   Thanks
   
   I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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      crmhaskeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      There is no one human founder of Jainism to my knowledge.

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         paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hi friend  crmhaske
         
         Then how did it start?
         
         Thanks

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            crmhaskeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I am no expert on Jainism, and so I cannot claim to have any ideas on how it started, but I can tell you it did not start like Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam did with one particular leader.
            
            Asking this question is like asking who first made music - who the hell knows.

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   paarsurreyposted 14 years ago

   Hi friends
   
   I think there are followers of Jainism here; if they could respond. Please
   
   Thanks

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   ASHWINSPGAposted 14 years ago

   Hope this answers your question.
   
   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi friend ASHWINSPGA
      
      I thank you for responding.
      
      I did read it; but could not understand it. For instance:
      
      "Jainism was revived by a lineage of 24 enlightened ascetic leaders called tirthankaras"
      
      Revival is something which does exist already but has been forgotten.
      
      Was it founded already which the leaders revived?
      
      Thanks
      
      I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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         ASHWINSPGAposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         hi Paarsurrey, you asked a vevry good question.i searched the web for the origin of Jainism but every site i went to (27 in total) stated the same thing
         "Jainism was revived by a lineage of 24 enlightened ascetic leaders called Tirthankaras"...
         There is no record of how Jainism came about into this world. I think crmhaske has a point there when he said "Its like asking who first made music"
         Its better to wait for followers of Jainism to answer your question. sorry for that.

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            paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Hi friend ASHWINSPGA
            
            I don't agree with crmhaske. Jainism is no music. If Buddhism was founded by Buddha;truthful Christianity by Jesus, Judaism by Moses; the same way, if Jainism is a religion or a movement; it must have been founded by someone.
            
            They say "Jainism was revived by 24 enlightened ascetic leaders"; if they existed in the same time and they did it start it  jointly, then they all founded it; if they existed at different times; then there must be one among them who founded it.
            
            How do you see it?
            
            Thanks
            
            I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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               ASHWINSPGAposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Hi Paarsurrey The first Tirthankar is Rishabh Dev who lived sextillions of years ago. He was the first one to reveive Jainism. Like you said revival is something which does exist already but has been forgotten.
               So Jainisn existed way before the Tirthankars. Who founded Jainism? i have no clue...

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                  paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi friend ASHWINSPGA
                  
                  I am not a mathematician; I am just an ordinary man. I googled for sextillion :
                  
                  sex·til·lion  (sk-stlyn)
                  n.
                  1. The cardinal number equal to 1021.
                  2. Chiefly British The cardinal number equal to 1036.
                  
                  Please tell me in simple ordinary language.
                  
                  What is the source of knowing this?
                  
                  Thanks
                  
                  I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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                     ASHWINSPGAposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     hi paarsurrey here is the link. its all in Wiki.
                     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tirthankaras

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                        paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        Hi friend ASHWINSPGA
                        
                        Thank you for the link; I have accessed it and read it.
                        
                        I wonder;what is the source of this with the Jainists or followeres of the Jainism?
                        
                        Anybody please.
                        
                        Thanks
                        
                        I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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               mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               paarsurrey its like Jala ud din Rumi and Sufism.

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         lucky1981posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         first and the foremost, let me tell that what i write here is what i believe, so try to understand from my my point of view.... maybe i am wrong then please make me understand ur point of view....
         
         "isms" are what some people created to put themselves above others.
         
         I am a Jain and i have some knowledge of jainism(i hate this word.. just the word).
         
         firstly u ought to know what is a religion???
         
         Definition:Religion is often described as a communal system for the coherence of belief focusing on a system of thought, unseen being, person, or object, that is considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine, or of the highest truth. Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are often traditionally associated with the core belief, and these may have some overlap with concepts in secular philosophy. Religion is also often described as a "way of life" or a life stance.(this is the best i thought is the meaning)
         
         so Religion is just a term coined by us humans which, unluckily, was set as a standard.
         
         If  a way of life is religion then every human should have his own religion.
         
         Moral codes, practices, values, institutions, tradition, rituals, and scriptures are Religion then all of these differ through regions hence every region has a different Religion?
         
         Jainism as i Believe is a set of principle shown by True omniscient beings following which would result in each of us being omniscient.Staunch followers of these omniscient beings made it into a religion and mixed traditions and called it Jainism. The Jainism followed today is not the perfect thing.
         
         Each of the 24 tirthankaras had total omniscience. They showed the path to beings according to the time in which they appeared. They showed the man the path to graduate in life cycle(what we call evolution). Now u may tell why 24 were needed. This is simple. U cant explain to a pre-primary class student about metaphysics or any such complex problems. Thats why during different phases of evolution each tirthankara taught them the true path according to the evolution of their thinking.
         
