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Jainism
has a very rich life of rituals and festivals. It is
important to remember that these are not simply empty
play-acting but all have a deep significance which is of benefit
to the participant or onlooker. The rituals should fix the
mind on the great religious truths: the individual should seek to
understand the deep meaning expressed in the quiet or
crowded and colorful rituals.
The events of Mahavira's life
are repeated frequently in symbolic form and the symbols,
actions, words and
images, unite to bring the Jain follower's
mind and spirit into
an understanding of,
and union with,
the life and message of Mahavira. For many people to whom the more
abstruse aspects of religious philosophy are a closed
book the rituals provide a direction, a focus, for the expression of devotion to the Tirthankara. The devotee
worships with his or her mind concentrated and pure, free
from violence and harm, and in a condition to disperse the
accumulated karma from the soul. The rituals are not, of
course, only for simple and unlettered people, but they bring
together those whose learning gives them an understanding of
the deepest significance of the rituals with those content to
lose themselves in the quiet ecstasy of devotion.
The
daily life of a pious Jain will be interwoven with ritual
acts. Spreading
grain for the birds in the morning,
filtering or boiling water for the next few hours'
use, these are
ritual acts of charity and non-violence.
Samayika, the practice
of equanimity, loosely translated 'meditation', is aritual act
undertaken early in the morning and perhaps also
at noon and night. It lasts for forty-eight minutes
(one-thirtieth part of the day, an Indian unit of time) and
involves usually not just quiet recollection but also usually
the repetition of ritual prayers. Pratikramana should be performed
in the morning in repentance for wrongs committed
during the night, again in the evening, and additionally at
certain points in the year.
During this, the Jain expresses contrition for harm caused,
wrong done, duties left undone.
Worship
before the Jina image has been described in the
previous chapter. Bowing to the image, and lighting a lamp
before it, is a fitting start to the day. More elaborate
worship (pujapuja),
as described, is a regular daily ritual, perhaps in the temple
(which the worshipper enters with the words
'Namo
Jinanam' 'I bow to the Jina', and, repeated three
times, 'Nisihiinishii'
to relinquish thoughts about worldly
affairs), but the simpler surroundings of the household
shrine can provide a suitable setting.
Worship,
or puja, can take many forms. The ritual bathing of the image (Snatra Puja ) is said to go back to the bathing of
the new born thankara
by the gods (or heavenly beings, not
gods in the omnipotent, eternal sense). (A simple symbolic
act is to touch one's forehead with the liquid used to bathe the
image) Bathing the
image also takes place during the Panch
Kalyanak Puja,
a ritual to commemorate the five ) great
events of the Tirthankara's life, conception, birth,
renunciation, omniscience and mokshamoksa. Antaraya Karma Puja comprises a series of prayers to help to
remove that karma which
deludes and hinders the soul. A
lengthy temple ritual which
can take three days to complete is the Arihanta Puja ,
respect to the arihant (arhat) or omniscient souls, and to along
sequence of other beings. There is a ritual of prayer focused on the
siddhachakra, a lotus-shaped disc bearing representations of
the arhat, the liberated soul, religious
teacher, religious leader and the monk (the five praise
worthy beings), as well as the four qualities of perception,
knowledge, conduct and austerity.
It
must be said that there is a narrow dividing line between symbolism
and superstition. Some people, claiming to be
'rational', will dismiss all ritual acts as superstitious.
That is to misunderstand their nature completely: the Jina image has
no miraculous powers. Ordinary life is full of rituals, from simple
greetings to the ritualized conduct of a public meeting. Religious
rituals must not be seen as an end
in themselves: they express, in simple or elaborate symbolic
form, the individual's desire and intention to follow the
example and teaching of Mahavira. The splendor of the temple, the
beauty of the words and chants, all help the worshipper
towards a reverent state of mind. Some people can do without
these external 'props'
but they should not scorn those who
value them.
In
India the European calendar is generally used for business and
government matters but religious
festivals are usually fixed
according to the Indian calendar. This calendar is quite straight
forward but, as it is based on the phases of the moon, dates
are not always the same from year to year as in the European
calendar based on the sun.
