Jain: magic in this belief world

Jainism is strongly committed to non-harm, and many Jains hold a strict line against anything that injures living beings. Yet Jain practice includes mantras, yantras, protective diagrams and rites, and the Navkar Mantra is recited by Jains daily. This page looks at how a tradition built on non-violence deals with ritual power, and who takes part. Jain communities are small but widely spread, and have strongly shaped the commerce of western India.

Mantra and yantra

The Navkar or Namokar Mantra honours the five categories of worthy beings and is central to Jain prayer. Other mantras and yantras, such as the Uvasaggaharam Stotra and the Siddhachakra yantra, are used for protection and for prosperity, and their use is explained in Jain texts. Many Jains take them as aids to devotion, and some as sources of worldly benefit. Their small numbers and mercantile history mean that temples and libraries are well kept, and rites follow a set schedule.

Limits set by non-harm

The principle of ahimsa limits ritual. Animal sacrifice is rejected, and many monks and nuns avoid practices that could hurt others, including cursing. Texts and commentators discuss the dangers of magic and the status of monks who use it. The tradition recognises that spells and omens exist, while teaching that liberation does not depend on them. Many rituals centre on merit and on restraint, as in fasting and renunciation, and teachers say that the highest rites are those of the mind.

Monks, laity and gender

Monks and nuns hold the highest authority, and the two main sects, Digambara and Svetambara, differ on the rank and path of women renunciants. Laywomen take a leading role in fasting and rites. Class matters too, as many Jains are traders, and ritual for prosperity features strongly in some communities. Many monks teach astrology and mantra to lay followers for practical help, though such advice is seen as secondary to the path of release.

Diaspora and scholarship

Jain communities in Britain, the United States and East Africa keep temples and festivals such as Paryushana. Scholars of Jainism, such as Paul Dundas, note that the line between mantra and magic is argued within the tradition. Outsiders sometimes confuse Jainism with Hinduism or Buddhism, which community members correct. In the diaspora, young Jains sometimes find it easier to explain their beliefs as an ethical system, and rites for prosperity or protection are less often discussed outside the community.