Jain Symbol is a congregation
of various symbols, each having a deeper
meaning.
This symbol was adopted by all sects of
Jainism while commemorating the 2500th anniversary
of the nirvana of Lord Mahavira.
The
outline of the symbol is defined as the
universe (Lok). The lower part of the symbol
represents the seven hells (Naraki). The
middle part of the universe contains the
Earth and the planets (Manushyalok). The
upper part contains the heavenly abodes
(Devlok) of all the celestial beings and
abode of the Siddhas (Siddhashila). Jains
believe that this universe was neither created
by anyone, nor can it be destroyed by anyone.
It may change its form, but otherwise, it
has always been and will always be here.
The
raised hand means stop. The word in the
center of the wheel is "Ahimsa".
Ahimsa means non-violence. Between these
two, they remind us to stop for a minute
and think twice before doing anything. This
gives us a chance to scrutinize our activities
to be sure that they will not hurt anyone
by our words, thoughts, or actions. We are
also not supposed to ask or encourage others
to take part in any harmful activity. The
wheel in the hand shows that if we are not
careful and ignore these warnings and carry
on violent activities, then just as the
wheel goes round and round, we will go round
and round through the cycles of birth and
death.
The
four arms of the swastika remind us that
during the cycles of birth and death we
may be born into any one of the four destinies:
heavenly beings, human beings, animal beings,
(including birds, bugs, and plants) and
hellish beings. Our aim should be the liberation
and not the rebirth. To show how we can
do this, the swastika reminds us that we
should become the pillars of the four fold
Jain Sangh, then only can we achieve liberation.
The four pillars of the Jain Sangh are sädhus,
sädhvis, shrävaks, and shrävikäs.
This means that first, we should strive
to be a true shrävaks or shrävikäs,
and when we can overcome our social attachments,
we should renounce the worldly life and
follow the path of a sädhu or sädhvi
to be liberated.
The
three dots above the swastika represent
the three jewels of Jainism: Samyak Darshan
(Right Faith), Samyak Jnan (Right Knowledge),
and Samyak Charitra (Right Conduct). We
should have all three: right knowledge,
right faith, and right conduct together,
then only can we achieve the liberation.
The right knowledge means having the knowledge
that soul and body are separate and that
the soul, not the body attains the salvation.
The right faith means one must have faith
in what is told by Jinas, who were omniscient.
The right conduct means that our actions
should be void of attachment and hatred.
At the
very top part of the Jain Universe symbol
is a small curved arc. This arc represents
the abode of the Siddhas. It is known as
the Siddhashila. It is the final resting
place of the liberated souls. The dot represents
a siddha. In order to achieve this stage,
a soul must destroy all attached karmas.
Every living being should strive for this
state of the Salvation or Liberation.
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