ABSTRACT
This chapter places Jain asceticism within a larger Jain religious framework to show some of the ways in which asceticism interacts with, and is often interdependent with, devotion. Asceticism is often performed in a devotional spirit. It is also often the object of devotion. The chapter argues that asceticism and devotion are not so much alternative practices as they are mutually reinforcing practices in Jainism. It indicates that Jains practice bhakti to abstract principles similarly to the way they practice bhakti to humans and deities. The chapter presents material from the Jain tradition that places Jain tapas within a larger Jain religious framework. It shows some of the ways in which asceticism interacts with, and is often interdependent with bhakti. Asceticism has from the earliest days been central to the Jain self-understanding and the Jain definition of the path out of rebirth to liberation.
