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Jaina Acara : Siddhanta aura Swarūpa
should be in quest of food. The hearths of both donor and receiver must be pure and undefiled in all ways.
It is the bounden duty of householders never to ignore four things as follows : method, substance, donor and a deserving person. Nothing should be offered to ascetics, if a votary does it because of avarice, fear, selfishness or blind faith. What is given should be for the pleasure of giving or for the spiritual rise and self-restraint of ascetics. Such ascetics do not ask for alms every now and then. Not only the door of householders should be open but also their hearts. And they should be open for all including the average and the hindmost.
We read in the Rājaprasniyasūtra that king Prade'si was so much influenced by the sermon of Keši that he accepted the votaries' vows. Later he divides his kingdom into four parts, the first for the state administration, the second for the maintenance of the royal family, the third for the treasury and the fourth for ascetics, Brahmana guests and the like.
Ascetics and votaries both male and female are the four pillars of the Order. The Order suffers if any one of them becomes weak. Truly speaking the one exists for the other. No ascetics, no votaries. No votaries, no ascetics. Their relationship should be harmonious, conducive to selfrealization of all. Its five transgressions are : (1) Sacitta Niksepana-When a householder, for whatever reasons,
turns out to be miserly, he mixes lifeless food with food containing life or places the one beside the other thus rendering it unacceptable to ascetics. SacittapidhānaIt is to cover lifeless food with a lid containing life. Kalātikrama-For fear of some ascetics' approach, the householder gets food prepared at different hours. He makes an excuse saying either that it is not yet time for food or that the time for food is already past. Paravyapadisa—This is another excuse to let the ascetic go without alms. Because of miserliness, the householder says this particular thing is not his or that another one's thing is his own. This is sheer
indifference. (5) Matsary. It is giving with an impure mind, tainted by jealousy,
pride and the like. It is also to compete with his fellows, as you must give because they are giving. And again before, after and at the time of giving you give yourself airs and proclaim that such a thing was never given by others. All these vows and their transgressions are meant to reform man.
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