Book Title: Miracle is You
Author(s): Chitrabhanu
Publisher: Jain Meditation International Centre

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Page 46
________________ So in this sense celibacy means restriction to one person and then from one person, slowly you move to your self. There are three stages according to the ancient teaching. As long as you are studying, you observe complete celibacy. You do not divert your energy anywhere but to your work, your reading, your studying, your meditation and your preparation. When you finish the studies, then you enter the marital life, sharing life with a companion, having children, communicating and understanding each other. Then when you reach the age of forty or fifty, both partners come to an understanding, like Mahatma Gandhi and his wife. They became friends and decided to use their energy in the service of living beings, because their children had grown up. Then the complete celibacy started. So there are two levels, one to share the life with the partner and then ultimately, to share the life with the higher self. Brahmacharya, is a compound word-brahma means higher and charya means to move. The whole word means move in your higher self. The fifth principle is non-acquisition. You make some limitations on your possessions so you do not deprive others. Tell yourself, "I can have this much and no more." Aparigraha or non-acquisition is one of the main commitments in Jainism. Parigraha means hoarding and aparigraha means not hoarding. You acquire what you need for your living, for your house, for rainy days, but not more than that. These are the five principles in Jainism, but the 41

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