Importance of Jain Darshan in Mental Health

Paras Jain; Lajwanti Keswani; Salil Jain; Trupti Jain; Gopal Wankhede; Tejalrani Jaiswal

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.21760/jaims.8.4.30

Importance of Jain Darshan in Mental Health

Jain P.^1*, Keswani L.², Jain S.³, Jain T.⁴, Wankhede G.⁵, Jaiswal T.⁶

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21760/jaims.8.4.30

^1* Paras Jain, Post Graduate Scholar, Department of Samhita and Siddhant, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

² Lajwanti Keswani, Reader and HOD, Department of Samhita and Siddhant, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

³ Salil Jain, Lecturer, Department of Samhita and Siddhant, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

⁴ Trupti Jain, Lecturer, Department of Swasthvritta, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

⁵ Gopal Wankhede, Lecturer, Department of Kriya Sharir, Chaitanya Ayurved Mahavidyalaya, Bhusawal, Maharashtra, India.

⁶ Tejalrani Jaiswal, Post Graduate Scholar, Department of Kriya Sharir, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India.

Jainism is said to be existed from eternal period of time and Thirthankar’s are the promoters of Jain religion. Principles of Jain Darshan are extremely precious and based on scientific values and researches. In present time peoples are suffering from various mental health issues. According to WHO, A complete health status includes physical, mental and social well-being, so mental health stability is very much important and for these various principles are must include in our life. The principles of Jain Darshan teach us about self-control, concentration, positive emotions through 5 Anuvritta viz 1. Ahimsa (non-violence) 2. Aparigraha (abstinence) 3. Satya (truth) 4. Brahmacharya (celibacy) 5. Asteya (non-stealing) and 10 Dharma’s viz 1. Kshama (forgiveness) 2. Mardava (kindness) 3. Arjava (honesty) 4. Satya (truthiness) 5. Shauch (purity) 6. Sanyam (austerity) 7. Tapa (tenacity) 8. Tyaga (renunciation) 9. Akinchana (non-attachment) 10. Brahmacharya (celibacy). These principles of Jainism can contribute in parity of mental health.

Keywords: Jain Darshan, Anuvrata, Dharam’s, Mental health

Corresponding Author	How to Cite this Article	To Browse
Paras Jain, Post Graduate Scholar, Department of Samhita and Siddhant, Pt. Khushilal Sharma Government Ayurveda College and Hospital, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Email:	Paras Jain, Lajwanti Keswani, Salil Jain, Trupti Jain, Gopal Wankhede, Tejalrani Jaiswal, Importance of Jain Darshan in Mental Health. J Ayu Int Med Sci. 2023;8(4):177-181. Available From https://jaims.in/jaims/article/view/2263

Introduction

Darshana is the act of be holding an auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. Darshana word also used for philosophical background where Darshana’s are schools of philosophy based on Vedas.^[1]

The Darshana literature is philosophical in nature and meant for erudite scholars who are endowed with acumen, understanding and intellect. Therefore, fundamentally, some of Darshana’s were viewed i.e., Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Charvaka, Jain and Bouddha.^[2]

Jain Darshana is an ancient Darshana and promoted by Tirthankara’s timely. Lord Mahavira, the 24^th Tirthankar, rejuvenated it around 2500 years ago.^[3] Jainism existed from eternal period, Tirthankar had brought the principles of Jainism to light by their extraordinary abilities and knowledge.

Materials and Methods

To study Siddhanta of Jain Darshana and signs, incidents of mental health classical texts, various health related sites, available research articles etc. were searched and reviewed.

Principles of Jain Darshana

Many principles were brought to understand Jainism and for spend a peaceful life.

The five Anuvritta^[4] are the most important principle viz.

1. Ahimsa - It means never hurt any creature by any mean i.e, physically, mentally or verbally.

2. Aparigraha - It is a concept of non-possessiveness, non-greed and non-attachment.

3. Satya - It means truth, it denotes being honest and truthful in actions, speech, and thoughts.

4. Brahmacharya - Total abstinence from sensual pleasure and the pleasure of all five senses are called celibacy. Sensual pleasure is an infatuating force, which sets aside all virtues and reason at the time of indulgence.

5. Asteya - Basic idea of Asteya is that a person should neither steal, nor have the intentions or desire to steal anything belonging to another person.

The 2^nd principle is 10 Dharam’s and is mentioned for self-purification and is meant for adhere to 10 universal virtues in practical life and leads us on right path. Mainly this principle is celebrated as 10 days festival during Panchami to Chaturdashi of Shukla Paksha in Bhadrapada month^[5]beside this these Dharam’s can be followed in daily routine life to control over various Manasika Bhavna’s like Krodha, Mana, Maya, Lobha, Matsarya, Chinta etc. and also learn about proper life living manuals. Following is the 10 Dharma-

1. Uttam Kshama - To observe tolerance whole heartedly, shunning anger.

2. Uttam Mardava - To observe the virtue of humility subduing vanity and passion.

3. Uttam Arjava - To practice a deceit free conduct in life by vanquishing the passion of deception.

4. Uttam Shauch - To keep the body, mind and speech pure by discarding greed.

5. Uttam Satya - To speak affectionate and just word with a holy intention causing no injury to any living being.

6. Uttam Sanyam - To defend all living beings with utmost power in a cosmopolitan spirit abstaining from all the pleasures provided by five senses- touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing and the sixth mind too.

