Jaina Acara Siddhanta aur Svarupa

Author(s): Devendramuni
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 90

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Jaina Acara: Siddhanta aura Swarupa
on faishionable dresses beyond the parents' means. Money is first for the fulfilment of basic necessities like food, water and housing. Plain dress, if clean, will serve your purpose better than valuable outfits. This rule applies to other expenses too. 'Live within your means' is the right maxim for all to follow.
The fifteenth quality is to listen to religious discourses. There are three kinds of strengths, of body, of intellect and of wealth. The greatest of these is the intellectual virility which makes impossible possible. Vyasa says that the arms of an intelligent man are very long. Mere physical strength symbolizes beastiality. Human mind has been likened to Hiranyakosa'i.e. treasury of gold. Hemcandra has said that man should be possessed of eight kinds of intellect as under :
(1) Curiosity (2) Listening. (3) Grasping (4) Retention (5) Vignanh i.e. (6) Inductive reasoning. (7) Exclusion (8) Ability to get into the essence (truth). A householder knows what kind of discourse will purify his soul and give him peace of mind. Nutritious food makes you healthy. Good thoughts strengthen your mind.
Indian philosophers have given importance to the body in so far as it should be kept healthy. Fast when you suffer from indigestion. Eat only when you are hungry. There are many who relish food for its taste. Others eat for health, and still others to help them in their meditation. Those who eat for taste suffer from many diseases. Their ill-health culminates in their premature death. Those who eat for health know when and what to eat. The sage Atri wrote an important book on Ayurveda. It contained more than a hundred thousand verses. In a nutshell he said that one must not eat before what was eaten is fully digested. Over-eating is worse than a month's starvation. When you suffer from indigestion, drink water which will act as nectar but food will act as poison. The food which keeps you in good cheer is the right type. There are many who hold that eggs, meat, fish, bulb and root are health-giving, but one should try to avoid exciting and uneatable food. Further, you should eat only that which improves your health, which keeps you light and heartened, which is seasonal and never in excess.
The seventeenth quality is to eat at fixed hours and with a happy mind. Even animals smell fodder before consuming it. With their belly full they would refuse even to touch delicacies, which the intelligent man would not. To eat at irregular hours is hurtful to your system. When the food is spiced with chillies and all that, it would retard your spiritual growth. Food has its direct effect on the mind. The Jaina preceptors have said that the man who eats wholesome food but never in excess enjoys longevity and needs no physician. Since he has to be righteous, and satisfy his economic and libidinous ends, he must keep his body healthy. The Sthānanga says that health heads the list of ten pleasures. The Buddha also regards it as the most valuable riches. The four basic ends of life have to be given due regard.