This principle underscores the innate purity and potential for liberation within every soul, distinct from the physical and mental elements that bind it to the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Recognizing and internalizing this separation is essential for spiritual progress and the attainment of samyaka darśana or self realization, which marks the beginning of the aspirant's journey towards liberation.

Jainism is transtheistic and forecasts that the universe evolves without violating the law of substance dualism,[4] and the actual realization of this principle plays out through the phenomena of both parallelism and interactionism.

[12] The spiritual goal in Jainism is to reach moksha for ascetics, but for most Jain laypersons, it is to accumulate good karma that leads to better rebirth and a step closer to liberation.

[18][17] Some Jain texts add analogy (upamana) as the fourth reliable means, in a manner similar to epistemological theories found in other Indian religions.

[42] Thus, it divides the worldly cycle of time into two half-cycles, utsarpiṇī (ascending, progressive prosperity and happiness) and avasarpiṇī (descending, increasing sorrow and immorality).

[59] Jain texts often add samyak tapas (Correct Asceticism) as a fourth jewel, emphasizing belief in ascetic practices as the means to liberation (moksha).

[73][74] According to Dundas, the Jain scholar Jinadattasuri wrote during a time of destruction of temples and persecution that "anybody engaged in a religious activity who was forced to fight and kill somebody would not lose any spiritual merit but instead attain deliverance".

[99][100] The Sallekhana (or Santhara) vow is a "religious death" ritual observed at the end of life, historically by Jain monks and nuns, but rare in the modern age.

[101] In this vow, there is voluntary and gradual reduction of food and liquid intake to end one's life by choice and with dispassion,[102][103] This is believed to reduce negative karma that affects a soul's future rebirths.

[117][118][119] Jain monastic rules have encouraged the use of mouth cover, as well as the Dandasan – a long stick with woolen threads – to gently remove ants and insects that may come in their path.

[123] Jain monks, nuns and some followers avoid root vegetables such as potatoes, onions, and garlic because tiny organisms are injured when the plant is pulled up, and because a bulb or tuber's ability to sprout is seen as characteristic of a higher living being.

[126] Among laypeople, fasting is more commonly observed by women, as it shows their piety and religious purity, gains merit earning and helps ensure future well-being for their family.

[197] Several scholars and scriptures of other religions as well as those of their counterpart Śvetāmbara Jains[198] criticize Digambara sect's practices of public nudity as well as their belief that women are incapable of attaining spiritual liberation.

[217][218][g] In the Digambara tradition, the texts written by Kundakunda are highly revered and have been historically influential,[220][221][222] while the oldest being Kasayapahuda and Shatkhandagama attributed to Acharya pushpdanta and Bhutbali.

They all consider values such as ahimsa (non-violence) to be important,[229]: p. 635  link suffering to craving, individual's actions, intents, and karma, and believe spirituality is a means to enlightened peace, bliss and eternal liberation (moksha).

Jainism also criticized Vedanta's inability to explain how an intangible consciousness could create a material universe, filled with countless living beings who experience suffering.

[239] Jain scholar Dr. Hukumchand Bharill explains that, according to both Jainism and Vedanta, only consciousness can perceive itself, while the mind and body are incapable of recognizing and experiencing the soul.

[253] Jain and Hindu monastic communities have traditionally been more mobile and had an itinerant lifestyle, while Buddhist monks have favored belonging to a sangha (monastery) and staying in its premises.

[253][i] Jains have similar views with Hindus that violence in self-defence can be justified,[257] and that a soldier who kills enemies in combat is performing a legitimate duty.

[262][263] Fynes (1996) argues that various Jain influences, particularly ideas on the existence of plant souls, were transmitted from Western Kshatrapa territories to Mesopotamia and then integrated into Manichaean beliefs.

Numerous such stone tablets were discovered during excavations at ancient Jain sites like Kankali Tila near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, India.

However, according to a UNESCO tentative world heritage site application, Nagarparkar was not a "major religious centre or a place of pilgrimage" for Jainism, but it was once an important cultural landscape before "the last remaining Jain community left the area in 1947 at Partition".

[299] Jain sculptures usually depict one of the twenty-four tīrthaṅkaras; Parshvanatha, Rishabhanatha and Mahāvīra are among the more popular, often seated in lotus position or kayotsarga, along with Arihant, Bahubali, and protector deities like Ambika.

In Jainism, Om is a condensed reference to the initials "A-A-A-U-M" of the five parameshthis: "Arihant, Ashiri, Acharya, Upajjhaya, Muni",[306][307] or the five lines of the Ṇamōkāra Mantra.

[citation needed] The Ashtamangala is a set of eight auspicious symbols:[308] in the Digambara tradition, these are chatra, dhvaja, kalasha, fly-whisk, mirror, chair, hand fan and vessel.

In the Śvētāmbar tradition, they are Swastika, Srivatsa, Nandavarta, Vardhmanaka (food vessel), Bhadrasana (seat), Kalasha (pot), Darpan (mirror) and pair of fish.

[362] The Mughal emperors in general were influenced by the Jain scholars and made patronage and grants for their pilgrimage sites under Humayun (1540–1556), Akbar (1556–1605), Jahangir (1605–1627) and even Aurangzeb (1658–1707).

Gandhi noted his impression of Shrimad Rajchandra in his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, calling him his "guide and helper" and his "refuge in moments of spiritual crisis".

[citation needed] Shrimad Rajchandra composed Shri Atmasiddhi Shastra, considered his magnum opus, containing the essence of Jainism in a single sitting of 1.5–2 hours.