7. Uttam Tapa - To practice austerities putting a check on all worldly allurements.

8. Uttam Tyaga - To give fourfold charities- Ahara (food), Abhaya (fearlessness), Aushadha (medicine), and Shastra Dana (distribution of holy scriptures) and to patronise social and religious institutions for self and other uplifts.

9. Uttam Akinchana - To enhance faith in real self as against non-self i.e., material objects and to discard internal feeling viz. Anger, pride and external viz. Accumulation of money, jewellery, property etc.

10. Uttam Brahamcharya - To observe the great vow of celibacy, to have devotion for the inner soul and the omniscient lord, to discard the carnal desires etc.

These are some principles of Jainism which are very much useful and to be practiced in daily life routines.

Concept of Mental health: According to WHO, mental health is a state of well-being in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully and is able of make a contribution to his or her community.^[6] It is fundamental to our collective and individual ability as humans to think, emote, interact with each other, earn a living and enjoy life. It is more than the absence of mental disorder; it is an integral part of health. Mental health is the balanced development of the individual personality and emotional attitudes which enable him to live harmoniously with his fellow-men. It is not exclusively a matter of relation between persons; it is also a matter of relation of the individual towards the community he/she live in, towards the society of which the community is part and towards the social institutions which for a large part guide his/her life, determine his way of living, working, leisure. Indeed, there is no health without mental health.^[7] On this basis, the promotion, protection and restoration of mental health can be regarded as a vital concern of individuals, communities and societies throughout the world.

A mentally healthy person has 3 main characteristics^[8]

1. He feels comfortable about himself that is he feels reasonably secure and adequate. He neither underestimates nor overestimates his own ability. Accept his short comings.

2. The mentally healthy person feels right towards others. This means that he is able to be interested in others and to love them. He is able to feel a part of groups without being submerged by it.

3. Mentally healthy person is able to meet the demands of life.

Prevalence and incidents: One in every 8 people in the world live with a mental disorder^[9], which involves significant disturbances in thinking, emotional regulation or behaviour. Mental illness includes Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, disruptive behaviour and dis-social disorders etc.^[10]

According to WHO fact sheet, Depression is a common mental problem globally, it is estimate that 5% of adults suffer from depression, almost 3.8%

of population affected, and over 700000 people’s die due to suicide every year.^[11] Almost 301 million people were living with an anxiety disorder including 58 million children’s and adolescents. 40 million people experienced bipolar disorder^[12] and many more data is available to establish the fact that mental illness is the leading cause of health deterioration.

Determinant of mental health: Throughout our lives, multiple individual’s social and structural determinants may combine to protect or undermine our mental health and shift our position on mental health continuum.

Exposure of unfavourable social, economic, geopolitical and environmental circumstances including violence, inequality, anger, unsatisfied ego, deceits, greed etc. also increase people’s risk of experiencing mental health conditions.^[13] When there is increase tendency of Himsa (violence, bullying etc.), Anrata (lying) cheats and uncontrollable desires for collection of money, sources peoples suffer from various problems as all these factors collectively destroys positive thinking power, enhance depression conditions stressful life which gradually leads to deterioration of mental health. The main reason behind this is, human behavioural changes, violence tendencies, greediness, various personal life problems like cheats, marriage incompatibility etc. all these factors collectively affect mental health status. Some sages and seers had paid particular attention to the unconscious, wherein lay the suppressed unfulfilled desires and compulsions of several kinds which led the individual astray; by mastering their minds, they attained the highest level of emotional equilibrium.^[14] So, in this way, Jain Darshan is the most important and crucial one. In Jain Darshan first thing that to be learned is self-control over mind, body, language etc. through Anuvrata’s, Dharam’s and many other principles. So, if any person follows these principles, he/she will be got rid from these problems. So, this article may help to reduce these incidents of mental illness.

Discussion

Mental illness is the most unrated and negligence issues in our society, most of us didn’t aware about it or try to hide it. So, for proper management of this issue every person follows these principles. Practising Anuvrata’s and Dharam’s helps in

