Jainism is a religion of purely human origin and is preached by those who have attained perfect knowledge, omniscience and self-control by their own personal efforts and have been liberated from the bonds of worldly existence, the cycle of births and deaths. It is an original system, quite distinct and independent from other systems of Indian philosophy.

In ancient times Jainism was known by many names such as Saman tradition, the religion of Nirgantha, or Jina. Literally Jina means a conqueror, that is one that has conquered the worldly passions like desire, hatred, anger, greed and pride by one's own personal efforts and has thereby freed `his' soul from the karmas obscuring knowledge, perception, truth, and ability. The ultimate goal of Jains is to rid the soul of all karmas and attain liberation.

All human beings have the potential to become a Jina. Such human beings (Jinas) are viewed as Gods in Jainism. The concept of God as a creator, protector, and destroyer of the universe does not exist in Jainism, but it is not an atheistic religion because it believes in many Gods who are self realised individuals and who have attained liberation. The Jinas that have established religious order are known as Tirthankars. Tirthankars show the path of purification (liberation) to their followers.

Modern Jainism started about 2,600 years ago with the birth of Lord Mahavir (599 to 527 BC), the last Tirthankara of this era. He revived the Jain philosophy previously preached by his predecessor and expanded the code of conducts and implemented daily rites for his followers. The present Jain scriptures reflect his teachings.

The main principles of Jainism are Ahimsa (non-violence), Anekantvad (multiplicity of views) and Aparigraha (non-possessiveness). The Jain code of conduct is made up of five vows - Ahimsa (non-violence), Satya (truthfulness), Aseteya (non-stealing), Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) and Brahmacharya (chastity).

Non-violence (Ahimsa) is upheld as the supreme religion and is practiced in all forms; mental (maan), verbal (vachaan), and physical (kaya), both knowingly and unknowingly. Jains have a deep compassion for all forms of life. It believes in equality of souls, irrespective of differing physical forms, ranging from human beings to animals and even microscopic living organisms. Jains are naturally vegetarians, even abstaining from the consumption of roots of plants especially during auspicious religious days. Jains also abstain from the use of animal products and strongly support the protection of the environment