Jainism, also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras, with the first in the current time cycle being Rishabhadeva, whom the tradition holds to have lived millions of years ago, the twenty-third tirthankara Parshvanatha, whom historians date to the 9th century BCE, and the twenty-fourth tirthankara Mahavira, around 600 BCE. Jainism is considered an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every time cycle of the cosmology. Central to understanding Jain philosophy is the concept of bhedvigyān, or the clear distinction in the nature of the soul and non-soul entities. This principle underscores the innate purity and potential for liberation within every soul, distinct from the physical and mental elements that bind it to the cycle of birth and rebirth. Recognizing and internalizing this separation is essential for spiritual progress and the attainment of samyak darshan or self realization, which marks the beginning of the aspirant's journey towards liberation. The three main pillars of Jainism are ahiṃsā (non-violence), anekāntavāda (non-absolutism), and aparigraha (asceticism).
Thiruvalluvar, commonly known as Valluvar, was an Indian poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the Tirukkuṟaḷ, a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economic matters, and love. The text is considered an exceptional and widely cherished work of Tamil literature.
The Chitty, also known as the Chetty or Chetti Melaka, are an ethnic group whose members are of primarily Tamil descent, found mainly and initially in Melaka, Malaysia, where they settled around the 16th century, and in Singapore where they migrated to in the 18th and 19th centuries from Melaka. Also known colloquially as "Indian Peranakans", the culture of the Chitty has drawn significant influence from the Nusantara region and to a small extent the Chinese, whilst also retaining their Hindu faith and heritage. In the 21st century, their population stands at 2,000. The Chitty/Chetti community are different from Chettiar, bankers brought from Tamil Nadu to British Malaya. They are practising Hindus.
Religion in Hong Kong is characterised by a multi-faith diversity of beliefs and practices.
Adherents of Jainism first arrived in the United States in the 20th century. Jain immigration began in earnest in the late 1960s and continues to the present day.
Hinduism is currently practiced by a minority of residents of China. The religion itself has a very limited presence in modern mainland China, but archaeological evidence suggests a significant presence of Hinduism in different provinces of medieval China. Hindu influences were also absorbed in to Buddhism and got mixed with Chinese mythology over its history. Practices originating in the Vedic tradition of ancient India such as yoga and meditation are also popular in China.
The Gujarati people, or Gujaratis, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who reside in or can trace their ancestry or heritage to a region of the Indian subcontinent primarily centered in the present-day western Indian state of Gujarat. They primarily speak Gujarati, an Indo-Aryan language. While Gujaratis mainly inhabit Gujarat, they have a diaspora worldwide. Many notable independence activists were Gujarati, including Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Vallabhbhai Patel.
Karnataka, with a total population of 61,100,000, is one of the major states in South India. Kannada is the official state language, while other linguistic minorities in the state include Kodava, Konkani, Tulu and Urdu. Karnataka is also at the forefront of population control measures, with the first two birth control clinics in history opening in 1930 in the Mandya district.
Jainism is an ancient Indian religion belonging to the śramaṇa tradition. It prescribes ahimsa (non-violence) towards all living beings to the greatest possible extent. The three main teachings of Jainism are ahimsa, anekantavada (non-absolutism), aparigraha (non-possessiveness). Followers of Jainism take five main vows: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha. Monks follow them completely whereas śrāvakas (householders) observe them partially. Self-discipline and asceticism are thus major focuses of Jainism.
The credit for introducing Jainism to the West goes to a German scholar, Hermann Jacobi, who translated some Jain literature and published it in the series 'Sacred Books of East' in 1884. In Europe, the largest Jain populations are in Britain, with a population of about 25,000.
Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The term East Indian is sometimes used to avoid confusion with Indigenous groups. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of South Asian Canadians which is a further subgroup of Asian Canadians. As of the 2021 census, Indians are the largest non-European ethnic group in the country and form the fastest growing national origin in Canada.
Jainism, unlike the closely related Buddhism, is a minority religion in Japan. At present, there are three Jain temples in Japan, with the Kobe Jain temple being the most famous one. Jainism is growing in Japan, more than 5,000 ethnic Japanese families in Japan have converted to Jainism.
The Indians in China are migrants from India to China and their descendants. In modern times, there is a large long-standing community of Indians living in Hong Kong, often for descendants with several generations of roots and a growing population of students, traders and employees in mainland China. Only 550 Indians have citizenship in China. The majority of Indians are East Indian Bengali, Bihari as well as a high proportion of North Indians.
Jain Canadians number 8,275, composing 0.02% of Canada's population. Adherents of Jainism first settled in Canada in small numbers in the late 19th century. The number of Jains in Canada later increased, leading to the establishment of Jain temples in Canada. The type of Jainism in Canada later exhibited several differences from Jainism in India.
The history of Jainism in Africa is relatively short when compared with the histories of Judaism, Christianity and Islam on the same continent. There are about 20,000 Jains and around 10 Jain organizations in Africa.
Hinduism is the most followed Religion in India and nearly 84% of the total population of Karnataka follows Hinduism, as per 2011 Census of India. Several great empires and dynasties have ruled over Karnataka and many of them have contributed richly to the growth of Hinduism, its temple culture and social development. These developments have reinforced the "Householder tradition", which is of disciplined domesticity, though the saints who propagated Hinduism in the state and in the country were themselves ascetics. The Bhakti movement, of Hindu origin, is devoted to the worship of Shiva and Vishnu; it had a telling impact on the sociocultural ethos of Karnataka from the 12th century onwards.
The history of Jainism in Australia is relatively short when compared to the history of Christianity on the same continent. There are four Jain centres in Australia. The Jain population in Australia was counted in the 2016 census to be 4,047, of whom 38% lived in Greater Sydney, 31% in Greater Melbourne, and 15% in Greater Perth. The states and territories with the highest proportion of Jains are Western Australia (0.025%) and Victoria (0.022%), whereas those with the lowest are Queensland (0.006%) and Tasmania (0.001%). As per the latest census (2021), the Jain population in Australia is 5,851, which is a 44.5% increase between 2016-2021.
There are references in Jain texts to various areas of Southeast Asia. During the reign of Samprati, Jain teachers were sent to various Southeast Asian countries.
Chennai is religiously cosmopolitan, with its denizens following various religions, chief among them being Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. Chennai, along with Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, and Kolkata, is one of the few Indian cities that are home to a diverse population of ethno-religious communities.
Māru-Gurjarat architecture or Solaṅkī style, is the style of West Indian temple architecture that originated in Gujarat and Rajasthan from the 11th to 13th centuries, under the Chaulukya dynasty. Although originating as a regional style in Hindu temple architecture, it became especially popular in Jain temples, and mainly under Jain patronage later spread across India, then later to diaspora communities around the world.
