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the householder's six obligatory duties (sadāvasyaka). It is essential for every lay Jain to have knowledge of these duties so as to avoid any chances of misunderstanding or doubt.
DEVA-PŪJĀ (WORSHIP OF GOD)
This is the worship of a true God . A true god is that who is free of eighteen faults and has unveiled the infinite knowledge-faith-blisspotency lying dormant within his soul by destroying four vitiating (ghāti) karmas. Who is endowed with eight auspicious attributes, numerous other glorious signs and his body is endowed with one thousand eight auspicious marks. Who uses divine sound for his sermon and shows the path of liberation to worthy beings. Such gods or Bhagavānas are supremely beneficent for us. Some of these adjectives for them are physical and others are spiritual. The difference between these two types should be properly understood in ontological terms. Samavasaraņa (divine assembly), eight auspicious attributes and other glorious signs are physical attributes manifested due to fruition of karmus. Tirthankara Bhagavāna is not great due to these physical endowments. He is great because of his spiritual qualities including infinite knowledge as those have been acquired by shedding karmas. A devotee focuses his attention on these qualities while doing worship. His emphasis is, in fact, on the worship of these qualities.
Worship of god is also of two kinds - physical (dravya) worship and mental (bhāva) worship. The worship done by using eight auspicious things is physical worship done with the help of material things. Inspiring him-self towards spiritual virtues of god and the self is mental worship done with the help of spiritual indulgence. The physical worship with the help of material things causes bondage of karmas but these kurmas are meritorious. The mental worship done with the help of spiritual indulgence causes shedding of karmas. The physical worship is a supportive means for mental worship. As it is difficult to focus attention in absence of some medium, a layman with wavering mind requires such supportive means. But a composed ascetic who practices mental discipline does not require physical worship. They do mental worship independent of any outside means. The eight auspicious things for worship include water, sandalwood, food-offerings, lamp, incense, and fruits. All these combined are offered to the deity. Each of these eight things symbolizes a specific
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