self-control, build up self-confidence and one of the virtues of mature personality. By voluntarily keeping desires within limits and remains satisfied, one goes a long way towards psychological well-being. One of the etiological factors of mental illness is social and environmental cause and it comprises worries, anxieties, emotional stress, tension, frustration, unhappy marriages, poverty, industrialisation, changing family structures, economic insecurities, cruelty, rejection, negligence etc.^[15] These social and environmental factors not only determine the individual attitudes but also provides the frame with in which fine mental health will be formulated. In present time, we hear many news about mass violence, different shoot outs, frauds- loots cases, various relationships cheats cases all these incidents collectively lead to different states of mental illness like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder etc. Some of these crimes like shoot out, murders, loots done by any person and the reason behind this is revenge mentality, ego problems, social inequality, violence or bullying etc., suicidal tendencies increase worldwide due to fear of failure, depression, anxiety. To control all these incidents self-control over our feelings, social well-being, equality in all aspects, self-confidence must be employed in person’s life. So, formulation of mental health may be framed on the basis of principles of Jain Darshan. For example, as Ahimsa or non/violence has to be practiced towards all human being and towards all living souls, it can reduce incidence of violences, bullying, homicide and suicide also. If a person follows all these Anuvrata’s and Dharam’s, he/she will not harm anyone and to self also, not merely try to cheats, frauds with anyone, greediness of various things will be controlled so availability of resources reaches to maximum peoples of society. Through Kshama, Mardava and other Dharam’s person can manage anger, conceit, crookedness, greed etc. and connect with spirituality, get purity physically as well as mentally too. Person at any one time ,a diverse set of individual, family, community and structural factors may combine to protect or undermine mental health, although most people are resilient, people who are exposed to adverse circumstances including poverty, violence, disability & inequality are at higher risk as WHO mentioned protective & risk factor include individual psychological & biological factor such as emotional skills as well as genetics,^[16] here attentive matter is psychological factor is emotions, the one with

weaker emotion strength, less confidence are more prone to mental illness. For build-up of emotional skills mental stability, education quality, equality in all aspects/fields, respect for every human, every religion, every country may be learned by principles of Jainism.

Risk factors for mental illness is Exposure of unfavourable social, economic, geopolitical and environmental circumstances including violence, inequality, anger, unsatisfied ego, deceits, greed etc. and often experiences severe human right violation, discrimination, stigma and other mental trauma.

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Anuvrata and Dharam’s learned about self-control, limited or controlled desire and satisfaction with in limited sources. As like Ahimsa and Kshama helps to control anger, violence, teaches about forgiveness and to love every creature of this world.

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Asteya teaches about neither steal nor desire to steal anything which is not belonging to us. Satya teaches about not to lie being honest and truthful towards family, society.

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Aparigraha and Sanyam teaches non attachment and control desires.

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Brahmacharya, Shauch and Tyaga are the key factors for purity of mind, body and speech too.

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So, when a person gets rid from all these excessive desires and other elements, he/she can manage self-control, build up self-confidence and goes long way towards psychological well-being. So, by putting all these principles into practice voluntarily the person is less likely to suffer from mental illness.

Conclusion

According to Freudian psychology, conscious mind always wants pleasure of life through sensual organs and also want instinctual pleasures of life. While philosophy of Jainism teaches us that you can get permanent pleasure, joy peace and equanimity

through self -realization, The teaching of Jain philosophy & logical technique for resolving conflict through self-control, non -violence & Jain theory of Dharma’s (Dasha Lakshana) leads to peace & harmony in self-life, family & society. It also helps to promote positive emotions & control negative emotions ultimately helps to promote positive mental health.

Reference

1. Ayurvediya Padarth Vigyan Avum Ayurveda Itihas, Aacharya Vaidya Tara Chandra Sharma, Jaypee Brother’s Medical Publishers(p) ltd. Pg 32

2. Ayurvediya Padarth Vigyan Avum Ayurveda Itihas, Aacharya Vaidya Tara Chandra Sharma, Jaypee Brother’s Medical Publishers(p) ltd. Pg 37

3. Jaina religion and psychiatry, by Manilal gada, MD, ncbi.nam.nih.gov

4. www.Jaina.org

5. www.speakingtree.in

6. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental health

7. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental health

8. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine, K.park, 26th edition, M/S banarsidas bhanot publishers, Pune, pg. 925

9. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental disorder

10. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental disorder

11. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental disorder

12. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental disorder

13. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental health

14. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine, K.park, 26th edition, M/S banarsidas bhanot publishers, Pune, pg. 925

15. Park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine, K.park, 26th edition, M/S banarsidas bhanot publishers, Pune, pg 927

16. www.who.int./home/newsroom/factsheets/details/mental healt

Manuscript Received	Review Round 1	Review Round 2	Review Round 3	Accepted
2023-02-20	2023-02-22	2023-03-01	2023-03-08	2023-03-15
Conflict of Interest	Funding	Ethical Approval	Plagiarism X-checker	Note
Ni	Nil	Yes	16%

Review Article

Jain Darshan

Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences

Importance of Jain Darshan in Mental Health

Jain P.^1*, Keswani L.², Jain S.³, Jain T.⁴, Wankhede G.⁵, Jaiswal T.⁶

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Discussion

Conclusion

Reference

Review Article

Jain Darshan

Journal of Ayurveda and Integrated Medical Sciences

Importance of Jain Darshan in Mental Health

Jain P.1*, Keswani L.2, Jain S.3, Jain T.4, Wankhede G.5, Jaiswal T.6

Introduction

Materials and Methods

Discussion

Conclusion

Reference

Jain P.^1*, Keswani L.², Jain S.³, Jain T.⁴, Wankhede G.⁵, Jaiswal T.⁶