The
serious Jain will fast, more or less completely, and
undertake other religious practices, on many days in the
year. Ten days in the month of the Indian calendar are kept
as fasts by the pious (though others may keep a
lesser number). The first day of the three seasons in the Indian
year is also of special sanctity. Twice a year, falling in
March/April and
September/October, the nine-day
Olioli
period of semi-fasting is observed when Jains take only one
meal a day,of very plain food. Maunagiyaras falls in
November/December when
a day of complete silence and fasting is kept and
meditation is directed towards the five holy beings, monk,
teacher, religious leader, arhat and siddha. This day is
regarded as the anniversary of the birth of many of the
Tiirthankara.
Mahavira
was born most
probably in the year 599 B.C. and the exact date is given in the
scriptures as the thirteenth day
of the bright half (i.e.
when the moon was waxing) of the month of Chaitra. In the
European calendar this will fall in March or April. The festival to commemorate this, known as
Mahavira Jayanti, is an occasion for great celebration. Jains gather
together to hear Mahavira's message expounded, so that they can
follow his teachings and example. The dreams of his mother before
his birth may be dramatically presented
and the circumstances of his birth, as narrated in the
scriptures, explained to the assembled people.
The image of Mahavira
is ceremonially bathed and rocked in a cradle. In
many places processions take place through the streets with
the image having the place of honor, and in some regions in India
this is a general public holiday. One custom associated
with the celebrations
is to break a coconut at the end and
distribute small pieces.
Paryusana
is
the most important period in the Jain year. This is the eight-day
period of fasting and religious activities
which falls in the months of Sravana and Bhadra (August or
September). During the rainy season in India Jain monks cease
walking from one town to another and settle in a fixed
location with the purpose of reducing the prospect of injury
to the living things now springing to life. Often a town will
invite a respected monk to stay in its vicinity during the
rainy season (sometimes with a beautifully written manuscript
invitation) and the people will receive him with great pomp
and rituals. A course of lectures or sermons by a monk or other
respected person is a regular feature of Paryusana.
The
word Paryusana is derived from two words meaning
'a year' and 'a
coming back': it is a period of repentance for the acts of the
previous year and of austerities to help shed the
accumulated karma. Austerity, it must be remembered, is not
an end in itself, but the control of one's desire for
material pleasures is a part of spiritual training. During
this period some people fast for the whole eight days, some
for lesser periods (a minimum of three days is laid down in the
scriptures), but it is considered obligatory to fast on the last day
of Paryusana. Fasting usually involves complete abstinence from any
sort of food or drink, but some people do take boiled water during
the day time.
There
are regular ceremonies in the temple and meditation halls during
this time and the Kalpa Sutra
(one of the Jain sacred
books: 'sutra' means a
religious book), which
includes a detailed account of Mahavira's
life, is read to the congregation. On the third day of
Paryusana the Kalpa Sutra receives
special reverence and may be carried in procession
to the house of one member of the community who has made a
generous donation in recognition of the honour, where it is
worshipped all night with religious songs. On the fifth day, at a
special ceremony, the auspicious dreams of Mahavira's
mother before his birth are demonstrated.
Listening to the Kalpa Sutra, taking
positive steps that living beings are not killed (perhaps
paying money to butchers to ceases laughtering), brotherhood to
fellow Jains, forgiveness to all living beings, visits to all
neighboring temples, these are the important activities at this
time.
The
final day of Paryusana is the most important of all.
On this day
those who have observed the fast rigorously are sometimes specially
honoured to encourage others to follow their example. This is also
the day when Jains ask forgiveness from
family and friends for any faults which they have committed
towards them in the previous year. It is regarded as a definite stage in the spiritual
life not
to harbor ill-will beyond
the space of one year so the annual occasion for repentance and
forgiveness is important. Shortly after Paryusana it is the custom to organize a Swami
Vastyalaya dinner at which all Jains are welcome and sit
together whatever their social position.
