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Jainism Upto the Last Victor
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or has dropped, accepts what he knows to be stolen property and instructs another person in the methods of stealing.53 All the evil practices observed in trade and commerce such as adulterating the materials and not giving others their money's worth, not weighing and measuring properly and indulging in blackmarketing constitute stealing (steya). Therefore asteya vrata consists of avoiding such malpractices.
In the case of the ascetic the vow of brahmachayra (celibacy) signifies complete abstention from sex. Even thoughts entertained about sex were considered to be as undersirable and unethical as the sexual act itself. The principle of co-ordination of thought (mana), word (yachana) and deed (karman) is applicable here as well. It is obvious however that in the case of the householder the vow cannot be interpreted in its literal and strict sense. Therefore observing the vow of brahmacarya in the case of the householder signifies only being completely faithul to one's wife (or husband). A householder should look upon all other women as his mothers, sisters, or daughters. He would be violating the vow of brahmacharya even if he talks obscenity.
The meaning of the vow of aparigraha (non-possession) is obvious in the case of the ascetic since he has necessarily to renounce all his property and wealth before joining the sangha. But the mere physical renunciation is not of much value. Because of their constant association with him, it is very likely that thoughts about his former possessions may still linger on in his mind. The ascetic has to combat the tendency to retrospect about what he no longer 'possesses' by trying not to have even thoughts about the things he has renounced. But in the case of the householder aparigraha only signifies putting a stop to his desires for more than what he needs since a strict adherence to this vow by householders would be detrimental to society. On the other hand, by adopting the right or ethical methods in his profession he will help the society to derive the maximum benefit out of his skill in producing wealth. If a householder ever happens to earn more than that, he must spend it away in charities, the best and recognized forms of which are distribution of medicines and religious books, giving support to teachers, making provision for saving the lives of people in danger, and feeding the hungry and the poor.
