Editing Bhakti (section)

=== Jainism ===
Bhakti has been a prevalent ancient practice in various Jaina sects, wherein learned [[Tirthankara]] (''Jina'') and human ''gurus'' have been venerated with offerings, songs and [[Aarti|Āratī]] prayers.<ref name=johncort>John Cort, Jains in the World : Religious Values and Ideology in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN, pages 64-68, 86-90, 100-112</ref>

Jainism participated in the Bhakti school of medieval India, and has a rich tradition of bhakti literature (''stavan'') though these have been less studied than those of the Hindu tradition.<ref>{{cite book|author=M. Whitney Kelting|title=Singing to the Jinas: Jain Laywomen, Mandal Singing, and the Negotiations of Jain Devotion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elcn1IEJ3CEC |year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-803211-3|pages=87–88}}</ref> The ''Avasyaka sutra'' of Jains includes, among ethical duties for the devotee, the recitation of "hymns of praise to the Tirthankaras" as the second Obligatory Action. It explains this ''bhakti'' as one of the means to destroy negative karma. According to [[Paul Dundas]], such textual references to devotional activity suggests that ''bhakti'' was a necessary part of Jainism from an early period.<ref>{{cite book|author=Paul Dundas|title=The Jains|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=X8iAAgAAQBAJ |year= 2003|publisher =Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-26605-5|pages= 170–171}}</ref>

According to [[Jeffery D. Long]], along with its strong focus on ethics and ascetic practices, the religiosity in Jainism has had a strong tradition of ''bhakti'' or devotion just like their Hindu counterparts. The Jain community built ornate temples and prided in public devotion for its fordmakers, saints and teachers. ''Abhisekha'', festival prayers, community recitals and ''Murti puja'' (rituals before an image) are examples of integrated bhakti in Jain practice. Some Jain monks, however, reject Bhakti.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jeffery D Long|title=Jainism: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I3gAAwAAQBAJ |year=2013|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85771-392-6|pages=111–114}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Sherry Fohr|title=Jainism: A Guide for the Perplexed|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HMXuBQAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4742-2755-1|pages=91–102}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Lisa Owen|title=Carving Devotion in the Jain Caves at Ellora|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHK2WE8xAzYC |year=2012|publisher=BRILL Academic|isbn=978-90-04-20629-8|pages=xii, 2, 12–13, 117–126}}</ref>