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Jain Mahavira Vardhamana

Regarding the idea of the soul (Jiva), Vardhamana introduced a small change that made a significant difference in his approach to life and the shaping of the Jain code of conduct. It was widely accepted by Indian society that animals, humans, and even the gods had souls, but Vardhamana went even further, claiming that nearly everything is alive. Everything is made up, according to his view, of Jiva or “living intelligence”, trapped in matter. Living beings were divided into different categories.

Beings with five senses, including humans and major animals.
Beings with four senses, they cannot hear (wasps, flies, butterflies).
Beings with three senses, they can neither hear nor see (ants, moths, fleas).
Beings with two senses, they can only taste and touch (worms, leeches, shellfish).
Beings with only one sense, they only have the sense of touch (plants, microscopic organisms, wind, fire, water).

These ideas became the basis of the most important component of the ethical code of Jainism, named ahimsa or “non-violence”: Violence against any living creature in any form is strictly forbidden. Because Jains believed that everything was alive, non-violence was taken very seriously, to the point that the followers of Vardhamana veiled their mouths for fear of inhaling and killing the organisms of the air. They also screened their lamps to protect insects from the flame and swept the ground before walking in order to avoid the risk of accidentally trampling out any life. Some sources claim that Vardhamana would allow mosquitoes to feed on his blood, and while other ascetics would carry sticks with them to scare off the dogs, Vardhamana would allow the dogs to bite him. Even vegetables were considered to be alive, along with inanimate objects, such as rocks and fire. For this reason, the most strict Jains would only eat vegetables and grains of rice that were already lying on the floor, no longer attached to their source, and would never cut up a plant to obtain their food.

Vardhamana is credited as the author of an interesting parable known as, “The blind men and the elephant”, which is a form of criticism of the conventional assumptions on the nature and scope of human knowledge. A group of blind men are taken to an elephant and asked to inspect the animal while describing it:

[...] the one whose hand landed on the trunk said, "This being is like a drain pipe". The one whose hand reached its ear said, “This being is like a kind of fan”. The one whose hand touched its leg said, "This being is like a pillar". The one who placed his hand upon its tail said...

All these descriptions are accurate and incorrect at the same time. The point of the parable is clear: all points of view are partial and there is no such thing as an absolute truth when it comes to human knowledge. All human notions are imperfect, incomplete, tentative. This parable illustrates the fundamental doctrine of Jain epistemology known as Anekantavada, which maintains that no single point of view or human notion can be regarded as the complete truth. This parable is also mentioned in other traditions as well, such as Buddhism and Sufism, but it is most strongly linked to Jainism as it is perfectly consistent with the Jain epistemological approach.

No deity was recognized by Vardhamana: The only road to liberation was people’s own personal effort. This is the reason why Jainism is considered an atheist religion. Vardhamana emphasized the importance of individual actions.