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heritage. Moreover, he came to believe that periodic fasting was necessary to keep the senses from being overwhelmed. In this regard he began to see that, vows such as Brahmacharya and fasting, open the door to real spiritual freedom, and that without such vows, people are destined to suffer from doubt and failure.
Jainism proclaimed that observance of Brahmacharya i.e. to contemplate and stay in the state of pure soul or Brahman is the ultimate objective of an individual. Only a monk who becomes detached even with his own body can actually practice complete Brahmacharya. For a lay seeker, Brahmacharya implies abstention from wanton indulgence in carnal desires. The vow of Brahmacharya for Jain votary is called Sva-dara-santosh Vrata or contentment in the company of his own religiously wedded spouse. In this vow also the votary gradually reduces sexual activities with the spouse and ultimately vows to stay with together as friends or brothers-sisters. Concerning food, Jainism stresses heavily on simple, pure and minimal food to be consumed with regular fasting to observe vows.
In his own life, Gandhi adopted the Jain principle of Brahmacharya but made it personal to public or individual to collective. He aimed at an even higher goal, for he believed in rigorously practicing what he professed. For him, in chastity as conceived by the Ashram life, those who are married behave as if they were not married. Married people do well to renounce gratification outside the marital bond; theirs is a limited chastity. If a man gives his love to one woman, or a woman to one man, what is there left for the entire world besides? It simply means "we two first and the devil take all the rest of them.'
Vow No 5: Aparigraha or Non-Possession Parigraha (infatuation or Murchha) is attachment to possessions.123 Attachment takes us away from our inherent
Gandhi & Jainism
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