Saptarishi
The Saptarishi are the seven rishis in ancient India, who are extolled at many places in the Vedas and Jivan literature. The Vedic Samhitas never enumerate these rishis by name, though Vedic texts such as the Brahmanas and Upanisads do so, they are regarded in the Vedas as the patriarchs of the Vedic religion. The earliest list of the Seven Rishis is given by Jaiminiya Brahmana 2.218-221: Agastya, Bhardwaja, Jamadagni and Vishvamitra followed by Brihadaranyaka Upanisad 2.2.6 with a different list: Gautama and Bharadvaja and Jamadagni, Vashistha and Kashyapa and Atri, Bhrigu. The late Gopatha Brahmana 1.2.8 has Vashistha, Jamadagni, Bharadvaja, Agastya and Kashyapa. In post-Vedic texts, different lists appear. Other representations are Shiva as the Destroyer and Vishnu as the Preserver. Since these seven rishis were among the primary seven rishis, who were considered to be the ancestors of the Gotras of Brahmins, the birth of these rishis was mythicized. In ancient Indian astronomy, the constellation of the Big Dipper is called saptarishi, with the seven stars representing seven rishis, namely "Vashistha", "Marichi", "Pulastya", "Pulaha", "Atri", "Angiras" and "Kratu".
There is another star visible within it, known as "Arundhati". Arundhati is the wife of Vashistha. Vashishtha and Arundhati together form the Mizar double; as per legend, the seven Rishis in the next Manvantara will be Diptimat, Parashurama, Drauni or Ashwatthama and Rishyasringa. Saptarishis are the hierarchy working under the guidance of the highest creative intelligence, Paramatma; the present batch of the Saptarishis are Kashyapa, Vasistha, Gautama Maharishi and Bharadvaja. They bring down to the earth the required knowledge and energies to strengthen the processes of transition, they are the most evolved'light beings' in the creation and the guardians of the divine laws. In post-Vedic religion, Manvantara is the astronomical time within a Kalpa, a "day of Brahma", like the present Śveta Vārāha Kalpa, where again 14 Manvantaras add up to create one Kalpa; each Manvantara is ruled by a specific Manu. Apart from the omnipotent supreme almighty-Vishnu & next in line to brahma's place-Vayu. On, Vayu ascends the throne of Brahma and the process of creation thus begins again after the mahapralaya and their sons are born anew in each new Manvantara according to the Vishnu Purana.
The names of the current Saptarshis are: Kashyapa, Vasistha, Gautama Maharishi and Bharadvaja. The Saptarishis keep changing for every Yuga; as per Hindu Shastras, there are four yugas: Krita Yuga / Sat Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga. We are at present in the Kali Yuga. Over all, 4,320,000 years termed as 1 Chaturyuga. 1000 Chaturyugas make the day of 12 hours for Brahma and during another 12 hours, Brahma takes rest and there is no creation during this period. Thus 1 day for Brahma constitutes 1000 Chaturyugas, thus 1 year constitutes 360 x 4,320,000,000 = 1,555,200,000,000 days. The valid avatar's clan will be named after Ashvamedh. At the end of every four ages there is a disappearance of the Vedas and it is the province of the seven Rishis to come down upon earth from heaven to give them currency again. 1. The Shatapatha Brahmana and Brihadaranyaka Upanishad acknowledge the names of seven rishis as: Atri Bharadvaja Gautama Maharishi Jamadagni Kashyapa Vasistha Vishwamitra2. Krishna Yajurveda in the Sandhya-Vandana Mantras has it as: Angiras Atri Bhrigu Gautama Maharishi Kashyapa Kutsa Vasistha3.
Mahabharata gives the Seven Rishis' names: Marichi Atri Pulaha Pulastya Kratu Vasistha Kashyapaetc. 4. Brihat Samhita gives the Seven Rishis' names as: Marichi Vasistha Angiras Atri Pulastya Pulaha Kratu In Jainism it is stated that, "Once at Mathura situated in Uttar Pradesh Seven Riddhidhari Digamber saints having'Aakaashgamini Vidhya' came during the rainy season for chaturmaas whose names were 1.) Surmanyu, 2.) Shrimanyu, 3.) Shrinichay, 4.) Sarvasundar, 5.) Jayvaan, 6.) Vinaylaala and 7.) Jaymitra. They all were sons of King Shri Nandan of queen Dharini. Shri Nandan king took diksha becoming shishya of Omniscient Pritinkar Muniraaj and attained salvation; because of great tapcharan of these seven digamber munis the'Mahamaari' disease stopped its evil effect and they all gained the name as'Saptrishi'. Many idols of these seven munis were made after that event by King Shatrughna in all four directions of the city." Yogini wife of Jogi Nachiketa Dhruva
Nepal
Nepal the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas but includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. With an estimated population of 26.4 million, it is 48th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It borders China in the north and India in the south and west while Bangladesh is located within only 27 km of its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic nation with Nepali as the official language; the name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient India when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BCE, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal.
Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala; the Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional architecture. By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal; the Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rajput Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951, but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005; the Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the proclamation of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy. The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, establishes Nepal as a federal secular parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces.
Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and the People's Republic of China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, of which it is a founding member. Nepal is a member of the Non Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative; the military of Nepal is the fifth largest in South Asia. Local legends have it that a Hindu sage named "Ne" established himself in the valley of Kathmandu in prehistoric times, that the word "Nepal" came into existence as the place was protected by the sage "Nemi", it is mentioned in Vedic texts. According to the Skanda Purana, a rishi called. In the Pashupati Purana, he is mentioned as a protector, he is said to have taught there. The name of the country is identical in origin to the name of the Newar people; the terms "Nepāl", "Newār", "Newāl" and "Nepār" are phonetically different forms of the same word, instances of the various forms appear in texts in different times in history.
Nepal is the learned Sanskrit form and Newar is the colloquial Prakrit form. A Sanskrit inscription dated 512 CE found in Tistung, a valley to the west of Kathmandu, contains the phrase "greetings to the Nepals" indicating that the term "Nepal" was used to refer to both the country and the people, it has been suggested that "Nepal" may be a Sanskritization of "Newar", or "Newar" may be a form of "Nepal". According to another explanation, the words "Newar" and "Newari" are vulgarisms arising from the mutation of P to V, L to R. Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people have been living in the Himalayan region for at least eleven thousand years. Nepal is first mentioned in the late Vedic Atharvaveda Pariśiṣṭa as a place exporting blankets, in the post-Vedic Atharvashirsha Upanishad. In Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar it is mentioned as a border country; the Skanda Purana has a separate chapter, known as "Nepal Mahatmya", with more details. Nepal is mentioned in Hindu texts such as the Narayana Puja.
Legends and ancient texts that mention the region now known as Nepal reach back to the 30th century BC. The Gopal Bansa were one of the earliest inhabitants of Kathmandu valley; the earliest rulers of Nepal were the Kiratas, peoples mentioned in Hindu texts, who ruled Nepal for many centuries. Various sources mention up to 32 Kirati kings. Around 500 BCE, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya polity, arose a prince who renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded Buddhism, came to be known as Gautama Buddha. By 250 BCE, the southern regions had come under the influence of the Maurya Empire of North India and became a vassal state under the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE. There is a quite detailed description of the kingdom of Nepal in the account of the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim monk Xuanzang, dating from about 645 CE. Stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley are important sources for the history of Nepal.
The kings of the Lichhavi dynasty have been found to have r
Yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of yoga. In Vedic Sanskrit, yoga means "to add", "to join", "to unite", or "to attach" in its most common literal sense, whereas in recent days in the West, yoga means only the physical exercises of hatha yoga, the asanas; the term yogi is used broadly to refer to sannyasi or practitioners of meditation in a number of Indian religions. The feminine form is yogini, but is not always used in the West. Yogi, or jogi, since the 12th century CE, while meaning those dedicated to Yoga practice, has referred to members of the Nath siddha tradition of Hinduism. Alternatively, in tantra traditions of Hinduism and Jainism, a practitioner of tantra may be called a yogi. In Hindu mythology, god Shiva and goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogi–yogini pair. In Classical Sanskrit, the word yogi is derived from yogin. Yogi is technically male, yoginī is the term used for female practitioners; the two terms are still used with those meanings today, but the word yogi is used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method.
The term yogini is used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all revered as aspects of the mother goddess, Devi. A yogi, states Banerjea, should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism and excessive self-mortification. In Hinduism the term yogi refers to an adherent of yoga; the earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states Karel Werner, is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda, though with the terminology of Rudra who evolved into Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in Hinduism. The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis, whom it refers to as Kesin, describes them as follows: Carrying within oneself fire and poison and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from the heights of spritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor; this is true of man in general and the Keśin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality.
