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V IS FOR Vow
Vis for Vow
Vow means a Promise
A vow is an earnest promise or pledge that binds one to a specified act or mode of behavior. To take a vow means we make a promise to ourselves to do certain things in certain ways or not to do certain things. Different vows can be for different lengths of time. A vow is a form of austerity (Tap) to help us discipline ourselves, reduce bad karma, and accumulate good karma. Some examples of external vows are as follows:
Chauvihär - Not to eat and drink from sunset to sunrise Ekäsanu - To eat only one meal a day
Upavas - Not to eat for thirty-six hours starting from sunset the day before till sunrise the next day Some examples of internal vows are as follows: • Sämäyika - To sit peacefully in one place for forty eight minutes without being affected by worldly thoughts and activities brings peace and reduces stress in our life. • Mauna - Not to speak for a certain time (Speech can be a large source of violence) • Donating anonymously can be an important vow to control our ego. • Setting limits to our needs can be an important vow to control our greed. Internal vows are harder to keep but they benefit us the most. The vows we take should be observed very carefully. Note : V is also for Victory, Vision, and Virtues
JAIN ALPHABET BOOK
69
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