A mendicant is one who renounces worldly life, is often a member of a monastic order, and is sustained by the alms of the laity.

Sushil Kumar (1926–1994) was born in a small village in India, became a Jain monk at age 15, and came to the United States in 1974 at the age of 48. He founded Siddhachalam, the first Jain religious retreat center in the United States, in 1983. He was recognized as an acharya, a spiritual teacher, in the Jain tradition and was often referred to by his followers with the honorific: Sushil Kumarji. Despite resistance from more conservative members of the Jain community, Kumar traveled widely to participate in conferences concerned with world peace and animal rights.

The term Jain or Jaina refers to the tradition of the Jinas, the “victorious ones” who have won spiritual liberation, and to those who follow it. The Jain tradition as we know it dates back some 2500 years to the life of the teacher Mahavira, said to be the most recent of 24 Jinas. It includes both monastic renunciants and laity, and has long been noted for its adherence to principles of non-violence. Today, there are approximately 3,000,000 Jains living in India, 25,000 in England and Europe, 21,000 in Africa (especially Kenya), and 20,000 in North America.

In the Jain tradition, a Tirthankara, literally a “ford-maker,” is a spiritual pioneer who has crossed beyond the perpetual flow of earthly life. In each cycle of time, there are twenty-four Tirthankaras. They differ from other Jinas in that, in addition to liberating themselves, they spend their lives as teachers, sharing their knowledge with others. The twenty-fourth Tirthankara of the current age was Mahavira, who is said to have lived in the 6th century BCE.

Snatra Puja, the bathing the image of Mahavira, occurs during Mahavira Jayanti, i.e. the annual celebration of the “Birthday of the Great Hero.”

Deva or dev is a common term for god or celestial being. It is used variously by Hindus, Jains, and Buddhists to refer to the multitude of divine or celestial beings. Sometimes it is also used as an honorific, such as “Gurudev,” which would mean revered teacher.

For Shvetambaras, the final day of the eight-day festival of Paryushana is Samvatsari Pratikraman, the “Annual Confession.” On this day every member of the Shvetambara Jain community confesses any infringement of the five great vows to his or her teacher, family, friends, and, in fact, all living beings. The culmination of confession is receiving forgiveness from all living beings and granting forgiveness to them.

Mahavira is the religious seer whose teachings of compassion and renunciation have formed the basis of the Jain tradition. Mahavira, regarded as the last of the 24 Tirthankaras of the present age, is said to have been born in the 6th century BCE in modern-day Bihar. After 12 years of ascetic practice, he attained full illumination (kaivalya). Mahavira spent the rest of his life teaching; he underwent bodily death and final liberation at the age of 72.

Paryushana is the most important holy season in the Shvetambara Jain ritual calendar. This festival season, celebrated over eight days in September, is the climax of the four-month monsoon period when ascetics abandon the wandering life to settle down among the laity. During Paryushana Parva the entire Shvetambara Jain community focuses its attention on fasting, instruction, and the rites of Pratikraman in which each person asks forgiveness for the faults of the previous year.

An acharya is teacher or spiritual guide, one learned in the religious tradition and its texts.

A monk is a man who renounces worldly life and is ordinarily a member of a monastic order or community, thereby undertaking a special commitment to study, service, asceticism, prayer, or disciplined spiritual practice. In the Buddhist tradition, fully ordained monks are called bhikkhus, those who beg alms, depending upon the laity for their food and support. In the Jain tradition, ordained monks are called sadhus or holy ones; they traditionally live in close interaction with Jain laity, depending upon them for food and sustenance. In the Hindu tradition, a sannyasi is one who renounces... Read more about monk

Mahavira Jayanti is the Birthday of Mahavira, the religious seer of the 6th century BCE, whose teachings of compassion and renunciation have formed the basis of the Jain tradition. In India, this day, which falls in either April or May, is a national holiday. Jains mark the occasion by bathing the image of Mahavira and performing dance-dramas on the fourteen dreams of Mahavira’s mother before he was born.

The religious holiday of Mahavira Jayanti celebrates the birth of Mahavira and is marked by the ritual bathing of his image, and Divali celebrates his liberation with an array of lights.

... Read more about Celebrating Mahavira: Mahavira Jayanti and Divali

The Jain commitment to nonviolence manifests most concretely in their vegetarian diet. Laypeople also articulate their values of nonviolence in their personal conduct and in their professional lives.

 

... Read more about Ahimsa in Daily Life

The most important Jain religious observance of the year, Paryushana literally means “abiding” or “coming together.” Lasting either eight or ten days, it is a time of intensive study, reflection, and purification. It culminates with a final day that involves confession and asking for forgiveness.

... Read more about Paryushana and the Festival of Forgiveness