He is said to enlightenment itself. The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention, his hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption and meditating and therefore he is called "sage". They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or more they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil, but their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away; the term yogin appears in Katyayana Shrauta-sutra and chapter 6 of Maitri Upanishad, where the implied context and meaning is "a follower of the Yoga system, a contemplative saint". The term sometimes refers to a person, they belong to Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the Vaishnava tradition. In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their principal god tends to be Nirguna, a god, without form and semi-monistic, influenced in the medieval era by the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices.
The Yoga-Bhashya, the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis: Prathama-kalpika Madhu-bhumika Prajna-jyoti Atikranta- bhavaniya A yogi or yogini aspires to Brahmacharya, which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner. There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for a yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards monk- and nun-like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path, it is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies. The second view, found in Tantra traditions according to David Gordon White, asserts that sexuality is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself". In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice, one broadly revered through the lingam–yoni iconography of Shiva–Parvati, the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology.
A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called Niyamas. These include: Ahiṃsā: nonviolence, non-harming other living beings Satya: truthfulness, non-falsehood Asteya: not stealing Dayā: kindness, compassion Ārjava: non-hypocrisy, sincerity Kṣamā: forgiveness Dhṛti: fortitude Mitāhāra: moderation in diet both in terms of quantity and quality Śauca: purity, cleanliness Tapas: austerity and perseverance in one's purpose Santoṣa: contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances as they are, optimism for self Dāna: generosity, sharing with others According to David White, iddha means'realized, perfected one', a term applied to a practitioner who has, through his practice, realized his dual goal of superhuman powers (siddhis,'realizations','perfectio
India
India known as the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh largest country by area and with more than 1.3 billion people, it is the second most populous country as well as the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia; the Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE. In the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, Buddhism and Jainism arose. Early political consolidations took place under the Gupta empires. In the medieval era, Zoroastrianism and Islam arrived, Sikhism emerged, all adding to the region's diverse culture.
Much of the north fell to the Delhi Sultanate. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal Empire. In the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, in the mid-19th under British Crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance and led to India's independence in 1947. In 2017, the Indian economy was the world's sixth largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the fastest-growing major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption and inadequate public healthcare. A nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the second largest standing army in the world and ranks fifth in military expenditure among nations. India is a federal republic governed under a parliamentary system and consists of 29 states and 7 union territories.
A pluralistic and multi-ethnic society, it is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindush, equivalent to the Sanskrit word Sindhu, the historical local appellation for the Indus River; the ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as "The people of the Indus". The geographical term Bharat, recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations, it is a modernisation of the historical name Bharatavarsha, which traditionally referred to the Indian subcontinent and gained increasing currency from the mid-19th century as a native name for India. Hindustan is a Middle Persian name for India, it was introduced into India by the Mughals and used since then. Its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety; the name may refer to either the northern part of India or the entire country.
The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago. Nearly contemporaneous human rock art sites have been found in many parts of the Indian subcontinent, including at the Bhimbetka rock shelters in Madhya Pradesh. After 6500 BCE, evidence for domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, storage of agricultural surplus, appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan; these developed into the Indus Valley Civilisation, the first urban culture in South Asia, which flourished during 2500–1900 BCE in what is now Pakistan and western India. Centred around cities such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Kalibangan, relying on varied forms of subsistence, the civilization engaged robustly in crafts production and wide-ranging trade. During the period 2000–500 BCE, many regions of the subcontinent transitioned from the Chalcolithic cultures to the Iron Age ones; the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed during this period, historians have analysed these to posit a Vedic culture in the Punjab region and the upper Gangetic Plain.
Most historians consider this period to have encompassed several waves of Indo-Aryan migration into the subcontinent from the north-west. The caste system, which created a hierarchy of priests and free peasants, but which excluded indigenous peoples by labeling their occupations impure, arose during this period. On the Deccan Plateau, archaeological evidence from this period suggests the existence of a chiefdom stage of political organisation. In South India, a progression to sedentary life is indicated by the large number of megalithic monuments dating from this period, as well as by nearby traces of agriculture, irrigation tanks, craft traditions. In the late Vedic period, around the 6th century BCE, the small states and chiefdoms of the Ganges Plain and the north-western regions had consolidated into 16 major oligarchies and monarchies that were known as the mahajanapadas; the emerging urbanisation gave rise to non-Vedic religious movements, two of which became independent religions. Jainism came into prominence during the life of Mahavira.
