Important facts and significance
- Only 5-10 million people self identify as Jainist despite their profound effect on Indian culture
- Jains are among the richest religious groups in America and the most well educated in India
- Jains believe that each soul is perfect and exists in a state of perfect bliss and knowledge
- To reach nirvana, one must remove both good and bad karma.
- Some Jains clergymen will walk barefoot, carrying a broom to sweep away insects and cover their mouth to avoid killing even the smallest living thing
- Mahatma Gandhi was largely influenced by the Jain writer Shrimad Rajchandra