Its a religion and philosophy of India, founded in the 6th century BC by Vardhamana, who is known as Mahavira ("Great Hero")--the 24th of the Tirthankaras. Jinas on whose example the religion is centered, protests against the orthodox Vedic (early Hindu) ritualistic cult. Earliest proponents probably belonged to a sect that rebelled against the idea and practice of taking life prevalent in the Vedic animal sacrifice. Jainism, which does not espouse belief in a creator god, has as its ethical core the doctrine of ahimsa, or non-injury to all living creatures, and as its religious ideal the perfection of man's nature, to be achieved predominantly through the monastic and ascetic life.
	We get our blessing by the key Mantra - Live and Let Live. We follow five principles of living: Ahimsa: "non violence in all parts of a person -- mental, verbal and physical." Committing an act of violence against a human, animal, or even vegetable generates negative karma which in turn adversely affects one's next life. Satya: speaking truth; avoiding falsehood Asteya: to not steal from others Brahma-charya: (soul conduct); remaining sexually monogamous to one's spouse only Aparigraha: detach from people, places and material things. Avoiding the collection of excessive material possessions, abstaining from over-indulgence, restricting one's needs, etc.
	Another main goal in our life is Vegetarianism: Vegetarianism is a way of life for a Jain, taking its origin in the concept of compassion for living beings, Jiva Daya. The practice of vegetarianism is seen as an instrument for the practice of nonviolence and peaceful, cooperative coexistence. Jains are strict vegetarians, consuming only one-sensed beings, primarily from the plant kingdom. While the Jain diet does, of course, involve harm to plants, it is regarded as a means of survival which involves the bare minimum amount of violence towards living beings. (Many forms of plant material, including roots and certain fruits, are also excluded from the Jain diet due to the greater number of living beings they contain owing to the environment in which they develop.)
	We start our day with this prayer.
	When we say the Navkar Mantra(the prayer), we are paying our respect to the Arihant Bhagwans, the Siddha Bhagwans, the Acharyas, the Upadhyayas, the Monks, and the Nuns. Arihant Bhagwans are in their last life and they have destroyed the four ghati (heavy) karmas which affect the condition of the enlightment of the soul. They have infinite knowledge and don't have any attachment to anything. They don't hate anything either. They will get rid of the other four karmas called aghati (lighter) karmas before they die. Then they will become Siddha Bhagwans. They are first in the Navkar Mantra, even though their souls aren't free because they show us the path to freedom. Since they are our teachers, we pay respect to them first. Those souls who don't have any karmas and don't have to go through the cycle of birth and death anymore are called Siddha Bhagwans. Next we pay respect to Acharyas. They are the heads of all monks and live a very pure and perfect life. Then we pay respect to Upadhyayas. They have learned the sacred scriptures and are now teaching them to the monks and nuns. Last we pay respect all the monks and nuns who have accepted to live under strict code of conduct.
	Some Links to other sites about Jainism
	JainWorld
	IndiaBlessing
	A good Site with a lot of links about Jainism
	www.sevapooja.com
	www.mantraonline.com
	Jainism At Yahoo
	HappyCow's Global Guide to Vegetarian Restaurants and Health Food Stores.vegetarian diet