Jainism by Vividus

Author(s): Ramnik V Shah
Publisher: Ramnik V Shah Canada

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Jaina saints are an important sector of the community. Having long groomed themselves on the triangular path of right faith, right knowledge and right conduct as householders, they have left their homes and all attachment to wife, children, parents, relatives, land, wealth, and possessions given up for good and for the rest of their life. They renounced the world and when initiated have, in all probability, gone through the gruelling test of physical hardship by pulling out their hair from their heads with bare hands under a tree and in the presence of householder devotees; for, it is an important ceremony at the time of the initiation : "diksha." During the entire career as saints, their food, clothing and shelter, which have to be minimal, are all taken care of by the community.
To start with, until he rises in the hierarchy to have his own disciple monks, he is first considered an ordinary saint, the fifth of the five worthy of supreme aspiration (Pancha Parameshthin) when though a great soul, he does not have any definite function either of authority or of instruction in the hierarchy of saints but still he illustrates through his conduct the path to salvation. Gradually, he rises to the position of the VicePresident in the group of saints, the fourth of the five Parameshthin, "Upadhyaya" (not all saints become Upadhyayas, nor is it necessary for them to be so, as the latter are limited in number, depending upon the Presidents of the groups, parti. cularly their status in the spiritual evolution) who, ordinarily has no authority to initiate new saints or to organise the entire Jaina society. His whole function is to popularise Jaina religion in order to help the souls entangled in wordly whirlpool. He educates and instructs people. As he becomes more and more conversant with religious practices, he rises to be the President of the group (Acharya), the third of the five Parameshthin (not all Upadhyayas rise necessarily to become Acharyas) who has the authority to initiate new saints. He embodies the highest living personification of all that Jainism stands for, (among) Digambaras, these Acharyas are completely naked [sky-clad] as
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