Unknown Pilgrims

SR No.: 007014
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: N Shanta
Publisher: Sri Satguru Publications Delhi
Publication Year: 1997
Total Pages: 820
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

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The Unknown Pilgrims
Before following this vidhi, we must make mention of one tenet proper to Digambara spirituality, which affects the structure and form of expression of the generality of Digambara rites. For the Digambaras, the temple is the place of worship, a worship which is at one and the same time both sober and very rich: sober, because it is based upon the teaching of the tirtharkaras and thus has a strong tendency towards austerity, and rich on account of the deep, upsurging bhakti that is always just bencath the surface. This bhakti is more than a personal form of devotion, it is an integral part of the rites of the samgha which are common to all. The vidhis of dikṣā, the āvasyakas and various occasions of pūjā contain a certain number of texts which are actually termed bhaktis, preceded by the name which qualifics them. Each bhakti is a different hymn of praise and is addressed not only to the arhats but to all the major elements of the dharma. The bhaktis are composed in Sanskrit and vary in the number of verses they contain, the shortest having five and the longest sixty. Each is preceded by kāyotsarga and followed by alocanā, a text in Prākrit in which contrition is expressed for faults committed in connection with the subject of the particular bhakti one has just recited and, more importantly, in one way or another faith is somehow reaffirmed in the particular aspect of the doctrine that the bhakti in question is extolling. 52
These bhaktis are inserted in the various vidhis obligatory for the āryikās and in each case form part of the order of the rite. They are called:
siddhabhakti, in praise of the siddhas;
śrutabhakti, in praise of Scripture;
cāritrabhakti, in praise of right conduct;
yogibhakti, in praise of the ascetics;
32 There exist also simplified forms of these bhaktis, i.e., for the same subject there is also a laghu-bhakti (little bhakti), e.g. laghu siddhabhakti; this is in Prakrit and forms part of the rite of pratikramana.