The Daily Prayer

The religious life of the individual is helped by a regular routine of religious practice. Whilst religion will permeate the whole life of the pious Jain, he or she will also want to set aside some time each day to concentrate the mind on religion. This may be a time of meditation, or it may be accompanied by ritual actions, it may take place in the home or, if a temple is convenient, in the temple, or in a meditation hall. A short time set aside each day (the traditional period is forty-eight minutes) in a quiet place is possible for all of us. The mind is calmed, passions are reduced, self-control develops.

History

Since Jainism firmly believes in the doctrine of karma and puts sole reliance on the development of the spiritual force by one's own personal efforts, and further exhorts its followers to develop Asarana-bhavana (none other can refuge or save us), the question that naturally arises is, what is the place of prayers in Jainism? Since the Jains do not believe in God or in the existence of any outside Divinity controlling our fate, any idea of prayer would be irrelevant to them for two main reasons.

The Prayer

One of the most important Jain prayers is the Namaskara Sutra which praises the five great beings of Jainism:
I bow down to those who have reached omniscience in the flesh and teach the road to everlasting life in the liberated state.
I bow down to those who have attained perfect knowledge and liberated their souls of all karma.
I bow down to those who have experienced self-realisation of their souls through self-control and self-sacrifice.
I bow down to those who understand the true nature of soul and teach the importance of the spiritual over the material.
I bow down to those who strictly follow the five great vows of conduct and inspire us to live a virtuous life.
To these five types of great souls I offer my praise.
Such praise will help diminish my sins.
Giving this praise is most auspicious.
So auspicious as to bring happiness and bliss.