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The purpose of the rules for restrictions (utsarga) and exceptions (apavada) is to purify and enhance the path of spiritual practice. Both utsarga and apavada have the same goal: to guide the practitioner towards the path of worship. A common practitioner might wonder why there are two forms when both utsarga and apavada have the same goal.
In response, it is important to understand that the wise Jain sages, deeply knowledgeable about Jain culture, have established the paths of utsarga and apavada, taking into account the physical and mental weaknesses of humans and the overall progress of the community. The commentator of the Nisitha Bhashya writes, "For a capable practitioner, the substances prohibited in the utsarga state may become acceptable due to special circumstances." Utsarga and apavada are not contradictory.
Acharya Jinasagargani Mahत्तर२ writes, "Things prohibited in the utsarga path become conceivable and acceptable when a reason arises." This is because both utsarga and apavada have the same goal and are complementary to each other. The practitioner can progress on the path of spiritual practice only by harmonizing both. If utsarga and apavada were contradictory, they would not be utsarga and apavada, but rather promoters of free will. Both are referred to as paths in the Agamic literature. One path is straight like a highway, while the other is slightly winding.
**General Method: Utsarga**
Walking on the utsarga path is the normal practice of a practitioner's life. A person walks on a highway, but if there is an obstacle on the highway, they leave the highway and take a nearby path. When it becomes convenient after walking a short distance, they return to the highway. This is the situation with a practitioner taking the apavada path from the utsarga path, and the same method applies to returning from apavada to utsarga.
The utsarga path is the general method. The practitioner continuously walks on this path. The utsarga path should not be abandoned without a special circumstance. A practitioner who abandons the utsarga path and adopts the apavada path without reason is not a paraadhak (one who transgresses the rules), but a viraadhak (one who opposes the rules). A perfectly healthy person who takes medicine or pretends to be sick and takes medicine even after the illness has gone is failing in their duty. Apavada should not be used in the absence of a special reason. When the reason for using apavada is gone, the practitioner should return to the utsarga path.
**Specific Method: Apavada**
We have already explained that apavada is a specific path. Like utsarga, it is a path of restraint and spiritual practice. However, apavada must be a real exception. If the intention behind apavada is to indulge the senses, it is not the apavada path. Therefore, the practitioner needs to be constantly aware on the apavada path. Apavada should be used only as much as absolutely necessary, not continuously. The apavada path is for a special situation.
१. उस्सग्गेण णिसिद्धाणि जाणि दव्वाणि संथरे मूणिणो। कारणजाए जाते, सव्वाणि वि ताणि कप्पंति ॥
-Nisitha Bhashya 5245
जाणि उस्सग्गे पडिसिद्धाणि उप्पणे कारणे सव्वाणि वि ताणि कप्पंति । ण दोषो....।-Nisitha Chani 5245