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Chapter 7
THEIR RITES, CULTS AND RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
Jains have rites, cults, ceremonies and religious festivals by which they characterize themselves from the other Indian religions. Nevertheless, we find sometimes similar elements in Hinduism or Buddhism. Several common factors exist between the three faiths so that one cannot speak of absolute different traditions. We have seen that, in some Jain principles; it is the same for some practices.
First, we will have a look at the rites of the Jain laity. Next, we will consider their main objects of cult and the numerous manners to manifest their venerations. Lastly, we will give a list of their numerous religious festivals, ceremonies and meetings.
1. Their rites
Through their lives, Jains practice various sacramental rites like the Hindu 'saṁskāra'. For them, as for the Hindus, the most elaborated one is that of marriage (vivāha). For the ascetics, the most characteristic one is that of initiation or consecration (diksā) we will see in the chapter devoted to monks and nuns.
In the VIIIch century, Jinasena calls these rites “kriya and says there is a total of 53 Jain “kriya”, including the twelve vows, the eleven steps of spiritual progress, etc. More recent treatises, like the Śvetāmbara 'Acāra-dinakara' dating from the XVh century or the Digambara 'Traivarņikācāra' dating from the XVIIh century mention only 40 and 22 rites, respectively. Amongst 22 rites the first five are those that parents may practice before the birth of a child, the next eleven are those generally performed between the birth of a child and its marriage and the last six between marriage and death. In 'The Heart of Jainism', Sinclair Stevenson speaks of Jain rites that are very different. In my opinion, these are the remains of ancient Indian rural superstitions.
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