Buddhism, based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, attracted followers from all social classes excepting the middle
Honorific
An honorific is a title that conveys esteem or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title, it is often conflated with systems of honorific speech in linguistics, which are grammatical or morphological ways of encoding the relative social status of speakers. Honorifics are used as a style in the grammatical third person, as a form of address in the second person. Use in the first person, by the honored dignitary, is uncommon or considered rude and egotistical; some languages have anti-honorific first person forms whose effect is to enhance the relative honor accorded to the person addressed. The most common honorifics in modern English are placed before a person's name. Honorifics which can be used include, in the case of a man, "Mr", in the case of a woman the honorific may depend on her marital status: if she is unmarried, it is "Miss", if she has been married it is "Mrs", if her marital status is unknown, or it is not desired to specify it, "Ms".
The honorific "Mstr" may be used for a boy who has not yet entered society. Someone who does not want to express a gender with their honorific may use Mx, Ind. or Misc.. In the U. S. these terms are styled with a period because they were abbreviations. "Ms." is styled with a period for consistency. In Great Britain, periods are not used. Other honorifics may denote the honored person's occupation, for instance "Doctor", "Esquire", "Captain", "Coach", "Officer", "The Reverend" for all clergy or "Father", "Rabbi" for Jewish clergy, or Professor. Holders of an academic Doctorate such as PhD are addressed as "Doctor". "Master" as a prefix ahead of the name of boys and young men up to about 16 years of age is less common than it used to be, but is still used by older people addressing the young in formal situations and correspondence. Some honorifics act as complete replacements for a name, as "Sir" or "Ma'am", or "Your Honor". Subordinates will use honorifics as punctuation before asking a superior a question or after responding to an order: "Yes, sir" or "Sir, sir."
Judges are addressed as "Your Honor" when on the bench, the style is "His/Her Honor" the plural form is "Your Honors". If the judge has a higher title, that may be the correct honorific to use, for example, in Britain: "Your Lordship". Members of the U. S. Supreme Court are addressed as "Justice". A monarch and his/her consort may be addressed or referred to as "Your/His/Her Majesty", "Their Majesties", etc.. Monarchs below kingly rank are addressed as "Your/His/Her Highness", the exact rank being indicated by an appropriate modifier, e.g. "His Serene Highness" for a member of a princely dynasty, or "Her Grand Ducal Highness" for a member of a family that reigns over a grand duchy. Verbs with these honorifics as subject are conjugated in the third person Protocol for monarchs and aristocrats can be complex, with no general rule. There are differences between "Your Highness" and "Your Royal Highness". All of these apply to people of subtly different rank. An example of a non-obvious style is "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother", an official style, but unique to one person.
In music, a distinguished conductor or virtuoso instrumentalist may be known as "Maestro". In aviation, pilots in command of a larger civil aircraft are addressed as "Captain" plus their full name or surname; this tradition is diminishing in the United States and most EU countries. However, many countries in Asia, follow this tradition and address airline pilots, military pilots, flight instructors as "Captain" outside of the professional environment. In addition, such countries' etiquette rules dictate that this title must be placed on all the official letters and social invitations, business cards, identification documents, etc. In the United States, when addressing a pilot, common etiquette does not require the title "Captain" to be printed on official letters or invitations before the addressee's full name. However, this is optional and may be used where appropriate when addressing airline pilots with many years of experience. Occupants of state and political office may be addressed with an honorific.
