It's Good to Know: About Jainism

As we said last week, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism are the four major religions in India. But India is also home to more than 4.2 million Jains.

Jainism, one of the world's oldest religions, originated in India. It emphasizes behavioral consequences, the equality of all life, nonviolence, self-control, scholarship, and spiritual independence.

The nonviolence of Jainism extends to vegetarianism, because all life forms are considered sacred. Some Jains are so opposed to killing animals that they wear cotton mesh - called muhapatti - over their mouths so as not to accidentally inhale insects or even microscopic organisms.

(Source: ReligiousTolerance.org, Wikipedia)
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2212, 11-29-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.