Jainism believes that universe and all its substances or entities are eternal. it has no beginning or end with respect to toime. There is no need of some once to create or manage the affairs of the universe. Universe in run by own its own accord by its own cosmic laws. hence jainism does not believe in god as a creator, survivour and destroyer of the universe, however jainism does believe in god. When a living being destroys all his karmas, he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power, and bliss. he becomes omniscient and omnipotent immediately after attaining keval-jnana, if a person establishes the four-fold religious order of monks, nunns, sravaks (male laypeople). sravikas (femal laypeople) is known as tirthankar. A tirthanksr is not an incarnation of the god, he is ordinary soul born as a human and attains the states of tirthankar as a result of intense practices of penance, equanimity and meditation. Twenty four tirthankar were born during the descending time cycle. No two tirthankar have lived at the same tine. Every tirthankar is distinguished by way an animal (lanchan) or an object which his mother has dreamt when he was in her womb. He is associated with a tree where he attained the keval-jnana. I have tried to depict the symbols in my paintings to distinguish each tirthankar differently.
Bharat Tripathi's conviction, that art which refers to the scared and embodies ideas culled from spiritual traditions in superior to all other artistic expression, is evident in his current exhibition of twenty-four paintings on jain thirthankars. Though not born into the jain faith, Bharat's genuine engagement with the people philosophical and ideological tenets of Jainism is the inspiration behind the current body of works on display.
Jainism is one of the oldest religion in the world and it traces its history through a succession of twenty-four propagators of the faith. These enlightened and spiritually evolved beings, who are ascetics beyond comparison, are known as Tirthankars, with Adinath as the first Tirthankar and Mahavir as the last in the current era.
The intimately rendered acrylic-on-canvas paintings of the Tirthankars aim to string together a narrative that provides a glimpse into the Jain cosmology to the informed, while providing ample visual engagement to those who would rather approach the painting exclusively for their visual content and chromatic and formal arrangement.
As a medium encapsulating and expressing transcendent truths and aspiration of the heart, Bharat's painting certainly succeed. This body of work, displayed under the title "The Tirthankars", further clarifies Bharat's voice of balancing his passion for the making art with his desire to engage with the spiritual and metaphysical traditions of ancient India.
I am not jain but I grew up in a jain society in Pune in my formative years, and thereafter , I've lived in Malabar Hills in Mumbai which is a jain-dominated area. The discipline, austerity and simplicity followed by jains always intrigued me. What is it that has kept some of the richest, most modern and influential people of this country so deeply rooted and committed to their belief even now? Whom do they worship, why is it necessary to visit the temple as ritual every day, why go barefoot to the temple, why fast for a long stretch of days, and the recent renunciations which made headlines and many more? This inspired me to explore the tenets of this religion. I believe religion is the best of all arts and the story of religion is the best of all stories. It is this mesmerizing story of Jainism that I have tried to present through my work "The Tirthankars".
Jainism believes that the universe an all its substances or entities are eternal. It has no beginning or end with respect to time. There is no need for someone to create or manage the affairs of the universe. The universe is run on its own accord by its own cosmic laws. Hence, Jainism does not believe in god as creator, survivor and destroyer of the universe.
However, Jainism does believer in god. When living being destroys/overcomes/surmounts all his karmas, he possesses perfect knowledge, vision, power and bliss. He becomes omniscient and omnipotent. This living being in human form is Arihant or Tirthankar - a god of jain religion. Hence, jains do not believe in one god. Gods in jain religion are innumerable and the number is continuously increasing as more living beings attain liberation. Liberated souls are Siddhas – another revered form of godhood. Every living being has the potential to become a god of the jain religion.
Jains believe that exactly twenty-four Tirthankars are born in each half-cycle of time. No two Tirthankars are born in each half-cycle of time. No two Tirthankars have lived at the same time and place in the universe. Generally, a Tirthankar is born when the religion is at its depressive state. He revives the same philosophy and religion at that time. Sometimes he gives a different form to the religion, depending upon the time, place and human behavior. The first Tirthankar was Adinath, who is credited with formulating and organizing humans to live in a society harmoniously. The 23rd Tirthankar, Parshvanath, preached four great vows. The vow of celibacy was included in the non-possession category during Parshvanath's time. The 24th and last Tirthankar, Mahavir (599-527 bc), was born in Bihar and he preached the five great vows.
Bihar, my birth state, has been crucible for many religions, including Jainism, I revere the soil on which Mahavir must have once walked, and cherish the moment when I had this awakening to pay my obeisance to one of the oldest religion in the world through these works of my art.