ABSTRACT
The word “Jain ” comes from Jina which means “conqueror”; one who has overcome and defeated the weaknesses that prevent people from realizing their true spiritual potential. The Jain tradition revived in India more than 2500 years ago. According to the tradition, a foundational principle of Jainism is that karmic particles adhere to the soul, obscuring its true nature. Mahavir, the last of the Tirthankaras, was a contemporary of the Buddha and both taught a doctrine grounded in renunciation of worldly concerns. Umasvati categorized life according to the number of senses it carries. Earth bodies hold only the sense of touch, as do plants. Worms add taste to the sense of touch. Jain cosmology proclaims that all aspects of the world that surrounds people have feelings and consciousness. The Jain community remained within India exclusively until the twentieth century, when many Jains migrated to east Africa, Britain, and North America.
