Jainism For Beginners Level 02

Author(s): Sayampurnashreeji
Publisher: Sayampurnashreeji

Page 27

the temple's environment promote introspection and bring home the feeling that God resides within one's own soul. Therefore, each person can follow a path of purification of the inner self, devoid of anger, ego, deceit and greed. A Jain temple is a beautiful, quiet and peaceful place to reflect upon our nature and soul.
All Jains including the young and the old visit the temples in the mornings and in the evenings. They feel blessed by the sight of the lord and by carrying out such activities as worship, prayer, glorification, repeating of holy hymns and mediation. That way, they seek satisfaction to their souls. Every evening after the sunset they perform Aarti & Mangal divo (buring camphor and lighting ghee-divo wicks) in every temple. The sweet sound of the bells,
the holy noise
of the drums, the chanting of the hymns by groups of devotees at the time of the aarti, the radiant lights burning with ghee revealing the splendour of the face of the Lord (the parmatma) bring heaven to the earth.
Special Programmes and activities are organized on some festival days and special occasions. On these occasions, hundreds or thousands of devotes gather's in the temples and worship the lord with absolute devotion. Some Jain families have a grihmandir, a room reserved for the worship of the Lord.
On the occasion of installing the image of the Lord in the temples, a solemn celebration takes place; and this is known as Anjanshalaka Pratistha Mahotsav.
TEN RITUALS OF TEMPLE
19