Jaina Acara Siddhanta aur Svarupa

SR No.: 006747
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Devendramuni
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy
Publication Year: 1995
Total Pages: 322
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

Page 74

Jaina Acāra : Siddhanta aura Swarūpa
The eligibility for accepting vows is a pure heart. All desire for worldly gain, false belief and deceit have to be discarded for the safe journey of a devotee to his destination. A hypocrite who shows to the world that he has accepted a vow indulges in sinful activities and thus dirties his soul. The moment he is exposed he has to eat dust. Vows are not for the likes of them. If you accept a vow for heavenly pleasures it will demean you, for the bliss you attain by rising above the world is to be tasted, not described. The spiritual bliss and heaven are poles apart. Acārya Umāsvāti has rightly suggested that the vow can be observed by one whose soul is not pierced by thoms in the form of attachment, aversion, pride, deceit and the like. False belief is fatal to him. When the sun rises, all darkness is dispelled. Similarly a man imbued with right belief and faith spreads his refulgence on all sides. A man of false belief roams about aimlessly, defacing shapely pictures and indulging in untold perversions.
Just as a student has his individual characteristics, his ability in one field and incapacity in another, so are there devotees and devotees. They may be classified as having accepted great vows and others small vows. Those having no fixed habitations are ascetics who accept the great vows. For the laity there are other smaller vows and rules applicable to them. They are naturally less hard than those meant for ascetics. It is because he has dealings with worldly people. He has to exert himself to maintain his family and all that. But this does not mean that Jainism has left him to fend for himself. He has been asked not to be so much involved in worldly pursuits as to forget his self altogether. He is expected to be cautious at every step. The five vows bear the same names. The laity also must observe them in their daily practice. The goal is the same for both ascetics and the laity. There are cogent rules for the latter's rise. They must not be infatuated by gods, teachers and the world. A householder can be a good soul. He has also to regulate his life so as to participate well in social affairs. Jainism has prescribed the code of conduct for all, not excluding the laity. It is progressive and always indicates the higher and upper status which is possible only by winning over all corroding passions. Not unlike great and small vows in Jainism, Patanjali lists five yamas (self-control) and Buddhism five 'Silas' (good conduct). All vows are governed by the law of causation. From the essential standpoint the moment a devotee attaches more importance to the body, he degrades himself but the laity have been treated differently, though never ignored, since they are two important pillars of the edifice forming the Jaina community.
Householders accept vows in different forms which are no less than forty-nine. Their constituents are a combination of three means and three activities. A person does certain things himself, gets some others done by others and for some his approval is obtained. Out of forty-nine forms from