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Purpose of worship

Jain worship

The motive and purpose of Jain worship is very different from worship in many other religions - in fact it would seem that Jain principles make worship both unnecessary and futile.

Jain worship seems to contain elements similar to Hindu worship ©

Jains don't worship to please gods, or in the hope of getting something from gods in return. But nevertheless, Jains do worship

At a superficial level Jain temple worship seems to contain elements similar to worship in Hindu temples. This is the result of the cultural influence of other Indian religions on the Jain community, and not a reflection of the Jain philosophy.

A key difference between Jain and Hindu worship, which seems similar on the surface, is that although Jains appear to worship the tirthankaras in particular they don't worship them as persons: what they worship is the ideal of perfection that the tirthankaras have achieved.

The purpose of Jain worship

Jain worship provides the individual with a discipline that helps them concentrate on the Jain ideals, and cultivate detachment.

The worshipper concentrates on the virtues of the tirthankaras and other pure souls, in order to help them follow their example.

The worshipper concentrates on the virtues they want to emulate ©

So for Jains worship is only a means to an end and not a spiritual end in itself. And worship is not a sufficient means to that end.

Social effect of Jain worship

Worship in the temple, although mostly individual, does have the social benefit of binding the Jain community together, but this isn't a religious benefit, merely a side-effect.

Problems and benefits

Worship and prayer

Jain worship and prayer are radically different to the worship and prayer found in many other faiths. There are three main reasons for this:

Jain worship and prayer are different to the practices of many other faiths ©

Jainism is action, not devotion

Jainism is a religion where the follower is expected to help themselves towards salvation, through thinking and acting in the proper way. Some say that it is a religion "of action, not devotion", although others say that devotion and action can be the same thing.

Nonetheless, many Jains in India worship at their temple every day, and join forces for community worship on festival days.

There's no point in praying to gods in order to get anything but spiritual benefit

Jains say that if a person takes part in prayer or worship (or gives to charity) because they want to get something then they won't get any spiritual benefit from that worship, let alone any material benefit.

Jains have little reason to pray to gods out of self-interest since only devas can give help, siddhas cannot; and the operation of karma, which sets the quality of a being's life, is completely automatic and cannot be influenced by prayer.

Prayer cannot benefit the being who is worshipped

Jains know that spiritual beings can't benefit from being worshipped, because:

• Such beings are beyond human contact
• Such beings have been liberated from all desires and passions and so they cannot be pleased by worship or anything else

The act of worshipping brings about spiritual purification ©

So on the face of it, there is no reason for Jains to worship. Yet they do.

Why Jains worship

Despite everything said above, Jains have good reasons for worshipping:

• It improves the spiritual state of the worshipper.
• The very act of worshipping brings about spiritual purification - rather as going to the gym improves the body.
• It can destroy bad karma attached to the soul.
• It provides a focus for spiritual activity.
• It acknowledges the worshipper's own inherent divinity.
• It reminds the worshipper of the life-example they want to follow.

Jain prayers

Jain prayers

Jain prayers aren't like the God-focussed prayers found in Christianity. Instead Jain prayers tend to recall the great acts of the tirthankaras and remind the individual of the various teachings of Mahavira.

Jain prayers recall the tirthankaras and Mahavira's teachings ©

Jain prayer is part of a being's spiritual development; it is a means to an end and not an end in itself.

Jains do not pray to ask the tirthankaras for grace or material favours, but to inspire them in their practice.

Prayers are spoken in the ancient dialect of Ardha Magadhi (which is as old as Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ).

The daily prayer

One of the most important Jain prayers is the Namaskara Sutra which praises the five great beings of Jainism:

This prayer does not worship any particular individual. It worships the virtues of the arihantas, the siddhas, the acharyas, the upadhyayas and sadhus.

This prayer is learnt by all Jain children. It is often the first prayer a Jain will say when rising in the morning and the last prayer said before going to sleep for the night.

The prayer of forgiveness

This prayer begins by forgiving all beings for anything they may have done to the person praying, it goes on to ask forgiveness of all beings (including the tiniest insect) for anything that the person praying may have done to them.

The order of the prayer is very typical of Jainism - the person praying begins with the things they can change in themselves, rather than asking for changes in others.

The prayer of forgiveness begins by forgiving all beings for anything. ©

A modern Jain prayer expresses the same idea:

And a posting to an email list offered this variation which is both modern in expression and eternal in attitude:

Find out more

• Jainism - Temples
• Lay Jain code