Contemplative Studies & Jainism

"This excellent book gives a detailed yet accessible exposition of daily practices like prayer, worship, rituals, and contemplations practiced by the Jain laity. It contains a fascinating scholarly discourse on how Jains recite the qualities of Jinas and pray to be able to achieve the same through their self-effort with restraint and nonviolence while maintaining a peaceful and happy worldly existence as human beings. Another important contribution given herein are some points about important comparative Jain practices with those of Hindus. I highly encourage readers to enjoy this subject presented herein with a first-rate scholarly discussion."

—Dr. Shugan C. Jain,President of the International School for Jain Studies (ISJS)

"Jainism is one of the main traditions of philosophy and religion that emerges from India. However, unlike Hinduism and Buddhism, which also emerge from India, Jainism is not as well known. With respect to contemplative studies, it is also not well known in terms of the unique and interesting contributions it makes. Thus, Bohanec, Bilimoria and Sherma's determining Prayer, Worship, Ritual, and Contemplation in Jain Worlds provides a much needed contribution to scholarly literature as well as general knowledge. The authors in this work are true scholars doing important work and helping others see the core aspects of Jainism."

— Professor Anand Jayprakash Vaidya, Department of Philosophy, San Jose State University

"This volume is a much-needed Jain contribution to the field of Contemplative Studies. The authors present diverse topics in a balanced way, both in terms of textual studies, but also in terms of cataloguing important lived experiences of practitioners while notably underscoring issues regarding gender. This is an indispensable work for both general readers and scholars alike who are interested in Jain practices and contemplative states that includes pan-Indic yoga and bhakti practices, but that also goes beyond quietude to include prayer and worship, and underscores how the distinctive Jain ethos of non-violence (ahiṃsā) has profound phenomenological implications."

—Dr. Venu Mehta, Bhagwan Chandraprabhu Postdoctoral Fellow in Jain Studies, Assistant Professor of Comparative Religions, Claremont School of Theology

"Contemplative studies are an emerging field whose developments stimulate a significant paradigm shift in the academia today. It therefore gives me great joy to see that thanks to Bohanec, Bilimoria and Sherma's determining Prayer, Worship, Ritual, and Contemplation in Jain Worlds, Jain studies embark on this journey from its early stages, attended by the world leading experts on contemplation and mindfulness in the Jain tradition from a ritualistic, philosophical, literary, social, and first-person stance perspective."

—Dr. Marie-Hélène Gorisse, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion; University of Birmingham