         Tirthankara is not some terrestrial being who came from some other place, but is the one who achieved control over one's desire and senses, through penance,detachment  and self control, to a level such that he attained the true knowledge, true vision and true character. That is he became perfect. He could thus see the true character and property of everything that is living or non-living. He could see infinity(P.S: to know  meaning of infinity u will have to do research on ur own, i cant keep going on and on and on..... i am not a duracell). He could describe infinity etc..
         
         But u can only fill that much water in a bucket that it can hold.

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            paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Hi friend  lucky1981
            
            Welcome to contribute your thoughts.
            
            My thought could be different. To me religion is the way the Creator- God Allah YHWH wants the human beings to walk on; the way the perfect men- Messengers Prophets , of all ages and all regions of the word walked on, which was illuminated to them by way of Word of Revelation by the Creator-God Allah YHWH. And thus the perfect men were rewarded the closeness to the attributes of the Creator-God Allah YHWH; which is the purpose of human life.
            
            Those who don't want to achieve closeness to the attributes of the Creator -God Allah YHWH are not liked by Him; they don't achieve the purpose of life and are lead astray from the truthful path.
            
            This is mentioned in the  first chapter- Surah of Quran in summary form and the rest of the Quran mentions its detail:
            
            [1:1] In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful.
            [1:2] All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all the worlds,
            [1:3] The Gracious, the Merciful,
            [1:4] Master of the Day of Judgment.
            [1:5] Thee alone do we worship and Thee alone do we implore for help.
            [1:6] Guide us in the right path —
            [1:7] The path of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy blessings, those who have not incurred Thy displeasure, and those who have not gone astray.
            
            http://www.alislam.org/quran/search2/sh … r.php?ch=1
            
            Thanks
            
            I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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               lucky1981posted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Dearest Paarsurrey,
                                                Thanks for replying. I dont Know why do u want to know who founded Jainism, But appreciate ur interest in other religions. If u want to   learn about any religion, then u have to start from the scratch with a blank slate and no preconceived notions. Whats the start and whats the end of this whole universe,religion etc... we really cant find out the real truth in our lifetime thats maybe a max. of100 yrs......
                        In jainism there is the theory of Anekantavada(i.e principles of pluralism and multiplicity of viewpoints). Ou Religion teaches Religious Tolerance. Please see Tolerance here doesnt mean any form of suffering or bearing, but that whatever path u choose the end result is only one, I say it this way and u say it that way, thats the only difference.
               
               if u really want to learn anything abt jainism, u are welcome bcos it does not only belong to jains but to all who want to study or follow the path of the Arihants.
               
               Tirthankars are no GODS or The Establishers of Jainism.They are the Souls who did a lot of self study of their souls to find the truth. This was not possible in one life time. They took a lot of births during which they have been to hell, heaven born as animals etc.....
               Due to some good deed accumulated during each life they were designated to be born as Tirthankaras.
               
               See man i am not a magician with word so i am not completely able to bring my thoughts home to you.
               
               But all i want to say is whichever religion u follow follow it with complete reverence cause that is what destiny has chosen for u in this life. In some life maybe u be born as a jain(sorry if u think this hurt ur sentiments) and all ur questions be answered and ur soul be liberated.
               Jai Jinendra

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                  mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Tirthankars are no GODS or The Establishers of Jainism.
                  
                  They were enlightened ones or liberated souls and they spread god knowledge.They are the one who established  Jainism.They are called Gods.

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                  paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi friend  lucky1981
                  
                  My interest is in all the Revealed Religions, their founders and the text of their scriptures written by their founders or dictated by them, in the original language they were revealed; and the measures adopted to secure the scriptures so that the same have been received in the pristine form they were Reavealed. I think it is a common treasure and heritage of the humanity.
                  
                  Thanks
                  
                  I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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                     mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     It the same truth written down, earlier there was ink or paper.Jainism is considered very old ,not juts a couple of hundred but a couple of thousand years

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   blake4dposted 14 years ago

   The last of the tirthankaras was Mahavira (599-527 BC), a contemporary of the Buddha is generally considered the founder of modern Jainism and establishing the core beliefs, that is my understanding on the historical part. Buddhism has both the literal and mythological interpretations. I am only suggesting the archaeoloigcally historic founder was Mahavira. Keep on hubbing. Blake4d

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi friends
      
      I would like our friend crmhaske to comment on the mythological interpretations of Buddhism as pointed by our friend blake4d.
      
      Thanks
      
      I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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         crmhaskeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Different Buddhist denominations have different mythical stories that have been borrowed from their culture.  Like all religions, Buddhism too is divided into several different strands that absorb the culture of the area it was born in.
         
         These stories are less characteristic of Buddhism, and more characteristic of the region.

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            paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Hi friend  crmhaske
            
            So you admit in other words that there is no original text from Buddha and all denomination of Buddhis have only mythical stories they follow; and are look alike of wisdom never mentioned by Buddha himself.
            
            Do you agree?
            
            Thanks
            
            I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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   Pandoras Boxposted 14 years ago

   I think it's simple enough to understand paar. The roots of jainism go back so far that noone is really sure when, how or by whom it was begun.
   
