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Celibacy and Chastity
137
sexual desire is equivalent to sensual desire. The vow of the monks technically termed as 'sabbão mehuņāo veramanam' means all kinds of sexual acts, great or small. By this the · monk or nun promises to avoid even the slightest form of sexual activity. Not only this, the touch of a person of the opposite sex including even the animals of opposite sex would be counted as a kind of transgression. The monk takes the vow so strictly as to anxiously avoid even the indirect contact with a woman such as by carpet or some other removable thing. It is undoubtedly true that in this extremism ritualism is much more predominant than any rationalism, but the underlying idea of this ritual is only the preservation of the vow without even the slightest laxity. Only for this reason it seems that these apparently unimportant and trivial rituals are observed even today by the Jaina monks. It is true, though, any transgressing of these extreme laws is more formal than real.
Restraint of all the five kinds of enjoyment of hearing, taste, vision, etc., is included in this precept, because 'any violation of this is likely to lead to ruffled state of mind which is unbecoming of a true monk, and a digression from equanimity and indifference to worldly objects which is the principal motto of monk's life. It is always likely that he falls a prey to the excitation of any of the sense organs, which may lead to the excitation of other sense organs, as for instance eating spicy food, and the sight of a beautiful woman looking at him with lust, though principally matters of taste and sight, are likely to lead to a constant demand for them, or pondering over them, in case the monk could not get them. The slavery to tasteful food etc. is nothing else but attachment to worldly objects. It is likely to distract his attention from spiritual matters. Subhacandra has enumerated ten types of acts which are hindrances for the observance of perfect celibacy, some of them are : the eating of tasty and spicy food, constantly thinking of women, their beauty and charm, recollecting past life of lust etc. 1
1. Jãānārņava, 1. 8, Brahmacarya Prakaraņa.
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