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All saints cannot be expected to attain spiritual excellence, moral refinement and educational progress uniformly. Here there arose gradually the idea of heirarchy amongst the ascetics; the well-versed preceptor has the right to direct the saints to follow the rules. These super-saints are known as uvajjhayas ; next to them are ayariya ; such status of saints may be permanent or temporary. The newly initiated until they complete, three years are known as navāḥ 'new comers' ; there may be four such groups in the light of their age : navāh, daharas (children) taruņas (young people), madhyamas (middle aged) and theras (sthaviras) seniors (over seventy). Sometimes, it is found that there is often an honorary title, applied to an ācārya.
The tradition shows that a number of dignitaries were to guide the religious piety. According to the commentaries, the role of religious superiors is similar to the Kings or Queens. The senior Acāryas had to look after the material and spiritual safety of their followers : they had to observe the instructions of the Ācāryas punctiliously, otherwise they had to face atonement. No one with physical infirmities is ordained or if such defects occur after initiation he is not allowed to hold the rank of any ācārya. This has been the practice in Buddhist and Hindu Monachism. Similar restrictions are found in Christianity. If a saint becomes infirm or crippled, he should be free from the gaņa; in other words spiritual incompetence is naturally incompatible with the tenure of an office
All religious communities are unanimous in making provision for pļāyścitta in event of any voluntary or involuntary breach of disciplinary rules or transgression of decent limits of such ethical rules. The niśīha-sutta enumerates almost two thousand transgressions that a monk is in danger of committing ; Buddhist too have their calculation of such transgressions ; their number is happily around two hundred and fiftw
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