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RELIGION & CULTURE OF THE JAINS
ance of prescribed rituals, and charity. They have been devised to spiritualise life from its very inception to its very end. Every important stage of, or turning point in, life is made a ceremonious occasion, bringing out the significance of the event, bestowing blessings on the subject, giving him appropriate advice, and inspiring him with hope and wholesome aspirations for the future. By giving a deeply human and spiritual significance to the simple common facts of life, the very concept of human life has been exalted and dignified. Moreover, these ceremonies inculcate in the people concerned elementary principles of healthy living, physical and mental, including eugenics, hygiene, balanced and wholesome diet, medical care, proper education, habit of hard work, forbearance and mutual help. They also testify that in spite of the renunciatory spirit and considerably rigid austerity of the Jaina Path of religion, the ancient Jaina masters (ācāryas) were not opposed to, rather fervently advocated, a great love for life, at least so far as the laity, the common men and women, were concerned. There is little doubt that if taken in the right spirit these sociol-religious ceremonies tend to promote a proper understanding of life, inspire men end women to action, and pave the path of their life's journey with hope and success. They reflect an important and major aspect of the Jaina way of life. Symbols and Tokens There are a number of mystic symbols, signs, tokens and auspicious objects recognised in Jainism. The more important of them are the sounds like Om and Śrī, the signs like the svastika, tri-ratna (symbolising the trio of spiritual) and crescent surmounted by a zero or cipher, auspicious objects like the lion-seat, triple umbrella, pair of whisks, halo, mirror, vase full of water, fan, flag, festoon and bell. The lists contain many more but only the more popular and commonly used ones have been mentioned here. At the time of the pujā of
