Religious Practices and Mental Health: With Reference To Jainism

Religion has always played an important role in Society. But with the rapid changes in social ethos due to the advancements in science and technology have been a challenge to the psychological and emotional well-being of human beings. Though the comforts seem to be increasing, medicine is offering more comfort and fighting diseases man is not happy in the true sense. Though it is understood that happiness is a state of mind and relative in nature, it is becoming more and more transient too. Man tries to find solace in material comforts but is failing miserably. Of major concern for doctors is, the rising levels of stress and the failure to cope with it. There is an alarming rise in the levels of stress and the number of people affected by it. It is like a phenomenon which is affecting the human populace of the world irrespective of age, caste, creed, color and social strata. It is in such moments that one could find some peace in religious beliefs and practices. Though some of the religious practices may not have a logical explanation, and may even be superstitious, we cannot discard them all as worthless. There are some practices which contribute to the emotional and psychological stability of human beings. Especially for fighting stress and the resultant complexities of life, there are many rituals prescribed by all the religions. This paper is going to concentrate on some of the rituals described in Jainism which could address this matter. The religious tenets and practices outlined in Jainism have a strong scientific basis and therefore very successful in meeting the demands of the dynamic life styles of the modern world, especially in facing stress created due to various reasons.