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Consecration of Austerity
The first role of a mendicant (a follower of Jainism) is. consecration of evanesce. And after consecration of evanesce, the second role of a mendicant is acceptance of consecration of austerity. Obervance of austerity means marching ahead towards self-control. A householder cannot control himself entirely, but he can demarcate the line of his incontinence.
In this regard, Bhagwan Mahavira has set a principle of twelve austerities of self-restraint — like anuurata austerity in minute principles, gunaurate austerity in virtues, siksavrata austerity in knowledge and the thirteenth is austerity of forsaking. That is the consecration of austerity which is explained as under
1. Ahimisa Anuvrata: minor austerities of non-violence.
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I forsake physical violence/offensiveness." Throughout my life, I shall not wilfully kill any guiltless moving living being and neither shall I get killed by somebody else. I forsake to forcit !y/by coercion discipline, attack, alienate,
1. Violence is of two types: (i) arambhaja (by inception)
(ii) sankalpaja – wilful, determined violence. In Ahimisc Anuvrata, only violence with determination is forsaken Therefore, it is forsaking of physical violence.
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