   It holds no storyline which can be dated, but is more a set of principles for living and symbology for spiritual advancement.
   
   Sure the BIG 3 all have storylines which date them to at least some degree, but we'd be naive if we didn't acknowledge the fact that they too are all built on older, partially lost religious ideas.

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi friend Pandoras Box
      
      So, how we know truth in them from the untruth?
      
      Quran tells us that it encompasses all the truthful teachings of the lost religions; it is for this that we Ahmadiyya peaceful Muslim believe Buddha, Krishna,Zoroaster,Moses and Jesus as truthful Messengers Prophets of the Creator-God Allah YHWH; though their Revelations have lost in the debris of time.
      
      Thanks for you good comments.

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   blake4dposted 14 years ago

   The truth is eternal. All the faiths have pieces or have been touched by the truth. The universal human soul truths are the simple yet complex realities of life and death. Love one another. Love the divine (ie God ). Love others as you would have them love you. Know that all things are transcendent. Value life, it is a gift...and perhaps a few others. I am not trying to preach.
   
   Truth is apparent from any of the spiritual teachers. Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Jeshua, Artorius, even some of the darker leaders of human history were harrbringers of truth. Truth does not change, only the way it is interpreted by humankind. Blake4d

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi friend blake4d
      
      I don't agree with you
      
      All the religions brought the same truth; it was never in pieces; only the followers of a religion lost the message in the debris of time; and hence it is revived. There are no two Truth.
      
      Thanks
      
      I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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         mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         According to Hindu philosophy Shiva was the first enlightened human who passed his knowledge to the Sapta Rishis and they passed it on to the rest of the world..
         
         Now we come to the point was Muhammad enlightened ? if not then Islam doesn't engulf the philosophies of other religions.,its philosophy is not supreme like other religions based on the teachings of the enlightened ones.
         Where does Islam teach how to unite with the creator or god o Allah the Light.?
         
         Then there is also shamanism considered older than any religion, ma be they were the first enlightened ones.

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   crmhaskeposted 14 years ago

   No one person really starts a static belief system.  Religion is like a living organism that is constantly mutating.  It is like asking who spoke the first word?  Nobody did really for who would he have spoken it to?  Things build slowly off of an idea, but if that idea isn't shared amoung many, it will just die instead.
   
   Your question arises from the finite need of a beginning as do most of these unanswerable questions that get thrown around on this forum.
   
   Or think of it another way.  Who created the child, mom or dad?

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      paarsurreyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi friend crmhaske
      
      Thanks for sharing
      
      I don't think your examples have any relevance with the issue. Do they?
      
      Thanks
      
      I am an Ahmadi peaceful Muslim

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         crmhaskeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         They do.  They point out an illogical question will have an illogical answer.

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   JYOTI KOTHARIposted 14 years ago

   Hi all friends,
   I have followed the thread and found that most of the participants of the forum asking for an answer from a follower of Jainism.
   
   I follow Jainism and like to answer the question.
   
   1. The universe is eternal, beginning-less and endless according to Jain belief.
   
   2. Religious systems and spirituality exists always in this universe.
   
   3. Jainism is also eternal, beginning-less and endless. However, it comes in to existent and extinguish in some geographic reasons (The present world or the planet earth is just a geographic region according to Jainism). Rishbh Dev alias Adinath (Which means the first Lord)founded Jainism in this era in this geographic region (Bharat Kshetra).
   
   He existed in the planet earth in-numerous years before. He was the first Tirthankar followed by other 23. Lord Mahavira was the last Tirthankar who was liberated in 599 BC. Parshwanath (Parasnath) was 23rd Tirthankar who was liberated 250 years before Lord Mahavira. He is also a historical figure and we ind archaelogical evidences about him.
   
   I have written few articles about Jainism which you may read. There are some forum threads about Jainism which you may follow.
   
   Thanks,
   Jyoti Kothari

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      Beelzedadposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      The evidence would show the universe is expanding in such a way that most objects are moving away from one another, suggesting that at one point in the past, all objects must have all been together in some form. We have measured a black body temperature of the universe and that it is cooling, suggesting that it was much higher in the past when all objects were together.
      
      This evidence shows that the universe did have a beginning and does not appear eternal.

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         mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Yes but science looks ate things from the big bang, and they say they don't know what happened before that.

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            Beelzedadposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            That's nice.

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   Greek Oneposted 14 years ago

   Jainism was founded by Harvey Jain of the Bronx, New York, in 1949

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      lucky1981posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      cool finding man, keep going!

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         mohitmisraposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         

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            mhastimalposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            if any one knows exactly about jainisam then he can tell all about, the history it self speaking and put the evidences all around the world in the form of the ancient temples with their own histories, you can find any around your worldwhere you have put up, it is a very wast religion which cannot be sculptured in words. you have to learn and know a lot about the jainisam very less of the information is available on net. There were not only 24 thirthankaras of present kalchakra but still 24 more names are there of past kalchakra.

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