________________
184 RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY OF THE JAINAS once, and some not that).
3. He would practise absolute chastity.
4. He would have the desire to adopt the vows of the monk; he may not be able to adopt them, but still he has the desire to adopt them.
5. He retires from business. This gives the younger men a chance to come in.
Six Daily Activities Spoken of under the heading of the middle degree of selfcontrol, these are the daily activities,
1. He would worship the Arhat; or in the absence of the Arhat he would worship the image of the Arhat. This needs a little explanation in order that it may be understood. One might ask “What is the use of worshipping an image ?" The methods used in cognizing any insentient thing or living being are of four kinds, namely, nāma, sthāpanā (or āksti), dravya, and bhāva. Nāma, the first method, is by giving the name. The mention of the name is sufficient to bring to knowledge the idea of the object. The mention of names has a great deal to do with the rise and improvement of the consciousness; the mention of names is a great factor in those concrete activities which have to do with the progress of man.
Sthāpanā, the second method by which we cognize things, pay respect to things, look down upon things, etc., is the picture, photograph, diagram, symbol, image, model, statue, etc. It is also called akrti, which means literally a drawing, image or photograph. Absent persons can be worshipped by this means. The fact of the false use of images by the common people must not be taken as a reason for ignoring the philosophical truth that the image is an important factor when its use is rightly understood. Photographs etc., of absent friends can be used as a means of respecting them. Photographs etc., can be used as a means of insulting an absent person (Guy Fawkes, for example); and so also they can be used for respecting and worshipping absent persons.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