Divalii is a most important festival in India and in
Jainism it is second only to Paryusana. For Jains Divali marks the
anniversary of the attainment of moksa by Mahavira at the end
of his life on earth in 527 B.C. (and also of the achievement
of total knowledge, omni science, by his chief follower,
Gautama Indrabhuti). The festival falls on the last day of
the month of Asvina, the end of the year in the Indian
calendar (in October or November), but the remembrance starts
in the early morning of the previous day, for it was then
that Mahavira commenced his last sermon which was to last
until, late in the night of Divali, he left
his earthly body and
achieved liberation. It is narrated that eighteen kings of northern
India who were in his audience decided that the light of their
master's knowledge would be kept alive symbolically by the lighting of lamps. Hence it is called
Dipavali
(diwali), from dipa, a lamp, or Divali.
Mahavira's chief disciple, Gautama, had not been able to
overcome his attachment
to his master and this had prevented his achieving
enlightenment. The barrier was only broken after a period of
grief when he at last managed that highest degree of
non-attachment which allowed him to reach the stage of omniscience,
enlightenment.
Jains
celebrate the two days with religious fervor: some fast
for two days as Mahavira did. Others celebrate Divali in traditional Indian fashion. Divali itself is a great day of
celebration with sweets and presents for the children, and of
course the lights which mark this day throughout India. On this day
too, a Jain businessman will make up his accounts
for the year and a simple ceremony of worship is held in the
presence of the account books. The New Year begins the next day and
is the occasion for joyful gatherings of Jains, with everybody
wishing each other a Happy New Year. The fifth day of the New Year is known as Jnana Panchamjnana,
the day of knowledge, when the scriptures, which impart knowledge to
the people, are worshipped with religious devotion.
The
best-known prayer of the Jains is the Pancha
Namaskara,
the formula of obeisance to the five categories of great beings, arhatarhat,
siddhasiddha,
religious leader,teacher and monk. It is often known as the
Namaskara Mantra ('mantra' means a religious formula or prayer). The
Namaskara Mantra,
repeated perhaps seven or eight times, will be the
first prayer of the Jain on getting up in the morning and the
last before going to bed at night. It commences temple and
private rituals and is used as a focus for meditation by many people
(who may count the repetitions on a rosary of 108
beads). Every Jain will learn this prayer in childhood and it
will stay with him or her all through life. Another noble
prayer translates as follows:
Let the whole cosmos be blessed, Let all beings be engaged in
one another's well-being,
Let all weaknesses, sickness and faults be diminished and
vanish, Let
everyone everywhere be blissful and peaceful. It will be learned, of course, in the original tongue, so that all
Jains, whatever their own language, can understand it:
Shivmastu sarva jagatah,
Parahita
nirata bhavantu bhutaganah,
Doshah
prayantu nasham,
Sarvatra
sukhi bhavatu lokah.
It is impossible in the space available to describe all the rich
variety of Jain rituals and festivals. Ceremonies attend the diksha
a or initiation
of a monk, the consecration of a temple or the installation of an
idol. The last two, temple consecrations or idol installations, are
crowded and exciting affairs marked by prayers and rituals and hymns
and chants. Lay people bid excitedly for the privilege and merit of
taking the leading parts and large sums may be raised for the
work of the temple by this means.
(Money raised in this way
must be used only for temple building and renovation: funds
for other purposes like meetings or dinners or meditation
halls are raised and accounted for separately.) Jainism has
no priests as such though sometimes Hindus of the priestly
Brahmin caste may perform ceremonial functions for the Jains.
Monks and nuns take an important part in some ceremonies (and
they
are, of course, active as religious teachers). But it is very
noticeable that the Jain laity, both men and women, take a most
active part in all aspects of religious life, including the rituals
in the temples or else where.
I
forgive all living beings,
Let
all living beings forgive me;
All
in this world are my friends,
I have no enemies.
Khamemi savve jive,
Sawe
jiva khamantu me;
Mitti
me sawa bhuesu,
Veram
majza na kenai.
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