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.

Jina means “victor,” one who has won spiritual liberation. The Jain teacher Mahavira, like the enlightened ones before him, was given the honorific title of Jina since, through his spiritual victory, he had conquered ignorance to realize the luminous, perfect soul. Those who follow the path of the Jinas are called Jains.

In the religious traditions of India, an upadhyaya is a teacher or preceptor.

Today the most widely practiced method of Jain meditation involves sitting or standing completely still for 48 minutes, letting go of all passions and negative mental attitudes, thereby attaining a sense of equanimity (samayika). Another technique is prekshadhyana, or “insight meditation,” in which the meditator engages the mind to fully attend to the subtle and changing phenomena of consciousness.

The Sthanakvasis are members of a Shvetambara Jain sect which regards image-worship as contrary to the teachings of the Tirthankaras. They are called Sthanakvasis (“Dwellers in Halls”) because their monks and nuns do no. stay in monasteries attached to temples, as do other Shvetambara mendicants. Sthanakvasi monks and nuns can be recognized by their practice of permanently wearing a cloth to cover their mouth and nose, lest they inadvertently harm invisible life forms by inhaling them.

Dharma means religion, religious duty, religious teaching. The word dharma comes from a Sanskrit root meaning “to uphold, support, bear,” thus dharma is that order of things which informs the whole world, from the laws of nature to the inner workings of conscience. For the Buddhist tradition, the Dharma (or Dhamma in Pali) refers especially to the teachings of the Buddha. This body of teachings constitutes one element of the “Three Jewels” in which Buddhists take refuge: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha (the community). For Hindus, ... Read more about Dharma

Seva means service, a religious obligation of both renunciants and laity in the religious traditions of India.