In the sixth century B.C.E., Jainism and Buddhism initially developed as a reaction to certain currents within Hinduism. Jainism presented a clear path of ethical and religious purity as the way to liberation from karma and rebirth. While Buddhism spread across India and overflowed its boundaries to the south, east, and north, Jainism remained essentially within India.

Ahimsa (non-violence) is a natural consequence of a deep, abiding reverence for life, and it is the cornerstone of Jain philosophy. Ahimsa is action based on an unfathomable realization of the inifinite value and complexity of life. Thus, it is the path of compassion, or love-in-action, and the silent power of love is the greatest force in the universe.

Chitrabhanu is the spiritual father of millions of Jains across the world. Janism has its roots in the Sanskrit verb "ji", meaning to conquer. We must conquer our inner enemies of anger, greed, egocentricity, fear, and jealousy on the path to enlightenment.

When I received a circular that Chitrabhanu would be speaking in Whitmore Lake, Michigan, at the Lighthouse Center, there was a prose piece by him on the front cover. It read:

love is vast
when you encompass that vastness
then you will love all
when you love all
you will really love the one whom you love

If our actions are going to be something more than conditioned, instinctual responses, we must have some sort of a spiritual understanding of life. As we mature in our outlook, we come to realize that life is a multidimensional and interdependent mosaic. Life is an interwoven web of relationships in which every action has a reaction.

Chitrabhanu says that each day we have an opportunity to either build a temple or dig a ditch. If we make life-enhancing choices, we will build a temple of light. If we choose negative behavior patterns, we will dig a ditch of despair. Simply put, the choice is ours. We can either choose happiness, love, and light, or despair, depression, and separation.

When Chitrabhanu was a child, he lost both his mother and sister to illness. Then, a few years later, he lost his beloved girlfriend. Soon after this event, he decided to become a Jain monk, and, a short time later, his father decided to join him in the order. As a Jain monk, he wandered the streets and backroads of India for twenty-eight years, giving discourses and helping people on their spiritual path. During this period, he spent five years in silence, in an attempt to purify his consciousness through meditation.C

hitrabhanu studied Sanskrit and philosophy, and he established the Divine Knowledge Society of Bombay, which is concerned with humanitarian and educational aid to the poor.

To the dismay of his followers, Chitrabhanu accepted an invitation to the World Spiritual Summit Conference in Geneva in 1970, and, in 1971, he agreed to attend the next conference session at the Harvard Divinity School. Until then, no Jain monk had ever set foot outside of India. So, this came as quite of a shock to his million followers, and many of his friends had serious reservations. Nevertheless, Chitrabhanu thought that is was the right thing to do.

He felt that he needed to share his path and understanding with the world.
In the West, Chitrabhanu has been the abassador at large for the Jain community. Besides the hundreds of lectures he has given at colleges and universities, he has worked tirelessly with church groups and drug addiction centers. He was the first person to address the United Nations on Ahimsa and has served as the founder-president of the World Fellowship of Religions in America.

In 1981, Chitrabhanu attained the enlightened state of consciousness. During this realization, he saw his entire life work before him, and he has used his time to raise the consciousness of mankind.

Chitrabhanu's mission is to instruct humanity on the spiritual and ethical dimensions of non-violence as the only sensible approach to the problems we face in the world, with a deep reverence for life as the structure upon which this ethical philosophy is built.

As a way to understand the core of Chitrabhanu's teachings, I will summarize his program of "Ten Days Journey into the Self".

Day One

Meditation is the way to realize our Higher Self. We must realize the seed of divinity with us and express that truth as a source of love and light.

Day Two

Meditation is purification, and, by realizing love as the essence of truth, we must express that love as goodwill for our fellow beings. Amity is the first essential virtue of an enlightened being.

Day Three

Beyond the ego, we find joy, ectasy, and bliss. A natural consequence of this discovery is the second essential virtue: appreciation. We must learn to appreciate and to show appreciation for the virtues, talents, and efforts of others. This approach not only encourages the positive, constructive efforts in another, but it helps to amplify those same qualities within us.

Day Four

The third essential virtue is compassion. If we are to have a truly enlightened attitude, then the simplicity of love is the key. Life becomes terribly complex with power, greed, and fear as the root cause of violence, poverty, and racism. Compassion is the way to understand suffering. Then, it is our responsibility to do what we can to relieve it. Indifference is a form of violence.

Day Five

The fourth essential virtue is equanimity. Most of us spend our lives thinking that stimulation in one form or another is the key to a satisfying life; however, genuine satisfaction is realized through equanimity and peace of mind, which is of a different dimension than satisfaction achieved through stimulation. Compassionate love expressed as compassionate action is the true source of equanimity.

Day Six

The fifth essential virtue is concord. While we are all unique lyrical expressions, our separate notes can create a special harmony. We must work together to build a world of peace and justice, with love and hope as the foundation of concord.

Day Seven

We must overcome our inner enemies. To build the good life, and to help turn this earth from a battlefield into a garden, all of us have to overcome anger, greed, fear, and envy.

Day Eight

When we are whole, life is holy. There is no ego in such joy. There is no fear in such joy. There is no pride or greed in such joy. To live meaningfully, to be creative, to give all that we have to give, is the way to joy. Joy is within, and we have to discover it and experience it through meditation.

Mahavir, the patron saint of Jainism, said, "I have come to show you the treasure of wisdom and joy hidden within you, as the tree is hidden within the seed."

Don't confuse pleasure with happiness. Happiness consists of experiencing the unity and harmony within ourselves and the universe, while pleasure is self-gratification. All of our pleasures are a wasteland without love.

Day Nine

We do not possess energy; we are energy. The Atman, the soul, is energy----- living, conscious energy. Matter is also energy, but it is energy without the consciousness of life.
Human life is enhanced when our own energy is guided by love and intelligence, and degraded when our energy is guided by negative emotions, such as personal greed, anger, and ignorance. Love and intelligence guiding our energy make us part of on-going evolution.
Love is the greatest energy in the cosmos, the energy that makes all that could be unfold, the cosmogenic energy.

Communication is an important dimension of love and intelligence. Amity, appreciation, compassion, equanimity, and concord are ways to communicate love, which is the earth's expression of joy.

Day Ten

If our energy is guided by love and intelligence, the human dimension becomes the foundation of the spiritual. The physical and spiritual are not contrary: they are complementary dimensions. We must make the human support the divine. When our actions are guided by love and intelligence, matter helps spirit fulfill its aspirations.

Since our actions create our destiny, we must use creative action to help build a better and more meaningful world. Energy must flow into acts of love. Unless we love, books do not educate. If the heart is dry, nothing will grow inside us. Love and intelligence lead us to recognize each moment in our lives as precious and purposeful.