There are perhaps as many as 20 million Jains in the world. This is roughly twice as many adherents to Jainism as to Judaism—especially when you consider that a lot of “Jews” follow Judaism as much as I follow Catholicism. And Jainism is a hard road to brush. (Note: Jain joke!) But a beautiful one.
One of the greatest teachers of Jainism is Vardhamana Mahavira. More than that really. If you think of Christianity, Mahavira is at least Paul, if not Jesus himself.
Jainism, like all religions, has many wacky rituals and beliefs. This isn’t a bad thing; nerds have similar rituals and beliefs like debates about whether Kirk or Picard is the better starship captain. What’s most important is the core belief a religion. And for the Jains it is nonviolence.[1]
Here is a quotation from Vardhamana Mahavira:
Just imagine if our society were built on this rather than, say, the Ten (or so) Commandments! Not that I’m suggesting that you should covet thy neighbor’s house. Or wife. Or manservant. Or maidservant. Or ox. Or ass. (Not the ass!) Or any of that jerk’s stuff.
[1] I have no idea what it is for the nerds. Rationality, perhaps? It’s hard to say. Certainly not nonviolence. Being a wimp is not the same as being nonviolent. I’ll leave it to the reader to decide. Perhaps it is 42.