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FARYUSHAN DASHALAXAN PARVA
The great celebration of spiritual awareness Paryusan Dasha Laxan Parva is an important annual event for all Jains all over the world. This year the festivity started from August 13th and lasted up to September 27th. Jains observe fastings during the period and indulge rigourously in the religious activities throughout these holy days. The celebration is to seek solutions to the complexities of normal life and to redress the omissions and commissions that have occurred. All Jains look back to the immediate past year to review and reflect the past actions and resolve to lead a spiritually cleaner life in the days to come.
The eighth day of the festivity is Samvatsari, the day of meditation, group prayer and temple visit. "Michhami Dukkaram", as said in the Prakrit language of the Jains, is the day of forgiveness.
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Here is a brief report of the celebrations of the festivity organized by various Jain Associations in North America:
Freemont, California. The Jain Center of Northern California began the festivity on September 15th with Snatra pooja at Centerville Community Center in Freemont. A gathering of 200 people participated in the celebrations. The religious activity was started with chanting of mantras and stavans. A short play by children was performed depicting one of the incidents in the life of Mahavira, the 24th Tirthankara. There was children choir of 12 presenting devotional songs and recitals by young individuals. The main event, Snatra pooja bathing and anointment of the idol with sandalwood paste performed with chantings of hymns and devotional songs. Arti and mangal divo and Shanti Kalash were the final items of the celebration.
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