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Jaina Acara : Siddhanta aura Swarüpa
(3) Khandakarni-It was two yards long and quadrilateral. When wind blew very hard, it was tied fast and so, it remained stuck to the body. It was used also to make a dazzling beauty ill-shaped.
Vrhatkalpa prescribes that one who is going to be initiated should keep a broom......... utensils and just three pieces of cloth to make the outfit complete. A monk who had gone the wrong way and is reinitiated after repentance should make use of his old cloth. Likewise a nun should keep four cloths. For her broom five kinds of thread may be used; of wood, of a camel, of jute, obtained by thrashing a particular kind of grass as also of long reed.
No cloth should be had from a greater distance than a mile. The cloth meant for a monk and washed for him should be unacceptable. He must not have a cloth involving violence. He should have the simplest possible, blameless cloth. No cloth in the possession of another monk or nun should be begged, as it would demean him.
AcelaThose who do not use any cloth or sparse one belong to this category. Even when clothed, if a monk is not in the least attached to them, he is as good as sky-clad. Because of nakedness if a monk feels shy, he may use cloth for the waist. He is the master of sense-organs. He is ever contented and does not worry at all even if his scanty cloths are tom to shreds.His only care is the Self which he means to discover and in whose company he desires to stay. Whatever alms he receives satisfies him. He stays at a secluded place near a cemetery and is not afraid of wild beasts.
In Lord Mahavira's Order there were both white-clad and sky-clad monks. It is not proper to think that Lord Pārsva's monks were clad and Mahavira's in a naked state.
In Uttarādhyayana' there is a conversation between Keši and Gautama on this subject. Pārsva's monks used to put on precious glittering dress, but Mahavira's monks were simply white-clad. Jacobi says that Mahavira borrowed them from Ajivakas, the followers of Gosāla, but the fact is that Mahāvīra was white-clad at the time of initiation and later sky-clad. He was influenced by none and had his own right perception. Thousands of Pārsva's monks had joined Mahāvīra's organization and stayed there for good because of their being both white and sky-clad. Vishunu -purana also takes Jaina monks as both white and sky-clad.
Sthavirakalpis' are those who reclaim errant monks by telling them what is their good here and hereafter. They rehabilitate them. Their austerities do not seem to be as hard as those of Jinakalpis, the externals, however do not indicate the reality. Jinakalpis are self-centred whereas Sthaviras care not only for self but also for their Order. Their importance must not be minimised. Jinakalpīs practise rigorous austerities mostly in a
standing posture. They are not subject to their sensual organs. There is no Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only
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