A monarch may be addressed as His/Her Majesty, a president as Your Excellency or Mr/Madam President, a minister or secretary of state as "Your Excellency" or Mr/Madam Secretary, etc. A prime minister may be addressed as "the Honorable". In the UK, members of the Privy Council are addressed as "the Right Honourable...". A member of Parliament or other legislative body may have particular honorifics. A member of a Senate, for example, may be addressed as "Senator"; the etiquette varies and most countries have protocol specifying the honorifics to be used for its state, judicial and other officeholders. Former military officers are
Jainism
Jainism, traditionally known as Jain Dharma, is an ancient, non-theistic, Indian religion. Followers of Jainism are called "Jains", a word derived from the Sanskrit word jina and connoting the path of victory in crossing over life's stream of rebirths through an ethical and spiritual life. Jains trace their history through a succession of 24 victorious saviours and teachers known as tirthankaras, with the first being Rishabhanatha, who according to Jain tradition lived millions of years ago, twenty-third being Parshvanatha in 8th century BC and twenty-fourth being the Mahāvīra around 500 BCE. Jains believe that Jainism is an eternal dharma with the tirthankaras guiding every cycle of the Jain cosmology; the main religious premises of Jainism are anekāntavāda, aparigraha and asceticism. Devout Jains take five main vows: ahiṃsā, asteya and aparigraha; these principles have impacted Jain culture in many ways, such as leading to a predominantly vegetarian lifestyle that avoids harm to animals and their life cycles.
Parasparopagraho Jīvānām is the motto of Jainism. Ṇamōkāra mantra is the most basic prayer in Jainism. Jainism has Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras; the Digambaras and Śvētāmbaras have different views on ascetic practices and which Jain texts can be considered canonical. Jain mendicants are found in all Jain sub-traditions except Kanji Panth sub-tradition, with laypersons supporting the mendicants' spiritual pursuits with resources. Jainism has between five million followers, with most Jains residing in India. Outside India, some of the largest Jain communities are present in Canada, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Suriname and the United States. Major Jain festivals include Paryushana and Daslakshana, Mahavir Jayanti, Diwali; the principle of ahimsa is a fundamental tenet of Jainism. It believes that one must abandon all violent activity, without such a commitment to non-violence all religious behavior is worthless. In Jain theology, it does not matter how correct or defensible the violence may be, one must not kill any being, "non-violence is one's highest religious duty".
Jain texts such as Acaranga Sūtra and Tattvarthasūtra state that one must renounce all killing of living beings, whether tiny or large, movable or immovable. Its theology teaches that one must neither kill another living being, nor cause another to kill, nor consent to any killing directly or indirectly. Furthermore, Jainism emphasizes non-violence against all beings not only in action but in speech and in thought, it states that instead of hate or violence against anyone, "all living creatures must help each other". Violence negatively affects and destroys one's soul when the violence is done with intent, hate or carelessness, or when one indirectly causes or consents to the killing of a human or non-human living being; the idea of reverence for non-violence is founded in Hindu and Buddhist canonical texts, it may have origins in more ancient Brahmanical Vedic thoughts. However, no other Indian religion has developed the non-violence doctrine and its implications on everyday life as has Jainism.
The theological basis of non-violence as the highest religious duty has been interpreted by some Jain scholars not to "be driven by merit from giving or compassion to other creatures, nor a duty to rescue all creatures", but resulting from "continual self-discipline", a cleansing of the soul that leads to one's own spiritual development which affects one's salvation and release from rebirths. Causing injury to any being in any form creates bad karma which affects one's rebirth, future well being and suffering. Late medieval Jain scholars re-examined the Ahiṃsā doctrine when one is faced with external threat or violence. For example, they justified violence by monks to protect nuns. According to Dundas, the Jain scholar Jinadatta Suri wrote during a time of Muslim destruction of temples and persecution that "anybody engaged in a religious activity, forced to fight and kill somebody would not lose any spiritual merit but instead attain deliverance". However, such examples in Jain texts that condone fighting and killing under certain circumstances are rare.
The second main principle of Jainism is anekāntavāda or anekantatva, a word derived from anekānta and vada. The anekāntavāda doctrine states that reality is complex and always has multiple aspects. Reality can be experienced, but it is not possible to express it with language. Human attempts to communicate is Naya, explained as "partial expression of the truth". Language is not Truth. From Truth, according to Mahāvīra, language returns and not the other way round. One can experience the truth of a taste, but cannot express that taste through language. Any attempts to express the experience is syāt, or valid "in some respect" but it remains a "perhaps, just one perspective, incomplete". In the same way, spiritual truths are complex, they have multiple aspects, language cannot express their plurality, yet through effort and appropriate karma they can be experienced. Since reality is many-sided the great error, according to Jainism, is ekānta where some relative truth is treated as an absolute truth to the exclusion of others.
The anekāntavāda premise of the Jains is ancient, as evidenced by its mention in Buddhist texts such as the Samaññapha
