Jinamanjari 2001 04 No 23

Author(s): Jinamanjari
Publisher: Canada Bramhi Jain Society Publication

Page 72

truth from the perspective of the satyagrahi. It is obvious that a true satyagrahi had to have courage and conviction to follow this path.
Just as the Jaina thought of anekantavada and the Jaina ideal of ahimsa influenced Gandhi, so did the Jaina path for the realization of the true nature of atman. The tradition of vows, or vrata is central to the Jaina path to salvation. Gandhi's attachment to this tradition began with the vows he made to his mother prior to his departure for England. The vows were, in fact made in the presence of Jain monk, Becharji Swami, and Gandhi scrupulously adhered to them throughout his stay in England.
The tradition of vows took a deeper meaning for Gandhi following his association with Raichandbhai. To Gandhi, vows were not a formalistic framework but a way of entering more deeply into truth, not simply a renunciation, but a resolution. Vows formed the cornerstones of daily life in Gandhi's asrams and those who lived in these communes soon found that the vows became for them a source of strength, happiness and mewing.
The Jaina path for a layperson embraces the fivefold vows or the panch anuvrata. Anu means minor and the vows are minor only in the sense that they are much less rigorous than those practised by Jaina nuns and monks. The first two of the five vows are ahimsa and satya. The third amvrata is acaurya or non-stealing, a concept which is derived directly from the concepts of truth and non-violence. The fourth anuvrata is chastity or brahmacharya. The word brahmacharya literally means to walk on the Lord's way and implies a complete dedication of the body, mind and soul to the goal. Chastity promotes self-discipline and self- control and helps the seeker to bestow their undivided allegiance to the path of liberation.
In the Jaina code of ethics for the layperson, brahmacharya implies abstention from wanton indulgence in carnal desires.. In his own life, Gandhi aimed at an even higher goal. To him brahmacharya was the essential attribute of a satyagrahi. As he stated in his autobiography:
Without brahmacharya the satyagrahi will have no lustre, no inner strength to stand unarmed against the whole world.... His strength will fall him at the right moment.
The fifth and final anuvrata in the Jaina code of ethics is parigraha parimana or limits on possessions. This Jaina ethic is based on the realization that the very existence of the soul in its mundane, unliberated form entails an association to possessions. It is the
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