News-Letter

Media Credit: Daniel Litwin Freshman Pooja Shah is one of a handful of practicing Jain students at Hopkins.

Though Jains make up a very small percentage of the student population at Hopkins, their beliefs have historically had a strong influence on more popular Indian religions, like Hinduism and Buddhism, both of which are practiced by a significant percentage of Hopkins students.

For many Hopkins students, the Jain student presence on campus is most noticeable during Diwali, when the Hindu and Jain student body joins together for the Festival of Lights, lighting lamps and candles to celebrate the triumph of good over evil.

The Jain tenet of non-absolutism, which encourages Jains to be tolerant of other faiths and religions, has helped Jains live alongside the large Hindu population in India. In fact, many Hindus have adopted the Jain practice of vegetarianism.

Jain ideas also have heavily influenced the tenets of Buddhism, as Siddhartha (Buddha) explored Jainism before he went on to found Buddhism. The Jain emphasis on non-violence is also believed to have shaped the civil disobedience beliefs of Mahatma Gandhi.

Jainism has three core principles for personal conduct: non-violence, non-possessiveness and non-absolutism. Non-violence is the impetus for Jainism's most famous tenet of strict vegetarianism. The Jainian goal to avoid harming all other souls stems from their belief that all life, including plants and animals, have souls. The strictest Jains even refuse to eat root plants such as carrots or potatoes, because doing so would kill the plant.

Sophomore Sohel Sanghani, a practicing Jain who moved to Hopkins from India, is unsatisfied with both the religious restrictions on his diet and with the limited vegetarian choices on campus.

"[Freshman year] the meal plans were compulsory, so I was bound to eat at [Fresh Food Café]. Although there's a dedicated vegetarian section, I was never really satisfied with my meal . . . it's quite difficult [to be vegetarian], and it's definitely not enjoyable," he wrote to the News-Letter.

Jainism is unique for several reasons. While some Jains do attend services, they are not necessarily a crucial part of the religion. Jains do not worship any gods. They do believe in and pray to beings who have reaching a higher stage of enlightenment, and who they consider divine.

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