I guess I have started to think more about philosophical topics like religion, enlightenment and spirituality, which was prompted from discussions from my AP Lang class. I really started to think about my own beliefs, and why I follow the religion I do. As an Indian, people assume I am either Hindu or Muslim. When I tell them I am a Jain, they say they have never heard of Jainism. I would like to get my beliefs down in writing in order to identify my beliefs and also help others better understand them.

Religions are formed to develop a system of values, invoke discipline, help maintain peace and help people find true happiness. But perhaps the most important function of a religion is to explain the unknown. Religion helps guide people when they are not sure what is right or wrong, or how the world works. Everyone creates their own philosophies based on their beliefs, and people with similar beliefs have come together to follow the same religion. One question that is central to almost all religions is whether there is a God, or something that transcends or is greater than human kind.

At the age of about 10 years old, I began to go to meetings for the Interfaith Association of Central Ohio. Although some may say these meetings were boring, long sessions of prayer and sermon, I would have to say the experience I had through these meetings was valuable and priceless. In this time and day, in a country founded on diversity and freedom, it is important to gain a better understanding of the beliefs of yourself and the people around you. I remember how thousands of people of different religions gathered in front of the Ohio statehouse the day before the United States declared the “war on terror.” Some of these people believed in a God while others believed in another higher power. Whatever they believed, there was something that brought together so many people of different faiths together that day, to pray and symbolically show their opposition against violence and war.

Many of the conflicts between religions seem to come from their disagreement on who this higher power is, or if there is one at all. I have shaped my philosophy on whether there is a higher power based on my religion, as most people do.

I am a follower of the Jain philosophy, also known as Jainism. It is not just a religion; it is a way of life. My beliefs on whether there is a God or not come from my understanding of Jainism. I believe that there is no God, nor is there any thing that transcends or is greater than human kind. Jainism is an eastern philosophy that shares the idea of reincarnation, nirvana and karma. There is no thing that transcends humankind. The only power that transcends humankind is the soul, which is not a thing. The universe consists of six substances: Space, motion, rest, time, matter and the soul. The first five are properties of existence, while the last is of non-existence. The soul does not physically exist therefore it transcends humankind.

So what is the soul? The soul could be defined as the difference between life and death. When a person dies, nothing physically leaves the body. Based on my belief of reincarnation, the soul would populate another body and live another life, until the person manages to remove all karma from their soul and attain Nirvana. Since the soul is not physical matter, it does not need to move through space or time, so it will move from body to body instantly.

The idea is that all people are actually their soul. They control their own destiny through their actions. They accumulate good and bad karma based on nine different dimensions. Karma is based on a person’s thought, speech and action and the person can do any of these things themselves, tell another person to do it, or encourage someone else to do it.

The reason I believe in karma is because I find it hard to believe one being could have so much control over the entire universe. How do they gain so much power, and why do they have a chance at that power while I don’t? I know people that are very pious, yet they are still having troubles in their lives. What could explain this if they were only living one life, then going to either heaven or hell? Why would an all-loving being create a life that is unfair? The best explanation I have found to these questions so far has been the karma theory. Religion explains the unknown and I have chosen to adopt the Jain philosophy on life because to me, it seems to be the most logical explanation of why life is the way it is.

Posted in Posted by Umang Patel at 4:59 PM